Tucked in the basement of Suntec City Mall, Gurney Drive is one of the rare few local spots that serve authentic Penang fare, and at affordable prices, no less. Decked out in black and white wall prints of Penang’s street food scene and of the real Gurney Drive, the setting is casual yet not too shabby for quick lunch meetings.

For starters, order the addictive lor bak ($3.90) — beancurd rolls filled with marinated pork chunks perfumed with five-spice, leek and garlic, and fried to a light crisp; and the Penang rojak ($3.90). Sink your teeth into crisp green mango, guava, turnip, pineapple, cucumber, cuttlefish and crispy you tiao tossed in rich hae ko and crushed peanuts, then move on to something more substantial. Slurp-worthy noodle dishes include the Penang fried kway teow ($6.90) — slender, well-fried rice noodles redolent with the flavour of homemade chilli paste, soy sauce and garlic, served with fresh cockles, fish cake, Chinese sausage, prawns and egg. If you’re hankering after good Penang assam laksa ($5.50), try theirs. Prepared with thick, bouncy handmade noodles from Penang — all the better to soak up the flavour of the aromatic broth — this bowl boasts sufficient spice and oomph from the generous spoonful of hae ko served alongside.

Don’t pass up on dessert here. The must-haves are Penang ice kachang and Penang chendol ($2.50 each). Akin to our local version, the former is made more delicious with the addition of Sarsi, rose and pandan syrups and a shower of ground peanuts and fragrant nutmeg strips. The chendol, judicious in its use of brown sugar syrup and coconut milk, is a delight to savour — each spoonful a refreshing treat with squiggles of authentic chendol strips.

Gurney Drive, #B1-058 Suntec City Mall, 3 Temasek Boulevard. Tel: 6336-8847

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