When it comes to “food heaven”, what pops to your mind? Penang Road Famous Teochew Chendul? The mouth-watering Siam Road Char Koay Teow? Everything aside. Let’s talk about the locals’ favorite spot in the very neglected town of Bukit Mertajam – Icon City, Penang. Located just metres away from tourist landmark Auto City, Icon City Penang redefines the word “iconic” as one of the hottest and most vibrant modernized paragons for food and amusement hunters to prey.
Experience and live Penang with these 7 bests and must visit Icon City restaurants (locals recommends!), that will definitely make your journey to Bukit Mertajam worth every second. Hurry up and be sure to put them in your bucket list while dropping by!
1. Taiwanese Palace
Image credit: @dytfoodenterprise & @taiwanesepalace
Highlights:
• Cuisine: Taiwan
• Affordable price (set menu served), flavorsome, authentic Taiwanese delight
• Recommended dishes: Mixed Mee Sua, Taiwanese 3-cup Squid, Fried Chicken Whole Leg (boneless)
Who doesn’t enjoy the deeply umami flavors and heavily herbal dishes of Taiwanese? Hidden at the tiny corner of the road, a Taiwanese cuisine eatery – Taiwanese Palace – can be seen tucked in among the long in the tooth wooden houses and lighting up the small alley of Icon City Penang in the night.
Despite its location that may seem isolated from the other buildings in Icon City Penang, this remarkable diner is usually busy and swarmed with visitors from in and out-of-states especially during the weekends.
Dining in, food explorers of this Icon City restaurant would be astounded with a sensation that is only amplified in the country by its settings, without having to bust into the jam-packed night market of Taiwan. Taiwanese Palace is renowned for their indigenous culinary that is blended into the “salty-sweet” trademark of modern Taiwanese delights, serving Mee Sua, Taiwanese 3-cup Squid, Braised Pork rice and some delicious authentic street corner snacks on their menu.
This latest Icon City restaurant – Taiwanese Palace would be a paradise for pork-based dish lovers, and an ideal place for milk tea and fancy desserts after meal.
Address: 635, Lorong Langsat, 14000 Bukit Mertajam, Pulau Pinang
Operating hours: 11:30am – 30m | 5:30pm – 10pm (Monday closed)
Social media: Instagram | Facebook
2. BBQ Bar (Icon City – Bukit Mertajam)
Image credit: @tankoklai & @bbqbariconcity
Highlights:
• Cuisine: Chinese Barbecue
• Instagrammable, fresh ingredients, variety of options, friendly service
• Recommended dishes: Australian Beef Rib Eye, Pork Belly, New Zealand Lamb Stick, Fresh Scallop with Glass Noodles, Bacon with Enoki
If you are looking for an instagrammable barbeque place, BBQ Bar in Icon City Penang would be the perfect choice. Indulge in this igloo-themed bar, the futuristic inspired low-lit neon backdrops bring you back in time to enjoy your barbecue skewers as if you are dinning in a cave in the Ice Age era.
The automatic barbecue griller equipped in all tables in this icon city restaurant offers a hands-free charcoal braaivleis experience makes this Icon City restaurant stands out among their competitors. Despite the use of charcoal in the grilling process, BBQ Bar definitely aced in its interior ventilation. You won’t come out smelling like smoked chicken!
Customers are spoilt for choices with a tantalizing array of fresh skewer options on their menu, including different types of meats, seafoods, vegetables, funguses and more. Not to forget the most important element that completes the dishes – seasonings!
Seasonings are taken very seriously in this icon city restaurant with 9 types of condiments readily set on table. Sprinkle your way through with a great finish based on your preferences! However, if you opt for something other than barbecue, they also serve a handful of options for hotpot.
Address: 10, Jln Icon City, Bukit Tengah, 14000 Bukit Mertajam, Pulau Pinang
Operating hours: 5pm – 1am (Weekdays) | 12pm – 2am (Weekends)
Social media: Facebook
3. Kaze Japanese Restaurant
Image credit: @kazejapaneserestaurant
Highlights:
• Cuisine: Japanese
• High quality food, excellent service, serene ambience
• Recommended dishes: Hotate Mentai Sushi, Soft Shell Crab Karaage, Sashimi, Tempura and Unadon Teishoku, Sashimi, Sushi To Mini Udon Set
Are you a fan of Japanese fusion food? If so, how could you miss Kaze Japanese Restaurant in Icon City Penang? Embellished with Japanese ornaments and ancient arts along the timber walls, this icon city restaurant brings out a rather unique beauty with its Japanese inspired aesthetics. The warm yellow illumination further sets a serene ambience to the restaurant which is a plus point to its luxurious positioning.
There are 2 floors in the building to accommodate larger crowds, but it is often occupied during peak hours and holidays.
Kaze is no stranger to the locals as it is emblematic of the traditional Japanese culinary that are very much tuned to savour your taste buds. Special highlights are the freshness, cleanliness and indigenous taste of its dishes that undeniably whet your appetite. Waiting crews are welcoming and friendly to diners. The higher prices of its menu also commensurate with the quality and its serving portion.
Address: 22, Jln Icon City, 14000 Bukit Mertajam, Pulau Pinang
Operating hours: 11:30am – 2:30pm | 6pm – 10pm
Social media: Facebook
4. Rutin
Image credit: @rutiniconcity
Highlights:
• Cuisine: Western-Asian
• Unique savory, large portion, suitable for casual eat outs
• Recommended dishes: Mixed Mee Sua, Taiwanese 3-cup Squid, Fried Chicken Whole Leg (boneless)
Whether if you are craving for some Western cuisine or tempting for some Asian delights, Rutin has established a full-fledged café that can get you all covered! It is always a treat then and now whenever you dine in Rutin.
