Ice Kacang

Top 12 Best Hawker Food

All Penangnites are extremely proud of their Hawker Food (Street Food). Ask any Penangnite and they are bound to have an opinion on the best place to eat a certain type of food.

Penang is without question easily heralded as the Food Capital of Malaysia if not further afield, after all where else in the world would you get food anywhere you turn and at all hours of the day…and night! (Fancy dim sum at six o’clock in the morning, or Nasi Kandar available around the clock, even the various types of Roti available at midnight!). There is no dinner time or lunch time, anytime is meal time.

While all conversations in the U.K. centre on the weather (sounds boring eh, but the weather is really changeable in the UK, honest!), in Penang, it is always, always, always about food.

“Have you tried the Sisters Char Koay Teow?”

“The best Laksa has to be in Ayer Itam Market”

“The Rojak in Gurney Drive is to die for…”

Eating is a way of life. There is nothing Penangnites love more than their food.

So if you’re visiting Penang, make sure you make time to try the food.

Best Street Food in Penang

Here is a list of top 12 Penang Street Food based on an online survey by the state government.

Click on the links above to learn more about the best street food in Penang.

Sources: Penang Tourism Development and Culture Office

Ice Kacang and Chendol

Ice Kacang (Ais Kacang)

The word Kacang is the malay word for nuts referring to the peanut as well as the red beans used in the dish.

Ice Kacang is a local dessert prepared with a mixture of ingredients perfect for the sunny weather.

A generous amount of shaved ice with added red and brown syrup and evaporated milk, topped with a mix of red beans, raisins, creamy sweet corn, black and green jelly and crunchy peanuts makes this an irresistible dish.

Some stalls offer sliced sea coconut and a scoop or two of ice cream as extras.

Definitely a must try for those visiting Penang, especially on a warm day.

Chendol

Chendol or Teochew Chendol to the locals, is another dessert usually available from the same stall selling Ice Kacang.

The main ingredients for Chendol are the chewy green pandan jelly made from rice flour, red beans and coconut milk.

As with the Ice Kacang, shaved ice is used on the main ingredients and topped with brown sugar syrup giving it that sweet and creamy taste.

Options

If there are toppings that you would rather not have, don’t hesitate to ask for it to be left out. It is quite common to have Ice Kacang or Chendol without the red beans.

Where to find Ice Kacang and Chendol: Long Beach Hawker Centre, Cecil Market, Astaka Stadium, Gurney Drive Hawker Centre, Penang Road near Joon Hooi Cafe (Famous, only available in the afternoon), Lorong Selamat, Mount Erskine Roadside Hawker Stalls, Padang Kota Lama.

Heat Level: Non-Spicy.