Places to Visit Nearby
- Kwan Yin Temple
- Mariamman Kuil
- Tua Pek Kong Temple
- China St Art Gallery
- Penang Peranakan Museum
- Penang Heritage Trust
Food Discoveries Nearby
1. Penang Chinese Food
- Peace & Joy Coffee Shop (corner of China Street and Queen Street)
Selection:
Penang Curry Mee served in spicy coconut broth and topped with cockles, pig’s blood jelly, cuttle fish and fried bean curd and garnished with fresh mint leaves. Penang Curry Mee is different from the southern curry laksa as it is not as rich and the white curry gravy is spiced up with a dollop of sambal (spicy paste) which then gives its golden colour. Wanton Mee is pretty much a universal favourite in Asia. Hainanese Chicken Rice is also popular here as well as the penang chee cheong fun with prawn paste
- Heng Kee Restaurant (60 China Street)
Selection:
Old home-cook styled dishes. Fish Curry Tumis cooked in the spicy tamarind gravy with lady fingers and tomatoes to balance the flavours and textures is a highlight as is the Kang Kung Ham Har, a home recipe where the kangkung (Water Spinach) is served with a topping of dried prawns and fried garlic paste. Another favourite with the regulars is their signature dish Mui Choy Pork Belly. Mui Choy is dried salted mustard green. For those of us who have had the privilege of savouring Grandma’s cooking, this dish is a trip down memory lane. For those who would like some gravy to go with rice, then tofu and fish slices cooked in bean paste (Tau Cheong) gravy is the perfect choice.
- Hok Poe Lye Cafe
Selection:
This place serves home cooked Chinese dishes and starts early in the morning. Being located just across the road from us, we get to hear the clanging of the woks early and their chitter chatter as they get on with cooking many many different dishes for early servings. They start serving around 10am and right through till 1pm.Closed on Weekends and Public Holidays.
- Hok Poe Lye Coffeeshop opposite Ren I Tang
Selection:
The morning vegetarian fried noodles are a satisfying meal to start your day. Half boiled eggs and a cup of local kopi (coffee) is a nice engine starter too. The Char Kway Teow here is tasty and the Kway Teow Teng (noodles with soup) with its rich broth is great on a cool day.
- Sin Hoe Peng Kafe on King Street
Selection:
Serves pork koay teow teng for RM4.50. And it is absolutely satisfying, one of those comfort foods only local chinese would understand. You sit in a very clean kopitiam at the height of the midday heat to enjoy a piping hot rich brothy soupy bowl of rice noodle with an assortment of porky bits, perspiration streaming from top of your head - all the way down to your toes. If that's not to your fancy, then try the pork rice dumpling (bak chang) or the chai kuih (vegetarian dumpling). Open early morning till 3pm. Closed on weekends.
- Rio Cafe Coffeeshop on King Street
Selection:
One of the few places in George Town that serves char kway teow with fresh cockles. It is one of those things that is so difficult to not associate this dish with. Cockles cannot be substituted with slivers of chinese pork sausages or fish cake or any other seafood. It has to be cockles. And you have a choice of duck or chicken egg to go with it. At RM6 a plate.
- Kedai Makan Fok Kee
Selection:
This is another good local "dai chow" or "cook up" eating place located at the corner of Jalan Kapitan Kling and Lorong Pasar. The guiness spare ribs is good and they make a nice steam fish too. Opens 11.30am - 8.30pm
2. Indian Muslim Food
- Tajuddin Hussain Nasi Kandar (49 Queen Street)
Selection:
Nasi Kandar is synonymous with Penang. If you haven’t had Nasi Kandar, then you’ve not really experienced Little India. Queen Street is lined with nasi kandar restaurants of all kinds of standards. This place though, is great value for money and still, in our opinion, the best in town.
- Nasi Beratur
Selection:
This place opens at 9.30pm and closes around 2.00am. By 9pm sometimes, it not uncommon to see a long line of hungry customers waiting patiently at the entrance of the shop . The variety of curries is superb and you may notice, many of the parked cars are out-of-towners.
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