Best Chicken Rice in Penang

It’s impossible if Penangites haven’t heard about Fatty Loh Chicken Rice; the most renowned chicken rice shop in Penang was once voted the “King of Chicken Rice”. It's more than just a dining experience with their collection of traditional Chinese artifacts, porcelains, woks, kettles and intricate wood carvings decorating the place. The basic chicken rice set comes with velvety roasted chicken, drizzled with a light soya sauce, cucumber slices, their trademark chilli sauce, fluffy rice and a bowl of soup.  Pick your table and be liberal with the side dishes – bean sprouts, fried tofu and lettuce. You’ll never want to get up from those rustic wooden benches!

Located along the bustling hub of locals and tourists on Chulia Street, Goh Thew Chik Chicken Rice is a family-run business that has been plying their trade for serving one of the finest Hainanese chicken rice for years. It’s truly worth all the hassle of scarce parking and tables because once you’re served their mouth-watering meal, you’ll forget the surroundings and savour everything till the final drop of soya sauce. Jubilantly exploit every shred of tender goodness, smooth soya sauce and tantalising chilli sauce. Either roasted or steamed, both versions stand out.

Sin Nam Huat is a burgeoning franchise with a couple of branches in Penang, and during lunch hours, it’s as if there is no room for an apple to fall. It’s a neat and clean shop and you’ll be dumbfounded for a second, looking at the waiters using an iPad to key in orders; you don’t see that in chicken rice stalls often. With two choices of rice – plain or oiled, and delicious chicken, pork and duck, it’s an ideal place for an irresistible feast of meat. The chicken is roasted to perfection – flavourful skin and juicy meat, served in a light soya sauce and a side of chilli sauce for heat.

Breathing new life to regular chicken rice with various chicken dishes such as Chicken Teriyaki and BBQ Honey Chicken, you won't find any chicken rice stall serving such offerings. In place of dreary cucumbers, you get grilled cherry tomatoes, shredded cabbage, carrots, lettuce and broccoli. It comes with garlic chili sauce and their homemade condiment – an innovative blend of red chilies, coriander, lime leaves, lime juice, spring onions and soya sauce. Hold on, their spicy fried egg which is only RM1 – deep-fried hard-boiled eggs lathered in piquant sambal, is worth a try. You’ve got to come over and over again to taste them all!

History hops back to 1967, where the parents of the current owners served authentic Hainanese chicken rice at Church Street. It has now shifted to Cintra Street, yet after all thse years, the flavour is still maintained with excellence. Named after a famous chicken dish from Wenchang City in Hainan, China, it’s a basic coffee shop – ceiling fans, simple tables and chairs and newspaper cuttings of their food emblazoned around the shop. There is no menu and it’s never required; just order their tender roasted or steamed chicken, drizzled with mild soya sauce on fragrant rice and homemade garlic chili sauce. Their chicken soup is a crowd-puller that nourishes your body and maybe even your soul. This one is not to be missed!