BY CK Lam

Just a very mention of Curry Mee and most Malaysians will be gleefully thinking about the delicious hawker food staple that has satisfied the nation for years. The dish itself is unique to Malaysia, with its combination of yellow noodles and vermicelli with the spicy coconut milk laden soup. Commonly, the soup would be spiced up with additional chilli paste, and topped with dried tofu pok (tau pok), prawns and cuttlefish.

There are several variations of curry mee in Malaysia; however this is the most telling Penang version. What differentiate Penang Curry Mee from the others are the ingredients used; besides the aforementioned there is also additional pig’s coagulated blood cubes and bloody cockles. Even though society in general is moving towards a healthier palate, most believe that Penang’s Curry Mee will not taste as good without them.

Throughout the island there are numerous stalls offering this mouth-watering curry mee, with each of them offering its own version of soup and ingredients. The soup varies from a reddish coconut based broth to a lighter pale color, affectionately known to locals as White Curry Mee.

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Tags: Assorted Dishes, Chicken Rice, Chilli Paste, Ck Lam, Coagulated Blood, Cockles, Coconut Milk, Curry Chicken, Cuttlefish, Flavour, Food Staple, Hainanese Chicken, Hainanese Chicken Rice, Hawker Food, Hot Bowl White Curry Mee, Lorong, Makansutra, Malaysians, Mouth Watering, Noodles, Palate, Pale Color, Pek Cham Kei, Penang, Penang Curry Mee, Prawns, Secret Ingredients, Signature Dish, Slow Fire, Vermicelli, What2seeonline.Com, White Curry Mee

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

With its multiracial culture, Penang is a melting pot for lip-smacking cuisine. One great example would be the Mamak Mee Goreng, which some label as a “to-die-for” meal of its own. Mee Goreng served in Penang is slightly different from the rest of the nation. Apart from the usual ingredients such as bean sprouts, boiled potatoes, shrimp cake, egg and tofu, dried cuttlefish is also used, which makes Penang Mee Goreng stands out from the rest.

Just the mention of Mee Goreng and most locals will point you to the heart of Pulau Tikus, Penang. The Bangkok Lane Mee Goreng is legendary and people from all walks of life have been patronising this place for decades.

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Tags: Bangkok Lane Mee Goreng, Bean Sprouts, Boiled Potatoes, Business Acumen, Circular Manner, Ck Lam, Dialect, Dried Cuttlefish, Flavors, Lime Juice, Mahboob Zakaria, Makansutra, Mamak Mee Goreng, Mee Rebus, Melting Pot, Noo, Noodles, Penang, Penang Mee Goreng, Penang Mee Rebus, Puffing Billy, Pulau Tikus, Seng Lee, Seng Lee Café, Sweet Potatoes, Taste Buds, Tinge, Tofu, Tomato Paste, Walks Of Life, Wok, Zakaria

BY CK Lam

Penang’s latest eatery serving giant river prawn is House of Udang Galah (HUG). Located on Hutton Lane, the restaurant housed in two renovated heritage shop houses offers fresh udang galah (giant river prawn) cooked in many different ways. Italian, Western, Malay, Indian and Chinese method of cooking is offered. The prawns are cut into halves and cooked with the head and shell intact.

One of HUG specialties is the Udang Galah in Chef Specialty Lime Sauce. The prawns steamed with garlic, chilli and ginger, made up a perky and appetising dish. Garnished with Chinese parsley, the dish costs a little fortune at RM109 (730g at RM15/100g).

Udang Galah in Chef Specialty Lime Sauce

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Tags: Bean Curd, Black Fungus, Chilli Powder, Chinese Parsley, Ck Lam, Drunken Style, Drunken Style Udang Galah, Giant River, Green Vegetables, Heritage Shop, House of Udang Galah, HUG, Hutton Lane, Lime Sauce, Little Fortune, Makansutra, Many Different Ways, Oyster Sauce, Peking Duck, Powder Mixture, River Prawn, Shop Houses, Soft Shell Crabs, Spring Onions, Udang Galah, Udang Galah in Chef Specialty Lime Sauce, Udang Galah Rice Soup in Casserole

BY CK Lam

Mimi Nyonya Laksa is a popular little eatery in Penang for many office workers lunching around the area. The eatery, located on the ground floor of Wisma Central, was named after the owner.

