There are “cafes” all over the city in George Town that are essentially like little food courts. Each one has three or four vendors, usually specializing in one thing. And like a food court, you order, then walk your food over to one of the nearby tables.
Not to be confused with Mary Brown’s, a Canadian fried chicken chain, Marrybrown is a Malaysian fried chicken chain (seriously: how is this a coincidence? I don’t buy it) that’s been around since 1981.
Being in Penang during Chinese New Year’s is a bit of a bummer, because basically everything is closed. There is, however, a pretty huge Indian population here; if you want to eat out, your two choices are Indian or a chain restaurant.
The room I’m staying in happens to have a great view of The Top, Penang’s tallest building. Apparently that building puts on an annual fireworks show for Chinese New Year.
I had the misfortune of coming to Penang right during Chinese New Year. It’s a pretty big deal here, apparently, because once it starts, the city basically shuts down for a couple of days.
It’s tough to find anywhere to eat during this time, because if there’s a restaurant you want to check out, odds are that it’s closed. It’s way, way too hot to walk around until you find one that’s open.
Though lor mee is also served in Singapore and Indonesia, it’s a Malaysian dish, and a really tasty one at that.
I’ve been seeing a lot of ads for KFC Malaysia’s Parmesan Truffle Crunch. It certainly looks good; I figured I may as well give it a shot.
It was one of the worst meals I’ve had in a long, long time.
I Love Yoo is a Malaysian breakfast chain that specializes in youtiao (fried dough sticks) and rice porridge. I’m really not sure why it’s not called “I Love You,” since youtiao is almost always spelled starting with y-o-u and not y-o-o, but that’s neither here nor there.
Ice chendol isn’t the most photogenic dessert ever, but man, it’s so good.
Lot 10 Hutong is a rare thing — a food court in a mall that everyone says you need to check out.
I know what you’re thinking: a food court? Really? But you won’t find any fast food joints here. Lot 10’s food court features a bunch of well-regarded local restaurants all crammed into one place.