The Best Char Koay Teow Ever, and more

If I was backpacker visiting Penang for the first time, I would stay around the historical part of Georgetown close to Chulia Street. Why? On Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings (correct at the time of writing this), a special talent comes out to cook the best Char Koay Teow ever.

That might sound like a big, enormously bold statement, especially in Penang, the home of this amazing dish. (For those of you not so familiar with Malaysian cuisine, this dish is composed of flat rice noodles, egg, beansprouts, chives, soy, chilli paste, prawns and cockles stir-fried in a fiery wok). But this Chulia St based hawker makes char koay teow using a special touch, by using a traditional charcoal-based flame. It imparts an unbelievably addictive smokeyness which a conventional gas-based flame cannot compete with. Furthermore, all his ingredients are super-fresh, culminating in a treat which can even make the fullest of stomachs feel hungry again (this was another Penang supper after a deliciously enormous dinner).

Chulia St also has another trick up its sleeve; awesome Curry Mee. A flavour-packed, rich, coconutty broth envelopes fresh egg noodles, crunchy bean sprouts and an abundance of seafood make this another flag-bearer of Penang’s embarrassment of culinary riches.

Chendol: pandan jelly noodles in sweet coconutty soup

For people unfamiliar with South East Asian cuisine, particularly Malaysian cuisine, the concept of eating green noodles as a dessert might be slightly offputting. But trust me, having Chendol at the famous stall on Penang road pictured below, and you’ll be in for a treat.

Three main themes run through this dish: slippery, vanilla-esque pandan infused noodles, an icily refreshing coconut soup and sweet, deep red bean goodness. Mix it up, slurp it down; this is one of Asia’s best desserts.

Honey butter cod

CRC is one of those Penang institutions which keeps going and going. It’s always a favourite amongst local Penangites for dinner, and for good reason. It does a number of solid dishes like sweet-n-sour pork ribs, stuffed bean curd amongst others, but there is one dish which it does particularly well: their famous honey-butter cod. It’s a dish I’m currently in the process of reverse-engineering that so I can enjoy its deliciousness at home. Succulent cod, crispy on the outside yet juicy in the middle, lightly coated in a not-overly rich sauce probably amalgamated from butter, honey, soy and rice wine. A Penang classic.

Also pictured below are their prawns fried in an egg batter with curry leaves – which although tasty, could’ve done with a hand-full more curry leaves to intensify the fragrance of this dish.