Being one of the hottest spots in Icon City Penang, this Icon City restaurant has managed to pluck the heartstrings of many by serving a good mix of delicious Western-Asian dishes on table such as noodles, rice, pasta, pizza, salad, burgers and home-made snacks. The contemporary settings and cozy ambience of the restaurant enable diners to relish in their incredible classic Western and local Asian delicacies with satisfaction.
Serving rather simple meals, this icon city restaurant has step it up a notch in the taste and quality. You must definitely give their signature dish, Fish Soup Noodles that comes with various flavors, a try! While the price tag may be a little high, the meal portions are relatively larger than the other usuals. This Icon City restaurant is worth a visit!
Address: Jalan Sentral Jaya, Taman Iks Bkt Tengah, 14000 Bukit Mertajam, Pulau Pinang
Operating hours: 8:30am – 10pm
5. Azuma Sushi Juru Sentral Jaya
Image credit: @norman & @azumasushi
Highlights:
• Cuisine: Japanese
• Fresh ingredients, variety of options, quality dishes served
• Recommended dishes: Ebi Ten Maki, Shake Sashimi, Shake Toro Shioyaki, Unagi Kabayaki Set, Surume Ika Sugata Yaki Shiyoki
Another Japanese eatery worth mentioning is the upper-middle classy yet elegant Japanese cuisine haven branded under Edoichi Group – Azuma Sushi – which carves a reputation for its consistency in quality of food with a special attention on fresh, high-caliber ingredients, accompany with warm hospitality.
Customers are seated in a commodious modernized interior with great emphasis on a mixture of vividness and radiance to create a cozy and soothing atmosphere to its diners.
How do you like your sushi, hand-held or squeezed? You can have it however you want in this icon city restaurant! Azuma Sushi serves a series of classic Japanese dishes that could be found in most Japanese sushi bars, such as Sushi Rolls, Ramen, Barbecue Skewers and Teishoku, but better!
Address: Ground Floor, 1, Jalan Sentral Jaya, Pusat Perniagaan Sentral Jaya, 14000 Bukit Mertajam, Penang
Operating hours: 11:30am – 10:30pm
Social media: Facebook
6. Crumbles & Cream
Image credit: @iconichotel
Highlights:
• Cuisine: Western & High tea
• Instagrammable, luxurious, serves attractive desserts and savoury-mains
• Recommended dishes: 3-Tier Afternoon Tea Set, Orange Ganache, Double Cheese Flavors, Drew Berry More, 72% Dark Choco Truffle, All Black Pasta, Squid ink vongole, Robust Mushroom Soup, Smoked Duck and Pineapple Pizza
Nothing beats some sugary bites after a full stomach. Crumbles & Cream located inside of Iconic Hotel, featuring its high-toned exquisite Western-style High Tea desserts is made to satisfy your sweet tooth.
Serving a cup of freshly flower tea and DIY drip coffee with some delicately crafted fresh pastries and ice cream, this Icon City resraurant / café’s menu shows a strong French influence in their lists that are good enough to give you a toothache! To balance the sugar rush, High Tea sets comes with both sweet and savoury to allow the best sensation for your taste buds.
This Icon City restaurant is especially adored by lassies or the average Janes to indulge and unwind, due to its chic, refined and she-style pinkish interior setting that presents a highly picturesque spot.
Though is it not completely wrong that Crumbles & Cream centers around serving dessert-focused menus, some may be surprised that a High Tea café named after such “sugary” identity also rolls out some interesting yet delicious savoury mains. The café offers a vast selection of mains for lunch and dinner including pastas, pizzas, tortellini and other Western dishes that will fill your stomach with satisfaction.
Address: Jln Icon City, 14000 Bukit Mertajam, Pulau Pinang
Operating hours: 12pm – 8pm
Social media: Instagram | Facebook
7. Gia Xiang Restaurant
Image credit: @giaxiangicon
Highlights:
• Cuisine: Chinese, Hotpot
• Reasonable price, variety of options, suitable for groups dine-in
• Recommended dishes: Pickle with Fish steamboat, Fish Head with Yam, Dry Pot Row Bone, Dry Pot Frog (Griddle), Dry Pot Squid, Spicy Boiled Live Fish
Chinese-style hotpot is definitely one of the many Icon City foods that you cannot possibly miss! Ever since its opening, Gia Xiang Restaurant wins the hearts of the locals with its delicious dishes and lures in great crowd even during normal days and odd hours.
With a fairly reasonable price, this Icon City restaurant serves different types of soup bases such as Pickle with Fish steamboat, Fish Head with Yam, Herbal Tonic Belly Chicken and more, and a long list of fresh ingredients that are available for hotpot enthusiast to choose from. Gia Xiang also accommodates for stomachs with no tolerance to spicy food with its “Plain” (QingTang) soup and “Sour pickled” soup series.
With a well-balanced in its flavor, the pot makes a wholesome meal and side dishes that come with a shareable portion. Dishes are absolutely amazing. Broths are rich in texture and extremely flavorful.
If you want something other than hotpot, this Icon City restaurant – Gia Xiang is ready to serve! The restaurant also serves other food options such as dry pot and Chinese home cook dishes that are equally as appetizing as its signature course.
Address: 40, Jln Icon City, Bukit Tengah, 14000 Bukit Mertajam, Pulau Pinang
Operating hours: 11am – 11:30pm
Social media: Facebook
We hope this article helped you find the best Icon City restaurants / food! Follow us on Instagram (@penanglicious) for latest cafe reviews!
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