Best Cendol in Penang

There has been a long debate on whether the best Cendol (otherwise spelled as Chendol or Chendul) comes Melaka or Penang. For me, the winner still goes to the original Penang Road Cendol. What's a trip to Penang without the Penang Road Cendol? You can't believe it, but my Dad and I love it so much that we could have it everyday when we are in Penang. Yes, it's unhealthy, but how often do we travel to Penang?

Although Cendol has become a common form of dessert in Singapore, I can't find the perfect one after tasting this one. This authentic Penang Cendol is located in a side lane call Lebuh Keng Hwee, off Penang Road. 

This street stall history dates back as early as my Dad's childhood days. Apparently the stall has been around since 1945. There are two stalls in the lane. There are many stories on the competition between the two. But the winner is clear and evident from the queue. Even the colour of the Cendol of the winner stall looks more appetising. 

With the success, you may be expecting this in a shop, or at least coffee shop, but no, this authentic stall still operates in a push-cart stall. 

You can either choose to stand on the street to have your bowl of Cendol, or order it into a coffee-shop just slightly down the street (middle of the street, same side as the stall) to enjoy it in the comfortably seated. I believe this coffee-shop belongs (or rented) to the cendol owner as it's all decorated with photos of celebrities visiting the fame stall. Do note that there is also another coffee-shop located at the start of the street. Do not go to this coffee-shop just to have your cendol as they will charge you 20cents more to have your cendol inside there, which also serves other food.  

Cendol is made from a combination of coconut milk (santan), a worm-like jelly made from rice flour with green food colouring (from the pandan leaf), shaved ice and gula melaka (palm sugar). It's not easy to get the cendol - the worm-like jelly that is the right texture nowadays. Those pre-packed ones factory-made ones are hopeless. Not easy to find one that is home-made or hand-made these days 

There is also a cendol shop that is at Komtar Walk, just a few steps away from Komtar (located from the linked bridge down Komtar) and this original stall at Lebuh Keng Kwee. I was told it belongs to the same owner. Mainly targeted to the tourists and tour groups, the shop have seats in an air-conditioned and nicely decorated cafe environment. Believe that the pricing would be higher as well. For us, we still prefer the original authentic stall. We didn't even give it any chance of trying it even though it's just a few more steps away. Psychologically, I believe that the original stall is still the best. 

Snew's Rating: 4.8 / 5

There is so much comparison between Cendol from Melaka and Cendol from Penang. The conclusion winner still goes to Penang Cendol, and particularly, this stall in Penang Road. Although they taste similar, but Cendol in Melaka has the rich taste of gula melaka and coconut milk, taking after the Nonya Peranakan taste. Penang Cendol also has Gula Melaka syrup in it, it doesn't have the over-powering sweet taste, and the coconut milk just make it perfect combination. 

Penang Road Famous Teochew Chendul

Lebuh Keng Kwee,
(Off Penang Road)
Opening Hours : Mon – Fri 10:30am - 7:00pm
                         Sat – Sun 10:00am - 7:30pm

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Best Char Koay Teow 炒粿條 in Penang

During our trip to Penang last year, we tried like like 6-7 different Char Koay Teow (also spelled as Char Kway Teow) from different stalls. We must have been mad! But for Papa Snew who's first time in Penang, this was not too much of a crazy thing to do! 

Lorong Selamat Char Koay Teow

The best Char Koay Teow  no doubt, goes to the famous Lorong Selamat Char Koay Teow. The signature identity is that the stall owners are frequently seen wearing goggles while frying the Char Koay Teow. Hence, they are better known in the Internet as the "goggle sisters".

While waiting for the Char Koay Teow, we also ordered Fried Oyster Omelette (Oh Chien 蚵煎). The taste is good although it taste slightly different from the one in Singapore, although I can't really describe how it is different. 

To quench our thirst, we also ordered Ice Kachang. Ice Kachang in Penang is served with a scoop of Ice-cream. This is passable. The best Ice Kachang in Penang is found in a coffeeshop, call Kek Seng Cafe in Penang Road which I tried in my previous trips. 

Here comes our main lead of the meal - our Char Kway Teow.

