Food Stories: 1LDK Eatery

Established in July 2019, 1LDK Eatery is tucked in an ordinary residential area. It is located in a small alley and has “camouflaged” with the surrounding terrace houses as it does not has any huge signage. The owner of 1LDK eatery, Alexander, discovered this place with coincidence and immediately fell in love with the environment. Hence, he decided to bring a new life to this place.

LDK is an abbreviation frequently used in the world of Japanese real estate to describe apartments. It stands for Living, Dining and Kitchen area. 1LDK means one room apartment with a living, dining and kitchen area. Meanwhile, it is also the concept of the eatery.

Furniture showroom at 1LDK Eatery Penang

“I didn’t start this business to make money, basically, it’s just for fun. In fact, I enjoy creating my own menu with something more fusion and something that could bring out more ‘taste of Penang’ or ‘taste of Malaysia’. It is important to find your own uniqueness and always try to be more localised.”
Owner of 1LDK eatery, Alexander

The Interior

**The dining hall on the ground floor.**

Alexander’s core business is actually selling furniture. Therefore, besides selling fruit punch, mocktails, cold brew tea and pork-free dishes, 1LDK is also a furniture showroom. That is why the dining tables and chairs are different and have made every corner very instagrammable. Though the dining area is only able to accommodate few groups of customers, the eatery is very comfortable and it feels really down-to-earth.

With the dining hall on the ground floor, visitors are welcomed to visit the furniture showroom on the first floor. Through natural lighting, it has enhanced the overall look of the environment. Both eatery and showroom are bright and breezy, thus, it promotes a friendly vibe throughout the space. The simplicity of the eatery is definitely worth checking out.

The Menu

The menu is carefully crafted from the food to its beverages. Some of the bestsellers include PP (Pesto Pasta) (basil pesto, chicken chop, parmesan, optional MALA chilli oils), Mama Lala Toufu Hikiniku Don (mapo sauce, soft beancurd, mince chicken, soft egg yolk, rice), Dirty Fries (import fries, signature Nori seaweed mayonnaise, rosemary salt). Besides, there is also a new dish that will be launching soon, Oh My God Kai Sen (Penang Hokkien mee cooked in western way).

Furthermore, the signature beverages include Red Queen (watermelon, mint leaf, rose, earl grey tea), Ah Ma at the Beach (peach, chrysanthemum tea, Tie Guan Yin tea) and hotpot tea Hit the Ground (American Ginseng, dried longan, Taiwan oolong tea). According to Alexander, he created the menu through inspiration while travelling. Meanwhile, he would like to bring out the local taste through food. Hence, the dishes and drinks are more fusion.