Any conversation about Penang will most definitely turn to Penang food and you don’t have to be a Penang foodie to have your favourites Here and Here. We were having this conversation with our friend Jeremy who loves visiting Penang as much as we do. He’s a true Penang Foodie and as a former chef, he knows what goes into everything. So when we realised we were going to be there at the same time, we made a date to meet up.
Join us as we share some of Jeremy’s favourites that will stay on our list as well. You can open our map in a new page by clicking on the [] in the top right hand corner, to confirm the location of each of our picks which cover Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner and in-between. And we toss in a food place that doesn’t actually have any food.
Penang Food: Best of the bunch
We’ll start with breakfast, move on to lunch and then finish up with something for dinner. Of course, with foodie distractions in between, Penang food is not famous for nothing!
Serabai Istimewa at Astaka Taman Tun Sardon
Serabai Istimewa at Stall No 18
Astaka Taman Tun Sardon
Hilir Pemancar
Taman Tun Sardon,
11700 Gelugor, Penang
- Opening hours:
- Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday
- 6am – 11am (unless sold out earlier)
However, these haven’t been updated recently, so if you want to confirm they will be open:
- Contact them by email [email protected],
- follow them on Facebook,
- or give them a call at +6013-490 0084.
- Payment options available are cash or Touch’nGo.
What’s on offer is displayed above, with the prices.
Serabai (kuih serabai) is a fluffy and slightly chewy rice-based pancake, usually served with a slightly runny kaya, a creamy coconut milk sauce. It’s not always easy to find serabai and even harder is finding one that’s just perfect. The long queue at Serabai Istimewa confirms that we’ve arrived at the right place. The stall is at your left when you face the Astaka Taman Tun Sardon, which is to the right side of the Taman Tun Sardon Market.
You can get two versions, the steamed one and the dry fried version. Both were delicious, especially when torn and dipped in the kaya. They’re not really sweet, but very light and the edges are crunchy. We washed them down with drinks from the nearby drinks stall, which were pretty average, but we looked for the coffee hit later.
Getting there
If you’re staying in Batu Ferringhi, Pulau Tikus or George Town, getting to the market in Gelugor, is quite a distance. If you have wheels, you’ll be fine, but there may be limited parking. You can also get there by Grab, or catch the bus.
You can get bus and rail (except KTMB) information from the provider for Klang Valley, Penang and Kuantan on this link. Use the Journey planner about half way down the page to check the timings and fares. Here’s the link for Penang to check the routes, fares etc.
All three of the start points above are along the route of the Airport bus number 102 and you should get off at Shell Station, Jalan Masjid Negeri. It’s 10.28km from Pulau Tikus and takes around 35 mins. This bus only runs at 75 mins Frequency and you will have to allow waiting time to connect to the second bus Bus 206 and stop at Taman Tun Sardon station. There are 10 stops on this journey. The time taken may vary slightly, but this is quite a long trip.
We’d suggest you use the 102 bus to the Shell Station and then get a share ride (Grab or similar) to the market. If you have more than one travelling, this may also be more cost effective. Fares to Shell Station in brackets.
Fares: Cash / Cashless: Adult : RM3.40 (RM2.00) Concession/child : RM1.70 (RM1.00)
China House
153 & 155 Beach Street (Lebuh Pantai)
183B Victoria Street
10300 George Town, Penang
Contact them:
- Tel: +604 – 263 7299
- [email protected]
- Opening hours
- Sunday – Thursday 9am – midnight
- Friday – Saturday 9am – 1am
Their website has two views, you can choose either Classic (Newsletter style, historical) or Contemporary (clickable menu for the different spaces and what’s on).
Since its opening in 2011, China House (唐人厝) has redefined what a café in Penang can offer. Apart from their bakery with ‘to die for’ cakes, you can enjoy the wine bar and art gallery, or enjoy your meal in the library. They actually offer three eateries with separate menus.
And they have the space to do it. China House occupies three heritage houses, it’s a long narrow space measuring 25 ft wide but 400 ft long, stretching between Beach and Victoria Streets. The older part, on Beach St, was built around the 1850s and the part fronting Victoria St, cleverly connected by a courtyard with a pond, was built around the 1920s. The Lee family, who lived in the house, also owned a successful brick making business on the mainland. Sadly, this was lost during WW2, though the home on the island survived. A number of the sons lost their lives during the Japanese occupation and the house was sold some time after the end of the war.
