Penang has a serious claim to being the food capital of Malaysia — possibly of all Southeast Asia. The hawker culture is outstanding, the diversity is unmatched, and prices at the best stalls are absurdly low. Eat frequently and promiscuously.
The signature dishes: char kway teow (flat rice noodles stir-fried in a wok over extreme heat with prawns, cockles, egg, and bean sprouts) is found everywhere but reaches its highest form at the older stalls on Lorong Selamat and along the New Lane hawker strip. Penang asam laksa (rice noodle soup in a sour, fish-based broth with pineapple and torch ginger) is unlike any other laksa in Malaysia — sharper, more assertive, served with a thick prawn paste to stir in. Nasi kandar, the Indian Muslim rice dish with curries ladled over, originated in Penang and is best at the old restaurants around Kapitan Keling Mosque.
The air-conditioned Gurney Drive hawker centre has a convenient concentration of stalls, but the best food is often at smaller, older operations in the side streets. The New Lane hawker stalls (Lorong Baru) and the stalls around Chulia Street are local favourites. For Nyonya (Peranakan) food — a more elaborate kitchen tradition combining Malay and Chinese techniques — several restaurants in the heritage zone serve a fixed lunch menu that is better value than the à la carte dinner.