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4-Hour Georgetown Food Tour

Badge of ExcellencePenang, Malaysia

4 hours
Mobile ticket
Offered in: English

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Overview

Feast your senses on the sights and smells of George Town on a half-day culinary tour, ideal for food lovers with limited time in Penang. In a small group, explore the UNESCO World Heritage Site of George Town in the early evening, a cooler and less-crowded time to visit, on a tour that combines its rich culture with numerous local delicacies. Plus, taking a food tour at the start of your trips means you receive ample culinary recommendations sure to enhance your vacation.

Food and walking tour of Penang, great for food-lovers with limited time
Discover lesser-known local delicacies that you may otherwise have missed
Explore George Town in the early evening: a cooler and less-crowded time to visit
Receive personalized attention in a small group

What's Included

Beverages
Food tasting
Dinner
Professional guide
One cocktail or mocktail

Hotel pickup and drop-off
Personal expenses
Gratuities

Meeting and Pickup

Meeting point

98, Jln Masjid Kapitan Keling, George Town, 10300 George Town, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia
We meet at the entrance of the mosque. The side which is next to a famous Landmark :Nasi Kandar Beratur Original on Jalan Masjid Kapitan Keling.

Start time

04:00 PM

End point

China House
153, Beach St, Georgetown, 10300 George Town, Penang, Malaysia
We end with an alcoholic or non-alcoholic beverage here.

What To Expect

Kapitan Keling Mosque (Pass By)

Goddess of Mercy Temple (Kuan Yin Teng)

15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

George Town (Pass By)

Armenian Street

30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Not wheelchair accessible
Please advise any specific DIETARY requirements AT TIME of booking. VEGETARIAN options are available, please advise AT TIME of booking if required
A minimum of 2 people per booking is required
Stroller accessible
Tips to enjoy Simply Enak's food tour:
Near public transportation
BE HUNGRY, BE OPEN
Make sure you come hungry when you join the food experience and be open to foods introduced by the guide
WEAR COMFORTABLE SHOES

The food experience tours are normally walking trails. It's advises that guests wear comfortable shoes during the food experience
BRING YOUR WATER BOTTLE
Water helps during the tour especially during hot weather. Its very easy to get thirsty in Malaysia.
UMBRELLA AND RAINCOAT
Malaysia's weather can be unpredictable. Please bring your own umbrella or raincoat if its raining or going to rain.
AVOID WEARING WHITE
Travelers should have a moderate physical fitness level
There's nothing worse than spilling food on a white t-shirt. If you don't mind the stain, you can always wear white.
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 9 travelers

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.

Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.
Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.

Traveler Photos

Reviews

5.0

242 reviews

Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews

Reviews by Viator travelers.

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Showing 1-10 of 242 reviews

An afternoon of eating!

Nichole_P, Mar 2024

Make sure you come hungry! Our tour was fantastic. KK was our guide for the afternoon and he took us to Some amazing places. They feed you a lot on their tour. I have done food tours that are more of a sampling, the dishes on their tour are an entire dish to yourself. KK was fantastic and I highly recommend this tour

5/5 STARS PHENOMENAL

G_C, Mar 2024

Mr. Ron Than was phenomenal and I would sign up for a food tour with him anywhere anytime: he gave history, anecdotes, and local lore, and most importantly, took us to amazing food—the high tea and the Chew Jetty food were highlights of the tour. Give him and his company a try, you will not regret it; thank you so much for a delightful tour, Mr. Ron! 5+++++/5 stars

Street food adventure

Fred_G, Feb 2024

Wei Shen was an excellent guide and took us to places where we could experience the variety of foods available in Georgetown. Highly recommended.

Our guide was very...

Courtany_S, Dec 2023

Our guide was very informative and patient as he explained culture and religion. The food we sampled was excellent and varied. I would do it again!

Gem of a tour in a gem of a city

Kwame_E, Nov 2023

Learning about the quirky parts of Georgetown amd the various cultures thats that make up its fòod scene.

Fantastic Food Tour

Annette_M, Aug 2023

Ron Wong was an excellent guide. His knowledge and explanations of where we were was terrific and he was happy to answer all questions asked. The food was first class and every restaurant and food stall was so friendly. Would recommend this tour.

The food kept coming.

Keith_M, Jul 2023

The guide gave us great insights into the history, food and culture of George Town. And the food and drink kept coming. Saw and tasted stuff we would never have found ourselves. We didn’t want to leave.

