Feasting @ Gurney Drive Hawker Centre Penang

Penang . 2013 . Jan 17 - 20

This post is a continuation of our previous post on Movie Treat @ Golden Screen Cinema, Gurney Plaza. You may also read the full review of our 4 Days 3 Nights short getaway trip to Penang here.

Gurney Drive Hawker Centre, also known as Anjung Gurney is one of the most well-known hawker centres in Penang.  It is located just next to Gurney Plaza.  Serving a large number of tourists every evening, this is also the place where the locals will bring their foreign friends to have a taste of local fare.  This place is mostly viewed by the locals as being touristy (just like Newton Food Centre in Singapore) and the standard of the food here may not be as good as elsewhere.  Nevertheless, it is still a very convenient one-stop centre for those who want to try all the popular local food at one place.

This hawker centre operates only in the evening and the most popular stalls sells out at about 10pm.  The ‘must-try’ food here are the typical Penang street fare – assam laksa, fried kway teow, prawn noodles, wantan noodles, rojak, satay, lok-lok and barbequed seafood.

Gurney Drive Hawker Centre has an open-air concept which means that customers are exposed to all elements of the weather.  The crowd starts to get thicker in the late evening and seats are difficult to find.  So your best bet is to arrive early to snag a seat, or order your food as ‘take-away’.

Gurney Drive Hawker Centre with G Hotel in the background. That's how close the G Hotel is to the food paradise! :)

The first Penang Char Kway Teow (炒粿条), literally "stir-fried ricecake strips",  that we tried at Gurney Drive Hawker Centre from Stall 107.  Penang char kway teow is quite different from the Singapore version, as there is no black sauce added.  As to which version is better is really a matter of personal preference.

This Char Kway Teow stall 71 is equally popular, but the stall assistant turned us away when we placed our order at 10pm as it seemed that they have served their last order.  Fortunately, the kind chef agreed to cook another portion for us!  I actually prefer the chay kway teow from this stall over the earlier one, but again, this is down to preferences.  Both versions were good. Do try them out when you visit Penang!

As it was late, we packed the Char Kway Teow back to G Hotel but it still tasted as nice and warm as it was only a short walk to our hotel! :)

We also tried this APOM Pancake stall, which we thought would make a good supper or after meal dessert.

One of the things that you should look out for is the presence of touts at the hawker centre, especially at the drinks stalls.  Do note that as a customer, you have the right to sit at any unoccupied table.  The drinks stall operators would however lay claim to the tables near their stalls and demand that you order drinks from them in order to qualify to sit at ‘their’ table.  Again, note that while these hawkers may pay a monthly rental for their stalls, they do not own or rent the tables and chairs at the common areas.  The way to deal with these touts is not to bow to pressure from them.  We offered these touts a patronizing smile and told them gently but firmly that we will order a drink only when we want to.  They eventually ran out of patience with us and turned their attention to harress other customers.  

Other than this one bad experience at Gurney Drive Hawker Centre, we would say that the overall ambience and atmosphere at the hawker centre is generally good.   As this is an open-air hawker centre, hygiene standards are low, but the hawker centres in Singapore are not any much better.  Food here tends to be slightly more expensive, and the portion is small.  It is a good location to sample food, but not one to fill up your tummy.

How to get to Gurney Drive Hawker Centre

Gurney Drive Hawker Centre is a few steps away from Gurney Plaza and G Hotel. So if you are already staying at G Hotel or shopping at Gurney Plaza is in your itineray, you can easily just hop over to Gurney Drive Hawker Centre to enjoy a feast of local hawker fare.

Getting Here

Bus: 
Take Rapid Penang Bus 304 or 103 to Gurney Plaza. Not the most convenient way, but that's the only public bus that goes directly there. Tell the bus driver you are going to Gurney Drive Hawker Centre so that he can alert you when you reach there.

Cab / Taxi:
Taxis will be a more convenient option. Do haggle with the taxi driver on a agreed price before you board it.


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