BY CK Lam

In Penang there are many alleys and walking down a right one gives the opportunity of finding delicious street food. Located in a short alley on Hutton Lane, Penang is a cosy stall that wowed customers with its simple breakfast menu and nasi dalca.

We popped into the stall owned by M.M. Abdul Jaafar which has been operating before 1957.

Abdul Jaafar serving the breakfast crowd

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Tags: Bengali Bread, Black Pomfret Curry, Brinjal, Chicken Curry, Chicken Meat, Dalca, Distinct Taste, Egg Custard, Fish Head, Flavo, Fragrant Rice, Half Boiled Eggs, Hutton Lane, Mustard Seeds, Nasi Dalca, New Straits Times (Life & Times), Penang Famous Roti Bengali, Roti Bakar, Roti Bengali, Roti Canai, Scrumptious Meal, Side Dishes, Soggy Toast, Sour Flavor, Star Anise, Street Food, Tables And Chairs, Tender Chicken, Toast Bread, Tong Aik Emporium, Wholesome Meal

By CK Lam

Spending your weekend in Penang? Do check out this 24-hour guide to eating on the island non-stop, written by me for TimeOut Penang 2012. Hope everyone have a great time indulging  in all the flavourful food, rich in spices and herbs from the many restaurants and hawker stalls in Penang.

6am – 7am: Special Famous Roti Canai
56 Jalan Transfer
Open daily, 6.30am-1pm, 3.30pm-7pm
Soak in the slow pace of life in Penang with breakfast at this road side stall, which is famous for its crispy roti canai. There are several varieties of curries to complement the roti canai – mutton, beef, chicken, fish and dhall. The place is usually packed with customers waiting for a table.

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Tags: Aik Hoe Restaurant, Ais Tingkap, Assam Laksa Air Itam Market, Bamboo Baskets, Batu Ferringhi, Carnavon, Cheese Omelette, Chin's Stylish Chinese Cuisine, China House, Chinese Cabbage, Chinese Water Chestnut, Coconut Jam, Coffee Garden, Coffee Lane, Da Ban Chinese Restaurant, DeHappy Seafood Restaurant, Espresso Coffee, Ferringhi Coffee Garden, Focaccia Bread, Food Tour, Free Range Eggs, Half Boiled Eggs, Hawker Stalls, Hock Seng Rojak, Homemade Bread, Ikan Bakar Teluk Tempoyak, Kuih Nyonya Moh Teng Pheow, Lebuh Campbell, Lemak, Light Breakfast, Main Street Cafe, Miraku Japanese Restaurant, Mozzarella Cheese, New Lane Hawker Food, Old Green House Restaurant, Ong Cheng Huat Seafood, Pandan Leaves, Penang 24-hour Food Tour, Penang 24-hour Food Tour Guide, Penang Food Guide, Pork Roll, Restaurant Kapitan, Roti Canai, Selera Sri Tambang Mee Udang, Shing Kheang Aun, Skype, Special Famous Roti Canai, Sup Hameed, Tho Yuen Chicken Rice Restaurant, TimeOut Penang 2012, Tin Drum, Toast Bread, Toh Soon Cafe

By CK Lam

Ristorante Bella Italia is  the place to go when it comes to Italian food in Penang. It has two outlets, with the first one at Bellisa Row in Pulau Tikus, and  the other in Batu Ferringhi, which has a casual and friendly atmosphere. Both the outlets serve a slightly different menu.

The Batu Ferringhi outlet welcomes visitors with its delightful selection of food and its relaxing dining hall looking out into a small garden.

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Tags: Alla Salmone, Batu Feringghi, Beef Bacon, Bella Italia, Brushetta, Button Mushroom, Chewiness, Ck Lam, Delightful Food, Delightful Selection, Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Food In Penang, Fried Mushroom, Fruit Juices, Funghi Fritto, Gamberoni, Garlic Mayonnaise, Handmade Pastas, Homemade Pizza Dough, Linguine Aragosta, Lobster Meat, Mayonnaise Sauce, New Straits Times (Life & Times), Pasta Lovers, Ristorante Bella Italia, Ristorante Bella Italia Batu Feringghi, Ristorante Bella Italia Bellisa Row, Rm7, Sicliana, Sweet Tomato, Tikus, Tiramisu, Toast Bread, Tomato Basil Sauce, Tomato Sauce, Tonno, Virgin Olive Oil, Wood Fired Oven

* 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

BY CK Lam

* This outlet has since closed down and replaced by Five27

The newly opened Agua is another addition to the booming food scene at Straits Quay, Penang. This restaurant offers Mediterranean cuisine with flavors from Morocco, Spain, France, Middle East and Italy. I recently visited this outlet as we celebrated the farewell of  beloved friends, Adam & Ryan.

