Special thanks to Little Street for extending this food review invitation.
Update: This business has ceased its operations.
Little Street Cafe & Restaurant is a small eatery opposite of Victorian Garden. It occupies the former premises of Madison Kafe & Dine.
Stepping into the restaurant, the interior décor presents a lovely sense of elegance. Wavy fabric ceiling and artificial turf contribute to cozy ambience in the dining area. With light music in the background, it is easy to fall in love with this place.
Shortly after being seated, customers are treated with complimentary drinks and salad. Today’s drink is mango-flavored iced tea. Meanwhile, the garden salad is flavored with tangy lemon dressing and sprinkles of black sesame seeds.
Soup is also complimentary for all meals except for lunch sets. There is a different type of soup every day. Today’s soup is carrot soup with potatoes, which is easily mistaken for pumpkin soup due to its grainy consistency. To maintain freshness, soup is prepared from scratch every day.
Today’s meal starts with Norwegian Grilled Salmon With Butter White Wine (RM33.00). Lovely wine aroma permeates the immediate vicinity as soon as the dish hits the table. The salmon serving size is reasonably large – around 150 grams. I personally prefer the salmon to be less done so that I may enjoy the moisture between layers of salmon flesh.
This salmon dish comes with a heap of mashed potatoes, which is also made by hand in the kitchen. Also included with salmon are fried potato wedges and an assortment of vegetables.
Arrabbiata Chicken (RM25.00) consists of 250 grams of deboned chicken thigh. As the chicken has been marinated for 2 days, it is no surprise that the flesh is very flavorful. However, I personally prefer thinner batter coating so that the chicken’s flavor is more pronounced. It is also a good idea to take advantage of herbs and spices to make the batter more appealing.
This poultry dish comes with a small cup of arrabbiata sauce, which is also prepared fresh in the kitchen. Infused with red wine, arrabbiata sauce presents a combination of sweet, tangy and spicy flavors. By the way, the word “arrabbiata” literally means “angry” in Italian. This is in reference to the sauce’s spiciness.
Creamy Prawn Pasta With Sambal Sauce (RM25.00) combines the conventional carbonara sauce with fiery appeal of spicy shrimp paste. The resulting fusion carries respectably strong pungency which only manifests itself on the tongue after several seconds.
The pasta also includes 3 large white shrimps. The shrimps are commendably fresh as evidenced by their crunchiness. Shimeji mushrooms (占地) is also included, which I think works well too. As for the spaghetti, its firmness is near the edge of being al dente. Making it slightly firmer would surely improve mouthfeel.
The proprietor of Little Street has familial ties with Coffee On The Table at Beach Street (Lebuh Pantai). Renowned for 3D foam art, Little Street also offers such coffee. The mug of Tiramisu Latte With Ice Float (RM15.00) is designed to resemble a bear with raised paw. In addition, ice cream is added to the cold drink in order to produce more homogeneous consistency.
Besides the à la carte menu, Little Street also offers lunch sets with affordable prices from RM10.00 net. The meal includes salad and drink. Soup is available for additional RM3.00. Lunch sets are only available on weekdays between 12:00pm and 3:00pm. Meanwhile, larger dining parties should take advantage of the combo meals for 2 or 4 persons – priced at RM69.00 and RM128.00 net respectively. Little Street’s food menu is currently pork-free.
Little Street is also able to host private events up to 25 people. In addition, the air shaft behind the coffee bar shelters over a dozen rabbits. This is a good opportunity for children to interact with small animals. If you are thinking of getting a pet, be advised that these rabbits are available for adoption.
Name: Little Street Cafe & Restaurant
Address: 16, Jalan Irrawadi, 10050 George Town, Pulau Pinang
Contact: 012-593-1500
Business hours: 12:00pm-4:00pm, 6:00pm-10:00pm (Monday-Friday), 12:00pm-10:00pm (Saturday-Sunday)
Website: https://www.facebook.com/littlestreetcafe2u
Coordinates: 5.42547 N, 100.32161 E
Directions: From Burmah Road (Jalan Burma), turn right to Service Road (Jalan Servis), then right again at Irrawaddy Road (Jalan Irrawadi). Little Street is located on the right after the next crossroad, somewhat opposite of Victorian Garden. There are parking spaces in front of the restaurant.
