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 best things about sharing my food adventures on this site is that I do get a lot of good recommendations from readers. From the previous post on the char kuih teow at Mei Sin kopitiam, missyblurkit commented that I should try their nian gao (kuih bakul, 炸年糕, or fried gold cake), and another reader, May, mentioned that I should try the Ipoh kai si hor fun.
A couple weeks later, I did just that.
fried nian gao at Restaurant Mei Sin
For those who aren’t familiar with nian gao, also known as Chinese New Year cake, it is prepared from glutinous rice and very generous amount of sugar. It is sweet and sticky, and most consumed during Chinese New Year as the name nian gao 年糕 sounds like 年高, which symbolizes a higher (better) next year.
I love it smacked between layers of sweet potato and yam, and deep fried in batter.
nian gao in between yam and sweet potato, superb with coffee
The end result is a lethal dose of calorie that is crispy on the outside, firm in between, and soft in the middle. This delicacy is best consumed piping hot, it is mainly sweet, and I think goes best with coffee (even better with Vietnamese coffee).
The same stall also offers other deep fried goodness such as sesame seed ball and banana.
I remember having this first time when I was a small kid back in Penang, from the then famous (or perhaps still) stall located right in front of Island Plaza (of course back then there was no Island Plaza) in Tanjung Tokong. This is the first time I had a good one in KL, any other places offering the same thing?
kai si hor fun at Mei Sin kopitiam
The nian gao was of course, the dessert. My main meal for the day was the Ipoh kai si hor fun, and as suggested, I tried the dry version.
It was a pretty simple dish, with hor fun (or kuih teow, if you like) served in some combination of dark/light soya sauce with bean sprout, smooth steamed chicken and plenty of fried garlic on top. It actually tasted good, and I bet would be even better if I ask for thigh next time. (mine came with chicken breast, I don’t like chicken breast)
Address:
Restaurant Mei Sin
No. 16, Jalan Melati
Off Jalan Imbi,
Kuala Lumpur
GPS: 3.14396, 101.714768
One of my weekend activities is visiting the wet market at Taman Megah, and right after that, breakfast, and that was how I discovered Restaurant Gembira that’s situated right opposite Ming Tien food court.
It was a quite amazing that despite staying within walking distance to this place, it took me some 7 years before I pay the first visit to this unassuming kopitiam. I’m glad I finally did, and as a reward, I found my favorite Sarawak kam lau mee.
Sarawak mee, one of the bests I’ve tried so far
Now, I can’t claim to be any good at determining the quality of Sarawak mee, in fact, Kuching is one of the cities that I’ve never set foot on (other than the airport), but I do know a good plate of hawker food when I eat it.
minced pork, char siu, noodle – simple and delicious
The dish is fairly simple – home made noodle, minced meat, char siu (bbq pork), and a little bit of chopped spring onion in a slightly salted clear sauce (without the dark soya sauce that is typical of wantan mee). It goes for RM 4.50 (regular) and RM 5.30 (big)
The combination was as sublime as it was good, and I think the key in this lies in the home made noodle that has a very good texture. It reminds me of the Sarawak noodle Irene once tapau for us from Kuching. It was delicious.
laksa sarawak here was quite frankly… terrible
The same stall also offers Laksa Sarawak, I’ve tried it once, and it was.. surprisingly terrible. The egg is a bit too burnt for my liking, prawn a tad too small, and soup not quite up to par. Don’t waste your time on this, the Laksa Sarawak at Bangsar is heaps better.
Any Sarawakian who tried this place before? Tell me what you think, and if there’s another place with better kam lou mee/laksa Sarawak that you know of, do share.
Address:
Restaurant Gembira
Jalan SS+ 24/8
Taman Megah, Petaling Jaya
Selangor
GPS: 3.113943, 101.612206
My little project in looking for a good bowl of Kampar Fishball Mee continues after the encounter at Kedai Kopi Khoong in Sea Park.
The Kampar Noodle stall at Sun Hin Loong was recommended by @AquariaKLCC via twitter (in fact, the whole topic of kampar noodle came from there).
Kampar Noodle at Sun Hin Loong kopitiam, SS2
So I headed over there twice to get a taste of what the fuss is about. First was the soup version of Kampar Fish Ball Mee, and the second visit, their dry variety.
Kampar fishball noodle – dry version
Both versions cost the same (RM 5.50 if I remember correctly), and you get five different types of fish ball / fish cake ingredients that comes with the soup. The dry version serves the noodle (or meehun, or kuih teow) separately with dark source, but otherwise they are the same.
… and they are good! The ingredients were all tasty, and I do like the chili paste that was served with as well. I constantly wish that there were more of every type of those fish ball thingy though. It was never enough!
the five different types of fish ball / fish paste items
The only “problem” that I have is that Sun Hin Loong can be a bit too hot in the afternoon, and sometimes a bit too crowded too. Then there’s the SS2 parking situation…
Any other Kampar Fish Ball Noodle you’d recommend?
Address:
Sun Hin Loong
65, Jalan SS 2/64 ,
47300 Petaling Jaya
Selangor
GPS: 3.119926,101.62125
One of my ingredients of all time is beef tendon. Soft, flavorful, addictive beef tendon. To me, beef tendon to beef is like bacon to pork, they are absolutely delicious little chunks of goodness.
Beef tendons are often found at beef noodle (both Vietnamese and local) versions, often is the keyword, they don’t necessarily have it, nor are they always prepared perfectly.
beef noodle at restaurant Sun Sea, OUG
We came to Restaurant Sun Sea at OUG and stumbled upon this hawker stall that offers Sarawak noodle, fish head meehun, and stewed beef noodle. I didn’t think anything of it until I saw the little sign that says – beef tendon.
So we ordered two bowls – mine just tendon, and Haze had tripes and beef tendon in her version. Of course, you can have it with normal beef too, if you so choose to.
beef tendon, what’s not to love?
My beef tendon noodle (RM 5.50 or 6) and Haze’s beef tripes and tendon (RM 
were prepared the Johor style – clearer but flavorful soup that comes with little chunks of salted vegetable. Similar to Uncle Cheng’s special beef noodle.
This place did not disappoint, over all the soup was good, and most importantly, the tendon were soft and yummy. If you love beef tendons like me, you’ll like it.
we were pleasantly surprised, it was good, Haze didn’t like photos with no makeup
While I do find that Uncle Cheng’s beef noodle (and the special tendon they sometimes carry) is slightly better than here, this place is quite a lot cheaper, and does not have the sometimes unpredictable operating hours like Uncle Cheng’s.
Best of all, the same kopitiam also serves one of the best Penang Curry Mee with coagulated blood, and a very decent pork noodle too.
Address:
Restaurant Sun Sea
Jalan Hujan Rahmat,
Overseas Union Garden,
58200 Kuala Lumpur
GPS: 3.073945, 101.673234
daily till around noon+
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