George Town, Penang - Street Food Midday
POH PNIAH
Suggested Other Sources of Poh Pniah:
1. Sin Yin Nam Cafe at New Lane junction near Macalister Road. New Lane has been localised in name to 'Lorong Baru".
2. Kek Seng coffee shop, 382-384 Penang Road, open daily from 8am to 5pm.
3. Stall at New World Park food court, Swatow Lane (from 11am to 4pm each day).
4. Wah Leong Coffee Shop, along Burma Road.
AIS KACANG, CENDOL AND CUT FRUITS
Suggested Sources of Tamarind Based Laksa:
1. Stalls in Air Itam Market near the Kek Lok Si Temple Complex in Air Itam (Black Water Village). Popular with tourists.
2. Stalls in the Balik Pulau Market food court - this is on the western side of Penang island and not in George Town. A gathering point for visitors from outside Balik Pulau.
3. Kek Seng Coffee Shop, 382-384 Penang Road, open from 800am to 5pm.
4. Kheng Pin coffee shop, 80 Penang Road, at corner of upper Penang and Sri Bahari Roads. Closed on Mondays, the coffee shop is otherwise one from 7am to 3pm.
5. New World Park food court, Swatow Lane - from 11am to 4pm daily.
6. Swee Kong Coffee Shop, near the corner of Moulmein and Burma Roads, opposite the Pulau Tikus police station.
7. Joo Hooi Cafe, 475 Penang Road - corner with Keng Kwee Street (refer to Cendol entry above)
STIR FRIED GLASS VERMICELLI
CHICKEN CURRY PUFFS
HERBAL TEA, JELLIES AND SOUPS
PASTRY PIES
These pies are especially appealing to my eye! I have not eaten a banana pie before. Continental Bakery at 33 Nagore Road. |
PENANG CURRY MEE
The name of this dish can be a misnomer in Penang. Unlike the curry laksa, not much curry paste is utilised at all in this dish. Instead what is critical to the soup of the Penang curry mee is the sambal condiment, which is made by the choice of good quality fermented shrimp paste, chili paste, garlic, onion, salt and sugar.
For obtaining the variation of white curry mee, the chicken and prawn shell based soup is always cooked and served separately from the noodles, so that the customer can decide on how much colour to have for his or her final choice of soup - akin to the Swiss practice of serving chocolate separately from milk. The colour from the Penang curry mee comes from how much chili and coconut milk are used in proportion.
Ingredients then added to the noodles and soup are commonly coagulated pig's blood, chicken slices, bean sprouts and the puffed bean curd (the tau hoo pok),
Penang offers its own variation of the curry laksa, in the white curry mee, which had a spike in popularity in 2014. |
Suggested Sources of Penang Curry Mee:
1. Tua Pui curry mee at 23 Kimberly Street from 9am to 5pm - in George Town UNESCO designated heritage area.
2. Bee Hooi Coffee Shop at the corner of Pulau Tikus Lane and Burma Road, with the curry mee stall open in the mornings. Please note that this coffee shop is also open for business at night, nut with different stalls and street food.
3. New Cathy Cafe, corner of Kuching Lane and Burma Road, opposite the Union Primary Girls School. Evenings only. Closed on Sundays.
4. Coffee shop at corner of Naning Street and Lorong Seratus Tahun in George Town UNESCO designated heritage area.
5. Stall at the Pulau Tikus Market each morning.
6. Taman Emas coffee shop near corner of Gottlieb and Scott Roads, opposite the Penang Chinese Girls High School. Opening hours are from noon to 5pm.
SAR HOR FUN
The hot wok is used to stir fry broad based rice noodles and vermicelli, with other ingredients of prawns, octopus, pork or chicken, eggs and local green with stems on. There is a gelatinous sheen over the noodles. Many years ago, some vendor in George Town started making a-go-go dancing moves while stir frying the Sar Hor Fun - he must have loved his job and was a showman at heart! The heat of a good wok shows through in the aroma of the finished product - so if the wok has been used cooking this all day, it really radiates through in the taste which can be a bit burnt but which brings up the quality of this dish.
Suggested Sources of Sar Hor Fun:
1. Foo Heong Restaurant, 56-58 Cintra Street, open by lunch time.
2. Hon Kei Food Corner/ Cafe, 55 Lorong Kampung Malabar, open from morning.
(Note - within the Chinatown section of the UNESCO Heritage walking trail area) |
CHEE CHEONG FUN
It may sound like a person's name in the Cantonese dialect, but this is truly a whiz of a pick-me-up on the run. Usually eaten for breakfast, in Penang, it is readily available at any time of the day, but at different outlets. The dish on first impression looks like rolls of rice noodles, cut into squares or in cross sections, smeared with sweet hoisin sauce and sprinkled with toasted sesame seeds spread out on your serving plate - but the crucial ingredients are the variety of chili based sauces used to lift up the taste! These can be made from sambal or just the hot sauce in commercially available bottles. XO sauce and soy sauce are also put into the mix. The resulting outcomes will then determine the quality of any particular serving in front of you.
Suggested Sources of Chee Cheong Fun:
1. Seow Fong Lye Chee Cheong Fun at 94C Macalister Lane - opening hours are from 730am to 1230pm.
2. Cheong Kok Choy stall at New Lane (or Lorong Baru), off Macalister Road. Opening hours are from 630pm to 1130pm.
You may want to check out
http://kindlyyours.blogspot.com.au/2015/03/george-town-penang-street-food-in.html
POST NOTE: Do plan your route ahead when exploring Georgetown's street food. Public transport quality can be patchy and not on schedule. I recommend hiring a bicycle/motor bike/ car or getting a friend to drive! The weather can be warm, humid or rainy at times. Always have pocket tissues with you, for unlike in Australia and New Zealand, no vendor offers such tissues with your food. Always be ready to be able to pack snacks or left overs. Be careful when crossing streets for motor cycles, usually small powered Hondas, as there can be a casualness with these local riders on narrow streets and pavements, especially in the UNESCO designated heritage zones. Most businesses open late from 11am.
At the time of this posting, most of the dishes recommended in this blog post cost from Malaysian Ringgit 3 to 5 per serving. Coffee and most other drinks in traditional coffee shops ask for a couple of Malaysian ringgit on average. The GST is planned to be introduced to Malaysia from April 2015. For local barista places, be prepared to pay around Malaysian Ringgit 4 to 8 for their drinks.
Common Malay words in maps are as follows: Jalan is a road, Lebuh refers to a street, Solok indicates a cul-de-sac, Lorong means a lane and Lebuhraya is an avenue. Jalan sehala indicates one way only for vehicle traffic.
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