The Chinese believe that a good dish must have enough "Wok Hei" - meaning the fire must be big, or just enough to achieve a smoky taste. This could only done if the dish is cooked using charcoal and only experienced chefs with good skills are able to achieve this taste.

In addition, to ensure that every plate of Char Koay Teow is cooked just right, it has to be cooked in small portions, that is, every plate should be individually fried. However, to strike a balance between taste and efficiency, I believe they cook 2-3 plates together due to the demand.

I must say, this is just the perfect taste that I wanted. I won't dare to say I'm a food specialist, but having tasted Penang Char Koay Teow since young, I wouldn't settle anything less than a good plate of Penang Char Koay Teow  The Singapore version is always too sweet (with too much sweet sauce), and too much yellow noodles in it to be called a Char Koay Teow. Penang Char Koay Teow is cooked with lard instead. Unhealthy as it is, the lard taste should not be over-powering but yet brings out a nice aroma to the dish.

I was told that the lunch queue for this stall takes more than 1 hour. We were lucky that we went after lunch hour, about 2+pm, and waited no more than 20 minutes. Negative publicity has circulated in the Internet on this Char Koay Teow stall. There was even a FaceBook group started  to boycott this stall due to its rude and arrogant service. I guess for visitors coming from KL and as far as Singapore, we're not too bothered by it. Like any other of the guests, we just want our long-awaited plate of Penang Char Koay Teow.

Kafe Heng Huat
108, Lorong Selamat,
10400 Penang

Opens: 11am to 5.30pm (Close on Tuesday)

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Air Itam Market, Penang

Air Itam is the area where my grandma used to reside, and the place in Penang my father grew up in. This hometown brings a lot of memories to my family, although I spend all my life in Singapore.

I remember stepping on "cow dung" when I was probably 7-8 years old outside my grandma's house, mistaking it for a tree trunk. Yes, cows roam around the residential area of my grandma's place. No, it's not a "kampung" if that's what you all are thinking. It's a pretty huge three-storey terrace house, which has a steep flight of stairs, three dogs, and a supposedly sound-proof music studio converted by my uncle for his piano and singing lessons. At some point of time, I also remember my uncle turning the house into a video rental house. At that time, video tape rental was a lucrative business.

Those were the fond memories, yes, that's part of my childhood memories. Not so much that I grew up there, but a place where I spend my year-end school holidays. Now, with my grandmother no longer with us, the house has since been sold since my uncle has also moved to KL instead.

We passed by the house on our way to Air Itam market this time, and make a pit-stop for Papa Snew (it's his first time to Penang). The house, sadly, has turned into a motor-bike business, since the sale. Somehow, I  feel a sense of loss when I saw what the house has turn into from the outside. I'm sure my dad felt it more. But anyway, enough ranting of my childhood memories

The most popular sight at Air Itam market is likely the Kek Lok Si Temple. This is probably one of the largest temple in Southeast Asia, built on the hill, which also houses a columbarium.  However, for this post, I'm not going to talk introduce much on Kek Lok Si, but more of the quirk market.

Traffic is usually very heavy and crowded at Air Itam Market. On that morning, we went there around 11am in the morning and the crowd has started to slow down. Usually, the market is most crowded around 9am.

Vegetable stalls, poultry stalls, fruits stalls, dry goods, snacks stalls. It's lined up on the sides of the streets. Basically, it's like a market, but on the sides of the road.

Can you find some of the "old-school" stuff in this road side stall?

Can you guess what this uncle is selling? Or do you think it's scary animal?
Not to worry, it's just wild bore 山猪. The meat is supposed to taste tougher, since it is from the wild and has the ability to move around. But I would still prefer the tenderness of pork that is bred in the farm.

Check the below picture out on the left! Yes, snakes, turtles are sold. Obviously, the snakes and turtles are not for food on the table. I irk at the thought of anyone buying snakes. But both are probably for what someone describe as "animal liberation", or in Chinese, 放生. According to some religious beliefs, some people do believe that freeing captured animals will help them to atone for their sins.

And in Penang, there's a famous snake temple. I do not know if animal liberation is being performed there. But I hope it's done there instead of anywhere else. Otherwise it will be scary!

