Hawker Center deliciousness in Penang
We have only been in Penang for a few days yet I swear I have already eaten my weight in noodles and roti. I still have a heap of posts about Vietnam waiting in the wings, but have been busy updating my travel blog, and falling in love with Malaysian food.
Tiny wax jambu inside a rojak stall (one dish I haven’t tried because of the peanuts).
I wish food courts in Australia were like the hawker centers found here. Delicious fresh food cooked to order from stalls that make only a few items, but concentrate on making those dishes really well. Pick a table number, order, sit down and wait. Someone will take your drink order, pay when everything arrives (you won’t be waiting long.
The famous hawker centre on gurney drive is the busiest we have visited, the delicious wan than mee pictured above came from there. I thought I disliked yellow noodles before I tried this simple but divine dish where they are paired with fried wontons, bbq pork, jalepeno’s and vegies in a soy and sesame oil sauce. I had this again in a coffee shop in George Town for my first lunch today. That’s right, I am doubling up on meals, eating more than my fill, because I just don’t want to miss anything.
I love these sweet, salty, chewy and cold desserts. Flavoured shaved ice (like a snow cone) topped with mung bean noodles, red bean, grass jelly, salty sweet corn, this one even had delicious tiny raisins throughout. Cooling and interesting, but very sweet, perfect for dessert.
Hawker Centers in Penang
(I know I have missed out on lots of places here, but here is an overview of where we did go).
Gurney Drive Hawker Center
Dinner
Take a cab from the center of George Town for delicious char kway teow, wan than mee, ABC, apong and more. Situated across the road from the water, and right next to an upmarket shopping center.
Red Garden Food Paradise
Dinner
Right in the centre of town, this ‘food paradise’ is aimed at the foreigners, so is easy to deal with for the uninitiated, but also attracts locals. The Curry Mee and fried noodles are delicious, as are the dessert waffles, try one with Kaya and ice cream for 4 RM.
New World Park Penang
Lunch and Dinner
We visited for lunch, and weren’t terribly hungry or impressed with the spread here, though we did get a fish pedicure after our popiah and chee cheong fun.
Esplanade Food Center (Near Fort Cornwallis, on the water)
Dinner
Great sea views, but most of the stalls were closed when we visited (twice). Lots of Rojak and Pasembor, great sea views, lots of locals fishing and playing. We didn’t eat anything here.
This work, unless otherwise expressly stated, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported License.
One Comment
Hi, nice post
Penang is really a wonderful place to visit in Malaysia. I visited once and feel like visiting again
I compiled Penang Travel Guide recently. Please visit and have some comments .. Hopefully I will visit Penang soon
cheers …
One Trackback
[...] The book told us about a great hawker center by the water in George Town. Walking up there in the delicious cool of dusk, passing grand buildings, traffic and Penangites going about their business and watching the birds fly with the kites in the park gave an insight into this relaxed island life. Unfortunately the Esplanade Food Center seemed to only sell the peanutty delights of Rojak and Satay, but we did share a beer on the peaceful waterfront. (I love the whole Hawker Center deal, read about it here.) [...]