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

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

* 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 (Life & Times) on 15th June 2011.

Chulia Street in Penang is not only known for its many budget hotels but also for inexpensive meals. It’s a popular dining destination with locals and tourists alike. At night, a section of the road is lined with stalls selling a good mix of street food. Do not make your choice immediately. Take your time and have a closer look at what’s on offer.

Worthy of mention are curry mee and wantan noodles. Springy wantan noodles are served with slices of char xiu (barbecued pork) and wantan (dumplings). For the curry mee, medium-sized fish ball is added to the standard ingredients of coconut milk, cockles, blood jelly, cuttlefish and tau pok (fried tofu). The slightly sweet coconut milk is flavoured with a blend of aromatic spices. Expect a queue as the curry mee is popular.

Chulia Street curry mee

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Tags: Aromatic Spices, Barbecue Pork, Barbecued Pork, Charcoal Fire, Chulia Street, Chulia Street Curry Mee, Chulia Street Hawker Food, Chulia Street Penang, Coconut Milk, Creamy Sauce, Curry Mee, Deep-Fried Snacks, Fish Ball, Fish Balls, Fried Noodles, Fried Snacks, Fried Tofu, Generous Portion, Hainanese Satay, Hawker Food, Inexpensive Meals, Meat Rolls, New Straits Times (Life & Times), New Straits Times (Life & Times), Red Bean Paste, Sized Fish, Sour Plum, Street Hawker, Sweet Coconut, Wantan Mee

* This article was published in the New Straits Times (Life & Times) on 24th May 2011.

If you’re at Chowrasta Market in George Town, Penang, stop by Tamil Street, located on one side of the market building. This street is worth exploring for its variety of street food. Look out for a stall selling Ais Tingkap (translated as window sherbet). This classic chilled drink is named such because it used to be sold through an open window.

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Tags: Ais Tingkap, Anggur, Bakso, Bakso Nasi, Basil Seed, Charcoal Fire, Chopped Peanuts, Chowrasta Market, Coconut Flesh, Cucur Udang, Curry Itik, Fragrant Herbs, Fried Tofu, Ground Peanut, Gum Resin, Hand Held Fan, Hawker Food, Itik, Lime Juice, Lontong, Mutton Satay, Nasi Pandang, New Straits Times (Life & Times), New Straits Times (Life & Times), Olibanum Gum Resin, Palm Sugar, Pecel, Penang Hawker Food, Pesto Bandeng, Rawon, Samosa, Satay, Selasih, Spicy Sauce, Street Food, Tamil Street, Tingkap, Tiny Shrimp, Vadai, Window Sherbet, Wooden Mortar

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

One will find numerous hawker stalls serving a wide array of local delights at Gurney Drive Hawker Center in Penang. Nasi lemak lovers should try the all-time favourite at Nasi Lemak Cili Bilis. The stall specialises in nasi lemak kukus (steamed rice in coconut milk). (The owner, Hashim Haji Ismail who is the champion in the Battle of Penang Hawker Masters 2012’s nasi lemak category has switched to using palm milk  instead of coconut milk).

The rice, cooked with ginger, coconut milk and pandan leaves that give it an amazing aroma, is steamed on the spot on large metal trays in a giant steamer.

Rice and egg steamed in the premises itself

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Tags: Anchovies, Anjung Gurney, Ayam Goreng, Battle of Penang Hawker Masters 2012 Nasi Lemak Champion, Coconut Milk, Coconut Rice, Crunchy Peanuts, Cucumber Slices, Deep Fried Chicken, Fragrant Coconut Rice, Fried Egg, Glutinous Rice, Gurney Drive Hawker Center, Haji Ismail, Hard Boiled Egg, Hashim Haji Ismail, Hawker Center, Hawker Centre, Hawker Fare, Hawker Food, Hawker Stalls, Idyllic Place, Ikan Bilis, Local Delights, Metal Trays, Nasi Lemak Cili Bilis, Nasi Lemak Cilibilis, Nasi Lemak Kukus, New Straits Times (Life & Times), New Straits Times (Life & Times), New Straits Times (Northern Streets), Pandan Leaves, Pulut Durian, Rm2, Santan Pulut, Sticky Rice, Sunrise Mc Donald, Tasty Meal

* This article was published in the New Straits Times (Northern Streets) on 19th May 2011.

The Tropical Spice Garden Cooking School was officially launched in May 2011. The event took place in the pavilion of the beautifully landscaped Tropical Spice Garden in Teluk Bahang, Penang. Named after the four and a half acre garden itself, the cooking school began operation in late April.

The official launching of the Tropical Spice Garden Cooking School was graced by the presence of Food Ambassador of Malaysia, Chef Wan and YB Danny Law Heng Kiang, Penang state exco for tourist development and culture.

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Tags: Acre Garden, Azizah, Azizah Othman, Black Pepper, Chef Wan, Choc Artisan, Cooking Classes, Cooking School, Culture Malaysia, Danny Law, Ecco Cafe, Exco, Food Ambassador, Guest Chefs, Hawker Food, Heng Kiang, Herbs And Spices, Jala, Lighthouse Coffee, Lily Tan, Malay Cuisine, Medicinal Values, New Straits Times (Life & Times), New Straits Times (Life & Times), Nyonya Food, Pearly Kee, Penang, Penang State, Permai Village Cafe, Serene Garden, SiTigun, Soul Kitchen, Soul Kitchen Trattoria, Spice Garden, Teluk Bahang, Tiffins, Tree Monkey, Tropical Spice Garden, Tropical Spice Garden Cooking School, YB Danny Law Heng Kiang

Batu Lanchang Food Court is a great local favorite for lunch and teatime. There is a wide variety of hawker food available from the 50 stalls in this food court. We sampled a colorful bowl of Ice Kacang (Ais Batu Campur) with fine shaved ice, syrups, ice cream, red beans, sweet corn, cincau (grass jelly) served topped drizzled with milk. Another good choice is a glass of cooling sugar cane juice.

Refreshing Ice Kacang from stall no. 39

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Tags: Batu Lanchang, Batu Lanchang Market Food Court, Bean Curd, Beef Rendang, Best of Penang Hawker Food, Bilis, Char Koay Kak, Chinese Style, Fish Ball, Food Court, Fried Egg, Fried Vegetables, Fritters, Grass Jelly, Hawker Food, Hot Wok, Ice Kacang, Kak, Kuih Dadar, Kuih Lapis, Market, Market Food Court, Mee Goreng, Nasi Tomato, Pasembur, Penang, Penang Food Court, Penang Hawker Food, Red Beans, Sambal, Shredded Cucumber, Spicy Potato, Sugar Cane Juice, Sweet Corn, Sweet Flavor, Talam, Wholesome Meal