We had our appetite well stimulated with several starters. The Agua Special was a platter of delicious imported sausages and ham packed with herbs and spices. Everyone enjoyed the taste of these finely sliced delicacies which was wonderful with the accompanied olives and cheese. This was indeed a perfect dish to start off with.

Agua Special RM42.90 – combination of meat and cheese

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Tags: Agua Mediterranean Cuisine, Anchovies, Anchovy, Baba Ganoush, Beloved Friend, Beloved Friends, Chicken Liver Parfait, Chickpeas, Ck Lam, Colorful Salad, Flavors, Food Scene, Hard Boiled Eggs, Herbs And Spices, Homemade Chicken, Humus, Lemon Flavor, Meat And Cheese, Mediterranean Cuisine, Mediterranean Flavors, New Straits Times (Life & Times), Pan Con Tomate, Pita Bread, Rm6, Salad Nicoise, Sardines, Straits Quay, Tahini, Tastebuds, Tasty Tapas, Toast Bread

***The place has since closed down and shifted to Macalister Mansion

* This article was published in the New Straits Times (Life & Times) on 15th January 2011.

Along the folds of Jalan Bagan Jermal lies Bagan Bar & Restaurant, a wonderful venue for indulgence. Located within the proximity of Gurney Drive, this place offers a one of a kind dining and social experience that is sure to satisfy everyone.

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Tags: Australian Accent, Bagan Bar & Restaurant, Bagan Jermal, Broccoli Soup, Chef Jason Choy, Cigar Room, Concoctions, Dining Rooms, Drink Menu, Duck Confit, Flooring Tiles, French Onion Soup, Fruity Flavor, Fruity Flavour, Grenadine Syrup, Grilled Slipper Lobster Salad, Gruyere Cheese, Gurney Drive, Jalan Bagan Jermal, Lobster Salad, Mayonnaise Sauce, Mocktail, New Straits Times (Life & Times), New Straits Times (Life & Times), Pan Seared Seabass, Penang Restaurant, Pool Room, Salmon Carpaccio, Slipper Lobster, Smoked Salmon, Social Experience, Toast Bread, Wooden Doors, World Charm

Yut Kee Restaurant, located in Jalan Dang Wangi Kuala Lumpur, is an old school Hainanese restaurant that has been operating since 1928. The place offering traditional kopitiam fare and variety of Hainanese food is a hit with locals and foreigners alike.

Breakfast fare

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Tags: Breakfast Fare, Brunch, Ceiling Fan, Chicken Chop, Coconut Milk, Coffee Shop, Coffeeshop, Cold Butter, Dang, Dangi, Foreigners, Friendly Service, Hainanese Chicken Chop, Hainanese Cuisine, Hainanese Pork Chop, Jalan Dang Wangi, Jalan Wang Dangi, Kaya, Kaya Roll, Koe, Kopitiam, Kuala Lumpur, Lai, Lai Foong coffeeshop, Lea & Perrins Worcestershire, Matter Of Minutes, Old Photos, Pepper Powder, Plenty Of Times, Potato Wedges, Rm8, Roast Pork, Soft Boiled Egg, Soft Boiled Eggs, Soy Sauce, Spongy Cake, Takeaway, Thick Texture, Toast Bread, Yut Kee Restaurant

*** 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

There are several variations of beef noodles in Penang with the all time favorite beef ball noodles and the Hakka beef ball noodles.

This time the focus is on the Ngau Larm Mee stall (Chinese style braised beef brisket noodle) at Sai Lam, an old coffee shop at the corner of Chulia Street and Carnarvon Street. This delicious braised beef can be served with variation of noodles: springy thin or the broad wanton noodles or better still with hor fun.  Whatever the choice is, it comes with generous portion of flavorful beef pieces.

Dry Ngau Larm Mee with broad noodles

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Tags: Amp, Array, Bakery, Beef Brisket, Beef Broth, Beef Noodle, Beef Noodles, Beef Soup, Beef Soup Noodle, Beef Stew, Braised Beef, Business Hour, Carnarvon, Carnarvon Street, Carnavon, Char Siew, Charcoal Fire, Chilli Sauce, Chinese Style, Choices, Chulia Street, Closing Time, Coffee Shop, Coffeeshop, Commo, Creamy Sauce, Cucumber And Onions, Dry Noodles, Egg Noodles, Father And Son, Flat Rice Noodles, Flavorful Beef, Generous Portion, Green Onions, Handful, Hor Fun, Kampung, Lai, Malabar, Old Haunt, Peanut Sauce, Peddler, Penang, Penang Food, Pho, Pork Satay, Rainforest, Sai Lam Coffee Shop, Satay, Side Dish, Side Dishes, Soup Base, Soup Broth, Soup Noodles, Sour Plum, Stew Beef, Tan Tan, Tea Time, Tender Beef, Tender Pieces, Third Generation, Toast Bread, Variations, Vietnamese, Vietnamese Language, Wanton Noodle, Wanton Noodles, Wanton Soup, Wantons, Wet Version