Asam laksa and curry mee are just two of Penang’s signature hawker dishes. You can find them almost anywhere on the island, and most of the time they would be of pretty decent qualities.
Here is another place you could try if you find yourself on the Pearl of Orient – at Mount Erskine hawker center.
my niece is an asam laksa addict, just like Haze
The hawker center is situated at the end of Mt. Erskine road, the road most famous for having plenty of graves (hence super congested during cheng beng weekends). Here you will find a dozen or so hawker stalls offering everything from char kuih teow, kuih teow soup, mee goreng, curry mee, asam laksa, oyster porridge, mixed rice, and so on.
Penang asam laksa from Mt. Erskine hawker center
The laksa here is manned by two white haired aunties who certainly knows to keep things the traditional way. The laksa is laden with plenty of vegetable, chili, fish broth, prawn paste, and of course, topped with ginger flower (bungan kantan). It tastes as good as any, and passed my niece’s taste test.
A bowl costs RM 3.50 (but that was over Chinese new year, normal price was RM 3.00 I think)
Penang curry mee, this one with yummy fish ball too
When I’m there, I almost always order the curry mee (previous blog post from 2006). Other than the usual ingredients of cockles, prawns, coagulated blood, and tofu, they also throw in a couple home made fish balls into it.
While fish balls is a nice touch that gives the curry mee an extra dimension, the real deal here is their soup and chili paste. Fresh coconut milk based soup (the reason it appears white) with that aroma and kick from the slightly charred chili. Super yum! RM 4 or so. Try it!
here’s how you get to mount eskin in Penang
Address:
Jalan Mt. Erskine,
Tg. Tokong, Penang
GPS: 5.450560, 100.302064
Operating Hours: 11am to 4pm
A couple days ago we were invited to The Saujana Kuala Lumpur to sample the food that they have for Penang Food Festival. – a little thing that this classy hotel near the old Subang Airport is having from 1 – 14 March, 2012.
It was the first time I find myself at Saujana, the traffic heading there was rather agreeable, and parking is ample and free, what a refreshing idea right? It baffles me why most hotels that aren’t located in the city centre still charges exuberant parking fees that pisses many potential guests. Saujana, you are doing it right.
Penang food festival at The Saujana KL
Overseeing a huge lake and lush green golf course, Suria Cafe surely have one of the best ambiance around town, especially if you are the sort that loves alfresco dining.
For the two week period that Penang Food Festival is running at the restaurant, three chefs from my home town (yes, I hail from Penang) are flown here to prepare many traditional Penang hawker delights to be served right along the usual array of buffet dishes. For those who loves to sample different Penang foods all at one go, this is a perfect chance.
Chef Desmond’s char kuih teow, original Penang style
I got the chance to speak with Chef Desmond, who specializes the fine art of Chinese cuisine but at the same time is also well known for his char kuih teow. Of course, we spoke in Hokkien, as this is almost always my litmus test for anyone who claimed to know the art of Penang food, he did not disappoint.
The char kuih teow that he prepared too, was a plate of mean hawker dish that ranks right up there with some of the bests. No small feat considering this is a pork-free version, I finished the whole plate, every single bit.
char kuih teow, poh piah, apom with banana
Together with Chef Badrol and Chef Wafi, who are also from Penang, these three gentlemen oversees these live cooking stalls at Suria Terrace -
Haze loves the asam laksa, mee goreng, fried oyster and char kuih kak
I’ll be lying if I said I tried everything, I don’t have a huge stomach and at this .. ahem.. age, I don’t exactly eat like a teenager anymore lest the circumference of my waist be overtaking my manly butt.
Anyway! As mentioned, the char kuih teow was very good. The mee goreng stayed true to Penang style, and while slightly dry for my liking, was pretty decent. Char kuih kak too was again a little dry, but the fried oyster was very agreeable with my taste buds. I really liked the blend of spiciness to the point that I was enjoy the egg even after I’d finished the oysters.
Haze had two bowls of asam laksa, that’s cos she is now a bit of an authoritative figure in asam laksa, being a fanatic and all. She proclaimed that it did not disappoint.
chee cheong fun, ais kacang, kopi tarik
I was also happy that they serve Penang style chee cheong fun at the festival, and got the chef to cut me a portion. I always like my chee cheong fun still wrapped, and with all the accompanying sauces, I was happy.
The ais kacang was pretty decent, but perhaps with slightly too much ingredients? Then again I’m sure you can always ask for less during the preparation stage.
appetizers and desserts on the buffet lines
Other than those live cooking stalls, there are also prepared Penang food, these includes sotong kankung, pasembur, chicken loh bak, Penang rojak, pohpiah, and so forth.
Then there’s the buffet lines where you find the usual suspects – croutons, turkey bacon, tomatoes with herbs, olive, tomato, cold cuts, various types of cheese, fruits, salad, soup, kuih, and way too many type of cute little cakes and such. Heaven for those who love it sweet.
some of the other dishes – the lamb cutlet was outta this world
Oh, and how can I forget the lamb cutlets?
