Where to find good hawker food in Penang

Penang is famous for its hawker food, and indeed I have documented it extensively in my Penang Food Directory and Coffee Shop Directory, so it may come as a surprise to you that I am often challenged to find good hawker food in Penang. Food stalls can be found at every street corner in George Town, but finding something really good is like discovering a metaphorical gem among the rubble. In all likelihood, I have probabaly become too picky with food.

I have visited a number of food courts in Penang where the food is simply ghastly, and yet the food courts are crowded by diners. I believe a high majority of them are young people from other states who come to work in Penang, and are not that familiar with where to find the authentic Penang hawker food. Quite often, newly established food courts are staffed with new and inexperienced hawkers who shouldn't be in the hawker trade at all.

One of the best prawn noodles in Penang (25 May 2012)


If you're an out-of-town visitor not familiar with the roads in Penang, what would be my recommendation to you? Well, in general, avoid all the famous food courts. And while I'm at it, I would also ask you to avoid all the 24-hour nasi kandar outlets as well as any super-famous nasi kandar outlets with grotesquely long queues.

I find that the food in the aforementioned locations rather unpalatable, having been subjected to mass production and over-commercialisation, and are no longer (I say no longer, not never, because they once were) representative of the best that Penang has to offer. If you must eat at a food court, at least go to one frequented by the locals.

It is truly unfortunate that these big food courts give tourists and out-of-town visitors a rather distorted view of Penang food. Alas, many of the now famous stalls rely of their past reputation to milk big profits from tourists and out-of-town visitors who have no benchmark to calibrate the quality.

The Char Koay Teow at Kek Seng, Penang Road, is one of the better ones in Penang (25 May 2012)


Judging from the many enquiries I regularly received, I decided to create the Guide to the Best Hawker Food in Penang. Although it is a short list, it is also a reflection of how picky I am about good food. Most of the stalls on this list are not in any of the "famous food courts" of Penang. They are scattered all over Penang Island, in often non-famous places.

I do acknowledge that taste is subjective, and my opinion of good hawker food is not necessarily shared by others. Nonetheless, they provide you an idea of what I mean by good hawker food.