Char Koay Teow

Char Koay Teow (12 October 2012)


Penang Char Koay Teow (檳城炒粿條; Penang Char1 Koay1 Teow2) is a popular hawker dish of flat rice noodles stir fried with prawns, eggs (mostly chicken but some times duck), bean sprouts and chives (koo chye). Cockles are often added. Chilli is another optional ingredient. The rice noodles, called koay teow, are stir fried in pork fat, and crisp pieces of pork lard, called bak yew phok, is considered a delicacy by many.

Char Koay Teow had its origins among the labourer class. Due to its high fat content, it was a cheap source of energy among the working class. Today, however, Char Koay Teow is accepted as a dish for all classes of the community, and some of the most famous Char Koay Teow stalls are literally dishing it out at premium prices.

Char Koay Teow Recommendations

People's Choice

2014 People's Choice
Members of the Penang Hawker Food Facebook Group chose char koay teow as their People's Choice of favourite Penang hawker food in 2014.

My Favourite Char Koay Teow Stalls in Penang

In my opinion, (updated as of August 2012) the Tiger Char Koay Teow is the best Char Koay Teow in Penang. The price is not cheap (RM4.50) with duck egg, but to me, it is the tastiest.

I have also tried the Char Koay Teow of Excellent Cafe, a coffee shop located along the Ayer Itam Road, near the Air Itam Roundabout, next to Jalan Empat. At RM6.50 for a plate with chicken egg, it is probably the most expensive non-hotel Char Koay Teow that I have ever tasted. It looks good, but the portion is small, and in comparison, not as tasty as the Tiger Char Koay Teow of Carnarvon Street, even though it comes with two big prawns.

Char Koay Teow at Kafe Ping Hooi, Carnarvon Street (18 August 2012)


Char Koay Teow, stall at Ipoh Lane, Jelutong Market (2 May 2008)


The Char Koay Teow of Excellent Cafe, Ayer Itam, Penang (9 September 2012)



With a char koay teow stall at almost every coffee shop in Penang, the choice can be mind-boggling. So I created a food map to make it incredibly easy to locate a char koay teow stall nearest to you. The map pinpoints all the char koay teow stalls I have come across on Penang Island. Click on the pin of your choice for further details.

Where to find Char Koay Teow Stalls in Penang

Char Koay Teow is available at the following coffee shops in Penang:

Ingredients of Char Koay Teow:

Private Guided Tours of Penang

If you are seeking private guided tours of Penang, message Penang Tour Guides at penangtourguides@gmail.com and enquire with them.

 Buy, rent or sell properties in Penang

Do you have a property for sale or to rent out? Are you looking to buy or rent a property? Get in touch with me. WhatsApp me (Timothy Tye) at 012 429 9844, and I will assign one of my property agents to serve you. I will choose the agent for you, according to your property needs. So when you message me, provide me some details of what you need, whether to sell, to buy, to rent or to rent out, and what type of property, is it condo, apartment, house, shop, office or land.

 Latest updates on Penang Travel Tips

Map of Roads in Penang

Looking for information on Penang? Use this Map of Roads in Penang to zoom in on information about Penang, brought to you road by road.

About this website

Dear visitor, thank you so much for reading this page. My name is Timothy Tye and my hobby is to find out about places, write about them and share the information with you on this website. I have been writing this site since 5 January 2003. Originally (from 2003 until 2009, the site was called AsiaExplorers. I changed the name to Penang Travel Tips in 2009, even though I describe more than just Penang but everywhere I go (I often need to tell people that "Penang Travel Tips" is not just information about Penang, but information written in Penang), especially places in Malaysia and Singapore, and in all the years since 2003, I have described over 20,000 places.

While I try my best to provide you information as accurate as I can get it to be, I do apologize for any errors and for outdated information which I am unaware. Nevertheless, I hope that what I have described here will be useful to you.