My Uni's Life

A TRIP TO PENANG

6 Delicious Things Must Eat in Penang

1. Lor Bak

If deep-fried is your thing, then you’ll enjoy Lor Bak. It’s a Hokkien/Teochew dish consisting of various meats, seafood, tofu, and vegetables. They’re seasoned with five-spice powder and rolled in a thin beancurd skin before being dunked in oil and deep-fried. Lor bak is usually served with chili sauce and loh, a sweet sauce thickened with corn starch and beaten eggs.

2. Char Koay Kak

Char koay kak is radish cake stir-fried in a thick black soy sauce with preserved radish, bean sprouts, and eggs. It’s known as chai tow kueh or “carrot cake” in Singapore.

3. Seafood Popiah

Popiah is a Hokkien/Teochew-type of fresh spring roll. It’s made by filling a thin, paper-like crepe or pancake with finely grated turnips and a combination of other ingredients like bean sprouts, grated carrots, pork, seafood, fried tofu, chopped peanuts, fried shallots, and shredded omelette.

4. Oyster Omelette / Oh Chien

If you’ve traveled around Asia and enjoy its food, then you’ve probably seen this dish at some point. Popular in many countries, it’s basically a fried oyster-filled omelette. Other variations usually contain potato starch to thicken the omelette but the Penang version is made with rice flour batter to give it a lighter, crisper texture.

5. Char Koay Teow

Char koay teow is considered by many to be the most iconic street food in Penang. It’s name literally means “stir-fried rice cake strips”, and it consists of flat rice noodles stir-fried in pork fat with light and dark soy sauce, chili, belachan(fermented shrimp paste), prawns, blood cockles, bean sprouts, chopped Chinese chives, and egg. In Penang, it’s typically served on a piece of banana leaf on a plate like below.

6. Asam Laksa

Like char koay teow, asam laksa is one of Penang’s signature dishes. It’s tamarind-based so it’s more sour compared to the coconut-based curry laksas that are popular in Singapore. Interestingly, curry laksas are common in Penang as well, but they’re referred to as curry mee. When someone in Penang says “laksa”, they’re typically referring to asam laksa.