Penang Food Trip Special - 7 Things to Try

We have just came back from Penang recently and were contemplating whether or not to share good food at Penang (as we are SGfoodfeed, hehe). Nonetheless, we decided to share some of our food findings from our 3 days 2 night trip.

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三條路 888 Hokkien Prawn Mee, Lor Mee

• Operating Days: Closed on Thursdays
• Operating Time: 4.30 PM to 12 AM
• Address: Lebuh McNair, 67-A Lebuh Presgrave, Georgetown

We took an evening flight from Singapore to Penang, and by the time we reached and check in to the hotel, we were all famished and ready to start our night right. It was just so happened that 3rd Road Lebuh Presgrave Hokkien Mee 三條路 888 was just minutes of walking distance from our hotel, and thus we decided to give it a try.

There were quite a number of people queuing in front of us when we reached slightly past 8:30pm. It wasn’t a long wait before our turn. There were 3 assistants seen helping out at the stall.

From the look of the prawn noodle, it is somewhat similar to what you always see in Singapore. However, the taste of the prawn Hokkien Mee here is slightly different. The prawn broth was flavourful and yet not too thick, with their homemade watery chilli adding to the kick of it. Definitely must try!

It was pretty much self-service when you are eating here. You are required to bring back the bowl to the stall owner yourself if you are not sitting at their stall (as they are always full House).

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Penang Road Famous Teochew Chendul

• Operating Days: Daily
• Operating Time: 10 AM to 7.30 PM
• Address: 475, Jalan Penang, 10450 Georgetown
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Penang Chendol was also an item on my list to try and so here we are, trying out the highly raved Chendol at this standalone stall.

There were many people queuing up at almost all the standalone stalls we’ve seen along the same stretch of road (as it is one of the famous tourist spots). We waited for almost 20 minutes under the hot sun before it was our turn to order. The clearing of the queue was considered very fast (and we still had to wait for 20 minutes) so we were having high expectation on the Chendol.

Unlike the usual Chendol you see in Melaka (where Gula Melaka will be used), the Chendol at Penang is milky in colour, emphasizing a lot on the quality and freshness of the coconut milk. It tasted slightly saltier compared to the Melaka one, but still, the Chendol here is still one of better ones compared to the rest I’ve eaten.

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Penang Road Famous Chao Kuey Teow

槟榔律仁哥驰名炒粿条

• Operating Days: Closed on Wednesdays
• Operating Time: 9.30 AM to 6 PM
• Address: 475, Jalan Penang, 10450 Georgetown

Right beside the Chendol stall, we found a super duper long queue and out of curiosity, we followed and joined in the queue to check it out. While we were queuing, we realized that many of them have friends queueing up for Chendol as well. The clearing of the queue for Chendol is much faster compared to this queue, and therefore you will see many of them eating Chendol while queueing for Char Kway Teow. Actually quite smart eh?

Finally, it was our turn after a good 1/2 hour wait. Penang Road Famous Chao Kuey Teow is actually a small food stall right outside the coffee shop. Each plate was stir-fried upon order and most local will add in duck egg to their plate of kway Teow instead of chicken egg.

The taste of the duck egg may be too strong for some, but we totally love the taste. The Kway Teow was springy and it is not the usual kind of black char kway Teow you see in Singapore.

It was not a big portion given but the prawns they used were big and fresh! It was overall a nice plate of fried kway teow; until we found another one that totally won our hearts down.

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Tiger Char Koay Teow

老虎炒粿条

• Operating Days: Daily
• Operating Time: 8 AM to 2.30 PM
• Address: 179, Carnavon Street, 10300 Georgetown

This is the legend! Tiger Char Koay Teow was one of the must-try items on our food list prior to the trip. It was about a 10 minutes walking distance from the hotel so we decided to walk over after our breakfast buffet at the hotel (yes, you’ve heard us right).

We were there at 8:30am and the coffee shop was relatively empty. You will need to order at least a drink from the coffee shop owner or else you will not have a seat.

The portion was not very big as well, but the overall taste is the bomb! Every kway Teow strand was fried perfectly under the right temperature, with wok hei taste. It might be a little oily for some, which we felt that it may be the reason why smaller portion was served instead of the usual portion served in Singapore.

It was so good that we finished the whole plate in less than 5 minutes despite being full from the hotel buffet. The prawn used was fresh as well. Definitely, thumbs up from us! We even dabao back to the hotel right before we leave. 

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Art Of Dragon Gallery Dragon Ice Ball

• Operating Days: Daily
• Operating Time: 9 AM to 6 PM
• Address: 19, Lebuh Cannon, 10300 Georgetown

We were strolling along the famous art street and chance upon this stall. The weather was scorching hot and we decided to join the queue to for ice ball. 

The process of making ice ball from the shop owner, who was friendly and smiling to all her customers despite being busy.

The size of the ice ball was decent but it was difficult to eat at first. Nothing special about the taste (probably except for the Pepsi syrup they used), but definitely something to eat to beat the heat! There was a small scoop of ice cream inside the ice ball as well, and you can get to choose the flavours.

