3D2N Penang Food Guide – Let the Locals Show You The Best!

3D2N Penang Food Tour

Penang is known to have some of the best street food in Asia. So, what should we eat in George Town? Who better to ask than the Penang Food Experts in Penang Culture Singapore. For this trip, we had the Penangites from Penang Culture bring us on a 3-day Penang food tour, and showed us how to eat like a local.

We have a mission here — to try as many bowls of good Penang lor mee as possible. Why, you may ask? Well, this is because the chefs from Penang Culture Singapore are going to create their own version of Penang Lor Mee in Singapore after this trip. It is really exciting because I am a lor mee lover!

Do you know the differences between Singapore lor mee and Penang lor mee?

A good bowl of Penang lor mee has two key components — braised meat ingredients, and a starchy gravy that’s flavoured with five-spice powder from Penang, and egg white. The flavourful and aromatic gravy is made from different spices. The taste of the gravy is very distinct, and can’t be mistaken for something else.

In this post, we are not just introducing bowls and bowls of lor mee. We also want to show you the exciting food scene in Penang. If you are craving for a bowl of lor mee after going through the article, but have no time to travel to Penang, head to Penang Culture Singapore for the same authentic experience!

DAY 1

Café Sin Yin Nam
Address: Lorong Baru, George Town, 10450 George Town, Pulau Pinang

Sin Yin Nam cafe is what Malaysians call a coffee shop. Patrons can get assam laksa, chee cheong fun, lemongrass otah, wanton mee, chicken wings and more. I particularly liked the chee cheong fun which is doused in chilli sauce and prawn paste.

Hon Kei Food Corner 漢記小食店
Address: 45, Jalan Kampung Malabar, 10200 Penang

Hon Kei serves one of the best pork noodles in Penang. They used to operate by the road in front of Ho Ping Café, but they have moved to a bigger and more comfortable space. The pork noodles and porridge, which are made according to a 50-year-old recipe, are must-tries. The soup has a lovely sweetness, and it comes with generous amount of ingredients such as minced pork, brain, kidney, trip, intestine and heart. The curry noodles are thick and pack a spicy punch.

Kedai Kopi Ming Hooi
Address: Gat Lebuh Macallum, George Town, 10300 George Town, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia

If you have travelled to Penang, you’ll probably remember some of the street names. But for many locals, they only know the streets by their numbers. The Seven Streets Precinct in Penang is a triangular space bordering Magazine Road, Jalan CY Choy and Jalan Gurdwara. Kedai Kopi Ming Hooi is located in Macallum Street which is considered the 5th street (Gor Tiau Lor in Hokkien). The big space is home to many coffee shops so there’s a huge variety of street food. We tried a few of the more popular options — oyster omelette (from Kedai Kopi Hoe Hin), prawn noodles (from Kopi Ming Hooi) and lor mee (from Kedai Kopi Mei Heong).

Restoran Nasi Kandar Line Clear
Address: Beside 161 & 177 Penang Road, George Town, 10000 George Town, Pulau Pinang

Nasi kandar is a mildly-flavoured steamed rice dish that comes with a variety of curry-based meat dishes and vegetables. Penang’s Line Clear Nasi Kandar is a popular nasi kandar restaurant in Penang. The long line is testament to the popularity of the restaurant. Located along a narrow alley, this 24-hour joint serves good and cheap nasi kandar. The chicken drumstick is my favourite item! They also have daily specials such as fish curry or beef curry. Remember to pile on a mixture of gravy for that extra kick.

DAY 2

Mount Erskine Market
Address: Jalan Mount Erskine, 10470, Penang, Malaysia

On the second day, we arrived bright and early at Mount Erskine Market just for the famous Hokkien Mee (we call them prawn noodles in Singapore). The soup is fragrant, with enough prawn flavours to wow your taste buds. It comes with a few prawns. Add a spoonful of red chilli paste on top and give the noodles a good stir. The addition of shallots further augments the whole flavour of the dish.

Hai Beng Café
Address: 3, Jalan Jones, George Town, 10250 George Town, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia

This is not like any other Penang food tour; remember our quest to find the best lor mee in Penang? After breakfast, we headed straight to Ah Quee Street Loh Mee. Their original stall is located in Lean Thye Coffee Shop along Ah Quee Street. Today, they have another branch in Hai Beng coffeeshop in Jalan Jones. The gravy was thick and robust, but a little too salty for me. If you want something more flavourful, go for the special order which has pig intestines and duck meat.

