Category / Penang
April 12, 2013
While back in Penang for cheng beng last weekend, I also decided to try a char kuih teow place which I haven’t been before. After all, after having not lived in Penang for the past 18 years or so, there are many places that aren’t exactly new, but they are new to me.
A bit of Google-Fu and I ended up at Ah Leng char kuih teow at Kafe Khoon Hiang, located on Jalan Dato Keramat, between Penang Times Square and the old Stadium Bandaraya Pulau Pinang.
Ah Leng char kuih teow at Kafe Khoon Hiang
The kopitiam is just like any other in Penang, with an assortment of hawker stalls offering many local dishes. Situated right at the front of the shop, Ah Leng char kuih teow is their most prominent stall (by the way, Leng means “Dragon” in Hokkien)
A plate of “normal” char kuih teow is priced at RM 6, and RM 10.50 gets you one with “extras”. If you prefer duck egg instead of the usual chicken egg, chip in another RM 0.50.
glorious char kuih teow with extra ingredients – big prawns, mantis prawns, duck egg
Being a person who’s slightly weak when it comes to resisting temptations, I naturally went for broke and ordered a plate with duck egg and everything in it.
The result was RM 11.00 lighter on my wallet, but in return I had a plate of absolutely gorgeous char kuih teow that has four really huge prawns, duck egg, bean sprouts, chives, kuih teow, and another ingredient that’s pretty unique to Ah Leng – mantis prawns.
yep, these prawns are massive!
While this costs a bit more than your usual hawker dishes, the prawns were super juicy and fresh, and the kuih teow too had just enough wok-hei for my liking. If you discount all the ingredients, it’s still an above average plate of kuih teow, but with all these extras, man, I can have it pretty frequent!
If you’re in Penang looking for a plate of memorable char kuih teow to have but don’t want to go to Lorong Selamat, this is definitely a more than worthy alternative.
Address:
Ah Leng Char Kuih Teow
Kafe Khoon Hiang
358 Jalan Dato Keramat,
10150 Penang
GPS: 5.412985, 101.319595
Tel: 012-498 3962
Hours: 8:30 am to 2:30 pm (closed on Thursdays)
April 10, 2013
While many Penang hawker dishes such as char kuih teow, hokkien mee, and laksa are famous all over Malaysia, wantan mee is always a bit of an odd ball. Being a traditional Cantonese dish in a predominately Hokkien area, wantan mee was sort of adopted by the islanders.
the wantan mee stall at kedai kopi seng thor
Like languages and culture, food that is separated geographically from its place of origin usually evolve and adapt to the local taste. This is evident in the case of wantan mee in Penang as well.
sambal goes very well with wantan mee
A prime example is the wantan mee at Seng Thor kopitiam at Carnarvon street. The dry version comes with both deep fried and boiled wantan, vegetable, charsiu (bbq pork), and the all important Penang style sambal belacan.
While the chasiu isn’t nearly as good as those you usually find in Klang Valley (for some reasons charsiu in Penang is usually dyed and not nearly as flavorful), I like the extra dimensions offered by deep fried wantan, and of course, the sambal belacan makes a huge difference, pretty much transformed the entire dish like how chili pan mee is different from normal pan mee.
If you love sambal and food in general, you should try wantan mee here (and many other stalls in Penang).
of course, you shouldn’t miss the best ochien in town
Of course, if you are already in this kopitiam, don’t forget to order the fried oyster omelet here. One of the bests ever.
Address:
Kedai Kopi Seng Thor
160, Lebuh Carnarvon,
10100 Georgetown, Penang
GPS: 5.415495, 100.33468
April 8, 2013
My siblings are all like me when it comes to food, super adventurous, and always looking out for new and delicious food to try. Last weekends when I went back to Penang for “cheng beng” (tomb sweeping day), my brother brought me and mom to East Coast BBQ at Sungai Pinang food court for some awesome BBQ seafood.
East Coast BBQ at Jalan Pinang food court, Penang
The difference between East Coast BBQ and the other 10,000 other Chinese ikan bakar places is the sheer variety of seafood they offer. Instead of just the usual stingray, lala, and a few different fish species, they have at least a dozen different types of fish, 4-5 different shellfish, prawns, cuttle fish, corn, long beans, brinjal, and even Shishamo (Japanese “pregnant” fish)
BBQ scallops, egg plant, and long beans
What we really came here for though, is their scallops. For the three of us we picked half a dozen pretty big size scallops (RM 6 each) to be freshly BBQ’ed. Topped with plenty of garlic and other granish and perfectly grilled, they were fantastic! Anyone who loves scallops will definitely not be disappointed.
BBQ Brinjal (RM 8.50) is another one of their speciality. The eggplant is split into half and topped with finely chopped garlic and garnish not unlike the one used on the scallop and then grilled till soft. While the “toppings” are the same, the flavor comes out completely different and proved to be another winning dish. I love it.
