Vegan
Pizza
Chinese
Buffet
Fast food
Malaysian
Penang restaurant at the small street linking Jalan Penang and Jalan Transfer. Serves traditional Chinese Malaysian meals such as an economic rice buffet, different fried mee, fried rice, a large choice of steam buns, banana leaf curry and more. Also has a large choice of different beverages. Open Mon-Sat 7:00am-8:00pm. Closed Sun. (if 1st & 15th of lunar month fall on Sunday, next day will be the rest day)
159 Reviews
First Review by stanleysng502
jfd3220
Points +11
Awesome buffet style restaurant - Edit
I have been here twice now. There is a huge selection at the buffet, 37 items at 8:30am this morning. Everything that I had there was quite tasty and not too oily or salty. If I lived in the area I would probably go there daily.
Read moreGuest
Jepa
Points +74
Everything quite oily & salty - Edit
Ee Beng has many recommendations in internet and also staff of our hostel recommended it warmly. However, even if there are good things like you can spoon the things yourselves to your plate from buffet, everything we tried was quite salty and oily in taste.
Read morePros: you take the food yourself, inexpensive
Cons: saltiness, oiliness, spiceless
Guest
Oneabe
Points +69
Great Range Of Buffet And Stand Alone Noodle Stall - Edit
I was there today with my family and some friends and the range of buffet was really impressive. Considering it wasn't the 1st or 15th of the lunar calendar, it was really popular with the locals as it was very busy the entire time I was there.
Read moreThere was a separate stall which sells local Street food which were all vegetarian such as the wantan Mee, hokkien mee, fish head beehoon and etc.
I was actually looking forward to eat at the restaurant section which previous reviews mentioned (beside the buffet serving one). However,it's such a shame that the owners decided to close the business as staff were quite hard to hire and they decided to take a break.
Pros: Economical, Delicious , Great Buffet
Cons: Hot And Cramped , Restaurant Section Closed
Guest
raphalla
Points +776
Ok - Edit
To order the drink, someone will be there at your table to ask what do you want to drink. You can get all the coffee shop drinks here or just look at some pictures or advertisement on the wall. Pay when the drink is served. For food, you could go for the buffet style, take the food you want and pay at the counter. Else, order the local favourite noodle fair at the stall (they are pictures to see) and pay when the food is served to you at your table. Price is pretty much local affortable rate and the ambience is local coffee shop style. Food is ok, but is a place to experience the real local food in vegetarian style and a real place a local would eat. No highchair for children. i stacked up 2 chairs for my 2 years old. It was good enough. The restaurant is right in front of the police headquarter, which is a big blue and white building.
Read morePros: Local style
Cons: *
Guest
kiki sound
Points +77
good and bad... - Edit
I was here 2 times, one I ate at the selfservice part, wich was nice food, not expensive, and the woman at the counter took her time to explain me what certain dishes were.
Read moreas it is a selfservice, everything is clear, you take, you pay, you eat and the food is good
on the other hand, the sit-down restaurant part, the food there was great, yes, but I found the service pretty bad.
got ignored sitting there untill I decided to go and order at the counter, after a while some chinese customers came in and were served right away, found it kind a strange...
also I ordered a juice, expecting a freshly made juice as it said on the menu but got a watery drink full, really full of sugar
when I complained, they said something as “it’s a sirup, we can’t control it” and just walked away, not offering something else or whatever
to finish up the bad impression about the service, when I go to the toilet, a waiter comes out and walks straight into the kitchen without washing his hands…
I heard nothing but good things about this place, but left very disapointed from the restaurant (not because of the food…)
hard to rate, got out very happy first time at the selfservice part, kind of angry from the restaurant, it's a shame...
Updated from previous review on Saturday January 25, 2014
Pros: nice taste, looks clean
Cons: bad service, waiters don't wash their hands after wc, MSG's used
Guest
veggiebubble
Points +109
Nice place but slightly disappointed - Edit
After reading all the good reviews I was really looking forward to this place. I normally visit Luk Yea Yan which is a similar style place in Penang (but oddly has worse reviews than this place).
Read moreThe food was nice enough for economy rice but the place didn't seem overly clean. Yes it's cheap but it's the same price as Luk Yea Yan just without the aircon/nice building/cleanliness.
Pros: Cheap, Decent selection on buffet
Cons: Not overly clean, Same price as other nicer places
Guest
Yoga Girl, London
Points +123
Very good range - Edit
Very good range of very cheap food in this restaurant. Personally, I would rather have flavoursome veggies, than mock meat, but my partners had a 'lamb' curry with noodles and loved it. You can have bento boxes, meal combos and even Western style meals.
Read moreThere is a buffet and a restaurant and both are self-service. In the restaurant you order by completing a form, then are meant to collect your cutlery and condiments yourself.