The lamb cutlets with herbs and cheese was so tender and awesome that I ate two whole pieces, that is almost a cardinal sin of buffet dining where I usually try to sample as many dishes possible, but the cutlet was worth it, and deserves its own paragraph right here!
The Penang Food Fest at Saujana runs from 1 – 14 March, 2012 and are priced at RM 68++ for lunch and RM 84++ for dinner.
Bon Appetit!
Address:
Suria Cafe
Saujana Resort, Jalan Lapangan Terbang SAAS,
40150 Selangor
GPS: 3.108849, 101.578474
Tel: 03-7843 1234
email: info@thesaujana.com
In the past few years, quite a number of restaurants that has a primarily pork laden menu with good choices of beer (and wine) selections rose to prominence. Some of the more well known players are Brussels at Solaris & Jaya One, Berlin Biergarten at Solaris Mont Kiara, Weissbrau at Pavilion KL, Hoofed at TTDI, Racks at Changkat, Sid’s pub at TTDI/Bangsar South, and Jarrod and Rawlins at a few locations.
Now, it looks like the same trend is happening in Penang, one of the latest of such establishments is BeerBQ at Precinct 10 (right next to Island Plaza).
Beer BQ at Precinct 10, next to Island Plaza in Penang
First, a disclaimer. Two of my ex schoolmates are share holders of this restaurant, and they invited me to this review session. I’ve known these blokes for the past 20 odd years, they told me to treat this with honesty, like any other review, which I will gladly comply. 
I like Precinct 10, it is a brand new commercial center that reminds me of suburban US. The shops are aligned in U shape with ample of parking in the middle. That way you never need to have a very long walk to any outlets. Most commercial areas packed in too many shop units with too little parking space, this place is a fresh departure from those greedy developer’s SOP.
wild mushroom soup, cauliflower soup, caesar salad
Now to the food. Together with mom, sister, brother, Haze, and Horng, we had the restaurant manager recommended us some of their signature dishes to share.
We started off with some complimentary bread, with plenty of butter.
Then the soups: Wild mushroom soup (RM m9.90) has all those chunky bits of mushroom which I like, and soup of the day (RM 7.90) that night was cauliflower soup with very smooth texture and slightly “strange” taste to me, but Haze and my siblings absolutely loved.
The Caesar salad (RM 15.90) has bacon, croutons, and chunks of Parmesan cheese in it, and was easily one of the best Caesar salad I’ve ever had. I’m not sure if this is the best for someone who’s on diet, but it was awesome!
buffalo wings, roast pork, smoked salmon salad
What’s a beer place without some good old beer food?
We tried their Buffalo Wings (RM 15.90) which has quite a kick, they were strongly flavored with homemade Hot BeerBQ sauce and really does go well with beer. Comes with Blue cheese dressing too!
Anyone who loves roast pork (RM 16.90) would agree that this is always the perfect finger food to go with beer. While I did find the skin for the roast pork a tad too chewy, it was overall still plenty satisfactory. They suggested Stella Artois to go with this, but I think any beer would work!
We also had the smoked salmon salad (RM 19.90) that came with home made cheese sauce. This is a dish most suited for those who are really on diet. Tastes decent.
BeerBQ pork ribs – succulent and yummy
Then we moved on to the real deal, the BeerBQ pork ribs (RM 38.90). Drenched in their signature BeerBQ sauce and very well marinated, this rack of ribs was tender and absolutely flavorful. If you have already order some starters, I recommend sharing this dish, the portion is rather generous for the price.
This is one of the better ribs I had.
BeerBQ seafood platter, fish and chips, brownies
Another main dish that we shared was the seafood platter (RM 40.90). There were king prawns, squid, mussels, clams, and even scallops. While the ingredients were superb, the platter is covered in the same BeerBQ sauce that I thought suited the ribs perfectly, but not quite well with seafood. It was a decent dish though, but I think perhaps the standard bread & fry preparation might work better here. Especially if you’ve already ordered the ribs.
My mom had a serving of fish and chips (RM 21.90), and she liked it. Mom helped sell fish at the market in the morning, so if she says that the fish is good, it is good.
At this point, we were pretty much stuffed, but was convinced to try their brownies (RM 8.90). We ended up finishing it in about all of 20 seconds, the brownies was top notch.
brother, sister, haze, myself, mom, and horng
Other than the dishes we tried, BeerBQ also serves five pasta dishes, rib eyes, grilled salmon, chicken chops, beef ribs, and lamb rack. Other beef food includes fries, calamari, fish fingers, and onion rings.
This is a real restaurant that does concentrate on their food instead of a beer place that “oh by the way we” also serves some food.
