Vietnamese food is a very rare cuisine in Penang. There used to be some nice Vietnamese restaurants in Penang few years back but not many of them survived until today. Recently there seem to be a few Vietnamese cafe’s started to pop up in the town’s vicinity. One of the nice and famous one is Que Huong Toi Vietnamese Food.
The location of Que Huong Toi Cafe is at the middle of a bustling street. If you are driving down town from Penang bridge via Jelutong Express, take the left junction which turns to Sungai Pinang. After you are out from the junction, you will find Sungai Pinang food court is on your left. Keep driving until you reach the traffic junction in front of you, turn left and you will see Que Huong Toi Cafe is on your right. The cafe is a quaint little cafe with only few tables. Other than the boss, most of the workers here are Vietnamese.
Cafe Sua (Hot) Vietnam Coffee – RM3.00, the signature Vietnamese Style coffee. The coffee powder is placed in a filter on top of the coffee mug and after filling with hot water, the coffee is dripped down to the mug. If you ordered black coffee, the mug will be empty at the beginning, otherwise if you ordered milk coffee, the condensed milk will be placed in the mug before the coffee is dripped down. The aroma of this traditional Vietnamese coffee was very strong and rich. It had the scent of Asian coffee. One bonus point is the coffee here was not too sweet and was just nice for my taste bud.
Cafe Sua (Cold), Vietnam Coffee – RM3.30, for those that prefer cold coffee over hot coffee, this is an option as well. Again, the taste was aromatic and not too sweet.
Xoi Xoai (Vietnam Mango Sticky Rice) – RM5.00, similar to Thai Style Mango sticky rice, this dish was served with mango, sticky rice and topped with some chopped peanuts and concentrated coconut milk.
The difference between Thai Style sticky rice and Vietnamese style is the thickness of the coconut milk. I prefer Thai’s style more as it is not that thick and heavy.
Bun Bo Hue (Vietnamese Spicy Pork Leg Beef Noodle Soup) – RM6.50 (Wed, Fri & Sun), the spicy and sour soup cooked with lemon grass, tomato, onions, spring onions, slices of pork leg meats and beef meat balls. Serving together with the soup were some raw vegetables.
The taste was very rich and sourish with a tad of sweetness in between. It was a delightful dish to have due to its appetizing and exotic taste.
Mong Heo Chien Gion (Vietnam Deep Fried Pork Leg) – RM8.00, the pork was first boiled until soft, then deep fried until perfection. Serving together with this dish was some homemade chili sauce.
The tenderness of the pork leg was prepared perfectly. It was soft and succulent on the inside soft and crispy on the outside. However, the coating on the skin was on the sweet side which is not my preference. If the sweetness could be reduced it would be perfect.
Com Suon (Vietnam BBQ Pork Chop Rice) – RM6.50, the pork chop was lightly coated and deep fried until golden brown. It was served together with pickled veggie, deep fried anchovies, cucumber, tomato, carrot, yam bean, cabbage slices and a Vietnamese Style meat cake.
The meat was packed with aromatic 5 spices powder and was very crispy. Again, the taste was on the sweet side too. I love the Vietnamese Style meat cake. The taste was very unique and the taste was very well-balanced.
Banh Mi (Cha Lua/ Bi Thit Nuong) (Vietnamese Pork Sandwich) – RM5.00, the pork slices was stuffed in a french roll with some veggie, carrot and yam bean slices. It was then sprinkled with some sweet and sour sauce for the enrichment of flavour.
The taste was nice, it was slightly sour and not too sweet. It was a balanced meal of meat and veggie. This is something that I would come back for on my next trip.
Bun Bo Xao (Vietnam Fried Lemongrass Beef Noodle) – RM7.00, the famous Vietnamese Pho. The soup was cooked with onions, bean sprouts, beef meat balls and beef slices.
The tenderness of the beef slices were too tough, otherwise it would be a perfect bowl of noodle soup. I personally felt that the taste was slightly tuned to suit local tastebuds.
Goi Cuon (Vietnamese Hand Roll Popiah) (Min 2 pcs) – RM1.80, the famous Vietnamese Style popiah which was prepared using rice paper and stuffed with veggie, lemon grass, rice noodle, chicken slices and shrimps.
The taste of the rice roll was perfect when dipped together with Vietnamese style chili sauce which was sourish sweet.
Overall, the taste of the food here was very nice although it was tuned to milder taste to suit local tastebuds. Some of the dishes were overly sweet. The price of the food was reasonable. The drawback of this place was the extreme difficulty to get a place to park.
Editor’s Review (5 Stars Rank):
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| Price (more stars, more reasonable) |  |
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Quick Facts:
| Family Friendly |  |
| Parking |  |
| Pork Free | |
| Alcohol | |
| Credit Card | |
| Smoking | |
| Reservation | |
| Private Room (Private Area) | |
| WIFI Available | |
Operation hours: 10:00am – 3:00pm, 5:00pm – 10:00pm (Monday to Friday); 9:00am – 3:00pm, 5:00pm – 10:00pm (Sat a& Sun), Close on Tuesday.
Contact: 016-421 1244
Address: 56-W, Jalan Jelutong, 11600 Jelutong, Penang
GPS: 5° 24′ 06.26″ N, 100° 19′ 36.91″ E