Bus from Singapore to Penang

Why Penang Island is an International Hotspot

Penang Island is regarded as one of the top 15 best islands to retire on, according to International Living, a website that covers global retirement or relocation opportunities. The island is famous for its local food, where all the hawker food sold is cooked by local people, preserving the taste of the hawker food at its original taste. Here are some highly recommended hawker foods in Penang:

• Char Keow Teo –This is considered fried noodles and is heavily fried using charcoal as its fuel instead of gas and is cooked with duck eggs instead of chicken eggs. The noodles are then sprinkled with bean sprouts and fried together. With the heat from the wok, upon the first bite of the noodle, you can feel the “Wok Hei” of the noodle, a distinct charred, smoky flavour resulting from stir-frying foods over an open flame in Cantonese cuisine.
• Asam Laksa –A special soup-based laksa that tastes sweet, sour, and spicy, mixed with rice noodles, shredded fish, pineapples, and onions. In the northern state of Malaysia, “laksa” is considered asam laksa, where “asam” means sour in Malay. In the southern part of Malaysia, “laksa” is often spicy, orange-coloured, and made with flavourful coconut milk.
• Cendol – While cendol is available everywhere in Malaysia, the cendol in Penang is different, with bigger red beans compared to the northern states of Malaysia. Cendol is a “Peranakan” dessert and is best consumed during hot weather. It comes with a green jelly (cendol) made with Pandan leaves, blended and heated up while stirring and squeezing the cendol out. Freshly blended coconut milk, red beans, blended ice on top, and “gula melaka” (coconut sugar) make the whole dessert tasty and sweet, a taste that you will never forget after your first sip.