Penang Food

Although I now live in Singapore, I still yearn for delicious Penang food. Be it a simple hawker food at the road side, or delicious Hainese curry served in a coffee shop. Penang food is simply out of this world. My favorite Penang food have to be Penang char koay teow, assam laksa and Hokkien mee (prawn soup mee). Undeniably, Penang food is top in Malaysia.

I am lucky to have grown up in the Pulau Tikus area.This area is littered with wide selection of coffee shops serving delicious hawker fares throughout the day. Close to Pulau Tikus is Gurney Drive, along which scattered many coffee shops and restaurants.

My favorite coffee shop in Penang is Swee Kong coffee shop at the junction of Burma Road and Moulmein Road. It is directly opposite the Pulau Tikus police station. The Hokkien mee at this coffee shop is unbeatable. I have been visiting this store for the last thirty years. The daughter of the original owner still runs the store, and serves the same bowl of Hokkien mee like it has alway been done for the last thirty years. The prawn soup has a sweet savory taste, and the noodle is cooked just right. Add the chili provided if you prefer it to be a bit spicy and hot like I do. This is usually my first breakfast whenever I am back to Penang. Be warned that the noodle is almost certainly sold out by 10am everyday, sometimes even by 9:30 am. So if you are not to miss out on this tasty Hokkien mee on  your next trip to Penang, try to be there before 9:30 am.

A few steps along the same row of shop houses, I usually savour a decent plate of char koay teow. The aunty fries it with lard and cockles to the right temperature. The koay teow noodle has a smooth textures, with the right smoky flavor. Though it is not the best in Penang, it is convenient for me, after my visit to Swee Kong. If I am still looking for something to further satisfy myself after the Hokkien mee at Swee Kong, I usually go to the nearby Pulau Tikus wet market to look for Ban Chean Kueh.. At the road side along the Pulau Tikus wet market  is a Ban Chean Kueh (peanut pancake) store , always the black sugar version. Apong Balik (a thin version of coconut pancake) at the store across Swee Kong is my alternative to the Ban Chean Kueh.

My favorite char koay teow store is at Lorong Selamat. Here be prepared to wait for at least 20 minutes before one is served one's share of perhaps the best char koay teow in Penang. The char koay teow is served with sumptious portion of crab meat and big size prawn, and fried pork skin (ba yu poh in Penang lingo). For visitors to Penang, don't worry if you do not know the exact shop to go. Just ask anyone you meet in Penang to take you to Lorong Selamat Ang Tau S'ng shop (Ice Kacang shop) Lorong Selamat Ang Tau S'ng as it is known in Penang, is shaved ice dessert from Selamat Lane, shaaved ice mixed with big kidney beans, sweet corns, topped with a scoop of ice crean and sarsi flavor is my dream dessert. How I wish I can have it everyday.

Next to Swee Kong Hokkien mee,my favorite is lor mee at Hai Beng coffee shop at 32, Pitt Street. The coffee shop is adjacent to Kwang Yin Peng (Penang most famous Goddess of Mercy Temple). This is the top lor mee in Penang. I will patron this store if I am find someone to drive me there. There is supposedly a branch at Jones Road and Burma Road junction (even it is near to my home in Pulau Tikus), but it is never as good as the original at Pitt Street.

Air Itam assam laksa is the de facto assam laksa in Penang. Located at the Air Itam market, the famed Air Itam assam laksa never fail tingles my taste bud. The bowl of sour course rice noodles is what I yearn for whenever I am back to Penang. A visit to the nearby Kek Lok Si temple (a tourist landmark) and a bowl or Air Itam assam laksa combined to anchor any visitor an unforgettable Penang experience.

For lunch, Sin Kheng Aun at Chulia Lane is my favorite restaurant. The Tao Tay Gulai (Pomfret curry), as well as Liver and Pork served in the unique Hainanese flavor are something that cannot be found elsewhere. Another heaven selection is juicy, tangy assam (tamarind) prawns, plus the sambal belachan make it perfect combination.The fried mixed vegetable and fishball cabbage soup complete my usual selection.

For the evening, I head to Gurney Drive Song River coffee shop. My day will be completed by enjoying a selection of baked fish (usaully sting ray), satay, popiah, char koay teow. Nearby Gurney Drive Hawker Center is an alternative haunt for me. The hawker center is located Gurney plaza and Sunshine Tower. At the Gurney Drive Hawker Center. I look variety of hawker fare, especially the rojak with cuttlefish.The evening visit to either of Song River or Gurney Drive Hawker Center places typically round up my balek kampong (back to the root) routine. I can now go back to Singapore happily till the next visit to Penang.

My Singapore friends are traveling to Penang this week and they asked me if I could reccomend some good Penang food, coffee shops and restaurants to them. I called up three of my brothers to get the lastest update on the Penang food scene from them. I was back in Penang end of late month and together my brothers have compiled the following good Penang food and the selected coffee shops. I have added * or ** next to our favorites.

