Eat

Penang is widely considered the food capital of Malaysia and is a melting pot of cuisines. The obvious mix of Malay, Chinese, Peranakan/Nonya and Indian cuisine has a strong presence along with a variety of another international fare. Penangites live to eat and will eat anywhere, provided the food is exceptional. Often some of the best food can be found along the side of a busy road or even down an inconspicuous alleyway. The rule of thumb is to be adventurous with your tongue, look at the condition of the stall and its surroundings. If in doubt where to eat, go where the locals eat and ask around for recommendations.

Local delicacies

If you have been to Singapore or other parts of Malaysia you may see some familiar names, but don't be fooled as some dishes in Penang are quite different from what you may get elsewhere. With that in mind, many dishes that are common throughout Malaysia are also present in Penang, which can be found under Malaysian cuisine. The following is a list of some, but not all, common and popular Penang dishes.

Meals

• Assam Laksa is a far cry from the sweet, coconut Singapore version. The broth of this noodle soup is packed with tamarind (assam), Lemongrass, galangal and flaked fish and is typically garnished with pineapple, mint, onion, prawn paste and a generous helping of chili. The combination is utterly unique, powerful and will have the uninitiated breathing fire. The coconut variety, called Curry Mee, is also available in Penang.

• Char Hor Fun (炒河粉) is a local dish with flat rice noodles (kway teow) in a delicious broth of beaten eggs and seafood bits. Goes best with pickled green chilies.

• Char Kway Teow (炒馃条) is the ever-popular stir-fried (char) flat rice noodle (kway teow) dish found throughout Malaysia and Singapore, often mixed with prawns, cockles, bean sprouts, and vegetables, with an egg mixed in on request. Exceptional versions of this dish can be found all over Penang, with the best typically coming from roadside stalls, Hawker centers, and coffee shops, or Kopitiams.

• Hokkien Mee (福建面) in Penang bears little resemblance to the stir-fried dish of the same name found in Singapore or Kuala Lumpur. It is a soup based dish filled with rice and egg noodles, pork, prawns, vegetables, bean sprouts, a hard-boiled egg, and fried shallots. Mee Udang is the Malay version of Hokkien Mee.

• Kway Teow Th'ng (粿条汤) contains flat rice noodles (kway teow) in clear chicken soup (th'ng) with slices of chicken, pork, fish cake and garnished with chopped spring onions. Some also include duck meat or even offal, but you can request for them to leave it out.

• Lobak, or Lor bak (卤肉), comprises minced pork wrapped in tofu skin and is very famous in Penang. Similar to sausage, you can also choose the accompanying servings of prawn fritters, tofu, fish cakes, Taiwan sausages or even century eggs. They are all fried up and served with chili sauce. At street stalls, you just grab what you want and give to the chef to cook.

• Lor Mee (鹵麵) is a dish unique to Penang comprising of yellow noodles in sticky brown colored gravy and commonly served with sliced chicken breast and pork. Some vendors may also include offal in the in their lor mee, but as always you can request for it to be left out.

• Mee Sotong is a popular local dish found specifically at the Kota Selera Hawker Center, near Fort Cornwallis. The dish contains egg noodles served squid, shallots and a fishy, spicy sauce. A wedge of lime is usually given to add extra zing to the dish. You can also find this dish at several other hawker centers.

• Nasi Kandar is literally white rice (nasi) with anything else you want with it. Although these days it is sold in virtually every Malaysian city, Penang is the where the dish originated from, and according to many Malaysians is still where the best ones are. Typical side dishes to add include curries, fried chicken or fish, prawns, squid, hardboiled eggs and vegetables and it's often completed with splashes of various curry sauces. It may not be a particularly pretty dish, but it is loved by Malaysians. Be warned that adding too many sides can make the dish quite expensive. Many Penangites have their own favorite stall, and some stalls are open 24 hours, so ask around for their recommendation.

• Oh Chien, or Or Chen, is simply an oyster omelet, is a very popular dish among Penangites. You can find it all over at hawker centers, Chinese coffee shops, and some seafood restaurants. It is typically mixed with chives, radish and dash of soy sauce, fish sauce and white pepper before cooking.

