penang

THE smell of kway teow (flat rice noodles) fried with eggs, cockles, bean sprouts and chives swirling in the deep Chinese wok is so intoxicating that we almost (really, really almost) sit in the kopitiam and order a plate of the tantalising dish.

But we think of judgment day, so as Muslims, we give it a miss. How we wish we could have a bite of that tasty-looking char kway teow minus the lard!

It is painful and unbearable though, to just walk away. So we stand rooted in the narrow alley of Lebuh Keng Kwee, off busy Penang Road and watch the stall owner at work for a good 10 minutes, scrutinising his every movement and committing to memory every detail of what goes into the wok. This way, we hope to replicate his method and make Penang fried kway teow later at home.

But it isn’t that easy. Soon, I feel my head starting to spin as my stomach uncontrollably “leaks” acid and I salivate like a hungry puppy.

Before anything unseemly happens, we decide to leave and go where we had originally intended to go – the stall at the junction of the next road for the world-famous Penang Road cendol. Oh yes, that refreshing ice-shaved drink of palm sugar-sweetened coconut milk with pandan-flavoured green glutinous flour strips and red kidney beans.

Though there are two stalls selling this mouth-watering dessert, only one makes this claim: “As advertised on the Internet”. And its staff members wear a specially designed uniform bearing the words Teochew Cendol. The stall outshines its neighbour which probably serves cendol just as sweet and rich.

What drew us to this part of Penang island was the cendol and what inspired us to drive for over four hours from Kuala Lumpur was the food, especially char kway teow. In fact, the word char kway teow is synonymous with the word Penang.

A member of Friends Of Travel Times, a Facebook group formed by this publication, suggested visiting a stall at Sunway Prai that serves its char kway teow with satay sauce, while a friend said any stall in Gurney Drive is good enough. We try neither. Instead we indulge in Penang char kway teow at Hotel Royal Penang which claims that it has the best “hotel-served” char kway teow. Our squeaky clean plates can attest to that.

Oodles Of Noodles

Flat rice noodle aside, Penang is also known for other noodle dishes like laksa and prawn mee. But it’s not just any laksa or prawn mee.

More like well-marketed brands are Laksa Air Itam and Mee Udang Sungai Dua. Just a mention of these names is enough to bring to mind the colours, smells and flavours of these noodle dishes.

Tourists head for Air Itam to visit the famous Kek Lok Si Temple or take a ride up to scenic Penang Hill (Bukit Bendera) on the funicular railway. But locals and those who have tried Laksa Air Hitam, will make a dash to the small town of for an asam laksa feast. In fact, the stall right outside the wet market has been serving loyal fans from Perlis to as far south as Singapore.

At RM2.70 a bowl, Laksa Air Itam is heaped with thick rice noodles garnished with mint, chopped torch ginger, cut chilli, onion, pineapple, cucumber, prawn paste and drowned in deliciously sour fish gravy.

What we like most is that it’s not too heavy and rich. We spoon the gravy to the last drop. And still, we have room for a glass of cold sugar-cane drink that tastes so soothing after the hot, tangy laksa.

Noodles In The Kampung

Later, we make our way to Kampung Sungai Dua in Seberang Perai to check out the famous prawn mee. Though it’s quite a drive from Air Itam and across the Penang bridge to the mainland, it is rather a straight forward drive to the famous Restoran Selera Sri Tambang, situated on the banks of Sungai Dua. Though there are many prawn mee restaurants along the way, locals say Selera Sri Tambang is the best.

The ambience is nothing to shout about, with basic dining tables and chairs, a cashier’s counter and a display of fresh seafood where patrons can pick their choice of seafood to go with the noodles.

Our choices are udang kertas and udang galah. We find the noodle cooked with udang galah sweeter though the flesh is not as sweet and soft as udang kertas. And the gravy’s not chilli-sauce thick nor sweet. It’s just right – not too starchy and rich but full of flavour.

A bowl of plain noodles costs RM3 while additional prawns are charged according to current market price. Our bill comes to RM17 for the noodle with udang galah and RM18 with udang kertas. But do we regret paying for them? Not at all!

Homeland Of Nasi Kandar

What’s a visit to Penang without a taste of its home-grown rice dish – nasi kandar? It’s an Indian Muslim (mamak) specialty.

While the choice of nasi kandar restaurants is aplenty both on the island and in Seberang Perai, only a handful enjoys a strong word-of-mouth reputation.

Names like Hameediya, Liyaqat Ali a.k.a Nasi Kandar Beratur and Sup Hameed have the power to make nasi kandar lovers grab their car keys and drive all the way to Penang.

Hameediya in Lebuh Campbell has a steady stream of regular customers who not only come for its nasi kandar but also for its nasi biryani – chicken or mutton.

Another “Hameed”, Sup Hameed in upper Penang Road, is famous for its thick mutton, beef, chicken or mixed soup served with roti benggali.

Those who don’t mind taking their carbo late at night, make a beeline for Nasi Kandar Beratur which serves piping hot rice and dishes only from 10pm.

When the time comes, we do what Penangites do — march to Nasi Kandar Beratur in Lebuh Buckingham and join the queue.

More Food To Go

Try the roti canai in Transfer Road, a friend recommends. “Both the roti canai and accompanying gravy are something that you have never tasted before,” she stresses.

So we check it out. It’s not difficult to find Transfer Road but we make the mistake of thinking the roti canai will be sold in a proper restaurant setting. Despite making a few trips along the road, we fail to find such a set up. Finally, we realise that the roti canai stall we’re looking for is a humble-looking stall at the side of a high brick wall of a building.

The stall, which is said to have been in business for 40 years, only has two rows of long tables arranged classroom-style facing the road. At one end of the tables, roti canai is being prepared and at the other end, a different seller offers drinks.

And yes, both the roti canai and the curry gravy are out of this world. Never before have I downed two pieces of roti canai in one sitting!

The roti is crisp, yet fleshy and filling and is served “banjir” (flooded) in gravy with a choice of chicken, mutton or beef. The gravy is thick and spicy and word has it that the beef curry is always the first to finish. After trying all three, we agree that the beef curry is definitely a must-have.

Fruity Delight

Another recommendation takes us to The Esplanade for a plate of rojak buah. Like the roti canai in Transfer Road, Rojak 101 takes us by surprise.

There’s nothing extraordinary looking about the Rojak 101 kiosk or the look of the rojak. However, one taste of the sauce-coated fruits has us smacking our lips. The sauce is thick and flavoursome – hot, sweet and sour while the generous sprinkle of ground peanuts gives an extra kick to the fresh, crunchy fruits.

You can order fruit rojak or pizza/kebab-style rojak with the sauce richly slapped on top.

We wash down our rojak with a cup of thick kopi-O. Heavenly!