Penang Top 10 Street Food

It has been an honor to me to appear as a featured writer in Penang Food & Travel Magazine January 2021 Edition to come out with my Top 10 List of Penang Street Food. Thanks to Epril Tan for giving me this marvelous opportunity. Below is my Top 10 list:

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1. Penang Asam Laksa

There are a few types of laksas around, there are Siam Laksa, Melaka Laksa and also Sarawak Laksa. The difference of Penang Asam Laksa compared to the rest of is the broth. Asam Laksa is cooked with tamarind juice and slices and also torch ginger. The laksa will then be topped with shrimp paste which makes this dish unique compares to the rest of the Laksa. The overall taste is appetizing and outstanding and is only available in Penang.

Kim Seng Laksa Balik Pulau

2. Penang Char Koay Teow

Koay Teow is made of rice and is considered a national favorite of all Malaysians. Char Koay Teow is the fried flat rice noodle stir-fried with prawns, cockles, chives, eggs, bean sprouts together with light and dark soy sauce as the seasoning. The dish is packed with char grill and seafood aroma.

Ping Hooi Coffee Shop, Georgetown (Tiger Char Koay Teow)

3. Penang Hokkien Mee

Also known as prawn noodle as the broth is cooked with prawns and pork ribs. With a touch of chili paste on a bowl of rice noodle and yellow noodle, Hokkien mee is served with bean sprouts, shrimps and garnished with water spinach and scallions.

Top Taste Coffee Shop, Bayan Lepas

4. Lor Mee

The starchy broth is cooked with pork bones as the soup base with spices, egg and starch and served with yellow noodle and rice noodle. It is topped with egg slices, pork slices and sometimes with chicken feet, pork skin and topped with scallions, chilli paste and pickled garlic

Seng Thor Coffee Shop, Georgetown

5. Char Koay Kak

The sauce that is used to fry char koay kak is quite similar to char koay teow which is dark and light soy sauce, the sides are also quite similar which include eggs, seafood, bean sprouts and chives. However, the major difference between this and char koay teow is instead of koay teow (flat rice noodle) it uses koay kak (rice cake), in fact some stalls even add in chai por (pickled veggie) for a better taste.

Chan Kok Ming Char Koay Kak, Batu Lanchang Market

6. Roti Canai

The ingredients of this consist of flour, ghee, margerine, vegetable oil and egg. The mixture is then flipped and flatten until thin crust, then placed on top of the hot pan to fry until golden perfection. It can be topped with Dhal Curry, Chicken or Fish Curry and this is one of the Malaysian’s favorite breakfast.

Roti Canai Transfer Road

7. Mee Goreng

Normally the stall of Mee Goreng (Indian Fried Noodle) will come with Mee Rebus (Indian Gravy Noodle). The mee goreng is stir fried with garlic, chopped peanut, chili sauce and soy sauce. It is then topped with fritters, fried tofu and sometimes with chili gravy squids. The garnish is usually with some scallions and spring onions.

Hameed Pata Mee Sotong, Padang Kota Lama

8. Nasi Lemak

The rice is cooked with coconut milk, it is rich and flavorful. Topped with sambal (local chili paste) and sided with anchovies and a slice of egg, the taste is slightly sweet, savory and spicy. This dish is another popular breakfast for Malaysians.

Ali Nasi Lemak Daun Pisang, Sri Weld Food Court

9. Nasi Kandar

This is the southern Indian mixed dishes rice which consists of varieties of dish such as chicken, meat, seafood or veggie. The dish preference is up to individual selection and the price is charged accordingly. The rice is usually topped with a mixture of different curry.

Nasi Kandar Merlin, Jalan Union

10. Wantan Mee

The noodle is usually made out of eggs. There are dried and soup versions. Normally, the dried version is more popular in Malaysia. It is prepared with dark and light soy sauce and some sesame oil. The dark soy sauce is the signature of the Northern side of Peninsular Malaysia. Serving together with the dish are wantan (Chinese’s dumpling), Char Siew slices (BBQ pork slices) and garnished with some spring onions.

O & N Kopitiam, Island Glades