Food Festivals in Penang

For nine days each ninth lunar month, hundreds of Penang hawker stalls hang yellow flags and go vegetarian, from mock-meat nasi kandar to char kway teow.

Deepavali turns Penang's Little India into rows of oil lamps and kolam patterns, with murukku, laddu and gulab jamun stacked at every sweet counter.

Thaipusam sends milk-pot processions from George Town to the Waterfall Hilltop Temple, with food stalls and offerings lining the whole Penang route.

Chinese New Year lights Kek Lok Si with tens of thousands of lamps while Penang's clan houses host reunion dinners and prosperity-toss yee sang.

Penang marks Mid-Autumn with mooncakes and lanterns, and the state's Penang Mid-Autumn Festival at the Esplanade in George Town brings lantern displays, costumed parades, performances and a food bazaar.