Char Kueh Teow is often the first thing people think of when Penang hawker food is mentioned. So whenever I have a chance to play host back at my home town, I always make sure the guests get a chance to get a plate of good char kueh teow.

It’s kinda like you should have chicken rice balls in Melaka, tomyam in Bangkok, ramen at Akihabara, or KFC in the state of Kentucky (ok just kidding about the last one, it sucked, I had.)

check out the size of them prawns on the char kueh teow!

The most famous of all the Char Kueh Teow places in Penang has got to be at Lorong Selamat, operated by this lady who now also owns Kafe Heng Huat.

As some of you might remember, this stall was previously operating at another kopitiam just a stone’s throw down the road (that is famous for its ais kacang), that shop now has another CKT stall operated by a guy, and to be frank, I think both stalls serve up equally delicious CKT.

yes, Elfie uses fork & spoon for CKT

Since it was going to be Elfie’s first taste of Penang char kueh teow last weekend, I decided to bring her, Jon, Jun, and Wai Meng to the original version at Lorong Selamat even though I had once decided to not pay the old lady a visit anymore due to their extremely bad service while still operating at the other kopitiam.

However, I have heard that they have improved ever since operating the new kopitiam, and true enough she wasn’t at all the angry old lady anymore. I guess a little bit of competition from the other guy helped too.

KY, Elfie, Wai Meng, Jon (also known as Don Juan), Jun

A plate of CKT here goes for RM 6.50, or more if you asks for extras. The photos you see here were the Rm 6.50 plates, with three really huge prawns that is properly marinated with salt to give it that extra kick, there’s also egg, cockles, Chinese sausage (lap cheong), chives, bean sprouts, and of course, a handful of kueh teow.

They are the best char kueh teow there is, the only way to improve this would probably be swapping the chicken egg with duck egg, and perhaps add a bit of lard? I’m asking too much, it’s about lunch time now, and I am hungry! haih…

Address:
Kafe Heng Huat,
Lorong Selamat,
Penang
GPS: 5.417183, 100.324831

Tags:  char-kueh-teow,  ckt,  elfie,  hawker,  jon,  Penang

Posted by KY | 36 Comments »

I think off day for most people involves sleeping till at least 11am and then have a lazy brunch.

I am on leave today, I woke up at 5:50 am to the phone call from Mell saying that her plane just landed from Melbourne, almost a full hour ahead of schedule. Hello MAS, what’s with the whole ON SCHEDULE promise? =/

So I quickly got myself ready and drove to KLIA in total darkness, it felt weird a bit weird to be driving in the morning with almost no traffic.

wholesome char kueh teow

The journey back to her place fixed that tho, the Sprint highway was a bitch and we got stuck a good extra hour on the road jamming to The killers, as well as other morning commuters. The former is always awesome, but the latter, heh.

So after she dropped off everything and got freshened up, we decided to stop by Restaurant Seng Lee for breakfast and let the traffic ease up a bit before heading off.

I’ve heard a lot about this particular char kueh teow stall, and the reputation was not unfounded. Bean sprouts were fresh, crunchy and juicy, prawns were relatively big, the kueh teow fried to the right moisture content, and with the egg, chives, and the bits of  “chai poh” (preserved turnips), garlic. Everything was done just nice, it would have been perfect if only the cockles were bigger and juicier, but I guess you can’t have everything everytime.

Mell is back!

