Posts tagged Koay Teow Soup

When I was talking to the Chinese Jawa Mee seller at Kek Seng I asked him about his favorite food. It turned out to be Koay Teow Soup. Then he recommended me to try one of his favorites at a nearby coffee shop called Kim Lee. According to him the stall has a long history and they use duck meat to boil the soup, which makes it really delicious.
“Just look for an old man preparing the noodles”, he said. And little did I know Kim Lee is located just next to Seow Fong Lye, where the delicious Chee Cheong Fun can be found.

Uncle Ah Hai (阿海) started following his father to sell Koay Teow Theng since he was 12. It was during WW2 and Penang was under Japanese occupation then. Their first stall actually started out at the old coffee shop where the Chee Cheong Fun used to be at too.
Later when Hong Leong bank purchased and turned the coffee shop into their branch, they shifted to the five-foot way just across the street. But continuous summons issued by the local council forced Ah Hai to move again five years ago, this time to Kim Lee – his current location.

Ah Hai’s Koay Teow Theng is still done according to the old recipe he inherited from his father and it still produces the same traditional flavor. While pork bones have always been used as the main ingredient to season the broth, chicken or duck can be included to improve the taste. But here both chicken and duck are used by Ah Hai, which makes the soup deliciously sweet despite its clear appearance.

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