In the north of peninsular Malaysia is the small island of Penang. It’s widely known as the food paradise of all of South-East Asia. Now that’s a big claim, and if you haven’t heard of Penang, don’t worry. We didn’t really know much about it either. Penang, and it’s capital, Georgetown, only really pops up in conversations with people who stare vacantly into the distance, mid-conversation, as they recount a sour/spicy/sweet soup that a mother/aunty/grandma has perfected for years/generations/eons, and it all comes down to the crispiness/tartness/texture of some herb/spice/sauce that is only available from a small village/region/country at certain time of day/season/century. Neither of us have visited a city to simply Eat, and it seems Penang couldn’t be a more perfect destination. So we reached out to two close friends from Malaysia, who in turn passed on recommendations from two local Penangites on the best hawker stalls (that’s street-food to you and I), to visit, and what to eat there. We highly recommend any and all of the places below and If you see us staring vacantly into the distance when we talk about Penang, you’ll now know why... DAILY EATING SCHEDULEDay 1a: Evening Hokkien Mee at 888 Presgrave Street Our first meal was the staple Hokkien Mee, or Prawn Mee as it’s known outside Penang. Yellow noodles and rice vermicelli in a spicy broth made of prawns and pork with bean sprouts and water spinach. Add in some pork, boiled egg, prawns and fried shallots. Fried chilli paste on the spoon. We had a side of Loh Bak, a five-spiced pork (but i suspect ours was chicken) roll wrapped in a skin of tofu. All washed down with lime juice. How was it? Utterly delicious. Price: 13.50 RM all together Address: 888 Presgrave Street Open: 5:30pm to 12 midnight, closed Thursdays Day 1b. Evening Poh Piah on Chulia Street We couldn’t resist these fresh spring rolls, they’re all about layers of textures. Naturally they vary quite a lot in what goes inside, but the winner here was the mixture of spicy samba and a sweet sauce, that had these devoured in seconds. Address: somewhere along the middle of Chulia Street Day 2a. Breakfast Roti Canai on Transfer Road The classic Indian-Muslim flat-bread freshly fried until crispy and golden. Our roti was mixed with an egg which overpowered the flavour of the bread a bit too much. The red curry sauce was incredible, and the chicken fell off the bone. We washed it down with a childhood favourite - Milo over crushed Ice. Price: 7.70 RM plus 2.20RMB for drink per person Address: Transfer Road, intersection with Ariffin Road Open: 6:30am to 1pm Day 2b. Lunch Assam Laksa at Air Itam Laksa This is it - the famous Assam Laksa. It mightn't look tasty, but this decades-old recipe is pretty much agreed to be the best on the island. We met a man from Kuala Lumpur who left his business meeting early, to swing past here and devour two bowls on his way to the airport. We followed with up with a freshly-pressed Sugar Cane drink. Price: 4.50 RM plus 1.50 for drink per person Address: Beside the Air Itam Market Open: 11:30am to 8pm Day 2c. Snack Dragon Beard Candy A few shopfronts up from Air Itam Laksa, this stall caught our eye as the Creator of the Dragon Beard magically pulled thinner and thinner strands of deliciousness from his hands. The halva-tasting ‘beard’ is rolled in crushed peanuts. The locals all chose peppermint flavour which probably would have been better than our pineapple one. Price: 6 RM for 6 pieces in a box Address: Beside the Air Itam Market Day 2d. Dinner Char Koay Teow at Siam Road This two-prawn noodle dish is a staple, found all over Penang and the cause of much grief between friends on who makes the best. Apparently the secret lies in the heat of the wok: the hotter the tastier. Slightly-charred flat rice noodles with minced garlic, fresh prawns, soy, bean sprouts, egg, chives and cockles. Ours had slices of pork sausage added in which now has us gazing off into the distance whenever we think of Char Koay Teow. We also had two different drinks: Gu Leng (milky and pink) and Keat Po (kind of limey with cola) - both highly recommended. Price: 11 RM plus 3.20 for drinks together Address: Siam Road Open: 3:00pm onwards, closed Mondays Day 2e. Dessert Ice Kacang We jumped off our bus a little earlier to walk a different way back to our guesthouse and decided to stop for some Ice Kacang on the way. It’s a strange mix of ingredients, with a new flavour to explore with every scoopful. Finely shaved ice is topped with sweetened red bean, sweet corn, palm fruit, dried nutmeg and jelly. Then the whole thing is drenched in palm sugar syrup, sari, rose syrup and condensed milk. Gotta try it. Price: 5 RM or so Address: All over Georgetown Day 3a. Breakfast Kok Traditional Pancakes at Weld Quay We stumbled across this stall and ended up devouring four pancakes: cheese, sweet corn, banana and chocolate. Each had crushed peanuts inside, too. Being shortly after sunrise, we needed caffeine, so went for iced coffee. Price: 