Bulu Bulu Cafe

Forget another cafe with a neon sign and a sad little monstera plant. Bulu Bulu Cafe on Campbell Street has gone gloriously off-script, combining a George Town cafe with a three-storey indoor animal experience where capybaras, alpacas, raccoons, rabbits and other creatures become the real stars of the afternoon.

The food is deliberately approachable rather than fine-dining theatre, but that’s almost beside the point. Come hungry, keep your receipt, wear socks and prepare for the sort of George Town detour that starts with lunch and ends with you staring at a capybara wondering why you haven’t rearranged your entire life around being this relaxed.

Continue reading

Gou Lou Hong Kee Chao Sar Hor Fun & Noodles

If you like your Penang noodles with serious wok hei and absolutely no unnecessary nonsense, put Gou Lou Hong Kee on your George Town food map. Tucked along Campbell Street, this old-school Cantonese noodle specialist is all about charcoal-fired sar hor fun, dark and savoury Tai Lok Mee, oyster noodles, mee sua koh and gloriously fragrant belacan fried chicken.

The star is the dry sar hor fun: slippery rice noodles kissed by the heat of the wok and carrying that unmistakable smoky charcoal character. Add a plate of Tai Lok Mee, something crispy on the side and a little house chilli, and you’ve got the sort of George Town lunch that doesn’t need an Instagram filter—or a fancy dining room—to make its point.

Continue reading