By Helen Ong

ONE of the most famous streets for day-time food in Penang must be Lorong Selamat in George Town, where no fewer than 10 eateries line both sides of the short, one-way road that links Burmah Road to Macalister Road.

At the Macalister Road end, there is a concentration of stalls which purvey the best – and sometimes, if truth be told, the not-so-good – of Penang’s famous traditional street foods.

Certainly, things are dearer there. If you are not so lucky as to find street parking and have to resort to one of the few private car parks, it costs RM3 for two hours. It also has some of our more expensive stalls, averaging RM4 to RM5 for a serving as opposed to RM2 to RM3 elsewhere. Some cost even more.

At the Keng Huat Café, there’s of course the rather famous – or perhaps the more apt word is infamous – red-bereted woman who has probably gained the dubious honour of being the most famous hawker on the island, although this is as much for what some consider to be one of the best char kuey teow on the island (complete with large prawns to justify the RM8 charged per plate) as for her unique form of customer service.

Say no more.

A bit further along, Ah Guan offers some competition at the Low Eng Hoo Café. The char kuey teow is probably as good, fragrant and tasty, with crunchy pork scratchings, which, in these days of healthier living, is quite rare. His isn’t cheap either, coming in just slightly lower at RM7.50 per plate.

Opposite, there’s the T&T Hokkien Mee shop, one that is wholly dedicated to serving not just the traditional prawn-and-paikut (spare rib) soup noodles, but also several new spin-offs that they have come up with, like their claypot version.

Another is the Mid Town Café, now run by Ang Soon Lee and recently renamed the Selamat Café. This eatery starts as early as 4.30am, when Hong Kong-style dim sum is served by staff who wander about with large bamboo baskets laden with typical offerings like hargao, siew mai, fish balls, cheong fun and other fried or steamed dim sum dishes.

A few hours later, the other stallholders arrive. There’s Pan Mee, Kah Kah’s Oyster Omelette and also Sam’s Char Kuey Teow, although not as famous and therefore, at RM5 per plate, not as expensive as the aforementioned stalls.

From about noon to 5pm, Ah Eng starts selling her (justifiably) famous duck rice, which her husband roasts every day, together with the chicken and char siew. Although they’ve only just moved there from the New World Park Café, she has been cooking and selling this since 1983.

“We learnt how to do it properly from a friend who was a Hong Kong chef,” she said. They use a local variety of the Pak Kniah Ark, the white-feathered/yellow-beaked duck which apparently roasts well as the meat is more tender.

“It’s more expensive,” she added, “but it is softer.”

Ah Eng has a soft heart too: any innards and leftovers are packed up and sent to various other parts of town where they are fed to stray dogs and cats. She also raises money to help neuter them.

Parked at the very front, there’s Ah Keat’s famous laksa stall, which has been there for the last four decades.

“My father started this stall in 1969,” he explained, “after which my mother took over.”

Ah Keat now runs the place with help from his brother. They sell two versions: there’s the traditional assam (sour) variety, made with fresh sardines topped with some canned sardines, and a lemak Thai variety.

Rather unusually for laksa because of its assam (acidity), he starts selling from about mid-morning and I would suggest you go later on in the afternoon for various reasons: it’s less crowded then, so there’s more chance of finding a parking space, and, more importantly, the fish stock will have had time to simmer away, ensuring that it is more concentrated and tasty.

In fact, he’s become such an institution that keen customers will pull up next to his stall and order large quantities to take away.

“As soon as they tell me that it’s for taking out of town, I know what to do.”

Some have even been known to order a couple of hundred packs, although there’s no need for that now as he’s gone national – large cauldrons of both are apparently sent to KL by lorry every day.

Wrap up the meal with a bowl of their ais kacang or home-madechendol.

Sweet-i

Address – 727F, Jalan Sungai Dua
Penang

Tel : 012 4853627

Nasi Lemak Cili Bilis

Address – No 1 Gerai Kawasan Penjaja Gurney Drive
Padang Kota Baru
Pulau Pinang

Tel: 017 4928848

Mee Udang Selera Sri Tambang

Address – Selera Sri Tambang
No1 Pengkalan Tambang
13500 Permatang Pasir
Bukit Mertajam

Tel: 04 3971918, 012 5759662 & 017 4633944

If you want a typical old-fashioned hawker chiew jang khar scenario, then head for Air Itam where, stretching from the Reservoir Garden kopitiam opposite the Public Bank building and continuing right through to the corner of Jalan Air Putih (White Water) Road, some 65 stalls lines both sides of the inner service road. You can order from any stall and eat in one of the four kopitiams or alfresco at the many tables which are placed outside.

