Koay Chap is one of the lesser known Penang hakwer food, and I would guess that the reason is probably due to the amount of work needed in preparing the dish. The ingredient of koay chap includes duck meat, duck innards, duck egg, coagulated blood, some of which aren’t as easily available as others.
Kimberly Street Koay Chap Stall
There are only a handful of koay chap stalls in Penang, and perhaps the most popular among them is the one by Kimberly Street in Georgetown that operates in the evenings till late (just by the chicken feet stall). You can’t miss this place, it is almost always packed with tourists and locals alike, with huge amount of ingredients proudly displayed out in the open. Makes one think how many bowls are moved each night.
wholesome koay chap, if you love duck meat you’d love this
While back for Horng & Yuki’s wedding, David and I took a short walk from Komtar to this stall just as the sun was starting to set and got us each a bowl of this good stuff as a pre-dinner tummy liner, and it was absolutely satisfying.
David approved this meal
You can have the koay chap with traditional thick flat noodle (quite close to mee hun kuih), or with rice. Can’t go wrong either way.
Address:
Koay Chap Stall
Lebuh Kimberley
10100, Penang
GPS: 5.416537, 100.332473
Hours: 5:30 pm till late
Koay Chiap, or braised duck noodle/porridge (鸭粥粿汁), is one of the lesser known Penang hawker dishes that is almost impossible to find outside Penang. (if anyone found one in KL, do let me know).
In fact, even in Penang itself, there are probably less than 10 stalls offering this unique dish, and it is not getting any more popular these days either. This is mostly due to the ingredients making up koay chiap, but incidentally, is also the very reason I love it so much.
lebuh kimberley koay chiap
As the name suggests, instead of normal noodle, koay chiap uses “koay”, the same substance with koay teow, but in a thicker, almost pan-mee style form. The “chiap” refers to juice, or a mixture of ingredients mainly made up from duck.
koay chiap goes well with the sweet peanut soup
In a bowl of proper koay chiap there’s duck meat, skin, intestine, blood, and braised duck egg. All immersed in a light herbal soup used to braised the duck. The dish is often served with a special chili sauce, but sometimes with chili padi too (like the koay chap at ayer itam)
this makes me a happy camper
The koay chiap at Lebuh Kimberley is as good as they come. It has everything that’s supposed to be in a bowl of koay chiap for RM 6, and unlike most hawker dishes in Penang, this one really fills you up. The meat are properly braised and soup isn’t bitter or overly flavored either. Best of all, the coagulated duck blood was simply superb.
I love it with a serving of sweet peanut soup (RM 1.30) to counter the meaty taste.
If you are in Penang and already had your fair share of laksa, curry mee, and char kuih teow, it is time to try something slightly out of the comfort zone, no?
Oh, while you’re at Lebuh Kimberley, check out this braised chicken feet place too.
Address:
Lebuh Kimberley (just before the food court)
Georgetown, Penang
GPS: 5.416537, 100.322473
Operating Hours: 6:30pm – 11:30pm, close on Thursdays
One of the least appreciated hawker food in Penang is Koay Chap (粿汁), a dish that is not offered at many places in Penang, and so far I have not been able to find any place that sells this in Klang Valley.
the stall is located at Wah Meng kopitiam
One of the most famous Koay Chap stalls is at Air Itam, I remember being introduced to this dish by my parents before the Penang Bridge was built. It seems like the stall is being operated by the younger generation these days.
The dish has a slightly different type of “noodle” that has the characteristics of both pan mee and kueh teow, a sort of thicker kueh teow with different texture (refer to the photo below). Duck meat, innards, coagulated blood, and hard-boiled duck egg makes up the rest of the ingredients. All these are served in a bowl of duck flavored soup that is darkish in color. Thai chili and soya sauce accompanied the dish.
all the good stuff from duck, nothing is wasted
If you are a fan of duck meat and has the nerve to try all the innards and all, this is definitely the dish you should not miss when heading up north. I personally love the taste as well as the uniqueness of this dish. The less adventurous can still order the same dish with only duck meat and the egg.
this stall is just a stone’s throw away from the laksa place
This stall operates in the morning, the same time as the morning wet market. If my memory serves me correct, a bowl goes for RM 2.50 or 3.00.
Address:
Jalan Air Hitam,
Ayer Itam, Penang
GPS: 5.400296, 100.277903
