Kedai Kopi Cathay - Hokkien Mee

This coffeeshop is located opposite of Union Primary School. It is just before Him Heang biscuit shop. A corner coffeeshop which is not to be missed!

The hokkien mee stall is on a cart of it's own. So, if u wanna check if it's open or not, just look out for the cart. It's the 2nd one from the main road!

A normal bowl of hokkien mee (aka prawn mee) consists of mee, bee hoon, beansprout, egg, kangkong, sliced pork, fried onions and prawns! The prawns here is actually bigger than most! The taste of this dish is so-so. Not tasty enough but still slightly above average. (5.5)

Location: Kedai Kopi Cathay, Burma Road

Price: RM2.50 (normal) RM3.00 (add bah kut)

Ratings: 5.5/10

Sin Hwa Pulau Tikus - Char Koay Teow

This is one of Penang's very popular Char Koay Teow located opposite of Pulau Tikus's police station. A little difficult to get parking but it is best to park @ Pulau Tikus market and walk over. It is worth the walk... :)

A friendly aunty awaits to cook for YOU!

It's so good that they've even appeared on Wall Street Journal Asia!

The char koay teow is nicest when there's not so many customer where it is cooked one by one. When it is cooked for several people, the taste slacks off a bit.

Nevertheless, it is still ok. Still very aromatic... & tasty!

Location: Sin Hwa Coffeeshop Pulau Tikus

Price: RM2.50 (without egg) RM3.00 (with egg) RM4.00 (with duck egg) RM5.00 (BIG)

Rating: 6/10

Claypot Chicken Rice @ Golden Sands Tg Tokong

Most place, the claypot chicken rice tastes burnt, over cooked or sometimes, the rice is very soggy. This one is different. It is just right. The taste, the texture... overall it is really yummy! Can be better but after so many disappointments, this is a great change! Worth trying. Will definitely go back for it - hopefully it is CONSISTENT!

Location: Golden Sands Tg Tokong (in front of Naza Hotel)

Price: TBA

Rating: 7/10

Penang Lime-ade - Sui Kam Peng

This used to be my favourite drink... but new coffeeshops nowadays serve 'sui kam peng' which is either TOO sweet or TOO sour... not balanced.

But... if u go to the older coffeeshops... hmmm those are still really good - the traditional ones... Yumm Yummm! Delicious lime juice aka 'lime-ade'...

Penang's Traditional Kopi-O

The original & traditional style of Penang's "black coffee/americano" aka Kopi-O.

Coffee shops are called Kopi-Tiam because of this Kopi-O drink! It is also a tradition for us to follow our parents/grandparents to coffee shops and they will pour a bit of their drink on the saucer for us when we were young. 2 reasons - to share and to cool it down!

Nowadays, we can see many new higher class 'kopi tiams' evolving around Penang & KL serving coffee with ambiance that is sure to bring u back to the good-old days!

Fresh Coconut Water

What can be more perfect to drink on a hot day & our body is feeling the heat all too much?

"Coconut water is the liquid endosperm inside young coconuts. As the coconut matures this liquid largely becomes absorbed into the flesh found in mature coconuts. Coconut water has long been a popular drink in the tropics, especially in Tropical Asia and Trinidad & Tobago, where it is available fresh or bottled. It is naturally fat-free and low in food energy (16.7 calories or 70 kJ per 100 g). Due to its sterility, pH, mineral, and sugar content, coconut water had been successfully used as liquid in intravenous therapy in emergency situations [citation needed].
Coconuts for drinking are packaged and sold in many places. These are typically Thai coconuts whose outer green husk has been removed, and the remainder wrapped in plastic. Coconut water can also be found in regular cans or tetra paks (and often has coconut pulp or coconut jelly added) and is also marketed as a sports drink because of its high potassium and mineral content which helps the body recover from rigorous exercise."

In Penang, coconut water can be found easily. But please take note. Fresh coconut means it shd be served with the outer green husk like in the picture! It is priced between RM1.50-2.00 each. Young coconuts will have a thin and watery layer of meat which the more mature coconuts will have thicker layer of meat!

Baby Octopus @ Golden Sands, Tg Tokong

This is one "very-hard-2-resist" dish... Steamed baby octopus! This one here adds sesame oil to enhance the smell! The sauce served with it is so-so... can be better!

It is such a nice dish to just nibble and snack!

NOTE: You can rarely find this dish @ hawker centres

Location: Golden Sands Tg Tokong (in front of Naza Hotel)

Price: RM6.00/plate

Rating: 7/10

Ba-lee-tong @ Golden Sands Tg Tokong

We're not sure what this is called in English, but in Penang, it is known as 'Ba-LEE-tong'. It should be a type of snail which is very popular here...