Excellent informative...

Susan_R, Jun 2023

Excellent informative guide who ran the tour at a good pace allowing us to stay longer at places that took our interest.

Not so much of a food tour as it is history. Too expensive.

Alex_G, Mar 2023

Very nice tour with a wonderful guide who was very friendly and knowledgeable of the history. I would not consider it a food tour as we only ate at three places and didn’t explore the street food. Definitely more of a walking history tour, but we enjoyed. Very high price for what it is.

Great combination of history and food!

Helen_W, Mar 2023

Our guide Teoh was very personable and so informative, we learned a lot about Georgetown, went to places we would never have gone to without Teoh's local knowledge, ate an amazing variety of local foods and drinks...a terrific way to spend 4 hours. We were the only 2 on our tour which was great for both Teoh and ourselves...Great interaction. If you get Teoh as your guide you are in for a treat...Wear comfy shoes, have an open mind to new tastes and an empty stomach to begin with...it will be fully the end of the tour!!

Great experience!

kateselvaratnam, Feb 2023

Absolutely brilliant tour. Informative and absolutely delicious! Highly recommend. Loved the insight into the history of Georgetown, the religions and of course the food! Highlights were the samosa (we went back every day!) and the overall vibe.

Sub par and disorganized tour focused on multicultural food

abby_w, Dec 2022

If you’re looking for a delicious food focused tour to learn about and try local cuisine or Malaysian food, spend your $ elsewhere. A “Culture tour with random food” is more accurate. To echo the sentiments of a previous review, the tour focuses on how multicultural Penang is, and you’ll be spending your time eating Indian, Chinese, and potentially some Malaysian food. We had chickpea curry with two types of bread (tasty but disappointing because I know a handful about Indian food), mushy noodles, one of the worst versions of the signature Penang soup, satay (again disappointing because it’s such a common food), and a few desserts that were maybe Malaysian. It did not feel well organized and it appears that the food and locations you will visit will be random depending on the day. This demonstrates a lack of intention. Other problems/oddities: 1. We didn’t eat for the entire first hour of the tour. 2. Nothing about the food was explained to us or emphasized in the talk 3. Tour guide asked us if we have food restrictions at the beginning (this should have been noted and planned in advance). 4. It seems like the food and restaurants you visit will vary depending on crowd size. In my opinion, this is incredibly thoughtless. 5. Due to the lack of itinerary and coordination with the restaurants beforehand, the tour probably lasted over 5 hours instead of 4 (we left after 4 hours, though I was ready to leave after 1). 6. The food at the second restaurant was inedible. I will be sure to ask more questions before signing up for another food tour in the future. I don’t like to give a bad review as it could negatively impact people’s livelihoods, but this experience was truly unfortunate and not worth the $$.

Response from Host, Jan 2023

Dear Abby, Thank you for your valuable feedback- we regret to hear about your disappointment and that you feel the food and the tour were subpar, and not worth your time or price paid. We gathered from the Guide that you were unwell from the start of the tour and we wish you recovery. The tour and tracks are crafted and organized in a way so visitors that come to Malaysia can learn and experience the key diversity, multicultural, melting pot of Malaysia - through the people (the community where we walk), the food, and the culture. Our intention is to give an authentic and memorable impression to visitors in our compact 4-hour walk journey with the guide and the group. Our guides are very passionate and most times give more of their time so visitors can ask as many questions and be of assistance wherever possible. As much as we try to control and have a set of fixed places and itineraries (like eating pit stops, landmarks, and a list of food to eat) we value personalization to our guests to make them happy-We may go eat at randomly known and selected spots. (*just because our client has a special craving or wishes that will in the end make their food tour and experience complete and satisfactory). The Indian restaurant stop where you had the tasty breads(rotis) and curries is a no-frills vegetarian joint in Little India and is very popular among locals. It is even listed under the latest Michelin Guide in Malaysia. CKT- Char Kuew Teow aka mushy noodles is a signature dish in Penang and it resembles the Thai "Pad Thai" version. Almost all of our customers rave about this version served on our track. Satay is indeed a common food but it is a highlight to most tourists visiting Malaysia and to truly find a good one is tricky. Many of our customers also love the variation and choices, especially the desserts at this Malay pit stop. We hope that you still made some good memories in Georgetown and enjoyed authentic Malaysian hospitality nevertheless.

