After watching the epic Australian Open men’s final between Nadal & Djokovic where the joker prevailed after nearly 6 hours of tennis, it was time for my long overdue dinner.
This being the last night that we are spending over the long CNY break in Penang, I wanted to have something that isn’t easily found in KL, so we headed to Kimberley Street. A place that I know would have at least a few hawker stalls still operating even though it was already near midnight.
sky emperor chicken feet kuih teow soup stall at Lebuh Kimberley
Luckily for us, the famous Sky Emperor chicken feet kuih teow soup stall was still selling by the time we reached the destination. (I had initially wanted to have the koay chap, but they were already done for the night).
We ordered two kuih teow soup (dry version, they ran out of soup by then) and a small portion of braised chicken feet to share.
braised chicken feet, dry kuih teow, peanut soup “tong sui”
The kueh teow soup came with a couple fish balls and plenty of shredded chicken. The kuih teow soaked in dark sauce and topped with fried garlic and some spring onions. I liked the springy texture of the fish ball, but overall the kuih teow soup was actually just average. Not one of those “must try” items if you ask me, but something I don’t mind eating either. At only RM 3, there isn’t anything to complain for sure.
om nom nom nom, the chicken feet was excellent!
The braised chicken feet (RM 3) however, was quite something else. Compared to the version usually served at many wantan mee stalls in KL, the chicken feet here has a much softer texture as well as the skin that isn’t prepared with a deep frying stage. It was succulent, juicy, and full of the flavor from the sauce. This is definitely a must try item for anyone who does not think chicken feet is gross. 
Other than chicken feet, they also offer drum sticks, chicken wings, and braised eggs prepared in similar fashion. I’ve never personally ordered other items, but I’ve heard that while they are good, it’s not the same as those yummy feet.
Address:
Sky Emperor Chicken Feet & Kuih Teow Soup
Lebuh Kimberley
10100, Penang
GPS: 5.416537, 100.332473
Hours: 7pm till late
I only have precious little memory of my late maternal grand parents. I remember tagging along with my late grandma to the wet market on most mornings. and after shopping, she would tapao a packet of my grandfather’s favorite oh chien (fried oyster).
Together with the day’s newspaper and coffee, that would often be a meal for the old man. He would then read the paper and update grandma on news, as she was illiterate.
the most glorious fried oyster (oh chien)
While my grandparents have passed on some two decades ago, their favorite oh chien place at Kedai Kopi Seng Thor on Lebuh Carnarvon is still going strong.
It must be years since I last had the fried oyster here, so over the CNY break back in Penang, I took the opportunity to do just that.
Kedai Kopi Seng Thor at Lebuh Carnarvon
By my observation (and most likely flawed), the dish is prepared in three steps – first starch & whatever concoction is placed on the frying pants; then eggs are added; finally, enough oysters for one serving is added and fried separately before being mixed together with the eggs, some cooking wine and fancy wok fire is involved too.
This way, the hawker can prepare 4-5 portions with one egg preparation stage, and at the same time ensuring the consistency as well as the number of oysters for each portion.
Three rounds of this was done before my dish was served thanks to the holiday crowd, but it was worth it.
the chili sauce is mixed with a bit of garlic too
The fried oyster was undoubtedly the best I’ve had, the omelette itself was so good even the oysters kinda became a bit of a second thought. The texture had a nice blend of crispiness with the familiar consistency of egg, and none of those sticky gooey half cooked starch that you sometimes find in less superior oh chien.
The taste too was spot on, and if you like it with a bit of kick, the chili sauce that came with is pure heaven.
The portion I had was RM 10, and I should have ordered more.
Address:
Kedai Kopi Seng Thor
160, Lebuh Carnarvon,
10100 Georgetown, Penang
GPS: 5.415495, 100.33468
There are plenty of people who are from Penang that will tell you that Lorong Selamat char kuih teow is over hyped, over priced, overly crowded, and that there are many better alternatives.
Well, I am from Penang and to heck with all those comments, I still love my Lorong Selamat char kuih teow, and whenever I’m back on the island, it is always one of my must-eat hawker food. The massive prawns is something you almost never find at any other places outside of this famous lorong.
every bit just as good as the “original” lorong selamat ckt
There are two big CKT stalls at Lorong Selamat. The so called “original” one is operated by an aunty who wears a red cap at Heng Huat kopitiam.
Today, we’re gonna talk about the “alternative”, the KTG cafe’s char kuih teow, manned by a dude with massive sun glasses wearing orange polo.
