I’ve lived in Penang for quite a while, and the people here love to tell you that the food is excellent (and it is). I never intended to make this a food blog, but since I have a “food” category on the blog I would be amiss not to give you a little tour of some of the street food I enjoy here. Today I happened to go on such a food tour, showing a friend around the state. Here are some of the things we ate.
Penang Road Famous Laksa
This is a recent discovery (for me, they’ve been open since 1970), thanks to the internet. Laksa is a Malaysian sour-and-spicy fish-based noodle soup. There are many variants of laksa, and Penang’s laksa is probably the best of them all. This particular shop uses sardines as a base for their soup, and it’s pretty good! They also serve a kick-ass char kuey teow, which is a spicy fried noodle dish which Penang is famous for.
Penang Road Famous Laksa is a Michelin Bib Gourmand award winner.
Penang Famous Samosa
I’ve eaten the samosas from here for years, and they’ve always been fresh and tasty. They’re a simple food cart at the corner of Queen’s Street and Lebuh Pasar in town, and they have a variety of tasty Indian street food. They too have won the Michelin Bib Gourmand award.
Jalil Special Ais Kacang & Coconut Shake
This shop at the Esplanade near Fort Cornwallis was recommended by my former boss, which he claims serves the best shaved ice dessert (“ais kachang” in Malay) that he’s ever had. It’s certainly very rich and sweet, which makes it a good occasional treat. Their coconut shake is also pretty good.