Are you just visiting Penang or searching for some Penang street food recommendations for “where to eat”? This is the only guide you’ll ever need.
It’s time to travel to Penang and enjoy some delicious food that will make you always want to come back to Malaysia.
1. Lor Bak at Kheng Pin Cafe
First, you’ll definitely love Lor Bak if you like deep-fried Malaysian cuisine. It’s a Hokkien/Teochew cuisine with meat (usually pork), fish, tofu, and veggies.
Lor Bak is seasoned with five-spice powder and wrapped in thin beancurd skin before deep-frying and served with chilli sauce and Loh, a sweet sauce with corn starch and beaten eggs.
You can find delicious Lor Bak at Khen Pin Cafe. Many leading Singapore and Penang food blogs have praised the cafe’s Lor bak as among the best in the city.
Kheng Pin Café
Address: at 80, Jalan Penang, George Town, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia
Open Hours: Tuesday- Sunday (Monday closed)
Price of Foods: around RM 10 in total (for two)
2. Char Koay Kak at Macalister Lane
Char Koay Kak is a radish cake stir-fried with preserved radish, bean sprouts, and eggs in a thick black soy sauce.
In Singapore, it is called Chai Tow Kueh, or “carrot cake.” Char Koay kKak is delicious food. It has a lovely gummy texture and is salty and sweet.
One of the recommended places to enjoy a delicious serving of Char Koay Kak in Malaysia is at Sister Yao’s Char Koay Kak stall.
Sister Yao’s Char Koay Kak
Address: 94, Lorong Macalister, George Town, 10400 George Town, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia
Open Hours: Wed-Sun, 7 AM – 1 PM
Price: around RM5 in total
3. Seafood Popiah at Medan Selera Padang Brown
Popiah is a sort of fresh spring roll popular in Hokkien and Teochew cuisines.
It’s produced by combining finely grated turnips with a variety of other ingredients such as bean sprouts, grated carrots, pork, seafood, fried tofu, chopped peanuts, fried shallots, and shredded omelette in a thin, paper-like crepe or pancake.
For nearly sixty years, this Penang street food kiosk at Medan Selera Padang Brown has been serving seafood popiah.
Here’s a shot of the popiah expert slathering some kind of sweet sauce on our crepes before stuffing them with his mix of ingredients.
Medan Selera Padang Brown
Address: Jalan Perak, 10400 George Town, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia
Open Hours: Every day, 5:30 PM – 11:30 PM
Price: For two people, it costs RM8
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4. Lok Lok at Medan Selera Padang Brown
Lok Lok refers to skewered food that you enjoy by grabbing whichever skewers you’d like to eat and cooking them in a big pot of boiling water.
There are a variety of ingredients to choose from. Fresh seafood, meatballs, fish cakes, mushrooms, dumplings, eggs, and offal are among the most common ingredients you’ll find.
The price of each stick is shown in different colors. At the end of your meal, you’ll pay for the total of the colored sticks you’ve grabbed.
Lok Lok is a communal steamboat supper, so expect to share your table with others.
5. Oh Chien at New Lane Hawker
If you’ve been around Asia and sampled a variety of foods from various nations, you’ve most likely seen this oyster dish. It’s essentially a fried oyster-filled omelette that’s popular in many Asian countries.
Other versions often use potato starch to thicken the omelette, while the Penang version uses rice flour batter for a lighter, crispier texture.
Word of mouth says that the Oh Chi from a vendor at New Lane Hawker Centre is amazing, so give it a try when you’re visiting.
New Lane Oh Chien Hawker
Address: Lorong Baru, George Town, 10450 George Town, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia
Open Hours: Thu-Tue at 4PM – 11 PM (closed on Wednesdays)
Price: Around RM 15-20
6. Café Ping Hooi
Many people consider Char Koay Teow to be Penang’s most famous street cuisine. It’s regarded as a must-try dish in Penang, and it’s one of only a few items on this list that you shouldn’t skip.
Flat rice noodles are stir-fried in hog fat with light and dark soy sauces, chilli, Belachan (fermented shrimp paste), prawns, blood cockles, bean sprouts, chopped Chinese chives, and an egg, literally meaning “stir-fried rice cake strips.” It’s usually served on a plated piece of banana leaf in Penang.
7. Itam Asam Laksa (Air Itam Asam Laksa)
Asam laksa, like char Koay Teow, is regarded as one of Penang’s best delicacies. It’s a tamarind-based laksa, so it’s a little sourer than the popular coconut-based curry laksas in Singapore.
Penang Air Itam Asam Laksa
Address: Jalan Pasar, Paya Terubong, 11500 George Town, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia
Open Hours: Sat & Sun at 10:30 AM – 7 PM
Price: around RM6 per person.
8. Sister Curry Mee
This is known as “curry laksa” in other countries, such as Singapore.
