Foods of Penang

The food here is amazing! It's a mix of Malay, Chinese, Indian, and other South East Asian cuisines like Indonesian, Vietnamese and Thai. There are some dishes specific to Penang as well. Learning and trying the food has been a fun adventure and taught us new words in Malay as well. We frequent the "hawker centers" or food stalls and enjoy watching the food being cooked. It is so delicious and inexpensive (usually $2 a plate). No cooking for me this year! I am going to a cooking class next week, though, at a place called the Spice Garden of Penang so I look forward to learning how to make a few dishes. Here are some of my favorites so far:

Char koay teow which is flat rice noodles with garlic and bean sprouts and egg

Wan tan mee which is fresh egg noodles tossed in a special dark soy sauce and topped with wan tans and thick slices of char siew (pork strips), unless it is made Halal

Hokkien mee which is prawn noodles

Nasi kandar is curry and rice that originates from Penang. It literally means “rice on shoulder” named for port workers.

Oyster omelet

Clay pot chicken

Mee goreng or fried spicy noodles

Nasi goreng or chicken fried rice

Assam laksa, a spicey noodle soup

Curry Mee

Char hoy fun, a thick rice noodle in egg gravy

Chi cheong fun which is a rice noodle roll with brown (sesame, oyster, soy) sauce

Satay (pendang)

Curry puff

Lobak Fried five-spice meat (or chicken) rolls including cinnamon

Bat Kut Teh, herbal soup

Roti jala, a lacey crepe called “net” bread

Roti canai, flat bread