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If you’re a hungry traveller heading to George Town, Malaysia, looking for places to eat and things to do, then this travel guide is for you.
We headed to George Town, on Penang Island, after spending an incredible month on Sumatra – and I have to say, it is probably the most touristy place I have been to in a while.
Visitor numbers have skyrocketed since the historical centre of George Town was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2008.
I can certainly see why George Town is such a popular travel destination. The city is practically a living museum; a melting pot of cultures, with interesting history, beautiful Asian and British Colonial architecture, and apparently, the best food in Asia.
CONTENTS:
- How to Get to George Town
- When to Visit George Town
- Where to Stay in George Town
- Food in George Town
- My Reviewed Restaurants in George Town
- The Takeaway of my Food Experience in George Town
- Other Things to Do in George Town
How to Get to George Town
George Town, Malaysia, not to be confused with Georgetown, Guyana, is a port city on the north side of Penang Island, which has an international airport. We actually flew in from Aceh, Indonesia, after an incredible couple of weeks scuba diving on Pulau Weh.
From Penang International Airport (PEN), it is just a 30-minute taxi (use the Grab app, 45 MYR / £8) or a 45-minute public bus (3 MYR / 50p) to the city of George Town.
Penang Airport is only a short one-hour flight from both Kuala Lumpur and Singapore, which are better connected internationally depending on where you are coming from.
When to Visit George Town
The dry season is November to April in George Town. We visited for a week in June, and it didn’t rain at all, as even during the monsoon it rarely rains all day.
It was incredibly hot and humid, though! The temperature in George Town sits at around 24 – 33 degrees Celsius all year round, but the rainy season brings more humidity.
Where to Stay in George Town
It would be best to stick to the historical centre of George Town, so that you are within walking distance to most things. However, I would steer away from Chulia Street and Armenia Street, just because these are right in the middle of the action, so can be a bit loud/crowded/touty.
Budget: Aigoh Hotel
Lux: Cheong Fatt Tze – The Blue Mansion
We stayed in the Aigoh Hotel, which was really good value. We loved the quiet street it was on, and it was close to everywhere we wanted to go.
If you prefer something more luxurious and quintessentially Penang, definitely check out the absolutely iconic Cheong Fatt Tze – The Blue Mansion.
Food in George Town
George Town was established in the 1700s by the British East India Company due to its historic strategic trade position along the Straits of Malacca. This brought together Malay, Chinese, Indian and European influences, forging a unique multicultural heritage.
These influences can be seen in the city’s buildings, festivals, shared languages, craftsmanship and art, and in the food!
In the early 2000’s Lonely Planet and CNN Travel began taking notice of George Town’s incredible cuisine, and it began regularly ranking as a top global street food capital. Since then, foodies have been flocking to George Town to sample what’s on offer.
The streets of George Town are full of character
Today, George Town also features heavily in the Michelin Guide, and if you’ve come here with a little list of all the eateries that you’ve scribbled down from this bible for foodies, well, you’re just like me… and everyone else!
So here I am in George Town in 2026, Google-mapping the location of all the restaurants and hawker stalls that are famous from the Michelin Guide, only to find the recent reviews are really inconsistent or actually terrible?
At first, I couldn’t work out why many of the restaurants Michelin recommended were reviewed so poorly, and after some digging, I realised that I’d been caught on the tourist conveyor belt of George Town restaurants.
As it turns out, these particular highly rated restaurants are so overwhelmed by tourists that the quality of the food has been sacrificed to keep up with the numbers, and the service level has dropped due to extreme tourist fatigue.
You could be queuing for two hours for something that has become average (there are exceptions), or alternatively, you could get lost and overwhelmed by the choice of the tens of thousands of other eateries in George Town that all look very similar.
The Penang-themed cocktails at George Town’s Backdoor Bodega were a special treat!
Our time eating in George Town was a lot of trial and error, but eventually we did find some great spots that are synonymous with George Town’s reputation as a foodie heaven.
So in this anti-Michelin foodie’s guide to George Town, I will guide you through all the places we ate, some Michelin-featured and some stumbled on by chance, and how I would honestly rate them.
We spent just shy of a week in George Town, and here is where we ate and what I thought.
My Reviewed Restaurants in George Town
1. Goh Thew Chik Hainan Chicken
Rating 4/5
What we ordered – nothing, because the waitress didn’t give us a choice and just plonked down two portions of Hainan chicken (roasted style) with rice. It took a long while to get her back to order some iced tea as well.
Price for all: 17 MYR (£3) for 2 x Hainan Chicken and 2 x Ice Tea
This was really tasty. Simple, but delicious. The wholegrain rice was really savoury and served alongside some cabbage broth, and the chicken was perfectly roasted and tender. Don’t expect some wildly exciting flavour bomb – this is just a nice simple lunch.
