The Penang Famous Char Koay Teow

One of Penang’s iconic street foods is undoubtedly the Penang-style ”char koay teow” or fried rice noodles with cockles, shrimps, waxed Chinese sausages, eggs, beansprouts & chives, seasoned with soy sauce, fish sauce, chilli paste and, oftentimes, liberal amounts of pork lard.

Like most other Penang “char koay teow” hawkers, the old man who runs the Siam Road stall is of Teochew descent, though both he & his son (who took food orders from the customers) spoke Hokkien, Penang’s lingua franca. Despite its Teochew beginnings, Penang “char koay teow” differed markedly from its counterpart in Swatow (Shantou) in China, the Teochew’s ancestral homeland, where the rice noodle dish is often flavoured with only shreds of pork and fish sauce.

Be prepared for a 40-minute wait here as there’s a crowd all day long.

Price: RM4 (Small), RM5 (Big)

Name: Siam Road Char Koay Teow
Address: Siam Road, Penang (near the Anson Road market)
GPS: N05° 24′ 55.” E100° 19′ 13.4″
Time: Afternoons – starts from 3pm – sold out/late.  You can dine at the coffeeshop opposite or buy as take-away.
Day: Everyday except Monday.