Food Hunting in Penang, Malaysia

Penang is well known for being the food capital of Malaysia; and it naturally became the foodie's favourite hunting ground for delicious food. Because of its multicultural history, you get to taste on a wide range of traditional Malay, Chinese and Indian dishes.

When I was in Penang especially in the George Town, I really enjoyed strolling down the atmospheric street between the stretch of traditional shophouses while hunting down the mouth-watering hawker and street food. Every time I visit Penang, I will be so looking forward to discover new places for good food, also at the same time I will make an effort to go back to my favourite stalls again and again to get back the taste of yesterday.

Here are some of local dishes in Penang that you may like to try out. 

1. Roti Canai

Roti Canai also known as Roti Prata, it is a fried pancake that is cooked over a flat iron pan and usually it is served with curries but some prefer to eat with sugar. My favourite Roti Canai is located at Jalan Transfer and normally I will go for Roti Canai Banjir (the roti will be torn into pieces and flood with curry); from I observed, this is how most of the locals eat.

{ Roti Canai @ Jalan Transfer }

Location: Click Here for Map
Year visited: 2014 (April), 2016 (March)

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{ Roti Canai Jalan Argyll }

Location: Click Here for Map
Year visited: 2013 (February)

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2. Kaya Toast/Roti Bakar + Soft Boiled Eggs + Coffee/Tea

This breakfast set is a perfect food to kick start a day. Kaya Toast is toasted bread with spread of Kaya (egg custard) and butter. Roti Bakar simply means toasted bread and normally the locals like to eat with Soft Boiled Eggs toppling. I really like it when the bread was toasted over charcoal because it made the bread tastes better. And not forget to go along with a cup of hot coffee or tea to have a complete wholesome meal. 

{ Kong Thai Lai Coffee Shop . 廣泰來茶室 }

Old Location: Click Here for Map
Year visited: 2016 (March)

New Location: Click Here for Map

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{ Nasi Dalcha (Roti Bakar) @ Hutton Lane }

Location: Click Here for Map
Year visited: 2013 (February), 2014 (April)

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{ Roti Bakar @ Jalan Transfer }

Location: Click Here for Map
Year visited: 2014 (April)

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3. Char Kway Teow

Char means stir-fried and Kway Teow means flat rice noodles; this is one of the most popular hawker foods in Penang. Penang Char Kway Teow usually come with a few pieces of prawns. If the Char Kway Teow master is good enough, he will know how to control the cooking to achieve "Wok Hei" the essence of the wok.

{ Ho Ping Coffee Shop . 和平茶餐室 }

Location: Click Here for Map
Year visited: 2013 (February)

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4. Kway Teow Soup

Kway Teow Soup simply means flat rice noodles with soup. Usually Kway Teow Soup served with fish balls and slices of fish cakes. In Penang, I managed try out a street stall that served with thin slices of duck meats as well. Instantly it became my favourite because Kway Teow really goes well with duck meats.

{ Chulia Street Koay Teow Soup }

Location: Click Here for Map
Year visited: 2013 (February)

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5. Wanton Mee

Wanton means dumpling and Mee means egg noodles. In Malaysia and Singapore, Wanton Mee usually served with slices of Char Siu (roasted meat), vegetable and dark sauce; depends on the stalls, some served fried Wanton and some served boiled Wanton or some served both.

{ 78 Kafe Makanan & Minuman . 美食茶餐厅 }

Location: Click Here for Map
Year visited: 2013 (February)
*Closed*

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6. Char Koay Kak (Fried Carrot Cake)

Koay Kak means square rice cake, so Char Koay Kak simply means stir-fried rice cake. In Singapore, we called it Chai Tow Kway or Char Kway (fried carrot cake) because we used radish to make the cake. As for Penang, they use rice to make the cake. Some of the ingredients used are thick black soy sauce, egg, bean sprouts, lard oil and preserved turnip.

{ Char Koay Kak Street Stall @ Lebuh Kimberley (near Cintra Street) }

Location: Click Here for Map
Year visited: 2013 (February)

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7. Chendol

Chendol is a traditional dessert in Southeast Asia and it is very popular in Penang. Basically Chendol consists of coconut milk, jelly made from rice flour with green coloring (extract from pandan leaf) and red beans. There is a very famous Chendol stall in Georgetown, most likely you won't miss it.

{ Penang Road Famous Teochew Chendul }

Location: Click Here for Map
Year visited: 2013 (February), 2014 (April), 2016 (March)

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8. Asam Laksa

Asam Laksa also known as Penang Laksa is another popular dish in Penang. The soup is cooked with chili paste and tamarind based water; and it tastes sour and a little spicy. The Asam soup is served with thick rice noodles, minced fish, vegetable and shrimp paste. The most famous Asam Laksa is located in Ayer Itam. You will surely pass by that area if you are doing a day trip to Kek Lok Si Temple or Penang Hill.

