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.

Talking about Penang Food, of course there are plentiful and all around every corner in island and also mainland of Penang. However if you are talking about getting good food during night time or weekend at Bayan Baru or Bayan Lepas, there are just only few handful.

Anyway, one of the excellent place for Chinese cuisine at Bayan Lepas is at Shanghai Ding House of Dumpling. This is one of the place that is affordable to dine in and the food here is delicious as well. This restaurant can be cater for 80 to 100 pax or 17 tables. There are no private room available at this place but there is private corner that segregated from the public instead. As for some people that wanted to work or having entertainment, there is free wifi provided as well.

Mini Egg Tarts (酥皮小蛋撻 – RM3.80+ for 3pcs). The mini egg tart is served in the amount of three. The serving is very diligent and delicious.

The sweetness of the inner tart is just nice. The texture is so soft and juicy, it really melt in your mouth. As for the crust, it is so crunchy and crispy. It is excellent when served hot from oven.

Fried Radish Cake with Seafood (海鮮炒蘿卜糕 – RM7.80+) When the radish is fried, it has added with dried prawn and dried squid. It is then served together with prawn, egg, preserved turnips,  spring onion, and based with baby romaine lattuce.

It tasted similar like “char koay kak” one of the famous Penang food. The fragrance of the pan fried and also the aroma of the dried prawn and squid really bring out the appetite to eat.

Stir Fry Broccoli with Scallops (西蘭花炒帶子 – RM15.80+) This is a simple dish that pan fried scallop,  prawn and broccoli, with the base cover with baby romaine lattuce and topped with spring onion.

Nothing very special about this dish, the usual household dish. Just that it tasted good.

Yunnan Rice Noodles with Grouper Fillet (雲南石斑魚米綫 – RM19.80+ for 2 pax). The base of the soup is prepare by fish, the soup is boiled in 7 to 8 hours. It is then mixed with grupah fish fillet, to remove the fishy smell ginger slices, wolf berries and spring onion are added to the soup. The thick rice noodle is imported from Yunnan.

The taste of the soup is slight sweet as it is cooked in long hour with fish and some rock sugar. It is not too thick and the taste is delightful. Another good thing about this soup is that there is no MSG added.

Prawn Ramen (老火上湯鮮蝦拉麵 – RM28.00+ for 2-3pax) The base of the soup is cooked with chicken and prawn, it is then added with herbs and rock sugar. The noodle itself is hand made noodle, upon completion it is added with wolf berries, baby romaine lettuce, bamboo pit, big prawn and with a touch of spring onion and fried garlic. The big prawn had been deep fried before served.

The taste of the soup is slight sweet base as it had been added with rock sugar. The taste of the herb is not overwhelming while the taste of the prawn freshness still there. This is one of my favorites.

Shanghai Dumpling(上海小籠包 – RM6.80+ for 4pcs or RM12.80+ for 8pcs). One of the signatures here will be the Shanghai dumpling.  The general idea is to dip the minced pork balls into pork ribs stock and freeze them. The next day, they are taken out to be individually wrapped into thin flour skin. The dumplings will be steamed to perfection and served in a steaming basket.

The correct way to eat this dumpling is that you need to bite the outer skin of the dumpling and let the soup flow into your mouth. Beware when you eat it as the the soup might be hot. The soup from the stock was thick and delicious while the meat was full of flavor. The dumpling made a great combination if it is served with ginger slices and dark vinegar.

Durian Pancake (榴蓮煎糕 – RM7.80+ for 2 pcs). The durian flesh was blended, topped with fresh cream and wrapped in a soft and smooth egg and pandan flavor flour coat.

For those that craving for durian even this is not durian season. This is one of the places in town that you can go for. The taste wise is acceptable. The only step that still need to be improve is the defroze time frame too short and it had been wrapped and place in the fridge rather then wrapped as on demand. This make the ingredient inside suffocate froze bite and lose of flavor.

Ginger Tea with Black Sesame Filled Glutinous Rice Ball (姜茶黑芝麻湯圓 – RM3.80+), The tang yuan (glutinous rice ball) tastes nice and soft outer layor while inner portion it is filled with grained sesame seed.

The soup tastes slight spiciness due to the ginger and it is sweet base. The size of the glutinous rice ball is not too big nor small. While the inner black sesame burst out once bite in your mouth. I just can’t stop recalling that nice moment.

Overall, this is one of the nice place to be for those that looking for food in Bayan Baru or Bayan Lepas. This place is family friendly and easy to find parking surrounding.  The food is nice and the price is reasonable.

Editor’s Review (5 Stars Rank):

Taste
Price
Food Presentation
Service
Overall

Quick Facts:

Family Friendly
Parking
Pork Free
Alcohol
Credit Card
Smoking
Reservation
Private Room
WIFI Available

Operation hours: 8:00am – 10:00pm (7 days a week)
Contact: 04-644 1644
Address: Block H, 4/G, Persiaran Bayan Indah, Bayan Bay, 11900, Penang
GPS: 5° 33′ 41.44″ N, 100° 30′ 71.18″ E

Penang Food, Penang Travel and Penang Lifestyle » Penang Food

Khunthai Authentic Thai Restaurant is a place in Penang that locals and foreigners alike flock to for Thai cuisine with a quality of freshness. They have two outlets in Penang, one at Teluk Kumbar on the island and another at Raja Uda in the mainland. Both have indoor and outdoor sitting areas, al fresco style.

