[Penang, Malaysia] Auntie Gaik Lean's Old School Eatery, Bishop Street

[klyeoh (Peter)]

Dinner at 1-Michelin-star Auntie Gaik Lean’s Old School Eatery last night. We managed to get a sneak preview of Auntie Gaik Lean’s Chinese New Year menu, which started off with a scrumptious abalone 𝘺𝘦𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘨 - our first 𝘭𝘰-𝘩𝘦𝘪 (the traditional tossing of the yee sang) this year, and it’s not even the Year of the Snake yet (Chinese New Year for 2025 will be celebrated in Wed, Jan 29, whence the Year of the Snake will be ushered in, to replace the Year of the Dragon).

Our dinner spread yesterday evening:

1. The abalone 𝘺𝘦𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘨 consisted entirely of fresh, finely-julienned vegetables - my absolute favourite type of 𝘺𝘦𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘨.
   
   

The plum sauce dressing for the 𝘺𝘦𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘨, plus toasted sesame seeds, crushed groundnuts and cornflakes provided crunch to the mix.

𝘓𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘪 - the Malaysian/Singaporean Cantonese practice of tossing the 𝘺𝘦𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘨.

2. 𝘒𝘶𝘦𝘩 𝘱𝘢𝘪 𝘵𝘦𝘦 - these traditional Nyonya pastry cups are adopted from the Indonesian “kue pattie” which, in turn, came from Dutch crispy pastry cups, called “pattie shells” in America when introduced by the Scandinavians in the 1920s. “Pai tee” is a mispronunciation by our local Nyonyas of the American “pattie”.
   The filling is similar to the Hokkien filling for popiah, i.e. stewed jicama, carrots, chicken-meat and carrots, topped with scallions and red chilis.
   

   

3. 𝘖𝘵𝘢𝘬-𝘰𝘵𝘢𝘬 - Penang-Nyonya spicy seafood custard pudding. It’s a local Penang adaption of Siamese 𝘩𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘰𝘬 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘺, and Cambodian 𝘢𝘮𝘰𝘬.
   

   

4. 𝘕𝘢𝘴𝘪 𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘮 - this is a Penang-Nyonya adaptation of the Siamese (Southern Thai) 𝘬𝘩𝘢𝘰 𝘺𝘢𝘮 rice salad.
   

   

5. 𝘓𝘰𝘳 𝘣𝘢𝘬 - these are Hokkien 5-spiced meat rolls, known in Hokkien as 𝘯𝘨𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘨.
   The Penang term came from the unique local Penang practice of serving a sticky, brown-hued 5-spiced dipping sauce called “𝘭𝘰𝘳” (similar to the gravy for “𝘭𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘦𝘦”, a Hokkien noodle dish) with the meat rolls wrapped in beancurd/yuba sheets. “𝘉𝘢𝘬” is the Hokkien word for meat.
   Hence, “𝘭𝘰𝘳 𝘣𝘢𝘬” refers to the “𝘭𝘰𝘳” gravy for the “𝘣𝘢𝘬” meat roll. The name stuck, even though 𝗻𝗼 “𝘭𝘰𝘳” gravy is provided with this dish nowadays.
   

   

6. Achar awak - Penang-Nyonya pickles, adapted from the Burmese community. In the 19th-century, the Burmese community in Penang was known as Orang Awak, and their settlement in Pulau Tikus was known as Kampung Awak. Hence, the pickles they made and sold at Pulau Tikus market was called Achar Awak.
   The Burmese “Awak” was a local mispronunciation of “Ava”, the old Burmese kingdom (1365 to 1555). The Burmese name for the Kingdom is အင်းဝနေပြည်တော် which is equivalent to Ava Kingdom.
   

   

7. 𝘈𝘴𝘢𝘮 𝘩𝘢𝘦 - tamarind-marinated prawns. The version here is stupendous!
   

   

8. 𝘑𝘪𝘶 𝘩𝘶 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘳 - jicama, carrots, and dried cuttlefish.
   

   

9. 𝘉𝘦𝘦𝘧 𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘯𝘨 - very good version here, cooked using Australian Angus beef.
   

   

10. 𝘊𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘒𝘢𝘱𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘯 - Penang-Nyonya chicken curry, replete with lemongrass, fresh turmeric, chilis and kaffir lime leaves. Its use of fresh 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘩 (spice mix) instead of dry spices betrays its Thai origins.
    

    

11. Crisp-fried garoupa with soy-chili dressing. This sea creature was so big, it looked like something the Nautilus would’ve encountered 20,000 leagues under the sea.
    Absolutely delish, and a must-order.
    