{ Ayer Itam Assam Laksa }

Location: Click Here for Map
Year visited: 2013 (February), 2014 (April), 2016 (March)

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9. Prawn Mee

Some people call it Hokkien Mee and some people call it Prawn Mee, actually they are referring to the same dish. This is a dish for prawn lovers. The broth is rich especially after long hours of boiling with prawn shells and prawn heads. And the soup is served with thin rice vermicelli, yellow noodles, bean sprouts, spinach, prawns and hard boiled egg; and usually a tablespoon of chili paste will be placed on the bowl of Prawn Mee.

{ Coffee Shop @ Jalan Kuala Kangsar }

Location: Click Here for Map
Year visited: 2016 (March)

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10. Curry Mee

The Curry Mee soup consists of coconut milk and curry. The soup is served with yellow noodles and thin rice vermicelli, and also other ingredients like fried bean curd, prawns, pig's blood cubes, bean sprouts, cockles and cuttlefish; usually a tablespoon of chili paste will be placed on the bowl of Curry Mee.

{ Coffee Shop @ Jalan Kuala Kangsar }

Location: Click Here for Map

Year visited: 2016 (March)

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11. Chee Cheong Fun

The direct translation of Chee Cheong Fun will be Pig Intestine Rice Noodles because it resembles the pig intestine. In fact, it is made of rice noodles rolls. Chee Cheong Fun is served with sweet black sauce, sesame seeds and chili sauce and it is a breakfast food commonly found in Penang.

{ Yan Kee Chee Cheong Fun . 甄富豬腸粉 }

Location: Click Here for Map
Year visited: 2016 (March)

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12. Nasi Lemak (Bungkus)

Nasi Lemak(coconut milk rice) is a popular Malay dish. The rice (Nasi) come with a rich essence of coconut and served with egg, ikan billis (anchovies) and Sambal chili paste; and it is usually wrapped with banana leaf in a pyramid shape. In some coffee shops, they served it in a plate as you can choose the side dishes based on what you like to eat.

{ Kheng Pin Cafe . 群宾茶室 }

Location: Click Here for Map
Year visited: 2013 (February)

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13. Char Hor Fun

Char Hor Fun is stir-fried flat rice noodles and sometime it is mixed with thin rice vermicelli. This dish is topped with a thick gravy and consists of prawns, pork, char siu, eggs, and vegetables. A plate of good Char Hor Fun should have "Wok Hei" the essence of the wok.

{ Bee Hooi Cafe }

Location: Click Here for Map
Year visited: 2014 (April)

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14. Fried Oyster Omelette

Fried Oyster Omelette also known as Oh Chien in Hokkien and it is another popular hawker food in Penang. The dish is a mixture of eggs and rice starch; and it is fried with fresh oysters. The omelette will be served with a sweet and sour chili sauce.

{ Sin Guat Keong Coffee Shop }

Location: Click Here for Map
Year visited: 2016 (March)

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15. Lam Mee

Lam Mee is commonly known as Birthday Noodles. Traditionally, this dish is served on someone's birthday to celebrate longevity. But nowadays, you can easily find this hawker food around Penang.

{ Coffee Shop @ Jalan Kuala Kangsar }

Location: Click Here for Map

Year visited: 2016 (March)

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16. Mee Rebus

Mee Rebus is a popular Malay Indian food in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. The dish consists of yellow noodles, fried tofu, beans sprouts with a thick sweet spicy gravy.

{ Coffee Shop @ Jalan Kuala Kangsar }

Location: Click Here for Map

Year visited: 2016 (March)

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17. Naan

Naan is an Indian flatbread baked in Tandoor which is a clay oven. This type of bread can be found in most of the Indian restaurant especially around the Little India in Penang.

{ Restoran Kapitan }

Location: Click Here for Map
Year visited: 2013 (February)

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Bonus 1. Teh Tarik @ Jalan Transfer

Teh is a cup of tea made with milk. Traditionally the brewer will Tarik (pulled) the tea by pouring from one cup to another cup and back. Usually you will see some bubbles form on top of a cup of Teh Tarik. This special drink can be easily found in an Indian Muslim drinks stall.

Location: Click Here for Map

Year visited: 2014 (April), 2016 (March)

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Bonus 2. Ming Xiang Tai Pastry Shop

Ming Xiang Tai is a pastry shop that sells quite a variety of traditional handmade pastries and biscuits. They are famous for their egg tart, it is also well known as Trishaw Egg Tart. This is a good place to shop for some souvenirs and gifts.

 Location: Click Here for Map
Year visited: 2016 (March)

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Bonus 3. Yeng Keng Cafe Bar Restaurant

Yeng Keng Cafe Bar is located in Yeng Keng Hotel. They serves Hainanese Western, traditional Hainanese and Penang delicacies. They are famous for their Hainanese Chicken Chop. I tried and like it a lot and their Char Hor Fun is also very delicious.

Location: Click Here for Map
Year visited: 2016 (March)

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If you are a person who enjoy trying local dishes while traveling, you definitely have to visit Penang. The street and hawker food culture over there is really impressive. You just have to walk around George Town, and one of the activities that you will be ended up doing should be food hunting.

Written by: Q.J.

Photography by: Q.J.