Sky Hotel Char Siew Siu Baak Rice

Apologies for my disappearance! Have been so bogged down by work...and then when I managed to clear most of it, I immediately laid hands on the last Harry Potter book....and after staying up for 2 nights reading...I FINALLY know what happens.......!! won't go into that...cos it's time for...a food update!

I have been craving for tasty char siew...and I immediately thought of this...

Probably one of the best 'char siew, siu baak' (BBQ Pork) rice in Penang, can be found at a corner kopitiam at Sky Hotel (blue-y building) along Chulia Street. It's been operating for a long time and I think most Penangites would know this place. It is almost always packed and getting a table may be quite difficult, but sharing tables with other strangers is the norm here. All for the sake of good food.

The char siew here is definitely worth a mention. I have never tasted char siew so delicious, with the sides slightly burnt giving a nice crispy bite to it while the sui baak is average.

Doesn’t that look ‘evil’?? Enough to make a person’s mouth water….!

They also have other meats – intestines and duck meat I think. But I always order the char siew, siu baak rice. The rice served here is normal white rice, not the chicken rice variety. You can also opt to include a bowl of soup and a plate of steamed veggie (to make it a healthier meal). Char siew, siu baak rice for 2 including soup and veggie will set you back about RM12.

One more look at the scrumptious char siew…. ok no more pics….am getting hungry just looking at them! And it's almost midnite!

Only open for lunch. Try it and let me know if you adore it as much as I do!

Tua Pui Curry Mee & "O Kio" @ Weld Quay

One of my favourite Curry Mee stalls in Penang is located along Weld Quay just outside the stall owner's house. If you are travelling with the jetty on your left, Tua Pui (hokkien for 'fat') Curry Mee stall is further down from the jetty, after the Shell station, on the opposite side of the road.
There you will spot a lone stall with a bright yellow signboard.


To me, a great bowl of curry mee is largely dependent upon its curry soup. The curry must be 'lemak' (creamy) enough and spicy enough, and most definitely the chilli paste that comes with it must be fragrant and spicy. What makes Tua Pui Curry Mee special is the variety of 'side dishes' you can add into your bowl of curry mee. The selection being offered here include curry chicken, curry squids, prawns, chicken feet, fish balls and gizzards (all cooked in curry). And when you order these extras, the curry from these sides will be added into your curry mee, thus making the soup thicker and tastier!


I usually drop by this place for lunch, despite it being skin burningly hot! If you prefer, you can also sit in a little corner inside Tua Pui's house so that its cooler.

And as my usual 'ritual' goes, after my bowl of piping hot curry mee, I'll make a stop at this little drinks van just next to Tua Pui Curry Mee.

They have chendol and other drinks here, but I will always, always order the "O Kio". I have no idea what that name means...but the "O Kio" is actually "Ai Yu Ping" dessert. This dessert is more common in KL I think, because this place is the only place I know of in Penang that sells this dessert! What IS an "O Kio" and a "Ai Yu Ping"??
Its basically a jelly with a slight orange hint, topped with some canned lychee, mixed with syrup and fresh lemon juice. This stall tops is up with ice shavings, delivering a refreshingly cool dessert!

The "O Kio" or "Ai Yu Ping" Jelly

This drinks stall is located a few steps way from Tua Pui Curry Mee, at the corner of Weld Quay and Gat Lebuh Acheh underneath a big tree. Open for business most afternoons.
Meanwhile, Tua Pui Curry Mee is open from about 9am-4pm, closed on Thursdays (if i remember correctly!!)

And oh yes....opposite Tua Pui Curry Mee is this heavenly 'goreng pisang' stall...but that's another story altogether...!

Lorong Selamat Char Koay Teow

Char Koay Teow is definitely one of the must eats when one visits Penang. And Penang is blessed with many places that serve really good Char Koay Teow, one of them being the famous (or rather 'infamous') Lorong Selamat Char Koay Teow.

This place seems to be very popular amongst tourists. And sometimes I wonder if its the koay teow thats the crowd puller, or the infamous less than pleasant aunty who wears a red beret and safety glasses while frying her koay teow!

Recently, on a Saturday afternoon, which also happened to be a public holiday, I took a friend from out of town to Lorong Selamat because she had a craving for Char Koay Teow. And we proceeded to wait in line for almost 40 minutes before we could get our order!

