Penang's food reputation has always been built on hawker stalls — char koay teow, assam laksa, the lot. But the island now has a fine-dining claim to fame too: Firewood, a steakhouse in the heart of George Town's heritage quarter, has landed at number 76 on the World's 101 Best Steak Restaurants 2026 list. It also debuted in the MICHELIN Guide Kuala Lumpur & Penang 2025 as a MICHELIN Selected restaurant and kept that spot in the 2026 edition.
The driving force is Malaysian chef Ker Yang Hao, who spent seven years in Gordon Ramsay's organisation in Singapore before returning home to open his own place. That training shows in the kitchen's obsession with detail. Cuts are chosen with cattle breed, feeding practices and marbling all factored in, and premium Australian and Japanese beef is dry-aged in-house before hitting the charcoal grill — a process that concentrates flavour and builds tenderness while lending the meat a distinct smoky finish.
For diners, that makes Firewood a good place to actually learn something about steak. The differences between cuts, and between ageing and grilling styles, are on full display, and the team is happy to walk newcomers through the selection if dry-aged beef is uncharted territory.
Location helps too. The restaurant sits on Jalan Masjid Kapitan Keling, right in the thick of George Town's historic core, so it slots neatly into a day spent wandering the area's shophouses, clan houses and galleries. A morning of heritage sightseeing followed by a charcoal-grilled ribeye is about as Penang as it gets right now.
Hours are Tuesday to Sunday, 12pm–2.30pm and 5.30pm–10pm, with Mondays closed — worth noting if you're planning a short trip and want to lock in a dinner slot. For anyone who books a whole holiday around a single good meal, Penang just gave you a second reason to visit, alongside everything the hawker stalls already do brilliantly.