(ps: if any of u know wat the name is in English, pls let US know!)

This dish is best cooked with curry leaves - not too spicy though... This one added 'kacang botol' which enhanced the taste! Yumm YUmmm...

Location: Golden Sands Tg Tokong (previously known as Sea Horse)

Price: RM6.00/plate

Rating: 7.5/10

Pan Mee @ Yee Hong

Another place worth going...

Noodles are made upon order with the pasta maker...

The uncle is amazed @ our lack of knowledge about 'pan-mee' being a penangite but he was nice and kind enough to share his knowledge with us :)

Quite similar to the one in Bukit Jambul, the pan mee here is also served with:

a small bowl of vege soup with fish balls, which comes with dry noodles

the dry & fat noodle is served with anchovies, minced pork, black fungus & fried garlics

and oohh... the chilli is really G.o.O.d!

and the soupy ones are served with fish ball soup, anchovies, vege & black fungus.

We found the pan mee's serving here to be bigger and more filling... compared to the one in Bukit Jambul. oh... and the soup is definitely more tasty!

Location: Yee Hong Food Court, Lip Sin Garden

Price: RM2.80 (small) RM3.30 (big)

Rating: 7/10

Char Siu, Siu Bak & Siu Ark @ Wai Kee

Located along Chulia Street, it is quite difficult to miss this blue-ish green 3-storey building. The 1st & 2nd floor is the sky hotel while the ground floor is home to WAI KEE, Penang's dee-licious char siu (bbq pork), siu bak (roast pork) & siu ark (roast duck).

We arrived at about 12.00pm and it was already full house. Kia-su we might have to wait long, we ordered even before getting a seat. We were estimating a 20-min lunch coz our coins for parking can only last that long! The place was packed; customers queuing up to buy takeaways were also long. Mostly motorist who stops by to takeaway as it is quite difficult to get parkings around this area.

Half hour passed... and we were still waiting. Changed coins and added for our parking meter.. then finally it was here. FINALLY - FOOD!

Siew Bak (Roast pork)'s most important element of a good roast pork is a balance of the meat and the fat. What we love most about it is the fact that the fat is cooked to perfection thus it is not all oily and chewy but instead, it is very aromatic. The skin is roasted just nice - crispy! Just the way we like it.... (7/10)

"Char siu" literally means "roasted on a fork," the traditional cooking method for the dish. Long strips of seasoned boneless pork are skewered with long forks and placed in a covered oven or over a fire. The meat, typically a shoulder cut, is seasoned with a mixture of honey, five-spice powder, fermented tofu, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, red food colouring (optional) and sherry or rice wine (optional). These seasonings turn the exterior layer of meat dark red, similar to the "smoke ring" of American barbecues. The char siu is really yummy... Don't really know how to explain the taste but it is very well marinated. Once you start, it is really very difficult to stop. It is not over burnt like most place. It is slightly burnt which enhance its taste. Very NICE!!! (7.5/10)

The siu ark is very popular but we found it to be average only. It doesn't smell very ducky like some places and the meat is very tender. But besides that, the taste is just so-so... (6/10). It is perhaps slightly above average.

To complement & balance up our meal is a plate of vege!

And a bowl of soup with pork intestines!

Overall... we will definitely come back again! Mainly for the CHAR SIU! We finished at about 1.00pm. Make sure you have enough patience & time at hand before coming... :)

Location: Chulia Street

Price: RM2.50 (1 type of meat); RM3.50 (2 types of meat)

Super Tanker - Buns

Oooohhhh... the buns are absolutely tasty & delicious. It leaves you wanting more and more! Yumm yumm... for RM1.00 per piece, it is definitely a must have! They have all sorts for you to choose from hot dog, bbq pork (char siew), luncheon meat, butter bun and many many more. It is baked and made there. The aroma of fresh baked buns will lead you to them and it is quite difficult to resist them!

Location: Super Tanker, Lip Sin
Price: RM1.00
Ratings: 7.5/10

Bangkok Lane - Mee Mamak

Mee mamak in Penang is almost synonymous with Bangkok Lane. That's how popular the mee mamak @ Bangkok Lane is.It is also know as Mee goreng or Mi goreng (English: Fried Noodles, Indian-style) which is a dish famous in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore. It is made with thin yellow noodles. The dish is fried with onion, fried tofu, chili, vegetables, tomatoes and egg, and is available commonly at Mamak stalls in Malaysia.

The mee mamak here is cooked with sotong (squid) which adds to the nice aroma. Quality may be inconsistent when busy but on the whole, the taste is there. During rainy or hot & sunny days, just drive past, wind down your windows and shout your orders! They will then bring to your car for you. Easy & convenient.

Location: Bangkok Lane
Price: RM3.00 (with egg & sotong)
Ratings: 7/10