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Archive for the ‘hawker’ Category

CARNARVON STREET FRIED KOAY KAK (RICE CAKE)

Posted by Criz Lai On December - 17 - 2008

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As you know, Penang is the Food Paradise of Malaysia. What would you do if you want to try out something cheap, nice and yet not too filling? There are many options but you can always try out one of the local delicacies called Fried Koay Kak (Fried Rice Cake), which is made out of rice flour added with some water and some seasonings. The mixture would then be steamed until you get a white and soft rice cake. The cake would then be cut into cubes using a mesh wire frame before the actual frying. This is how it would look like when mixed with some dark soy sauce in a large pan.

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There is one stall along Lebuh Carnarvon that served one of the cheapest Fried Koay Kak in town from as low as RM1.50 (small). You can opt for either chicken or duck eggs. I would recommend the Fried Koay Kak with Duck Egg (RM2.50). Somehow, the duck egg has that special flavor that made the dish even better. I love to frequent this stall as the lady is one of the more pleasant and generous one around. She would ask you if the ingredients such as the preserved turnip (chai po) or bean sprouts would be enough for your consumption or whether you would need more chili paste and chives. That’s what I call VIP treatment. 🙂

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I would say the price to try out this dish is cheap. Just look at the price list. If you are adventurous enough, you can always try out another version of the recipe which is the Fried Radish Koay Kak (Char Chai Tau Koay).

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It’s really very easy to find the stall. The stall is at café is just diagonally opposite the Te Chang You Tiao Wang stall which I wrote about earlier. If you are coming from Jalan Dr. Lim Chwee Leong along Prangin Mall, you will pass by two traffic lights. Keep left and drive on to the second traffic light. Wan Lee Brothers (toys wholesaler) is on the left. Turn left into Lebuh Carnarvon and drive until the end of the road. You would pass by a police station on you left and then a market after a junction (Lebuh Carnarvon/Pesara Claimant). Drive on. You would reach another junction (Lebuh Carnarvon/Lebuh Campbell). Drive on. Try to find a parking space here. The stall is just on your left hand side at the end of this street (Lebuh Carnarvon/Lebuh Chulia).

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Name: CARNARVON STREET FRIED KOAY KAK
Address: Carnarvon Street, 10050 Penang, Malaysia.
Opening Hours: 8.30pm-1.00am (Closed Wednesday & Thursday)
GPS: 5.393019, 100.276342

RATING:
Ambience: 6/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 classy)
Food Choices: 4/10 (1-4 limited, 5-7 average, 8-10 many choices)
Taste: 8/10 (1-4 tasteless, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)
Pricing: 6/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 expensive)
Service: 8/10 (1-4 bad, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)

TE CHANG YOU TIAO WANG

Posted by Criz Lai On December - 11 - 2008

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Penang has quite a number of records in the Malaysian Book of Records and this yummy Chinese Cruller or Fried Bread Stick (You Tiao) from Te Chang You Tiao Wang (Extra Long Chinese Cruller King) could well fall into one of the category as being the longest (as I know) in Malaysia. This crunchy golden brown, deep fried strip of dough was about 14” long, one and the half times the length of a normal You Tiao selling elsewhere.

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Even a specially designed aluminum stove had to be constructed to ensure evenly spread heat to cook this dessert.

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At present, there are only two types of crullers available at the stall, the extra long cruller (RM1 each) and the Black & White Sesame Twins (3 for RM2). The Black & White Sesame Twins is quite similar to Ma Keok (Horse Shoe Shaped Sweetened Crullers) except that they were kneaded differently with black and white sesame seeds sprinkled on them.

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It was not the extra long crullers that impressed me but the fusion of what it had become today. I could not have imagined that they can be stuffed with so many different combinations and yet tasted great. Would you love to try out Stuffed Cruller with Meat Floss and Mayonnaise (RM2.50)?

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Stuffed Cruller with Tuna Mayonnaise was my favorite. Selling at RM2.50, it had tuna flakes mixed with mayonnaise, chopped onions, cabbages and carrots. Simply crunchy and delicious!

