Whenever I go back to Penang, the first meal that I usually seek out is a plate of awesome Char Kueh Teow. The Sister’s CKT used to be one of my favorites, but the standard there has unfortunately took a turn to the south in recent times, and now I usually go to the unanimous tourist’s choice – the Lorong Selamat CKT.

Char Kueh Teow, chives, prawns, cockles, bean sprouts

While some of the “locals’ might bark at this endorsement, I do sincerely think that Lorong Selamat CKT is superior to the others I’ve tried on the island, and I’ve spent over 18 years living there. Sometimes when a place gets famous, it doesn’t necessarily mean that it is also overrated.

Unfortunately, I call PJ home these days and seldom head back to Penang. The craving for a good plate of CKT stays though. That big prawns, cockles, with plenty of bean sprouts, chives, an egg, and a dash of preserved vegetable fried with a flat noodle in a super heated wok, ahhh…

New Yee Sang kopitiam, PJ SS6; Char Kueh Teow

After all these years trying various Char Kueh Teow places around the Klang Valley, I’ve managed to found a few that does not disappoint, and this unsuspecting stall at New Yee Sang kopitiam at SS6 (nearby the KJ small Giant) is the latest addition.

The ingredients and taste is on par with the one at Seng Lee Kopitiam (behind Hock Lee at Damansara Heights), with pretty decent size prawns and a good enough “wok hei” too. And by the way, the same kopitiam serves pretty good umbra with sour plum drinks at RM 2.50 a glass that I order whenever I don’t need coffee.

Cheesie first ordered the Lui Char, but ultimately couldn’t resist the CKT

My other top CKT choice at Klang Valley was this stall at PJ State, but unfortunately the kopitiam has shut down and I have no idea where it went. Anyone with the information please let me know ya!

For halal version, give the Straits Cafe at BU Centrepoint a try, and these 4 (well, 3 now) are my regular CKT places, any other suggestions from you guys?

Address:
New Yee Sang kopitiam
Jalan SS 6/8
Kelana Jaya
GPS: 3.106717, 101.598178

Tags:  char-kueh-teow,  cheesie,  ckt,  kopitiam,  PJ

Posted by KY | 24 Comments »

Gong Xi Fa Cai! Have you had your Yee Sang yet?

Well I had, in fact, I had it thrice in 3 successive meals last Monday evening to Tuesday night. First one was with ex-uni mates, then a bunch of Chinese colleagues at Ducking, and finally with Mell at Lucky Loke (one of my favorite tai chau places) the very same night after that.

Mell is a yee sang addict

Yee Sang is originated right here in Malaysia and Singapore (yah I know wikipedia stated Sg., but I don’t care). For the uninitiated, the ingredients include raw/smoked fish (usually salmon), daikon, parsley, crackers, capsicum, jelly fish, and a squeeze of lemon juice. Of course, there’s the all important sesame oil, salt and peper, and plum sauce

Toss em up and yell some auspicious verse while leaving the table super messy is a must (I ended up with yee sang on my hair on my first session). Then enjoy, it’s yummy!

the fried pork belly is super yummy at lucky loke

After the very delicious yee sang, we proceed to order the fried pork belly and spinach with herbal soup to go with rice. That was, of course a little bit too much for just the two of us following a pretty big portion of the auspicious dish.

The fried pork belly was as awesome as usual, with 3-layered meat, a bit of cucumber, some onion, green onion, and generous amount of chili padi, it was hot and very addictive. The spinach too was very good.

Meal for two with Yee Sang – RM 45
Having a good relationship with ex – priceless

By the way, I was going into the cinema last night and there was this guy who got stopped at the entrance.

ticketing guy: “ahh you’re not allowed to bring outside food, what are these?”
chinese dude: “this one is.. yee sang, and this one is.. yok kon lor”

Gong Xi Fa Cai everyone!

Address:
Lorong SS3/59E
Petaling Jaya
47300 Selangor
GPS: 3.109577, 101.611776

Tags:  chinese-new-year,  kopitiam,  lucky loke,  mellissa,  pork,  yee sang

Posted by KY | 21 Comments »

There’s always been one and only important mission whenever I am in Penang - to eat as much as possible. So in between late lunch and dinner, I slotted in another meal.

My initial plan was to find the famous mee sotong at Esplanade, but it was already closed by 5 p.m. Feeling a bit adventurous, I parked my car near Jalan Kapitan Keling in the older part of Penang town and got on my foot to search for something to eat.

kedai makanan Fok Kee, and old school kopitiam

Quite a few old school kopitiams are already closed by this time of the day since this area is not known to be famous for tourists when it comes to food, then I walked by Fok Kee kopitiam and saw that they have this interesting item by the name of Taiwan Fish Maw noodle, I just had to try it.

I had absolutely no clue how this was going to turn out.

pork skin, liver, tofu, and minced meat too

I sat down, order a bowl of fish maw noodle and a glass of nutmeg juice (I don’t know if you can find this outside penang, grated nutmeg and sour plum, I love it!).

The chef went to work, and a few minutes later I was presented by this big bowl of “noodle” that, frankly, looked a bit weird. But thank goodness the taste was actually quite delicious, if not just a bit different from your usual hawker food.

fish maw noodle and nutmeg juice, yums!

The “noodle” is actually made from fish paste (like those you get at steamboats) shaped into long strands then deep fried. Soup is half way between loh mee and clear soup in terms of consistency, and the served with vegetable, tofu, minced pork, liver, and pork skin.