Pros: Very clean - you can see the kitchen
Cons: loo - squat toilet with no lock
Guest
clairehalls
Points +50
Yum! - Edit
There are two areas, a self serve buffet type area where you pay for what you eat, and a sit down restaurant with a set menu. We ate in the restaurant this evening and plan to go back for the self serve buffet tomorrow! I had 'chicken Maryland' which was breaded faux chicken, a breaded sausage, a breaded pineapple ring, mashed potato and gravy and salad. It was very good! My partner had a 'fish' and rice set meal which included tofu salad and a soup. Our meal with drinks was 23MYR, a very reasonable price for a lot of food! The restaurant itself is modern and very clean. Loves this place!
Read moreUpdated from previous review on Friday December 06, 2013
Pros: menu choice, good prices , nice environment
Guest
YaraCoelho
Points +247
excellent! - Edit
An excellent option for vegans who love variety and fresh daily vegetables and mock meats. There's a lot to choose from , with many soy products, soup, noodles, vegetables and even the delicious stuffed Chinese steamed bread!
Read moreA very cheap and central option! For more info and photos: http://www.heartofavagabond.com/2013/10/chinatowns-vegan-food-in-penang.html
Pros: variety, price, location
Guest
JoslynChittilapally
Points +99
oily food but lots of options - Edit
the food here was too oily but they had a lot of mock meat options. probably helped that i visited during the Nine Emperor Gods festival- when locals eating only vegetarian for 9 days.
Read morePros: cheap, lots of options, good mock meats
Cons: OILY
Guest
vegiemelb
Points +110
Wide range of dishes - Edit
There is a wide range of dishes available, called economic rice, you put the rice on your plate then you add a spoon of whatever dishes you want including various greens dishes, tofu dishes, and textured wheat dishes. Also friendly staff ... a quick and easy meal.
Read moreFirst time cost 8RM not including drinks second time just a small serve of rice and a medium spoon of 3 dishes cost 4.50RM.
Rating is for what the restaurant is in terms of style, range and price, and is not a comparison with a better quality vegetarian restaurant.
Updated from previous review on Friday April 19, 2013
Updated from previous review on Monday April 22, 2013
Pros: Wide range of dishes, Friendly staff, Quick and easy meal
Guest
yvekes
Points +48
Ee Beng, my favourite vegan Chinese restaurant - Edit
Fantastic buffet restaurant with over 40 different, vegan, choices.
Read moreYou can scoop your plate full for about €1!
Pros: choice , price, atmosphere
Guest
Riadre
Points +18
This place is excellent!! - Edit
For the open buffet, staff are very friendly, food options are all delicious. Not that it is RM 2.60 for 3 choices+rice no matter how much you get, + 60sen for each additional option.
Read morePros: cheap, delicious, friendly
vegiemelb
This is a troll review which understates the cost of a meal at this restaurant. There really are some weird people around.
Read moreRiadre
Sorry, this wasn't meant to be a "troll" response. This was how much my understanding of the prices of the buffet were, I have might be wrong?? Or the prices might have changed. If so someone please put up the correct prices!
Read moreGuest
vegelover
Points +336
My favorite vegetarian place in Penang - Edit
Since I was a teenager, this has been my favourite place for vegetarian meal. We tried out their next door as well, love the chicken chops, satays.
Read morePros: Variety
Cons: Hard to park at times
Guest
freeprincebandar
Points +305
menu items - Edit
try the black pepper udon noodles, they are good
Read moreskip the rojak and french fries
Pros: easy to find, indoor, air con, decent food
Cons: not every item is a winner
Guest
Thumpersnaps
Points +21
OK if you don't mind sinning. - Edit
It's probably best to head here if you're a fan of mock meats and over cooked veg, or don't mind a break from the health regime. At first glance on arrival (midweek) the buffet looked great, but after choosing a seat and returning to closer inspect/dribble over/pile up on a selection of the 15 or so dishes, I was a little disappointed. There were only four dishes that were solely veg based, the rest were greasy mock meat curries. Of the four veggie dishes, the sliced spuds in a thin brown sauce looked unappetising, the two sweet potato dishes, (one plain, one with a spicy crust) were overcooked, but the stir fried greens, I'll give them credit, were freshly prepped and enjoyable. I did try a mock meat option and the sauce tasted good, so if you like that sort of thing, you won't be disappointed.
Read moreThat's not to say this wasn't a meal to sniff at completely, we're all allowed a bit o' grease every now and then, but it would be nicer to have more veg based options on the table.
Pros: Big selection, Friendly Staff, Fast
Cons: Greasy, Few solely veg options
Guest
leon48
Points +102
Veggie - Edit
If you look for good vegetarian food more western like - away from noodles and very spicy indian cuicine - you have found it her.
