Char Kway Teow

Penang's definitive wok dish — flat rice noodles stir-fried over screaming-hot charcoal flames with prawns, cockles, Chinese lap cheong sausage, bean sprouts, and dark soy sauce — achieves its smoky wok hei in the hands of hawkers who have cooked nothing else for thirty years. The best plates in Malaysia are found at Penang's Lorong Selamat and are worth crossing continents to eat.