Penang New World Park Swatow Lane Hawker Centre

New World Park Swatow Lane Hawker Centre seems like one of the many all-in-one hawker food centres in Penang. However, New World Park Swatow Lane Hawker Centre stands out for being clean, spacious, cool and comfortable with plenty of parking spaces available along its periphery. Sturdy, wooden baby-chairs are available and there’s plenty of room for strollers.

It is a pity though that food tastes average here and may be a tad over-priced for the portion. The Pan Mee (RM3.50) was way too oily. I had to remove what seemed like half an inch of solidifying fats from the bowl before reaching the real contents. The Pan Mee actually wasn’t too bad apart from the fact that it is missing the vital ingredient of deep fried ikan bilis.

As for the Assam Laksa (RM4.00), we promised ourselves that we would not order it again. At a glance, the soup looks diluted. It did taste diluted and doesn’t give any kick at all.

Pasembor and Mee Sultan

Papa Lee must have been real hungry by then as he ordered Pasembor and Mee Sultan (RM9.00 for both). The Pasembor tasted sweet and the supposedly crispy crackers had lost its crispiness when it was served. Mee Sultan (named after the Sultan of the stall aka the owner) on the other hand is worth going back for. Mee Sultan is none other than just mee goreng friend with squid. Maybe because all the rest were a bit of a disappointment, Mee Sultan wins the taste factor hands down. Don’t be put off too early though as there are still plenty of other stalls at the New World Park Hawker Centre to discover - hong siu ca yok mee (minced pork noodle), oyster noodle, Hokkien prawn mee, Tom Yam mee to name a few..

Weekend Market in the Park

Food aside, we do find the New World Park a nice hang-out place for the family with safe, wide open spaces for toddlers to run around. New World Park itself also has other food outlets (eg. Mizi Bistro, Passions of Kerala, Old Town Cafe, Starbucks, Nyonya Cafe and more). One of the most popular events organised every 1st and 3rd weekends of the month at the New World Park is the Weekend Market in the Park. They also conduct aerobic dance exercises every Thursday (7-8pm) and Saturday (8-9am). If you dine in on a Saturday evening, you may just be entertained by strollers strolling in the various F&B outlets. For more information, call: 04-226 1199.

Food *** (Papa Lee thinks it deserves only a **)
Price ***
Family Friendly ****
Baby Friendly ****
Cleanliness ****
Parking Spaces ****