The photos on the two separate durian sellers. See how one hang his durians nicely on a cart to sell, while the other just spread it on the floor in such a primitive way.

A famous shop in Air Itam Market area is Cheong Kim Chuan. This is an old traditional shop, famous for it's nutmeg products - preserved nutmeg, nutmeg medicated oil. The shop also sells Malaysia local products such as belacan, Tau Sar Pneah (Tambun biscuits) and so on.

The Air Itam Market has pretty good hawker stalls.

Popular stall includes Kway Chap, Kuay Teow Teng, Char Kuay Teow. One of the locals that we shared table with, told us that the Kuay Teow Teng (Rice noodle with fish ball and minced pork) used to be much better. The son took over and business starts to dip. I heard similar stories or comments on other the standard of local Penang food. I really wonder if the next generation would still be able to maintain the legendary taste of Penang Hawker food.

Nothing beats the famous Penang Assam Laksa at Air Itam Market.

I am not a huge fan of Penang Assam Laksa, but I still try this "must-try" dish from this famous stall. You can order and ask the stall assistant to bring it into the opposite hawker market. However, you need to sit on the section that does not have another competing Penang Laksa stall.

Snew's Rating : 4.2 / 5

Although I still prefer Nonya Laksa, this is really good.The flavour is thick and they do not sting on the tuna fish. No wonder it has so many good reviews.

Penang Assam Laksa

Pasar Air Itam,
Jalan Pasar,
11500 Air Itam,
Pulau Pinang

Opens Daily: 11am - 8pm



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Hawker Food at New Lane, Penang

Besides Gurney Hawker, New Lane is probably one of the most popular hawker street in Penang. This hawker street is less touristy, and the food stalls operate along the two sides of the street. Apart from the coffeeshop, tables are set up along the walkway and part of the the open space carpark

It's not too difficult to find New Lane (Lorong Baru). It's just next to Sunway Hotel, off two popular streets - Macalister Road and Dato Kramat Road. 

Over here, it's food lovers galore. There are so many different types of food to choose from.

Poh Peah - spelled as Popiah in Singapore, selling at RM2.60 for 2 pieces is really a steal, if you compared to Singapore pricing. 

The Penang style Chee Cheong Fun is slightly different from the Singapore style. The difference lies in the sauce. The Penang style has a thick taste of Hae Go - Shrimp Paste Sauce. To me, this has an acquired taste, but there again, I'm not a fan of Chee Cheong Fun with any type of sweet sauce. I prefer those serve in dim sum, wrapped with prawns or cha siew. 

 The good thing about having Chee Cheong Fun in Penang is that you can ask them to open up the Chee Cheong Fun layers for you, easier for you to dip it with the sauce. 

Koay Teow Soup, probably the most overlooked dish in Singapore, takes a different standing in Penang. You can either choose it with Yong Tau Foo ingredients, or just eaten as standalone. 

Unlike Singapore style which only has fishballs, beansprouts, probably few slices of fishcake, the Koay Teow soup here has pork slices, and pig's blood - something that is ban in Singapore. The soup base is heavy with pork lard. I love pig's blood! Ok, I know you find me a weirdo, who doesn't like cuttlefish and hae go (shrimp paste), but like pig's blood.  This is the standard Kuay Teow Teng. If you want it to be the Yong Tau Foo type, you just pick and choose your ingredients. 

Here's another dish, with pig's blood. It's Penang Curry Mee, something similar to the Penang Hokkien Mee. 

Char Koay Kak - a dish you probably only find it in Malaysia. It's similar to fried carrot cake, but the ingredients and method is slightly different.
First, the "Koay" - carrot cake are cut in mid-sized cubes. Black sauce is heavily used. Bean sprouts and prawns are added. Look at the prawns, it's so fresh and good size.

I don't particularly like the Char Koay Kak from this stall, I have tasted better ones. But, if you are in Penang, do give this dish a try. It's definitely something different from the Carrot Cake in Singapore.

Loh Bak - similar to the Ngon Hiang in Singapore. One of my favourites.

Chicken Wings - one of the popular stall here. It's a bit too sweet for me. I still prefer the Chicken Wings at Wong Ah Wah, Jalan Alor, Kuala Lumpur. Even after all these years, Wong Ah Wah chicken wings are "never-to-be-miss" for me if I am at KL.