Great intro to food and Georgetown

Stephen_N, Dec 2022

Great tour this Saturday.Sampled food from Malaysia (my favorite), India, and Chinese. The tour had a mix of food and history. Out tour guide was really sweet. We had a total of 7 people in our group and it actually lasted 5 hours. The tour ends at the China house, cocktail included!

Informative and fun food and history tour

Sandy_C, Dec 2022

Our guide Soraya was very entertaining and informative. We learnt all about the history of Georgetown, she showed us lots of places and we tried plenty of food from the different areas. The tour lasted over 4 hours and we thoroughly enjoyed it. Highly recommend.

Don't eat before arriving!!

Bob_D, Nov 2022

Excellent history of Penang along with some great food hosted by SuLi. she is a great guide and we got lots of history. She is also fun to be around. She took us to some great restaurants and tastings (which were almost full meals). Seriously - don't eat before you get there. Also as a vegetarian not sure what to expect but no worries. The non-veg tastings looked good too!

A must do to know wonderful Georgetown

Michael_M, Sep 2022

Our wonderful guide Ronald Tuh make this experience exceptional. Highly recommended as not a historical tour if Georgetown but also for the diverse food culture. A great experience!!

Good night out

Jill_S, Sep 2022

Had a fabulous group of people on the tour and certainly had plenty to eat and drink. Would have liked more information on the actual dishes we ate (how they were made, the ingredients etc) but could not fault the food. Teoh provided very interesting information on George Town and it’s history and culture.

Not what we expected

Kristina_C, Aug 2022

We heard about the amazing food in George Town and we’re not sure what local restaurants to try, hence booked this FOOD tour. The guide was nice elderly gentleman, very knowledgeable of the history of the town, buildings and the architecture. However, we specifically came to try different local foods, which we did not get to sample. First place he took us was Indian cuisine-we’ve been to India and had this type of food, so even though it was good food, it was nothing whatsoever Malaysia specific. Second place was AGAIN Indian. The meal samples were basically less than 1 dollar (menu was listed on the wall). We paid $176 USD for the tour and by the end of it we tried not a single meal that was from Malay cuisine. He stopped at the Food Court for the last meal-we looked up reviews of the place and they were not good, so we let the guide go and went to get ice cream instead. He took us for a ‘special drink’ -the place was nice and the drink was good, but to sum it up-we could have sampled the whole market ourselves for the cost of this tour and instead we got a history tour with Indian food samples.

Response from Host, Jan 2023

Dear Kristina, Thank you for your valuable feedback- we are equally sad that you didn't experience the specific ultimate food tour you were hoping for. Our guides each have their own specialty and your Guide of the day-this elderly gentleman is one of the most experienced in town, certainly in both heritage and culture. We have 3 key pit stops, Indian, Malay or Indian Muslim, and Chinese all are local Malaysian highlights and places -locals like myself would go. It's a pity that the selection of food was not up to your expectations. Our intention is to give an authentic and memorable impression of Georgetown city, to visitors in our compact 4-hour walk journey checking the list of food, culture, street art, murals, stories, and understanding about the city's rich heritage and landmarks (*places to go visit in Penang). The Indian restaurant stop where you had the tasty breads(rotis) and curries is a no-frills vegetarian joint in Little India and is very popular among locals. It is even listed under the latest Michelin Guide in Malaysia. I hope you would give us another chance for future trips. We are working towards a no-frills, serious foodie track. Connect with us on your future trip back to Penang and get a free food tour from us.

Food, facts and fun 😀

Meghna_D, Jul 2022

Delicious food and lots of history was the highlight of the tour. Suraiya and Pauline, our guides, not just explained the cuisine but also kept us entertained with interesting stories and sights of George Towns past and present. Thank you for the Asam Laksa and Oyster Omlette- its one of our top favourite foods of this trip. The wrap up with the local rice wine(Tauk) and chatting with the group was a lovely way to end the tour. Very memorable.

Response from Host, Jul 2022

Thank you Meghna we enjoyed ourselves equally and even learned so much from each other. We hope you leave Malaysia remembering it's food, culture and friends ( Malaysian hospitality)! Jumpa lagi (See you soon).

Great mix of food and culture

clairewaller, Apr 2022

Our guide Ronald was incredibly knowledgeable and we learned a lot about the history and culture of Penang during the tour. We had the chance to eat at places and try foods we never would have on our own, and the food was great!