Food makes the perfect introduction to any city—especially Penang. Slurp, sip, and snack as you discover the highlights of the city’s historic center, Georgetown, on a small-group foodie walking tour with a guide. Enjoy the sorts of insights you can only get from a local as you visit vendors and hawkers, and taste the fare of the generations of migrants who have made the island their home.

Explore Georgetown, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, on a foodie walking tour
Sample enough dishes, desserts, and beverages to make up a full meal
Learn about Penang’s multicultural history from your guide
Enjoy personalized attention from your local host in a small group

What's Included

Professional English speaking host
Dinner and beverages (non-alcoholic)
Local taxes

Hotel pickup and drop-off
Alcoholic drinks (available to purchase)
Personal expenses

Meeting And Pickup

Meeting point

Ren I Tang Heritage Inn
82 A, Lebuh Penang, George Town, 10200 George Town, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia
Go to the corner of Lebuh Penang and Lebuh China, and the Ren is the white colonial style building on the corner. You will meet your host at the Bistro on the ground floor. If you're early or have any questions, simply inform the staff at the Bistro that you're here for the Heritage on a Plate food tour.

Start time

06:00 pm

End point

Chulia Street
Lbh Chulia, George Town, 10450 George Town, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia

What To Expect

Little India - Penang

1 hour 30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Kapitan Keling Mosque

30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Chinatown - Penang

30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Penang

45 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received within 48 hours of booking, subject to availability
Not wheelchair accessible
Children must be accompanied by an adult
A maximum of 6 people per booking

Stroller accessible
Near public transportation
Most travellers can participate
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 4 travellers

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.
This experience requires good weather. If it’s cancelled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund.

Traveller Photos

Featured review

Joanne_P

We absolutely loved the tour. Our guide Danny was great and tailored the tour to suit our needs perfectly. All the food was wonderful and the historical information was a brilliant addition. I would recommend this activity as a good start to a George Town visit. It really helped us to get our bearings and discover some excellent food.

Reviews

5.0

104 reviews

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

Reviews by Viator travellers.

Showing 1-10 of 104 reviews

Great food and culture in Georgetown

claudia_c, Sept 2023

The tour guides were very knowledgeable about the culture and food, they really made the experience great. The options of places visited were carefully curated, you could tell, and the food delicious. Plenty of food to go around!

Fantastic experience

Brittany_W, Aug 2023

The tour was great! We learned a lot about the different foods of Penang and enjoying trying a variety of dishes.

Response from Host, Aug 2023

Thank you so much, Brittany—glad you enjoyed it!

Must do in Penang

MELANIE_J, July 2023

Amazing!! The guides were excellent and super informative about both food and some Penang history and the food was delicious!!

Response from Host, July 2023

Hi Melanie—so glad you had a good time too, and thanks for the kind words!

Ok but not great

Anthony_R, July 2023

This tour was a little disorganised as B was in training. My main criticism would be that considering the cost not enough food was provided. Only one portion of any dish was purchased for 6 people to share apart from duck noodles - 2 bowls were shared. We had 2 iced teas but beer was not included. Not a great experience really

Response from Host, July 2023

Hi there— We’re sorry to hear this experience didn’t meet your expectations! We appreciate guests’ feedback, and we try to make sure we order a good variety of foods & appropriate portions on our “hops”, to ensure guests sample a lot of local flavors, and that food isn’t wasted. We’re sorry if you feel we missed the mark on this. We apologize if you couldn’t see the “not included” segment in this booking site’s product information, in regards to alcohol. We’ll see if can make that more prominent, for future guests! We do hope you enjoy the rest of your stay

Delicious and fun!!

Arnau_S, July 2023

Very nice and engaging hosts with clear knowledge of the town and best food spots. Overall an amazing tour that will set you up straight on the vibes of George Town.

Response from Host, July 2023

Thanks Arnau—our host had a great time with you too!

Amazing food and cultural tour

Suzie_L, Mar 2023

Amazing blend of culture, history, and food! It was really an eye-opening tour to the different districts of Penang, with commentary on everything from architecture to the use of charcoal in cooking. I learned so much and was so full afterwards!

Response from Host, Mar 2023

Thanks so much Suzie-that last sentence is a big part of what we strive to accomplish, haha!

Good intro to Penang

Sean_T, Feb 2023

Great tour, little larger than usual but was still manageable. Great way to start a trip when you don't know where to start with food.

Response from Host, Mar 2023

Glad you enjoyed it!

Excellent Food Tour

Helen_N, Feb 2023

I would highly recommend this tour. The tour leader Jeremy was very knowledgeable and gave us great insight into the local culture, history, variety of foods and their composition. Every tasting was delicious. It was a relaxed pace tour & the small group was delightful. The follow up email with a description of where we went and tips for other food destinations was really welcome. We were really pleased wedding this tour. Having visited Penang before, this tour gave us insight into new places to explore 😀

Response from Host, Mar 2023

Thanks so much for that feedback, Helen!

Food tour

Ian_G, Mar 2020

Enjoyed this tour with Danny his talks re the history of George Town and the food was fascinating. Would highly recommend.

A great introduction to George Town.

Joanne_P, Mar 2020

I learned a lot, I ate a lot, and I left HAPPY

Howard_L, Feb 2020

And educational and fun filled culinary evening. I could not think of a better way to have spent my time then walking the streets with my tour guide sampling the best that the city has to offer. We had the opportunity to sample some of the finest street food available. I was pleasantly surprised and pleased to find that our guide was so knowledgeable about the food, the culture and traditions of the people who make and enjoy the creations. I can’t believe I ate as much as I did. Not only did we sample various recipes but we learned a lot about the food, the complexity of ingredients, and how Malays use food as a form of celebration.

Heritage Food Street Tour in George Town, Penang

Justine_F, Nov 2019

An amazing evening where Danny brought the history of George Town to life...very entertaining stories based on a deep knowledge with excellent and different food choices too.

Only one other person had booked for...

Martin B, Apr 2018

Only one other person had booked for this, making three in total - including our guide Jeremy. He took us to some great places that I wouldn't have ventured into on my own. We had a variety of small, really tasty dishes - with Jeremy explaining the historical background etc. for each dish. It was the perfect way to spend my first evening in Penang.

Fantastic tour! We were lucky enough...

Jack A, Jan 2018

Fantastic tour! We were lucky enough to have perfect weather and to be the only 2 on this tour. The guide is very knowledgeable and passionate and took us to try a variation of Malay food. Highly recommend.

Excellent tour with friendly and...

Gordon R, Oct 2017

Excellent tour with friendly and informative guide. Combines a delicious street food experience with a explanation of the heritage of Georgetown,.

you can miss so much if you dont...

julian b, Sept 2017

you can miss so much if you dont have a local to show you like we did. And there was only the 2 of us and the guide. Brilliant

Danny provides an excellent and...

Jonathan F, July 2017

Danny provides an excellent and informative guide to Penang, its cultures and its cuisine. Venues and food were well chosen and the evening was well paced and enjoyable.

My husband and I were the only...

Catherine P, Jan 2017

My husband and I were the only tourists on this tour. So we had Jeremy our tour guide all to ourselves. What a bonus! We had a great time and were able to sample a wonderful variety of food. I think this tour is for those who don't mind trying everything and who are genuinely interested in the cultural melting pot that is on offer. I particularly loved the ambra juice but saying that just about everything was delicious and a wide variety of dishes we would probably not have tried on our own. Jeremy was a great guide, knowledgeable and enthusiastic. He shared lots of foodie experiences and made the night a highlight of what was a terrific holiday in Penang. Thanks Jeremy.