TRAVEL MALAYSIA: Best Food in Penang - Part I

Next on the TRAVEL MALAYSIA list we are on to Penang, famous for it's food and street art. Whether you are expat or local, you come to Penang to eat! The food here is extremely authentic, with some dishes only existing in this region. It seemed fitting to kick off the Penang series with food features! This is Part I of a local guide for the best food in Penang and where to find it!

This entry comes from author: @legendchew

1. Char Koay Teow

The most famous food in the Penang food paradise is “Char Koay Teow”. A must try dish if anyone visits the Penang Island. “Char Koay Teow” is a Hokkien phrase and translates as stir-fried, flat, rice-noodles in English. The dish usually comes with these ingredients including flat rice noodles, dark soy sauce, chilies, prawns, bean sprouts, garlic chives, and egg. The taste is astonishing, a combination of heat, spice and sharpness.

Name: Cecil Street Market (850)

Address: 40-48, Lebuh Cecil, 10300 George Town, Penang

Price: RM5.50 and above

Business Hours: Monday – Sunday, 10 AM – 6 PM


2. Curry Mee

This seductive delicacy known as “Curry Mee”, is a blend of yellow and rice noodles covered with distinct ingredients such as dried tofu, prawns, pig blood curd and stewed pork. Lastly, mix it together with coconut milk, rooted in the spicy soup. An aromatic taste can be sensed far away from the soup. One bite to another the taste seems to enhance until your appetite is satisfied.


Name: Hock Seng Coffee Shop (Roadside Stall)
Address: 56-A, Lorong Perak, 11600 Jelutong, Penang
Price: RM3.80 and above
Business Hours: Monday – Saturday, 6 AM – 12 PM



3. Hokkien Char


“Hokkien Char” is a simple plate of stir-fried noodles and vermicelli. A special oyster soy sauce makes this dish along with ingredients of shelled prawns, boneless chicken, Chinese mustard green, and it is commonly served with a tiny plate of spicy shrimp paste. The paste is to make the prawn taste intensify. Note: “Hokkien Mee” and “Hokkien Char” may have similar name but they both are different dishes.



Name: Hock Seng Coffee Shop (Roadside Stall)
Address: 56-A, Lorong Perak, 11600 Jelutong, Penang
Price: RM4 and above
Business Hours: Monday – Saturday, 6 AM – 12 PM


4. Hokkien Mee

“Hokkien Mee” also known as prawn noodles is usually served with a boiled egg, dried shrimp, bean sprouts, slices of lean pork, crispy fried onion and with a spoon of chili paste. The flavour of the pork ribs & prawn head spicy soup are what make this dish unique. Note: “Hokkien Mee” and “Hokkien Char” may have similar name but they both are different dishes.



Name: Gat Lebuh Presgrave Hokkien Mee
Address: 2-32, Gat Lebuh Presgrave, 10300 George Town, Penang
Price: RM4.30 and above
Business Hours: Monday – Sunday, 8 PM – 3 AM

5. Ice Kacang

Under the hot sun, “Ice Kacang”, which translates as 'ice beans', is the best all-time dessert. The delicious combination of ice cream, red bean, sweet corn, grass jelly and palm nuts. Sweetened condensed milk is then bountifully poured over the cloud-shaved ice that melts into your mouth briskly with it's cold sweetness.

Name: Lebuh Presgrave Ice Kacang (Roadside Stall)
Address: 67-A, Lebuh Presgrave, 10300 George Town, Penang

Price: RM4 and above
Business Hours: Monday – Sunday (Thursday Closed), 5 PM – 11.30 PM


6. Koay Teow Th’ng

“Koay Teow Th’ng” defines as flat rice noodles in soup. The soup has a delightful, clear and sweet taste. A bowl of the ingredients consists of flat rice noodle, minced chicken, fish ball, fried lard, coriander and chopped scallion. An authentic secret of the soup makes the dishes irresistibly delicious.

Name: Lebuh Melayu Koay Teow Th'ng (Roadside Stall)
Address: Cross Junction of Lebuh Melayu & Lebuh Pantai, 10450 George Town, Penang

Price: RM4 and above
Business Hours: Monday – Sunday, 7 PM – 11.30 PM


7. Mee Goreng


“Mee Goreng” is an Indian-Muslim fried noodle dish. The noodles are fried with a special spicy sauce and the ingredients contain yellow noodles, chicken, egg, cuttlefish, chili paste and black soy sauce. Before eating, squeeze a quarter of lime into the dish and mix it together with the noodles. The eccentric taste is a mix of extraordinary spiciness and a sour flavour.

Name: Lebuh Melayu Mee Goreng (Roadside Stall)
Address: Cross Junction of Lebuh Melayu & Lebuh Pantai, 10450 George Town, Penang

Price: RM4 and above
Business Hours: Monday – Sunday, 7 PM – 11.30 PM

8. Nyonya Kueh


“Nyonya Kueh” is a combination of Malay and Hokkien dialect. “Nyonya” is a term meaning 'women' and “Kueh” means 'cake'. “Nyonya Kueh” is usually served as dessert and used for praying to ancestors in Chinese culture. A variety of colorful, multi-layered steam cake is widely available and commonly sold at the marketplace. The taste is usually sweet and some of it maybe savoury.



Name: Cecil Street Market
Address: 40-48, Lebuh Cecil, 10300 George Town, Penang

Price: RM0.50 and above

Business Hours: Monday – Sunday, 10 AM – 6 PM



9. Chee Cheong Chok


“Chee Cheong Chok” is a Cantonese congee made with chitterlings (pig intestines). The rice is boiled for many hours on a medium heat until it swells and floats on the top of the milky broth. It usually a plain taste before it is mixed with sesame oil or black soy sauce. The additional ingredients included deeply fried and boiled pork intestines, multiple slides of roasted pork, chopped spring onion, pig tongue and stomach. This Chinese dish is thought to be a satisfying, pleasant and healthy meal among the Chinese culture.




Name: Chok Kee Porridge Cafe
Address: 188, Lebuh Kimberley, 10100 George Town, Pulau Pinang

Price: RM6 and above

Business Hours: Monday – Friday 12:30 PM – 4.30 PM, Saturday & Sunday 8:30 AM - 1:30 PM




10. Wan Tan Mee


“Wan Tan Mee” is a mixture of Cantonese and Hokkien words. “Wan Tan” in Cantonese means 'dumpling' in English, while “Mee” is Hokkien phrase meaning 'noodle'. The basic dish is usually served with dumplings, Chinese kale, barbecued pork, garnished with chopped spring onions together with dried noodles and oyster sauce or black soy sauce. The taste is usually a sweet, gentle, mild flavor.

Name: Lebuh Melayu Wan Tan Mee
Address: Cross Junction at Lebuh Melayu & Lorong Toh Aka, 10450 Georgetown, Penang
Price: RM4 and above
Business Hours: Monday – Friday, 12:30 PM – 5 PM

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Thanks to @legendchew for his top 10 dishes to find in Penang and where to find them.

Part II of the best food in Penang coming up soon! 

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