Konig Ludwig Weissbier, Franzishaner, Konig Ludwig Dunkel, Leffe
As for beer, there’s Hoegaarden, Carlsberg, and Franziskaner Weissbier on tap. On bottles they serve Konig, Franzishaner, Leffe, Stella, Budweiser, Erdinger, Beck’s, Lowenbrau, and more.
So if you’re looking for porky goodness and a cold one to spend the evening, this is a place to go in Penang.
Address:
BeerBQ Bistro
Precinct 10
Jalan Tanjung Tokong
10470 Penang
GPS: 5.449262, 100.305524
Tel: 04-890 5157
Web: https://www.facebook.com/beerbqbistro
Penang is a heaven for supper lovers, and if Gurney Drive is your destination, there isn’t a better place for these few yummy late night dishes than at Song River, one of the old school bangalow turned kopitiam eateries that has been gracing the 1-mile sea side road for decades.
ikan bakar stall does offer quite a few choices of fish, Haze & my sister
During our stay at Penang over Chinese New Year, we were lucky to be within walking distance from this place, the photos on this post were compiled from a few visits. Though I’d love to eat all these in a single seating… only my limited stomach space saves me from doing that.
The first must-have at Song River is the ikan bakar/ikan panggang (grill fish). As with most other places, you get to choose from 3-4 different types of fishes as well as prawns or squid. My go-to choice is always sting ray.
ikan bakar – positively hot
The wait time at this stall can sometimes be quite substantial, but the honest (or sometimes very blunt) operator will usually tell you up front: “have to wait 30 minutes wan”. Fine with me.
The grill fish here tastes almost completely different from anywhere else. The fish is covered in a special sauce that has a strong presence of fermented beans, belacan, chili, and shallots. The flavor is so intense that very little of the sauce on the side (which is probably made from similar ingredients) is needed.
This will leave the weak with inflamed tongue, but definitely worth it!
Song River bbq chicken wings
While waiting for the ikan bakar, you should grab some bbq chicken wings as appetizer.
For RM 2.20 a pop (or was it RM 2?), this is also one of the best chicken wings in town. The operator has perfected the BBQ timing to give the skin that crispy texture that you get just before screwing up and burning the whole thing (I usually mess this up).
This while the meat is tender, juicy, and the accompanying chili sauce is yummy too. They also serve BBQ drumstick and thigh.
cuttle fish with kangkung, classic Penang “junk” food
And while you’re at it, why not some cuttle fish with kangkung too?
The version here is not shabby either. This plate was RM 10 and came with plenty of cuttle fish with kangkung soaked in delicious prawn paste and chili sauce, good stuff.
You usually won’t need to wait for more than 5 minutes for this dish.
and this is how you have supper in Penang
All that is missing from these supper is of course, some ice cold beer. Damn it I am missing Penang food again.
Address:
Song River Cafe
65 Persiaran Gurney,
Georgetown, Penang
GPS: 5.432392,100.31738
Tel: 012-488 8275
Tel: 017-477 7938 (chicken wings)
We actually spent a total of 10 days in Penang over CNY, my longest stint back home since getting a job in KL some 10 years, and that explains the recent flood of Penang food posts. There will be just a few more before the more KL centric posts resumes.
The extended eating binge was of course, glorious!
Tua Pui curry mee at Weld Quay
On the last few days in Penang, I finally got a chance to try the famed Tua Pui Curry Mee at Weld Quay (situated right across Chew Jetty, now a UNESCO world heritage).
I’m a sucker for Penang style curry mee, and could eat them almost daily until my lactose intolerant body starts to complain. Doesn’t matter, had curry mee!
mine is with extra fish balls, RM 3.80
Tua Pui curry mee is a little bit different from the usual run-off-the-mill Penang curry mee. They have all the usual ingredients you’d find – tofu pok, coagulated blood, blood cockles, cuttle fish; but they also have quite a lot of optional items you can add in. There’s chicken gizzards, big prawns (the bare version has no prawns, bummer), chicken wings, fish balls, and more.
The soup too is enhanced with several types of curry, giving it a little more complexity, I like it.
My bowl was one with extra fish balls for RM 3.80. The two giant fish balls, though looking somewhat peculiar in a bowl of curry mee, did not disappoint, they were quite tasty in itself. Of course, the curry mee overall was as good as any. Well worth a try if you’re in Penang.
we shared a mua chee, and Haze had her 6th laksa or the trip or something
As for Haze, she had her laksa, again. That must be the 6th or 7th laksa of the trip and that girl can never get tired of it. According to her, this particular laksa was a good one too. I didn’t try it, but just by looking at it, you know it’s a winner. RM 3 for the laksa if I remember correctly.
Then there’s muah chee, we paid RM 2 for this excellent combination of flour, crushed nuts, sesame, and sugar that you can find pretty much anywhere in Penang, but for some reasons, not in KL.
I’m missing Penang already.
Address:
Village Coffee Shop
107-A, Pengkalan Weld (Weld Quay),
10300 Penang, Malaysia
GPS: 5.412652,100.338789