What about the food? The cakes and coffee are definitely worth a visit. That’s all we tried this time, but we’ll be back for sure.
Wonderfood Museum Penang | George Town
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Opening Hours
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daily 9am – 6pm
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Since we were just down the road, we popped in to the Wonderfood Museum which was more than we expected! It really is fun,whatever your age and their creative, informative and interactive displays are accurate and beautifully handmade.
This Food Museum absolutely won’t make you put on even a gram, though the food looks good enough to eat. You can learn about the various foods enjoyed by all Malaysians, regardless of their background, through their mini dioramas, showing such examples as the itinerant hawker who prepares food and serves in under a tree. They were usually known as ‘xxxx food’ bawah pokok which means ‘under the tree’. Even if they move elsewhere, they are likely to keep that name. (Fill in xxxx with whatever food it is, whether curry, noodles or drinks etc)
Check out the museum’s version of the Mona Lisa, made with all sorts of fruit and vegetables (but you have to stand in the right place) and have a try with your ‘char koay teow’ frying skills or ‘pulling’ your teh tarik. A great way to spend a couple of hours.
Raffe Nasi Kandar Pulau Tikus
295-A, Jalan Burma,
Pulau Tikus
George Town
Tel: 04-228 8466
Contact them by email [email protected] or check out their Facebook page. They normally close for Muslim festivals. Otherwise, they open daily 7am to midnight.
Raffee’s offers Indian Muslim Halal Food known as Nasi Kandar for both dine-in and takeaway. Nasi Kandar should not be confused with Banana Leaf Rice even though they look very much the same. However, there are two separate menus, even though both originated from Southern India. The dishes that accompany Banana Leaf Rice are cooked by Hindus and there are plenty of vegetables, whereas Nasi Kandar has more meaty dishes with some Malay influence. Nasi Kandar is made by Indian Muslims in Malaysia, known as Mamaks.
Bonus at the bottom
Here are two others for you to try, one we visited the day before, the other we’ll have to come back for.
Nyonya Palazzo at Pinang Peranakan Mansion (Jln Gereja)
29 Church Street,
10200 Penang
Tel: 604-2642929, 017-222 6178
For the Mansion, check out their Website. e-mail them at [email protected], and for the café: [email protected]
For the café:
Tel: +604-264 2929 +6017-222 6178 (Whatsapp)
Open daily 10 a.m-6:30 p.m Check out their Facebook page and follow them on Instagram.
This authentic Nyonya cafe housed within the famous Pinang Pernakan Mansion has a shop downstairs where they offer Nyonya Kebaya Rental, so you can really look the part, souvenirs & local crafts to take home.
Then you can head upstairs to the café for their delicious Nyonya drinks and some light food. Their drinks are refreshing and not too sweet, using ingredients like lemongrass for a bit of tang. We enjoyed our choices of roti jala and savouries.
The Pinang Peranakan Mansion is a museum with an eclectic mix of artefacts of Penang’s Peranakan heritage. It’s housed in a distinctive green-hued mansion at Church Street, George Town, the former residence and office of a 19th-century Chinese tycoon, Chung Keng Quee. There’s a road named after him, off Penang Rd, where they have the famous cendol stalls.
Apart from the furniture, jewellery and building decoration, you can walk through the extensive kitchen and visit the family temple, which is still used by the family.
The museum is open daily 9:30 am–5 pm.
Merican Nasi Kandar
We didn’t have a chance to eat at Merican Nasi Kandar, another of Jeremy’s favourites, as they were in the process of moving to their new location at 91 Bishop St. They’ve been in business since 1975, so it’s a fairly safe bet that the food is worth coming back for. You can contact them by phone at 018-945 6512, or check them out on Facebook. They open early (7.30am) for breakfast, but close at 7pm. Closed on Sunday.
So if you want to be an expert in Penang food, there’s so much to enjoy all over the state, but these will be a good place to start.
images@ET
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