Many are obviously drawn to their Nyonya delights. The daily specials are available on a rotating basis. The nasi ulam cooked with generous sprinkling of fresh herbs, garnished with daun pudina (mint leaves) and red chillies, is a firm favourite among the customers. The combination of carrots, onions, daun limau purut (chopped lime leaves), serai (lemon grass), daun kaduk (wild pepper leaves), daun kesum (laksa leaves), daun cekur (sand ginger leaves) and grated coconut layers the complex flavours of this rice dish.

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Tags: 10400 Penang, Asam Pedas, Asam Pedas Fish, Assam Laksa, Bean Sprouts, Chinese Black Mushroom, Ck Lam, Coffee House, Crunchy Texture, Daun Kesum, Fish Dish, Fish Flakes, Fresh Herbs, Generous Sprinkling, Grated Coconut, Jalan Macalister, Lemon Grass, Limau, Makansutra, Mimi Nyonya Laksa, Nasi Ulam, Nyonya Delights, Nyonya Food, Oyster Mushroom, Oyster Porridge, Plenty Of Fish, Raw Ingredients, Rice Dish, SL Coffee House, Spicy Taste, Torch Ginger, Wisma Central

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

Tucked away in Precinct 10, Sushi Zento has been serving up Japanese meal with pork besides other meats. The restaurant has two seating area, with an outdoor air-conditioned area with cosy setting. The other area has a Kaiten belt which services a number of tables and a teppanyaki section with an open kitchen concept.

Shake Toro Sashimi RM38

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Tags: Amiyaki Sauce, Assorted Dishes, Authentic Japanese Cuisine, Black Fungus, Buta, Buta Amiyaki, Butabara, Charshu Chahan, Chicken Skin, Chives, Ck Lam, Cold Sake, Combination Plates, Delicious Mix, Ebi Gyoza, Flavors, Fried Rice, Hot Plates, Jalan Tanjung Tokong, Japanese Meal, Japanese Pork Meal, Japanese Restaurant, Kaiten Belt, Koshi, Kyu, Kyu N Kim Ramen, Kyushu, Kyushu Ramen, Makansutra, Nigiri, Open Kitchen, Pan Fried, Penang, Precinct 10, Private Functions, Rice Dish, Rice Salad, Roast Pork Belly, Roasted Pork, Rolls Royce Roll, Sesame Seeds, Shake Toro Sashimi, Side Dishes, Soft Lighting, Sushi Dishes, Sushi Zento, Two Choices, Wagyu Beef, Wagyu Beef Teppanyaki, White Rice, Yakitori, Zento

BY CK Lam

There is a rare place serving piping hot bowls of Cantonese style dessert or tong-sui in Penang. The desserts not only satisfy your sweet cravings, its charming surroundings will also amaze you.

This nameless stall is located right in the heart of George Town. The business which started many years ago is now run by the second generation owner from the yard of his house on Victoria Street.

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Tags: Cantonese Style, Cantonese Style Dessert, Cantonese style tong-sui, Charcoal Fire, Charming Surroundings, Chicken Porridge, Coconut Milk, Cooking Stoves, Creamy Texture, Entrance C, Front Yard, Generation Owner, George Town, Google, Google Map, Green Mung Bean, Makansutra, Monda, Mung Beans, Old Ginger, Orange Peel, Palm Sugar, Pandan, Pandan Leaves, Penang, Penang Dessert, Plastic Chairs, Rare Place, Red Bean Soup, Right In The Heart, Sago, Savory Dish, Savory Dishes, Slow Fire, Street Entrance, Sweet Cravings, Sweet Potato, Sweet Potato with Ginger, Sweet Tooth, Tong-sui, Victoria Street, Wood Fire, Wooden Chairs, Wooden Tables

BY CK Lam

A food trip over to Ipoh, Perak had us visiting Mun Choong Restaurant. This restaurant commonly known as Pusing Public Restaurant is a favorite of both tourists and locals.

This restaurant situated in Pasir Puteh offers variety of delicacies and one personal favorite is the udang galah (Har Lok in Cantonese). These freshwater prawns are cooked in many forms.

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Tags: 8th January, Cantonese Style, Chicken Pieces, Chinese Wine, Chives, Ck Lam, Delightful Flavors, Dragonfruit, Egg White, Freshwater Prawns, Fried Prawns, Har, Ipoh, Ipoh Perak, Ipoh Restaurant, Jackfruit, Kon Jin Har Lok, Light Soy Sauce, Makansutra, Mun Choong, Pan Fried, Pasir Puteh, Prawn, Pusing Public Restaurant, Puteh, River Prawn, Roes, Sweet Flesh, Sweet Note, Udang Galah, Vegetable Dish, White Rice