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

I had time to catch up with Taiwanese personality and celebrity Chef Chen Hong (陳鴻) during his recent trip to Penang, the island of delicious food. Popularly known as “Ah Hong”, he is now Penang Food Ambassador for Taiwan, since he was appointed by Penang State EXCO for Tourism Development and Culture, YB Danny Law Heng Kiang.

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Tags: Batu Ferringhi, Celebrity Chef, Chef Billy, Chef Billy Ng, Chef Chen, Chef Chen Hong, Chef Malai Chong, Chef Park Tae Yeong, Chin Bee Tea Restaurant, Cooking Demonstration, Countless Number, Danny Law, Danny Law Heng Kiang, Exco, Facebook, Food and Lifestyle Magazine, Food Digest, Food Outlets, Golden Thai Seafood Village, Gurney Drive, Heng Kiang, Ivy’s Kitchen, Jalan Batu, Kimberley Street Duck Koay Chiap, Laksa, Lifestyle Magazine, Magazine Food, Malai, Penang Food, Penang Food Ambassador, Penang Island, Penang Laksa, Penang State, Penang State EXCO for Tourism Development and Culture, Thai Seafood, Tourism Development

The lunar New Year is fast approaching, and with that comes the family gatherings, celebrations and banquets with delicious cuisines. Here are some dining venues that offer Chinese New Year Reunion Dinner, Gong Xi Fa Cai Buffet Lunch & Kong Hei Fatt Choy Buffet Dinner, with some complemented with tossing of Yee Sang.

As Valentine’s Day is just round the corner, this list will also include venues for the celebration of this special romantic day as well.

AGUA MEDITERRANEAN CUISINE
3A-G-18 &19 Straits Quay
Jalan Seri Tanjung Pinang
Tanjung Tokong
10470  Pulau Pinang
Tel: 04 8908668

Celebration the Chinese New Year with special seafood Mediterranean recipe from Agua.

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Tags: Agua Mediterranean Cuisine, Batu Feringghi, Batu Ferringhi Penang, Bayan Lepas Penang, Bayview Hotel Georgetown, Berlin's Bier Houz, Bukit Jambul, Cassis Restaurant, Chin's Stylish Chinese Cuisine, Chinese New Year, Chinese New Year Reunion Dinner, Delicious Cuisines, EASTIN HOTEL PENANG, Family Gatherings, Farquhar Street, Ferringhi Beach, Food Promotion, G Hotel, Georgetown Penang, Golden Sands Resort, Hard Rock Hotel Promotion, Hotel Equatorial Penang, Hotel Penang, Hotel Royal, Hydro Hotel, Ivy'S Kitchen, Japanese Fusion, Lone Pine Hotel Penang, Lunar New Year, Main Street Cafe, Malaysia Tel, Mediterranean Cuisine, New Year Eve, Nyonya Breeze, Penang Food, Penang Food Promotion, Penang Malaysia, Qe Ii, Sakae Teppanyaki & Izakaya, Tanjung Tokong, THE NORTHAM ALL SUITES PENANG, Valentine S Day, Vintage Bulgaria

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, I Mum Mum Restaurant, 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

* This article was published in the New Straits Times (Life & Times) on 22nd November 2010.

Fish head curry is an all time favorite delicacy for many. The fish head curry is categorized into many different styles of cooking with their respective combination of spices: Indian style, Nyonya, Chinese and Malay! There are those which are spicy and sourish while others laden with thick coconut milk. All in all, there is plenty of variety when it comes to Fish Head Curry.

