Best Satays in Penang

Overlooking the sea and serving fresh seafood, Ocean Green Restaurant has remained one of the best seafood restaurants in Penang spanning three decades. Predominantly serving up ocean goodness, yet their satay is amazing. There’s never a need to dip into the sauce; just devour straightaway! With succulent chunks of marinated meat grilled together with their treacly peanut sauce over a charcoal flame; paired with sliced onions and cucumbers, it’s hard to stop once you start!

Head down towards the southern end of the island, where a mouth-watering satay stall is awaiting to satisfy your big appetite. You’ll be dumbfounded being welcomed by the alluring panorama of Gertak Sanggul and a rustic restaurant well-known for fresh seafood. It’s impossible to see tables without merry-making sticks of satay. Slivers of cucumbers and onions accompany the skewers without the need for sauce as the marinated meat is dipped into the peanut gravy before being grilled to a crunchy texture.

Along the unruffled Bangkok Lane, Uncle Ah Hun and his humble Hainan satay pushcart stall have been satisfying the palates of Penangites for more than 20 years. The Hainanese migrants had their own version of satay, where it’s yellowish in color and less spicy.  The main draw of Ah Hun's pork satay is the dipping sauce, where the usual peanut sauce is swapped with a starchy and viscous mashed potato sauce, pepped up with their tight-lipped secret ingredients. Paired with fluffy toasted bread, it sounds peculiar but is a perfect match made in (gastronomic) heaven!

Looking for a place that serves both pork and chicken satay? Then head over to Chulia Street - an area engulfed with tourists, backpackers and a dazzling array of street foods! You’ll easily spot this satay stall with punters making a beeline as an elderly man prepares pork and chicken satay. A harmonious blend of fat and lean meats are grilled until golden brown. Paired with two types of sauces - the regular peanut sauce and the milder potato gravy, you’ll get a tang of sour plum aftertaste too.

If chicken and lamb satay sound mundane, how about horse, deer and seafood satay? Ah Basri prides itself in patronising meat-lovers with their eclectic (and exotic) choices of satay. Each skewer tickles your palate with various textures and tastes - it's best to play a game of 'guess the meat'. Serving savoury lean meats paired with a thick peanut gravy and their praiseworthy homemade chilli sauce, it would be close to crime if you leave without trying their remarkable squid satay.

Being the culinary capital of Malaysia, the Pearl of the Orient is blessed with plenty of enticing street foods, where the lively atmosphere allures you straight away. New Lane Hawker Center is among them and you’ll definitely be overwhelmed with jam-packed hawker stalls, yet never leave your table without tasting the succulent satay of Aunty Satay. Offering selections of pork, chicken, liver and intestine, all meats are grilled to a delicate balance of smoky and savoury flavours with a unique aftertaste of coconut and turmeric. 

Located at the heart of Perak Road, where every sight leads to a coffee shop or street food, 2828 is a classic Malaysian coffee shop with numerous choices of stalls, reflecting multiracial food under one roof. Widely known for their beef koay teow soup, yet after the sun goes down, Rahman Satay starts smoking their charcoal grill for fabulous skewers of satay. Chicken and beef are praiseworthy; however the top-seller is their mutton satay which is tender with crispy edges and packed with smoky flavors. Served with sliced cucumbers, onions and a rich peanut dipping sauce, this is a true Malaysian classic to be savoured.