BBQ long beans (RM 6 each) was a little simpler and seemed to have only curry powder/paprika on them. Very mildly spicy, but otherwise not entirely too interesting.
fried lala, sotong bakar (bbq cuttle fish)
We also ordered a big portion of fried lala (RM 36), but it turned out to be a disappointment. My favorite lala of all time is probably the one at Alisan at PJ SS4, and while the seafood here is fresh and juicy, the sauce of the lala was one dimensional (in this case, powderish feeling curry) and we ended up not finishing this dish.
Grilled cuttle fish (RM 19, by weight) did turn out to be another well executed dish. The cuttle fish was crispy on the outside and juicy within, mom loves it and so did we. The accompanying sauce perfected the dish.
Mom, KY, and younger brother Win Sern
If you’re looking for some reasonably priced grilled seafood in Penang, this is definitely one of the places to check out. My brother said that from what he heard, their grilled fish isn’t particularly special, so if grilled fish is what you really look for, I’d suggest going to Song River at Gurney Drive instead.
Address:
East Coast BBQ
Sungai Pinang Food Court
Jalan Sungai Pinang
Georgetown 11500 Penang
GPS: 5.400029, 100.325711
Tel: 04-281 0943
Hours: dinner and supper
February 17, 2013
One of my favorite comfort hawker dishes in Penang is the kuih teow th’ng, or kuih teow soup. This simple dish is prevalent on the island, but isn’t exactly popular at all in Klang Valley, most likely due to its similarity with pork noodle and fish ball/ fish meat noodle places.
So whenever I’m back in Penang, I usually try to sneak in a couple bowls of yummy kuih teow soup.
the kuih teow soup that used to be at Pitt Street, now at Lebuh Carnarvon
One of my favorite places that offers a good bowl of kuih teow soup was the stall at by Armenian and Pitt Street, and in fact I’ve written about the place more than 6 years ago in this entry, which is due for an update anyway.
The same stall has since moved to Lebuh Carnarvon, a stone’s throw away in the opposite direction of the famous (and probably the best) fried oyster omelete at Seng Thor kopitiam on the same road.
simple, light, and delicious kuih teow soup
Over the Chinese New Year break, we stopped by there for a light lunch. For the four of us, we ordered kuih teow soup with extra “meat sheet” for everyone, and an extra bowl of fish ball soup to share. I’d have added intestines and other innards but unfortunately they’d ran out of those goodies by the time we were there.
The fish ball here is home made with eel (鳗鱼) as the major ingredient, which results in a unique softer texture and exquisite taste that is quite different from your run off the mill smooth wolf herring fish ball (西刀鱼)
we ordered extra fish balls and absolutely finished everything
We really enjoyed the extra “meat sheet” as well. It’s made of pork and carries a slightly salty but savory taste to it, a bit like a flattened smooth meat ball for the lack of a better description. The kuih teow soup also comes with fried garlic oil, lard, and duck meat. For only a few ringgit per pax including drinks, we were well satisfied with lunch.
Parking can be a bit of a hassle when you dine here, but nothing a bit of patience won’t resolve.
Address:
Pitt Street Kuih Teow Soup
183, Carnarvon Street,
10100 Penang
GPS: 5.414863, 100.334439
Tel: 017-479 3208
October 8, 2012
This is another one of my go-to curry mee places whenever I’m back to Penang visiting mom. If you love unadulterated Penang curry mee, you would enjoy this one.
kedai kopi new cathay has a pretty good curry mee stall
The kopitiam is located by the intersection of Jalan Burma and Lorong Kucing, offering many of your usual suspects when it comes to hawker foods from Penang – laksa, curry mee, char kuih teow, chicken rice and so forth. Parking isn’t usually a huge hassle thanks to the commercial centers right next door, but the shop can be quite a bit busy during breakfast/brunch hours.
yum yum, coagulated blood, loved by my niece too 
For only RM 3.50 per bowl, the curry mee comes with cockles, one prawn, tofu pok, coagulated blood (my favorite, of course), a fish ball, and cuttle fish. You get to choose your favorite mee/meehun combination, and have as much of those fragrant and spicy sambal as you want.
I enjoy their almost mee-goreng style cuttle fish as well, brings a slightly different taste to the normal cuttle fish preparation. The prawn’s a bit smallish but hey, it’s RM 3.50.
Overall taste is superb and I’d have it any day. The only thing missing is a couple mint leaves, but I guess you can’t have it all every time.
good old fashion apom, get them fresh and warm here
And since hawker dishes in Penang are usually only 70% of what you get in KL in terms of portions, it make perfect sense to add some apom to the meal while you’re at it. The stall claims to be offering the best apom manis in town and will happily trade 6 steamy hot apom for RM 3.00. These too are yummy especially when consumed piping hot, slightly crispy on the outer layer, and sweet, creamy inside. Try it!
Oh, the steamed otak otak here is not too shabby either. If you’re in Penang, this kopitiam sure is a pretty decent place to visit for breakfast or lunch.
Address:
Kedai Kopi New Cathay
Lorong Kucing off Jalan Burma
10350, Pulau Tikus, Penang
GPS: 5.432376, 100.309504
