Fenella

Hi,
We're in Penang for the next couple of months and would really appreciate some advice on great places to eat, whether restaurants or street food - We love all Asian food. At the moment we're living near to Little India but will be moving to Gurney Drive next week.
Thanks in advance!

SushiFan

There is not much in the category "fine dining". But there is a huge variety of choice in the category "regular eateries". What you could do, as a start, is to take a look at tripadvisor and see which restaurants come out on top in the neighbourhood you're in. You should be able to find a wide variety within walking distance.

Fenella

Thanks SushiFan.
We are currently using Tripadvisor and, just walking around we're finding places. I did think though that the people who have lived here for a while would have some good tips.

IAmNotABritishExpat

You get the best Malay food (those food they serve during festivals) during Ramaddan (which would end 15/June this year or somewhere), and it should be avaialble at practically every major "halal" hotels in Malaysia. If you have not, it is worth trying unless you are those who insist alcohol served with meals. It is buffet style, priced above average of course, price normally advertised explicitly at entrance of hotel, and like any buffet, you can pick and sample. I dont know much about Penang, so ask others if you are interested.

IAmNotABritishExpat

This should give you some idea of Ramadhan buffet:

IanBlakeley

Crikey, that's a big ask places I quite like for local food in no particular order

Song River in Gurney drive if I fancy the grilled / BBQ chicken and a couple of beers of an evening
Restoran Zim Sum in Macalister road for Dim Sum mornings usually, no idea how long it goes on until
Restoran Old Green House in Burma road for night time Hokkien Mee, Buk A Teh
Bankok Lane Mee Goring in the coffee shop on the corner, they do a pretty good nasi melayu too
Nasi Melayu Lidiana up near the floating mosque, good at lunchtimes, gets very busy
Mandarin Cafe in Island Glades one of the better daytime Char Kway teow complete with pork lard if you ask, also good roti canai but need to be before approx. 10:30
Starview in Prai, bit more up market restaurant dining, there is a Starview in Penang, personally I prefer Prai
Hon Kei Food Corner Restaurant in Kampung malabar for the soup noodles with everything (I skip the brain) or the Tom Yum with fried fish
Tek Sen old style chinese restaurant in caranvon lane, get there early always very busy evenings can book if you're a big group opens 18:30 - 21:00 ish
Kedai Makanan Seong Huat traditional Choo char in the evenings, usually breakfast stuff in the mornings, not bad nasi lemak, afternoons there's a good curry puff stall outside
One Corner Cafe mornings again got most of the traditional stalls, it's the Hokkien Mee most come for, be early before ~9am as they sell out, expect lengthy waits especially weekends

There'll be others but that should be plenty to get on with, note most shut one day a week, usually mid week and some stalls shut on another day to the coffee shop so closed 2 days a week

Foodi

Penang has an amazing food scene. Almost anywhere I eat, I am not disappointed, but here are the places that stand out to me for different reasons:

Woodlands (Georgetown), my favourite Indian vegetarian restaurant. Good food and cheap.
Blue Reef Fish & Chips (Straits Quay), nice ambiance and good seafood.
Sushi Kitchen (Georgetown), creative sushi dishes.
The Safe Room (42, Lebuh Campbell), very smooth nitrogen ice cream.
China House (Georgetown), nice art exhibitions, live music on Friday I think, large choice of cakes.
Three Sixty Rooftop Bar (Bay View Hotel), go for a change of scene and have a drink at sunset.
Saturday lunch buffet at Miraku (G Hotel), good choice of sushi, sashimi and other Japanese dishes at a reasonable price.
Buffet at the Rasa Sayang Resort (Batu Ferringhi), food is ok but huge variety of dishes.

Fenella

Thanks IanBlakeley and Foodi - exactly the kind of info we were looking for. Should keep us going for a while - We may even have to extend our visit!😀