5 Great Cafes To Work from in Penang
To complete our three months of remote working in Asia, we finished off with three weeks in Georgetown, Penang. To encourage more remote workers to visit Penang and to save you the headache from dealing with slow wifi speeds, we’ve put together our guide of “5 Great Cafes To Work From in Penang”.
Georgetown, Penang
Although not as popular as our last destination, Chiang Mai, Penang is an up and coming nomad spot and it’s easy to see why.
It’s a mish-mash of cultures and religions where Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Malaysians, Chinese and Indians all live and work alongside in a beautiful ex-colonial city. If that’s not enough to convince you, the cheap and incredibly tasty food, fantastic street art and unique culture and heritage of Penang should seal the deal. You just have to look past the unsightly and not so great smelling open sewers on the road side.
First off where to stay ?
We stayed at a fantastic AirBnB homestay nearby Nagore Square, though many other travelers choose to stay in the centre of Georgetown where there are many hostels. Both areas work, and they’re only about 10–15 minutes walk apart (or a 5 minute, RM 5 uber ride). Our preference was for Nagore Square as we were surrounded by the local young Malay’s, and had awesome shops and restaurant around us like Pestle and Mortar and What The Duck.
Where to work from ?
1) Secawan’n’Such
Kicking off the list is Secawan ’n’ such, located just off Nagore Square, this cafe/restaurant on Hutton Lane is built in a beautifully kept colonial building and is our number one cafe for food and drinks.
Details:
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Address: 205, Jalan Hutton, George Town, 10050 George Town
Our Review
- Food & Drinks: 5/5
Big menu with breakfast and lunch options along with cakes, treats and sandwiches available all day. Definitely the best place on our list for food and drinks. My personal favourites are the eggs benedict junior and their Piccolo Latte. - Value: 5/5
The food is priced slightly higher than others but you really get what you pay for.
- Americano RM 8 👌
- Latte RM 9.90 😍
- Eggs Benedict RM 25.70 😍
- Set lunch (RM 35 to RM 45) 👌 - Service: 5/5
The service was fast and friendly. Additional bonus: Occasionally they run a training program for people with special needs to become cafe staff. - Wifi: 4/5
The wifi is generally reliable here, sometimes we get the fastest speeds in Penang, other times we get the slowest. - Ambiance/Comfort: 5/5
The place itself is beautiful, with original restored floors, two large murals inside, fine art on the walls, comfortable seating and high ceilings. Bare in mind it does get busy during breakfast, lunch and afterwork hours. - Power Outlets: 5/5
Plenty of power outlets and extension cords dotted around the space to tap into. - Bathroom: 4/5
1 toilet, clean. Asia standards: Above average
2) Bricklin Cafe Bar
Built into Hin Bus Depot, a restored bus depot that now houses art studios, fantastic street art, a restaurant, a gallery and a cafe, Bricklin’s location alone is worth the visit. If you’re looking for a change of scenery from Georgetown centre, walk on over here for great coffee, friendly staff and reasonable wifi. Don’t miss their Pop up market every Sunday too!
Details
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Address: 31A, Jalan Gurdwara, 10300 George Town, Pulau Pinang
Our Review
- Food & Drinks: 4/5
Great coffee and cold drink options. Food is limited to only bagels and cakes which are nothing special. Alternatively you can order food from the restaurant next door whilst you have your meal in the cafe. - Value: 4/5
Knocking it down a point as the cake we ate was reheated in the microwave, not fresh.
- Americano RM 9 👌
- Latte RM 10 👌
- Toasted bagel w/jam RM 7 😕 - Service: 5/5
Great service, the barista was super friendly and we talked for awhile as he explained how Penang is developing and the future of hipster cafes and shops here. - Wifi: 3/5
The wifi is passable here. - Ambiance/Comfort: 5/5
Comfortable sized cafe with plenty of seating and never gets too busy during the day expect for on Sundays when they have the pop-up market. Music playing is nice and never too loud.
If you ever need a break you can step into their garden to stretch your legs, admire all the beautiful street art or visit the next door vegetarian restaurant/yoga studio. - Power Outlets: 3/5
Limited number of power outlets available underneath the benches. - Bathroom: 2/5
Never have TP. Asia standards: Average.
3) Coffee Addicts
Fantastic cafe hidden on a side street in Hutton Lane which became our go to place to get shit done. Coffee Addicts provides the most reliable wifi we’ve found, great coffee, comfortable seating and spacey interior.