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You can even have Stuffed Cruller with Sausage and Mayonnaise (RM3). This would be a favorite for children.

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There were actually a few other sweeter combinations for you to choose. Each set would cost you only RM2. They are Kaya & Butter, Honey & Butter and Peanut & Butter. Instead of having one long cruller with one filling, I opted for the Mixed Cruller which has half meat floss and half tuna mayonnaise (RM2.50).

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On top of that, they have Black Soy Bean Milk at only RM1. The crullers are best taken when they are fresh and crispy. Leaving them too long with the mayonnaise stuffing would not ensure their crispiness.

If you are coming from Jalan Air Itam (near Kek Lok Si Temple) towards Jalan Paya Terubong, you would pass by SJK (Cina) Kong Ming 2 on your right and then East Coast Seafood Restaurant on your left. The stall is just a bit further up on your right before the Lintang Paya Terubong/Jalan Paya Terubong traffic lights. In fact, it is just next to the Paya Terubong Lao Foo Zhi Bak Kut Teh stall. This extra long Chinese cruller originated from Kuala Perlis. They are the main supplier of You Tiao to one of the famous seafood restaurants there. You could even try them out at their main branch in Kuala Perlis, Perlis, Malaysia.

YOUTIAOMAP

Name: TE CHANG YOU TIAO WANG ENTERPRISE
Branch Address: 1250-A, Jalan Paya Terubong, 11060 Penang, Malaysia.
Contact: 016-433 7301 (Mr. TH Tan)
Main Branch Address: 76, Jalan Sarawak, 02000 Kuala Perlis, Perlis, Malaysia.
Opening Hours: 6.00am-5.00pm (Closed Alternate Tuesday)
GPS: 5.394222, 100.276417

RATING:
Ambience: 6/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 classy)
Food Choices: 6/10 (1-4 limited, 5-7 average, 8-10 many choices)
Taste: 7.5/10 (1-4 tasteless, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)
Pricing: 6/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 expensive)
Service: 8/10 (1-4 bad, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)

 

NEWW BT FOOD COURT @ BURMAH ROAD

Posted by Criz Lai On November - 30 - 2008

Note: This food court is no longer in operation.

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For those who frequent the Georgetown area for food, you would have noticed that there’s a chain of food court by the name of Neww BT Food Court popping up at many places on Penang island as well as some places at the mainland. These food courts are big and have many choices of food available. I have been testing out majority of the food at both the Weld Quay outlet as well as the Burmah Road outlet but to date have barely found one stall that really gave me that oomph for repeat visits.

For the past few weeks, I have been sitting down at the Burmah Road outlet to identify which are those stalls that had the most orders and tried them out. To my conclusion, most of those ordered dishes were barely up to the standard. Maybe I could be wrong as taste bud is something that differs from individuals but from the leftovers on the plates and bowls that I had noticed, I might not be the only one that had the taste problem. Let me share with you my experiences at the food court.

Some people might consider presentation skill of a dish important. As for me, I would rather have tastier food rather than the presentation. Better still, I would prefer if the restaurant or hawker can provide both. I tried out two of the Western dishes on one occasion.

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The presentation on the Black Pepper Chicken Chop (RM7.50) plate was impressive. It had some turmeric colored oil and dark soy sauce as presentation. Even the main meal itself was beautifully presented as you would get from a fine dining restaurant or a 5-star hotel. The most noticeable problem on this dish is the choice of batter and the chicken meat. The crust was too thick and hard and the meat was too soft. There wasn’t any taste or springy texture of a chicken meat bite. Worst still, the black pepper gravy was so diluted and does not have any pepper taste or saltiness in it. This is totally disastrous!

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The Grilled Chicken (RM7.50) had the same problem as the dish above. The taste is totally bland and burnt. You can see how burnt the piece of meat is. The bottom section was even worst with almost 50% was burnt. The recommended gravy was also bad. No sweetness, saltiness or even sourness in it. Moreover, it’s also rather diluted. This was the worst Western dish I had taken in ages.

