Street food

Assam Laksa

Asam Laksa Penang

Ingredients of asam laksa

Penang laksa (Malay: Laksa Pulau Pinang), also known as assam laksa from the Malay for tamarind, comes from the Malaysian island of Penang. It is made with mackerel (ikan kembung) soup and its main distinguishing feature is the assam or tamarind which gives the soup a sour taste. The fish is poached and then flaked. Other ingredients that give Penang laksa its distinctive flavour include lemongrass, galangal (lengkuas) and chilli. Typical garnishes include mint, pineapple slices, thinly sliced onion, hε-ko, a thick sweet prawn paste and use of torch ginger flower. This, and not 'curry mee' is the usual 'laksa' one gets in Penang. "

Fried Keuy Teow

Fried kuey toew Penang

favourite recipes

Cendol

A dessert with green noodles in coconut milk, brown sugar and shaved ice. There's a very famous stall along the busy street of Penang Road near the "spider" pedestrian bridge leading to KOMTAR. Another not so famous 'cendol' stall is located just opposite to it.

Muar Chee

One of the popular sweet snacks found in Penang and other places in Malaysia, muar chee are often sold by roadside stalls or mobile hawkers. The set up is pretty simple: steamed glutinous rice paste and ground peanut mixture in a container. When you order it, the vendor would cut a small piece of glutinous rice paste using a special Muar Chee cutting knife, transfer it into the ground peanut mixture, dice the muar chee paste into small cubes and then coat them with the peanut and sugar. You can top Muar Chee with some fried shallots, but it’s optional. A small pack of Muar Chee costs only RM1 but it’s so tasty and satisfying that I could have them every day as a dessert…

Ais Kacang

A dessert sweet red beans, seaweed jelly, barley pearls, sweet corn and fruits are covered with shaved ice, then laced with rose syrup, brown sugar syrup and sweetened condensed milk. Certain stalls make the Ais Kacang Uniquely "Penang" by adding shredded nutmeg (A native fruit to Penang) pickle and raisins or sultanas over it.

Lor Bak

Marinated minced pork, then roll in thin soybean sheets and then deep fried. Usually served with small bowl of Loh (a thick broth thickened with corn starch and beaten eggs) and chili sauce.

Chee Cheong Fun

Usually eaten as breakfast, flat sheets made from rice flour, sometimes with some dried shrimp embedded, is steamed soft then cut up and topped with sweeten sauce, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, chili sauce, thick black prawn paste and sprinkled with toasted sesame seeds.