Explore: Penang

This is a delightful dish of mixed fruits and vegetables - cucumber, turnip, pineapple, mango, guava, as well as youtiao (dough fritters) and cuttlefish, coated with a savory shrimp paste that's thick and gooey like the consistency of caramel sauce. It's generously sprinkled with crushed roasted peanuts and makes an enjoyable sweet-and-savory salad snack.

Note: Opt for 'non-spicy' if you'd prefer it that way, as the default from what I've experienced is quite spicy.

"It's basically kuay tiaw, but thicker and layered." I'm not sure where I heard this from but I think it's a close description.

These steamed flat rice noodle rolls are hand-cut and usually drizzled with shrimp paste mixed with a sweet sauce, along with chili sauce if you want it hot. It is then sprinkled with some sesame oil and toasted sesame seeds.

This version had the noodle rolls sitting atop the sauces, and the chili paste in the corner, barely touching any of the other ingredients. I thought this was a 'respectful' and 'considerate' plate of chee cheong fun - "dip as much sauce as you want, and there's chili in the corner at your disposal". It really was quite delicious too. Thumbs up.

This stall boasts a variety of vegetables and meat, mostly cooked with sambal (shrimp chili relish), prepared as a curry, or a rendang (spiced coconut milk stew). Pick any or every side dish to go with the rice and pay up before you take it to your table. A highly customizable dish, you'd be spoilt for choice at Annie's Nasi Lemak.

I opted for the regular nasi lemak ikan bilis (anchovy) with egg because in my mind that's what the original nasi lemak is. This simple 'original' also happens to be my favourite version cause I'm not great at spicy food.

I was certainly pleased with the coconut rice. It was fragrant and not too oily. The sambal, with its sweet and spicy, went well with the rice and egg. The fried peanuts and anchovies added saltiness and crunch, and the cucumber slices calmed that spiciness down.

Singapore probably has the best chicken rice, but who's to say Penang can't have great ones too?

This one that I got was decent. It did take a while to get to the table though. My hunger turned this good plate of chicken rice great, and I have absolutely nothing to complain about. Rice was fragrant and not too oily; chicken was tender and cooked just right - no rubbery or tough, chewy nonsense.

Infamous or not, the queue was absolutely worth it for that fragrant coconut milk and quality gula Melaka, which is the signature chendul flavour.

This famous Teochew chendul is a bowl of shaved ice mixed with coconut milk, gula Melaka (palm sugar), kidney beans and jelly noodles (made from rice flour and some coloring to form a green worm-like jelly).

Join the people who stand and eat by the roadside like a champ, or be a wimp like me and head inside for a shade and a seat. I was told that we'd be charged extra to bring our chendul inside, but I was too excited, already having the bowls in my hands that I honestly didn't bother.

Penang's version of wantan mee is a dish of springy egg noodles tossed in a sweet-salty dark sauce, topped with yu choy, char siew slices and of course, boiled pork dumplings (wantan).

I was served the wantan mee without the wantans, which later came in a bowl of soup. So I gladly put the wantans into my half-eaten noodles and carried on eating.

The noodles had the ideal texture. It was firm and springy like it should be. The wantan was meaty, fragrant and a little soupy. It was great. I found myself however, struggling to finish the last bit of noodles that happened to be soaking in the leftover dark sauce. I would say that the sauce is a little too salty than what I'd prefer, so it definitely has to be mixed in well with the rest of the ingredients.

Whether it's the yellow noodles or bee hoon, they're cooked just the right texture. The prawn broth is rich, fragrant and not too spicy. Topped with shrimp, pork, egg, beansprouts, fried shallots and water spinach (kangkong), this is one flavoursome bowl. I highly recommend it.

There were too many to choose from: battered fish, prawn fritters, tofu, squid, five-spice pork rolls (Loh Bak or in some places Ngo Hiang), and so I told the nice lady that I wanted a little bit of everything for two people.

When it came to the table, I thought it was way too much for two, but since I ordered it and paid RM11 for it, we finished it. We are big eaters after all.

It was enjoyable to discover and taste a plate of random 'snacks'. My favorite had to be the deep fried pork. It was lean, tender and went really well with some chili or dark soy sauce.

This was truly a fun dish to have on the side, to fill that space on the table, and to share.

You can get Char Kueh Tiao in any state in Malaysia, but none of them will measure up to a classic Penang version.

That being said, I don't think I've ever had a Char Kueh Tiao in Malaysia as pricey as this one, but then again I've never had one that's this generous with their varying ingredients.

Served on a piece of banana leaf on a paper plate, this version has the essential flat rice noodles (kueh tiao), fried with shrimps, Chinese sausages, cockles, eggs, beansprouts and chives. Simply satisfying, Penang has definitely set the benchmark for Char Kueh Tiaos.

Grilled skewered chicken and pork tenders, served with a side of lovely peanut satay sauce. Simply delicious. Ordered five of each at a total of RM11.