Other notes
When we arrived, there was a huge queue outside, but we quickly realised that was for take-away. If you see an empty table, you can sit in it.
A terrible photo of the Hainan Chicken at Goh Thew Chik Hainan Chicken
2. Red Garden Food Paradise
Rating 3/5
Red Garden Food Paradise is a popular, bustling open-air hawker food court and night market located on Leith Street, with around 30 or so food stalls inside. This was our first night in George Town and we weren’t used to the style of things yet, so the amount of choice on offer was kind of overwhelming.
What we ordered: 2 x Wantan Mee and BBQ Pork (springy egg noodles with dumplings and Char Sui pork)
Price for all: 20 MYR (£3.60)
This was OK; the pork was cooked nicely, and the Char Sui flavour always slaps, but not really the taste explosion I was expecting from the ‘best food in Asia’.
Other Notes
How it works is you can order at multiple stalls, pick a table, and when your plate is delivered you pay the server on the spot.
FOR TRAVEL INSURANCE for Malaysia, I used SafetyWing – and you can read more about my experience with them here.
3. Nyonya Recipe House
Rating 4/5
Nyonya Recipe House is a little restaurant with lovely service and two very kind, helpful ladies running the show.
What we ordered: Penang Loh Bak (crispy five-spice chicken rolls wrapped in beancurd skin), beef satay, plain rice, two beers.
Price for all: 90 MYR (£17) – food without beers: 60 MYR (£11)
The food was really tasty and fresh, and the chicken Loh Bak in particular was really flavourful. Slightly pricey for what it is though. It was, however, really refreshing to have help and patience from the staff.
Chicken Loh Bak at Nyonya Recipe House
4. Penang Road Famous Laksa
Rating 5/5
Penang Road Famous Laksa is an institution heavily featured in all of the “best eats in George Town” guides, and it is the only place we had to queue. Although not for long – around 10 minutes (we visited in low/rainy season).
What we ordered: 2 x Laksa
Price for both: 15 MYR (£2.75)
Sour, spicy, aromatic, savoury. This style of Laksa is not for everyone; the intense fishy-sour taste was incredibly rich, which we loved. This unique dish is an essential part of experiencing the authentic flavours of Penang. This kind of blew my mind, but it is not something I would want to eat every day.
Penang Road Famous Laksa, George Town
6. Roti Bakar Hutton Lane
Rating 5/5
Ahh Roti Canai, that beloved, unleavened flatbread with crispy, flaky layers on the outside and a soft, chewy interior. This was what I was most excited to eat when I arrived in George Town.
It is a typical breakfast dish, and the Rotis start getting spread and slapped from 5am in most places. There are quite a large number of Roti places, and some have awful, awful reviews, not only because of the inconsistency of the food but also because of the scamming of tourists and charging inflated prices.
Roti Bakar Hutton Lane happened to be just outside our cute budget hotel.
What we ordered: 2 x Roti Canai, 2 x Tea
Price for all: 6 MYR (£1)
Get there as early as possible to get the fresh, hot, flaky rotis served right off the pan, alongside a delicious curry sauce for dipping. This was everything I had hoped for and more.
Delicious Roti Canai at Roti Bakar Hutton Lane
Other things to know
I have heard that later in the morning, rotis can be cold/chewy as they are not served as soon as they are cooked. Also, you’ll want to order roti canai, not roti bekur, unless you want white sliced bread cooked over charcoal and SMOTHERED in butter.
7. Junk Cafe
Rating 3/5
Junk Cafe is a highly rated burger bar in the historical centre. Okay, so it’s not local food, but the burgers looked fab, and the venue itself is really interesting. It is essentially half cafe/bar, half storage space for a vintage collector – it is really kooky!
What we ordered: Cheeseburger & Tzatziki Burger, plus 4 x beers
Price for all: 120 MYR (£22)
I hate to say it, but the burgers were just so-so. The menu/flavour combinations were good, but the actual meat itself was poor quality. They do get extra points for the chips being great, and the vibe of the venue is unmatched.
8. Rasa Rasa
Rating 4/5
Rasa Rasa is a cute Peranakan eatery famous for its nasi lemak, which is widely considered the national dish of Malaysia. It’s essentially rice cooked in coconut milk and pandan leaves, and it is traditionally served with sambal, fried anchovies, and toasted peanuts.
What I ordered: 2 x Nasi Lemak
Price for all: 18 MYR (£3.50)
This is a lovely little restaurant, and unlike many of the other places on this list which are quick eat-and-go’s, you could spend a little time here. I won’t claim to know a lot about the ins and outs of a good nasi lemak, but we really enjoyed the food here. Everything was fresh and well cooked.