The Penang’s favorite hawker food at this place goes for RM 4.50 a plate, and I’ll be back for more! This is the place that can replace my then-favorite PJ state keuh teow stall that went missing (anyone know where they’ve moved to?)

p/s: Apparently I’m supposed to be exploring the Damansara Heights area more. hehe

Restaurant Seng Lee is behind Klimts and Hock Lee

Address:
Restaurant Seng Lee
8-6, Jalan Batai,
Damansara Heights
50490 Kuala Lumpur
GPS: 3.149558, 101.661386
Tel: 03-2094 2154

Tags:  char-kueh-teow,  ckt,  damansara heights,  mellissa

Posted by KY | 40 Comments »

Being a Penangite living in KL, one of the many hawker foods that we always miss is the famous Char Kueh Teow. When I first came down to this part of the country many years ago, this is the dish that I always avoid when fixing my stomach at various kopitiams. On the rare occasions that I gave it a try, the experience was usually quite horrid.

note: this place is no longer in operation, most probably moved elsewhere, anyone who knows, please leave a comment!

yeh, that’s the size of prawn i love

However, recently I have started to experiment with the various “Penang” char kueh teow places in KL again, thinking that there must be a few good stalls around. I now employ a standard litmus test before I make my order. It is very simple, I will order in Hokkien, and if the hawker answers in anything other than a perfect Penang version of Hokkien, I simply excuse myself and go for my second choice. The test has proven to be very useful thus far.

now you see it, now you don’t

I have actually heard of this place from FA before decided to give it a try. The kopitiam is nameless and is located at the other end of the same row of shops that has the famous kopitiam with loh ngap (duck), very good roti bakar, and seafood porridge, among other things.

The char kueh teow was surprising good, not as great as the two famous Penang stalls, but plenty close enough to warrant a trip for anyone who loves this dish. The prawns are pretty big, and the dish comes complete with cockles and Chinese sausage too. I usually like to have mine extra spicy for some extra kicks. I finished the plate in no more than 5 minutes.

the unnamed kopitiam housing this char kueh teow stall is situated by MBPJ building

Upon looking at me snapping pictures, the stall owner actually came up to me for a chat. Apparently he is the 2nd generation owner of the stall, handed over from his mother and the stall has been in operation for some 20 years.

As usual, there will be people who are quick to point out that it used to be better, and the son isn’t as good as the mom’s char kueh teow. To me, I think most of us don’t realize that char kueh teow is not something like great art works, where Picasso’s son wouldn’t do better. Our taste buds are getting less by the days, and most often than not, we would have been exposed to wider variety of good food since 5 years ago. Don’t commit the fallacy, just give it a good honest try, I think you’ll like it.

Address:
Jalan Tengah,
Petaling Jaya, Selangor
GPS:3.099046, 101.644467

Tags:  char-kueh-teow,  ckt,  hawker,  penang-food,  PJ,  state

Posted by KY | 27 Comments »

Many of us cannot deny that the best hawker food in this world are found in Penang, the pearl of the orient. While there are variety of offerings, I have decided to introduce you the most talked about penang dish of all – Char Kuih Teow.

There are two acclaimed Char Kuih Teow places in Penang and they are situated only about 1 kilometer from each other. The Macalister Road Sister’s Char Kuih Teow, also known as the 5-junction Char Kuih Teow, and the other that is situated at Lorong Selamat.

Personally I go for the one at Macalister Road simply for the fact that the Lorong Selamat aunty has been way too arrogant and over her head. You have to wait at the stall under the searing sun, sometimes up to half an hour, to serve yourself that plate of Char Kuih Teow. That is too much trouble I’m willing to spend just to save the stall owner RM 30 bucks hiring a helper a day.

Here’s a typical plate of Sister’s Kuih Teow. Served on a piece of banana leaf, with bean sprouts, egg, huge prawns, and topped with some awesome crab meat. Try some when you are in Penang next time!

You drolling yet?

Here’s Lorong Selamat’s stall, you can see those desperate dudes lining up under the sun to self-serve their kuih teow. I’m not doing that.

An interesting trivia: rumours have it that the sisters used to be “working girls” when they were young. Luck was on their side that when their bodies aren’t desirable anymore, their cooking skills came to the rescue.

Address:
Jalan Macalister (near Jalan Perak intersection)
Penang
GPS: 5.419351, 100.317407

Tags:  char-kueh-teow,  ckt,  hawker,  kopitiam,  ky,  Penang

Posted by KY_a | 10 Comments »