Eating Thai Food in Georgetown with the Tan’s
What are we doing all the out here?
You didn’t know? There’s a Thai restaurant over here.
Tan Jetty Thai Food Restaurant tl;dr
- Thai Food in Penang
- Located Right on the Water
- First Place I Ever Tried Crispy Deep Fried Water Spinach
Nadia and I go to Penang a lot.
A LOT!
With that being said, we have and will find new things to see and do all the time. Penang is an ever evolving culinary location for every food lover so there’s always something going on.
Something I never knew was the number of Thai people living in Penang, probably contributing to the number of authentic Thai food available on the island.
One visit to Penang, Nadia and I were talking to her cousin Maria about all the street art that we had seen in George Town the last time we were there. Maria offered to take us to see a number of artwork off the typically tourist beaten path downtown. And this is how our adventure started…
Maria drove Nadia and I to George Town and walked us around town spotting things we had never seen before. As the hours passed, the sun went higher into the Malaysian sky, driving the temperature higher and higher, my feet began to drag and my vision began to blur. In reality, only an hour had passed but the tropical weather has a way with messing with my sense of time and it might as well have been hours walking up and down those hot streets.
Eating Thai
Not wanting to complain about the weather that we all knew too well, I internally rejoiced at the announcement that it was finally time to go eat since there was a place to eat around the corner. Walking through, what I thought was yet another one of the many Clan Jetties we’ve had been to, an entry way off the main road along the water.
I realized we were somewhere when the Nadia and Maria stopped leading the way. I found myself in an empty, open air area of tables and chairs. I sat down and was a little put off by the shabiness of the decor but was taken aback by the rustic charm that was brought about as the sun set.
Maybe it was the combination of cold Tiger beer and the copious amount of wafting smells coming off the freshly steamed fish changing my perspective about the place. The dishes came out fast and the beers came out even faster. After everything was said and done we ate a bit of reasonably priced and great tasting selection of Thai dishes:
- Crispy Deep Fried Kang Kong (Water Spinach)
- Spicy Steamed Fish
- Ho Mak Fish Custard
- Cold Beer
The combination of spicy flavors (they were spicy for me at least) and fresh fish and bottles of cold beer helped make the day pass into the night and forget all about all those sweaty hours walking around.
I was pleasantly surprised by the crispy yet light taste of the battered water spinach!
What is It
Tan Jetty Thai Food Restaurant is an open air Thai restaurant that serves really good and really cheap Thai food.
What to Do There
There’s no fanfare, no fancy menus, no fancy anything. It’s just you and your people in the heat of the day taking a break to some food. So find your way to the end of the Tan Jetty and pull up a plastic chair, order cold beer and food and watch the day pass you by.
If you’ve been walking around sight seeing as much as you can in the local heat and humidity then if you’re ok with not sitting in air conditioning then this would be a great place since it is right there near a number of street art and other sites.
I imagine, if you were like me and already visiting the Clan Jetties, ultimately found yourself also right next to the Tan Jetty and already near the restaurant.
Where is It
Tan Jetty Thai Food Restaurant is located at the end of the Tan Clan Jetty on the Eastern shore of Penang, just southeast of George Town. If it’s your first time to Penang or to the Clan Jetties then you won’t be too far away from this place.