11.70 RM all together. Around 2 RM per pancake. Address: At the entrance to the Clan Jetties, along Weld Quay Day 3b. Breakfast Chee Cheong Fun outside Seow Fong Lye Cafe The lady who runs this stall is awesome: she zips around like a little squirrel, handing us our Chee Cheong Fun with a huge smile on her face. The dish itself is hard to describe - it’s more about the texture of the rolled-up rice-flour strips and the flavour of the three sauces: chilli paste, shrimp paste and sweet sauce. Don’t be turned off by the shrimp paste, though, it’s renowned as being the best on the market and doesn’t leave a fishy taste in your mouth. Roasted sesame seeds are sprinkled on top. We ordered from the stall and sat inside the cafe for, you guessed it - Iced Milo, which turned out to be more expensive than the Chee Cheong Fun! Price: 2.20 RM plus 3 RM for drink per person Address: 94C Macalister Lane Open: 7:30am - 12:30pm Day 3c. Lunch Nasi Ayam We spent the afternoon at the Tropical Spice Garden, and had no food recommendations nearby, so we settled on a dish found pretty much everywhere: Nasi Ayam, or Chicken Rice. It was great, but the real treat here was the sauce. Hot and a little sweet, there are probably a few places vying for the Best Nasi Ayam in Georgetown award. Price: 5 RM per person Address: Outside the Tropical Spice Garden Day 3d. Dinner Satay at Gurney Drive Hawker Center If Malaysia is known for anything, it is the mighty Satay. Peanutty and delicious, we had a dozen sticks of ayam (chicken), kambing (mutton) and lembu (beef), freshly cooked over coals, with leaping flames charring them to perfection. Unmissable. Price: Around 1 RM per stick Address: Gurney Drive, next to the fountain Open: 6pm to 12 midnight Day 3e. Dinner Tandoori Chicken at Kapitan, Gurney Tower Down the other end of Gurney Drive, we opted for an Indian dish as a nod to the various ethnicities which have contributed to the cuisine of the region. These guys are open 24 hours and are actually a chain. Although the Tandoori chicken could have been more tender, the huge serving size, delicious naan and heavenly sauces would have this as a regular place if we lived here. Roll us home. Price: Around 12 RM per person for a meal Address: Corner of Lim Chin Guan Road and Kelawai Road. Multiple locations. Open: 24 hours, baby! Day 4a. Breakfast Him Heang This Chinese bakery is actually a retail store and their products come in lovely packaging, great for presents. The Tambun Pneah and Beh The Sor biscuits are the ones we were after. A couple made a nice start to the day. Price: Around 3-6 RM per box of 12-36 cookies Address: Corner Campbell Road and Penang Road. Multiple locations Open: 8:30am to 5:00pm, some branches closed Sundays Day 4b. Lunch Fried Oyster at Joo Hooi Cafe An omelette with fried oysters. Not really our thing, but we happened to be sitting with a lady who befriended us and insisted we try some. It’s a Penang speciality though, so if you’re ticking things off the food list, you can’t leave without having it. Price: 6 RM per serving Address: Corner Penang Road and Lebuh Keng Kwee Open: 12 noon to 5:30pm Day 4c. Lunch Char Koay Teow at Joo Hooi Cafe We think the Siam Road one (Day 2d above) tasted better, but it’s a fine line. We’d still eat this version three times a day back at home if we could. With no nutmeg drink in sight, we settled on having chrysanthemum tea instead. Price: 3 RM plus 1.50 drink per person Address: Corner Penang Road and Lebuh Keng Kwee Open: 12 noon to 5:30pm Day 4d. Lunch Curry Mee at Joo Hooi Cafe Seeing this coco-nutty deliciousness being served up had Pete insistent on trying it, even if it wasn’t a recommended dish. With crisp tofu cubes, various tentacles and three kinds of noodles, this sweet and spicy soup is probably what most people think of as a laksa. Price: 4.80 RM per serving Address: Corner Penang Road and Lebuh Keng Kwee Open: 12 noon to 5:30pm Day 4e. Dinner Duck Kway Chap at Restoran Kimberly We want to dive into a swimming pool full of this broth: it’s out of this world. And the duck itself? Unforgettable. They were out of noodles and instead gave us rice mixed in with the soup, making for a slightly weird experience. But we loved it all the same. More, please. Price: 8 RM plus 2 RM for drinks per person Address: 137 Kimberley Street Open: 12 noon to 5:30pm PLACES WE DIDNT GET TO BUT WISH WE DIDIf we had another day or two we would have added the places below. Here’s what we missed:
Special thanks to Tracey Fong, Kelvin Koh, Eve Lee and Edwin Chan for the recommendations and opening our eyes to how amazing the cuisine of Penang is!
1 Comment
Petey
9/3/2016 08:00:45 am
I just ate dinner, but reading through this post has made me hungry. Malaysian food is the absolute shit, and this stuff looks amazing.
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EMMA & PETEWe're just two Aussie's who met in London, married in Prague and travelled overland back to Australia.
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