The Nasi Lemak at Rasa Rasa
9. Penang Famous Samosa
Rating 5/5
We came across Penang Road Famous Samosa on our walking tour of the city; it’s not much more than a large stall on the corner of a bustling street in Little India.
What we ordered: 1 x Chicken Samosa, 1 x Veg Samosa
Price for all: 2 MYR (40p)
Wow wow wow. Now that’s what I call a Samosa. Warm, crispy, well-seasoned. The chicken in particular is astonishing. No notes.
These Samosas were UNREAL
10. Backdoor Bodega
Rating 5/5
Backdoor Bodega is a speakeasy cocktail bar, hidden behind what is now a small clothes shop. Originally, it started as an overpriced “pin shop” where, before they had the proper licensing, you would purchase a pin that comes with a complimentary cocktail. Hence, no sale of liquor is involved. Nowadays, it is considered one of the best bars in Malaysia.
What we ordered: 4 x Cocktails
Price for all: 200 MYR (£37)
The cocktails were incredible, and all the flavours are inspired by the cuisine of Penang. Think nutmeg, mango, pandan, chilli. I won’t give the rest away – I’ll just tell you that it’s up there with Zest (Seoul) and G.O.D (Bangkok) as one of the best bars I have been to in my life.
Backdoor Bodega is regarded as one of the best cocktail bars in Malaysia
Other things to know
If you don’t have a booking, arrive early, as it’s a popular spot. They do serve snacks!
11. Bao Teck Teahouse
Rating 5/5
Bao Teck Teahouse is a high-end, atmospheric dim sum restaurant and tea house located in a 1920s heritage house, complete with a moss garden and water feature, vintage furniture, and an upscale, nostalgic old-world ambience.
What we ordered: Oolong Tea (Reserve) for two, honeycomb yam puffs, steamed prawn dumplings (Har Gow), A noodle dish I can’t remember the name of, Phoenix Balls
Price for all: 170 MYR (£32) (half of that was the tea itself)
When I first walked into Bao Teck Teahouse, I was worried that it was going to be a little gimmicky, but I was definitely wrong. This was our favourite food experience in George Town, and the highlight was the crispy yam puff, which may have been one of the best mouthfuls of food I have experienced in my lifetime!
This is dimsum at its finest, and the tea ceremony portion of the experience was taken very seriously. We did order a bougie Oolong tea, and it was worth it. The staff seemed excited about the tea we ordered too. It was a phenomenal experience.
These Yam Puffs were the best thing I ate all week in George Town
12. New World Park Food Court
Rating 3/5
After not being super-impressed by Red Garden Food Paradise, we tried a different food court, this time a little further away from the historical centre, as we were told it was still frequented by locals.
What we ordered: Char kway teow (stir-fried flat rice noodles and toppings), and fried pork dumplings, plus 2 beers.
Price for all: 60 MYR (£11)
The Char Kway teow was tasty; it had the smoky flavour we were looking for, but the dumplings were very gluey, and we struggled to finish them. Again, the food was OK here but nothing mind-blowing.
The food at New World Park was so-so!
The Takeaway
So as you can probably tell, eating in George Town was a bit of a mixed bag for us. It was really fun to try new flavours, and there were some really memorable meals.
However, my true feeling is that it is all a bit overhyped, and being featured in the Michelin Guide has in some cases ruined what was special about these food institutions.
If I were to visit George Town for the first time, knowing what I know now, I wouldn’t read the Michelin Guide at all, and just wander around the streets, stopping at hawker stalls that looked busy and smelled good.
Because I reckon that’s where the magic still is: the unique blend of Chinese cooking techniques, Malay spices, and Indian aromas, the distinct Nyonya heritage and Peranakan recipes, and the vibrant communal dining at street-side food stalls selling fresh, made-to-order dishes.
Considering what I have just said, the fact that I have written this guide is, well, ironic. But maybe you can learn from my mistakes and just go with the flow in George Town. Forget your culinary expectations and just enjoy it for what it is.
George Town skyline!
Other Things to Do in George Town
Here are a few other fun and interesting things to do in George Town to fill your time between meals!
- Make things easy for yourself and take a food tour
- A George Town Heritage Walking Tour (this will cover almost all of the major neighbourhoods and sites of interest over 3-4 hours; I highly recommend this!)
- Straits & Oriental Museum
- Hike Penang Hill- we did this independently; it offers beautiful views of George Town, and the forest is filled with adorable Dusky Langur monkeys
- Catch the incredible Umiumi Show
- Penang Island Cycling Tour
Thank you for reading my anti-Michelin foodie’s guide to George Town, Malaysia!
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Happy Travels! xx
