PENANG
Are you looking for dining precincts? Two streets filled with street food stand out: Kimberley Street (Lebuh Kimberley) and Chulia Street (Lebuh Chulia).
Avoid Gurney Drive’s hawker centre at all costs! What used to be the go-to place for Penang hawker food as recently as the 1980s, it has now deteriorated to be a touristy, rip-off place. My cousin visiting from Melbourne went there with her family two weeks ago, and they were appalled by the atrocious standards of hawker food there.
Pulau Tikus Market has night food stalls on Jalan Pasar (Market Street).
If you are in the Weld Quay area, Jetty Food Centre has some really good food stalls - the wantan noodle stall there was Anthony Bourdain’s first stop on his visit to Penang a few years back. The Thai food stall and char koay teow are also very good.
If you want proper restaurants, Tek Sen is good for Penang-Chinese fare. It’s extremely popular so book ahead.
Kebaya at Seven Terraces is another popular spot, more for fine dining on Nyonya cuisine.
For a more casual Nyonya restaurant, try Jason’s Nyonya House on King Street.
SINGAPORE
__Makansutra Gluttons Bay__has some really good options albeit higher prices.
Lau Pa Sat on Teluk Ayer Street is the go-to place for satays. You can find other S’pore street foods there.
Chinatown Food Street is another go-to place for hawker fare in quite a comfortable setting.
Truth be told, when I’m back in Singapore, we normally go to specific eateries or stalls which are a bit out of the city, and not really worth your while to trek all the way there just for a specific dish.
But do let me know if you are looking for any particular dish, or just need to know about anything more specific.
