The street food available in Penang is popular in Asia as the best! Although there are many reasons to visit Malaysia, food is the main thing that attracts attention and admiration from people across the world.
Metallic sounds of the scraping utensils, steaming carts and outside, if any, seating can be at times a bit hectic to uninitiated. No worries: the delicious and cheap treats are worth.
Cooks who prepare street foods generally specialize in one or two dishes that they make night after night, resulting in mastery. Sometimes cooking methods are passed down from one generation to another.
For expansive food courts that house several carts under a single high roof to the popular food scenes on the Gurney Drive, chances abound for enjoying the delicious Penang street food. Even Lebuh Chulia, an epicentre for the backpackers in Penang, has a lot of street food options when the sunsets.
Char Kway Teow– You will come across this heavy, filling noodle dish, also known as “Char koay”, or “Kway Teow.”
As the name indicates, the noodles have purposely charred and slightly burned smell that comes from the wok. Once upon a time, Kway Teow was the favourite dish of poor labourers who required some heavy filling meal to keep them energetic. This dish is generally prepared with fish cake, pork fat, prawns and egg.
Hokkien Mee-Named after the Chinese immigrants in Penang, Hokkien mee, sometimes also known as “mie” most often consists of barbecued pork, which is cut into thin strips, shallots, prawns mixed with a fish-based chilli paste. The yellow egg noodles are then mixed with rice vermicelli.
This dish in Penang is different from what we get in other places. It is spicier. The hearty broth is made of shrimp shells and pork bones.
Penang Laksa-Laksa is a popular dish liked by people of Southeast Asia, however, Penang has put an unusual twist on it. A bit fishy and seasoned with ginger, mint, and lemongrass, Penang’s take on Laksa is a different taste that you will never forget.
Penang Laska is a type of Asam Laksa- both are a bit sour. Thanks to the sour Mangosteen fruit- rather than sweet as are Laksa variants based on the coconut milk.
Mee Rebus-It is a noodle dish most often made with a sweet tomato gravy or ketchup. Lime offers citrus that balances the sweet taste. In this dish, you will find yellow egg noodles, shallots, and a half-boiled egg.
Mee Goreng– Mee Goreng is another name for “fried noodles” and can be prepared in various ways based on the shim and style of street food hawker. In place of noodles, egg, rice or instant noodles can also be used. This is the favourite dish of starving college students. The ones prepared by Indian Muslim hawkers in the Mamak eateries is a great option for avoiding the pork which is typically found in noodle dishes.
Fried Oysters
You will find fried oysters with most of the Penang hawker food centre, but you will not get a breaded, deep-fried appetizer along with a sampler platter with potato skin and jalapeno poppers.
Instead, the fried oysters of Penang are generally prepared in the form of an egg omelette and served with a sweet & sour chilli sauce.
Eating street food in Penang, Malaysia is much safer than eating food in restaurants. You can feel the freshness of ingredients used in the dishes.
Never come back home without tasting the street foods in Penang, Malaysia. It’s something that nobody should miss!