The Nonya Diaries: Fika Cafe, Penang

Thursday, July 9, 2015

Fika Cafe, Penang

Fika Cafe, a beautifully restored prewar heritage house located in Lorong Toh Aka, offers traditional Swedish treats and a chic environment to just relax and watch the world go by from its tiny windows. Be warned that it's hard to find parking around this literally tiny lane so you might want to consider parking at Beach Street or better yet, rent a bicycle and explore this charming part of Penang.

It's easy to spot Fika Cafe with its Swedish flag displayed outside and gold painted moose at the top. Pots of fresh mint adorn the curb and are used as garnishes for the cafe's drinks and desserts.

Be still my beating heart. I loved everything about the cafe, from its raw concrete side benches skirting along the entire wall to the hand painted sky blue dresser that functions as a handy cutlery and fresh water holder. You've got to love a place that doesn't charge for plain water!

Bubs was more than enamored with the tiny play area. There were chalkboards, Swedish picture books, crayons and paper to keep little ones occupied while you enjoy your cuppa or outfit of the day post ;)

There's also a cute outdoor area where you can sit and chill.

The menu is entirely in Swedish so the owner was kind enough to recommend some cakes for us. This is a chocolate ball - which she assured us that is popular with children - and a tall glass of chocolate banana milkshake. Both Hubs and Bubs loved these.

I fell in love with the utterly decadent caramel pie heaped with sinful, thick cream and studded with fresh strawberries and slices of banana. It does get a bit rich after a while so I'd strongly recommend sharing this with a friend that has a sweet tooth.

While Bubs had fun sketching to his little heart's content and Hubs was quietly enjoying his drink, I took a quick walk down Lorong Toh Aka which has to be 1 of Penang's tiniest one way street. It was choc a bloc full of restored Nonya houses.