Char Koay Teow
The origins of Char Koay Teow come from Guangdong province in China. You can find similar dishes there which are served with beef or other meats.
However, when the first migrants arrived in Penang 100 or 200 years ago, they were poor and meat was considered a luxury. So they had to improvise by substituting meat for seafood since it was in abundance on the island.
It was previously known as the working-class meal as it was cheap and had both carbohydrates and protein. The high fat content and low cost of the dish made it attractive to these people as it was a cheap source of energy and nutrients.
The Penang version differs from its KL (KL is more wet) and Singapore versions (more sweet). The dish is lighter and the Koay Teow used is thinner. You will usually find it served on a banana leaf which adds an added fragrance and flavour to it when you eat it fresh.
There is also a Malay version of this which is obviously halal. It is usually a bit more spicy and wetter than the Chinese version. It also does not contain any pork lard.
You can watch this famous Singaporean blogger travel all the way to Penang to have 23 plates of this (link).
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Ah Leng Char Koay Teow
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Curry Mee
Curry Mee—otherwise known as Curry Laksa, or Laksa—is a noodle dish with a coconut milk curry gravy (This is not to be confused with Penang Laksa or Assam Laksa, which is rice noodles with spicy and sour fish broth).
The most famous Curry Mee store in Penang is the Sister’s Curry Mee store in Air Itam. These grandmas who are 90 and 88 years old (as of 2022) have been cooking Curry Mee for 70 over years. A snippet about them from this 2014 article below;
When it comes to street food, Lim Kooi Heang, 82 and Kooi Lye, 80, are perhaps one of the island’s best living heritage examples – the sisters of Teochew descent have been selling the mouthwatering fare for over 60 years, their fame spread by word of mouth and more recently, through the social media. Their customer base has expanded to even English, Australian, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Japanese tourists apart from the locals.
It is a backbreaking job for the unmarried sisters who wake up at 4.30am to prepare the ingredients and cook the curry over a charcoal stove at their Jalan Kampung Pisang home. They then load the pots onto a bicycle and push it to their roadside stall where they start selling at 6.30am, rain or shine.
Sitting on low wooden benches, the sisters will tirelessly scoop curry from a huge aluminium pot onto bowls of blanched mee, cockles and cuttlefish until all the food is sold out by about 2pm.
Kooi Heang said they would return home for a bath and nap before preparing their special chilli paste in the evening. “We usually start frying the paste around 8pm. This is done slowly and thoroughly so that it’s well-cooked as we do not use any preservatives in our cooking. The paste is used to cook the curry in the morning,” she said, adding that they normally had dinner at 11pm and slept around midnight.
Mei’s parents say that due to age they are handing it over to their nieces to run the shop and make the occasional appearance at the store. We did not include this stop in the itinerary as it may be a bit difficult to get there with a big group but feel free to do it by yourselves or we could go if everyone insists (shop is about 20 mins away from George Town). It’s still one of Mei’s must-haves.
Hokkien Mee
Penang Hokkien Mee is a popular prawn noodle soup found in Penang, Malaysia. Sold by hawkers and street vendors, this noodle soup is popular throughout the day. It is also known as Prawn Noodles. The soup base is unique, prepared with a humongous amount of prawn heads and shells coupled with pork bones concentrated into a thick, creamy, and highly aromatic broth.
This is a dish that is basically a 7-11 dish. You can have it for breakfast, lunch, dinner or supper.
This is Mei’s default go-to post late night drinking. Mei’s breakfast version is included in the itinerary; Super Hokkien Mee at One Corner Cafe.
They open at 6.30am and would be sold out by 9am. Try getting there early and also be prepared to wait 45 mins for the food – the aunty will probably tell you not to wait as it’s going to be a long wait, but insist anyway and order other snacks while waiting.
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Super Hokkien Mee
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Penang Laksa (Assam Laksa)
Penang Assam Laksa–commonly referred to as “laksa” by Penangites and is something that many people must have when you come to Penang. This Laksa is not to be confused with the other Laksa–a coconut-milk and curry-flavoured noodle dish.
Penang Laksa is a noodle dish in spicy fish broth topped with various shredded vegetables. It is a spicy sour broth with thick white noodles. A bowl of Penang laksa usually consists of smooth rice noodles, shredded mackerel, sliced vegetables such as cucumber, onions, chillies, lettuce, common mint, laksa mint and pink torch ginger and a sweet prawn paste called “heh ko”.
Penang Laksa is what Anthony Bourdain made famous to the West on his show (link). CNN recently declared it no 7 in the world in their Best Food in the World top 50 list.