There are so many stalls that it’s safe to say that whatever you wish to eat – within reason, of course, although if you fancy Balkan you just might find it there – it is probably available. From local Penang favourites: O Chien (Oyster Omelette), Economy Rice, Roti Canai, Char Kuey Teow and Kuey Teow T’ng; Chee Cheong Fun and Char Kuey Kak, Chai T’au Kuey and Assam Laksa to name but a few, to international cuisines. There’s satay, western, pizza and even Japanese. It’s hot, noisy and merry, but where to start?

Roti canai is available in numerous stalls around Penang and each stall has its own variations such as the roti sardin, roti tissue and the roti telur. One particular place is Transfer Road. Breakfast here is an indulgence — soaks in the atmosphere and enjoys the slow pace of life in Penang.

This famous roti canai stall has been in operation for decades next to an old abandoned warehouse. The array of curry dishes is inviting, with a selection of mutton, beef, chicken and the simple dhal to complement the roti canai.

Chicken curry comes with tender pieces of meat in flavourful gravy. However, most customers prefer the tender mutton curry which is relatively spicy. The aromatic mutton is a crowd favourite. However, the best combination is kuah banjir! Customers can also order the curries without the roti canai.

Event: Penang Hawker’s Night

Venue: Jalan Padang Kota Lama

Date: 13th August 2011

Time: 6.30 pm onwards

We are delighted to welcome 2,000 visitors from China to our beautiful island Penang! These visitors are from the second largest direct selling company in China, Perfect China Pte Ltd (Zhongshan). This is indeed a wonderful opportunity for Penang to showcase our vibrant culture and rich heritage to our guests, hence promoting Penang to the Chinese market.

Sunflower Holidays Sdn Bhd and Perfect China Pte Ltd (Zhongshan) will be organizing a Hawker’s Night our visitors on the 13th of August 2011. The event will be held at Jalan Padang Kota Lama starting from 6.30 p.m onwards. The event will be graced by Penang’s Chief Minister Y.A.B Lim Guan Eng.

Tons of delicious cuisines and exciting performances await our guests. The tourists will have an opportunity to enjoy Penang’s local delicacies such as Nasi Kandar, Char Koay Teow, Popiah and our world famous Assam Laksa. They will also be entertained by cultural performances which include Chingay, Lion dance, Indian Dance and Malay Dance. These performances reflects Penang’s multicultural and yet harmonious way of life.

The Penang State hopes our guests from China will enjoy their stay in Penang and have an enjoyable time at the Hawker’s Night!

The Char Koay Kak stall located along the bustling Air Itam road. There is an upbeat vibe to this road with many hawker food stalls selling fried buns, tantalizing Assam Laksa and curry mee.

The pieces of koay kak (rice cakes) are stir-fried in a huge flat wok with oil, chye por (preserved vegetable) and dark soy sauce. After a few quick stirs, bean sprouts and egg are added in followed by the chili paste which gives the dish a tinge of spiciness. All the ingredients combined well, adding in flavors to the koay kak. I personally like the texture which is slightly chewy and not as hard in comparison to other stalls.

The Char Koay Kak is made robust with the adding in of the egg. Chicken egg is often used but some customers prefer to have a duck egg instead as it further enhanced the aroma and taste of the Char Koay Kak

Char Koay Kak & Tong-Sui
(infront of Suiwah Supermarket)
Jalan Air Itam
Penang

Nasi Campur Melayu stall is a relatively new food stall in town. This stall started operating about three months ago, right in front of the entrance of Pinang Delicious Food Court on Macalister Road. It is run by siblings Roslina and Rosniza binti Mansor.

In actual fact they had a stall at one of the coffee shop in Island Glades, but decided to move their business down town. Their cooking is different from those around Georgetown as their dishes have a greater Perlis influence.

The chicken rempah with the thick curry gravy is a delight with a plate of plain white rice. Besides that, the fried cincaru with sambal stuffing is worth trying out. The fish is fried with the flesh remaining moist and tender; and the sambal with chucky onions stuffing compliment the fish well.

The tong-sui stall operated by Soon and his wife for the last few years in Sungai Dua, has a wonderful sweet range of Chinese style desserts.

Previously located on the roadside at Jalan Helang, the tong-sui stall has since shifted into a nearby house. Customers can enjoy the desserts with sit-down service in the comfort setting of the house.

There is definitely something sweet for everyone in Sweet-i. The stall has a rather wide range of desserts, with ten different types per day. The menu changes depending on the availability of ingredients. The dessert menu which includes Black Sesame, Bubur Cha Cha, White Fungus, ‘Gui Ling Gao’ (Herbal Jelly), Almond and Red Bean, is clearly written along with the prices and displayed in front and beside the counter.

Sweet-i
727F, Jalan Sungai Dua
Penang