Five-spice pork rolls wrapped in beancurd skin and deep-fried, sliced and served with a starchy braising sauce and chilli dip alongside prawn fritters and tofu.
Where to eat it: 2 restaurants across 1 city.
Lor bak is Penang Hokkien festival food gone daily: marinated pork rolled in tofu skin, once made for celebrations, now fried at kopitiam stalls as a shared starter plate. The name pairs lor, the thick five-spice gravy, with bak, meat, and a proper stall serves the rolls with that gravy, a chilli dip, and a supporting cast of prawn fritters, century egg and fried tofu. Kheng Pin Cafe's morning stall on Jalan Penang is the version locals measure everything else against.
Common allergens: Soy, Gluten, Egg, Shellfish in mixed plates
Tip from the editors. Steam before frying; skipping it means raw centres or burnt skin, and the double cook is what every good stall quietly does.
Kheng Pin Cafe is the morning kopitiam on Jalan Penang whose loh bak stall, five-spice pork rolls fried in beancurd skin, draws half of George Town.
Signature: Loh bak, Wanton mee
Tip: Claim a table with drinks first, then order loh bak from one stall and wanton mee from another; come in the morning, it winds down by 13:30.
Joo Hooi Cafe packs char koay teow, assam laksa, lor bak and duck bee hoon into one corner kopitiam on Penang Road, a full hawker crawl per table.
Try: Char koay teow, laksa and lor bak under one roof
Tip: Seats are scarce at lunch; claim a marble table with a drink order first, then collect dishes stall by stall.
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