    

12. 𝘎𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘪 𝘵𝘶𝘮𝘪𝘴 - this dish is a not part of the Chinese New Year menu, but an item on Auntie Gaik Lean’s regular menu, a house specialty and a must-order.
    

    

13. 𝘕𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘺𝘢 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘱 𝘤𝘩𝘺𝘦. The local “chap chye” shares a common origin as American-Chinese “chop suey”, but with a much lighter taste profile, with the vegetables here given a quick stir-fry.
    

    

14. 𝘒𝘪𝘢𝘮 𝘤𝘩𝘺𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘬 - duck and salted mustard soup (known as 𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘬 𝘵𝘪𝘮 in Melaka/Singapore-Nyonya cooking).
    

    

15. Giant freshwater prawns in spicy-chili dressing.
    

    

Desserts:
16) 𝘉𝘦𝘦 𝘬𝘰𝘩 𝘮𝘰𝘺 - black glutinous rice cooked with dried longans, coconut milk and sugar (known as 𝘱𝘶𝘭𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘮 in Melaka/Singapore-Nyonya cooking).

17. 𝘗𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘢𝘵 - bananas (only 𝘗𝘪𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘙𝘢𝘫𝘢 specie) and a selection of yellow, orange and purple sweet potatoes in coconut milk and sugar, scented with pandan.
    
    

Fab meal with some really good cooking. The vibe at Auntie Gaik Lean’s Old School Eatery is almost unparalleled in George Town, with a constant train of local and foreign customers, many queuing outside.

More about Auntie Gaik Lean here:

Penang's Auntie Gaik Lean Shares Her Secret Recipe for Nasi Ulam

Address
Auntie Gaik Lean’s Old School Eatery
1, Bishop Street, 10200 George Town, Penang, Malaysia
Tel: +6017-434 4398
Opening hours: 12pm-2.30pm, 6pm-9.30pm Wed to Sun. Closed on Mondays and Tuesdays.

[BierMonk]

WOW! that looks like an amazingly delicious and HUGE Meal.
Thanks for the great Photos and Report (as always)

@klyeoh

The local “chap chye” shares a common origin as American-Chinese “chop suey”,

Considering the Starch Based Noodles and the Name I would expect this to be an adaptation of the Korean Japchae ( 잡채 / 雜菜 )

[klyeoh (Peter)]

Japchae actually originated from a mixed vegetable dish - same as our Hokkien “chap chye” in Penang as well, with the potato starch noodles coming into the mix much later.

The Koreans have quite a bit in common with us Hokkiens (Eastern Chinese) as they do with the Mandarin-speaking Northern Chinese and Cantonese-speaking Southern Chinese. Linguistically, even though we are all not mutually intelligible, some similarities can be discerned.

[BierMonk]

Ah, that is interesting.

[Armoise (Denise)]

OMG I am dying here…immediately Googled airfares to Penang. Sadly too much for my budget now. This is the most amazing looking and sounding food, wish I could also taste it!

[klyeoh (Peter)]

Getting to know Auntie Gaik Lean, the person behind the über-popular restaurant which carries her name.

Navigate Penang Like a True Nyonya with Auntie Gaik Lean

[klyeoh (Peter)]

The Michelin Guide article above talked about Auntie Gaik Lean’s devotion towards this temple, Wat Buppharam. Four times a week, this 1-Michelin-starred chef volunteers to cook lunch for the Buddhist monks in the temple.

Last weekend, Auntie Gaik Lean invited me to observe the temple’s Qingming prayer ceremony.

Of course, for me, the highlight of my visit there was the post-prayer lunch. The monks get to eat first, of course:

Unlike Mahayana/Chinese Buddhist monks who are vegetarian, Theravada/Thai Buddhist monks can eat meat - so we have spread of various meat and vegetable dishes, a veritable buffet.

Chicken satay.

Nyonya chicken-and-potato curry.

My lunch plate - couldn’t decide which of the dozen or so dishes to try, so I predictably piled on my plate way more food than I could possibly fit into my tummy!

Anyway, we were back at Auntie Gaik Lean’s Old School Eatery that evening for dinner, as my former boss from Singapore was in town, and he specifically requested to eat there.

Kiam chye ark - duck-and-salted mustard leaves soup. This was stupendous, as good as any which I’d had anywhere!

Kueh pie tee - crisp pastry shells filled with stewed jicama, carrot and chicken, topped with scallions, cilantro and red chili, and served with a piquant chili-vinegar sauce. Very tasty.

