The three best Thai food purveyors in Penang were invited to provide the food for this year’s National Day of Thailand celebrations organised by the Royal Thai Consulate-General in Penang:
- Sood by Chef Ton, which is newly listed in the recently unveiled Michelin Guide to Kuala Lumpur & Penang 2026.
- Blue Chang, which offers the best crab-meat omelette and crabmeat fried rice in town, reminiscent of Jay Fai in Bangkok.
- The Thai, which serves the absolute best Thai desserts in town. Absolutely love this place, but which has one drawback: it touts itself as a pet-friendly eatery - which means that it’s very popular with dog-owners, and the otherwise beautiful, pristine-looking bistro has a “pet shop” feel and smell. Not some place I can bring guests for a more “formal” meal.
The National Day celebrations were quite lavish, with the mesmerizing traditional Khon mask dance being the centerpiece of the cultural extravaganza staged this evening.
But when it comes to any form of celebration for the Thais, the food has to take center-stage.
- Sood by Chef Ton
Duck larb
Noodle spring roll with chicken
Caramelized bananas with coconut shreds
- Blue Chang
Tod mun pla - Thai-style fishcakes, and tod mun goong - Thai-style prawn cakes.
- The Thai - with its breathtaking selection of Thai desserts, plus savory canapes like miang kham and popia tod.
- The Royal Thai Consulate-General’s in-house chef and kitchen staff contributed some very canapes, besides demonstrating the art of fruit carving.
Kratong tong - crisp, pastry cups filled with minced chicken & vegetables.
Larb gai tod - chicken croquettes, served with raw vegetables.
The event was held in the grand ballroom of the G Hotel, whose banquet kitchen also provided a lavish buffet of international and local (Malaysian) dishes. But all attention were on the Thai selection by the specially invited Thai food purveyors.