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Tags: 22nd November, Appetites, Chee, Chee Wah Curry Fish Head, Chinese, Clay Pot, Coffee Shop, Curry Fish Head, Curry Leaves, Curry Sauce, Decent Choice, Delicacy, Distinctive Fragrance, Fish Curry, Fish Head Curry, Fried Garlic Chicken, Garlic Chicken, Generous Dose, Gold Band, Indian Style, Kalak, Lebuh Melayu, Lunch Hour, Malay Cuisine, Malay Street, New Straits Times (Life & Times), New Straits Times (Life & Times), Nyonya Cuisine, Office Workers, Penang, Penang Food, Prawn, Side Dishes, Size Fish, Tender Lady, Thick Coconut Milk

Recently I had the honor to be interviewed by rasarasa.net. The article ‘The Accidental Food Blogger’ appeared in the section – Talking Food, whereby they recorded views of people who contribute to the promotion of Malaysian food.

The entire on-line interview, which revolved mainly about myself and my food website from the foundation where it all started, was published on the 15th October 2010. The article can be viewed here.

On the other note, my Penang food blog www.what2seeonline.com celebrated its third anniversary. I would like to extend a big ‘Thank You’ to all my readers for the continued patronage in supporting this website of mine!

I really enjoy being part of the food blogging community where I have been connecting and sharing my joy of food and photography. Do feel free to drop a comment anytime to share your opinion regarding my blog and its contents.

Thank you for supporting What2seeonline.com!

Tags: Anniversary, Best Of Penang Food, Blog, Ck Lam, Food Blogger, Food Photography, Food Website, Food Writer, Line Interview, Malaysian Food, Patronage, Penang Food, Rasarasa.net, Talking Food, What2seeonline.Com

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

*** Updated on 1/5/2011 – The coffee shop has since been taken over by a new owner.

One of my favorite breakfast joints in Penang is Eng Loh Coffee Shop in the heart of Georgetown. It is located at the end of Church Street, diagonally across the Pinang Peranakan Mansion and is exceptionally crowded during lunch hour.

Besides serving good coffee, the coffee shop operator also serves choices of Western breakfast of sausages and egg together with toast bread. There are ten over choices of bread and my favorite is the Roti Taiwan.

Delicious Roti Taiwan

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Tags: Breakfast, Chai Kuih, Char Koay Teow, Chewy Texture, Chili Sauce, Church Street, Coffee Shop, Dumpling, Eng Loh, French Toast, Gereja, Grated Coconut, Jalan Gereja, Kuih, Kuih Kosui, Kuih Koswee, Loh, Lunch Hour, Palm Sugar, Pandan, Penang, Penang Food, Roti, Roti Taiwan, Shop Operator, Smooth Peanut Butter, Soft Dough, Sugar Version, Taiwan Version, Toast Bread, Wanton Mee

Recently I got the pleasure of writing for the New Straits Times newspaper. It was a privilege to contribute my articles which will be featured in the Life & Times section covering mostly on food. It gives me the chance of introducing and promoting mainly food from Penang (with other places in time to come) as well as covering interviews with chefs and restaurateurs. From time to time I will contribute to the Travel & Living section as well.

What’s the difference between writing for the newspaper and my own food blog? Well, I have to deliver the articles by the deadline and I really enjoy the writing experience. Furthermore, it gives me great joy to see my work in print!

I have written a few articles, all of which have now been published and there are more to come. Do grab a copy of the New Straits Times and check out my articles. Hope everyone enjoys reading it!

The NST, 10th April 2010

The NST, 9th April 2010

The NST, 5th April 2010

The NST, 29th March 2010

The NST, 27th March 2010

The NST, 26th March 2010

The NST, 20th March 2010

The NST, 12th March 2010

The NST, 5th March 2010

Although I am pretty much busy writing the articles, I will constantly write reviews for this food blog too. Do stay tuned to What2seeonline.com for more of the Best of Penang Food.

Tags: 20th March, 26th March, 29th March, Amp, Best Of Penang Food, Blog, Chefs, Food Blog, Great Joy, Interview Chefs, Interviews, Life & Times, Lot, New Hope, New Straits Times (Life & Times), New Straits Times Newspaper, Nst, Penang, Penang Food, Pleasure, Privilege, Restaurateurs, Travel, Travel Section, Travels, What2seeonline.Com