The very very long queue...

Finally! Our Char Koay Teow...

This stall's char koay teow is definitely tasty but most times I'd give it a miss because of the long wait under the hot sun. My favourite Char Koay Teow is still Ah Leng's. :)

The Lorong Selamat Char Koay Teow comes in 3 versions - RM5 for the normal version (without egg), Rm5.50 normal version with egg and RM7.50 big version with added prawns. Business hours approximately 11am-6pm, closed on Tuesdays.

And yes, the aunty is every bit like the description. She wears the red beret and the safety glasses. Doesn't talk to anyone (you order with her assistant) and she continues frying plate after plate of char koay teow with utmost concentration! Just watching her makes me feel exhausted! And...a lil something else I noticed while waiting in line...our Lorong Selamat Char Koay Teow aunty also wears Crocs Shoes!! Original one okay?! :)

Balik Pulau Laksa!

Continuing my adventure from the Balik Pulau durians, my friends and I headed off in search of laksa. Usually, people will go for the laksa at Balik Pulau market. But my friend told me, 'Cannot, must go to the one at someone's house one. Nicer.' I've heard of this famous laksa before but have never tried it. And since my friend can vaguely remember where it is, we decided to try and find the place.

Now, I can't really give directions cos I'm so lost in Balik Pulau, but the place is at Kuala Jalan Baru and I have GPS co ordinates of the place!! heehee... N5 21.227 E100 12.05
whatever that means...but I presume if you have a GPS unit and punch in those co ordinates, your GPS will bring you right to the place!

Sure enough, we arrived at someone's house. Its a row of houses opposite a small river. We were told in the afternoons when the fishermen come back, we could buy very fresh seafood off their boats on that river. Upon arrival, I spotted this...

Wah...open only on Saturday and Sunday!

Quickly, we ordered our laksa and waited in anticipation. I must say that we were not disappointed! Our laksa came loaded with lots of fish! Very flavorful and utterly delicious!! Rating: A+

*salivate*

Despite being so full from the durians, I still polished off one bowl of laksa and drank all the soup! (which I don't normally do)

If laksa's not your favourite, you can also choose to have Hokkien Mee/Prawn Mee. I couldn't eat another bite after my laksa, but my other friends ordered a bowl of Hokkien Mee to share and said it was pretty good. But laksa is their main attraction here.

So, the next time you're in the mood for some laksa and feeling a tad bit adventurous...you know where to go!

Seafood Porridge @ Sg Tiram

There is little kopitiam at Sg Tiram (along Jalan Sultan Azlan Shah, on the way to the airport, after the factories Osram, Bosch and Amphenol) which is famous for its seafood porridge.

This kopitiam is popular with the factory crowd as it is nearby and opens for breakfast. For breakfast, they serve simple items like nasi lemak and fried bee hoon. For some reason, the best seller is their ‘roti bakar’, which is really actually very normal and something you can easily prepare at home. But like I said, for some reason, their toast bread with butter and sugar just sells like hot cakes. In fact, its so sellable that they even have it at night, for dinner! No complaints there, cos I’m a sucker for toast bread with butter!! Yummy!!

During dinner, patrons will go to the counter and pick the various types of seafood that they would like with their porridge, ‘bee hoon’, ‘mee suah’ (rice flour noodle) or yellow noodle soup. You can choose from a variety of fresh fish slices, fish balls, prawns, crabs, fish cakes, pork balls etc… When I was there recently, I picked fish slices with ‘mee suah’ soup. The soup was flavorful and the fish was fresh.

Other choices available include satay and salted chicken. Both items are not bad and tasty.

They enjoy very brisk business and you will need to go early during dinner in order to get a table without having to wait. Some people have commented that their food is not really that special, while some find the seafood porridge/noodles a bit expensive (depending on what you order, but average bowl is about RM6-8). But, business is booming for them!

After enjoying the food here several times, I recently noticed the name of the kopitiam! This signboard is not noticeable from the road, but you’ll be able to recognize the kopitiam from the big “salted chicken” banner outside the shop. Happy eating!

