Malay food court in Penang: Padang Brown Medan Selera – evenings only

This is part of #RebeccaPenangHalalGuide. See full list here –> List of Muslim friendly food outlets in Penang by Rebecca Saw”

Restaurant Name: Padang Brown Medan Selera  
Address: Corner of Perak Road and Anson Road, Penang
Tel: NA
GPS:  N05° 24′ 51.3″ E100° 19′ 1.0″ 

Opening Hours: 7:00pm – 11:30pm (Monday – Sunday) .
Website: NA
Halal Checklist:
Muslim Owned: Yes
Halal Certified: No
100% Halal Ingredients: Y
Cleanliness Grade – A
Serves Alcohol: N
Years of Operation: NA
Extra Comments/Notes:
Prices are nett.

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There are easily about 15 stalls offering a plethora of local specialities here.
Halal “lok-lok” – skewers of fishballs, meatballs, vegetables or meat on wood sticks cooked in boiling water and eaten with chilli and peanut paste are not commonly available and Padang Brown is one of the few places where the Muslims are able to enjoy this.

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The price of each skewer varies but it should be in the range of RM1.50 – RM3.00.
Look for the stall “Majid Chelor Chelor – satay rebus” or the tables laden with plates of skewers where in the middle a pot of boiling water simmered merrily awaiting diners.

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From the very same stall, a plate of fried prawn fritters, a hardboiled egg, sausages, fried beancurd, squid balls, fried cow lungs and about 4 types of fishcakes and fishballs goes for RM7.
Isn’t this a steal?

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This food court offers an overwhelming variety of hawker fare from afternoon to night. Afternoons are primarily for Chinese hawker fare while in the evenings the food court comes alive with Malay and Indian stalls.
The whole area is divided into 2 sections, one on either side of the other and thus there is no overlap of the use of stalls, keeping the Malay stalls at night entirely halal.

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Seating arrangements are plastic chairs, metal stools and round stainless steel tables; all located at the front of the stalls. Some are under the shelter of the zinc roof while some are entirely open air.

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To spice up our meal we shared a large Tom Yam pot (RM15) which feeds 4. Digging in, we uncovered squid rings, fish and chicken meat and prawns and yes, the amounts of ingredients were fair for 4 diners.
The soup itself was nicely sour and slightly spicy. We agreed that this was a better version of the usual Malay-Thai tom yams and the price did justify the generous ingredients.

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From the same stall, we ordered the Kerabu Sotong (RM5), a Thai inspired dish of lightly blanched squids tossed in lime and chillies and garnished with raw onions, carrots and fresh chillies.
Similarly to the Tom Yam pot, the ingredients were fairly fresh and taste wise pretty decent.

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For local Chinese the Char Hor Fun; a chinese flat rice noodles dish with starch and egg based gravy (RM4 per portion) was actually not bad! The gravy was starchier than necessary, but at the very least it was tasty and almost similar to the original Chinese version. 🙂

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Al-Bismi Soup which offers beef, chicken and mutton soup is one of the more prominent stalls here.
Steel cauldrons of various soups line the front of the stall and customers could view the various parts of meat that goes into the soup from the many bowls lined up at the front of the stall.
For those who shun spare parts, the safest choice is the tail (Sup Tulang). Our Sup Tulang plus a set of roti benggali is (RM6.50).
The aromatic soup was distinctive in flavor; redolent in herbs and spices and concentrated from hours of boiling.

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Steering away from the local, we enjoyed the Chicken Chop; a tender whole chicken thigh rained with tasty gravy with sides of fries and coleslaw. The Pizza (RM6) was regrettably bad though; just a careless sprinkling of sliced sausages, mushrooms, cheese and pineapple on a bready base.
Other western choices include steaks, lamb chop, burgers and fish & chips.

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Drinks are handled by one stall and we ordered a coconut shake with ice cream, local favourites iced milk tea, soft drinks and a special concoction with rose syrup, milk, peach and ice cream.

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I had to admit that we didn’t expect to enjoy my meal here (or maybe it was what we ordered) but we did. For the Muslims, I would confidently recommend this Padang Brown Medan Selera if they are seeking a simply meal in one location which offers a large variety.
For the Chinese, do manage expectations as the food won’t be as exceptional as other food spots (New Lane, Kimberly St, Chulia St) but then again, this is a guide for Muslims so food hotspots like New Lane and Kimberly St is out of the question.

The stall to order the Tom Yam. Grilled fish is another option. Oh, the Char Hor Fun and Kerabu Sotong was from here too. Thumbs up!

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The stall for all Western Delights. Just avoid the pizzas.

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The beverage stall. No other option but to order from them.

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It’s a Malay food court/medan selera. So satay is quintessential.

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Mee Rebus and Mee Goreng.

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Old school. I haven’t seen these sweets and snacks stalls ever since… my primary school days?
Nostalgia hit me like a train.

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#RebeccaPenangHalalGuide:
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Photography: Rebecca Saw – #SonyNEX5T and Gough (fb.com/GOUGH.asia)- Canon Mark II
Mobility on the go: #YES4G
Navigation & GPS: #Lumia920

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This Post Has 8 Comments

  1. Caroline

    Good choice. Food courts are always great for variety and budget!

  2. agnes B

    The lok-lok shot is gorgeous. Bubbling away merrily waiting for the skewers to be dunked inside.

  3. daniel

    A happy meal here is entirely possible.

  4. Francesca

    This is certainly useful for Muslims!
    I know a few friends of mine who would appreciate this. But in Sg, not many are halal so I believe most of my Muslim friend cook and eat at home

  5. Veron

    Oh yo umake me want to have lok lok, lorbak, sup kambing and chendol right NOW!

  6. Clarissa

    This has reminded that a trip to Penang is overdue!

  7. nat

    thx for the halal list. easier for me to find good one

    1. Rebecca Saw

      You’re welcome! Enjoy your time in Penang! 😀

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