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Luckily the Pasembur (mixed fritters with boiled potatoes, egg with shredded cucumber and jicama/yambean/sengkuang – RM5) saved the day. At least all the ingredient that I had chosen plus the gravy was quite acceptable although not the best around.

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The two piece of Poh Piah (thin Asian wheat flour crepe with shredded jicama filling) ordered was a disappointment. I expected something better for the RM3 paid. It ended up soggy, tasteless with hardly any filling. There was not even a single piece of crabmeat in it. Each roll has only barely noticeable mashed bean curd and some minced meat. I felt so cheated!

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The next dish was a joke. Baked Cheese Seafood Macaroni was priced at RM9. I expected to see at least some reasonable amount of seafood presented but all I got was barely one button mushroom, less than half a artificial crabstick, 3 pieces of broccoli, four medium sized prawns, a large amount of macaroni pasta with some crushed oregano sprinkled on top. There was hardly any cheese taste and the sauce was sour and diluted. I did not even finish this dish as it was too tasteless for me.

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I saw quite a number of people ordering the Ampang Yong Tau Foo (mixed fish balls, meat balls, tofu related by products and vegetables of your choice – RM5) served with Yam Rice (RM1). When the dish was served, it was always my style to try out the soup first. First taste was quite fine but rather too mild considering that all the richness from the ingredients and the seaweed that I had chosen would have left some sweetness in the soup. The ingredients were like, “Gosh! How long have they boiled them? There wasn’t any taste in every single one!”

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The Yam Rice looked great with all the loose grains with some pieces of yam but the dish was extremely cold. Now you get what I meant about great presentation? The rice was totally inedible. Not only was the rice tasteless, it didn’t even have the fragrance from the soy sauce or dried shrimps in it. I had to force myself to finish it.

There are many other stalls selling Pei Pa Duck Rice, Braised Duck Herb Noodles, Curry Chicken Rice, Fried Belacan Chicken, Satay, Wan Than Mee, Hokkien Mee, Portugese BBQ, Char Hor Fun, Koay Teow Th’ng, etc that I had not tried to comment more. One thing I had noticed, these few stalls were not getting orders as they should. I guessed the consumers would know better right?

If you are coming from Jalan Penang into Jalan Burma, drive on until you reach the second traffic lights at Jalan Burmah and Jalan Anson/Jalan Larut junction. BMW Showroom is on your left and Giant Supermarket if on your right. Drive straight amd keep to your right. You can see the food court on your right. Drive into Jalan Arratoon and find a parking space within the ample car park provided by the management.

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Name: NEWW BT FOOD COURT @ BURMAH ROAD
Address: Jalan Burma, 10050 Penang, Malaysia.
Opening Hours: 9.00am – 2.00am
GPS: 5.422672, 100.323300

RATING:
Ambience: 7/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 classy)
Food Choices: 8/10 (1-4 limited, 5-7 average, 8-10 many choices)
Taste: 5.5/10 (1-4 tasteless, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)
Pricing: 7/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 expensive)
Service: 6/10 (1-4 bad, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)

SELERA SIM CAFE

Posted by Criz Lai On November - 25 - 2008

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For those working around the Bayan Lepas Free Industrial Zone (FIZ), especially those from the FIZ Phase IV, should be aware of the where about this hawker center. It is hidden right within some apartments along Jalan Tengah, Bayan Baru. The cafe is Selera Sim Café and will usually be packed with factory workers during lunch time. What I like about this cafe is the large portion of food served at a reasonable price.

Each time I’m up that area, I would surely visit this café regardless whether it’s breakfast, lunch or tea time. There’s one dish that would always be on my table and that’s the Mee Jawa. You can have it served fried or with the sweet potato soup and the owner would not be stingy to top it off with a lot of ingredients, all for a mere RM2.50. A bigger plate with more crackers would only be RM3.00.

