Tek Sen Restaurant

When in Penang food seems to just come to you at every corner and everything tastes better than the one before.
With street food being so cheap why bother going to a sit down restaurant? As the previous Unilocalers has mentioned, it can be really nice to actually sit down at a ‘restaurant’ after a full day of just ‘hawking’ at various street stalls.
Plus, the food at Tek Sen is so good, it is definitely a must eat in Penang. When asking a few locals about this place, we received a few confused look and not a lot of people appear to know it. Although I imagine it’s probably more to do with the price range rather than the quality (prices at Tek Sen is more expensive than other local eats although still cheap for tourist standard)
When we arrived at Tek Sen there definitely was no shortage of queue and the tables kept filling up. As I said the dishes were all definitely winners. And it is definitely a must try restaurant in Penang

I am so excited to be the first to review Tek Sen on Unilocal.This place has been written about in multiple food guides and is a local favorite. Despite the popularity, the quality has remained unchanged and the food is amazingly delicious.
My first few days in Malaysia were filled with yummy food but none that «blew my socks off» until we came to Tek Sen. Just the thought of their double roasted pork makes my mouth drool…
Their menu is in English and Chinese, and they also have daily specials but those are written on the wall in Chinese only.
Food: ⁵⁄₅
You absolutely must get the double roasted pork with chili padi! It is sweet and sticky, crunchy and goey and absolutely delicious! Go for the large portion because you will devour the whole thing.
We also had their specialty fish curry (with sting ray) and it was tasty, but it is a very different type of curry, it was more on the sour side which I loved but my husband didn’t.
Also recommended is anything with sambal sauce and also the stir-​fried bitter gourd with egg.
If you are unsure what to order, the menu has helpfully marked their most popular dishes but you can also just ask the waiter.
Service: ³⁄₅
Standard Asian service. The staff are efficient and friendly, but they are not going to come to your table to check on how you are doing.
Atmosphere: ⁴⁄₅
After days of eating at hawker stalls, I was totally ready to sit down in a restaurant and have my order taken. It is very clean and they recently expanded, as from the outside there is still a sign for the previous café there.
Value: ⁴⁄₅
This will be more expensive than eating at hawker stalls, and perhaps you are paying for the comfort of having your food served to you but it is totally worth the price. The food is so delicious and one that I would highly recommend! That pork has secured a spot on my list of «best thing I ever ate»
TIP: Come early or late (but definitely not around 7−8pm) because it is always packed!