BY CK Lam

Ho Ping in Penang is arguably a good place to head for hawker food. This double-storey coffee shop located at the junction of Penang Road and Kampung Malabar is popular with the locals and also tourists staying at the nearby hotels.

The coffee shop has rented the space to several hawkers. One popular stall is the bak moi stall serving warming, comforting bak moi (pork porridge). There is no signboard to indicate the stall which is run by Y.C. Lai, owner of this third generation hawker food business.

The owner busy preparing the bak moi

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Tags: 4th April, Bak Moi, Brown Colour, Coffee Shop, Double Storey, Food Business, Glutamate, Hawker Food, Hawkers, Health Reasons, Heart Pig, Ho Ping, Ho Ping Coffeeshop, Hot Soup, Kampung Malabar, Makansutra, Malabar, Natural Pork, Offal, Penang, Penang Road, Pork Porridge, Porky, Porridge, Preserved Tianjin Vegetable, Raw Egg, Signboard, Smooth Texture, Spring Onions, Tang Chai

BY CK Lam

Hawker food features prominently in the culinary culture in the state of Penang. Across the industry there are always places that constantly make headlines while others tend to be excellent but underrated, and the New Cathay Coffee Shop is classified as the latter.

Located along Lorong Kuching right off the ever bustling Burmah Road, this coffee shop is one of the decent places to sample a plethora of Penang’s street hawker fare. A favorite mostly with the locals, it begins to fill up as early as 7.30 in the morning and is absolutely packed during the peak hours of ten in the morning right through two in the afternoon.

For those opting for a lighter snack, the apom manis (Indian style pan cake) stall right beside the shop is an excellent alternative. Interestingly, the owner still maintains the tradition of using charcoal stoves and clay pots.

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Tags: Apom, Apom Manis, Banana Pancake, Bean Curd, Bee Hoon, Black Coffee, Burmah Road, Cake Stall, Charcoal Fire, Chili Paste, Ck Lam, Clay Pots, Coagulated Blood, Coconut Milk, Coffee Shop, Crispy Edges, Culinary Culture, Curry Mee, Decent Places, Duck Meat, Flat Rice Noodles, Flavors, Food Features, Food Stall, Half Boiled Eggs, Hawker Food, Indian Style, Koay Chiap, Leafy Vegetable, Local Delight, Makansutra, New Cathay Coffee Shop, Pan Cake, Penang Curry Mee, Penang Hawker Food, Pulau Tikus, Rice Vermicelli, Rm3, Roadside Stall, Street Hawker, Toast Bread, Toasty Flavor, Wantan Mee

By CK Lam

Located on Jalan Bawasah directly behind the iconic Penang Plaza, diners begin filling One Corner Café as early as eight in the morning to savor the Super Hokkien Mee. The proprietor has been dishing out this noodle for decades, and this place remains a favorite for many.

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Tags: Attractive Variety, Char Koay Teow, Chicken Porridge, Chicken Rice, Chili Paste, Coffee Shop, Consistent Crowd, Fried Noodles, Fried Shrimps, Hokkien Mee, Jalan Bawasah, Lunch Crowd, Mid Afternoon, One Corner Cafe, Penang Hawker Food, Penang Plaza, Prawns, Reading Material, Sambal Sotong, Spring Onions, Super Hokkien Mee, Sweet Sauce, Tea Time, Waiting Time, Western Cuisine, Western Cuisine, Yam Cake

By CK Lam

Ping Hooi coffee shop is the place where visitors get to enjoy a plethora of noodles and snacks for breakfast and lunch. This old-style coffee shop with several food stalls has its frontage facing the bustling Carnarvon Street and its side facing Malay Street.

Hawker stalls lined up the side of this corner coffee shop while the other side of the wall is lined with wooden cubicles. This coffee shop is one of the places to sample duck drumstick noodle, also known as Arp Tui Mee.

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Tags: Aromatic Spices, Arp Tui Mee, Battered Fish, Carnarvon Street, Carnavon Street, Char Koay Teow, Chicken Drumstick, Chili Padi, Chili Sauce, Chinese Herbs, Chinese Sausages, Chopped Chives, Coffee Shop, Corner Coffee Shop, Distinctive Fragrance, Duck Drumstick Noodle Soup, Freshly Cut, Fried Meat, Hawker Food, Juicy Meat, Malay Street, New Straits Times (Life & Times), Noodle Soup, Nutritious Soup, Penang Hawker Food, Pickled Ginger, Ping Hooi Coffee Shop, Pork Ribs, Pork Roll, Prawn Fritters, Red Dates, Street Hawker, Three Generations

BY CK Lam

A friend tipped me off to a coffee shop serving hand-pulled noodles on the busy Macalister Road. This fairly new stall offers freshly hand-pulled noodles (la mian) and koay teow th’ng. Other specialties include homemade prawn wanton and fish balls.

The owner Mr Loh starts his day by making the hand-pulled noodles at the kitchen. The hand-pulled noodles have a certain tenderness and texture, which is greatly distinct from mass made noodles. The noodle is available in two sizes – either thick rounded or string-thin. Mr Loh quoted that the texture and mouth feel of the noodles are as important as flavor!

We had several varieties, starting with the spicy “ma la” noodle, which is the highlight in 173. Mr Loh had the hand-pulled noodles dipped in boiling water. The blanched fine noodle is served with black sauce with a dollop of chili-red paste (also handmade), a Sichuan specialty with heat of chilies and numbing Sichuan peppercorns.

