Penang Food

It has been said that the best food is found in Penang. As a person who was born in Penang, and who has tasted all types of food in almost all the different states in Malaysia, I feel qualified to say that the claim is a bit exaggerated. It would be more accurate to say that the best Penang hawker food is found in Penang, followed closely behind by Taiping.


That said, Penang remains one of my favourite local holiday destinations. (Will return to the subject of food later.) It is the ideal place to go to for a relaxing holiday. We always choose to stay at Tanjung Bungah hotels that have a beach-front and the route is serviced by Rapid Penang buses. 

Bus no. 101 is very frequent, once every 5 to 10 minutes while bus no. 103 is rather erratic. We took bus no. 101 to Batu Feringhi and Pulau Tikus, and bus no 103 to Kelawei Road, where we then walked to Gurney Drive. Depending on where we boarded the bus and our destination, the bus fare ranges from RM1.40 to RM2.00 per person, one way. 


Now, back to the subject of the post --- FOOD, what else?! 


Like anyone, I have my favourite haunts, and below are places that I like to go to again and again whenever I'm in Penang. And one of them is "Long Beach", the food court at Batu Ferringhi. Many Mat Sallehs eat here.

The lamb Calzone at the Northern Indian stall at Batu Ferringhi Food Court. It is really good, and is a must-try if you like lamb and mint sauce. Price: RM15. 

The  Ee Fu Mee at Batu Ferringhi Food Court used to be good, but on this trip, the quality has deteriorated. Price: RM5

This home-made fried spring roll is worth the long wait. It comes with a Worcestershire sauce mix. Price: RM3


We had our brunch at Kedai Kopi Swee Kong, opposite Pulau Tikus Balai Polis.

Hubby likes the fried koay teow whereas I prefer the Indian Mee Goreng.

Oyster Omelette at Sin Yin Nam Cafe, New Lane. The oysters are big and juicy, while the omelette is done just right, neither overcooked nor dry. It's not starchy, either. This shop has one of the better prawn mee and curry mee, but unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures. 

My favourite!! Real otak-otak, juicy, squishy, this type of fish mousse is available only in Penang. The Taman Tun Dr Ismail market in KL has an almost similar type of otak-otak, but it ranks a bit low compared to the ones in Penang. We always get one each from Song River Cafe, Gurney Drive.

Top Hat and Spring Roll from Gurney Drive. It looks better than it tastes. Not recommended.


We also discovered a new English cafe, Yorkshire Cafe, at Tanjung Bungah, near the Tanjung Bungah market, and along the same row of shoplots as Maxim and CIMB Bank. The cafe, owned by a Brit from Yorkshire (where else?!) just recently opened its doors for business two weeks before. 

It serves traditional English pub grub although the waitress didn't know that. She was telling us that some customers asked why they don't have soup, and she told them that soup is a Western dish and the English does not take soup. I had to tell her that her boss is dishing out pub food, though I don't know if she believed me.


The menu has all the traditional dishes like Ploughman's Lunch, Banger and Mash, Steak & Kidney Pie, Shepherd's Pie, Baked Beans on Toast, Apple Crumble and Trifle. It only serves Steak with Yorkshire Pudding on special festivals. They also didn't have Toad in the Hole, either, another traditional pub grub.

The Shepherd's Pie was a little burnt and dry, but the gravy more than made up for it.

Banger and Mash. The banger is a pork sausage. The onion gravy was authentically English. Yummy! However, according to hubby, the mashed potato is not as smooth as the ones I made at home. Well, I guess that's probably because I boiled the potatoes longer, or perhaps it's due to the butter and fresh milk I dumped in while mashing the potatoes up.


Another place that I always go to for breakfast is a corner coffee shop along the same row of shoplots as Yorkshire Cafe. It used to serve amazing dry wantan mee, but this trip, the quality has deteriorated. The man is no longer helped by his wife, and the sauce tasted different. The curry mee was still as good as ever, though.


There are more food that we ate than photos taken (it was quite hard to remember to fish the camera out before we stuffed the food into our big gap), and the result is.....we've put on weight, err, I mean, there's more of us to love. My resolution was to return to the gym every day to make it worth the monthly management fee we pay.....I've been back four days now, and have yet to go downstairs to the gym.....