A curry mee is an egg noodle meal with a coconut-based curry broth. Common fillings include bean curd puffs, bean sprouts, pig’s blood curd, cuttlefish, shrimp, and cockles. It’s one of the best Penang food choices that you must try.
Sister Curry Mee is one of the most iconic Penang street food booths that serves delicious curry mee.
Air Itam Sister Curry Mee
Address: 612 T, Jalan Air Itam, Pekan Ayer Itam, 11500 Ayer Itam, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia
Open Hours: Wed-Mon at 7:30 AM – 1 PM (closed on Tuesdays)
Price: around RM5 per serving
9. Carnarvon Street Koay Teow Th’ng at Pitt Street
This cup of fish ball noodle soup from Koay Teow Th’ng on Pitt Street is one of the popular dishes in Penang.
Flat rice noodles are used to make Koay Teow Th’ng, and then it’s served in a clear soup broth. Fish balls, pork pieces, poultry, browned garlic bits, and chopped scallions are sprinkled on top. It’s frequently served with a soy-vinegar sauce and chopped red chillies on the side.
Pitt Street Koay Teow Th’ng
Address: 183, Lebuh Carnarvon, George Town, 10100 George Town, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia
Open Hours: Tue-Fri at 8 AM – 1 PM, Sat at 8 AM – 12:30 PM, and Sun at 8 AM – 12 PM (closed on Mondays)
Price: around RM 8.5
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10. Mr Por’s Duck Koay Chap at the Legendary Restoran Kimberly
Koay Chap is a Teochew noodle soup made with large, flat rice noodle rolls and served in a black soy sauce broth.
Pork, duck, offal, fishcakes, vegetables, and a hard-boiled egg are among the components cooked with spices such as star anise, cloves, cinnamon, and five-spice powder.
Restoran Kimberly makes their Koay Chap using duck and serves it with either noodles or porridge.
Restoran Kimberly
Address: 135, Lebuh Kimberley, George Town, 10100 George Town, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia
Open Hours: Fri-Wed at 3 PM – 10:30 PM
Price: around RM 8 per serving
11. The First Famous Federal Restaurant Duck Rice
Many food bloggers have mentioned this restaurant for having delicious and worth-trying duck rice.
The duck dish that’s served here is pi pa duck, an air-dried and deep-fried duck that’s formed like a Chinese musical instrument, the pipa.
First Famous Federal Restaurant
Address: 3, Lorong Susu, George Town, 10400 George Town, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia
Open Hours: Tue-Sun at 11:30 AM – 4 PM
12. Chulia Street Apom
Apom or apam is a traditional Indian food that became popular in Malaysia.
Sugar, eggs, coconut milk, and flour are used to make Apom Manis. The batter is then put into miniature clay pots or mini-woks to make thin and crisp edges around a fluffy center.
It’s a light Malaysia food, both on the wallet and on the taste buds. It doesn’t taste overly sweet, so you can eat a couple in one sitting.
Apom Lebuh Chulia
Address: 294 A, Chulia St, Georgetown, 10200 George Town, Penang, Malaysia
Open Hours: Tue-Sun at 7 PM – 11 PM (closed on Mondays)
Price: around RM 0.5 per piece
13. Chendol at Lebuh Keng Kwee
Chendol is a popular Malaysian delicacy made of shaved ice, coconut milk, jelly noodles, and palm sugar. Sometimes, red beans, glutinous rice, grass jelly, and creamed corn are added to the mix.
The taste is sweet and creamy, and it’s perfect to battle the hot weather when you’re traveling around Georgetown.
Penang Road Famous Teochew Chendul
Address: 27-29, Lebuh Keng Kwee, George Town, 10100 George Town, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia
Open Hours: Weekdays at 10:30 AM – 7 PM and weekends at 10 AM – 7:30 PM
14. The delicious Ah Teik Durian Lorong Susu
There’s a rave about a certain durian stall known as Ah Teik Durian Lorong Susu. Many say it serves the best durians, and numerous Penang food bloggers even promote the durian stall.
Ah Teik Durian Stall Lorong Susu
Address: Lorong Susu, 10450 George Town, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia
Open Hours: Every day from 10 AM – 10:30 PM
15. Delectable Cakes at China House
China House is a fashionable restaurant/event facility that offers cakes, not a street food stall. Some of the amazing handicrafts that are served here are tiramisu cakes, walnut cakes, and raspberry cakes.
China House
Address: 153, Beach St, Georgetown, 10300 George Town, Penang, Malaysia
Open Hours: Every day from 9:30 AM – 1 PM
If you’re looking forward to trying these delicious foods, make sure to plan your trip to Penang beforehand. You can book your flight tickets and hotels at Airpaz.com or at Airpaz’s Android or iOS mobile app.
