vkeong loves good food, travel and photography!
Posts tagged Hawker Food
Lor Bak @ Kedai Kopi Seng Thor, Lebuh Carnavon
Jul 22nd
One of the oldest hawker stall in Penang that is still operating can be found at Kedai Kopi Seng Thor @ Lebuh Carnavon. Seng Thor is particularly famous its Lor Mee but I feel the Lor Bak here deserves a better mention. The uncle has been selling his home-made lor bak daily without fail for over 55 years since he was 12. Talk about dedication.
For the uninitiated, Lor Bak is basically a meat roll wrapped with bean curd sheet and flavored with five spice powder. Because of this, it is also known as Ngor Hiang in some other places like KL and Singapore. It is usually accompanied by prawn fritters, “tau kua” (fried bean curd”), Chinese sausage or any other fried seafood. Two dipping sauces are usually there for dipping, one being the gluey and starchy dark soya sauce and the other spicy and sweet chili sauce.
Penang is definitely the place to go for the best Lor Bak on earth, fact. If you think otherwise, well you are wrong lol.
Anyway, a customized platter for one person’s portion at Seng Thor was RM10 that included uncle’s signature lor bak, chinese sausage, prawn fritters and “tau kua” – very traditional and basic.
Sri Bistari Famous Nasi Ayam Penyet @ Changi Village
Jul 20th
To be honest, I haven’t tried a lot of Indonesian food but I can vouch my love for Ayam Penyet, this wonderful traditional dish that originates from Subaraya. Smashed fried chicken served with rice and spicy hot sambal, so simple yet so additively delicious.
Not too far away from Tampines at Changi Village is Sri Bistari Famous Nasi Ayam Penyet. Conveniently there was a direct bus to the food court where this stall was located at, so I decided to try it one weekend after surveying for good food around my area. Traveling too far for food does take its toll on you in the long run, especially when you are taking the public transport.
For $4.50 the serving is pretty standard consisting of a piece of smashed fried chicken, a generous dollop of sambal and the usual Indonesian salad of lettuce, cabbage, cucumber and cherry tomato. Tempe (deep fried fermented bean paste) was not to be found though.
I liked that a whole chicken leg was given because the typical portion of Ayam Penyet usually comes with very small piece of chicken, leaving you with plenty of rice in the end.
Seafood Popiah @ Gerai Gerai Padang Brown (Dato Keramat Stalls)
Jul 4th
I believe the Seafood Popiah at Gerai Gerai Padang Brown (or also known as Dato Keramat Stalls) is one of the oldest in Penang with a history of over 60 years, even older than the food court which was opened back in 1966. Currently run by uncle Ong, it could might as well be the only popiah stall in town that include real crab meat as one of the ingredients.
Two pieces are the minimum order priced at RM2.80. As you can see the popiah is done the wet way, drowned in the ‘bangkuang char’ (stir-fried turnip/radish) gravy.
Firstly, a quick glaze of Hoisin and chili sauce on the paper thin crepe for the basic flavors.
Then a leaf of lettuce is laid on top of the crepe and followed by the remaining fillings of shredded omelette, a scoop of ‘bangkuang char’, a handful of crab meat and a sprinkle of fried shallots. Some fillings that can be found in the other popiah stalls like the sinful lard, crushed peanuts, bean sprouts and sliced meat are not included here.
Premium Pork Belly Satay @ Kwong Satay, Geylang Lorong 29
Jun 30th
Remember I mentioned before Kwong Satay serves the best pork satay I ever had in Singapore? I still stand by my statement after going around the island trying the rest. The second best’s taste doesn’t even come close to Kwong Satay to be honest. This would be my top recommendation for pork satay if you’re planning a trip to Singapore soon.
Anyway after giving up hope on finding a better one I returned for it again one day but for their premium pork belly satay instead, priced at $1 a stick.
This is how the premium pork belly looked like, a piece of pork belly meat side by side with a piece of crunchy pork fat on a skewer. The texture of the meat and fat from the pork belly part is indeed different from the rest of the pork cuts – just more tender and succulent.
