Joanna James
The island of Penang will offer many attractions for the visitor, and one of them would undoubtedly be the mouth-watering local foods. You will find that Penang’s authentic Malaysian dishes would be a wonderful culinary experience for the visitor. To eat like a local in this destination, you must sample the street foods and hawker specialities which are available at affordable prices. Provided below are some suggestions for enjoying local culinary adventures in Penang.
The delicious char koay teow will be an authentic Penang speciality that is sure to delight the taste buds of foodies. Basically, this dish consists of strips of flat rice noodles stir-fried along with shrimps, eggs, cockles, chives, bean sprouts, Chinese dried sausage and soy sauce. Full of flavour, this dish features a perfect combination of savoury, spicy and sweet elements. You could easily experience char koay teow at Penang’s food stalls and you will find that the quality of this dish depends on the way it is cooked. You should buy char koay teow from a vendor who prepares it carefully without rushing the cooking process.
The exotic dish of Hokkien mee originated from Hokkien or Fujian in China. You will find that this noodle dish has a distinctive appearance featuring an orange-tinted broth. This special broth derives its colour from the prawn shells, prawn heads and pork bones used in its preparation. This broth is poured onto a combination of yellow noodles and rice vermicelli. It is served along with water spinach, a boiled egg, peeled prawns and bean sprouts. Hokkien mee is typically spiced up with fried shallots, sambal sauce and lime. This dish will provide a unique dining experience as the blend of flavours creates a savoury and rich taste.
This dish which enjoys great popularity in Malaysia happens to be a local adaptation of the well-known paratha roti of India. This food was introduced to what was then British Malaya by the South Indian workers brought over by the colonial ruler Britain. In Penang, roti canai is typically served along with curry; the most popular curries enjoyed with roti would be daal (a curry of lentils) and chicken curry minus the chicken pieces, called kari ayam. An accommodation choice to consider where you could base yourself as you experience Penang foods would be Sky Residence Prai which offers appealingly located serviced apartments in Bukit Mertajam.
There is no doubt that laksa happens to be one of Malaysia’s best-loved dishes. Although you will find many variations of this popular dish, Penang’s Assam laksa is renowned as a special culinary creation. It consists of a sour and spicy fish broth combined with vermicelli noodles. Probably the most important element in Penang Assam laksa would be the spicy paste that flavours the broth. This noodle soup also includes ingredients like flaked fish, cucumber, sliced onions, lettuce, red chillies, ginger flower, tamarind and mint. Finally, when the dish is being served, it is accompanied by a little prawn paste to provide an additional touch of flavour.
Your experience of Penang’s dishes would not be complete without trying out nasi lemak, which is also regarded as Malaysia’s national dish. This dish can be enjoyed at any time of the day. Nasi lemak features fragrant rice that is cooked with coconut milk along with pandan leaves and possibly also lemongrass or ginger. This dish comes in several varieties such as prawn, chicken, anchovy and egg, cuttlefish, fish and so on. When nasi lemak is well prepared, it will be a flavourful and irresistible dish that will delight the food lover.
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