MY · Penang · 5.22°N 100.50°E

sungai bakap

Jawi chai kueh, charcoal-roast duck and an old clan mansion in a small mainland town.

Best time
Any time of year. Go in the morning: chai kueh and dim sum are breakfast food, and the best of it sells out.
How long
A morning
Getting there
About 3.5 hours' drive from KL on the North–South Expressway; the Jawi exit is a few minutes away. From George Town, allow about 45 minutes via the second bridge.
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MY · Penangsungai bakap5.22°N 100.50°Egowherelah.com
Dear group chat,Jawi chai kueh, charcoal-roast duck and an old clan mansion in a small mainland town.— gowherelahTo: whoever’s drivingSungai BakapMY, Penang
KLsungai bakap
≈ 266 km from KL, as the crow flies
External Yu Wang Hall Temple

Photo: arches · CC BY-SA 3.0

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Photos: Wikimedia Commons, credited on each.

A small town in southern Seberang Perai that grew up around 19th-century sugar estates and still eats like the Teochew town it was. Come for a breakfast of chai kueh and old-style dim sum, then roast duck before you drive on.

Makan

  1. Chai kuehJawi chai kueh is known across Penang: soft, translucent dumplings filled with sengkuang or chives, eaten hot with chilli sauce.Map ↗
  2. Teochew dim sumOld-style steamed and fried small plates, the way the town's teahouses have always done them.Map ↗
  3. Roast duckCantonese-style duck roasted over charcoal, at shops that have been doing it for generations.Map ↗

Things to do

  1. A Teochew breakfastStart at the old teahouse that has served Teochew dim sum since the 1920s, then move on to the chai kueh stalls.Map ↗
  2. The Kee clan mansionA sprawling 19th-century ancestral hall and home built by the family that founded the town. It's private clan property, so look from outside.Map ↗
  3. The old shophouse rowsA short walk past tiled five-foot ways and faded signboards.Map ↗
  4. Nibong TebalUdang galah and the Kerian River fireflies, about 15 minutes south.Map ↗

Good to know

  • The famous chai kueh, dim sum and roast duck places are Chinese and not halal.
  • Many stalls close one day a week, so check before you drive over.

Last checked October 2026. Things change, so check opening times, fees and transport before you go.