Lor Mee @ Perak Road

copy & paste from wikipedia

"Lor mee (Chinese: 卤面) is a Chinese-inspired noodle dish served in a thick starchy gravy and thick flat yellow noodles (also known as lor mee). The dish is eaten by Hokkiens (Min Nan speakers) in Singapore and Malaysia. The thick gravy is made of corn starch, spices and eggs. The ingredients added into the noodles are usually ngo hiang, fish cake, fish, round and flat meat dumplings (usually pork), half a boiled egg, and other items depending on the stall and the price paid. Vinegar and garlic can be added as an optional item. The dish is also eaten with red chilli. Traditional versions also include bits of fried fish as topping though few stalls serve this version anymore."

They used to be just a small stall @ a coffee shop. Today, they moved to a new coffeeshop and have about 6 people running the stall just to accommodate their customer's orders...

Some place's lor mee taste funny... or should i say their spices are too empowering it just turns you off before you even eat it or after just one taste. But this one.... this one is really nice. Well balanced. Cooked to perfection I'll say.

Location: Along Perak Road

Price: RM2.50 (normal)

Rating: 7.5/10

Assam Laksa @ Gurney Drive

copy & paste straight from wikipedia my fave source!

"Penang laksa (Malay: Laksa Pulau Pinang), also known as assam laksa from the Malay for tamarind, comes from the Malaysian island of Penang. It is made with mackerel (ikan kembung) soup and its main distinguishing feature is the assam or tamarind which gives the soup a sour taste. The fish is poached and then flaked. Other ingredients that give Penang laksa its distinctive flavour include lemongrass, galangal (lengkuas) and chilli. Typical garnishes include mint, pineapple slices, thinly sliced onion, hε-ko, a thick sweet prawn paste and use of torch ginger flower. This, and not 'curry mee' is the usual 'laksa' one gets in Penang. "

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Asam Laksa is another dish which is synonymous to Penang... There are really just so many types of laksa... for more, read it up here

This bowl is without vege. Only noodle, soup & lots of chilli!

This one is the normal one... with vege, fish ball and more vege!

Location: Gurney Drive Hawkers

Rating: 6/10 (so-so only)

Duck Koay Teow Th'ng @ Lebuh Cecil

Most of the koay teow th'ng in Penang is cooked with chicken/pork.. Not very often do you find duck meat koay teow th'ng. It is not easy to cook good duck meat koay teow th'ng too!

This one is delicious... The soup is just so tasty you cannot stop slurping. It is served with duck meat, duck skin, duck intestines, fish cake slices & fish ball.

For those who haven't tried this.... You really don't know what you're missing out on!

Location: Lebuh Cecil Hawker Stalls (opened 7.30am - 7.00pm)

Price: TBA

Rating: 8/10

Lo Han Kuo @ Lebuh Cecil

Lo Han Kuo is a type of fruit which is used for medical purposes or as a sweetener. This stall has turned this 'herbal' drink into a dessert. He adds 'rambutan', longan, lychee & sea coconut to enhance its taste.

A very tasty drink especially on a hot day!

Location: Lebuh Cecil Hawker Stall

Price: RM2.00/bowl

Rating: 7/10

Chinese Pasembur (cheh hu) @ Lebuh Cecil Market

This is one of the busiest market in Penang. Right in the smack of Penang. Once you enter, there are so many stalls; even just deciding where to sit is a problem.

Chinese pasembur aka 'cheh hu'. It is a salad of fritters, shredded fresh vegetables, jelly fish, sesame seeds and the plum flavored sauce is sweeter instead of spicy peanut sauce used for indian pasembur.

Location: Lebuh Cecil Hawker Stall

Price: RM2.30

Rating: 6.5/10

Ah Pom @ Golden Sands Hawkers

There are many kinds of ah pom aka pancakes in Malaysia. There are:

1. Chinese style - "ban chien kuih" which is served with lots of peanuts and corn
2. Chinese style - "ah pom" which is served with banana
3. Indian style - 'apom telur' which really is just flour, egg & sugar...

This one is apom telur, the indian style... it is thick in the middle while thin & crispy on the sides. Very yummy!

Cooked using small woks over hot charcoal and bare hands! You will have to peel it with ur hands because of the thin skin before it is over cooked! Lots of experience needed...

Note: I forgot to take the pic of the final product coz we 'ta pao' home. Will do it the next time!

Location: Golden Sands Hawker Stall, beside Penang Chinese Swimming Club

Price: RM2.00 for 5 pcs or RM0.50 per pcs (of course 5 pc!)

Rating: Very yummy! 8/10

Noor Bee Nasi Melayu - Tg Tokong

This is a hidden jewel of the island... Delicious home cook malay food which is quite sold out by 12.00pm. Economy food style @ very very reasonable pricing.

We were there at about 12.00pm and 60% of the tray were quite empty.

Bits and pieces here and there... We'll have to come again and try!

But this 'kacang botol' cooked with onions and red chilli is yummy! It taste like laksa! Yumm!

