With some recipes over a 100 years old, these nodes of traditional flavours remain fragrant and continue to dance on tastebuds today. For many, they still evoke memories of a glorious past.
Chronologically listed from the oldest to the most recent, FMT has prepared a collection of photos and stories after visiting each historic gem.
1. Hameediyah, 115 years old
Home to century-old curries that have stood the test of time, Hameediyah was given the title of Malaysia’s oldest Nasi Kandar restaurant by the Malaysia Books of Records in 2020. The restaurant will soon celebrate its 115th birthday.
Established in 1907, steaming curries were once cooked on an open field and transported to the public via baskets of rice carried and balanced between a single pole.
This led to its iconic name of nasi kandar, ‘kandar’ meaning ‘pole’ in Malay.
Although no longer transporting their rice on poles, Hameediyah continues to cook their delicious seafood, poultry and vegetable dishes fresh every single day.
Hameediyah
164, Lebuh Campbell
George Town
10100 George Town
Penang
Operating Hours:
10am – 10pm (Sunday – Thursday)
10am – 12.30pm, 3pm – 10pm (Friday)
2. Neoh Khay Chye Low Bak, 100+ years old
NON-HALAL: Passed on for four generations, this lor bak recipe is so old that its creation date has been deemed untraceable.
Residing behind Penang’s oldest department shop, the roadside stall first began as a small push cart that travelled to hungry customers near Chinese opera stages in the 1930s.
Still found rapidly dicing and frying different types of meats today, Neoh Khay Chye’s kin sells them the same way he did just minus the singing of opera singers.
As crispy beancurd sheets cradle rolls of five-spiced minced pork, lor bak is accompanied with delicious sauces and other fried delights like prawn fritters, spring rolls and bean curd.
Neoh Khay Chye Low Bak
16, Jalan Trang
George Town
10150 George Town
Penang
Operating hours:
1pm – 5.30pm (Wednesday – Sunday)
3. Apom in Swee Kong Coffee Shop, 99 years old
A year away from being a century old and for only one ringgit, you too can feast like royalty and indulge in a sweet treat that even the Sultan of Pahang can’t resist.
Coconutty and sometimes filled with an egg, these warm apoms hold pillowy centres that are surrounded by delicate edges, crisped to perfection.
Flipping over 400 apoms daily, the grandson stays true to his grandfather’s traditional methods from 1922.
These methods include – charcoal, heated clay pots and a set of nimble fingers that can stand the heat.
Swee Kong Coffee Shop
232, Jalan Burma
George Town
10350 George Town
Penang
Operating Hours:
6am – 10.30am (Every day except Thursday)
4. Ice Kacang in Kek Seng Cafe, 90+ years old
Before Kek Seng became known for their killer ice-kacang, this coffee shop in 1906 used to serve afternoon high tea alongside dainty pastries like cream puffs.
In the 1930s, the grandfather of the current owner, Cheow Sow Lei, started selling ice-kacang in Kek Seng and ever since, this dessert has been the cafe’s shining glory.
As piles of shaved ice, creamy ice cream and generous toppings of corn and red beans adorn the bowl, pink tints of special homemade rose syrup drizzle over top.
Besides it a rose-flavoured jelly lies on the side and it is a homemade speciality found only here.
Kek Seng Cafe
No. 382 & 384
Penang Road
10000 George Town
Penang
Operating Hours:
9am – 5.30pm (Monday & Sunday)
9am – 5pm (Tuesday – Saturday)
5. Tho Yuen Restaurant, 86 years old
NON-HALAL: Standing on Campbell Street since 1935, Tho Yuen is Penang’s oldest dim sum restaurant.
In authentic dim sum style, waiters roll their metal carts to tables carrying with them arrays of dim sums containing different siew mais, freshly steamed buns and even buttery egg tarts.
More commonly known to the public as char hor fun, their chow fan shi is one of their most famous dishes.
Named after someone who used to eat this specific dish all the time, it consists of dry Chinese noodles with vermicelli drenched in delicious sauces.
Tho Yuen
92, Campbell Street
10100 George Town
Penang
Operating Hours:
6am – 3pm (Every day except Tuesday)
6. Bangkok Lane’s Mee Goreng, 80+ years old
Looking for a dish that hits all the flavours of sweet, salty and spicy – look no further as Bangkok Lane’s 80-year-old mee goreng recipe will satisfy your tastebuds and leave you banging your fists for more.
Spinning out its first plates of mee goreng from a small roadside cart, it has since evolved into a stall and permanently stands at Seng Lee Café.
With its recipe and skills passed on from father to son for three generations, 67-year-old Mahboobin has been cooking up a storm ever since he was 15.
Besides being the ultimate noodle master, Mahboobin is a trilingual social butterfly and will be found happily conversing with his customers in Hokkien, English and Malay.
Seng Lee Café
280 Jalan Burma
10350 George Town
Penang
Operating Hours:
8am – 6pm (Every day except Monday)
7. Air Itam Sister Curry Mee, 75 years old
NON HALAL: Still cooked using charcoal, the recipe was crafted by two sisters back in 1946 and its delicious aroma continues to be smelt along the streets of Air Itam today.
Bubbling with the same curried fragrances and fresh fillings from years ago, the hand behind the ladle is the grandniece of the two sisters’.
Their curry mee stands out from others, as combined with the heating of charcoal, their noodles are uniquely flavoured by their homemade chili and special cuttlefish chili base.
Air Itam Sister Curry Mee
612 T, Jalan Air Itam
Pekan Ayer Itam
11500 Ayer Itam
Penang
Operating Hours:
7.30am – 1pm (Every day except Tuesday)