The house speciality is the seafood combo steamed in lemon juice, which is popularly known as Khunthai Superstar. There are many seafood offerings for this dish – prawns, scallops, mantis prawn, squid and lala. A simple choice would be the combo of lala and squid, steamed with chopped cili padi, garlic and lemon juice. This dish is all about the sauce and Khunthai had it right, with an irresistible appetizing flavor.

Kerabu comes with sour, spicy and sweet flavors. Available is the pupara, chicken feet, mango, sotong and Khunthai kerabu. The kerabu mango has plenty of vegetables, mango strips, cashew nuts and anchovies.

Khunthai Authentic Thai Restaurant
MK 9-914 Permatang Tenggah
13000 Butterworth

Khunthai Authentic Thai Restaurant
1052, Mukim 9
Pasir Belanda
Teluk Kumbar
11920 Penang

One of the most popular meals in Penang for any occasions, be it birthday celebrations or farewells is steamboat.

It is no doubt that steamboat is one of the most famous Penang Food although it is not originated from Penang. Steamboat is taken all year round although the weather in Penang is so hot and humid.

One of the restaurants in Penang Island that serves a great selection of dishes for steamboat at a reasonable price is the Xuan Xin Buffet Steamboat Restaurant.

The location of Xuan Xin Steamboat Restaurant is very easy to be located. If you are driving from Gurney Drive to Tanjung Bungah via Jalan Tanjung Tokong, you will surely pass by Island Plaza on your right and Prima Tanjung on your left. Keep driving for another 60 meters, you will soon see Xuan Xin Steamboat Restaurant on your right. Keep driving for another 200 meters ahead to make a U-turn back to the restaurant at the opposite road.

For those coming here in big groups, make sure you call for reservation before coming as this place is usually crowded during weekends. There were around 30 tables available and could cater for up to 150 pax.

The price for the buffet here is currently priced at RM28.50 per pax. There was a wide variety of dishes offered at the food counter. For noodles alone there were more than 4 types to be chosen from.

The seasoning and sauces to be accompanied with the steamboat were also available in more than 6 choices.

There were fresh Japanese tofu “bean curd”, turnip cubes and also soya bean seasoning to be added on to the soup.

Some of ingredients for the steamboat were also available as below:

• Sweet Corn Cubes
• Bean Curd Skin
• Black Mushroom
• Telephone Mushroom
• Yellow Noodle
• Bee Hoon
• Eggs
• Marinated Minced Meat

• Meet Balls
• Fish Balls
• Crab Meat Sticks
• Meat Slices
• Sausage Slices
• Pig Liver Slices

Varieties of Clams and Shells were available also.

Another attraction was the teppanyaki corner. You could choose your own ingredients to be pan-fried and the chef would fulfill your request. Unlike other BBQ Steamboat restaurants where you had to barbeque the ingredients yourselves and ended up making your shirt smelly.

You can mix and match the ingredients and let the chef do the oily stuff.

The available soup base:

• Clear Soup
• Tomyam Soup
• Hokkien Style Spicy Soup
• Herbal Soup

This is the steamboat pot, just place all the ingredients that you like into the boiling pot and wait for it to be cooked.

It is so easy that everyone could do it. No wonder it is classified as the food for any occasion.

Overall, the price for the steamboat buffet was very reasonable. The option of the ingredients were aplenty and fresh. The taste of the soup base were all acceptable. The drawback is the lack of car park spaces at this place and you are advised to book your table in advance.

Editor’s Review (5 Stars Rank):

Taste
Price
Food Presentation
Service
Overall

Quick Facts:

Family Friendly
Parking
Pork Free
Alcohol
Credit Card
Smoking
Reservation
Private Room
WIFI Available

Operation hours: 5:00pm – 12:00am (Monday – Saturday); 12:00pm – 3:00pm, 5:00pm – 12:00am (Sunday & Public Holiday)

Contact: 04-899 6832

Address:101, Jalan Tanjung Tokong, 10470 Penang

GPS: 5° 45′ 30.48″ N, 100° 30′ 65.49″ E

Penang Food, Penang Travel and Penang Lifestyle » Penang Food

Suffolk House is holding an Anglo-Indian Brunch Tiffin menu at its restaurant located at Jalan Air Itam in Penang. The menu was designed and created by Executive Chef Wan Helmi Zazalee and his team in honour of Suffolk House’s unique Anglo-Indian past. The menu reflects the dining sense and style of the Governors’ who once lived in Penang’s first Great House.

The brunch tiffin is a four course cuisine, with three starters, soup, six main dishes and desserts served in Rijsttafel style. Chef Wan Helmi has scrubbed up these Anglo-Indian specialties fare with locally produced ingredients and various Indian spices to create a distinctive flavor of its own.

Brunch menu is available on every first Sunday of each month at an introduction price of RM50nett for one person (a minimum order of two persons). Lunch hours are from 11am to 2.30pm.

Suffolk House Restaurant
Suffolk House
250 Jalan Air Itam
10460 Penang

Nyonya Breeze

Address – No.50, Abu Siti Lane, 10400 Georgetown, Penang

Tel: 04 -227 9646

Mama's Restaurant

Address – 31d Lorong Abu Siti
Georgetown

Tel : 04-2291318
Address –

Hai Nan Town Restaurant

Address – 8A, Pengkalan Weld,
10300 Penang

Tel: 04 – 263 8633

Sri Ananda Bahwan

Address – No.55 Penang Street,
10200, Georgetown, Penang

Tel : 04-2644204

Karaikudi Restaurant

Address – 20 Market Street,
Georgetown, Pulau Pinang, 10200

Tel : 04-2631345