May

Penang Indian Spring Roll and Popiah

Posted by: CK Lam in Assam Laksa, Georgetown, Halal, Hawker, Mamak/Indian, Media Preview, New Straits Times (Life & Times), Penang, Popiah, Tidbits and Snacks

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BY CK Lam

Popiah are relatively popular in Penang with each hawker using their own distinctive choices of ingredients. The popiah sold by the Chinese comes laid with the basic sweet and chili sauce, fresh lettuce, stewed yambean, blanched bean sprouts and minced tofu (bean curd). Most of the fresh popiah are served with steaming gravy.

The popiah sold by Indians are also relatively different. Just like those prepared by the Chinese, they have the fresh popiah and those deep-fried spring roll. My personal favorite is from an Indian hawker whose motorcycle is his makeshift ‘stall’ parked inside One Corner Cafe and the mamak popiah seller beside the Penang General Hospital. Both stalls have its own distinctive taste.

The Indian hawker based in One Corner Cafe in Jalan Bawasah (behind Penang Plaza) is selling the deep fried spring rolls in the afternoon. Fried till golden brown, the crispy rolls are eaten dipped in a light sourish laksa soup! I personally liked to have them with some fresh onions and mint leaves.

A very satisfying appetizer!

Slightly moist, the spring roll tastes great bursting with the sweet and crunchy yambean. Three rolls with a dipping bowl of laksa soup cost RM3.

The popular Mamak popiah seller with his stall stationed beside the Penang General Hospital offers his popiah made with only basic yambean and tofu. The yambean is cooked with turmeric, hence its yellowish color.

It is simply tasty with just the yambean and the sweet sauce. Each roll cost RM0.60 and they are only available in the afternoon.

This popular mamak seller was previously selling in Swatow Lane, having then relocate inside New World Park and is now stationed beside the Penang General Hospital.

For the above snack, check out both the stalls that operate in the afternoon from 2pm onwards till around five in the evening.

* This is a reproduction of my article published in New Straits Times

Tags: 2pm, Appetizer, Bean Curd, Bean Sprouts, Chili Sauce, Distinctive Choices, Distinctive Taste, General Hospital, Gravy, Hawker, Indian Popiah, Indian Spring, Indian Spring Roll, Jalan Bawasah, Laksa Soup, Lettuce, New Straits Times (Life & Times), New Straits Times (Life & Times), Onions, Penang, Penang General Hospital, Penang Hawker Food, Penang Plaza, Popiah, Snack Check, Spring Roll, Spring Rolls, Sweet Sauce, Tofu, Turmeric, Yellowish Color

This entry was posted on Monday, May 31st, 2010 at 12:45 am and is filed under Assam Laksa, Georgetown, Halal, Hawker, Mamak/Indian, Media Preview, New Straits Times (Life & Times), Penang, Popiah, Tidbits and Snacks. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

19 comments so far

Big Boys Oven

this is something very authenic, a total blend of culture! love this one, will defitely try and so affordable!

great sharing!

CK Lam Reply:
June 1st, 2010 at 11:49 am

Will share the place with you on yr next visit.

May 31st, 2010 at 8:16 am

Life for Beginners

How unusual… I like the fact it comes with a bowl of laksa soup for dipping… not something common, at least not in KL.

CK Lam Reply:
June 1st, 2010 at 11:54 am

It is not very common in Penang too…only a few places have it with the soup. Make yourself free in the afternoon on yr next trip to try out the rolls.

May 31st, 2010 at 9:05 am

SimpleGirl

haven’t tried Indian spring rolls before….i think i prefer the fried version

CK Lam Reply:
June 1st, 2010 at 11:55 am

Deep-fried rolls are always in demand

May 31st, 2010 at 9:56 am

NKOTB

Ah Neh’s motorbike stall used to locate behind FIMA Supermarket, now had moved into the coffee shop. His biz in fact had badly affected ever since he moved out from there.

CK Lam Reply:
June 1st, 2010 at 11:58 am

I heard about that too. Let’s hope he will continue selling and we get to enjoy eating it.

May 31st, 2010 at 12:16 pm

uLi

Yummy! Long time didn’t have popiah….My mum love it so much

May 31st, 2010 at 1:48 pm

taufulou

uh uh….

seriously miss this popiah to dip with laksa soup..been very long did not have this already`

May 31st, 2010 at 2:33 pm

via

wow…indian popiah…i din know they do popiah….next time when u come to KL…remember to tao pao some for me…else i dunno when i hv the chance to visit penang….