Priced at RM3.50, the dish comes with pieces of BBQ pork (char siew), chicken, fish balls, vegetables and aromatic chili paste. With the right thickness and nice chewy bite, the noodles absorbed every drop of robust flavor from the spicy and tingly chili paste. For those who prefer less spicy, be sure to inform Mr Loh.

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Tags: 173 Macalister Road, 173 Ramen Restaurant, Barbecue, Bbq Pork, Boiling Water, Char Siew, Chewy Texture, Chicken Balls, Chili Paste, Chilies, Chinese Barbecue Meats, Ck Lam, Coffee Shop, Dollop, Fish Balls, Fishballs, Hand-pulled Noodles, Koay Teow Th'ng, La Mian, Lam Heng Cafe, Light Broth, Loh, Loh Guan Lye Specialist Centre, Ma la Noodle, Macalister, Macalister Road, New Straits Times (Life & Times), Noodles, Penang Food, Prawn Wanton, Ramen, Ramen Restaurant, Rm2, Rm3, Robust Flavor, Sichuan, Sister’s Char Koay Teow, Wantons

* This article was published in the New Straits Times (Northern Streets) on 23rd August 2011

Beach Street remains as one of the longest, busiest streets in Penang. Many heritage buildings along the road have been restored and converted into upmarket eateries and franchise restaurants that offer a wide variety of multicultural cuisine.

Located at the intersection of Beach and Chulia Street is Lam Ah, a small coffee shop with a zinc roof that sells the popular local delicacy – fish head curry. The Liberty Claypot Fish Head Curry is an excellent place to visit, especially for the adventurous gourmand.

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Tags: Chulia Street, Claypot Fish Head, Coffee Shop, Deep Fried Chicken, Fish Bones, Fish Curry, Fish Dishes, Fish Head Curry, Franchise Restaurants, Fried Vegetables, Heritage Buildings, Inchi, Kabin, Liberty Claypot Fish Head Curry, Local Delicacy, Marinate, Muk, New Straits Times (Life & Times), New Straits Times (Life & Times), Pak Choy, Poultry Dishes, Size Fish, Sizzles, Tasty Dish, Yau

* This article was published in the New Straits Times (Northern Streets) on 3rd October 2011.

Penang is left with a handful of places serving simple breakfast of local coffee, toasts as well as hearty nasi kandar. One such place is Kedai Kopi Toon Leong, an old-style kopitiam located in a heritage shop house at the corner of Transfer Road and Argyll Road.

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Tags: Argyll, Argyll Road, Boiled Egg, Bread And Coffee, Catfish Fish Head Curry, Coffee Powder, Coffee Shop, Deen Nasi Kandar, Delicious Fish, Egg Yolk, Enang, Fish Curry, Fish Head Curry, Flavors, Half Boiled Egg, Hawker Food, Heritage Shop, Ikan Keli, Kand, Kedai Kopi, Kedai Kopi Toon Leong, Kopitiam, Lightings, Magarine, Mid Morning, Nasi Kandar, New Straits Times (Life & Times), New Straits Times (Life & Times), Penang, Quality Coffee, Rm5, Spicy Dishes, Tiled Flooring, Toast Bread, Transfer Road, Wooden Chairs

* This article was published in the New Straits Times (Northern Streets) on 14th April 2011.

Nasi Campur Melayu is a relatively new addition to the nasi Melayu stalls in George Town. This stall was set up a few months ago in Pinang Delicious Food Court on Macalister Road by siblings Roslina and Rosniza binti Mansor.

Originally from a coffee shop in Island Glades, the sisters have since moved their business down town. The dishes taste different from those around Georgetown as the dishes have a greater Perlis influence, said the owners.

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Tags: Anchovies, Bean Sprouts, Botol, Chicken Curry, Coconut Milk, Coffee Shop, Cucumber Slices, Daging, Delicious Food, Dipping Sauce, Food Court, Lembu, Mid Morning, Mouth Watering, Nasi Campur Melayu, New Addition, New Straits Times (Life & Times), Perlis, Pinang Delicious Food Court, Spicy Dishes, Ulam, White Rice, Wholesome Meal

* This article was published in the New Straits Times (Northern Streets) on 1st February 2011.

Bukit Mertajam houses plenty of eateries, and Ah Meng Coffee Shop is one ideal eatery where one can find cheap and good teatime snacks. Located along Jalan Pasar, this coffee shop is famous for its Rojak Orang Hitam Putih and the Li Guang Popiah.

The ingredients of the popiah include fried bean curd, fried egg, prawn, bean sprout, crunchy lettuce and turnip. The popiah is dressed with chili and hoisin sweet sauce and topped with fried garlic oil, chili sauce and turnip-based gravy.

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Tags: 1st February, Afternoon Snack, Ah Meng, Assam Laksa, Bukit Mertajam, Bunga Raya, Chili Paste, Chili Sauce, Chilli Paste, Coffee Shop, Coffeeshop, Eateries, Fried Bean Curd, Fried Egg, Fruit Juices, Garlic Oil, Jalan Bunga Raya, Jalan Pasar, Kedai Kopi, Kedai Kopi Ah Meng, Kopi, Li Guang, Li Guang Popiah, Mouthful, New Straits Times (Life & Times), New Straits Times (Life & Times), Penang, Penang Hawker Food, Prawn, Rm3, Rojak, Rojak Orang Hitam Putih, Sour Plum, Sweet Sauce, Tea Time, Teatime Treats, Upmost