Chee Cheong Fun @ Macalister Lane

I must admit that I'm not a big fan of Chee Cheong Fun (rice sheet rolls) unless, the Chee Cheong Fun is from the stall at Macalister Lane. I can't help it, I'm picky when it comes to my Chee Cheong Fun because, in my humble opinion, not everyone can make a yummy-licious plate of Chee Cheong Fun. It takes a certain skill. The 'fun' or rice sheet rolls need to be just the right thickness and not too soft or too dry. Plus, I must make sure that the person who makes my Chee Cheong Fun is willing to 'open' the rolls. What do I mean?

Well, first, for those not in the know, Penang Chee Cheong Fun is a world of difference from the KL Chee Cheong Fun. In KL, this dish is served with 'sides' like fish balls and stuffed ladies fingers much like Yong Tau Fu. But in Penang, all you get is the 'fun'. No meats or sides. Some may argue that this means the Chee Cheong Fun has hardly any nutritional value, except maybe carbs... but hey, its not like you eat it every day right?

The Penang Chee Cheong Fun comes with the rice sheet rolls usually mixed with dashes of sesame oil, 'he ko' (prawn paste), 'ti chiao' (sweet sauce) and chilli sauce, topped with sprinkles of sesame seeds. Some people claim that adding some peanut butter into the mix makes it taste better....but I have yet to confirm this. My favourite Chee Cheong Fun stall at Macalister Lane (the small road right after Hong Leong Bank on Macalister Road) makes a mean plate which looks something like this....

Best of all, the uncle 'opens' or unrolls slightly the rolled up noodle just before cutting them up. This way, its easier for most of the noodle to be coated with the sauce. And what you get is mouthfuls of yummy soft and smooth chee cheong fun, slightly salty and slighty sweet!

Best Pan Mee in Penang!

When I was younger, I'd never tasted Pan Mee before. I only discovered this delicious off white homemade noodles made out of flour, when I studied in KL. I remember tasting my first bowl of pan mee at a road side stall along the streets of Wangsa Maju. And have been a fan ever since.

When I came back to Penang, I was most disappointed to find that there were no good Pan Mee stalls in Penang, until.... I discovered this little gem, 'Hou Mei Yuen' kopitiam, tucked away in the flats opposite Vistana Hotel, near Bukit Jambul Complex.

This kopitiam only sells Pan Mee, served dried or with soup. The 'mee' (noodle) comes in 2 varieties - thick and flat, or thin. I like my Pan Mee thin and will always order the dried version, which looks something like this....

The dried version Pan Mee has mee mixed in yummy black sauce and comes with minced meat, crunchy 'ikan bilis' (anchovies), black strips of 'bok nee' (dried black tree fungus, ok it tastes better than it sounds!!) and a bowl of soup with fish balls. Best of all, the chilli dip that they serve is also two thumbs up! Its not too spicy and slighty tangy...makes for a great companion to that scrumptious plate/bowl of pan mee!

This being a kopitiam, and a very popular one at that, there are no frills. You write your orders on little stacks of papers and hand the paper with your table number written on it to the girls at the stall. You also have the option of adding extras like 'ikan bilis' and fish balls. They usually only serve "leng teh" (cool tea) either hot or cold.
'Hou Mei Yuen' is open Monday-Saturdays 8am-3pm. Happy eating!

Ah Leng Char Koay Teow

One of the best Char Koay Teow available in Penang is Ah Leng Famous Char Koay Teow located in a kopitiam (coffee shop) along Jalan Dato Kramat, opposite the old Federal cinema (currently known as Honolulu cafe where Clark Hatch Fitness center is)
Ah Leng has been around for a long time at various locations, this being the latest one.


This Char Koay Teow is so famous that they can charge RM9 a plate and still have customers coming back for more! I once brought some friends from outstation who had 2 plates each at one go! It is value for money because the RM9 special comes with 4 big succulent prawns, mantis prawns and duck egg. (It's RM8.50 a plate if you swap the duck egg for normal chicken egg).

Having not eaten at Ah Leng's for about half a year, it was a joy digging into my plate of spicy special and savouring the sweet juicy prawns....(cholesterol? what cholesterol?!)

Ah Leng's Char Koay Teow with chilli

Without chilli

I've noticed that Ah Leng tends to undercook his prawns a little so if you prefer them more cooked, all you need to do is to remind Ah Leng when ordering.
The standard plate is also available at RM5 each. Ah Leng is open during the mornings as early as 8am til about lunch time. Open on Sundays as well.