Named after the legendary food street in Penang, this is the latest addition to the slew of Penang joints here—and it’s also one of the best. It helps that price points here are low and the dishes among the most authentic (the kitchen’s run by a bunch of “Penangites,” led by head chef Wong Thin Lipp). Lunch hour can be pretty hectic (its location at Suntec City pulls in the office crowd), so we suggest dropping by during dinner so you can eat at your own pace. We have very little complaints about the food here, and trust us, we know our goods. The char kway teow ($6.90) was one of the most fragrant we’ve tried and the texture of the kway teow was perfect—our only qualm was that the chef should have used more pork lard. Other than that, staples like Hokkien mee ($5.90), with its broth boiled for three hours using prawn heads, were done exactly as they do it back in Penang, and the homemade chili that accompanies the dish gave it an extra oomph. The prawns that came with it were suitably huge too—real value for money. But what gives Gurney Drive that extra edge is their small selection of more “cult” dishes not available at the other Penang food joints. The oyster noodles ($8.90) was an interesting soy and oyster sauce-based dish using ee-mee noodles and sprinklings of mini oysters that were not over-powering and plain yummy. Also, try the various grilled seafood dishes while you’re here, especially the grilled stingray ($6.90) for its addictive sambal belachan. Friendly service and affordable fare make this a winning option.
