Hainanese Chicken Rice & Lobak, Kafe Kheng Pin @ Penang Road

Kafe Kheng Pin is not a strange name amongst those food lovers. In fact, it has been around for some times and being so, it definitely must have something that preserved it's existence.

Located at the corner of Penang Road, Kafe Kheng Pin offers something unusual that you will crave for in Penang. You may be thinking that it might be fried koay teow or even asam laksa but it is not these food that pull the crowds.

Kafe Kheng Pin, off Jalan Sri Bahari

The coffee shop can get really crowded and if you visit them during the peak hours especially during the weekends, so be prepared to wait for your seat.

Crowded especially during the peak hours

The something unusual I was referring to was Hainanese Chicken Rice! Most of the local folks and tourist visited Kafe Kheng Pin to have a share of this famous Hainanese Chicken Rice.

Kheng Pin Hainanese Chicken Rice

You got to be there early to avoid disappointment. The chicken were so popular that it could be sold out by 2pm.

Lady boss always busy with chopping works

Hainanese Chicken
The chicken meat were so tender and unbelievably smooth. Not only that, the meat were equally juicy and applied to the breast part as well. Too bad I'm not a fan of chicken skin else you will enjoyed more by having the smooth skin together. Drizzled with the lightly seasoned gravy, it bring out the best of a soaked chicken in a true Hainanese way.

I'd always like to dip the chicken meat into some chili sauce.

Chili sauce
Too bad that the chili sauce was a let down for being too sour. Could have been better with an increased sweetness in the taste.

A Hainanese chicken meal is incomplete without the accompaniment of a plate of Hainanese chicken rice. Hainanese chicken rice is basically prepared by cooking the rice with minced onions, some garlics and gingers.

Hainanese Chicken Rice
A good point to note that the rice was not oily unlike the typical butter rice from most of the chicken rice stall. It tasted decent but not something to really shout about. I would say it is better than most of the Hainanese rice stall but still can't beat my all time favourite Mum's Hainanese Chicken Rice.

The total bill for the Hainanese Chicken Rice came to RM 17.40 for a pax of 3 which includes 2 plate of rice and some soup. Pretty reasonable pricing for the smooth chicken meat that we had.

Another crowd puller food to Kheng Pin coffee shop is the lobak stall. Operated by an uncle and a lady which I believed it is her wife, you will noticed that the orders were non stop coming in. Well, just placed your order to him and he will tell you politely that you need to wait a while.

Kheng Pin Lobak Stall

You can never see the uncle stop frying those fritters while taking some orders from time to time. Not easy money really, especially during the hot and humid weather in the afternoon.

Freshly fried from the wok

After almost half an hour of wait, my Lobak is finally served to the table. For those who find Lobak new to you, it is actually a Penang delicacy that consisted of assorted deep fried stuff namely fried bean curd, fried squids, prawn and fish fritters.

Assorted Lobak (RM 9 per plate)
You can actually pick your own assortment. However, to make things easier to the uncle, I ordered the assorted platter of lobak. It was fresh from the wok but was not too hot for the mouth to handle. My first bite resulted to an amazement of the crispiness offered by those fritters. It made me stood a while, wondering why those Lobak in Kl does not taste half like this?

The Lobak is already good on it's own. However, should you want some dip for your lobak, there are two prepared dip sauces for you.

Accompaniment Sauce
Just pick your flavour. The oozy black sauce that consisted some white egg or the spicy chili sauce.

Even though I'm not really a big fan of those above mentioned food, I must really say that they are really good and worth my money spending them. The only problem that it required you to patiently for your food especially the Lobak. Oh well, I supposed it is worthwhile for as long as you get some great food, obviously if you are a food lover!

Hainanese Chicken Rice: 7.5/10

Assorted Lobak: 8/10

Atmosphere: 4/10

Price: 6.5/10
Verdict: Memorable smooth chicken meat and crispy lobak. Avoid visiting during peak hours to reduce your waiting time.

Kafe Kheng Pin
80, Penang Road
off Jalan Sri Bahari
Penang
Business hours: 7am - 3pm daily, Closed on Monday.

GPS Coordinates: N05 25.019' E100 19.486'