Malaysia

3 Best Restaurants in Penang, Malaysia

We've compiled the best of the best in Penang - browse our top choices for the top things to see or do during your stay.

Georgetown Wines

This wine bar built in a former horse stable is a oenophile's delight. Each day, there is one red, one white, and one rosé available by the glass, and then a full cellar through which you can stroll and choose a full bottle. During happy hour, house wines by the glass are buy one, get one free and select bottles are 20 percent off. While you enjoy your wine, you can munch on local clams in a fragrant broth; crostini with ricotta, anchovies, shaved fennel, and quail egg or refreshing grilled watermelon with feta and mint. Georgetown Wines also serves Penang's best churros, paired with dark chocolate sauce.

Gurney Drive Hawker Center

Some will argue that Gurney Drive is not the best hawker center in Penang (having an opinion on the best place to eat is a Malaysian pastime), but it's hard to deny that this is a prime spot to catch the sunset along the coast and to tuck into hawker fare. Stalls are set up one after the other, each specializing in a unique dish. Try the char kway teo (stir-fry flat rice noodles with whole prawns), popiah (fresh spring rolls), and Penang rojak (a tart fruit-and-vegetable salad mixed with crushed peanut and shrimp-paste sauce). All stalls are self-service, and plastic tables and stools are set up in the center for diners to claim as they wish.

My Own Café

Inside a fully restored shophouse, My Own Café has a beautifully tiled floor and a mix of traditional dark wood carved furniture and retro coffeehouse seating. The restaurant serves just one dish: laksa in two sizes. It's Penang assam laksa, of course, so the stock is fish-based, with nice springy noodles and sweet and sour finishes. Before you head back into the heat, grab a coconut ice cream, served in a half shell with chunks of coconut. On the walls you'll see creative street art designs, much like what you'll find on neighboring Armenian Street.

Malaysia

Malaysia

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