Penang | Ziggy

Penang is all about the local food, to keep the tradition of local hawkers, the Penang government forbids locals hiring foreigners to man hawker stalls, they have to be owner occupied, and owner operated. Many such hawkers are also allowed to operate from the road side, even in the city centre of George Town.

I think the main local dishes are Hock Kean Mee (Hokkien Mee, Prawn Noodles), Char Koay Teow (Fried flat white Noodles), Loh Bak (Dark Gravy Minced Meat Sausage), Asam Laksa and Koay Teow Thng (Flat White Noodle Soup). Peranakan or Nyonya food are almost in abundance, as well Fujian (Hokkien) based cuisine, as many local Penangites are Peranakans, and the Chinese population mostly come from Fujian province 100 over years ago.

Other interesting local food would be Oyster Omelette, Bak Kut Teh and Nasi Kandar. There is also their Curry Mee, which was a shock to me thinking it was Laksa. Turned out to be a little bit like laksa, but with pork liver and pig's blood as ingredients, nothing much else, just a little bit too much Tony Stark (IRON man...) for me...

I come here quite often since my sister married a Penangite, found this place very nice during my first visit in my adulthood when they got married and have been coming back once or twice a year.

Below are some places I like to visit whenever I go to Penang, all introduced to me by local friends and family, it would cover most of the must try food items. I have listed:

1. Hokkien Mee (Prawn Noodle),

2. Char Kaoy Teow (Fried Kway Teow, or flat white noodles),

3. Loh Bak (Minced Meat Roll, or in Singapore they are called Ngo Hiang),

4. Koay Teow Thng (Kway Teow Soup),

5. Peranakan,

6. Pancake which can be savoury or sweet dessert(Ban Cheang Kuih),

7. Cantonese food, dim sum place

8. A mixed rice stall at Ayer Itam, a place in the "rural parts", a town which is at the foot of both Penang Hill and Kek Lok Temple. A place people can visit while going to these 2 hot spots. Here you see what real local Penang people live.

Will slowly add more, but I believe the above are good for a short stay which will help you cover all the local delights, and they are what I believe to be exceptional even compared to elsewhere.

Penang Hokkien Mee (Prawn Noodle)

Oct 2023

Excellent exciting and exceptional Hokkien mee (prawn noodle)

At Solok Moulmein’s corner, there are 2 coffee shops there, they’re directly opposite the police station, both boast some exceptional food stalls, if there is one place you must visit in Penang for food, it is here. It would have all the local food available in just 2 shophouses, and of good quality.

The Hokkien mee (prawn noodle) here is famous, closes at 9am, was here once at 845am and I was lucky as I took the third of last 3 bowls!

This is Lean Huat Hock Kean Mee at Kedai Kopi Swee Kong. Despite them being very popular, there was hardly any wait for the food, ordered mine and it was delivered before I finished taking photos, and ordering some equally popular apom at the next door (30 mins wait).

The Hokkien mee was mouth watering, and head watering too… it was very spicy, and I did not add the chilli provided into the soup, but it was towards the end when I reached the chilli that the spiciness finally got to me and sweat started popping.

Like all Hokkien mees in Penang, shrimps and pork slices, and some fried shallots were the only ingredients. What stood out here is the extreme savoury of the soup, and spiciness of course. One sip of the soup and its popularity was understood right away. Eyes light up moment and I immediately had to tell my present company this was excellent, those that bothered to acknowledge only bothered to nod, they continued eating without looking up.

Definitely a must try place, make sure to come early. It may be tempting to order 2 bowls as the serving isn’t too big, but other things here are also great too!

Keat Hoe Hokkien Mee @ Kedai Kopi Swee Kong （opposite Pulau Tikus police station）

381-391 Jalan Burma, 10350 George Town, Penang

Daily 7 – 9am

Char kaoy teow

Dec 2024

Best char koay teow, according to a few taxi drivers, and me, plus my friends and family

Penang char kway teow, char koay teow, CKT for short, is something you must try. It's like Eiffel in Paris, the Great Wall in Beijing, London Bridge in London... If you haven't eaten this, and the Penang Hokkien Noodle, you can't claim to have been to Penang.

Fried thick white noodles with cockles, shrimps, Chinese sausage, bean sprouts eggs, and chilli. My opinion is that chilli is a must, to give this dish the ultimate kick, if you' can't take spicy well, at least ask for less chilli instead of no chilli, it's not that scary la! Some places, like Tiger, offer duck egg instead of chicken, go for that, it will taste better, usually just RM2 more.

