[Pork-free] Night-owls in Penang should make Narrow Marrow a requisite pit-stop for a coffee, cookie or toddy fix.
While Narrow Marrow adequately draws the cafe-hoppers in the day with its quirky decor, we think the cafe/bar truly comes to life after dark.
Narrow Marrow comes to life after dark
Curiously, a DJ deck was present in the premise when we were at Narrow Marrow – but with no sight of any disc jockeys.
No matter, we enjoyed listening to classic Malay tunes such as Sani by Uji Rashid and Carefree’s Ratu Dansa (Tarian Patung) being played, as we savoured our coffee and tiramisu.
Coffee and tiramisu
The Flat White (RM12) is beautifully extracted and should please any serious coffee drinkers.
It paired well with the Dirty Bourbon Tiramisu (RM18) – which as the name implies, had been spiked with bourbon whiskey, with hints of spiced chai and Valrhona cocoa.
Toddy, please!
However, the eye-opener here is definitely the bevy of Toddy drinks – a type of alcoholic drink produced from the fermentation of locally-grown palm flower saps.
They were kind enough to let us sample the Toddy neat – in which we tasted sweet notes of lychee and pandan leaves.
We enjoyed the middling sweetness of the toddy, which was not crass or sharp like hard liquor.
When drunk as part of a Mojito (RM14) – the sweetness was tempered by the sourness of lime and mint.
We definitely prefer the Toddy on its own to taste its natural sweetness.
Double Choc Cookie
Finally, the Double Choc Cookie was the last unassuming surprise of the night. The cookie arrived warm and gooey inside with a nice crispy texture, which belies its appearance. Mmmmm mmmmm.
Narrow Marrow had been on our list for some time, and it truly did not disappoint when we finally visited it during this Penang trip. It’s definitely one of our favourite cafes in Penang.
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Narrow Marrow
Address: 312, Lebuh Pantai, George Town, 10300 George Town, Pulau Pinang
Hours: 3pm-11pm Fri-Mon (Closed on Tues-Thurs)
Phone: 04-226 3083