MAS: Gurney Drive Hawker Centre

There was a long queue for 'char koay teow', but...

Gurney Drive is a popular promenade within George Town in Penang, Malaysia that's well known for its street food. The seafront hawker centre has been listed as one of the 25 best street cuisine worldwide by The Traveler, an Australian travel magazine. I sampled four dishes from four different stalls when I was there.

Pikachu and Melon didn't join me for the trip, but a few of my little friends did.

Stall no. 90 features convolvulus. It sounds so complex, doesn't it?

Cuttlefish with Convolvulus RM 12.00 (~S$3.90)

Taste: 8/10

I enjoyed the crunchiness of the fresh cuttlefish sitting on a bed of convolvulus or kangkung (lit. water spinach) as many of us call it. Featuring hoisin sauce (Chinese sauce made of starch, soybeans, vinegar, etc.), prawn paste and others, the sauce wasn't as rich and complex as expected though. The crushed peanuts added a nice, different kind of crunch to the dish.

There was a long queue at stall no. 71, which only sells one dish.

Char Koay Teow RM 7.00 (~S$2.30)

Taste: 7/10

Pardon me for the rather blurry photo above. After queueing for about 10 minutes, I finally got my stir-fried rice noodle with shrimps, eggs and beansprouts. While it was better than average with a nice hint of smokiness, it wasn't particularly special. Besides that, it was just a little bit spicy. Pika's advice: Feel free to ask for no or extra chili.

Stall no. 79 sells one of my most favourite Malaysian dishes.

Asam Laksa RM 4.50 (~S$1.45)

Taste: 8/10

Originating from Penang, asam laksa is a sweet and sour noodle dish typically seasoned with tamarind, lemongrass, galangal and chili. There was a good balance of the sour and the spicy, which was made even nicer with a dollop of thick hae ko, a kind of sweetened prawn paste. For its price, it wasn't that stingy with the amount of flaked mackerel.

It was finally time to cool myself down.

Chendol RM 5.00 (~S$1.65)

Taste: 7.5/10

The translucent, green-coloured worm-like jelly was a delight to have after consuming the savoury dishes. Accompanied by kidney beans and not too many crushed ice, each bit was bouncy enough for my liking. While they could afford to use more coconut milk and palm sugar syrup, it was far from being tasteless.

Melon's Rating

Taste: 7.5/10

Ambience: 5.5/10

Overall: 6.5/10

Tell me your favourite stall if you've been to the hawker centre.

Gurney Drive Hawker Centre

Solok Gurney 1

Penang

Malaysia

(Wed-Mon: 4.30pm - 11.00pm)

*Prices quoted are nett prices.

Have a nice meal,

Cliff(y)