10 x Must-Try Street Food in Penang, Malaysia

I’m not going to lie: the famous Penang street food was part of the reason I based myself in George Town this October. It was my second trip to the city and I was excited to eat even more than I did last time.

Sure, I tucked into some laksa and Little India curries when I visited in 2016 but I definitely wasn’t as into street food and blogging as I am now.

PENANG ESSENTIALS

E-sim data plan

Copy of Lonely Planet Malaysia

Getting there: flight, bus, train (12GoAsia)

Penang airport to city transfer

Accommodation: Hotels on Booking.com // Hostels on Hostelworld

Tours: GetYourGuide / Viator

Travel insurance: True Traveller (European travellers) / Hey Mundo (other nationalities) / Safety Wing (digital nomads)

Read more of my Penang blogs:

• The best places to visit in Penang
• Best coffee and cafes in Penang
• Street art in Penang
• Penang Kek Lok Si Temple from George Town
• Digital nomad Penang guide

The street food in George Town is world-famous. Lonely Planet even voted it the best city for eating in 2014. While the food in Malaysia is fantastic in general, the hawker food in George Town is something special.

Some of the same old uncles have been serving their secret recipes for decades, and the dishes definitely worth standing in line for. With plenty of fresh seafood, and flavours from sweet to sour and spicy, foodies need to add it to their Southeast Asia bucket list, pronto!

With all that said, you may be wondering what and where to eat in George Town Penang? This was exactly what I wanted to know on arrival and what I figured out over the coming weeks.

Related reads: How to spend 2 weeks in Malaysia and my complete Southeast Asia itinerary for 3 months

Food tours in Penang

Street food in Penang

The best breakfast I had in George Town was roti canai, a Malaysian-Indian dish invented by Indians who moved to the country. It doesn’t exist in India so it’s only here, Singapore, Brunei and Thailand that you’ll find it.

It’s dough made into a rope shape before being fried, flattened and served with egg, meat, curry sauce, cheese or sweet sauce.

The chicken (‘ayam’) variety at Roti Canai Transfer Road is probably the best local breakfast in George Town. It’s served until midday so you could swing by for an early lunch if spicy meat isn’t what you fancy first thing in the morning (understandable).

This is the same place mentioned above that also serve kaya toast so why not order both? Sharing one of each between two people would be ideal. This local restaurant is always busy so be persistent and grab a seat.

Chee cheong fun is a popular Chinese-Malaysian Penang street food. It’s made of soft rice batter, something I came to love in Vietnam. It comes with a generous portion of spicy sauce and a thick sweet soy sauce flavoured with shrimp. You can mix it all together like the locals do or choose to take pieces and dip.

My thoughts on this dish? The soy was a little sweet for me and the taste of fish too strong. I’d have loved it had the flavours been a bit milder. Not my favourite street food in George Town, Penang but not bad.

I tried it at Cafe Seow Fong Lye. At this authentic outdoor cafe you can sample chee cheong fun with a cup of coffee for less than 5 MYR. My dish was 3 MYR for a medium portion which I’d say was just the right amount for one person.

Does oyster omelette sound weird to you? I did a poll on Instagram and the majority of my followers said they wouldn’t try it… I don’t know why as it was delicious! Probably my second favourite Penang street food after chicken roti canai.

I didn’t really like oysters on the two occasions I’ve tried them before but they tasted so much better in this buttery, flavoursome omelette. I paid 11 MYR at Granny’s Oyster Omelette at Chulia Street Night Hawker Stalls; on the higher end of Penang street food prices but well worth it.

Wan Tan Mee is one of the best George Town street foods for pleasing all palettes (unlike the more acquired taste of oyster omelette). It’s also the dish that Anthony Bourdain ate in George Town and declared delicious… Sometimes I think my life is one big Anthony Bourdain food trail but is that really such a bad thing?

This Chinese-inspired street food dish is made with noodles, a sweet soy sauce, barbecue pork, greens and fresh and fried wontons. A solid mix of so many tasty flavours! I ate this portion at Chulia Street Night Hawker Stalls.