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Each plate would come with sliced fried bean curd, boiled potatoes, eggs, prawn fritters and crunchy anchovy crackers, garnished with pounded peanuts and lettuce, and served with half a lime and some chili paste (sambal). The fried one had all the tasty spices seeped into the yellow noodles used and was topped with a little gravy. The soup one was just boiled yellow noodles with more sweet potato gravy. Both the dishes were remarkably tasty.

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Another of the most ordered dish stall (by the look of the crowd lining up for the food) would be The Nest Chicken Rice. This is just not an ordinary chicken rice stall as the chicken were neither roasted with soy sauce nor boiled. The “All drumstick plus thigh” chicken came in three flavors, namely Turmeric Roasted Chicken, KFC Batter-like Fried Chicken and Black Pepper Grill Chicken. Depending on your selection of side dishes which would include salad, fried bean curd, omelette, prawn fritters and fish fritters, each plate would cost you from RM4.50 to RM6.00. I tried out the Turmeric Fried Chicken Special Seafood Platter Set (RM6.00).

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The set came with a whole large piece of fried turmeric chicken served with lemon sauce (you can opt for their other sauce), a prawn fritter, a fish fritter and an omelette on top of a big bowl of rice. The chicken meat was juicy and tender with the nice turmeric taste on it. The prawn and fish fritters were very fresh and the special sauce on the rice blended in real well. I would say the pricing is very reasonable too as a smaller piece of chicken plus rice in a Nasi Kandar shop would have cost me RM5.20.

Each order would also come with free flow of soup. The soup of the day happened to be Seaweed Soup.

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There was quite a variety of food sold there although there was only a row of food stalls with a few more stalls scattered near the entrance of the cafe. From my observance, the two stalls which had the most crowds would be The Nest Chicken Rice and the Tar Hong Kong B.B.Q. Chicken & Duck Rice. I have yet to try the chicken and duck rice from this stall but I guessed the taste buds from the crowds would evidently prove them to be good.

I have not been there for quite some time for tea. There used to be a Chinese lady selling nice and tasty local delicacies (Nyonya kuih and curry puff) opposite the duck rice stall during tea time. I hope she’s still there if I ever to be there again during tea time.

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If you are coming from Gelugor or Jelutong Expressway towards the old Penang International Airport highway along Jalan Sultan Azlan Shah, you will reach the Jalan Mahsuri traffic light (turn right and it will lead you to Sunshine Square/SunTech Cyber City). Ignore this traffic and drive on until you see the Jalan Tengah traffic light. Turn right into Jalan Tengah and drive on until you see a traffic light. Turn left into Jalan Mayang Pasir and then first junction on your left into the Kampung Gedung Apartments. There would be a lot of lanes between all the apartments. Try to find a parking space near to Block 70, Block 72 or Block 74. The hawker center is just at the ground floor of Block 70.

SELERASIMMAP

Name: SELERA SIM CAFE
Address: Block 70-G-1, Jalan Tengah, 11900 Bayan Baru, Penang, Malaysia.
Opening Hours: 10.00am – 6.00pm
GPS: 5.318214, 100.286270

RATING:
Ambience: 7/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 classy)
Food Choices: 8/10 (1-4 limited, 5-7 average, 8-10 many choices)
Taste: 8/10 (1-4 tasteless, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)
Pricing: 7/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 expensive)
Service: 7/10 (1-4 bad, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)

XIN JIANG PEI PA DUCK RICE

Posted by Criz Lai On November - 21 - 2008

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I was quite reluctant to post up this review as the experience there was not so pleasant. If not for the great taste of the Pei Pa Duck, I would have just ignored them. Anyway, it’s better for me to forewarn my readers rather than to let them endure the high pricing, bad taste quality of their other products. I was there on their second day of their night operation. While I was dining half way, the garden lightings went dark. Some short circuit I guessed but while dining there for barely 25 minutes, the whole café went dark. Worst still, twice. I hope they did not employ cheap electricians to handle their wiring as it might be quite risky for the patrons there. Well, this might just be a coincident while I was there.