I initially had a bit of a doubt on this stall, but after a few trials back and forth, I believe that they are basically on par with each other – both are excellent and just about as good as CKT can get.
char kuih teow at KTG cafe, Lorong Selamat
The CKT comes with three massive prawns, cockles, lapcheong (Chinese sausage), egg, bean sprouts, and of course, kuih teow. The secret ingredients would be the usage of pork lard instead of normal vegetable oil. A plate of CKT goes for RM 7.50. For those prawns, hell ya it’s well worth it for me.
Don’t bother tapao the kuih teow though, anything that is fried with pork lard is best consumed piping hot, and will get a bit too “jelak” when the temperature cools down.
On a busy day, the waiting time can get quite long. For this session, the dude told me (in honest and almost apologetic tone) that the waiting time would be an hour. So I actually went off and ran some errands before returning, and sure enough, our CKT was up next.
Thumbs up for honest operator.
Address:
K.T.G. Cafe,
Lorong Selamat,
Penang
GPS: 5.417343, 100.324917
One of the definite Penang hawker dishes is Hokkien Char (福建炒), or Fried Hokkien Mee. However,this dish is quite different from what is served in Klang Valley even though they are identified as the same name.
I’ve been searching for this exact dish in KL/PJ area for a long time with no avail, so I just had to have it over this CNY season in Penang. This one is from Sin Yin Nam kopitiam at New Lane.
Penang Hokkien Char at New Lane
Hokkien Char usually consists of yellow noodle and mee hun in dark sauce, with slice pork, prawns, and vegetable, with sambal belacan on the side.
The main difference between this and the KL version is the lighter sauce base, the sambal belacan, and the usage of yellow noodle instead of those fat noodle in Hokkien Mee. As a consequence, the taste too is lighter and more subtle, but that being said, it is not at all a less superior version. In fact, I prefer this over the KL version anytime (most likely due to my upbringing laaa)
now where can I find something like this in KL?
I was utterly satisfied with this plate of Hokkien Char, one of the best RM 5 ever spent. The same place also offered one of the best pork intestine porridge (猪什粥), do not miss it if you are there. If I didn’t have the cravings for Hokkien Char, the pork intestine porridge would always be my favorite.
Penang style chee cheong fun: with three sauces
Of course, one does not simply only eat one dish in Penang for dinner. I had a plate of chee cheong fun (RM 2.40) to go with too. Two pieces, unopened, and with chili, just the way I like it.
Chee cheong fun Penang style is always bare, and served with shrimp paste, sweet sauce, chili paste, and sesame seeds, and sometimes with a bit of fried shallots. I like it quite a bit more than the HK version with prawns or char siu. If you need to find one of these in PJ, look no further than O&S in Paramount Garden.
Haze ordered the Asam Laksa at the corner of the road, it wasn’t any good and they over charged us to the tune of RM 4.50 (Chinese New Year price?). Never gonna buy from them ever.
Address:
Lorong Baru, Penang
GPS: 5.414726, 100.326312
I have a little history with this most awesome mee sotong stall.
Although born and bred on the beautiful island of Penang, I haven’t stayed there since after high school, so this particular mee sotong stall wasn’t in my vocabulary. I had originally heard about it from Horng instead.
The very first time I tried to have it, I went to the wrong food court at the other side of the ocean front and had myself a disappointing mee goreng. The stall was closed for during my second visit, and on the third try, which should be a charm, ended up with the whole place being cordoned off due to Cup Prix motor racing.
mee sotong at Padang Kota Lama, Penang
Two years later, this is the story of my fourth visit, and unfortunately, it doesn’t provide a further cases of schadenfreude, I simply had the best mee sotong (or if you prefer, mee goreng) ever!
The stall is located within the food court directly next to Fort Cornwallis, a stone’s throw away from Penang Jetty.
As you step into the food court, the mee sotong stall is hard to miss, it is the busiest stall.
glorious mee sotong, spicy and addictive
A plate of mee sotong costs between RM 4 to RM 6, and the photo above illustrate the RM 4 version. The dish is very wet, and comes with your usual mee goreng ingredients, but with plenty of squid in really spicy, sweet, and awesomely delicious sauce.
It was so good I wanted to have it again the very next day, the only thing stopping me is the long drive back to KL and the knowledge that my stomach will probably protest. The idea of stopping at every other rest area to visit the toilet wasn’t a very welcoming one.
mee sotong goes well with coconut shake with vanilla ice cream
By the way, the spicy mee sotong goes best with a glass of icy cold coconut shake with vanilla ice cream from the mamak stall right next to the one selling mee sotong. A combination perfect for each other, that milky vanilla ice cream really does control the spiciness a little bit.
So next time when you go to Penang, try this out!
Address:
Food Court at Padang Kota Lama
Jalan Tun Syed Sheh Barakbah
Penang
GPS: 5.42078, 100.34434