• Rojak can refer to two different dishes. Chinese rojak (or just rojak at hawker stalls) is a salad of raw mango, pineapple, cucumber, white turnip, fried bean curd and topped with peanuts a dark thick sauce of shrimp paste and sugar. The ingredients do vary slightly between stalls. Pasembor, also called Indian rojak, is found mostly at Mamak stalls. It consists of cucumbers, fried dough fritters, bean curds, prawn fritters, hard boiled eggs, bean sprouts, cuttlefish and topped with a sweet thick, spicy peanut sauce.

• Satay, or Sate, obviously is the famous meat-on-a-stick that is found all over Malaysia. Often you can find chicken or beef satay, but what makes Penang different is that the Chinese vendors also serve up pork satay. Once cooked over hot coals they are served with a fresh salad of cucumbers, onions and a spicy-sweet peanut dipping sauce. Some place will also serve it with compressed rice.

• Seafood is not exactly a dish, but considering much of the state lined by the coastline, it is no surprise that it is a big player in Penang cuisine. Seafood is used in all local cuisines, from Indian tandoori prawns to Chinese black pepper crab or even the Malay grilled fish (ikan bakar). Seafood restaurants are common along the coastline, particularly around Batu Ferringhi and Teluk Bahang along the north coast or Batu Maung to the south.

Snacks and sweets

• Ais Kacang, also known as ABC or Air Batu Campur, is a concoction of shaved ice, red beans, grass jelly, sweet corn, and attap palm seed. It is finished with lashings of coconut milk or evaporated milk, palm sugar syrup (gula melaka) and other colored syrups.
• Biscuits and Pastries - Traditional biscuits such as Tambun Pneah (淡文饼), Beh Teh Sor (马蹄酥), Heong Pneah (香饼), Pong Pneah (清糖饼) and Tau Sar Pneah (豆沙饼). Coconut tart, If you have eaten egg tart before then instead of the egg put in some coconut and voila! You get coconut tart and definitely the best is at Cintra Lane.

• Cendol, or Chendol, is somewhat like ais kacang. Shaved ice is topped with mushy red beans, green colored rice flour noodles, coconut milk and palm sugar syrup (gula melaka). It is simple, sweet and satisfying, particularly on a hot sunny day.

• Durian is a popular local fruit that is much loved or much hated depending on your taste. The odor of the fruit is distinctive and pungent with the flesh often described as rich, sweet and creamy by some while others liken it to warm garlic ice cream. Stalls in markets and by the roadside often sell pre-packaged flesh or the whole fruit itself. There are several fruit farms located around Balik Pulau which are good places to sample the fruit and to find out about the various durian varieties. You can also find durian in various sweets including ice creams, cakes and biscuits, with the flavor being much more subtle than the fruit itself.

• Kaya is a jam-like spread made of eggs and coconut milk. Can really be spread on anything, but is often eaten for breakfast on toast. To impress the locals, order some kaya toast with runny eggs and a strong cup of coffee (kopi). You can also find kaya in many pastries and sweets.

• Nutmeg (豆蔻) is commonly grown in Penang and a favorite among locals. Preserved nutmeg strips, either in dry or wet form, are eaten as a snack and the rind is used to make nutmeg juice or Lau Hau Peng. It is also used in traditional medicine, with nutmeg oil or balm used for illnesses related to the nervous and digestive systems.

Bakeries

Penang is famous throughout the country for its Chinese bakeries. For ethnic Chinese tourists from Singapore or elsewhere in Malaysia, a visit to one of these bakeries is a must, and friends and office colleagues would generally be expecting some pastries as souvenirs from someone returning from a trip to Penang.

• Don't carry valuables in motorbike-baskets.

• Don't leave valuables in hotel rooms.

• Don't place valuables on restaurant tables.

• Do be wary of snatch-thieves - especially when wearing jewelry and/or carrying bags. Some of these felons practice the art of 'ride-by' snatching of ladies' handbags which can result in serious injury to the victim. So ladies: walk against traffic and keep the handbag on the side away from the road or better still, don't carry one.

• Do be wary of the sometimes aggressive long-tail macaques at the botanical gardens.

• Be careful about your surroundings in waters off Batu Ferringhi beach, where you may be harmed by unregulated jet skis or other water activities.