Read moreGuest
nafanc
Points +1615
amazing place - Edit
This place is awesome. Penang is famous for its food, which is quite heavy on meat and seafood, so I was worried that I would miss out on the local flavors. But Ee Beng saved the day. With their fresh and highly-diverse buffet selection, I was able to get a taste (or two or three) of the local cuisine, vegan style! The self-service buffet is especially great for someone like me, who likes to try everything, especially if it looks unfamiliar.
Read morePros: Great variety, Tasty, Cheap
Guest
Amity J
Points +25
Tasty! - Edit
Ate here a few times this autumn while staying in Georgetown. Good selection of western and Asian vegetarian food. Heavy on the soy protein/mock meats, but oh so tasty! Quick service and nice juices.
Read morePros: tasty, inexpensive, good juices
Guest
PatriciaRobinson
Points +36
reliable and good - Edit
We went here almost everyday for a week for lunch. I have no idea what's up with dinner because it sounds like people don't like it, but lunch is great. They have a huge buffet with all different types of greens and curries, and mock meat dishes. If you don't like mock meat, don't worry-there is plenty of stuff without faux meat that is delicious. The only complaint is that the food is a tad oily. It;s hard to find anyplace that doesn't oil up their veggies around here. All in all though, the amount of oil was acceptable-but definitely more than I would use for home cooking.
Read morePros: Lots of veggies, great selection
Cons: oily, same selection day to day
Guest
eatinggreen
Points +608
Not our kind of place - Edit
We came here with high hopes, as it is the top ranked restaurant on HC so we assumed it would be a treat. The exterior looks nice - different from the typical run down hole-in-the-wall veg place often found around Asia. Upon sitting down on one of the very small stools provided and checking out the menu though, it soon became apparent that it was going to be a struggle to get a good meal.
Read moreFirstly, most of the dishes are only available on certain days of the week, so the choices are very limited. We were unfortunate in that neither of the 2 choices for that day were what we felt like eating. That meant we were left to choose from the everyday menu but upon enquiring which they could make without MSG, we were left with some green leaves and nothing much else. Even if you are willing to swallow a gutful of chemicals with your food, the nutritional value of the choices on offer were decidedly poor.
So we left and went for some Indian, never to be back. Why this place is rated above Lily's we cannot fathom - there must be a lot of junk food vegetarians in this town.
Pros: clean environment
Cons: limited menu, MSG, oil, mock meat, not nutrititional
Guest
simpsonyellow
Points +235
Excellent - Edit
What a great place! After a couple of attempted visits over the past year, both of which found the place closed despite being during their opening hours, we lucked out on our third attempt and finally got to sample their buffet lunch - and we were definitely not disappointed. There is a *massive* variety of dishes to choose from, mostly mock meat based, but there were also quite a few tofu dishes, veggie curries, and sauteed greens on offer on the day we visited.
Read moreThere's a price list for drinks and, from memory, a couple of desserts on the wall, but there's no formal pricing for the buffet. The staff will just base the price on the type and quantity of food on your plate. Not that that's any reason to hold back. We had two absolutely huge plates of food (more than either of us could eat, but we had to sample as many of the goods as possible), and the total came to RM15.
Though I didn't have room to test it, there's also a steam bun display out the front of the restaurant, with various flavours ranging from lotus bean paste to char siew.
As noted by others, the food is kept reasonably warm on the buffet, though not piping hot. If you're keen on a veg buffet with a lot of options, I highly recommend this place for a cheap lunch. Just don't expect fine dining.
Pros: Wide variety, Very cheap
Cons: Slightly unreliable opening hours
Guest
Petesternz
Points +1447
A real find - and great value - Edit
We went to EE Beng for lunch, and it was excellent. A huge buffet with at least 30 options, we did not taste anything we didn't like. Lots of mock meat, noodles, vegetable dishes and many things we can't even describe, this was quite the treat. Friendly staff as well. It was also exceptionally cheap, at about 6RM a plate (a huge plate). Well worth the trip. We arrived late for lunch, which made us worried, about 3 pm, but everything was still reasonably warm and in good condition.
Read morePros: great value, super food, friendly staff
Guest
stanleysng502
Points +43
Highly recommended - Edit
Was there a few years ago. Stay in Penang for 6 days and everyday I partronise only this outlet. Why? Firstly nearest to my hotel along Upper Penang Road and secondly wide variety of dishes to choose from at reasonable prices.
Read moreEarly in the morning there is a stall outside the restaurant selling 2 types of noodles dishes. Although the portion is small it is only RM$1.50! Suggest you order 2 portions instead.
Opposite the Police Headquarter. Very friendly boss and staff.
Pros: Variety,, Reasonable price, welcome atmosphere
Cons: Crowded during peak hours
Guest
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