Travel: Penang

Bubble milk tea burnt cheese cake from Belle and Cream! The tea flavour was quite subtle, and complimented cheese flavour really well. The cake was creamy, and slightly denser (in a good way). The tapioca pearls were chewy and had a nice bite - surprisingly, it went quite well with the cake!

Sin Kim San Cafe
Jalan Macalister
Opening hours: different stalls open at different times

Literally kway teow soup, it's Penang's version of fishball noodle soup. Tbh it's not much different from SG - how different can fishball soup get? This probably wins in terms of price alone I guess.

Sin Kim San Cafe
Jalan Macalister
Opening hours: different stalls open at different times

SG one is better in terms of crispiness and overall quality. The ones in Penang are generally more gooey, and he egg and starch aren't mixed so you get large clumps of egg and flour. The good thing is that they are a lot more generous with their oysters here.

Sin Kim San Cafe
Jalan Macalister
Opening hours: different stalls open at different times

Right from the outset I think SG serves better wanton mee. The one at this particular coffee shop was not v good. The char siew was too fat and quite chewy, while the wanton was rather run of the mill. I'm sure there are better ones around, but maybe next time.

Northam Beach Cafe
Opening hours: 5.00pm to 12.30am

Very different from the wetter variant served in SG. The chili or sambal they use is really different, and it leads to a dry kind, not with e usual spicy sauce that we love. The stingray itself was really good, very fresh and had a lot of flesh. I guess it comes down to preference but I still prefer our one in SG.

Northam Beach Cafe
Opening hours: 5.00pm to 12.30am

The huge spoonful of chilli is not too overpowering, and actually gives it a nice spice and flavor. I'm still a fan of the bigger prawns served in SG as they are more substantial. But I guess you can't really complain when it is so cheap compared to SG.

Yang Yang Dim Sum
Jalan Anson
Opening hours: 6am to 2pm daily

Average dim sum, but so much cheaper than what you get in Singapore. They have quite a wide variety of offerings, and would be good for breakfast before you start your day of touring. The har gao wasn't great, as the skin was a little too mushy. Their fried items like the fu pi juan was ok, although it seemed to taste more like ngor hiang. Their chee chong fun was not bad, although they had run out of the prawn ones by 11ish which was kind of a bummer.

Penang Road Teochew Chendol Stall
Lebuh Keng Kwee
Opening hours: 10.30am to 7pm (Mon-Fri), 10am to 7.30pm (Sat-Sun)

Chendol is everywhere in Penang, this place is particularly famous for it. There is always a relatively long queue as people scramble to get their cold chendol fix especially during the hot afternoon. The gula melaka and red beans is what really makes it so good. The beans used are of the larger variety than the smaller ones in SG, and gives it more texture and flavour. If there's one chendol you should try in Penang, it is this one.

Penang Road Teochew Chendol Stall
Lebuh Keng Kwee
Opening hours: 10.30am to 7pm (Mon-Fri), 10am to 7.30pm (Sat-Sun)

One of the signature dishes of Penang, this has nothing in common with the SG variation apart from its name. It is basically a different noodle dish altogether with its own unique flavour. It's Assam-based, and the broth is made with fish stock. I think fish sauce (?) is used, which gives it a really intense flavour. I think you can either hate it or love it, because it could come off as a little fishy to some.

Penang Road Teochew Chendol Stall
Lebuh Keng Kwee
Opening hours: 10.30am to 7pm (Mon-Fri), 10am to 7.30pm (Sat-Sun)

The Penang variation is more fruits than you tiao, which might turn some people off (aka me). The sauce used is a lot thicker and more intense/concentrated, but the prawn paste flavour remains largely the same. A lot more peanut is given which I prefer, as it gives it a nice crunchy texture.

Heng Huat Cafe
Lorong Selamat
Opening hours: 11am to 6pm

Super cheap, and damn good to have on a hot day. Interestingly, this place used Sarsi/root beer and no gula melaka, which was a nice difference to me from the ones in SG. The scoop of ice cream was just plain vanilla ice cream, but at this kind of price, you can't really complain. Not as sweet or heavy as the SG variant.

Heng Huat Cafe
Lorong Selamat
Opening hours: 11am to 6pm

Heralded as the best char kway teow in Penang, the places is perpetually crowded,not with tourists but rather the locals which is a tell tale sign of its authenticity. The char koay teow was really the best out of all we ate while in Penang. The noodles were oily enough such that it wasn't dry or sticking to each other, but not overly greasy. The prawns were really fresh and succulent, and was spicy, salty, and just so delicious.There were sinful cubes of pork lard hidden inside which is just the icing on top of the cake really. The bad part about this place is that it is always crowded and hard to get seats, and you can be prepared to wait 30 mins to 1 hour for your food. It's also pricier compared to other places such that it's almost SG price you're paying, but at least you get what you pay for here. At least he exchange rate is low now so it wasn't that bad.