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

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 8th July 2011.

I had the pleasure of being introduced to a wonderful place for mee udang. The makan outing had brought us to the mainland. Located in Bukit Mertajam at Seberang Perai, this place is known as Selera Sri Tambang.

The scrumptious Mee Udang from Selera Sri Tambang!

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Tags: 100g, Basic Ingredients, Bean Sprouts, Bukit Mertajam, Coconut Juice, Delicious Taste, Dua, Flower Crabs, Fresh Seafood, Freshwater Prawns, Hard Boiled Egg, Mee Goreng, Mee Kuah, Mee Udang, Mid 1980s, New Straits Times (Life & Times), New Straits Times (Life & Times), Noodles, Nutmeg, Penang, Prawns, Rich Broth, Selera Sri Tambang, Shallots, Spicy Flavors, Tambang, Taste Buds, Udang Galah, Wonderful Place

There are only a couple of places in Penang where you can find tasty handmade Pan Mee (mee hoon kuih). I managed to scour affordable and tasty pan mee at I Mum Mum Restaurant which is located in the midst of the PDC flats in Pengkalan Weld, near the starting point of the Jelutong Expressway.

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Tags: Anchovy, Bean Paste, Boiling Water, Chili Flakes, Chili Padi, Chili Paste, Ear Fungus, Fried Shallots, Garlic, Gat Lebuh Cecil, Gat Lebuh Macallum, Jelutong Expressway, Lunchtime, Meat Balls, Noodles, Omelet, Pan Mee, Penang Food, Pengkalan Weld, Pork Chop, Serving Size, Sesame Seeds, Soy Sauce, Spaghetti, Sweet And Sour Sauce, Tasty Pan, Wood Ear

Dining with a twist would be more appropriate! Imagine holding a piping hot bowl of Hokkien Mee with your bare hands, while eating the steaming hot noodles! It is indeed an interesting experience, all taking place with the bustling traffic of the busy intersection of Jalan Air Itam and Jalan Kampung Melayu just mere steps away!

Air Itam’s famous Hokkien Mee

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Tags: Air Itam, Basic Ingredients, Business Hour, Charcoal, Charcoal Fire, Chili Paste, Flavorful Soup, Hand Towel, Hawker, Hawker Stall, Heat Proof, Hokkien, Hokkien Mee, Hot Chili, Hot Pot, Hot Soup, Kampung, Lean Meat, Mee, Neoh, Noodles, Penang, Penang Food, Penang Hawker Food, Piping, Shallots, Thirty Years

Breakfast on a Sunday morning was Wantan Mee at Chee Meng Cafe located in Jalan Dato Koyah. This stall, which was previously located in Tai Wah Cafe in Jalan Argyll, has it’s regular customers coming back for more of  the noodles in this new location.

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Tags: Anchovy, Argyll, Busine, Business Hour, Chee Meng Cafe, Chicken Pieces, Chor, Clarke Street, Condiment, Dark Soy Sauce, Green Chili, Hong Kong Wantan Mee, Jalan Argyll, Jalan Dato, Jalan Dato Koyah, Kow, Main Attraction, New Location, Noodles, Norm, Peak Hours, Penang, Penang Road, Rm3, Sambal, Sesame Oil, Shredded Chicken, Sunday Morning, Tai Wah Cafe, Texture, Wantan Mee

Tho Yuen Chicken Rice Restaurant is an old Cantonese restaurant located in a two storey building at Campbell Street right next the popular sundry shop, Kwong Tuck. Business has been going around for many decades now and the place is still as popular.

This restaurant serves dim sum for breakfast and varieties of noodles, porridge and Chicken Rice during lunch hour. The interior of the restaurant was recently given a new paint job for a cleaner and brighter outlook! I was there during lunch break and the place was filled with customers with some having to settle for the tables set up in the pavement.

One of Tho Yuen’s specialty dish – Fish head steam with noodle

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Tags: Braised Duck and Ginger, Campbell Street, Cantonese Restaurant, Char Siew, Char Siew Buns, Chicken Rice, Delicious Delicacies, Dim Sum Dishes, Dish Fish, Fish Head, Fried Bean Curd, Kow, Lunch Break, Lunch Hour, Natural Sweetness, New Paint, Noodles, Paint Job, Pork Meat, Porridge, Red Chili, Stir Fried, Sui Kow, Tho Yuen, Vermicelli, Water Chestnuts

Love Penang Assam Laksa topped with the pungent hae kor (prawn paste)? I am sure many Penangites and tourist alike love this Penang classic dish for its tangy and sourish taste. My crave for Assam Laksa would have me going all the way out to the Air Itam Market and at times visiting the stall in Gottlieb Road and Johor Road.

All the ingredients for Assam Laksa

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Tags: Air Itam, Air Itam Market, Array, Assam Laksa, Big Fish, Bui, Bunga Kantan, Business Hour, Classic Dish, Coffee Shop, Corner Coffee Shop, Cucumber, Delicacy, Favorite Place, Fish Ball, Fish Balls, Fish Flakes, Fish Meat, Fish Soup, Flower Bud, Fresh Fish, Frontage, Galangal, Going All The Way, Gottlieb, Gps, Hae, Hae Kor, Herbs, Johor, Lai, Laksa, Laksa Penang, Laksa Perak, Lemongrass, Lengkuas, Lettuce, Light Colour, Mint, Mint Leaves, Noodles, Onions, Penang, Penang Assam Laksa, Penang Food, Penang Hawker Food, Penang Laksa, Penang Restaurant, Perak, Perak Road, Pineapple, Prawn Paste, Red Chili, Restaurant Coffee, Rice Noodles, Rm2, Spicy Soup, Sum San Primary School, Sweetness, Tamarind

Penang Lor Mee comes with braised meat ingredients with robustly savory starchy gravy flavored with five-spice powder and egg white. The different spices in the flavorful and pungent gravy is what that enticed the taste of the Lor Mee. Hubby and I came across a Lor Mee stall at Lean Thye Coffee Shop which occupied the corner shop house in Ah Quee Street.

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Tags: Ah Quee Street, Beach Street, Braised Egg, Business Hour, Chili Sauce, Chili Vinegar, Coffee Shop, Duck Egg, Duck Eggs, Egg White, Fifteen Years, Five Spice Powder, Fried Oyster, Gravy, Hard Boiled Eggs, Hawker Food, Hubby, Jalan Masjid, Jalan Masjid Kapitan Keling, Keling, Lean Thye, Lebuh Pantai, Lor Mee, Masjid Kapitan Keling, Meat Ingredients, Noodles, Penang, Penang Hawker Food, Pitt Street, Red Chili, Rm3, Rm4, Sauces, Slimy Texture, Spice Powder, Spices, Thick Gravy