This was not a big issue for me. The main problem lied on the water quality of that area. The water tasted just like chlorine. Although the drink maker did solve this problem, the duck rice hawker did not. The rice tasted horrid. The taste of chlorine was overpowering for me to finish it. I did inform the boss about that and I hope he would take heed on my complaint before he loses more customers. Anyway, before I knew about the problem, I ordered a quarter of a Pei Pa Duck, a mixed platter of Char Siew, Roasted Pork, Chinese Sausage and Roasted Chicken. It came with a complimentary bowl of Chop Suey. All for RM24 which I considered quite high price for the small portion served for 3 persons.

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The Pei Pa Duck was tasty. I ordered just a quarter to try out and I was lucky enough to have the drumstick. The meat was tender and without the strong taste of duck scent. The skin was fried to perfection and maintained its crispiness. The sauce which came with the duck was tasty and combined real well with the duck meat. Although this is not the best in Penang, it still deserved some mentions.

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The mixed platter itself was a disaster. The roasted chicken was so bland. Even the roasted skin has no flavor on it. The Char Siew was also terrible. It was dry and tasteless as if it was left there for quite a long period of time. The roasted pork was also dry. The skin was so badly roasted that you would need a hammer to break it apart. Worst still, their utensils were so soft that you can perform some magical bending with them. The Chinese sausage had the best taste amongst all but the boss must make more improvement on the dish as it was still a bit too dry.

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I can’t comment much on the complimentary Chop Suey as it was given free but I also hope the boss would make some adjustments to the taste. There was only the thick sour taste of Assam juice and nothing else. The soup lacked of the taste of spices such as dried chillies, ginger and lemongrass.

If you are coming from Bukit Jambul Complex towards the Penang International Airport along Jalan Tun Dr Awang, you will come to a “Y” junction. PISA Stadium is on your left, Public Bank is on your right. Turn right into Jalan Dato Ismail Hashim which will lead you to Sg. Ara district. You will pass 3 traffic lights. Drive on until see S.M.K. Sg. Ara on your left. Keep to your right and you would see another traffic light not far away. Turn right into Jalan Kenari. You will see a sign there stating Desa Ria. Drive on and turn left into the first junction (Tingkat Kenari). Drive on and you would see the café not far away on your right. This place will also serve dim sum (Tien Tien Lye Dim Sum) from 5.00am until noon.

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Name: PEI PA DUCK RICE @ XIN JIANG CAFE
Address: 14A, Lengkuk Kenari, Desa Ria Sungai Ara, 11900 Bayan Lepas, Penang, Malaysia.
Opening Hours: 9.00am – 12.00am
Contact: 016-450 3406
GPS: 5.318031, 100.266983

RATING:
Ambience: 7/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 classy)
Food Choices: 7/10 (1-4 limited, 5-7 average, 8-10 many choices)
Taste: 6/10 (1-4 tasteless, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)
Pricing: 9/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 expensive)
Service: 7/10 (1-4 bad, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)

ROSLI NASI AYAM @ LORONG KULIT

Posted by Criz Lai On November - 14 - 2008

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The Malay version of chicken rice is totally different compared to the Hainanese Chicken Rice. Instead of roasting with some sauce on the outer layer of the chicken, they would coat the chicken pieces with a thin layer of batter and deep fried them until they become crispy. One of the nicer ones which I had recently was from a stall within the surrounding of the Penang City Stadium along Lorong Kulit. The stall has been there since 1995, serving their yummy chicken rice to all walks of people. The name of the stall is Rosli Nasi Ayam.

You have a choice of ordering the different parts of the chicken meat but as for me I would always like to have the chicken thigh. The Chicken Rice set will come with a large bowl of rice and a bowl of soup and it only cost me RM3.50. Surprisingly, the meat within the crispiness of the batter still maintained its tenderness and was very delicious.

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As for photography purposes, I requested for the specially prepared soy sauce and chili sauce to be separated. The rice which is fragrant and not dry at all also came with a bowl of chicken soup garnished with some sliced lettuce and fried onions.