A Diary Entry of A Trip To Penang

Dear friends and readers,


The post below is meant as a diary entry for myself, to serve as a reference on where to stay, where and what to eat in Penang as I don't trust myself to remember these details when I next make a trip to the island again. And I do so want to go to those same places and eat those same things again.


As such, I have not taken care with the sentence structure, nor attempt to make it interesting. So, if you find it dull and boring to read, my sincerest apologies. This is merely a diary entry, and well, a diary entry is never terribly interesting to anyone else but its writer, is it?  :)


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Penang - 16th to 18th February 2010


We went to Penang on the third day of Chinese New Year.  The road was smooth from KL to Penang, but not so on the other side. Traffic was at a standstill jam for those travelling from the North to KL.


We stayed at Flamingo By The Beach, formerly known as Crown Prince. It's next to Sandy Bay Paradise at Tanjung Bungah. For those who love the beach and water sports, Flamingo is highly recommended. 


The water sports available there are:


1) Water jet ski - RM60 for 15 minutes
2) Paragliding - RM120 for 5 minutes


And the hotel facilities include a jacuzzi & spa besides the regular swimming pool. 

Hotel entrance at night

Hotel lobby

Hotel room with a balcony that looks out to the sea and hill

The pool 

The jacuzzi and pool bar

RapidTransit bus #101 stops right in front of the hotel, at 10 to 15 minutes' interval. It travels between Teluk Bahang and Jetty. A ride from the hotel to Batu Ferringhi is RM1.40 per pax. The last bus back to the hotel leaves at 11:15pm from Teluk Bahang.


Batu Ferringhi Food Court
We enjoyed the hokkien mee (Penang Prawn Mee), Ee Fu Mee, grilled fish and home-made spring rolls (it's served fried with a dipping sauce). Opens at night.


Song River, Gurney Drive
Not to be missed is the otak-otak, fried oysters and chee cheong fun. The fried koay teow is not too bad either. Opens at night.


A coffee shop @ Pulau Tikus (directly opposite the police station, next to Kedai Kopi Kwai Lock)
The mee goreng and fried koay teow is excellent. Hubby ordered the assam laksa which he enjoyed as it was not too sour. And the coffee, in hubby's opinion, is excellent. I ordered some strange drink which I don't remember its name or its taste. I called it "The Forgettable Drink". Opens for breakfast & lunch.


Another coffee shop @ Pulau Tikus (behind Kedai Kopi Kwai Lock)
The curry mee here is one of the best I've ever tasted. The mee goreng is horrid, one of the worst I've ever had. Opens for breakfast & lunch.


Coffee shop @ Tanjung Bungah (behind CIMB Bank & Maxim's, next to the market)
We've never failed to return to this nondescript little coffee shop each time we're in Penang for its wantan mee (dry version) and curry mee. It's probably one of the few remaining places in Penang where a plate or bowl of noodles is RM2.50.


What we'd like to try, but never succeeded, is their hokkien mee. It's always sold out when we're there. I'm sure it must be very good, as people just queue up to order it. Opens only for breakfast.

Eating From Toilet Bowls

On Monday, it rained all day and night. Unable to hang out at the beach or Gurney Drive, we decided to check out Queensbay Mall, the biggest shopping mall in Penang. 

It is located at Bayan Lepas and is as big as MidValley MegaMall. The design is a bit similar, too, with the North Court, Centre Court and South Court. The anchor tenant is none other than the ubiquitious Jusco, while the usual big names that you find in KL make up the rest of the tenants.

But tucked away in a corner on the third floor, is a novel restaurant that you don't find in KL. Its T-Bowl, the "T" representing "Toilet". No, I'm not joking. This is the restaurant where you can poo right where you sit without having to go to the bathroom. 

The seats are real toilet bowls, and the tables are wash basins and bath tubs, albeit covered with a piece of glass. The proprietors even installed shower heads and shower curtains, to give you the ambience of eating inside a bathroom! And....the food is served in toilet bowls!!!

Patrons sitting on the toilet bowls eating from toilet bowls

The toilet bowl with the pink cover has a picture of a pile of poop

I opened two of the seats to check the cleanliness of the toilet. 

Note the shower heads on the wall.

And the food served in toilet bowls......

Hubby ordered baked cheese rice with fish fillet (RM13.90) while I ordered baked cheese rice with curry seafood (RM14.90). And the verdict? Yummy......(slurpppp)