Penang is known for many things: the sights, the bridge, the orchards, the beaches and most importantly, the food. If ever you visit Penang, the trip wouldn’t be complete without trying out the state’s many cuisines. Historically a trading hub, the island is a host to a number of cultures, each having their own gourmet style and history, influencing each other and creating a multitude of original fusion dishes unique to Penang.

One of the legendary restaurants in Penang is Restoran Kapitan. They serve an assortment of Indian dishes such as curries, nasi kandar, tosai, but they are mainly famous for their claypot briyani. tandoori chicken and nan. What makes their tandoori chicken stand out from the rest is the fact that while any other tandoori chicken tends to be dry due to the cooking process, Kapitan’s version is famously moist, juicy and full of flavor. It has been described to have the perfect saltiness with subtle flavors of dry spice and yoghurt marinade.

Over at Padang Kota Lama’s food court, you can try out Hameed ‘Pata’ Mee Sotong by the sea where you can enjoy the view and breeze while you dine. In the afternoons, it’s reasonable to assume that 90% of the customers in the food court are there to eat this dish. It comes in two versions; mee rebus or mee goreng. The main star of both versions is the sambal sotong. The sotong strips are pleasingly chewy but still soft to bite while the sauce is has a deep sweet and spicy flavor.

One dish that originated from Penang is rojak pasembur. It is a Malaysian-Indian salad that can be enjoyed at any time of day. Usually it consists of various ingredients such as prawn fritters, fried dough fritters, half-boiled eggs and more. One of the best rojak pasembur to try out in Penang would be the Batu Lanchang Pasembur at the Batu Lancang Food Court. What sets this stall apart is that their rojak includes jellyfish (for an extra charge).

Another one of the hidden gems in Penang is called Nasi Tomato Batu Lanchang. The dish is served à la nasi campur where you can pick which dish you’d like to accompany the tomato rice. There are an assortment of curries, sambal ikan bilis, squid, clam, prawn, vegetables and their signature deep fried chicken cooked with charcoal to choose from. It’s only open every night from Monday to Saturday and is closed on Sundays.

For breakfast, you can try out the toasted bagels at the Mugshot Café. Famed for their bagel muffins and homemade yogurt, it’s frequently sold out before noon. What makes their bagels special is the fact that it’s toasted in a clay oven and it’s served with a generous amount of poppy seeds on top. The crispiness of the outer layer and the fluffiness inside is simply to die for.