Tiger CKT is my favourite. With a caricature of a horse (you can't convince me it's a tiger, I've spent more time staring at it than writing this) as their emblem,. There are 2 of Tiger stalls, this one is the original, the other run by the brother, operating just 2 doors away. Tip, try to order when the tigress is cooking, she's the one on fire, the cub needs more experience....

Dry (it's a good, very good tging), fluffy and delicious, with the chilli being the icing on top, Tiger is the king of Penang CKT. It has the extra flavour that steams out your mouth as you consume.

I had been trying CKT around Penang "for years" (I visit only about once or twice a year, and only since 2017...😝), found them nice but not exceptional until I met Tiger...

They recently (early 2024) moved over to the current place from down the road, so Googling might have a different address. They've moved closer to the brother.. haha.. sibling rivalry. I think it's just coincidence though.

I have tried both, they are pretty similar. The brother Tiger started because a new operator started a coffee shop and invited several better known hawkers to join, so they sent the brother. I found it very funny that when I left Tiger, I bumped into another after walking a few steps.

Tiger Char Koay Teow @ Star Hotel Coffee Shop

246 Lebuh Carnarvon, 10100 George Town, Penang

8am - 2pm, closed on Sun

Loh Bak

Dec 2024

Chef Bomber dropping the bombs

Old Green house Restoran boasts some very good stalls, but Bomber stands out, despite some Michelin and other accolades around.

Penang has a lot of wonderful loh bak, or meat rolls, but this one stands out, despite some Michelin and other accolades around.

There is no way to pick a best, too many good ones, too many styles with subtle differences. I like Bomber's and will come here at least once every time I visit Penang.

Fresh crisps skin with equally fresh minced meat that is subtly sweet and delicious, each mince can be savoured individually, feels like you get more out of each bite. Love it, love it, love it!

Fresh crisps skin with equally fresh minced meat that is subtly sweet and delicious, each mince can be savoured individually, feels like you get more out of each bite. Love it, love it, love it!

What else is good:

1. The signature salted fish bean curd

2. Other rmeat olls

3. Spring roll

4. Fried beancurd skin

5. Beanspout puff

Essentially everything on the 2 left most trays of the stall, plus one on the extreme right.

Avoid: century egg, sausages which you, and Chef Bomber, buy from the supermarket. Anything from the supermarket tray (2nd from right) should be skipped

Salted fish bc was tasty, salted fish taste light, just added delicious savoury to the otherwise dull bc. Frustration for the vegetarians but a joy to the rest

The other meat rolls were likewise fresh and delicious. As well the spring roll, so fresh the skin was crispy and crunchy, the turnip strips within equally fresh, subtly sweet, giving some contrasting crunch. A joy for vegetarians and the world!

Fried beancurd skin was also very fresh and crunchy, with a very soft after crunch that was lovely. Lightly salted to give taste, this would also be a joy to the vegetarians and the world over.

Bean sprout bao was a bit like the spring roll, different pastry so less crunchy, and with sprouty crunchy goodness without the subtly sweet. Joy to the vegetarians and the world, including the ghouts and the diabetics!

Chef Lai the Bomber is a very friendly chap too, assisted by his son who nows does most of the frying at the back. Very happy to know this stall has a successor! I'm probably the only one to call him the Bomber, his stall is officially Green House Loh Bak, but he introduces his beancurd in the signboard as "Bomber's salted fish beancurd", hence Bomber (炸丹佬). Maybe I can call him the Boomer Bomber!😝😂😂😂

Old Green House Loh Bak ( BOMBER Loh Bak)

223 Jalan Burma, 10050 George Town

4pm - 1145pm, closed on Sun

Koay teow Thng

Dec 2024

Delicious duck based koay teow tng

Koay teow thing (KTT) can be one of the 4 dishes that should be experienced in Penang, after Hokkien Mee, char koay teow and the loh bak.

KTT means flat rice noodle soup in Fujian dialect. Emphasis is on the soup, which is a broth of any or a combination of these, chicken, pork, anchovies, fish balls and duck. Duck seems to be the odd speciality, as most locals would differentiate between hawkers that include duck meat or not.

