The 3rd Generation Charcoal Char Kueh Teow at Lebuh Kimberly, Penang

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It is not exaggerating when it is said that Penang is home to one of the world's best street food cultures. With recipes and secrets passed down from generation to generation, the state's street food cooks are artisans in their own right, whipping up dishes with amazing tastes and sensations that are a rarity these days.
Char Kuay Teow, one of the state's signature dishes, is an example of Penang's attitude towards street food. In a time when hawker stalls are being manned by immigrant workers, the heirs of the tradition continue to personally stir-fry the rice noodles, creating plates of delicious, fragrant char kuay teow with amazing "wok-hei".
These days, many of the char kuay teow artisans can still be found operating along the road or just outside coffee shops. It is a taste not to be missed!
Char koay teow (stir-fried rice noodles) is the iconic Penang street food dish, copied all over Malaysia, but never tastes better than sitting at a low pavement table outside a hawker stall in one of George Town's narrow back streets. Lean Joo Sean has been setting up outside the Sin Guat Keong coffee shop at 5.30pm every day since 1954. You can't miss him with his tall white chef's hat and the clouds of smoke that billow up each time he fires his wok over a flaming charcoal fire. A plate costs 4.50 Malaysian ringgit, and he cooks right through till midnight as a steady queue forms for these exquisite fried noodles, prepared to a secret recipe that includes fresh mantis prawns.