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If you are driving from Georgetown towards Air Itam along Jalan Dato Kramat, you will reach a traffic light (The Patani Road Police Headquarter is on your left). Drive on until you have reached the second traffic light (Padang Brown is on your right). Drive on until you see another traffic light (Maybank is on your left). Turn left into Lorong Kulit and you will see the stall at the junction of Lorong Kulit and Persiaran Stadium. This place is where the City Stadium is and has a flea market from as early as 8.00am until 1.00pm.

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Name: ROSLI NASI AYAM @ LORONG KULIT
Address: Lorong Kulit, 10460 Penang, Malaysia.
Opening Hours: 8.00am – 3.00pm
Contact: 016-433 2517 (Kak Min)
GPS: 5.412817, 100.313233

RATING:
Ambience: 5/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 classy)
Food Choices: 5/10 (1-4 limited, 5-7 average, 8-10 many choices)
Taste: 8/10 (1-4 tasteless, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)
Pricing: 6/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 expensive)
Service: 8/10 (1-4 bad, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)

BRAISED BEEF BRISKET WAN THAN MEE @ KEDAI KOPI KEAN LAI SENG

Posted by Criz Lai On November - 3 - 2008

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Nowadays, Braised Beef Brisket Wan Than Mee, a Cantonese delicacy, is getting to be quite scare in the list of hawker food available in Penang. The younger generation of hawkers today barely wanted to continue with this traditional yet delicious dish as it involved a lot of preparations. Choices of beef, mainly the brisket part (the lower chest area, above the shank, which overlies the sternum, ribs and connecting costal cartilages), were braised in some spices (eg. fermented red beancurd, fermented soy bean, etc.) until the meat became soft and tender. The braised beef is then topped on your chosen noodles with some soup broth.

Braised Beef Brisket Wan Than Mee (RM5) also known as Ngau Lam Mee has a more herbal taste compared to the usual beef noodles. Recently, I brought Steven and Allen to try out this dish in Georgetown area. You can opt for either the thick or thin Wan Than Mee noodles.


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If you are not adventurous to try out the Braised Beef Brisket Wan Than Mee, you can always choose to have the plain Wan Than Mee served with Char Siew and Chicken slices or you can even order an additional bowl of Shui Kow Soup (RM3 for 5 pcs). But I can assure you that the soup does not have the overpowering taste of beef, neither is the braised beef brisket.

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It is very easy to find this stall as it is strategically located along the roadside of Jalan Kampung Malabar off the main road of Jalan Penang. If you are coming from Upper Penang Road, just keep to your left. You would pass Jalan Chulia (Opposite Odean Theatre which aired Tamil movies). Just turn in the road on your left after that. You can see there is another coffee shop by the name of Kedai Kopi Ho Ping at the junction. The stall is just on your right next to this coffee shop.

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Name:
BRAISED BEEF BRISKET WAN THAN MEE
@ KEDAI KOPI KEAN LAI SENG
Address: 55, Lorong Kampung Malabar, 10200 Penang, Malaysia.
Opening Hours: 11.00am – 8.00pm (Closed Monday)
GPS: 5.419103, 100.332319

RATING:
Ambience: 7/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 classy)
Food Choices: 7/10 (1-4 limited, 5-7 average, 8-10 many choices)
Taste: 8/10 (1-4 tasteless, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)
Pricing: 7/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 expensive)
Service: 8/10 (1-4 bad, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)

CIFU OMAR HOKKIEN MEE

Posted by Criz Lai On October - 30 - 2008

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As a Penangite, most Chinese would go for non-halal Hokkien Mee where the soup is pork based. Have you tried the Malay version of the Hokkien Mee (Mee Udang) before? There is this old house along Jalan Tanjung Tokong selling this yummy hawker delight solely manned by Pakcik Omar. There would always be endless stream of customers from all different races patronizing this stall on weekdays. Well, they would only open their business for 3 hours from 11.00am until 2.00pm daily except weekends.

