SEBERANG PERAI, Jan 9 — While old town Butterworth may not be famous for char koay teow or assam laksa, it has its own unique hawker fare with influences from different cultures.

One of the best places to sample Butterworth hawker food is Jalan Raja Uda with its numerous hawker stalls and coffee shops.

Here are some places we found absolutely delicious:

Crispy roti canai and teh tarik for breakfast at Restoran OMH.

Breakfast

In Malaysia, you can never go wrong with roti canai for breakfast and here the best place to have it is a tiny little shed by the roadside along Jalan Kampung Gajah.

Look out for a stall next to a kurma tree and you’ll find the place; this stall has been around since 1954 and continues to serve up crispy roti canai to its regulars.

Other than roti canai, the shop also offers up roti tawar telur where slices of plain Benggali roti dipped in beaten eggs are pan-fried for a crispy local style French toast.

The roti canai and roti tawar telur are best eaten with thick dhall or the stall’s specialty, minced beef curry.

The shop is now operated by Mohammad Nazaruddin Omar who took over the business from his father.

A man prepares roti canai for breakfast at Restoran OMH.

Restoran OMH (Kedai Pokok Kurma) Jalan Kampung Gajah, Butterworth. Time: 6am-9pm Closed on alternate Fridays

Nasi lemak by the roadside at Jalan Raja Uda.

Mid-morning snack

If you like nasi lemak, head on over to this roadside nasi lemak stall along Jalan Raja Uda. Madam Lee sells it from a push-cart but this is not your usual pre-packed nasi lemak; here you get to pick the dishes to go with your nasi.

The stall has more than 10 different dishes, including at least five different curries. As with most roadside stalls, this one does not have a proper name but goes by a nickname that locals gave it due to its location.

You will find Madam Lee’s stall across the road from SJKC Kwang Hwa along Jalan Raja Uda. Remember to go early as the nasi lemak sells out fast.

The Kwong Hwa Nasi Lemak stall has a variety of dishes for customers to choose from.

Kwang Hwa Nasi Lemak, Jalan Raja Uda. Time: 7am-11am Closed on public holidays.

The roasted duck, rich in its special spicy sauce along Jalan Raja Uda.

Lunch

Located just across the road from Caltex or Public Bank is a duck rice stall located under a shady tree. (Yes, there is a theme here: the perfect spot for setting up a stall is very often under a shady tree!)

The stall owner, Fong Meng Jun, 50, roasts the ducks himself and he has been operating the stall for over 36 years after taking over the business from his father.

The roast duck is served with a special sauce which has been given an added kick with chilli padi. Fong not only opens for lunch but also has another stall in another coffee shop which is open for dinner.

Fong Meng Jun says he roasts the ducks himself in order to get the delicious brown crispy skin.

Duck Rice (across Caltex) Jalan Raja Uda Time: 11am-2pm

Duck Rice at Hup Seng Restaurant , Jalan Raja Uda Time: 5pm-8pm Closed on Mondays

(Clockwise from left) prawn fritters, boiled octopus, Teochew style steamed fish and deep-fried spring chicken at Ong Cheng Huat.

Second lunch (because you can!)

If roast duck is not your thing, head on over to the famous spring chicken place — Ong Cheng Huat — over in Bagan Lallang.

Ong Cheng Huat’s success seems to have inspired other restaurants in the area to mimic them.

This restaurant was started back in 1994 inside a small kampung house with barely enough seating by Ong Cheng Huat’s wife.

They only offered limited dishes but made a name for themselves as the place to go for some crunchy deep-fried spring chicken washed down with their homemade tuak or coconut palm wine.

Today, the kampung house has been replaced with a large-scale modern restaurant and though they have added more items to the menu, it is still limited to less than 10 items.

Other than the spring chicken, they are now known for their Teochew-style steamed fish, boiled octopus, stir-fried clams, spring rolls, prawn fritters and fried beehoon. They do not serve rice or any other dishes.

Ong Cheng Huat Seafood, 2004, Bagan Lallang Time: 11am-5.30pm Closed on Mondays

Cendol and ice kacang to cool down on a hot day along Jalan Raja Uda.

Afternoon tea break

You don’t need to go all the way to the island for some good cendol as the Penang Road Famous cendol also has a branch in the form of a stall on Jalan Raja Uda, just across the road from Jalan Bunga Raya Mewah 1.

(The Penang Road Famous Cendol stall is the one across from the Teochew Cendol stall along Penang Road and serves equally good cendol.)

Next to the cendol stall, which also serves ice kacang, is a stall selling deep-fried fritters, spring rolls and lor bak. The stall, operated by Lim Chew Kean, has banana fritters and when it is in season, cempedak fritters.

The deep-fried snacks are perfect accompaniments to the ice kacang and cendol.

Roadside stalls 4408, Jalan Raja Uda Time: 12pm-4pm Closed on Tuesdays

Restoran Ju Heng offers up tom yam and clear broth soup with noodles and porridge.

Dinner

You will often find long queues outside a stall selling tom yam and clear broth noodles at Restoran Ju Heng on Jalan Raja Uda.

The stall is so popular that it now has extra tables and chairs in an open space outside the coffee shop so it is easy to spot.

The stall offers a choice of tom yam or clear pork broth soup to go with vermicelli, noodles, Maggi mee or even porridge.

Trays of raw ingredients such as minced pork, fish balls, mushrooms, prawns, squids and fish slices are spread out on a table next to the stove so customers can choose their own ingredients.

You then place your order by choosing the type of noodles and soup to go with the ingredients and the noodles will be sent to your table once it’s ready.

A different way of eating tom yam...with porridge at Restoran Ju Heng.

Restoran Ju Heng 4665, Jalan Raja Uda Time: 6.30pm-1.30am

Lok lok at Chai Leng Park Food Street.

Supper

The best way to end a day of eating? Bite-sized morsels on sticks — lok lok — is the way to go. The best place for lok lok in Butterworth has to be Chai Leng Park Food Street or wai sek kai (glutton street) as the locals refer to it.

There are two large lok lok stalls at the front of the stretch of roadside stalls and both stalls are just next to each other.

Each stall has hundreds of sticks of food from fish balls to cockles to prawns and even sausages and vegetables.

What’s special about these stalls is that they also have deep-fried options so customers can choose skewered bacon and fritters and request for them to be deep fried.

Each table is outfitted with a boiling hotpot so you can dip your skewered food into the boiling water and cook your own food.

Small pots of sauces such as plain chilli sauce, satay sauce, green chilli sauce and sweet and sour spicy sauce are available on each table as well.

Chai Leng Park Food Street Time: 6pm-midnight Closed on Mondays

Currently, old town Butterworth in undergoing an urban regeneration programme — Butterworth Baharu — by Think City and Seberang Perai Municipal Council in efforts to rejuvenate the township.

The programme has introduced improvements to the township, including the highly successful Art Walk Butterworth, and the local council is in the process of implementing more changes.

* Think City is undertaking urban regeneration programmes for George Town, Kuala Lumpur and Johor. Find out more about Think City and its projects at thinkcity.com.my.