Tho Yuen Restaurant Hong Tou Meen

Post by Chiefeater VK

Tho Yuen Restaurant on Campbell Street is one of the few places that opens as early as 6 am for dim sum. By lunch time, they stop serving dim sum and serve Cantonese cuisine dishes instead. I would say skip the dim sum and go for their Cantonese dishes.

One of their unique dishes is "鸿图面" (Hong Tou Meen). It's a dish where fried yee mee is soaked in an egg white gravy that looks and feels like congee. It is claimed that this dish is not found in any other restaurants in Penang. The name "鸿图面" itself carries significance, symbolizing prosperity and good fortune. This auspicious name is befitting, as the dish has become a popular choice among diners who seek not only a delicious meal but also a symbol of prosperity and abundance. Don't let the look of the dish fool you, it is actually more delicious than it looks.

While it is recommended to consume the Hong Tou Meen with vinegar, I actually found it was unneccesary. This dish should be eaten slowly to savour the ingredients, from the gravy to the yee mee. Every item in the dish whether it's mushroom, pork slices, yee mee is flavourful. The vinegar, I suppose, is recommended to balance the richness of the dish.

Sitting in Tho Yuen Restaurant is like having gone through a time portal and having been taken back to a Cantonese restaurants of the 1970s. In fact, that's the music they play in the background, Cantopop favourites from 1970s and 1980s.

Tho Yuen Restaurant is a Michelin Bib Gourmand rated restaurant. The Hong Tou Meen costs RM11 per serving and that’s not a bad price to pay at all for a Bib Gourmand rated restaurant.

Business Hours
Wednesday to Monday
06:00 am - 03:00 pm

Closed on Tuesday

Editor's Note
Nov 2025.
Tho Yuen is not in the 2026 Michelin list