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
Ask anyone from Penang, and chances are char kuih teow is in the list of their favorite hawker dishes. So for those Penangites living in Klang Valley, there’s always a constant urge to find a good plate of char kuih teow.
So when a colleague who was also from Penang talked about this CKT place at Imbi, I knew that we will surely have to try this over lunch time, even thought it meant a good 1km+ walk under the sun.
Mei Sin kopitiam Char Kueh Teow stall
Mei Sin eating shop is a kopitiam just off Jalan Imbi, and just like another famous kopitiam nearby – Win Heng Seng, this one is usually packed with white, blue, and no collar workers during lunch hours.
glorious char kuih teow, just need even bigger prawns actually
We went there by around 12 p.m. and the crowd was just building up. The char kuih teow we ordered (of course I ordered in Penang Hokkien, always as a litmus test) took just 15 minutes or so to arrive.
The plate of RM 4.50 goodness came with lightly cooked cockles, prawns (medium size), egg, kuih teow, bean sprouts, and of course, chives. It was lovely, spicy, full of “wok hei”, and positively delicious.
I would rate this place a little better than the CKT stall at Win Heng Seng a stone’s throw away.
Sheng loves the CKT, and do try the fresh yao char kuai too
When you are at Mei Sin kopitiam, don’t miss out on the yao char kuai too. The freshly deep fried yao char kuai I had was very crispy and had just the right amount of saltiness with it. I wished there were some bak kut teh soup to go with, but I guess kopi-o wouldn’t be a bad substitute either. The yao char kuai place seems to be off on Thursdays.
Address:
Restaurant Mei Sin
No. 16, Jalan Melati
Off Jalan Imbi,
Kuala Lumpur
GPS: 3.14396, 101.714768
Back in 2007 I wrote a blog post about this char kueh teow place in PJ State, it was the best char kueh teow I’ve in Klang Valley.
A couple years after that blog post, the kopitiam, along with the char kueh teow stall closed down. It was a tragedy, I was trying to look for a replacement go-to char kueh teow since then, a few other places came close, but none gave me that same “wok hei” in a plate of CKT as this stall
Still the best CKT in Klang Valley for me
Fortunately, the very same CKT is now back in PJ State, this time operating in the popular kopitiam next to UOB bank (the kopitiam also has very good roti bakar, seafood porridge, and braised duck at night).
I know it’s the same stall cos I can remember the operator, and interestingly enough he still recognizes me as fellow Penangites who moved to KL. He started operating CKT in this new location after an (I’m guessing unsuccessful) venture into operating a kopitiam.
I’m so glad this CKT man is back
The CKT itself is still just as good as I remember. It’s oily, spicy, and comes with all the ingredients you’d expect in a plate of proper CKT – cockles, prawns, Chinese sausage, bean sprouts, and the slightly wider version of kueh teow that is used here.
If you are looking for a plate of good char kueh teow, look no further than this plate of goodness at RM 4.
Address:
8 Jalan Tengah
Off Jalan Yong Shook Lin
Petaling Jaya
GPS: 3.099378, 101.644478
Good char kuih teow is harder to come by in KL than honest salesmen, but as with them salesmen, every once in a while you do find one that aren’t part of the rule.
I’m still looking for that elusive salesman, but for char kuih teow, there is the stall at Win Heng Seng kopitiam at Jalan Imbi.
Win Heng Seng kopitiam also have a good dry yong tau foo
If you recall from earlier post, this Win Heng Seng kopitiam is the very same one that also has the really awesome pork noodle.
So anyway, I had 3 pieces of yong tau foo (RM 2.40) as appetizer while waiting for the char kuih teow (which tends to be a bit busy). The yong tau foo actually turned out pretty good. It was the type without soup, but soaked in chili and sweet sauce and topped with sesame. Delightful.
the char kuih teow, was really awesome except for the smallish prawns
Then of course, came the char kuih teow. The fatter type of flat noodle is used here, it had a good dose of “wok hei” going on. There were the usual beans spouts, blood cockles, those bits of “choi pou” (salted vege), and a couple smallish prawns you can’t exactly see.
While the prawns certainly did not impress, the taste of this char kuih teow was very good. So good that I don’t mind the lack of giant shrimps. It was a tad oily, a tad sinful, a tad salty, but exactly what a good plate char kuih teow should tastes like.
I am missing it already.
Other good char kuih teow in Klang Valley includes Robert’s at Seksyen 17, Lau Wan (halal) and Aunty Gemuk (halal) at Kelana Jaya
Address:
Restaurant Win Heng Seng
Jalan Imbi, Kuala Lumpur
GPS: 3.145479, 101.715087
my little Giant mt. bike – Terrago Team
In another news, I recently bought a mountain bike in order to burn all those foods that try to find their way to stay around my waist. It’s a Taiwanese bicycle with Japanese parts built in Malaysia.
Got the bike off a nice Malay chap from Shah Alam who was kind enough to transport it all the way to my house. I’m now waiting for a phone mount so that I can record some rides with Endomondo. Cycled to futsal last week and well, I survived.
In case you haven’t read about it, here’s a story of how I hit a car’s side view mirror with a bicycle back in my high school days
Since I moved to the site office for work, I’ve been visiting Pavilion quite a bit due to the close proximity. So pretty soon I started exploring a bit more and a couple weeks ago, stumbled upon this curiously familiar looking restaurant on the 5th 6th floor by the name of Grandmama’s.
Grandmama’s to Madam Kwan’s is like BK to McD. The decoration is similar, and so is the menu (nasi bojari, char kueh teow, fish and chips etc). There are rumors saying they are owned by siblings or something…
Grandmama’s char kueh teow and beef hor fun
Since the initial visit with my colleague, I’ve been to the place in three separate occasions. I can happily said that the 3 different dishes tried so far have been all pretty good, at least taste wise.
The Char Kueh Teow comes with a couple big prawns, slices of fish cake, squid, chicken, and the usual chives and bean sprouts. Despite the seemingly non traditional ingredients, it turned out to be a surprisingly decent dish. The flavor and the kick is as good as you’d find from any air conditioned restaurant.
Curry Laksa, or curry mee as known to Penangites, comes in an overly large bowl and contains taupok, prawns, squid, ladies finger, and brinjal which I love. It’d be better if there’s some bloody cockles though (or coagulated pork blood, but I think that would be way too much to ask for, hehe)
curry laksa, nasi bojari, and hakka fried rice
The other dish I had was the unassuming looking Hakka Fried Rice. A plate of fried rice with dark sauce that has prawns, chicken, and plenty of chopped long bean in it. This one was pretty good too especially with some cili padi to go with. I had this after Horng’s favorable comment.
Terence, Winnie, Mychelle, Pauline at Grandmama’s, Pavilion KL
Ngau Hor (beef kueh teow), Chicken Mushroom Rice and Nasi Bojari that others had too turned out to be plenty good, though my other colleague ordered Fish and Chips that tasted just average.
So while food is generally pretty good at Grandmama’s, the pricing is a bit on the higher side. Nasi bojari costs RM 22, and most other hawker style dishes are around RM 14.5 to just below RM 20. You do get free plain water though.
Still a place worth visit for it’s pretty decent quality of food and good ambiance while not always overly crowded like Madam Kwan’s.
Address:
Grandmama’s
Lot 6.01.01, 6.01.02
Level 6, Pavilion KL
168, Jalan Bukit Bintang
Kuala Lumpur
GPS: 3.148872, 101.713368
Tel: 03-2143 9333
