Tek Sen earns Michelin Bib Gourmand
- Teksen, a long-running Cantonese restaurant on Lebuh Carnarvon in George Town, remains listed as a Michelin Bib Gourmand in the 2026 Michelin Guide Malaysia, extending recognition it already held in 2025. - Michelin describes Teksen as a no-frills spot open since 1965 and flags its house-made tofu with dried local anchovies and daily double-boiled soup, while the restaurant’s Penang reputation still centers on queue-drawing home-style dishes. - The 2026 Bib Gourmand list for Kuala Lumpur and Penang grew to 58 eateries, with five new additions elsewhere, showing Teksen’s award is a retention, not a first-time win. (guide.michelin.com)
Teksen in George Town did not just “earn” a Michelin Bib Gourmand this week; it is listed again in the 2026 Michelin Guide Malaysia after already holding the distinction in the 2025 guide. (guide.michelin.com 1) (guide.michelin.com 2) Michelin’s 2026 Bib Gourmand selection for Kuala Lumpur and Penang was published on November 11, 2025, and it covers 58 value-for-money eateries across the two cities. Teksen appears in that guide as a Bib Gourmand restaurant in George Town. (guide.michelin.com 1) (guide.michelin.com 2) That matters because some write-ups have framed Teksen as if it had just won the award for the first time. Michelin’s own archived 2025 listing shows Teksen was already a Bib Gourmand restaurant in the prior edition. (guide.michelin.com 1) (guide.michelin.com 2) Bib Gourmand is Michelin’s value category, not a star. In Malaysia’s 2026 guide, Michelin said the Bib list added five new entries overall — two in Kuala Lumpur and three in Penang — and Teksen was not among those newcomers. (guide.michelin.com) Michelin describes Teksen as a no-frills Cantonese restaurant at 18 & 20 Lebuh Carnarvon, George Town, with a “Worth Queueing For” tag and a $$ price band. The guide highlights the deep-fried house-made tofu with dried local anchovies and says to ask about the double-boiled soup of the day. (guide.michelin.com) The restaurant’s own Michelin profile says it has been open since 1965. A separate Michelin feature on Teksen traces the business back to founder Choo Teik Seng, who opened Teik Seng Rice Stall that year before the family later rebranded it as Teksen. (guide.michelin.com) (guide.michelin.com) Michelin’s 2024 feature says the family moved into its current two-shophouse location in 2010. The guide’s current listing gives the restaurant’s hours as 11:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. on Monday, and 11:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday, with Tuesday closed. (guide.michelin.com) (guide.michelin.com) So the clean version of the story is narrower than the hype: Teksen is still a Michelin Bib Gourmand in 2026, still one of George Town’s best-known queue-heavy casual restaurants, and still being recognized for value rather than a newly awarded star. (guide.michelin.com) (guide.michelin.com)
