TEKSEN - Georgetown, penang

Rating:  8 / 10

It is possible to churn out authentic, delicious local food and still be a tourist hot spot. Teksen have managed just that.

Deliriously packed from opening till close, you'll be asked to wait a long while unless you are travelling solo and can fit in a small nook. That was exactly what I did. I got asked "Table for how many" and when I said "One" the waitress beamed and showed me straight in, through the throngs and placed me kindly at a table at the back by the wall with a decent vantage point.

I ordered the potato greens with shrimp, the assam tumis and rice.

Everything was delicious and the potato leaves with sambal and prawns actually had a bit of a bite to them. The Assam Tumis (my first time trying this dish), was dark and rich and oily and full of flavour.

If you want to eat here in tourist season you better be prepared to fight the lines for a table, but in that particular part of Georgetown it's worth waiting for. To hit up any other similar places you'd have to walk a while.

Ignore the festering crowds with their selfie sticks and just focus on the food. It's worth it!

These recommendations are just personal opinions based on my palate, things change, chefs get fired or replaced, places open-close, relocate, so take it all with a pinch of MSG  and discover your own gems too. But please do try a few of these, they have been researched exhaustively.