Assam Laksa

Kek Seng Cafe 382-384 Penang Road -daytime

*Air Itam market center- de facto Assam Laksa of Penang, day time

Swee Kang coffee shop, Burma Road, also serve good Lemak laksa. Have the best of both world- Assam-Lemak Laksa, opposite Pulau Tikus Police Station, pm

Bah Kut Teh

*Carnation Cafe, Bak Kut Teh, Penang Style, Gurney Drive-morning and afternoon

Ban Chuen Koay(Peanut Pencake)

Pulau Tikus Market road side, near Moulmein Road -morning

Char Hor Fun

*Tho Yuen restaurant, Campbell Street -daytime

Ko Loor, McAlister Road (closed on Sunday)

Bee Hooi Coffee Shop, Burma Road, at night

Char Koay Kak

Coffee shop at Macalister Lane, near Jalan Burma junction -morning

Char Koay Teow

Song River Cafe, Gurney Drive -night

*Macalister Road sister Char Koay Toew-day time

*Lorong Selamat coffeeshop (also famous for Ice kachang)

Bee Hooi Coffee shop at night

Chendol

*Roadside stall at Ah Quee Street/Penang Road junction -day

New World Park

Padang Brown hawker complex -afternoon

Chicken Rice

*Tho Yuen restaurant, Campbell Street -daytime

Coffee shop at Penang Road/Sri Bahari Road junction -afternoon

Bata Lanchang Market

Chinese Pasembur(Cheh Hu)

Padang Brown hawker complex -afternoon

Gurney Drive main hawker center -night

Batu Lanchang Market- morning and afternoon

Curry Mee

*Coffee at the junction of Bangkok Lane and Burma Road

Lorong Seratus Tahun -morning

Bee Hooi coffeshop, Pulau Tikus Lane/Burmah Road Junction -morning

Coffee shop in front of City Stadium, Datuk Keramat Road -morning

Dim Sum

*Tho Yuen restaurant, Campbell Street -daytime

*Tai Tong Restaurant, also sell delicious yi fu mee, Cintra Lane,-whole day

Fish Head Beehoon

Sky Cafe, beneath Sky Hotel, Lebuh Chulia -night

Golden Eagle Cafe, Jalan Burmah -morning

ThoYuen restuarant, Campbell Street, serve good Dim Sum here -day

Fried Oysters

*Coffeeshop, Kimberley/Carnavon Street junction (2pm-5pm)

So Young Cafe, Jalan Tan Sri Teh Ewe Lim (Batu Lancang) -night

Hainanese Food

* *Sin Kheng Aun, Tow Tay Gulai (Pomfret Curry), Fried Pork & Liver, Chap Choy soup, Chulia Lane, off Chulia Street.

Hokkien Prawn Mee

Super Cafe, Rangoon Road.

*Swee Kong coffeeshop, Burma Road & Moulmein Road junction, opposite Pulau Tikus police station- sold out by 10am only

*Song River Cafe, Gurney Drive -night

*Classic Coffeeshop, Jalan Perak

Ice Kacang

Roadside stall, Swatow lane -afternoon

*Coffeeshop Lorong Selamat.-afternoon till night

Kek Seng Cafe, 392-384 Penang Road -daytime

Indian Mee Goreng and Mee Rebus

*Larut Cafe, Jalan Larut/Bawasah Road junction of CRC fame -afternoon

Coffeeshop, Clarks Street/Hutton Lane junction (6pm to 11 pm)

Mini hawker complex along Gurney Drive of Edgecumbe Road fame -from noon

Indian Pasembur

Gurney Drive main hawker center -afternoon to night

Esplanade hawker center -evening

Joo Hoo Eng Chai (Cuttlefish)

*Song River Cafe, also try the Baked fish or Sio Hu. Gurney Drive -night

Koay Teow Soup

Hai Onn restaurant, Burmah Road near Macalister Lane junction - morning

Backlane between Lebuh Dickens and Jalan Hutton, near police HQ - morning

Koay Chap

Cathay coffee shop, Pulau Tikus

Lok Lok

Padang Brown

Lor Bak

Kheng Pin coffeeshop, Jalan Penang/Jalan Sri Bahari junction -8am to 2pm

Coffee shop, Penang Road/Kampung Malabar junction -daytime

Lor Mee

*Hai Beng, Pitt St, across the road from Kuan Yin Theng (Goddess of Mercy Temple)

Nasi Kandar

*Line Clear, Penang Road/Chulia Street junction -morning till late night

Merlin Hotel, Union Street/Penang Street junction -morning till 2pm

Tamil Street (24hours) - first shop as you drive into the one-way street

Kassim Mustafa two outlets - Chulia Street and Bayan Baru

Popiah

Padang Brown hawker complex -afternoon

Rojak

Gurney Drive hawker center -night

Roti Canai

Hameediah Restaurant, Lebuh Campbell -noon to night

Small stall at Argyll Road opposite Odean cinema car park - morning

Sar Hor Fun

Sky Cafe, beneath Sky Hotel, Lebuh Chulia -night

Tho Yuen restaurant, Campbell Street -daytime Wantan Mee Coffee shop, Malacca Street/Anson Road market - morning

Coffee shop, Jalan Burma, opposite Lorong Selamat junction -night

Coffee shop, Jalan Burma, opposite Union Primary School

Yong Tao Foo

Padang Brown