You will get a seat inside the shop if you purchase something from them. They will not chase you away despite their continuous crowd.

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Pasar Air Itam Penang Laksa

亚依淡巴刹叻沙

• Operating Days: Daily
• Operating Time: 11.30 AM to 8 PM
• Address: Jalan Pasar Road, 11500 Georgetown

The itinerary of our trip includes the visit to 极乐寺, and we decided to start our day earlier by visiting Pasar Air Itam for another highly raved food item — Penang laksa!

For just 5RM a bowl, there was a lot of shredded tuna given, pairing with onion, perfecting the taste of the hot assam soup base. The Penang laksa here is slightly different from the common brands we see at JB. The soup base is not as sweet as the ones we’ve eaten and we really like this as well! Definitely, a good place to go if you are planning a trip down to visit the temple!

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Traditional Home Of Dessert

汕头街四果汤

• Operating Days: Daily
• Operating Time: 12 PM to 9.30 PM
• Address: 7A, Jalan Angsana, 11500, Bandar Baru Air Hitam

This dessert stall was actually a recommendation from a local friend who visits them regularly. It was about 9pm when we reached and it was still full house!

There weren’t any choices left for us to choose as they were about to close. We chose their only item — 雪耳汤 to try. The soup was a little too sweet for our liking, and it felt like we were drinking sugar syrup. Though the amount of ingredient given was considered adequate, the taste of the dessert did not leave us with a deep impression. We felt that the taste was pretty normal, and will not purposely make a trip down for this. It is, however, pretty popular among the locals and furthermore, we have yet to try the other items available here. Therefore, do give them a visit for other choices if you have a chance.

The trip to Penang will definitely not be the last trip for us as we have yet to try out so many other food stalls on our list. We have heard of the famous ah pek fried kway teow where the average waiting time for your kway teow to be served is around 2 hours. Do share with us any good recommendation you have if you are heading to Penang soon! 

Yishun Park Hawker Centre - A Modernized Concept Food Centre

Operating Hours: 6 AM - 10 PM

Operating Days: Daily

Address: 51 Yishun Avenue 11, S 768867

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Yishun Park Hawker Centre is the latest hawker centre which comprises of a three-storey complex managed by Timbre Group, located at the junction of Yishun Ring Road and Yishun Avenue 11.

Above the hawker centre are two level of parking space. Do take note that they do not have free parking on Sundays and public holidays.

They have even pinball machines just beside the drinks shop, at $1 per game.

You can top-up using cash to your the Tuck Shop app account via the machines located at the center of the Hawker Centre. The only way of topping-up is by cash at the moment (which kind of defeat the purpose of going cashless).

You can choose to scan the QR code on the Tuck Shop app to pay for your purchases, or you can also use the traditional way via cash. When you purchase food at Yishun Park Hawker Centre, you will have to put an extra $1 deposit for the food tray. The deposit will be returned when diners leave their trays at the return station. The purpose of this is to encourage diners to clear their own table by returning the trays for the next diner to use the table.

By using app credit, you will enjoy 10% off food purchases within Yishun Park Hawker Centre.

Enough of all the administrative information, let's get the food!

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Ajisai Japanese Ramen (#01-42)

Operating Hours: 10 AM - 9 PM

Operating Days: Daily

Opened by real Japanese chef, Saito Hiroki, who is 74 this year.

The decoration of their menu looks like you are at an authentic stall in Japan, and what's more attractive is their ramen priced as low as $3.50. 

Their signature dish is the Pork Chashu Ramen ($3.50) as recommended by the owner, look at all the items that were sold out just in the afternoon.

It looked very simple, the broth was made up with the combination of pork and chicken bone. As for the tastewise, for the price, there was a hint taste of the Japanese ramen, but do not expect the standard to be like anything near the usual restaurant style. Well, at least they are not using Maggi mee to cook it. 

Laying on top of the noodles was a slice of pork char siew with alternating layers of fat and meat. The meat was tasteful, but the texture was similar to any other pork, however, a bit overcooked and not that tender.

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Hua Hua Cooking & Eating 花花 (#01-41)

Operating Hours: 6 AM - 10 PM

Operating Days: Daily

The Hokkien Mee and Char Kway Teow stall is opened by a Vietnamese living in Singapore since 2005. And she speaks very fluent Mandarin!

I was attracted by some patrons who order her Char Kway Teow, so I went ahead to order it as well. This stall is located just beside the Ajisai Japanese stall.

Unlike other hawkers who fry up their noodles ahead in big batches, they cook each plate individually.

The taste of their Char Kway Teow is undoubtedly different from most of the other Char Kway Teow I've tasted. From the first bite, I can taste Fish sauce, and they are very generous with the amount of fish cake, cockle and dark sauce used. All the ingredients were also very fresh!

I would personally recommend you to try this stall.

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Nasi Lemak Ayam Taliwang (#01-33)

Operating Hours: 7.30 AM - 8.30 PM

Operating Days: Closed on Mondays

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It is a halal stall where Rice is served with Indonesian-style grilled chicken opened by a couple. Some interesting fact is that they have worked as Cabin Crew at the same airline before this, and that makes me wonder why they have decided to venture into the food industry.

