Top 10 must-try street foods when traveling Penang, Malaysia
Coming to Malaysia, visitors will never want to ignore Penang, the city with the most delicious street food in the country. This district is also called the world’s “heaven for food.” Penang has a lot of delicious dishes in colorful culinary style. It is a harmonious blend of Chinese, Indian, the West and of course, the typical cuisine of local people. Below are the most delicious foods that you must try when coming to Penang, Malaysia.
You might also like:
Best Things About George Town, Penang, Malaysia (Street Art & Street Food Map)
Assam Laksa
Assam Laksa could be considered as one of the “cuisine icons” in Malaysia. It is made from white noodles with the sauce of fish and vegetable. The sour taste is due to the Assam (also known as sour tamarind), which is combined with the sweetness of mackerel and spicy chili. The food is often served with herbs, cucumber, red pepper, pineapple, green onion, mint and ginger. All of those things make a perfect flavor.
Rojak
Rojak could be a type of salad which you have never tasted before. Having dark color, the appearance of this food my not attract you but once you try it, you will be surprised by the flavor. This is a local salad, with a variety of vegetables, fruit, and porridge oils, covered with black sauce, decorated with peanut butter and fragrant ginger blossom; and it is slightly spicy.
The decisive factor of a good Rojak is the sauce, made from shrimp paste (prawn paste), sugar, lemon and chili sauce. This dish is definitely an attractive mix of sweet, sour and spicy.
Roti canai
This is a popular type of flat bread in Malaysia. The bread is made with ingredients which can be onions, eggs or cheese. In any restaurant in Malaysia, you can order roti canai, which goes well with chicken curry. It is a common dish for daily breakfast of the people in Malaysia.
Chendul
Cendol is known as an iced sweet dessert which contains droplet of worm-like green rice flour jelly, coconut milk and palm sugar syrup. It is commonly found in Southeast Asia and is popular in Indonesia. In Penang, this dish is also very popular. However, different from many other nations in Southeast Asia, people often add red bean to this dish. Sweet and cool are the common tastes of this dessert, hence, it is extremely popular in summer.
Apom Balik
Apom Balik is a very attractive type of cake made from rice and corn powder. In combination with egg, the cake will bring about a sweet flavor. This is a very common street food in Malaysia. The food is made from a thin layer of cake with sweet and crunchy peanuts inside. The flour is made from a mixture of wheat flour, egg, sugar, baking powder, coconut milk and filtered water. The mixture is baked on a thick, round pan with a lot of palm oil to prevent the cake from sticking to the pan.
Batu Maung Satay
This long-name dish is actually just grilled meat on sticks. At night, there are numerous booths selling this delicious food. Many types of meet can be chosen, such as chicken, pork, or beef. Even the smell of the meat is attractive. The meat’s flavor is perfect when being combined with chili, onion and cucumber. Similar to many other Asian foods, Batu Maung Satay is very well-known, not only in Malaysia but also in many other countries in Southeast Asia, such as Thailand or Vietnam.
Chee cheong Fun
Chee Cheong Fun is often called steamed rice rolls in English. The food is made of rice flour, steamed to perfection and served with unique sauce. It is commonly seen as one of the popular dim sum dishes in Malaysia. One of the best parts of this food is the strong, sweet sauce. This food appears in many nations in Asia, but each will have different sauces.
Lok Lok
Lok Lok is a kind of street food in Malaysia. The hot pot is served with many different ingredients. Customers can choose the materials to be grilled or fried. This kind of food will have is best when eaten in cold weather. The suggested types that tourists should try are tofu, egg with herbs, and cheese with sausage. Lok Lok is very popular and in Penang, you could find it on many streets. Eating with a group of friends is always a good choice.
Char Kway Teow
Char Kway Teow is one of the most famous foods in Malaysia. It is made from flat rolled rice noodles with white or dark sauce. Also, shrimp sauce, tamarind sauce, Chine herbs, sausage and oyster are used. The noodle is fried along with the other ingredients. This food is also very famous in Singapore. Many people, after trying the food, like to try and make it at home.
Mee Goreng
Mee Goreng is noodles cooked with potato, egg, vegetables and some other ingredients. This is considered to be one of the best street foods in Penang. Since it has very simple ingredients, this food could be easily cooked at home as well. Due to the spicy taste, this food is nice to eat in cold weather. I think mee goreng is evidence that Malaysian people can make delicious food even from the simplest ingredients!
My name is Jim, writer at Asia Marvels. I love travelling around Asia and share my stories & travel guidelines to my readers. I want people from all over the world to see the beauty of the landscape, people and culture of Asia.
✈️ Protect your Penang, Malaysia trip with Travel Insurance – We’ve started using Nomad Insurance by Safety Wing for affordable evacuation, international medical, and trip coverage.
Like this post? Pin it for later or share with friends!
Get our George Town, Penang map
Access our free Google MyMaps to find the top sights and cheap street food in Georgetown, Penang, Malaysia.
Includes our Georgetown street art walking tour itinerary. With photos and tips!