Wan Tan Mee
Wan Tan Mee is probably one of the more famous Chinese noodle dishes you will find anywhere in the world. There are usually two versions; a soup version and a dry version (with soup served separately). The Malaysian version differs slightly from its Hong Kong or China ones where there will be a serving of Char Siu and chopped chilli by the side of it.
Depending on the store you might have the option of fried Wan Tans to go with it too. The dry version is usually our favourite where it comes with thick soy sauce as its base.
Chicken Rice
I am going to estimate that I have at least eaten about 1000 plates of chicken rice in my lifetime. This was my go to food for me after school. When I was in primary school my grandfather would pick me up in his 1970s air-condless Datsun car and stop by a chicken rice store and get me this for lunch. This would be at least twice or three times a week.
The last picture on the left (Kow Loon Chicken Rice at Yummy Cottage) is the uncle’s shop that I have eaten chicken rice from since I was 10 years old.
My grandma would joke that if I kept on eating this much chicken rice, I would end up turning into a chicken. They both now have passed so this is a very sentimental dish to me.
Again like almost everything on this list so far, there are two versions of chicken rice.
The first is closer to the original Hainanese style and is basically boiled chicken or what we call white chicken (“pek chiam kay” in Hokkien). The original Hainan style is called “wen chang” chicken. After boiling a whole chicken, the leftover stock, oils and fats are then used to cook the rice thus imparting flavour into it.
The second version is the roasted version of the chicken. It is usually marinated and roasted. Its darker colour comes from adding dark soy sauce marinade. Usually you will see variants of this where they will have a darker sauce to add to its rice. Both versions come with the famous chilli with garlic.
Now Singapore has been trying to claim that the dish originates from them (along with things like Beef Rendang and Nasi Lemak). I can tell you now with great authority that this is bullshit. They may be richer than us and less corrupt than us but it originates from Malaysia. In addition to this, our food is also much better. No one travels to Singapore purposely to have their hawker food but the reverse is true.
In 2018, then Malaysian Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng joked that Singapore claimed “chicken rice is theirs (and) if we’re not careful, ‘char koay teow‘ will become theirs” one day. You heard it here first.
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Koay Teow Thng
If Char Koay Teow (CKT) is Deep Dark Techno, Koay Teow Thng (“thng” means soup) is Disco and House. Instead of being a cholesterol bomb, that CKT is, this is the “healthier” option of eating a Koay Teow dish. Koay Teow Thng consists of flat rice noodles (Koay Teow) served with a clear savoury broth. This was something my grandma ate when she was older as it is easily digestible and not oily or too fatty. There are usually three versions of this you can commonly find in Penang.
The first version is the more popular one where it is usually called Koay Teow Thng. This is usually a chicken or pork clear broth which comes with fish balls, chicken or pork meat and sometimes fish cake strips.
The second is Duck (“Aaark”) Koay Teow Thng and is a duck broth stock. It will come with duck meat on top of what you get in a regular Koay Teow Thng. Mei’s favourite is Lum Lai Duck Meat Koay Teow Thng at Cecil Street Market or Pasar Lebuh Cecil.
The third is Beef (“Goo Bark”) Koay Teow Thng and is a beef broth. It usually comes with beef balls and beef strips. This is akin to a Beef Pho though the Koay Teow noodles are different and the broth for this looks murkier. There are not many stalls of this due to the fact that Chinese who practise buddhism usually do not eat beef. Given the fact that Indians also would not eat this and the Malays too (as the meat is not halal), this dish is slowly dying in Penang with its dwindling Chinese population.
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LUM LAI Duck Meat Koay Teow Th’ng
Hon Kei Food Corner 汉记小食店
Char Koay Kak
Char Koay Kak is the delicious cousin of Char Koay Teow and is another Penang delicacy. Char Koay Kak translates to Fried Rice Cake. It shares a similar cooking style with Char Koay Teow being cooked on a high heated wok to extract out the “Wok Hei”.
However, the rice cake itself has a different texture and imparts a different flavour profile than Koay Teow. The wok is also a flatter wok than the one used in Char Koay Teow.
I would call the rice cake itself the asian gnocchi – square shaped and spongy (Mei disagrees). It is also usually seafood free and topped with “Chai Poh” or a pickled radish. Though some variations may have fish cake and other ingredients added.
Char Hor Fan
Another grandma favourite and one of her last few things she could enjoy in her old age. Hor Fan is another type of rice noodle. It is similar to Koay Teow but a bit wider and thicker. It is a Cantonese dish and the KL version is called Wat Tan Hor (or Smooth Egg Rice Noodle in Cantonese).
