Char Kuey Teow (Stir fried flat rice noodles)
Be prepared for long queues and even self-service if you visit the best char kuey teow stalls in Penang! But the wait and fuss will be well worth it. This simple dish of flat rice noodles stir-fried with prawns, cockles, egg and bean sprouts may not be gourmet food but its taste is no less exquisite. Before it even reaches the mouth, the aroma is already making diners drool! A good plate of char kuey teow is dependent on heat, speed and timing. So the preparation is a real treat to watch. The hawker deftly tosses in one ingredient after another with the skilful flick of his fryer while expertly monitoring the raging fire underneath the wok. In a few quick strokes, his masterpiece is completed and served piping hot to eagerly waiting patrons.

Sar Hor Fun (Flat rice noodles in soup)
Perak is famous for making the best sar hor fun or kuey teow (rice noodle). It is believed that the fresh spring waters from the limestone mountains give the rice noodles a smoother texture. So good that it slides effortlessly down your throat. Here sar hor fun is served in a clear chicken stock soup with chicken shreds, prawns, spring onions, fried shallots and bean sprouts. Prawn shells are fried in oil and the special concoction is drizzled into the dish to give a slight orange tint and a unique taste.

Seremban Siew Pau
Siew pau was not a new invention when Mrs. Teh started selling them in the 1980s. But her special recipe struck a chord with Malaysian taste buds. Word spread quickly about this oven-baked bun with a golden brown crispy, flaky pastry and tasty savoury meat filing, and visitors and foodies poured into town. Eventually, the only way to keep up with the demand was to franchise. The meat filling is usually made from pork but to cater to Muslim taste buds, it now comes in chicken as well.

Hainan Chicken Rice
Found in just about every Chinese café, it is an all time favourite dish here. Fragrant rice cooked in chicken stock and ginger is served alongside slices of roasted or steamed chicken. The tender, tasty meat comes coated in a dash of soy sauce, slices of cucumber and a piquant garlic and chilli paste on the side. A light chicken soup with the occasional groundnut also comes with the dish. It is so popular that franchise stores can be found specialising in the varieties of Chicken Rice recipes. Ipoh and Penang are two places where you can get mouth- watering Chicken Rice in just about every second shop.

Claypot Chicken Rice
This aromatic rice dish is served sizzling in a brown clay pot with a handle. The rice grains are cooked in this pot with soy sauce, ginger, spring onions and bits of tender chicken meat and sometimes even salted fish to give it a little kick. The clay pot traps the taste of the meat while adding its own distinctive clay pot aroma and flavours the rice to make it a wholesome meal. Look out for stalls with an array of handled clay pots and you know you’re at the right place for a clay pot meal.

Wantan Mee
Another Chinese noodle dish, this time served in a light soy sauce with bright green vegetables and slices of chicken or pork meat. A small bowl of soup, often with prawn or pork dumplings accompanies this dish. A second version of this dish has the noodles served in a hot, light soup. Considered a light meal, you can see people ordering this dish around the clock.

Beef Noodles
Slightly spicy, flat or long yellow noodles are served in a bowl of piping hot beef soup. The soup is made tastier by the chunks of meat and vegetables in it. Some stalls replace the meat in the soup with internal organ delicacies- trying this does ask for a required taste though.

Dim Sum
Dim Sum is a social custom from ancient China that has now become a favourite Malaysian weekend breakfast or brunch activity with family and friends. The staggering variety of Dim Sum dishes ranges to the hundreds! Each dish is prepared differently but the common favourites are usually steamed in bamboo baskets or deep-fried. There is literally something for everybody from steamed prawn dumplings to fried sesame balls, porridge to Chinese pancakes. So the best way to have Dim Sum is to order a little of everything!