Details
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Address: 209, Jalan Hutton, George Town, 10050
Our Review
- Food & Drinks: 4/5
If you’re looking for breakfast, I’d recommend stepping next door to Secawan ’n’ Such for a bite. Coffee, drinks and desserts are all top notch here though and their flavoured water had me easily drinking 9 glasses a day. - Value: 4.5/5
- Americano RM 7 👌
- Latte RM 10 👌
- Chocolate moist cake RM 12 👌
- Bacon bagel avocado w/egg RM 18 😕 - Service: 5/5
Great service, all the staff are very friendly and attentive plus they make sure to never leave your glass of water empty. You can sit here all day and they won’t bat an eye at you. - Wifi: 5/5
Definitely the most reliable wifi we’ve been able to find in Penang. Almost never an issue, this is the go to place to get shit done. - Ambiance/Comfort: 5/5
High ceilings, 2 beautiful murals inside with information about the artists and comfortable seating. It does get busy in and around lunch time. - Power Outlets: 4/5
There is a large table with power outlets within reach that’s perfect to work from. - Bathroom: 4/5
1 toilet. Usually quite clean. Asia standards: Above average
4) Wheeler’s Cafe
Wheeler’s cafe is a great place in the centre of Georgetown, with reliable wifi, plenty of plugs and great food. If you’re staying in George town centre and too lazy to walk to other places, this is the place for you.
Details
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Address: 67, Lorong Love, 10200 George Town
Our Review
- Food & Drinks: 5/5
Big menu of food and drink options for all occasions, breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks. Everything we’ve tried on the menu has been great. - Value: 5/5
Americano RM 7.90 👌
Latte RM 9.90 👌
Classic breakfast RM 14.90 👌 - Service: 5/5
Friendly and fast service. - Wifi: 5/5
Very reliable. Second best cafe wifi we’ve found in Penang. - Ambiance/Comfort: 4/5
Seating is comfortable and plenty and the bike theme going on is charming. The main let down is the noise, the music is more than occasionally played too loud for my taste and it does get very busy. - Power Outlets: 5/5
Plenty of power outlets to plug into. - Bathroom: 4/5
Separate male and female bathrooms. Usually quite clean. Asia standards: Above average
5) Twelve Cups
A recently renovated cafe that is modern, bright and inviting. Their food and drinks are all great and the location makes for a great stop off point to explore the jetties, little india or other sights.
Details
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Address: 12, The WhiteAways Arcade, Beach Street
George Town 10300
Our Review
- Food & Drinks: 5/5
Breakfast and cake were great, small let down was that the croissant we were served was still frozen in the middle but the taste made up for it. Their known for their crepe cakes so be sure to try one too. - Value: 4/5
Knocking it down a point as our croissant was frozen
Flat White RM 10 👌
Avocado Egg Mayo Sandwich RM 24 😍
The Pine Waffle RM 15 👌 - Service: 3/5
Good. - Wifi: 2/5
Touch and go, wouldn’t recommend working from here on something that requires internet connection. - Ambiance/Comfort: 5/5
The newly renovated interior is beautiful and bright. The seating and tables are comfortable enough to stay in all day, read, write and people watch. - Power Outlets: 3/5
Several power outlets to plug into dotted around the area. - Bathroom: 2/5
Male and Female bathrooms shared with the entire building. Asia standards: Average
As a UNESCO protected site, Penang has done a fantastic job at integrating the old with the new. You never get tired of walking down the streets of George Town admiring the crumbling buildings and seriously considering the for sale signs. Every building seems to have it’s own story and they house all kinds of different businesses from the new hipster cafes to the old school auto shops.
Speaking to locals it’s clear Penang is only going to grow more popular in the coming years. Initiatives like Think City are working hard to renovate the cities old buildings and investing in individuals who want to open up their own businesses. One of the best examples of this can be seen at the Hin Bus Depot.
If and when you get tired of the city, you can always jump on an uber to visit the nearby beaches of Batu Ferringhi and get a day pass at one of the resorts, like the Shangri-La or the Park Royal. One of the best things for remote workers, is that Malaysia offers 90 days visa exemptions to many countries, which should be plenty of time the explore Penang and the surrounding cities.
Will we be back to Penang? Absolutely.
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Arman Anaturk
Co-Founder at OneRoof.Agency, Vice-president at FoodHack, organiser of Product Tank Geneva/Lausanne. Find me eating food and travelling on Instagram, debating on Twitterand not sure what exactly on Linkedin
