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
• Home Page
• Facebook Page

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! 

OLEG - Cafe with waffle as sandwich

• Operating Days: Daily
• Operating Time: 10 AM to 10 PM
• Address: 3rd Floor, Aeon Bandar Dato Onn, Jalan Dato Onn Utama Kempas, Johor, Malaysia
• Facebook Page

We are back at AEON Bandar Dato' Onn in Johor Bahru, and this time round we have tried OLEG. OLEG is a contemporary casual eatery serving burgers, waffles, small bites, snacks, cold drinks and coffee. They have stalls at City Square, AEON Tebrau City and AEON Dato' Onn.

It is hard to miss this shop with its striking interiors located at level 3. This is mainly the reason why I visit them.

Everything is pretty much self service at OLEG. You order at the counter, pay and wait for your order number to be called. I had a hard time trying to communicate with the counter staff as they don’t really speak English. 

They also serve breakfast for just an hour. The price are so much cheaper than their normal menu. Chicken porridge for 5.90 RM?!

At OLEG, you can customise your burger or waffle by selecting either chicken or beef and then choose one of the following types of sauce to pair with. They have Teriyaki, Wasabi mustard, signature curry, mayonnaise, signature spicy, honey mustard, barbeque, cream of tartar, and cheese.

We ordered a Waffle O' grill set, priced at 17.90RM. The set meal comes with fries and ice lemon tea. Even though there were no crowd, our waiting time was 20 mins after placing our order.  You can’t expect too much from their service. 

The waffle came with cucumber slices, leafy lettuce, juicy tomatoes, and the sauce you chose. Their so-called home-made ice lemon tea tasted artificial to us which we didn’t like it. The fries given were also dry and cold when it was presented to us.

OLEG's waffle has medium thickness, is light and is slightly crisp. It has a slight saltiness in the waffle, unlike what I'm expecting (I was expecting a sweet waffle!). The chicken is tender but has not much taste by itself, it would be better if it is paired with the sauce they have in order to enhance the overall taste of this whole meal.

Overall, OLEG has a comfortable and casual ambience with food selling at reasonable prices. I would probably go back again only to try their signature soft shell crab charcoal burger.

Yi Jia Seafood 億家海鮮 - Restaurant at a quiet corner for good Seafood!

• Operating Days: Daily
• Operating Time: According to their locations
• Address: Multiple Locations
• Facebook Page

In Singapore, there is a zi char stall named Yi Jia Village Seafood Restaurant, and just across the custom in Johor Bahru, they have a similar restaurant called the Yi Jia Seafood restaurant 億家海鮮. Currently, they are 4 restaurants outlets in Johor Bahru. Each of them has their own unique decoration. We went to this new restaurant at Permas Jaya.

The restaurant is just a 20 mins drive from the custom, located in a quiet neighbourhood block. Plenty of parking lots available (which are shared among other restaurants along the stretch) and most importantly, did I forget to mention that parking is free?

The exterior of the restaurant looks new and good. When we were there at dinner time, there was quite a bit of crowd and we were a little worried that we have to wait for some time for our food to be served. We were lucky that the waitress saw us and quickly allocate a table to us in less than a minute. 

People who came after we had to wait for a bit before they were seated.

Their "aquarium" displaying different types of live seafood.

The menu was presented to us almost immediately after we were seated.

This company has won many prestigious awards as indicated on the menu.

The Yi Jia Crispy Chicken 扁扁鸡 seemed to be a famous choice around other tables and so we decided to order a small portion to try it.

A must order dish if you are eating at a seafood is, of course, the crabs! They have 3 types of cooking using crab - Golden Egg Yolk, Honey Sauce or Otak. We went for Golden Egg Yolk as recommended by the waitress.

They have different operating hours at each outlet, be sure to check the timing if you are heading down.

First came was their signature dish, the crisp flattened chicken, 扁扁鸡. It is quite a unique dish as we did not see any similar dishes before in other restaurants.

The taste of the chicken was not bad in our opinion, however, the portion is considered small even for just 2 people. It cost 9 RM for this 8 small pieces of chicken.