Tai Gu Ao (TGA) is the typical one, stands out as "the best" by its fans "because they use duck in their soup". If only it is so easy to be the best, I'd be the best twice over adding 2 ducks instead of one....🤪🤪

Needless to say, they're not the only one that includes duck in their broth, and I'd admit that I have 3-4 local friends and if 2 of them tell me it's the best, it is....😁 We do have preference for TGA, mainly because we think it tastes excellent, with an big added bonus that we used to be able to order our favourite TIGER char koay teow (Tiger has shifted jungle) from next door as well.

Nice clear broth, so rich and flavourful I call it a consomme. My simple taste buds really can't pick out any duck flavours but I love this one a lot! Each bowl of KTT comes with shredded chicken, pork slices, fish cakes, bean sprouts and of course shredded duck.

You can also order a extra plate of duck, or bean sprouts if the portion is too small. The portion is unlikely to fill anyone that "loves to eat". The extra duck would be chopped out from a whole duck so it would be different, and nicer than the shreds. The bean sprouts are excellent too, fresh and pudgy they are deliciously crunchy, like Ipoh bean sprouts. A bowl of fish balls is another option to fill stomach space.

Satu Satu Tiga 113 Coffee Shop (Tai Gu Aou Koay Teow Thng)

113 Lebuh Melayu, 10100 George Town

7am – 3pm, closed on Sun

Ban Chang kuih (folded peanut pancakes or apom)

Dec 2024

My favouritest stall in Penang

Ever since I saw this pancake truck during my visit to Penang in 2015, this is the place I must visit each time I'm back, at least twice! It really doesn't have a name, just a truck with the owner's name, like almost all Penang hawkers, all they display as a "name" would be what they sell.

From a small truck, Mr & Mrs Tan sell ban Chang kuih (BCK), or folded pancakes, or as I call it, apom, with a variety of fillings. Peanut pieces is the basic, there are about 12 flavours that you can choose from, like sweet corn, peanut butter, chocolate, strawberry, cheese, banana, ham, have a look at the list below.

The truck is parked at the side of the road, along Solok Moulmein, which is opposite and perpendicular to the Pulau Tikus Police Station, in between 2 famed coffee shops there, a must visit for anyone who wants to have a taste of local Penang food.

I will always come here early as only early birds get to catch the Hock Kean Mee noodle in the coffee shop, which always sells out by 915am. I will also always leave stomach space for 2-3 pieces of pancakes....

Take your pick of flavours, mine would be the basic or with peanut butter and the cheese. Sweet corn and the basic are probably the most popular, these 2 flavours being the original before BCK modernized to include more "western flavours".

Working up a sweat, Mr Tan would heat the BCKs while the Mrs collects payment and packs the pancakes. He has 8 flat heat pans so 8 pancakes can be done simultaneously, but he is so popular you might have to wait 10 minutes at times. You don't see any Q's or people milling around, some would order, pay and collect later. If you don't pay first, they might just not cook your cake until you return, when they'd cook yours immediately, a short 2 minutes ' wait; if it happens there is one waiting for collection they'd give it to you right away.

Crunchy and crispy, these buttered pancakes are delicious. An unfolded cake is about the size of a small palm. The only downside is that they are best eaten fresh, after 15 minutes, they turn soggy and half the fun is gone.

Go get one, or three, and if you see me there, say hi! ☺️

Tan & Tan Ban Chang Kuih Truck

Solok Moulmein (road side, in front of 77 Food Yard, opposite police station)

6am - 2pm, closed on Mon

Nyonya/Peranakan

Dec 2024

Nice environment, good service and excellent food

My brother in law's parents, being from Penang, has always been extraordinary hosts whenever I visit. They have brought me to many places, this one tops the list. In terms of food tastes, they are up there, but everything else, they score much better than everyone else.

Located in the compounds of Yeng Keng Hotel, a rustic 18th century styled Chinese wooden building, this was a fantastic appetizer (for the eyes and camera)! Although the restaurant is a more modern annex, it still dates back at least to the 1970's. Suitably renovated, it provides a great ambience.

The staff here are diligent and courteous, not afraid to give opinions respectfully what is best for us, then owned up to a mistake and immediately compensated us with a good solution.