Kedai Kopi Seng Thor
Address: 160, Lebuh Carnarvon, George Town, 10100 George Town, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia

The lor mee at Kedai Kopi Seng Thor is a clear winner. That unassuming sticky gravy has the perfect balance of savoury, sour, sweet and spicy flavours. It is topped with pork slices, hard boiled eggs and shallots. You can add as much garlic as you desire! While you’re here, you might also want to try the fried kway teow and lor bak. You may be surprised!

Tuai Pui curry mee
Address: No, 23, Lebuh Kimberly, 10100 penang

Embark on a short walk from Seng Thor Lor Mee to Tuai Pui Curry Mee. The curry soup is made from several types of curry, giving it a little more complexity. It comes with a generous portion of tau pok, coagulated blood, blood cockles, cuttlefish, and more.

Projek Nasi Lemak
Address: 498, Jalan Dato Keramat, George Town, 10150 George Town, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia

To escape the heat, we head to Projek Nasi Lemak which is talk of the town in penang. The cheese-baked lobster is served with nasi lemak and dyed blue with butterfly pea flower. Their homemade sambal was spicy but very shiok!

Ah Leng Fried Kway Teow
Address: Jalan Dato Keramat, Kampung Makam, 10150 George Town, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia

Shawn from Penang Culture brought us to his favourite char kway teow stall in Penang, and that is none other than Ah Leng Fried Kway Teow! This is definitely one of the better ones I have tried. We added mantis shrimps into our noodles and requested for duck egg as well. The prawns were fresh and the creaminess of the duck egg gave this plate of char kway teow a unique edge. It is a little wetter and sweeter in taste. I totally regretted not ordering a plate for myself! 😀

Padang Brown Seafood Popiah
Address: between Jln. Anson & Jln. Perak, 10450 George Town, Penang

Seafood Popiah at Gerai Gerai Padang Brown is one of the oldest stalls in Penang. It probably is also one of the few stalls that have crab meat in its popiah. Unlike our local popiah, this rendition from Padang Brown is packed with crab meat and turnip, and is drenched with prawn stock. Highly recommended! Note that it only opens after 2pm.

古早味炸香蕉年糕
Address: 50, Pengkalan Weld, George Town, 10300 George Town, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia

This roadside stall along Wely Quay is famous for kuih bakul (nian gao) and banana fritters. The father will first sandwich nian gao between slices of sweet potato & yam, before frying them till they’re golden brown. Eat it while it’s hot, so that the nian gao is warm and semi-molten.

Luo Ji Duck Meat Koay Teow Soup
Address: Pulau Tikus @ Jalan Pasar

I have been to Pulau Tikus multiple times as there are many good hawker stalls here. I’ve saved the best for last – Luo Ji Duck Mee Koay Teow Soup. If you think it’s just any other bowl of clear soup, you are wrong. The Duck Meat Koay Teow Soup is light, yet substantial. You can really taste the original flavour of every ingredient. I was already stuffed, but the moment I tried this bowl of noodle soup, I ordered another bowl just for myself. This is such a satisfying meal that really hits the spot on a cold rainy day when you are craving something warm, fragrant and flavourful.

DAY 3

Pulau Tikus Market
Address: Jalan Pasar

We went back to Pulau Tikus the very next morning because breakfast is totally different from dinner. One of the most popular dishes is the herbal duck soup noodle. The soup is boiled with herbs, and served with duck thigh and silken soft noodles (mee sua), wolfberries and a sprinkle of spring onions. This is the epitome of comfort food! We also had butter toast and char koay kark.

Cecil Street Market
Address: 40-48, Lebuh Cecil, George Town, 10300 George Town, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia

Our last stop for this Penang food tour is Cecil Street Market. Cecil Street is called 7th street. Chef Ah Lipp’s wife brought me to a nameless roast meat stall just to buy roast meat. It was easily identifiable because they were the only ones with a queue. Join the queue to get some crispy sio bak and char siew! We also tried Lum Lai Duck Meat Koay Teow Thng, Mala Style Wanton Mee, Jawa Mee, and more. The mala wanton mee is quite popular. Think springy noodles dressed in mala sauce, soy sauce and sesame oil, and topped with pork lard.

With that, I conclude my 3D2N Penang food tour with Penang Culture Singapore. Three days is not enough, and there are still so many places that I want to visit. I guess it’s time to plan for another trip. Thank you Shawn, Chef Ah Lipp and the team from Penang Culture for showing us around. I look forward to trying #HALAL version of Lor Mee in Penang Culture soon!

Since you are here, why not check out the Lor Mee which Penang Culture came up with after the trip? If not, check out our guide to a handful of cafes in Penang!