Warong Che Limah: Nostalgic Malaysian breakfast at retro-themed diner sells out in 3 hours

As Malaysians, we take breakfast very seriously. I don’t mean fancy, overpriced Western breakfast. I mean back-to-the-basics nasi lemak and roti bakar kind of brekkie. So when I discovered that Warong Che Limah, a restaurant in Klang was buzzing with rave reviews for their 70s ambience and extremely cheap nostalgic breakfasts, I had to find out more. 

Despite arriving at 8am (the restaurant opens at 7.30am), there were already a good 60 people waiting ahead of me for their table. Yes, you’ve been warned— it can take up to an hour just to get a table here. The ambience, however, took me right back to the 70s with its colourful old-school curtains, P Ramlee music playing in the background, typewriters, and even a black and white TV. 

There’s a methodological process to ordering your meal at Warong Che Limah and each step is pretty much a waiting game (patience is key here). 

You will first be handed a restaurant pager (the one that vibrates and lights up) at your table. However, this doesn’t mean you can place your order! You are to sit at your table, and once the pager vibrates, you may then head over to the cashier to place your order. 

Once you’ve done that, it’s back to the table. Once your pager beeps, head over to the kitchen next to the counter to collect your order (there’s no table service here). The menu only has 10 dishes and the prices start from RM2.50 and goes up to RM5.50. 

But then came the question: at such affordable prices, just how good could the food be?

What I tried at Warong Che Limah

Warong Che Limah offers traditional Malaysian breakfast such as Roti Bakar Kaya (RM3) along with Telur Gedik (which is basically soft-boiled eggs) (RM2.50), Paratha Janda Gedik (RM4.50) and Lempeng Che Limah (RM4). 

I was torn between ordering the Roti Benggali Goyang (RM3.50) and the Roti King Goyang (RM5.50), but this dilemma was very quickly put to rest after I noticed that the bread for the Roti King Goyang was green in colour. How unusual and interesting— I simply had to try it!

The Roti King Goyang was truly called ‘King’ for a reason. What greeted me was a hunk of lightly toasted milk bread with a light green colour and a thick brown crust— which I discovered was actually pandan bread. The toasted pandan bread was topped with a jiggly poached egg topped with a thick drizzle of kaya spread in the shape of a ‘W’. 

You know what came next— everyone’s favourite food porn moment. Piercing the fork into the extremely delicate egg white, I had the satisfaction of watching the golden yolk ooze out. Boy, did the golden nectar ooze all over the bread and the kaya spread. It was truly a beautiful sight, oh and how my mouth watered.

I greedily dug my fork right in and tore off a chunk of the toasted pandan bread, mixed it with the kaya-egg massacre, and shoved it into my mouth. Oh happy days! The fragrant pandan bread was so light and fluffy and had this lovely sweet coconut taste from the kaya spread and the fatty yolk. Despite the thick-looking crust, it was quite crunchy and paired well with the sweet kaya spread. 

I couldn’t resist ordering the Kari Kaki Ayam (RM3) otherwise known as Chicken Feet Curry, perfect for dipping the leftover bread in. The curry was thick and not spicy and the leftover pandan bread soaked the rich curry perfectly. I’m not sure if it was the nostalgia of devouring leftover curry with bread but it was so tasty.

The chicken feet at the end were a treat (I can eat chicken feet like potato chips)— there were about 5 pieces and each piece was an absolute joy to eat because of how soft and tender it was. I took my time to eat it, popping each joint in my mouth, chewing off the skin, and sucking on each bone.

The meat came off cleanly from each joint and I ended up sitting there for 10 minutes devouring all 5 pieces. Lastly, I washed it all down with a refreshing, frothy tall glass of Iced Nescafe (RM3). 

Final thoughts

Waking up at 7am just to have breakfast at Warong Che Limah was an amazing experience, and I’d do it again. As customers happily ate, there was a professional flautist playing old 70s P Ramlee tunes in the background. The ambience, decor and food— it really brought me back to the 70s era. 

Expected damage: RM3 – RM11 per pax

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