The Star
February 7, 2014

PETALING JAYA: With Penang cuisine capturing the interest of the world earlier this week through international accolades, netizens have come out in force to sing praises of their favourite places to dine in the state.

And from the feedback on Facebook, it would seem that half the island is cooking for the other half to eat – from char kuey teow and pasembor from Gurney Drive to laksa at Air Itam, said Jenanee Jai and Soo Lin Ong.

Jeffrey Woo recommended the Anjung Gurney hawker centre and hawkers around the Pulau Tikus area, while Abu Bakar said his places of choice were Tajudin Restaurant in Queen Street and Ramzan Restaurant in Ah Quee Street.

Indian Muslim, or mamak, food was also recommended by Dini Hairuddin and Azie Surip, who both recommended Line Clear’s nasi kandar on Penang Road, while Mohd Shairunizam recommended Penang nasi kandar in general.

Other netizens responding to The Star’s question on Facebook, like Tam Li Peng, pointed out that good food could be found all over Penang.

“Tan Jetty’s perfect lor bak and prawn fritters, heart-stopping or chien, China House’s delicious and daring cakes, mua chee at Gurney Drive with toasted coconut flakes, and Red Garden, which has a decent mix of fresh seafood cooked any which way, plus yummy chicken feet at a random Thai-style store,” said Tam.

Penang food was thrust into the global spotlight this week with Lonely Planet picking the island state as the top spot for foodies in 2014, and Penang mamak restaurants Mamak Malaysia and Nyonya in New York getting Michelin’s Bib Gourmand honour.

In the Lonely Planet write-up, Penang beat other top culinary spots like Victoria in Australia, north-west Spain, the deep south in United States, the Lake District in United Kingdom, Puglia in Italy, Georgia, and Oaxaca in Mexico to bag the number one spot.