The combination was actually quite good, and goes especially well with pickled chili padi. I wouldn’t say this is a must-have if you’re heading to Penang for vacation, but it  was definitely worth the RM 3 or RM 3.50 that I had to pay, have your char kueh teow, laksa, and other must-haves first, and if you want to try something different, this wouldn’t be a bad choice.

Address:
Kedai Makan Fok Kee
Jalan Kaptian Keling,
10200 Penang
GPS: 5.417741, 100.338333

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Tags:  hawker,  kopitiam,  liver,  noodle,  Penang,  pork,  xpax

Posted by KY | 20 Comments »

I went back to Penang over the long weekends.

toll fees: RM 93
hours spent driving: 9 hours both ways
petrol:  RM 100
distance traveled: 780 km both ways
seafood noodle for two: RM32.50
having dinner with mom: priceless

Seafood noodle – pick your own ingredients

I suggested Japanese food at first, but it was mom’s idea that we go to this fish head / seafood noodle place at Weld Quay for something a bit more special.

Siong Ho fish head meehun is located within Village Coffee Shop at Weld Quay, just a couple hundred meters from the jetty, and actually quite near to where my late grandma’s place where I spent a big chunk of my childhood. It was a bit nostalgic.

Calling Siong Ho a fish head meehun place is a bit of an understatement, the choice of ingredients offered at this place is quite astounding. There’s fish ball, meat ball, fish fillet, fish head, fried fish, kidney, prawn, cuttle fish, squid, minced meat, and even crab.

fish head/seafood mee hun with all the extra ingredients, nutmeg juice

For my bowl of personalized meehun, I chose a couple pieces of kidney (they are very tasty!), fish ball, fish  meat, a piece of fish head, prawn, and cuttle fish to go with mee hun and clear soup. You can also choose to have noodle, kueh teow, or thick mee hun, tomyam soup is available too. (but no version with evaporated milk, like in KL)

Mom ordered pretty much the same thing except without cuttle fish, and deep fried fish instead of the fillet.

The seafood’s fresh, the soup is sweet, and I particularly like the fact that they have this whole container full of deep fried garlic on every table. I like my seafood noodle with plenty of those, and I think I refilled probably 3-4 times, it was an awesome idea, why wouldn’t other shops do the same thing?

mom & I having a simple dinner

One other thing that’s available here (and most kopitiam in Penang) is nutmeg drinks. Blended nutmeg with a dried sour plum, prepared in a way that is similar to kedondong (umbra with sour plum) but without the bitter after taste, and more refreshing.

Dinner cost RM 32.50 in total, and for the amount and quality of ingredients we got, not to mention the good taste, I thought it was well worth it.

Address:
Village Coffee Shop
107-A, Pengkalan Weld (Weld Quay),
10300 Penang, Malaysia
GPS: 5.411949,100.338049
Tel: 019-458 8693

Tags:  cuttle fish,  fish-head,  kopitiam,  mom,  Penang,  prawn

Posted by KY | 34 Comments »

I’ve  heard of Restaurant Ahwa and it’s famous Hokkien Mee (not prawn mee) for a long time. However, for some reasons it took me years to finally go there despite staying only some 2 kilometers away.

What followed was a second visit just days after the first, the reputation for this place is indeed well deserved.

Restaurant Ahwa, hokkien mee, wat tan hor, and more

Restaurant Ahwa is located just next to the Shell gas station on Jalan 222, just a short turning from Federal Highway Jalan 222 exit. Parking is usually not a very trying affair as there is only a single row of shops where the restaurant is located. Looking for a place to sit though, might prove to be slightly harder as the restaurant is rather busy.

wat tan hor, hokkien mee, loh bak, and lala

On the first visit, horng and I ordered hokkien mee for two and we added a plate of loh bak for good measures.

The Hokkein Mee (RM 12 for 2) was rather good. Dark, rich, and of course, with bits of fried pork lad. I would say this place is on par with the other famous Hokkien Mee stall at Chow Yang. It did not disappoint despite the fact that KL style Hokkien Mee isn’t exactly my favorite hawker foods.

The loh bak was pretty satisfactory, but we’ve had better prawn fritters though, (the one outside Pudu Plaza comes to mind).

pickled green chili and red chili paste for the taking

On my second visit with Kerol, we ordered Wat Tan Hor (RM 12 for 2, flat noodle with egg gravy) for two with a plate of lala and a couple deep fried chicken wings as appetizers.

Perhaps it’s a personal taste, but I do like their wat tan hor more than the hokkien mee this place is famous for. The gravy was thick and savory, the flat noodle flavorful.

The lala (RM 11) too were juicy and spicy, which makes it a perfect appetizer. I wish we had ordered a bigger serving though. As for the chicken wings, they were decent enough as normal deep fried belacan marinated chicken wings, but not something to shout about since I still think mom makes the best belacan chicken wings on the surface of the earth.

On both occasions though, we ended up pretty satisfied while not exactly having to scotch the wallet for a sumptuous no nonsense KL hawker food. I shall return to this kopitiam again and again.

restaurant ahwa is located next to the Shell station along Jalan 222

Address:
Restaurant Ahwa
66, Jalan 14/48,
Petaling Jaya, Selangor
GPS: 3.096657, 101.629441

Tags:  222,  chicken wing,  hawker,  hokkien-mee,  horng,  kerol,  kopitiam,  lala,  loh bak,  wat tan hor

Posted by KY | 30 Comments »