Curry Kapitan - the iconic Penang-Nyonya chicken curry. It bore closer resemblance to Thai-style curries than Indian ones, i.e. only wet spices, i.e. ground fresh turmeric, galangal, lemongrass, shallots and red chilis are used for the spice mix, no dry spices like cumin, coriander, fennel, fenugreek or cardamom which typifies Indian spice mixes. Coconut milk is also added to lend an extra richness to the curry.

Nasi ulam - another iconic Penang-Nyonya dish with heavy Southern-Thai influences: a herbal rice salad, served at room temperature.

Eggs Belanda - this dish is called Eggs Tempra in Singapore and Malacca, the other two bastions of Nyonya culinary culture: fried eggs blanketed by a sweet-sour tamarind-inflected sauce, with sweet onions and red & green peppers. A very simple dish - usually associated with home-cooking but elevated to become a restaurant offering here.

Desserts: Bubur cha cha (left) and Bee koh moi *(right).

[Saregama]

@klyeoh

Unlike Mahayana/Chinese Buddhist monks who are vegetarian, Theravada/Thai monks can eat meat

Ok this has blown my mind a bit. Need to read up on how it reconciles with ahinsa / non-violence.

(There is a recent sect of Buddhism in India that was started by / for the Dalits, which incorporates some Buddhist principles but not all, and they also continue to eat meat. But they also reject many other tenets of traditional Buddhism.)

[klyeoh (Peter)]

Back to Auntie Gaik Lean’s Old School Eatery today, where the affable matriarch greeted visiting HOer @Presunto with open arms. Lunch flew past in a flash amidst great food and some animated conversation - when foodies meet…

Our lunch consisted of:
Kueh pai tie - the golden-fried, wafer-thin, crisp pastry cups filled with deliciously-cooked, julienned jicama, chicken, carrots & onions. Topped with chopped scallions and cut, red chilis, each cup is anointed with a dollop of savory chili sauce before being gobbled up whole. Delish!

Nasi ulam - Auntie Gaik Lean’s legendary tossed rice salad, where up to 9 different herbs are used. Spicy sambal belachan - puréed chillis with fermented shrimp paste - provides the stab of heat that jolts the dish alive.

Her amazing recipe has been featured in one of the Michelin Guide’s articles:

Penang's Auntie Gaik Lean Shares Her Secret Recipe for Nasi Ulam

Curry Kapitan - the classic Penang-Nyonya chicken curry, with its signature pungent, herbal flavors from the use of fresh ground ingredients - red chilis, shallots, fresh turmeric root, fresh lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, fresh galangal and more. No curry powder or dried spices are used for this recipe - it’s close to Thai curry preparations and worlds away from Indian ones.

Eggs Belanda - a simple dish of fried eggs, topped with a tamarind-flavored sauce with fresh onions and sliced capsicums.
“Belanda” is the Malay word for “Dutch”, and is usually assigned to many things introduced to the Malay world by Europeans (the Dutch were the most influential then, pre-British invasion) in the 17th- and 18th-centuries, hence a turkey is called “ayam Belanda” (Dutch chicken), a rabbit is “kuching Belanda” (Dutch cat), soursop is “durian Belanda” (Dutch durian), etc.
For whatever reason, this dish - translated from Malay as “Dutch eggs” - was named as such, even though we cannot think of any Dutch dish which vaguely resembles it in taste or appearance, and remains a mystery to us.

Sambal brinjal - pan-fried batons of purple aubergine, smothered with a piquant, spicy chili sauce, was delish.

Kerabu beehoon - my favorite dish at lunch today: rice vermicelli salad, dressed with a slightly spicy sambal dressing, and garnished with chicken strips and prawns, was utterly delicious!
It was one of Auntie Gaik Lean’s offerings when she was one of the Michelin-starred guest chefs invited to serve lunch at the 2025 Michelin Guide Hong Kong & Macau ceremony back in March at the Grand Lisboa Palace Resort Macau.

Desserts
Bee koh moy (left) and Pengat (right) - both classic Nyonya desserts: bee koh moy is black glutinous rice porridge, with sweet, dried longans to provide intense bursts of sweetness and coconut milk which imparted a richness to the dessert; and pengat, which consists of three type of sweet potatoes and banana, cooked in sweetened coconut milk.

As always, there is a large crowd of “walk-in customers” waiting their turn outside as we left. Best book ahead!