This stall offered their signature dish, a fusion of Malay and Indonesian dish name Ayam Taliwang, where the chicken thigh is marinated before being grilled.

This stall has constant queue which we didn't want to miss out as well.

You get to choose to have either sweet chili or spicy chili. The sweet chili was well-balanced, not very spicy, the spicy chili which was very good and additively spiky to my tongue.

Coconut fragrant rice, fried chicken, egg, tempeh, peanuts and ikan bilis - all on the plate. Although all the items are pretty standard, I enjoyed the coconut fragrance that the rice carries and their marinated chicken thigh, which is marinated before being grilled. One of the dishes not to miss when you are in this hawker centre.

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Ah Tan Wings Har Cheong Gai & Chicken Wings (#01-40)

Operating Hours: 11 AM - 1 PM & 6 PM - 9 PM

Operating Days: Closed on Wednesdays

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This stall has the longest queue I've seen so far in this hawker centre. It was operated by a pair of brother and sister aged 28 and 25 years old respectively. They are indeed the young hawkers of the new generation! They mainly serve prawn paste chicken, and Okonomiyaki (Japanese pancake) as the selling items on their menu.

They are open only at 6 PM, however, when we were there at 7 PM the queue was very long! 

When it was my turn, I saw that the shrimp paste wings, Okonomiyaki were all sold out! So we were left with Atas Har Cheong Gai cutlet.

The cutlet was made up with 2 pieces of fried prawn paste chicken, with shaker fries and salad.

The fries and salad were good, but what  amazed us was the cutlet! Their cutlet was very crispy with every cut, just cutting it can be a satisfaction to one. The meat was tender and really have full taste of the prawn paste! Each bite was a pleasure to my tongue!

While their Atas cutlet is priced at $7, it is worth it for the taste and texture. I will definitely come back for their Okonomiyaki and their shrimp paste chicken wing alongside with the cutlet.

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Tuck Shop

Operating Hours: 6 AM - 10 PM

Operating Days: Daily

The Hawker Centre’s only drink stall. It is actually a combination of a self-service retail store and gastro bar! Not only they sell kopi and toasts, they also offer cappuccinos, lattes and even beer!

Most of items were self service, including ice.

They even have beer on tap counter!

So once you have ordered everything, you will have many trays on your table. You cannot give your tray to cleaners to clear up as they will cost you $1. You will need to return the trays to the return counter for your $1. Now, they only have 1 tray return location near the entrance, which you might need to walk a distance to return the trays if you are seated at the far end of the hawker centre. You are only able to put 1 tray at a time at their tray return counter, else they might recognize it as just 1 tray and return you just a dollar. During peak hours, what we've encountered was the "Tray Jam", as we have to queue just to return our trays. At the end of the day, I have 6 $1 coins back into my pocket. 

All in all, Yishun Park Hawker Centre is a modernized hawker centre trying out a cashless concept. However, we felt that they have still defeat the purpose of going cashless as you will still need to use your cash to top up for the credits. You will also end up having many coins with you when you leave the place from all the tray returns. 

As all the hype of this new hawker centre right now, crowd will definitely be expected. Do try to avoid visiting during weekend dinner time.

Lai Heng Fried Koay Teow (來興炒粿條) - One of the most underrated food!

• Operating Hours: 11 AM to 8 PM
• Operating Days: Closed On Monday
• Address: Shunfu Mart Food Centre, 320 Shunfu Road, S 570320 #02-20 
• Food I had: Char Koay Teow ($2.50) & Otah ($1)
• Total Cost: $3.50

ShunFu Mart Food Centre honestly is not a destination for lots of good food, it was built in 1980’s, the Market and Food Centre has become a little run down, but one particular stall attracted me to come all the way here is this Char Koay Teow (or Char Kuay Tiao).

The only place that serves Char Koay Teow with an Otah in this hawker centre. Finding this stall is easy, once you reach ShunFu Mart Food Centre, look for a queue, it’s this stall. 

Every customer was greeted by this smiling uncle taking orders, as I was queuing and search about them, something surprised me, they are using prawn and chicken stock instead of water during their cooking of the char kuay teow.

The first impression I had of the fried kway Teow was very wet and oily. It was a generous amount of koay teow, fresh cockles, eggs, fish cakes with a handful of beansprouts and Chinese sausage. Be take note this was $2.50 portion.

When I've had the first bite, it was moist with strong fragrance yet not too much of wok hei and not overly greasy feeling. The healthy part is that no pork lard is added in but you could request for it if you like to have them. It was surprisingly good!

Good amount of cockles and Chinese sausages was given. 

The Otah here is made in a bigger portion that is spiced just right. It was quite a unique to pair with Fried Kway Teow, but the Otah has the right texture with generous mackerel meat while not having too much of seafoody taste. I love it!

This is one of the best and one of the most underrated foods I've had in Singapore and you ask "Will I return?!" Confirm a YES when I craved for any Char Koay Teow! Fans of Char Koay Teow, you definitely do not want to miss this.