Penang Air Itam Laksa — Restaurant in George Town

*Parking around this area in general is a challenge (Especially if the morning market is open, and combined with the temple going crowd). If you do decide to drive here, I would recommend parking in the neighbourhood few streets down and just walk over. **If you don’t feel like coming here to have the food, do note that this store is available on AirAsia’s food delivery app so that’s always an option.

Ambience: Although not the most comfortable with the cars honking away beside you, I think you’re pretty much already getting the best you can for a roadside stall. There are plenty of tables so you should definitely be able to find a seat in no time.

Service: Staff are really friendly and found us a table just when we arrived. Extra condiments were also freely given when requested so that was nice. The drinks stall beside are also really attentive and will quickly come over to take your orders if they see you.

Food: There’s a reason why this stall is so popular, and I think the hype is definitely justified. The depth of flavour in the soup is just not something you can find in most stores and you get plenty of ingredients in it too.

Price: Pretty reasonable prices, as it was RM5.50 for a bowl. You are definitely getting your money’s worth in this.

Conclusion: The food here is definitely top notch and I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to sample how Asam Laksa...

If this converted my wife who didn't like Assam Laksa into ordering a second bowl, it definitely deserves a special recognition. Popularized by Bourdain and Travel CNN, many tourists and locals flocked here for a taste of this famous dish. As always, I'm afraid of tourist traps but this was definitely a local favorite since our Uber driver raved about it too.

A fish-based tamarind soup, the flavor was wild and complex. Sour, spicy, and sweet are the main flavors that jump out before the subtleness of other aromatics kick in from the herbs, fish, and prawn paste. Texture was great since you get the bounciness of the noodles with crunchiness of the veggies all at once. Pair this with the sugar cane juice in the next stall and you have a winner.

Note that various stalls around town have different flavors for Assam Laksa. Some tend to be more sour, or spicy, or sweet. This one leans towards the sweeter end, but balanced real well with the sourness.

To order, just find an empty table and sit down. Either someone's going to come ask you how many bowls, or just look at the guy cooking and point out how many bowls you want. The sugar cane guy will also come up and ask eventually if you want any drinks.

If the drive from Georgetown to Air Itam wasn't so long, I'd be eating this everyday during my...

This is the famous laksa. The one that everyone will tell you to try. Since they are open only on the weekends, you will need to plan your trip accordingly if you want to try this laksa.

Compared to other laksas, you will find that this laksa is a bit thicker, fish pieces are a bit more generous, the taste is a lot heavier. If you like your laksa to have a light flavour profile, this is probably not for you. I, however enjoyed the heavy mix of salt, sour and fish flavours. Nostalgically, pre mco, the taste was even heavier and the fish was also more generous.

Naturally your will also need hei ko (sweet thick dark pungent) sauce in it. This will add another layer of taste complexity to the soup. You should be able to ask for more if the amount they give you in the beginning is not enough. As usual laksa will have some greens and most importantly ginger flower. I thought there used to be more previously but I guess shrinkflation is normal nowadays.

I personally find the flavour combination of everything they add into the bowl syncs well and you end up with a bowl of delicious laksa. It's definitely one of the best you can get in penang. The only downside is the difficult parking and the slightly uncomfortable hot humid sidewalk atmosphere you eat in but that's part of the charm I...