Article and Photos by HELEN ONG

The aptly-named Main Street Café is situated in the Cititel Hotel in Penang Road, otherwise known in the local vernacular as “Tua Tiao Lor” (The Big Road). It reopened last year after a full renovation, turning the ground floor outlet into a more contemporary bistro rather than a traditional hotel coffee house.

Together with the new, trendier image, it has also introduced a new a la carte menu which includes a range of local and western favourites like Hainanese Chicken Rice and Penang Assam Laksa, the only food from Malaysia to make the CNNGo Top 50 Foods to eat, together with their award-winning Char Kuey Teow. Western treats are their Lamb Shank, Salmon and Chicken Chop, and they also offer a set lunch every day.

At weekends, reasonably-priced buffet dinners, available from 7-10pm, are the order of the day, with the ever-popular Japanese food forming the mainstay of their offerings: we just can’t seem to get enough sushi, sashimi, sukiyaki, teriyaki, together with other Japanese items like miso and chawanmushi etc.

On Fridays the Japanese theme is teamed with Seafood so there will be plenty of scallops and mussels, prawns, oysters, jellyfish and different types of fish either laid on or cooked for your delectation. On Saturday evenings, it’s Japanese with a carvery of roast beef and lamb, and on Sundays, those with a fancy for something spicy will delight in the Japanese and Thai theme: there are tom yams, Pineapple Fried Rice and red curries, all cooked by their in-house Thai chef. There will always be an Action Station featuring live cooking during the buffets.

The outlet recently received its Halal Certification for both MSC and Banquets.

At weekends from noon to 3pm there’s a Family Buffet Lunch – senior citizens will be able to receive an additional 10% off on the last Saturday of every month. On Friday and Saturday evenings there’s Tong Shui and Porridge Buffet from 10pm to 2am available for late-nighters, perfect for an after theatre or cinema snack.  What’s even better is every fourth person can dine for free then.

The food, together with the fact that it is right in the middle yet away from the hustle and bustle of George Town, will ensure that this is a little gem is a little oasis if you should want to drop by anytime, either for a relaxing snack in the middle of the day or a full-blown buffet dinner with the entire family. Add to that the free wifi and internet stations available for diners, you’ll be clamouring to come here just to get away from it all.

Main Street Café

Cititel Hotel

66 Jalan Penang

10000 Penang

Tel: +604 370 1188 Extn 8217 for reservations