Yam Rice, Penang local Dish

Penang Yam Rice, or Orh₃ Pnooi₃ in Penang Hokkien, is a rice cooked with yam, dried prawns and mushrooms. Its position among Penang hawker foods is often eclipsed by other more popular dishes. In Penang, the yam rice is often sold as part of Bak Kut Teh or Yong Tau Foo, though occasionally, we do come across a stall selling yam rice as a standalone meal. Yam rice can be prepared at home, and makes for a tasty alternative to the usual rice meal. It can be taken a full meal on its own.

Yam Rice, Joo Huat Restaurant (22 September 2012)


My wife makes yam rice once in a while, to break the monotony of eating white rice every day. Stall-bought yam rice cannot compare with home made yam rice - I can hardly find a single piece of yam when I ate out, so much so that long ago, I thought its Hokkien name "orh pooi" means "dark rice". It was later than I learned "orh" refers to "yam" and not "dark".

As I thought of yam rice, among the stalls that come to mind include the Yong Tau Foo stall at Seri Nibung Cafe, the Bak Kut Teh stall in Air Itam, and the Yam Rice stall at Joo Huat Restaurant along Perak Road. My wife has tried the yam rice at Joo Huat, Perak Road, but didn't care much for it (you can see from the photo on this page). If you know of any other place in Penang where we can get Yam Rice, do write to inform me at the email address shown on this page.

Ingredients of Yam Rice:

There are a few coffee shops in Penang that sells yam rice on its own, with accompanying dishes. Commonly, yam rice is made available with Bak Kut Teh, so you can have them together. On this food map below, I point out the stalls selling yam rice, and will add to it each time I come across another.


View Yam Rice Stalls in Penang in a larger map

Where to find Yam Rice Stalls in Penang

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