vkeong loves good food, travel and photography!
Penang
Everything about Penang
Bukit Mertajam Duck Egg Char Koay Teow
Jun 6th
I bet many of you have heard of the famous “Sisters’ Koay Teow” from Lorong Selamat. Well, they can move aside. Being simply overrated and overpriced, RM5.00 for a plate? It is plain outrageous. It tastes like normal CKT you would buy from anywhere else, just with bigger prawns -_- Worse still, you have to QUEUE for it, self service!
If you are from BM, chances are you have already sampled the best Char Koay Teow (CKT) in Penang, and IMO the best I’ve tasted so far. Bring any of your friends to try it, they will simply agree with you that it is the best.
A good plate of CKT must fulfill the following,
- Fried using lards, plenty of them. It’s unhealthy but it makes the dish so much nicer, so who cares?
- Use charcoal instead of gas.
- Fried with duck eggs. Because fried duck eggs have a nicer feel to the bite compared to normal fried chicken eggs. They are more fragrant too.
- Include lots of cockles, and big fat prawns. Throw in a few slices of Chinese Sausage too if possible.
- And finally, serve on a piece of (clean) banana leaf, to enhance the aroma.
Photos of the CKT shown above are taken in the famous Duck Egg CKT stall in BM. This is a family business run by 3 brothers daily from 9.30pm until midnight in 3 separate locations: taxi station, train station and along Jalan Kulim. This stall is a must for me and my friends during Chinese New Year, we would have a great time eating and talking about our school lives. It is kind of like a reunion spot for us.
If possible, go to the stall along Jalan Kulim as it is the best. One of the younger brother (operating in train station) is relatively new to frying so it might not taste as good as the other two. Before this he only helped out by serving the customers and making drinks. He can be recognized very easily by his long hair.
A normal plate of CKT costs RM2.20, big ones cost RM2.70. You can opt for an extra “hor-bao” duck egg as topping for RM0.70. I didn’t know they raised the all the price by 20cents until I went last weekend. For me, RM2.20 a plate is still cheap and worth it because the boss is not stingy with the ingredients: 4-5 medium sized prawns and generous amount of cockles 
Wantan Mee @ Tua Pek Kong Bukit Mertajam
May 21st
Bukit Mertajam(BM) @ “Tua Shua Ka” has a lot of good food to offer, the infamous duck egg Char Koay Teow which only opens at night, the Dried Hokkien Mee in Sri Sentosa, Taman Sri Rambai’s Curry Mee, BM Market’s Koay Chap etc.
In a sunny Sunday morning, there’s nothing better than enjoying a bowl of “Tok Tok Mee”. It is also known as “Tokong Noodles” as the stall operates beside a temple. It has been there since my father’s childhood, which means 50 years of business!
The name “Tok Tok Mee” cames from the process of making the noodles. Early in the morning everyday, “tok tok” sound can be heard caused by bamboo sticks hitting and pressing the noodle’s dough.
It looks like Wantan Mee soup, and tastes a little like Sarawak Mee. The noodles can be ordered in 3 different ways: dried, half-dried or in soup. I like half-dried the most At a price of RM2.00 per bowl, it is a steal.
Ghee Hiang Biscuits
May 13th
Do you like biscuits? Does this brand sound familiar? Have you seen it anywhere recently?
Ghee Hiang’s shop interior is really nice.
See the boxes of biscuits behind the cashier? One of the best things to bring back to your hometown from visiting [tag]Penang[/tag], would be the traditional Penang biscuits. “[tag]Tambun Pneah[/tag]” or “[tag]Tau Sar Pneah[/tag]” is manufactured by 2 major shops – “[tag]Ghee Hiang[/tag]” and “[tag]Him Heang[/tag]“. For this entry “Ghee Hiang” will be known as GH and the latter HH.
There’s a cupboard displaying the range of “Ghee Hiang” products. GH is the original and oldest manufacturer of this biscuit. They started the business exactly 150 years ago from now, 1856. According to some rumors, because they were so successful and dominating the business, they eventually became arrogant and started to lack in customer service. Customers had to make bookings and often made to wait a long time in order to purchase even a box of biscuits. Besides making excellent biscuits, Ghee Hiang also produces good sesame and soya sauce.
Nice packaging – even for biscuits
What you get in the box, freshly packed in small plastic bags This resulted in their rival, HH’s gain of popularity. Now you can see more customers in HH’s shop compared to GH. However, GH still holds the upper hand in quality of the biscuits. It is still the best “Tau Sar Pneah” brand
15 decades of experience in making biscuits. Now beat that!
2 decades old Mee Goreng
May 13th
Allow me to present you my breakfast today, the best Mee Goreng @ “Jawa Char” in Hokkien. It can be found in Bukit Mertajam, fried by an old chinese couple in Taman Bak Hai for nearly 20 years.
Yum.. I still remember when I was small(primary school) I would tarpao this for dinner if I didn’t really felt like eating my mom’s cooking. Their stall is so near my house, a 2 minute walk is enough to reach. Sometimes I would even bring eggs our reared chickens/turkey laid, giving a 20 cents discount on each pack.
Fried prawn fritters @ “Heh Chi”
The nicest thing in this Mee Goreng would be the fried prawn paste. Unlike those you find in the Indian style, they are not soft but very crunchy. 1 piece costs RM0.50 and I would normally request for an extra 2 pieces.
Besides Mee Goreng, Singapore Bihun and Char Koay Teow are also sold here. Many people like to tarpao the economy bihun here as breakfast before going to work. It has been about 4 years since I last ate this, the taste is still the same and surprisingly, it is still being priced at RM2.00 per pack!