Char Hor Fan usually comes together with Bee Hoon (rice vermicelli) and is wok-fried to get the wok-hey before a strach-y gravy is poured on top. It usually comes with Char Siu slices, prawn and a green veg. Sometimes an egg is added to it as well.
According to this blog:
There is a saying or myth in Penang about Char Hor Fan (炒河粉)–one that is only Penang’s I am sure–if you are a bachelor and would like to win the heart of your girlfriend, you would seek out the best Char Hor Fan in town and make sure you take your girlfriend there, if possible, frequently.
And if you wanted to win the hearts of your future parents-in-laws, you would be smart enough to “ta pau” (take out) for them, too
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Lor Mee
As the Chinese population dwindles combined with the introduction of other cuisines (Australian cafe culture/Japanese/Korean), Lor Mee seems to be harder to find in Penang these days. Together with the Beef Koay Teow Thng, this could disappear from the Penang food map by the next generation if we are not careful.
Lor Mee is a Hokkien styled dish which has a dark starchy broth/soup. This is made from a combination of corn starch,dark soy sauce, light soy sauce and braised meat stock. It usually comes with an egg together with a thicker yellow noodle (similar to the one in Curry Mee) and Bee Hoon.
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Lor Bak & Prawn Fritters
A childhood favourite of mine! Lor Bak is basically pork meat marinated with Chinese 5 spice powder and wrapped in bean curd skin. It is then deep fried and eaten with Lor (similar to Lor Mee) and chilli.
You will find roadside shops selling this together with a mixture of things such as Prawn Fritters, Tau Kua (Tofu Puff), Poh Piah (spring rolls) and other things that will be deep fried.
You usually point and choose what you want and the Uncle or Aunty at the stall will cook it up for you.
Lor Bak is my mum’s specialty and will usually cook them up for special occasions.
Apart from the roadside stalls you can also sometimes find it in Chinese Restaurants or Nyonya (Peranakan) restaurants.
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Bee Hooi Restaurant
Oh Chien
Fried Oyster Omelette is a combination of fresh oysters, omelette, starch (tapioca or corn flour), coriander and chilli sauce blends. Oh Chien literally translates in Hokkien to Oyster Fried but it is actually the omelette dish that is referred to.
If you have been to Taiwan you would probably have seen a version of this too. This is because it is a Hokkien or Fujianese dish.
Lok Lok
Lok Lok is somewhat of a road side hotpot where you pick up things on a stick (meatballs, fishballs, seafood balls etc) and throw them in a communal boiling pot. Once it is ready you pay (according to the colour of the sticks) and eat it with dipping sauces.
Poh Piah & Choon Piah
Let’s start with Poh Piah. Poh Piah is a Hokkien/Fujian delicacy and is spring roll that consists of grated turnip, jicama, French beans, bean sprouts, and bean curd in a sweet bean sauce wrapped in a paper-thin crepe made from wheat flour It is then topped up with some sweet-ish sauce thus making it a wet styled poh-piah. There is also the fried version or a spring roll which I previously mentioned in the Lor Bak section.
Choon Piah on the other hand is the Hainanese version and is becoming harder to find in Penang. While similar, the skin is a bit thicker and it is usually deep fried. In Malaysia it has a Nyonya/Peranakan influence and It comes together with Worcester Sauce with bird’s eye chilli.
If you do fall in love with Poh Piah, you may also consider falling in love with one of the best Poh Piah makers in Penang (link).
According to The Star, a few days ago, a social media post by a 50-year-old Popiah seller in Penang looking for love has caught the attention of netizens. Tay Soon Teik, who sells popiah at Padang Brown, Datuk Keramat has never been in a relationship because he was too busy building his career back then. Now that he’s finally sound, he’s hoping to find the “right one,” and said that his wife will never have to go through any hardships.
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Padang Brown Popiah 柑仔園 布朗草場 印度薄餅
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Economy Rice
If you are trying to save money and need something to eat, Economy Rice is the simplest, cheapest and the most filling thing you can have. It is just rice and you get to select dishes to go with it. All races have a version of this, Economy rice being the Chinese version with Chinese dishes.
When I was studying in KL and very broke I used to eat this a lot, as I would be able to get a big plate of rice and drench it in sauces and add a meat and veg.
This is also a good choice if you are vegetarian as you can pick only the veg dishes.
Sio Bak Char Siew
I could have put this under the chicken rice section but I feel this deserves its own section. Roast Pork meat, either Sio Bak (crispy pork belly) or Char Siu (roasted pork with soy sauce) is really common in all Chinese communities anywhere in the world.
