itinerary George Town lunch crawl: 4 stops on foot
4 stops · 1.0km on foot
Four stops in the old town, none of them more than a short walk apart, and all of them lunch. They are listed here by geography rather than by the clock, which matters: Pitt Street Koay Teow Th'ng is finished by 12:00 and Tek Sen Restaurant does not open until 11:30. Start with the koay teow th'ng, then work up Lebuh Carnarvon and finish on Lebuh Queen.
1 11:30 to 14:00 · shut Tuesday
Photo: 黃裕文 via Google Maps Tek Sen Restaurant is the chu char stop, and the one to build the rest of the day around, since it only starts serving at 11:30. The double-roasted pork with chili padi is what nobody leaves without. Staff can reel off the lau chiu pai signatures from memory if you want help filling the table.
2 07:30 to 14:30 · 304m from the last stop · shut Monday
Photo: Joseph Reid via Google Maps Weng Kei Wantan Mee is the bright yellow corner shop on Lebuh Carnarvon. The noodles are made in house with duck eggs and nothing else, but it is the char siew and roasted pork that eaters keep singling out. Get a plate of the roast meats to go beside the bowl.
3 08:00 to 12:00 · 102m from the last stop · shut Monday
Photo: Vera via Google Maps Pitt Street Koay Teow Th'ng shuts at 12:00, earlier than anywhere else here, so put it first. The eel balls are what separate the bowl from an ordinary one, soft and bouncy rather than dense. Order the handmade pork fillets too, which come strongly peppery, and a coffee to go with them.
4 11:00 to 15:30 · 593m from the last stop · shut Sunday
Photo: Iqbaal Rizal via Google Maps Restoran Tajuddin Hussain runs latest of the four, to 15:30, so a slow morning on Lebuh Carnarvon costs you nothing. It takes up two adjoining shoplots on Lebuh Queen beside Little India and is hard to miss. Ask for a banjir plate and point at the curries you want poured over the rice.