What’s good:

1. Beef/mutton rendang

Everyone's favourite dish, by far the fastest to empty. My uncle, a man of few words, had to tell everyone it was fantastic. I loved it so much I saw there were a lot of paste leftover and asked for that to packed and brought back to Singapore, made for a delicious bread dip. Staff was so nice they added more for me to bring home!😝🤤🤗

Tender was the meat, easily sliced at the slightest touch. Rendang paste not spicy but a delicious savoury with a hint of sweet.

2. Jiu hoo char

A mix of shreds. Cuttlefish, turnip, carrot, cabbage, mushroom mixed with sambal and fried. Served moist with some lettuce as wrap. Wrap this in lettuce or take it down with rice, scrumptious either way. Not at all spicy unless you include the chilli sauce provided by the side, but umami with a good crunchy bite of all the above ingredients. I prefer mine with rice, the fragrance of rice seemed to help boost its taste.

3. Pie tee

This is jiu hoo char served with a cup pastry you can hold with 2 fingers and the thumb. The moist mix softens the crispy pastry so you got to eat it very soon after filling the pie tee. Best is to have 2 types of crispy crunch, while at times you long for a full unsoftened crunch so you try to fill it right in front of your mouth and shaft it down immediately...

I can't decide if i prefer this with pie tee or rice. The pie tee was a smaller portion than the jiu hoo char, this might help you decide if you want to order both.

4. Chicken

Decision time. They have 3 styles of chicken, all nice in their own ways. A small portion of chicken is served in 5 good sized pieces, good for an individual but can be shared with mild dissatisfaction between 2... The pieces for the inchi kabin seems smaller, I wouldn't want to share my piece!

I prefer the inchi (fried) followed by the kapitan (curry), then the tau yu (dark sauce). Fried chicken had a very rich umami taste, deep and delicious. Fried without batter so it was all about good flavouring and this was very well flavoured.

Curry chicken, this was a dry curry. Like the rendang, there were left over curry paste so that was packed too. The rendang was definitely much better but this was well above average too. Curry not spicy but savoury and laced with wonderful mix of spices yo give a good curry, very typical Hainanese curry with corn flour influence.

Tau yu chicken, though delicious, was more similar to most. Hence my last preference here.

5. Sambal hae bae with petai

Petai is a bean termed smelly, more from the fact that you smell it in your pee afterwards. The bean itself is not pungent in taste or smell, though it has a very mild ammonia taste on first bite.

Hae bae is dried shrimp powder or floss. Really good stuff here in Penang. The sambal, shrimp paste based chilli, was not too spicy, but full of flavour. These 3 combined to give a fragrant and delicious dish I would put this as my 2nd dish to go for.

6. Chicken or mushroom pies

Please call to pre order. Excellent pies. Very nice and all, but not exactly local nor nyonya. It is kind of special, probably one of the better ones in Penang but this is an item found almost everywhere on earth.

7. Nasi Ulam

Very tasty fried rice!

I have to admit there are quite a few items I have yet to try, so far, everything I've tried has been excellent, not just didn't disappoint.

Ok, maybe their otak didn't hit me well, it was a bit too gingery for my liking, so it was more a personal preference, but surprisingly, my above-mentioned uncle also mentioned the otak here was the only one less tasty than another Peranakan place's. To be honest, I felt both otak were not fantastic 😆😆

Please also pardon the lack of photos for some food items. I remember tasting them and realised it was before this website started, so I could not find the photos! May have been deleted, but here are some of the hotel.

Just to the left of the hotel (turn left as you leave the hotel), about 200m away, is Love Lane, where all the pubs are, so if you're here for dinner, you can just walk over and enjoy a few drinks!

Hainantown @ Yeng Keng Nyonya Restaurant

366 Chulia Street, 10450 George Town, Penang

1130am - 3pm, 6 - 10pm, closed on Mon

Takeouts: 11am - 7pm

Deliveries: 11am - 1pm

https://m.facebook.com/yengkengcafebar/

Dim Sum, Tze Char

Dec 2024

Dim sum restaurant where everything else is nicer than their dim sum

Even their Chinese tea! The pu er here was one of the better ones I’ve tasted, Tho Yuen really got me at “hello’. The restaurant retained it’s 70’s style decor, from signboards to booth styled seats. Took my first sip of tea, and instant satisfaction. Double happiness of sight and taste.

Curiously, my sister who brought me here didn’t order much dim sum, but a few noodle and seafood dishes. Dim sum came in push carts, old school stuff, pick whatever you want, and a big poster frame shows you their 12 signature items. I’ve not seen their menu! This could be all there is.