The taste of the soup is different as it is chicken based. Moreover, it has the sweet taste of rock sugar and prawns. Even the color of the chili paste looked so mild and yet can be real fiery to taste. You can choose your noodles to be either koay teow, bee hoon, yellow mee or mixed. You also have choices of the meat to be either chicken, beef or mixed. My friend tried out the mixed koay teow and mee Chicken Hokkien Mee (RM3.30). The dish came with lots of chicken meat, some crab sticks, prawns, eggs and chicken gizzards. The serving was large.


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I ordered the mixed Chicken and Beef Hokkien Mee (RM3.30). The ingredients are the same as the above but with additional tender beef slices. The dish was great.

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They also do serve Fried Chicken Legs Stew. The taste is totally different compared to those sold in Chinese stalls where those chicken legs were stewed with garlic, dark soy sauce, soy sauce, star anise, cinnamon, cloves, pepper and sugar. The one sold here has ginger, carrot, mushrooms and dried chillies. Although I prefer the Chinese version more, who would complain paying just RM1 for 4 large pieces of chicken legs here? It’s dirt cheap!

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Just drive along Jalan Tanjung Tokong until you have reached the Island Plaza traffic lights. Turn right and then turn left into the service road where the Desa Tanjung shoplots are. Find a parking and walk towards the end of the shoplots. You would see an old house between Desa Tanjung and Ubi Food Court. That’s where the Malay Hokkien Mee stall is.

CIFUOMARMAP

Name: CIFU OMAR HOKKIEN MEE
Address: Jalan Tanjung Tokong, 11200 Penang, Malaysia.
Opening Hours: 11.00am – 2.00pm (Closed Saturday & Sunday)
GPS: 5.451883, 100.305992

RATING:
Ambience: 6/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 classy)
Food Choices: 6/10 (1-4 limited, 5-7 average, 8-10 many choices)
Taste: 7.5/10 (1-4 tasteless, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)
Pricing: 6/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 expensive)
Service: 7/10 (1-4 bad, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)

JIT SENG HONG KONG ROASTED DUCK RICE

Posted by Criz Lai On October - 27 - 2008

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Penang is one of the states where you can savor quite a few types of duck rice. You can have the Peking Duck Rice, Pei Pa Duck Rice, Braised Duck Rice and the Hong Kong Roasted Duck Rice. One of the famous one would be the Jit Seng Hong Kong Roasted Duck Rice situated along Lebuh Carnarvon. The sole chef cum owner, Mr. Lam, has been in this business for the last 3 decades, selling his freshly roasted duck rice daily.

Even before he opens up his business around noon, you can see that the whole coffee shop would be crowded with people. What makes his duck rice so unique that people would queue up for half an hour just to eat it? Firstly, the duck is real tender with so much of ingredients stuffed in it prior to roasting. Secondly, the skin of the duck is coated with his special sauce which would include some molasses (Ba Lei Ko in Hokkien or Melaco in Portugese). Thirdly, the portion served is very generous.

Most of the time, he would include a duck drumstick for a serving for two and above such as the photo below.


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On top of his famous roasted duck, he also has Roasted Pork, Roasted Chicken and Char Siew (Sweet Roasted Pork) topped with his special sweet bean sauce.

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Since the crowd was rather huge that day, I had decided to get some mixed combination takeaways with an extra bowl of rice. Can you imagine I had problem finishing the whole packet of rice? You hardly could see the rice with the generous amount of Roasted Duck Meat, Roasted Pork and Char Siew covering every inches of the rice. The whole pack cost me only RM5.

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If you are a keen duck meat lover, you should try him out. It’s worth the wait. On top of the never ending flow of locals, tourists as far as Australia and UK patronize his place regularly. You could also contact him for takeaway of a full bird. Roasted Duck would cost RM36-38, Roasted Chicken at RM18 and Roasted Pork or Char Siew at RM35 per kg.

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It is very easy to find this stall if you know where Lebuh Carnarvon is. If not, then move along Jalan Dr. Lim Chwee Leong until you reach a traffic light. Pizza Hut is on your right. Keep left and drive forth until you reach the next traffic light. Turn left into Lebuh Carnarvon. The duck rice stall is just within the Star Hotel premise next to Jalan Cheong Fatt Tze (formerly known as Lebuh Hong Kong).