This salty carb feast is everything I love! Char koay teow is a bit like pad Thai without the peanut flavour. Noodles are fried with prawns, Chinese sausage, cockles and bean sprouts. It’s a little spicy but not overly. You’ll find it absolutely everywhere in George Town and I could happily eat it every day.

If you visit Kek Lok Si Temple, visit Sister Curry Mee in Air Itam.

No George Town food guide would be complete without assam laksa. This Malaysian favourite is a noodle soup commonly flavoured with mackerel, pineapple and tamarind. It’s not dissimilar to laksa found in Singapore although these commonly have coconut-based broths.

I decided to go all out and eat laksa at its most famous location, Penang Laksa Air Itam. While it would probably be worth the journey to Air Itam for this alone, you can time it around a visit to Kek Lok Si or Penang Hill.

This local restaurant is hectic and perfect for experiencing the Penang street food culture. A must!

As ‘research’ for my George Town food guide (and also because I’m greedy) I knew I needed to experience the city’s plentiful Indian cuisine. Colourful Little India is right in the heart of town and wandering through it is a must while visiting.

I ate this enormous masala dosa feast at Woodlands Vegetarian Restaurant and an equally tasty banana leaf curry at Shusi Banana Leaf Restaurant. Both meals were only 6 MYR (£1.10) each. You could also try Sri Ananda Bahwan – I had a delicious meal at the Ipoh branch of this restaurant.

Don’t miss the Indian sweets! Woodlands Vegetarian have a great selection in a cabinet outside and you’ll also find whole market stands dedicated to sweets along the streets of Little India. Some are made with coconut, ginger or milk, but they all have one thing in common: lots of sugar!

George Town is a good place to sample many different Chinese foods. I’m sure we all know what dim sum is but in case not, these moreish dumplings are usually filled with prawn, pork or vegetables.

I ate dim sum at New World Park food court but for a more atmospheric spot, I’ve been recommended Tai Tong Restaurant (where you should also try the custard tarts). Dim sum is a great sharing meal and yes, sharing with yourself is a perfectly acceptable way of doing that!

The most famous place to eat this street food in George Town is Ali Nasi Lemak at the front of Sri Weld Food Court (weekdays only). Here it’s freshly made in front of you and a bargain at 1.80 MYR per serving. I left at 2.30pm as they were packing up for the day, so get down before then.

Which food courts to visit in George Town?

If you’re not sure which of these delicious dishes to try, the best thing to do in Penang is browse the hawker markets. There are some famous food courts where you can eat Penang hawker food for practically pennies.

You’re bound to find something (or 10 things) you want to eat at…

Stalls pop up on Penang’s famous food street, Chulia Street, and its offshoots from 6pm but I’d recommend waiting ‘til 7pm when it gets more atmospheric.

All the stalls are different: some are serving so hectically they can’t stop to talk while others, like Granny’s Oyster Omelette, sat and chatted with me while I ate. The founder is the current owner’s actual granny, if you wanted to know!

Red Garden Food Paradise

Red Garden Food Paradise is regarded as one of the more touristic food courts in George Town but for a tasty dinner with loads of variety, I think it’s a good option. It’s always busy and there’s so much variety; there’s even pizza and Greek food but lord knows why you’d get them.

I had a delicious lamb cashew curry and there are plenty of Chinese and Malay dishes on offer, even the intense bits like gizzards. Maybe give them a miss 😉

For some of the best food in Penang, give New World Park a try. Rather than old uncles serving their famed recipes, it’s a modern food court only opened in 2018. However, it’s a great local option and you’ll find many Georgetownians taking their lunch break here.

You can try all the Penang favourites very cheaply from laksa to nasi lemak, plus Chinese and Indian staples like dim sum and roti canai. I grazed my way around a handful of stalls.

Finishing off with what I consider to be one of the best hawker markets in George Town, Sri Weld is cheaper and more local than Red Garden with more of a rustic feel than the modern New World Park.

You can’t miss Ali Nasi Lemak at the front which is always busy and well-renowned for serving the best nasi lemak in George Town. Venture in further for all your usual Malaysian faves and wash them down with ‘three layer iced tea’ (which I can confirm is actually coffee).