Economy Bihun

Economy Bihun (6 October 2012)


Penang Economy Bihun, as its name suggests, is the most economical way to fill an empty stomach. A common hawker food found in the vicinity of morning markets, economy bihun is simply fried plain rice noodles topped with sliced pickled green chilli, chilli sauce, and in some instances, fried strips of tek gah kee (soybean sticks) as well. The tek gah kee gives the bihun much of its taste. The bihun is usually prepared in a big tray, and a portion scooped up when the customer orders. Although the ingredients are basically similar, the economy bihun from different stalls do have slight variation to their taste, hence some stalls are surprisingly popular.

The price of the economy bihun is often used as the yardstick or barometer to measure inflation. Just as MacDonald's burgers were used in the west, in Penang, an increase in the price of economy bihun is the clearest indication of the shrinking purchasing power of the local currency.

In addition to bihun, stalls selling economy bihun also sell fried mee (egg noodles), fried maggi mee and fried koay teow.

Ingredients of Economy Bihun:

To help you find stalls selling economy bihun in Penang, I've create the food map below. It pinpoints all the stalls that I've come across, with more to be added when I found them.

Where to enjoy Economy Bihun Stalls in Penang

Economy Bihun is available at the following locations in Penang

Economy Bee Hoon Stalls recommended by members of Hawker Food Planet

Join Hawker Food Planet and share your hawker food recommendations, which will be cataloged into this website under Recommendations by Location and Recommendations by Food Type.

Recommended Economy Bee Hoon Stalls in Penang

Here's the recommendation of the members of my Penang Hawker Food Facebook Group for their recommendation of good economy Bee Hoon stalls in this post.