Nirvana Cafeteria at Anson Road, Penang
Did you like this article? Share it with your friends!
For those craving for hawker food in Penang, head over to Nirvana Cafeteria. The humble eatery located (opposite BHP petrol station) on Anson Road, near the junction with Johore Road has a number of food stalls. Everything the eye catches is inviting, such as Assam Laksa, Hokkien Mee, Chee Cheong Fun, Mee Goreng and Roti Canai.
Assam Laksa Stall
The Assam Laksa dish combines the sweet sourish taste you might want in a bowl of noodles. Rice vermicelli noodles with plenty of fresh lettuce, cucumber, chili padi, bunga kantan, and herbs come in a fish broth. Mint leaves give hint of freshness and a spoonful of fermented shrimp paste lends much umami to the dish.
If add-on is your thing, there are choices like deep-fried spring roll, prawn cracker, and yam rice. The crisp and light deep-fried spring roll stuffed with bangkuang (jicama) does deserve a mention.
Hokkien Mee
It is not easy to resist ordering a bowl of Hokkien Mee. Not only is the yellow noodles topped with prawns, hard-boiled eggs, meat, bean sprouts, and deep-fried lard, but also comes in a broth with comforting prawns and meat flavour. An accompanying spoon of spicy chili sauce made the dish thoroughly enjoyable.
Chee Cheong Fun
The choices carry through to the chee cheong fun. This iconic dish of Penang has a lot going on. The steamed noodle made of rice flour has a firm bite, and is served with fermented shrimp paste (hae ko) along with sweet sauce and chilly sauce. With clever sense of balance of sauces, the dish is delightful at any time of the day.
We also had the wan than mee, with a portion of noodles in black sauce, garnished with bbq meat and green vegetables. This dry style version is presented together with a bowl of soup with two wantons (an additional bonus as not many outlets are providing the bowl of soup nowadays).
If you are in this area, make a visit to Nirvana Cafeteria. With its daily opening hours (except Sunday) from 8am until 4pm, it is one of those places where you can enjoy a meal of hawker food for breakfast, lunch, and teatime.
Nirvana Cafeteria (next to Penang Buddhist Association)
156 Jalan Anson
10400 George Town
Penang
Tel: 017-5729454