Tek Sen
Tek Sen has run its Carnarvon Street dining room since 1965 and holds a 2026 Bib Gourmand, Penang's benchmark for wok-fried Chinese home cooking.
The restaurants worth the trip in Penang: bistros, neo-classics, neighbourhood favourites, and the rooms locals book first.
Our picks in Penang
20 places
Auntie Gaik Lean's Old School Eatery
Auntie Gaik Lean's Old School Eatery holds a Michelin star in the 2026 guide, cooking heirloom Nyonya recipes behind a Bishop Street shopfront in Penang.
Ivy's Nyonya Cuisine
- ★ 4.5
- Peranakan
- $$
- Pulau Tikus
Ivy's Nyonya Cuisine in Penang is a husband-and-wife Peranakan room with a 2026 Bib Gourmand; Ivy cooks while her husband runs the small floor.
Book food experiences in Penang
Guided tour · 4 hours
Penang: Morning Food Tour with 15+ Tastings in George Town
Discover the favorite local brunch foods on a guided tour of the George Town district.
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Guided tour · 4 hours
Penang: 4-Hour Penang Plates Food Tour with 15+ Tastings
Take a deep dive into Penang's rich food culture and history. Meet the people behind the food, salivate over 15+ tastings, and discover what makes up this island's vib...
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4 hours
Penang: Spice Garden Tour with Hands-On Cooking Class
Explore a tropical spice garden and learn to cook South East Asian dishes in a fully hands-on cooking class. Enjoy a personalized experience with individual stations a...
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Sifu Nyonya Cuisine
Sifu Nyonya Cuisine on Rope Walk earned a 2026 Bib Gourmand for Penang Peranakan cooking, its septuagenarian chef running forty-odd a la carte dishes.
Bibik's Kitchen
Bibik's Kitchen serves heirloom Nyonya recipes under classic Peranakan motifs on Jalan Sri Bahari, a Penang Bib Gourmand pick in the 2026 guide.
Winn's Cafe
- ★ 4.3
- Peranakan
- $$
- Pulau Tikus
Winn's Cafe fills a two-storey Pulau Tikus house with local art and Bib Gourmand Nyonya plates, a husband-and-wife act on Penang's Jalan Cantonment.
Rasa Rasa
Rasa Rasa keeps daytime hours on Chulia Street Ghaut, pairing pandan nasi lemak sets with Bib Gourmand prices rare even by Penang standards.
Ceki Nyonya Restaurant
Ceki Nyonya Restaurant dresses its Sri Bahari shophouse in antiques and card-game nostalgia, serving home-style Peranakan plates in central Penang.
Jawi House
Jawi House on Armenian Street is Penang's standard-bearer for Jawi Peranakan cooking, blending Malay and Indian spice work in a cafe-gallery.
Richard Rivalee Nyonya Cuisine
Fashion designer Richard Rivalee cooks his grandmother's pork-free Nyonya recipes in an antique-filled Macalister Lane shophouse in central Penang.
Where to stay in Penang
A sample of Penang hotels from our booking partner, who list 278 here. Live prices and availability open on their site.
Grand Inn Penang Road
A stay at Grand Inn Penang Road places you in the heart of George Town, within a 5-minute walk of Georgetow...
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OYO 89540 B Hotel Penang
With a stay at OYO 89540 B Hotel Penang in George Town (Gelugor), you'll be within a 5-minute drive of RECS...
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Moustachz Hauze
With a stay at Moustachz Hauze in George Town (Downtown George Town), you'll be within a 5-minute walk of P...
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Tune Hotel Georgetown Penang
A stay at Tune Hotel Georgetown Penang places you in the heart of George Town, within a 5-minute drive of W...
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Stays are listed by our booking partners, not editor picks. We earn a commission if you book, at no cost to you.
Nyonya Willow
Nyonya Willow hides in a Bayan Lepas commercial row far from tourist Penang, feeding local families northern Nyonya cooking worth the drive south.
Du-An
Du-An plates traditional Malaysian cooking with cafe polish on Beach Street in Penang; the skin-on mutton curry is the 2026 Michelin guide's pick.
Thara
Thara brings a Thai chef's seafood-first cooking to a lofty Lorong Prangin shophouse, one of two Thai kitchens holding a Penang Bib Gourmand.
Sardaarji - Flavours of Punjab
- ★ 4.2
- Indian
- $$
- Little India
Sardaarji cooks Punjabi tandoor food under colourful drapes at the edge of Little India, the Bib Gourmand answer to Penang's South Indian majority.
Il Bacaro
Il Bacaro pairs an Italian couple's handmade pastas with Venetian cicchetti inside the Campbell House hotel, Penang's most personal Italian room.
Jaloux
Jaloux hides Chef Hong's hand-rolled pasta behind greenery on King Street; four opening days keep this Penang Italian room permanently full.
Bali Hai Seafood Market
- ★ 4.0
- Seafood
- $$
- Gurney Drive
Bali Hai Seafood Market lets you pick your dinner from live tanks on Gurney Drive, then cooks it to order; Penang's classic seafood theatre.
Peninsula House
- ★ 4.4
- Modern Australian
- $$$
- George Town Heritage Core
Peninsula House serves modern Australian sharing plates upstairs in 1937's India House, the handsomest dinner room on Penang's old Beach Street.
Sambal
Sambal reworks Malaysian favourites with European technique at 300 Beach Street, a halal-friendly modern dining room in Penang's banking quarter.
Bao Teck Tea House
Bao Teck Tea House steams dim sum in a tiled heritage house with an indoor moss garden, Penang's prettiest room for a slow Cantonese yum cha.
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