My interest
I am an outgoing person. I love travelling. I travel to most of the places. People love travelling for some reasons. Food is the main reason which inspires me to travel... I love travelling because I want to taste all kind of food. The Pearl Of Orient, which is also known as food paradise, Penang is one of my most favourite place when it comes to food. Good mix of traditional Malay, Chinese, Indian and Peranakan dishes and many of them can be found in hawker stalls throughout George Town. Throughout my 4 days in Penang, I had seen and ate as much as I could. I combed about 10hawker stalls and picked my favourite 5 out of them. I really love the fact that the hawker food culture is still going strong in Penang.
Mee Goreng @ Bangkok Lane
Just the mention of Mee Goreng and most locals will direct you to the Bangkok Lane Mee Goreng. The mee goreng business has been passed down over several generations and does super tasty mee goreng. It is definitely entertaining to watch the owner / his worker fry mee goreng – one hand tossing and frying the noodles, while the other hand constantly turning the wok in a circular manner!
When served, just squeeze some lime, mix it and you are ready to savour. Even for someone like me who seldom eats Mee Goreng, I can’t help but to finish the whole plate of mee goreng. The noodles was moist and so fragrant, with some decent wok hei. The prawn stock and mashed potatoes gives it a balance of sweet, sour and spicy. And the mee goreng also have cuttlefish which makes it stand out from other mee goreng stalls. One fun fact, the owner knows Hokkien ok. Don’t play play!
Fish Ball Koay Teow Soup @ Carnavon Street
This is not an usual bowl of fish ball soup. Because the fish balls here are MADE FROM EEL. Yes, the eel that we usually eat in Japanese restaurant. Instead of using the usual Batang fish to make their fishballs. The owner has creatively used eel to make into fish ball. Batang fish gives a more firm texture, but eel fish balls taste so much softer.
I ordered a bowl of dried noodles and fish ball soup to share. They uses a higher grade of dark soy sauce which makes the noodles delicious. Unlike other fish ball noodles stall which usually adds in bak chor (minced meat), this stall uses handmade pork fillet which is unique. Their soup is boiled with duck and pork bones for many hours, hence giving it natural sweetness.
Asam Laksa @ Air Itam
Situated next to Air Itam market, this stall is hugely popular for its authentic assam laksa. With only RM4, each bowl is packed with thick rice noodles, vegetables, spicy mackerel based soup and a generous amount of shrimp paste. Its main distinguishing feature is the asam which gives the soup a sour taste. The fish is poached and then flaked. There are other ingredients like lemongrass, mint, onion etc.
The soup base is very flavourful and filled with generous amount of flaked mackerels. The prawn pastes gives more depth to the laksa. And it is refreshing with the mint and onion. Don’t think this is the best bowl of Assam Laksa in Penang but it is pretty decent.
Lor Bak @ Kheng Pin Café
This Lor Bak stall at Kheng Pin Kafe located in the junction of Penang Road and Sri Bahari Road is another up and coming Lor Bak stall in Penang. Lor bak is usually served as an appetizer which consists of marinated five spiced pork wrap in bean curd skin. I think freshness is important in making Lor Bak.
The Lor Bak here has the perfect marinated meat, which makes it tender and delicately flavoured. The skin is also not as thick as it is only wrapped with one layer. So when it is being fried, you can see the golden brown crispy exterior. The lor bak here is not too oily, and only prepared upon order only to ensure freshness. The Lor Bak is eaten with a dipping of chili sauce and homemade thick starchy lor sauce with beaten egg swirls.
Cendol is one of Malaysia’s favourite desserts. But nowhere is the competition more keen than on Lebuh Keng Kwee, off Penang Road, where two families have been operating their stalls for decades. One is called “Penang Road Famous Cendol” run by the Loh family, while the other is called “Penang Road Famous Teochew Cendol” run by the Tan family.
We chose the Penang Road Famous Teochew Chendul from Mr Tan, as recommended by our tour guide. They have been in this trade close to 40 years. Armed with a five-decade old recipe, the family roll up their sleeves everyday to prepare bowls of refreshing cendol and ais kacang for their customers. Even Gurmit Singh and Lim Guan Eng patronise his stall!
In a bowl of RM2 chendol, there is aromatic gula Melaka and fragrant coconut milk, certainly a perfect remedy for the blistering heat of Penang. You can have the cendol beside the stall, at the comfort of air con. Another nice thing about the shoplot is that you can get a delicious, hot bowl of assam laksa from the stall right in front of the door.
I have tasted a lot of foods here in Penang, and hpope that I could travel many more places and get to taste all kind of foods.
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