Next is pork ribs 排骨王 (15 RM), this is one dish that does not appeal to me as the skin of the pork ribs presented were too soft. The meat was also too hard to my liking. It would be better if the chef can pre-fry the pork ribs to brown at the side, before mixing them together with the usual sweet and sour sauce. The overall taste was normal.

Next was potato leaves with sambal sauce (10 RM). I like how their sambal sauce, not as oily as others with mild sambal taste did not overpower the original taste of the potato leaves, preserving the crunchiness on the stem. One of the recommended dishes here.

Next came was the Fuyong fried egg 芙蓉蛋 (8 RM). Difficult not to love, it is one of the most popular dishes commonly found in a typical Chinese restaurant in both Malaysia and Singapore. The egg here was mixed with ingredients such as char siew, shrimps and plenty of spring onions, and pan-fried to golden brown, on the whole, ending with a crispy side around. Definitely, one of the best dishes to go with rice.

The finale, golden egg yolk crab came after a short wait. Priced at 1kg for 120 RM, the price was reasonable and worth the money. Most importantly, the meat was sweet, tender and very fresh!

Unlike the usual dry salted egg crab dishes, we were quite surprised to see the generous portion of salted egg yolk sauce given! We even scooped the sauce onto our plain rice! We like the sauce so much that we decided to order mantou 馒头 (fried buns) just to soak up all the sauces of the dish and ate it. Really a must order when you are here!

The price isn't the cheapest you could get in JB, but at least it's a decent eating environment with quality food. And they accept credit card payment as well if you have not enough cash on hand.

If you are a lover of seafood, you should try out Yi Jia seafood as the seafood they serve there is of a higher quality as compared to the usual zi char stalls in JB. Though they are not the cheapest you can find, it is still worth visiting if you are around the Permas Jaya area. 

Hai Tian Lao 海天撈自助火锅 - Yes! It's 天, not 底 steamboat buffet restaurant

• Operating Hours: 4.30 PM - 4 AM
• Operating Days: Daily
• Address: 27 Jalan Bestari 1/5, Taman Nusa Bestari, Skudai, Johor, Malaysia
• Facebook Page

Singapore have Hai Di Lao 海底捞, and now across the custom in Johor Bahru they have 海天捞. Yes! 海天捞, but is it the same in terms their service, quality and variety of food?

20 minutes drive from custom, about 50 RM per pax, you could choose your choice of soup and free flow of all the food offers, what's different here is they offer barbeque items like Sotong, Lala clam, prawn and even Stingray! They have fried Chicken Wing and Man Tou ready to eat too! Last but not least, they do provide fruits and Ice cream!
You could purchase canned drinks from them but they do have other drinks for you included with the buffet, even real watermelon juice!

So for a start, you get to choose between 6 type of soups - Big Bone, Sichuan Mala, Mushroom, Thai Tom Yum, Taiwanese Mala and Tomato Soup. We chose Tom Yum and Tomato soup.

For those who have visited 海底捞, does this pot looks very similar? The soup is nice by itself, but not as tasteful as Hai Di Lao, but it was comparable with any other steamboat of the same price range, good amount of spices in each soup.

Even before we go and collect the items to cook, the Barbeque item came presented to us, first was the prawns, they were really fresh and easy to peel off the shell, I was expecting just prawns with simple sambal sauce but they used ladies finger and onions with sambal sauce to mix them up. Do not worry about getting your hands dirty, there were basin for you to wash your hands after you deshelled the prawns.

Next was stingray, they used normal chili sauce to cook this, the stingray they gave was really fleshly! It won't lose out to any barbeque shop outside.

Lots of variety of vegetables offered for you, they all were stocked up quite fast when they were empty.

They have beef, pork, chicken and lamb, all not marinated in a chiller. Sadly when we were there at 9PM+ they already out of stock for beef, but I managed to grab hold of a plate of beef!

Other ingredients at another chiller - hotdogs, meatballs, crabstick, luncheon meats and fishcakes.

Overall, I would not compare this to Hai Di Lao as they were of different standard, if compared to any other steamboat buffet restaurant at this price range, they were on a much higher standard in terms of the quality and variety of items. 

Total for the price of $198.85 for 4 pax. It was quite value for money. Do visit them if you are looking for some Steamboat buffet but please do visit them early to avoid disappointment of any out of stock item.