[linguafood (Natascha)]

Man, @Presunto is one lucky bish! Everything looks and sounds amazing

[PedroPero (PETER)]

Drooling over here

[ZivBnd (Ziv)]

She served up a feast at the Wat! I saw that photo of Nasi Ulam and was intrigued. One of my favorite dishes used to be Nam Khao Tod from a Thai grocery store in Falls Church Virginia and I just realized I have never ordered it in Thailand. But the Nasi Ulam looks delicious in a slightly different way. The herbs give it a texture that is amazing.

[klyeoh (Peter)]

@ZivBnd

One of my favorite dishes used to be Nam Khao Tod from a Thai grocery store in Falls Church Virginia and I just realized I have never ordered it in Thailand.

Penang’s unique Nyonya cuisine takes in a lot of Southern Thai influence, because of our proximity to the region. But I’d not had nam khao tod myself, though - probably because it’s more identified with Isaan/Northeast Thai cuisine.

Isan food tends to be spicier, and with much more intense flavors compared to other regional Thai cooking styles. Perhaps their best-known contribution to the Thai pantheon of popular dishes is the som tam/green papaya salad.

[Presunto (Return To (durian) Paradise <3 Pulau Pinang 2001-2025 ... [Fleeced Taxpayer :@)) :@)) ])]

What an experience! The food, the restaurant, the staff. But it’s the boss herself that left the deepest impression.

We sat in the private dining room with the boss and the whole time I noticed endless people were making photos right outside (they could not see through the privacy curtains but we could). When I emerged from the private room a feeling of sensory overload hit me in the face. The main dining room was absolutely packed. Then Peter and I stepped outside into the bright Penang sun, we gasped. The amount of people waiting on both sides of the door!

On cloud 9 in Penang!

[tigerjohn]

Flavor profiles are different aside from sharing their herbal character. I love both. Make sure and try Naem Khao the next time you are in Thailand. Much like khao Soi my favorite places are street vendors for this dish.

[tigerjohn]

This all looks fantastic. Interesting to see the differences between Nonya styles in Penang and what I am used to getting from Peranakan restaurants in Singapore and Johor.

[tigerjohn]

I’d definitely put Isaan cuisne at the top of the list for spice level, not only in Thailand but possible competing at a global level (along with places like Andra Pradesh). It’s hard to find anything not either loaded up with or accompanied by Chiles in some form.

After that Southern Thailand is the next most spicy, with many dishes competing with Isaan (Kua kling, the non-coconut milk curries like Gaeng Pa) but it also has huge influence from Chinese communities no doubt linked to Nonya flavors that you see in Penang. Dishes like Moo Hong and fried fish with tumeric are not spicy and there are many options.

However, the curries and stir fries can be super hot. Some of the best eating I’ve ever had in Thailand are ladies with informal tables with food trays at highway rest stops on national route 4 in the south. Not sure if they are still there but many dishes were amongst the hottest I have tried in Thailand.

[klyeoh (Peter)]

@tigerjohn

Interesting to see the differences between Nonya styles in Penang and what I am used to getting from Peranakan restaurants in Singapore and Johor.

Penang’s Northern Nyonya is a whole different culinary culture from Malacca and Singapore’s Southern Nyonya. All three have Straits Chinese/Baba-Nyonya/Peranakan heritage as they were the British Straits Settlements, distinct from the Malay states which they later joined together to become Malaysia. But Penang absorbed Thai, Burmese and Northern Sumatran influences through the centuries, whilst Malacca has more Javanese influences. Singapore’s Peranakan/Baba-Nyonya culture are wholly adopted from Malacca, as Singapore’s earliest pioneers who came after the British East India Company founded it in 1819 were all Malaccan Babas.

Both cuisines also have their own signature dishes - Penang-Nyonya has perut ikan, inche kabin, curry Kapitan, jiu hu char and tau yu bak, for e.g., whilst Malacca-Nyonya has its ayam buah keluak, babi pongteh, bakwan kepiting and ayam sioh.

Both cuisines also have similar dishes but with different names, e.g. Penang’s kiam chye ark is known in Malacca & Singapore as itek tim, and Penang’s eggs Belanda is known in Malacca/Singapore as eggs tempra.

Some dishes share the same name, but are totally different, e.g. the otak-otak: firm, grilled Malaccan/Singaporean version versus the steamed, mousse-like, custardy Penang version. Taste profiles are also very different.

If you’re interested to read a bit more on the different Peranakan cultures and their food:

3 Different Types of Peranakans and Their Cuisines

[tigerjohn]

Fascinating article. I had never heard of the Jawi Peranakan at all. Do you have any recs in KL for this cuisine beyond Jawi house? Otherwise I’ll put it on our list for our next visit. Unfortunately I don’t forsee any trips to Penang this year.