JITSENGDUCKRICEMAP

Name: JIT SENG HONG KONG ROASTED DUCK RICE @ STAR HOTEL
Address: 246, Lebuh Carnarvon, 10100 Penang, Malaysia.
Contact: 604-262 2172 (Mr. Lam)
Opening Hours: 12.00pm – 3.00pm (Closed Public Holidays)
GPS: 5.414319, 100.333386

RATING:
Ambience: 7/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 classy)
Food Choices: 7/10 (1-4 limited, 5-7 average, 8-10 many choices)
Taste: 8/10 (1-4 tasteless, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)
Pricing: 6/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 expensive)
Service: 7/10 (1-4 bad, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)

DEE TOM YAM

Posted by Criz Lai On October - 22 - 2008

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I must admit that I have been going to so many Chinese stir fry restaurants and hawker stalls in Penang that I tend to have overlooked on the Malay stir fry stalls. In fact, some of these stalls can provide food as delicious as any of the food stalls out there. Hidden within the compound of Farlim’s apartment, Block 1B, is a small Malay stall providing cheap, good and yet delicious Malay cuisine. Although it has no signage on the stall, it runs the business by the name of Dee Tom Yam. At times, you can see patrons of all races queuing up to order his delicious food. The wonderful thing about this place is that you can opt to sit inside the coffee shop (Huat Huat) or relax yourself on the field between the two blocks of apartments.

You can either order dishes to be taken with rice or simply ask the boss to cook up some fried/soup rice or noodles items for your meal. The menu list is not long but it is good enough for a simple meal. What else would you expect as nothing in the menu (except fish based on market price) costs more than RM4.50? You could easily order Masak Pedas Daging (Stir Fry Spicy Beef), Tom Yam Udang (Prawn Tom Yam) and Kangkong Belacan (Fried Shrimp Paste Water Spinach) for just RM10. Rice would be at RM1 each plate.

As I did not have to crowd to test out all the dishes, I managed to order his Nasi Goreng Ikan Masin (Salted Fish Fried Rice) at RM3.50. The combination was great as it did not contain the overpowering taste of the salted fish and the rice maintained its softness. Moreover, there are a lot of vegetables and squid slices in the dish.


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Dee’s Nasi Pattaya (RM4) was great too. The portion for the dish was large. The fried rice was beautifully wrapped in a thin layer of omelette and garnished decoratively with some chili sauce. By tearing open the omelette, you could smell the fragrance emitted from it. The rice was tastefully fried with mixed vegetables and prawns.

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This is again another maze as I could not locate any road name to this place but you can always ask around the Farlim (Bandar Baru Air Itam) residents where Block 1B is located. If you are coming from the main road at Jalan Air Itam into Farlim (Jalan Thean Teik), you would pass by one traffic light until you reach a crossroad traffic light (Block 7A is on your left). Turn right into Lebuhraya Thean Teik. Keep to your right and turn into the first road on your right (Jalan Ru 1). You can see Block 1B on your right. Turn into the small lane and try to find a parking space. The stall is just next to a Chinese temple and directly opposite Huat Huat Coffee Shop at the corner of the field.

DEEMAP

Name: DEE TOM YAM @ HUAT HUAT COFFEE SHOP
Address:
Block 1B (off Jalan Ru 1), Bandar Baru Air Itam, 10500 Penang, Malaysia.
Contact: 017-554 8089 (Encik Dee)
Opening Hours: 4.00pm – 12.00am (Closed Alternate Thursday)
GPS: 5.392530, 100.282383

RATING:
Ambience: 7/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 classy)
Food Choices: 7/10 (1-4 limited, 5-7 average, 8-10 many choices)
Taste: 8/10 (1-4 tasteless, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)
Pricing: 6/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 expensive)
Service: 7/10 (1-4 bad, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)

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