In Singapore, Blk 85 Bedok, Fengshan Food centre chicken wings satisfies my crave. All my pals knows I LOOOOVE Chicken Wings!

My last stop is my favourite Apom. As with my previous post, I love Apom (spelled as Apong in this stall) and will never miss to try it at any stall that I come across. Yes, it's the thin pancake originating from the Indian community. Except for the fact that this is sold by Chinese (instead of Indian), the Apom sold here is similar to the original Indian pancake. The original Apom does not have any filling, but just a thin slice of crispy crepe-like pancake. 

Snew's Rating: 4 / 5

New Lane is definitely a good place to sample different local Penang hawker food. Although my aunt, being a local in Penang has commented that the food quality has slided, but, me, as a tourist, I still feel it's worth a try. The food here is definitely better than the touristy Gurney Drive hawker.


New Lane Hawker Street

Lorong Baru (New Lane),
Off Macalister Road, Georgetown
10040 Penang

Besides Sunway Hotel, Penang
Click here for Map Location

Opens: 5pm - 11pm


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Gurney Drive Hawker

Gurney Drive hawker is probably the most famous hawker in Penang. But it's also the most touristy place for hawker food in Penang.

I remember vaguely that during my younger days, the entire stretch of Gurney Drive was filled with push-cart stalls. Hawkers selling food, souvenirs and so on operates. Street hawkers filled the entire area, making it a well-known "Pasar Malam" or night market at that time. It is a gathering place for all - couples, families and tourists. For more than a decade, the government has cleaned up the place, and now congregated the hawkers to one area, towards the end of Persiaran Gurney. Honestly, I miss the old Gurney Drive which was much more vibrant.

The Gurney Drive Hawker - is also known as "the new esplanade" to the locals.

This is probably one of the most popular stall here. The way the cuttlefish is being displayed really makes the stall outstanding.

This is probably more well-known in Singapore as Cuttlefish Kang Kong (or "Ju Hu Eng Chai"). It's simply blanched Kang Kong with criss-cross cut Cuttlefish, served with sweet sauce. I'm really no fan of this dish, as it has an acquired taste. But Papa Snew loves it.

Some of the other food or stalls that are pretty different from the other Penang Hawker food:

Papa Snew was really interested in this stall as there was a constant queue of customers at this stall. The stall sells fried stuff, including the sinful but yet popular, fried chicken skin.

Fried chicken skin is sold at RM3 per cup.  This is probably the most popular item. Talk about sinfulness.

The stall owner will prepare all the food you have chosen and re-fry it before serving. So you can ensure it's crispy when served.

There are a number of Penang Rojak stalls. We saw some locals buying bottles of the rojak sauce from this stall and guess it should be one of the better stalls. 

  
We were pretty convinced that the rojak is not bad, that we bought two bottles of rojak sauce home. Papa Snew and Ms Kuddle loves it. 

Apom - One of the food that I love best in Penang. If I am not wrong, Apom started as an Indian Pancake - thinly sliced without any filling. The Chinese improvised the recipe to include slices of banana added.  I love both versions. I found this in Gurney drive hawker and decide to try it, although it's not the popular one that I will blog about in my later posts.

Another hawker food famous in Malaysia, originated from Melaka is Satay Celuk. It's a modified version of steamboat.

First, choose from the selection of stalks of semi-cooked food - hotdogs, fishballs, vegetables, wanton and so on.

Secondly, put it into a pot of boiling water for a few minutes.

Finally, dip on some satay sauce using the spoon.

This is the first time I'm trying on Satay Celuk, although it may not be the authentic style from Melaka. This is probably more hygienic then the authentic ones whereby the pot of satay steamboat is recycled and not changed from previous customers on the same table.

Snew's Rating: 2.8 / 5
This is the most popular Penang hawker food and serves many tourists in search of local Penang food, similar to Newton hawker in Singapore. However, the food quality pales in comparison to many good food in other coffeeshops.


Gurney Drive Hawker Center
Persiaran Gurney
10250 Penang
Business Hour: 6pm – 12am



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