I’ve not tasted other tea here, the pu er had been very memorable so it’s been that since first visit, I should try something else.

The dim sum was memorable for being forgettable... If you want to be nice, there are really some good things to say about a few items with honesty. Like the yam puff was filled with a lot delicious char siew, though cold and old, was nice. The pastry portion thin and char siew filled the entire puff. I can’t single out any items that was special, they were all pretty average stuff.

The noodles are what is worth a visit here over and over again. Their chao fan shu (fried potato, or item 4 on the poster) was brilliant. It is simply fried bee hoon and hor fun mix, with char siew, prawns , pork slices and fish balls. Full of wok hei or intensity, its flavours seemed to be trapped by a force, went with it into your mouth,then into your stomach, retaining the satisfactory goodness there for a while.

Equally wonderful, or at least interesting, is their ‘hong tu mian’ (item 6 in the poster). It’s fried yi noodle served in a bowl of porridge, with same ingredients as above. I’ve not seen this dish before this but a friend of mine mentioned he had seen it in the old days served by Cantonese uncles in Singapore.

Sheng mian with giant prawns (item 1), steamed fish head noodles (7), and even their fried rice are other items really worth trying. Everything on the board, if you have the stomach space, can be ordered. Only good news here is that there are actually 3 similar items. 3, 9 and 10 are all fried bee hoon with hor fun mix, 3 is dry; 9 with a think soup base and egg, 10 without egg...😋😂😂 The dry one would be the best of the 3!

9 and 10, like the fried vegetables and fish, were very good but they were not exceptional.

I get a very nice cosy feeling here every time I visit here. Price is also very friendlyat a spend of low RM20+ per person on average to fill you. Highly recomend this Michelin listed restaurant.

Restoran Tho Yuen

92 Campbell Street, 10100 George Town, Penang

6am – 3pm, closed on Tue

https://m.facebook.com/thoyuen/

https://www.instagram.com/thoyuen/?hl=en

Mixed Rice

Dec 2024

Tasty food of your choice from over 50 items

Ayer Hitam Market has been gaining a bit of popularity as the stopover for people visiting Penang Hill and Kek Lok Temple as it is at the foot of these 2 places.

Indeed a good place to visit, less for the quality of the food, but more for an authentic local experience. Unlike George Town, this is a real local place where ordinary folks go for a meal or their groceries. Ayer Hitam Market is a morning market, after lunch only a handful remains open, this stall is about the only that does night business.

How did I find out? The Grab driver that brought me here grew up in this area and told me not many stalls will be open at 4pm, but if I'm lucky, the awesome mixed rice stall would have started its day (during covid they operate only at night).

Fortunately it was! One of about 4 operating. I was sceptical about how awesome it can be, until I saw its spread and variety of choices available. Awesome indeed, if not the quality definitely the variety, at least 50 different choices.

Like most Malaysian mixed rice businesses, you scoop your own food. Some you scoop your rice as well but this one does that. I just picked a chicken, a pork, an egg and a vegetable dish. Covering most angles, taking smaller portions. I later realized that maybe you're likely not charged less for smaller portions. While making payments, the two ahead of me both added the loh bak, I was curious and asked the boss if it was good... Dumb question... "Of course, we made it ourselves!", and added that too.

The loh bak was good, had a nice peculiar fragrance. Definitely a good item to buy and share between friends, but if you're alone like I was, it can be passed, better loh baks all over Penang.

Everything else I picked, amazing. Delicious with rich flavours. Left the dark sauce chicken as the last one to taste, expected it to be safe but not spectacular. Turned out it was quite extraordinary, very rich and a little off the usual taste.

My verdict is that this place is really good, as many other items looked tasty too. There was a fried chicken that looked tempting, a rendang that demanded attention and some minced pork giving me the pitiful "pick me" look.... Many like these. Plus it was recommended as awesome by an Ayer Hitam local.

Maybe you can plan your day like this, breakfast here, to Penang Hill, come back for lunch at this stall, then over to the temple. Penang Hill is more open so better to go in the morning when the sun is still warming up.

Finally, Ayer (Air) Itam (Hitam) means black water in Malay, in case anyone's curious.

Ayer Itam Market Economy Rice

Pekan Ayer Itam (Ayer Itam Market annex food court), 11500 Ayer Itam

Daily 1230pm - 9pm