However, there is one style that I would like to point out which is from Mei’s favourite Chinese Restaurant Teksen Restaurant. Its speciality is its Sio Bak (roast pork belly) stir fried in dark soy sauce and bird’s eye chilli. It is one of the best things you will ever eat. The dark soy sauce will caramelised in the wok and its flavour profile is fatty, salty, sweet and spicy. The picture (first pic on the left) does not do justice to how good this tastes.
Chinese Restaurants (Choo Char)
Now imagine economy rice but in a nicer setting and you get your dishes freshly cooked. This is your typical Chinese restaurant with dishes that you will get anywhere in the world.
Again, you will find different styles and versions of this. There are Cantonese, Teow Chew, Hokkien restaurants around town. A typical Chinese family often goes out on the weekend and eats in a Chinese restaurant. The usual suspects which are usually ordered are a Chinese green veg, claypot Tofu, a pork dish (I normally have pork ribs), a chicken dish and always a steamed fish.
A Nyonya or Peranakan restaurant would be something different to most of you. Here is a quick brief history lesson on Nyonya/Peranakan culture.
When the first traders and merchants travelled to Malaysia from South East China to Malaysia/Indonesia/Thailand in the 1600s-1800s, they would usually be gone for many months or years. They were usually males whose wives stayed back in China to look after the family. Polygamy was a big thing back then so during their travels, many of these men took on local wives and intermarried locals. Thus in Malaysia creating Nyonya/Peranakan (so Chinese x Malay/Indo).
Maybe it was because of the times (male patriarchy) but generally most of the culture and religion that was kept from the Chinese male father. Back then as Malaya was under Western colonial rule, there were no restrictions of religion with regards to marrying a Malay as there are today. Due to obvious language reasons, Nyonyas would be both fluent in their Chinese dialect (typically Hokkien) and Malay (from their mum). What generally happens is the first generation Nyonya usually married Chinese or among themselves. There was a genetic study done in 2021 which found that in Singapore there was only about 5-10% genetic ancestry among Nyonyas or Peranakans.
Where you clearly see the influence of Malay culture is in their dress (they wear the Malay kebaya sometimes – pic 2) and also food.
Because it was back in those times where the wives did all the cooking, a new food culture developed. The first nyonya family would only know how to cook Malay/Indonesian style food but had to cater it to her Chinese husband’s tastes. Therefore the cuisine is the result of blending Chinese ingredients with various distinct spices and cooking techniques used by the Malay/Indonesian community.
My great, great grandfather (my grandfather’s grandfather) on my dad’s side married a Malay woman. What is so interesting is that when my grandmother who was pure 100% Cantonese married my grandfather, she had to learn how to make curries because that was what my grandfather used to eat growing up. Thus, that is why my dad grew up eating curries thus passing it down the love of curries to me.
Today lot’s of the dishes that I listed above have this Nyonya influence particularly in Penang. Things like Assam Laksa, Curry Mee and Chendol are the result of this influence.
The Nyonya dishes which you usually find in a restaurant are Babi Pongteh (Pork Stew), Curry Kapitan and Nyonya Kuih.
Watch this link for a history of one of the best nyonya kuih makers in Penang that recently received some Michelin rating. We’re having this catered at the wedding. https://fb.watch/hJ4VwefnNu/
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Chendul
So Taiwan has Bubble Milk Tea, South Korea has Bingsu, we in Penang have Penang Chendol. Chendol is basically shaved ice, flooded with coconut milk, drizzled with sweet palm sugar and topped off with rice flour pandan jelly (it is the pandan that makes it look green).
It is the perfect refreshing dessert on a hot humid Penang day.
The most famous Chendol store is on Penang road which is known as Penang Road Teochew Chendol. It has been around for 80 over years and people usually queue up in the hot sun just to get a bowl.
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Penang Road Famous Teochew Chendul
Tau Sar Piah
Savoury Mung Bean biscuit or pastry, is what Tau Sar Piah is. It is Penang’s third largest export after professionals leaving to Australia and take away Char Koay Teow packets brought back to KL and Singapore. People line up to get the daily fresh batch in popular stores.
The filling is made from mung beans, sugar and fried shallots (some use shallot oil), thus it has the flavour of sweet and saltiness. As for the crust or skin, it is made from wheat flour and oil – or it can be coconut oil, ghee or pork lard. It is believed that the flaky pastries of the biscuits were introduced by the immigrants of the Fujian province of China during British colonial times.
This is something that you will find at the Penang airport too and a good souvenir to bring home.
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Oh Mee
Oyster Noodles not getting any love because Dan is obviously allergic. Mei’s favourite is at Sin Lean Heang at Pengkalan Weld, and is one of her must-haves.
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