Penang Food Guide

Penang has always been an ideal getaway for sun, sea and sand holiday-makers. Penang is also a perfect place for food hunters as it has a wide variety of cheap and delicious food. Read more to find out some of the great places in Penang for some amazing local delights.

Siam Road Charcoal Char Koay Teow

The uncle used to fry the koay teow on a 4-wheel food cart. He’s well known for his smoky char koay Teow using traditional charcoal. However, his son has taken over the business now. If you’re feeling lucky, you may drop by to see if the uncle is cooking on the day and if he is, you should not miss this golden chance.

82, Jalan Siam, George Town, 10400 George Town, Pulau Pinang

Tiger Char Kuey Teow

Great char kuey teow served with big prawns and juicy ‘si ham’.

179 Lebuh Carnarvon Georgetown, 10450 George Town, Pulau Pinang

Sin Yong Wah Coffee Shop

Their char kuey teow is pretty good too. Love the smoky flavour from the char kuey teow as you can see from the picture, it is quite charred.

1, Jalan Pasar, Pekan Ayer Itam, 11500 Ayer Itam, Pulau Pinang

888 Hokkien Mee

One of the best prawn Mee (Hokkien mee) I’ve ever tasted. The broth was really flavourful and light. Optional add-ons include roasted pork, pork balls, egg and so forth. The broth of loh mee is very thick and flavourful as well.

67-A, Lebuh Presgrave, George Town, 10300 George Town, Pulau Pinang

Granny’s Hokkien Mee

The broth is creamy and flavorful. I love how they use braised soy sauce eggs instead of typical hard boiled eggs.

Lengkok Nipah, Taman Lip Sin, 11900 Bayar Lepas, Pulau Pinang

Kedai Kopi Seng Thor
Super crispy oh chien with charred smokey taste. Their oh Chien is tad oily but the taste is great. Do expect a bit of wait approximately 20-30mins though to get your oh Chien as it takes time to deep fry the starch in the oh Chien mixture from sticky to crispy.

160, Lebuh Carnarvon, George Town, 10100 George Town, Pulau Pinang

Lorong Seratus Tahun Curry Mee

Love the spicy chilli condiment sauce that I unknowingly put a lot as it tasted so good! It compliments the curry noodles so well!

34, Lorong Seratus Tahun, 10400 George Town, Pulau Pinang

Air Itam Sister Curry Mee
Sister curry Mee is now run by their younger generation. The broth flavor was not intense and it was quite spicy from their chili paste. They added cuttlefish in their curry for a umami richness in the broth.

612 T, Jalan Air Itam, Pekan Ayer Itam, 11500 Ayer Itam, Pulau Pinang

Prawn Fritters & Loh Bak
Delicious freshly prepared prawn fritters, lok bak and fried tofu. The chili sauce deserves mention too. Price is pretty cheap too.

90-A, Pengkalan Weld, George Town, 10300 George Town, Pulau Pinang.

Penang Kheng Pin Loh Bak

One of the best loh bak in Penang as the loh Bak is well seasoned and the meat was very fresh! The prawn fritters and fried yam are to die for!

78, Jalan Penang, George Town, 10000 George Town, Pulau Pinang

Chulia Street Night Hawker Stalls

A very busy and popular hawker food area that is filled with tourists and locals.

The wanton mee was really good. Springy noodles that blends well with the gravy that is topped with sliced char Siew, dumplings and fried dumplings.

Simple yet great crispy pancake.

There are definitely a lot of local delicacies here. Just get your tummy ready to devour the food here.

Chulia St, Georgetown, 10450 George Town, Penang

Apong Guan
The pancake is fluffy and filled with sweet banana, corns and lots of shredded coconut. The uncle won’t sell it to you unless you buy in large quantity.

144, Jalan Burma, 10400 George Town, Pulau Pinang

Pasar Air Itam Laksa

If you happen to visit Penang Hill, you might want to try this famous Penang Laksa. It seems that most tourists flock to this place than the locals.

1, Jalan Pasar, Pekan Ayer Itam, 11500 Ayer Itam, Pulau Pinang.

Penang Road Famous Laksa

They are not using kembong fish paste for various health reasons.

5, Lebuh Keng Kwee, George Town, 10100 George Town, Pulau Pinang

Kim Laksa Balik Pulau

This stall is located at the corner lot and it’s famous for their two main types of laksa which are asam laksa and siam laksa.

Nan guang kopitiam, 67 main road, 11000 Balik Pulau, Pulau Pinang

Penang Road Famous Teochew Chendul

Besides of the famous fantastic cendul that has a perfect balance of sweetness and bitterness in the syrup, this place is famous for its fruit Rojak too.

Jalan Penang, 27 & 29, Lebuh Keng Kwee, George Town, 10450 George Town, Pulau Pinang Pasar Itam Laksa

Penang Road Famous Teochew Chendul
A flavorful and refreshing bowl of chendul that is famously known by the locals and tourists for its authenticity. Each slurp of this delight delivered a much needed refreshing and perfect remedy to blistering heat down to the throat.

4 2, Lebuh Keng Kwee, George Town, 10100 George Town, Pulau Pinang

The Alley 5, Stewart Lane
Specialty coffee and lifestyle space nestled in the heart of Georgetown. Love the crunchy texture on the outside but expect a fluffier texture within the churros.

5, Stewart Ln, Georgetown, 10200 George Town, Penang

Wheeler’s Coffee

Wheeler’s Coffee is one of the top cafes in Penang and is inspired by wheels. The interior is decorated with bicycles. Decent drinks and good looking food in this chic townhouse in the heart of the tourist area of George Town.

67, Jalan Love Lane, Chinatown, Georgetown, 10200 Penang, Malaysia.

Nibong Tebal

Nibong Tebal is a small town located in Seberang Perai, Penang. It’s a small town with a variety of local delicacies! If you’re looking for somewhere quiet in Penang and still wanna hunt for Penang food, Nibong Tebal would be a good choice for Penang food hunters.

Restoran Law Cheang Kee

A simple and yet amazing seafood restaurant which offers a varieties of fresh seafood dishes. The recommended dishes here are teochew porridge with crab in clay pot, steam clamps cooked with ginger and garlic in Chinese wine, “duaban” and sweet or boiled baby octopus.

1962, Jalan Che Ahmad, Taman Sentosa, 14300 Nibong Tebal, Pulau Pinang

Restoran Sin Soon Lee

I would say you can get the best Teochew Chai Kueh here! It is located in the same row as Ambank. Love their Chai Kueh that is filled with generous chives and dried shrimp. Pairing up the Chai Kueh with their chilli sauce is defeinitely the bomb.

Jalan Besar, 14200 Sungai Jawi, Penang

Traditional Pig Intestine Porridge

This shop has been relocated to right infront of Yaik Boon Coffee Shop. The pork intestine here is well braised and flavorful. Remember to request for more pork intestines!

Jalan Baru, Kampung Pengkalan, 14300 Nibong Tebal, Pulau Pinang. Restoran Hing Lee

14, Jalan Merbah 2, Taman Merbah, 14300 Nibong Tebal, Pulau Pinang

Hing Lee Restaurant is always filled with locals for lunch and dinner. They serve simple, great, reasonably priced Chinese food in a casual setting.

Aik Huat Cafe

The best place to enjoy local dishes which is located in a basketball court. There are some of the local dishes you gotta try when you’re here such as laksa, lobak, hokkien mee, dry hokkien mee, jawa mee, longan water and so forth.