From Penang to Ipoh, Here are the Best Places to Makan on Your Next Road Trip

Going on road trips can be pretty exciting especially when it’s with your friends. Add food into the picture and we’re basically in the car making our way already! Kan Malaysians love their food? 

If you’re in the mood for a foodie’s trip up north, here are a couple of places you definitely need to add to your food trip list. The food is so good that even local celebs Dato’ Fazley Yaakob and Sazzy Falak made their way up there to feast on these local delights! Don’t believe us? Check out this video that’ll tantalise your taste buds with some delicious and authentic local makan places.

Warning: Watching this video might make you hungry!

In case you couldn’t catch them, here’s the list of must-visit makan places you should bookmark for your next food trip.

1. Street Grill – Burger Bakar, Penang

Source: that dayumm! Burger

If you’re a lover of food trucks, burgers and most of all, CHEESE, this is one stop you don’t want to miss. The humble chefs of Street Grill operate from a food truck at the corner of Lebuh Sungai Pinang, serving their signature cheesy burger bakar to an endless line of patrons. Trust us when we say this is a burger worth waiting for.

Open daily from: 6.30pm – 12am

2. Joo Hooi Cafe, Penang

Source: pinkypiggu

Although it’s called a cafe, Joo Hooi is really a coffee shop located at the corner of Jalan Penang and Lebuh Keng Kwee. The shop is always bustling with customers lining up to get their share of famous local delights, particularly the asam laksa and cendol located just around the corner from the coffeshop.

Source: pinkypiggu

Fun fact: the asam laksa and cendol stalls are all owned by the same person! No wonder la all so ho chiak!

Open daily from: 11am – 5pm

3. Restoran Deen Nasi Kandar, Penang

Source: tasteiest

You can’t take a trip to Penang without getting your nasi kandar fix. What better place to get it than at Restoran Deen. Located along Jalan Jelutong, Deen is one of the better nasi kandar joints recommended by locals. Just look at that plate man! Best part of all? It’s not that pricey! A typical plate of nasi with chicken, veggie, egg and of course, drenched with an array of kuah would only cost around RM9. BRB, on my way to Penang.

Open: 24 hours daily.

4. Miker Food, Ipoh

Located in the heart of Ipoh town, Miker serves up a mixture of fusion, local and western delights that caters to taste buds from all around the world. The must-try while you’re here has to be the Tom Yum Nyor that’s jam-packed with seafood and served in a coconut shell! Another item you cannot miss is their handmade gas-powered stone oven pizza. With a crunchy thin crust, generous flavourful toppings and LOTS of gooey cheese, it’s enough to make you feel like you’re actually in Italy.

Open from Tues – Fri: 7.30am – 12am; Sat: 5pm – 12.30am; Sun: 5pm – 12am; closed on Mondays

5. Ipoh Hainan Chicken Rice

Source: the smart local

Serving authentic (and halal!) Hainanese chicken rice, this is one stop you need to make on your next road trip. Although the chain has two branches, the original store is located at what is known to locals as Anderson Road, along Jalan Raja Musa Aziz. The store also offers other dishes like their ‘mango kerabu salad’ and ‘fried tauhu with oyster sauce’ for customers who have a taste for something other than chicken. And it’s all Halal-certified too!

Open daily from: 8.30am – 10.30pm

6. Restoran New Hollywood, Ipoh

Source: tripadvisor

This is your one-stop coffee shop for all your halal Chinese food needs. Yes, you heard me. Halal. Chinese. Food. Customers from all walks of life will be able to enjoy an array of typically non-halal foods like chee cheong fun, curry mee, yong tau foo and best of all, char koay teow! Located in Taman Canning, it’s a popular haunt for the local community of all races and religious beliefs to enjoy authentic local delights.

Open on Tuesdays to Sundays from: 7am – 4pm; closed on Mondays

As we all know, authentic local food like char koay teow and many other hawker foods require not only the right ingredients but high heat as well! The cleaner and hotter the flame, the more delicious and authentic the food will taste. This doesn’t just apply to our local hawker foods, but also to the food that we cook at home! If you’ve been looking for a way to get cleaner, hotter and safer fire for all your cooking needs, Petron has got you covered!

Petron Gasul is a cooking gas that provides a hotter, cleaner and safer flame to ensure our foods are tastier and healthier. Why healthier leh? Blue flames mean proper combustion is taking place, resulting in a hotter flame that produces less soot!

Of course, we already know a cleaner and hotter flame brings out the best flavours in our foods to tantalise our taste buds. I mean, just look at all the food we listed!

Are you already salivating as much as I am? Or do you think you can whip up some equally good food with the right flame at home?

If you’re up for a culinary challenge, Petron is inviting you to share your best dish to win some great prizes!

Here’s how you can enter:

1. Cook up your best dish using a gas stove
2. Post a picture of your creation on Facebook or Instagram
3. Hashtag your entries with #PetronGasulJaguhMasak and set your post to ‘PUBLIC’

See? It’s that easy! Better get cooking as the contest ends on 4th December and the winner will get the cooking experience of a lifetime with Dato’ Fazley Yaakob for 12 hours! The lucky winner will be announced on Petron Malaysia’s Facebook page on 8th December.

Don’t need to wait liao, faster! Put on your aprons and fire up your stoves now! Also, as Malaysians, NEVER SAY NO TO FOOD!