May 31st, 2010 at 3:16 pm

ahMiaow

I remember three rolls cost RM2, one roll cost RM0.70.
Price increased?

June 1st, 2010 at 11:56 am

xin

my mom used to fry popiah for us too! now..she got lazy and we just buy it. :S

June 1st, 2010 at 4:30 pm

kenC

i love it so much… it was a flash back memory after reading… gosh i must go and eat it!

June 2nd, 2010 at 10:43 am

Karen

Please improve your grammar!
Your first sentence refers to popiah as a PLURAL subject and then you referred to it as a SINGULAR subject. In the third sentence, you decided to make popiah plural again.
You are one confused lady. Perchance you are eating too much.
My advice to you – please spell check and get extra coaching in writing. Do read a lot!

CK Lam Reply:
June 2nd, 2010 at 6:52 pm

Please think before you drop in the sarcastic comment. If you want to point out my mistake, I do welcome it but you don’t have to do it with bad intention.

Whether I eat too much or little is irrelevant to the subject.

If you think you can do a better blog, by all means start your own or are you just those who only know how to go around barking and criticizing others???

June 2nd, 2010 at 3:41 pm

email2me

I miss the one at Padang one where the indian guy made the sauce so good! Only available in the evening during high tea time.

June 2nd, 2010 at 5:32 pm

stephen

thanks for the memories! I remember the lazy afternoons when the indian itinerant hawker on his bicycle loaded with nonya food would stop and present to us a cornucopia of lip smacking food! Included in the menu was this version of popiah. It had its own special flavour and taste just like the laksa he had.

Karen: Get a life. you don’t have to pretend to be good in english here. CK is doing an excellent job of presenting whats good for foodies and penangphiles as it is. So who cares if theres a word out of place here and there.There is no need to be sarcastic.

June 2nd, 2010 at 6:26 pm

Karen

I do have good intentions which is why it is so saddening that this first visit to your blog was a shock to me. Lovely photos marred by such glaring errors.

I did give good advice – that you should spell check and read a lot.

On a brighter note, your latest post is good so keep it up.

One more point – have the grace to accept it when someone points out an error. Humility is a virtue.

As for Stephen, I have no business discussing with you and know not who are you or your intention. Period.

CK Lam Reply:
June 3rd, 2010 at 10:11 am

As mentioned, I have never decline accepting constructive advice from my readers. In fact, it is all their advice and recommendation that keep me improving. Just like your comment, I left it as it is without even deleting it.

I gracefully accept advice but I don’t see why you need to write in a comment in such a harsh and sarcastic way, saying that I am confused and eating too much.

As for my reader Stephen, he is merely voicing his opinion, just like what you did. Looks like you are the one who cannot accept criticism from others from the way you replied to Stephen.

June 3rd, 2010 at 9:03 am

Jason Wong

The One Cornet Cafe Indian hawker’s popiah and laksa are not as what they were from previous times. Even his ‘kuih talam’ has taken a dip.

This Indian uncle has been in business, I guess, for about thirty years. I know him when he was moving around in Jalan Padang Tembak hawking his trade until he fixed his business point behind Penang Plaza. His attitude at times are also a bit wanting, but it doesn’t bother me because I am used to it and I just want to ‘feel’ my childhood favourites.

June 3rd, 2010 at 10:42 am

Pam

CK
Please continue with your informative food blog. When I’m back in Pg I will know where to look for the recommended food. Keep up your good effort. I know it’s a thankless job. Take care.

June 4th, 2010 at 11:11 am

Hans

The one opposite Jamal Tariq Nasi Kandar at Tanjung Tokong/Prima Tanjung as also fantastic!

CK Lam Reply:
July 13th, 2010 at 10:07 am

Thanks for sharing this new place…will sure to try out the food

July 5th, 2010 at 3:49 pm

kiru

Hai Lam,

Good job..

July 12th, 2010 at 6:23 pm

Ice

Hi Karen, im wondering how old are you and from where you receive education Have you ever learn Pendidikan Moral? Sounds like NO.
You’d being so rude at the first place.
My advice to you- stop your superd childish attitude and be like a adult! If you are ) God bless you.

March 6th, 2011 at 3:00 am

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Armed with a camera and a huge appetite, this food writer & her family travel around looking for the best food and events & happily sharing all the good eats with you in this Penang Food Blog