P

enang is called “Hawker’s Paradise”, or the “food capital of Malaysia”, not without good reason. Locals claim the island’s hawkers’ delights cannot be found or duplicated elsewhere.

Just step into the streets and you’ll find no further explanation necessary. Stalls and tables are set up in the open, occupying even the parking lot of an office complex if need be. Everything from the food kingdom seems to be there, from heavy meals such as seafood and noodles to light ones such as the sweets and fruity desserts.

Many Malaysians consider Penang the top foodies’ destination in the region not because of its up market restaurants, but rather for the humble eateries and stalls that line the streets. So long fine dining, here comes the street gourmet! What you need to bring when you visit Penang is not fancy clothes, or spacious luggage, but simply a big appetite and a genuine love for food, free from that typical fat-and-cholesterol-riddled conscience.

The ubiquitousness of hawkers along the streets of Penang, a delight for food lovers and a big headache for the municipal authorities, is said to originate as food for blue collar workers in the 19th and early 20th century. The coolies working in the harbor, the rickshaw peddlars, and others engaged in heavy labor required inexpensive meals that would give them energy. They are largely a transient male population from India, China and elsewhere in the archipelago – which explains the cultural variety of the food that covers Chinese, Nyonya, Malay, Indian and Thai.

In 2004 Penang was recognized as having the “Best Street Food” in Asia by Time magazine, citing that “nowhere else can such great tasting food be so cheap”. Indeed, it is even said that the hawkers are strongly supported by Penangites mostly because they find it easier and cheaper to eat out any time of the day or night!

The foods can be broken down roughly into several varieties, the dominant entries being fresh seafood, meat, noodles, spices and desserts.

Generally, among Penang’s most popular culinary delights are Penang Char Kuay Teow (flat rice noodles served with prawns, stir-fried egg, etc.), Asam Laksa (vegetable noodles in tangy fish gravy), Nasi Kandar (rice accompanied by side dishes and curry sauce) and Hokkien Mee (Fujian fried noodles).

For desserts there are Rojak (mixed fruit salad in prawn-paste sauce), Bee Koh Moy (black glutinous rice porridge), Cendol (green starch-noodle in coconut milk and palm sugar). The drinks also come in great variety, from unusual sounding ones such as Teh C Peng Special (three-layered iced tea with milk) to the global Iced Coffee.

There are many places where one can find a good concentration of hawker stalls on the island. Among the best places include Gurney Drive, Pulau Tikus, New Lane, New World Park, Penang Road and Chulia Street, as well as Raja Uda and Chai Leng Park over on the mainland. If you are in the city, the stall at Lorong Selamat off Macalister Road is a premium choice. Another famous stall sits behind the Gama department store. For years, the market- place in Ayer Itam, next door to the famed Kek Lok Si Temple, has been the place locals congregate. Another famous place to go is Gurney Drive where visitors will be spoilt for choice.

The best thing to do is to actually explore the streets and see what’s what, but if you want to have an orientation from the start there no shortage of food bloggers out there on the Web. Not only do they share verbal and visual information about the food and the places, but also the culinary experience. Find them at www.visitpenang.gov.my, www.penang-traveltips.com, and www.penang-online.com.