Debut cookbook Penang Makan offers a fresh new halal take on the street food of the state

Nasi kandar dishes are some of the over 50 recipes highlighted in Wong's debut cookbook. — Photos: PENANG MAKAN

As a child growing up in Penang, Dayana Wong was constantly enthralled by the food of the island-state, mostly because she was lucky enough to be surrounded by it day and night.

In her halcyon formative years, she remembers steaming plates of char kuey teow helping to fortify her stomach (and her brain) before a particularly gruelling exam or how just the promise of oh chien (oyster omelette) could help speed up the progress of her dreaded Maths homework.