Chicken, some vege and tau kua.... @ RM3.50; reasonable what right? Drumstick some more..

Location: At the traffic light before Penang Chinese Swimming Club, turn right into Tg Tokong old flats. First turning on the right, turn again and start looking for car park :) Then look for Noor Bee's Nasi Melayu. (Not diff - go where the crowd is! Advise is to go early)

Pricing: Reasonable

Rating: 7.5/10

M-I-A for a while

Just realized that we have been quite for nearly half a month now! Oh well... we've been very busy with many many things...

But fear not... we are back full force!

Kedai Kopi Cathay - Hokkien Mee

This coffeeshop is located opposite of Union Primary School. It is just before Him Heang biscuit shop. A corner coffeeshop which is not to be missed!

The hokkien mee stall is on a cart of it's own. So, if u wanna check if it's open or not, just look out for the cart. It's the 2nd one from the main road!

A normal bowl of hokkien mee (aka prawn mee) consists of mee, bee hoon, beansprout, egg, kangkong, sliced pork, fried onions and prawns! The prawns here is actually bigger than most! The taste of this dish is so-so. Not tasty enough but still slightly above average. (5.5)

Location: Kedai Kopi Cathay, Burma Road

Price: RM2.50 (normal) RM3.00 (add bah kut)

Ratings: 5.5/10

Sin Hwa Pulau Tikus - Char Koay Teow

This is one of Penang's very popular Char Koay Teow located opposite of Pulau Tikus's police station. A little difficult to get parking but it is best to park @ Pulau Tikus market and walk over. It is worth the walk... :)

A friendly aunty awaits to cook for YOU!

It's so good that they've even appeared on Wall Street Journal Asia!

The char koay teow is nicest when there's not so many customer where it is cooked one by one. When it is cooked for several people, the taste slacks off a bit.

Nevertheless, it is still ok. Still very aromatic... & tasty!

Location: Sin Hwa Coffeeshop Pulau Tikus

Price: RM2.50 (without egg) RM3.00 (with egg) RM4.00 (with duck egg) RM5.00 (BIG)

Rating: 6/10

Claypot Chicken Rice @ Golden Sands Tg Tokong

Most place, the claypot chicken rice tastes burnt, over cooked or sometimes, the rice is very soggy. This one is different. It is just right. The taste, the texture... overall it is really yummy! Can be better but after so many disappointments, this is a great change! Worth trying. Will definitely go back for it - hopefully it is CONSISTENT!

Location: Golden Sands Tg Tokong (in front of Naza Hotel)

Price: TBA

Rating: 7/10

Penang Lime-ade - Sui Kam Peng

This used to be my favourite drink... but new coffeeshops nowadays serve 'sui kam peng' which is either TOO sweet or TOO sour... not balanced.

But... if u go to the older coffeeshops... hmmm those are still really good - the traditional ones... Yumm Yummm! Delicious lime juice aka 'lime-ade'...

Penang's Traditional Kopi-O

The original & traditional style of Penang's "black coffee/americano" aka Kopi-O.

Coffee shops are called Kopi-Tiam because of this Kopi-O drink! It is also a tradition for us to follow our parents/grandparents to coffee shops and they will pour a bit of their drink on the saucer for us when we were young. 2 reasons - to share and to cool it down!

Nowadays, we can see many new higher class 'kopi tiams' evolving around Penang & KL serving coffee with ambiance that is sure to bring u back to the good-old days!

Fresh Coconut Water

What can be more perfect to drink on a hot day & our body is feeling the heat all too much?

"Coconut water is the liquid endosperm inside young coconuts. As the coconut matures this liquid largely becomes absorbed into the flesh found in mature coconuts. Coconut water has long been a popular drink in the tropics, especially in Tropical Asia and Trinidad & Tobago, where it is available fresh or bottled. It is naturally fat-free and low in food energy (16.7 calories or 70 kJ per 100 g). Due to its sterility, pH, mineral, and sugar content, coconut water had been successfully used as liquid in intravenous therapy in emergency situations [citation needed].
Coconuts for drinking are packaged and sold in many places. These are typically Thai coconuts whose outer green husk has been removed, and the remainder wrapped in plastic. Coconut water can also be found in regular cans or tetra paks (and often has coconut pulp or coconut jelly added) and is also marketed as a sports drink because of its high potassium and mineral content which helps the body recover from rigorous exercise."

In Penang, coconut water can be found easily. But please take note. Fresh coconut means it shd be served with the outer green husk like in the picture! It is priced between RM1.50-2.00 each. Young coconuts will have a thin and watery layer of meat which the more mature coconuts will have thicker layer of meat!

Baby Octopus @ Golden Sands, Tg Tokong

This is one "very-hard-2-resist" dish... Steamed baby octopus! This one here adds sesame oil to enhance the smell! The sauce served with it is so-so... can be better!

It is such a nice dish to just nibble and snack!

NOTE: You can rarely find this dish @ hawker centres

Location: Golden Sands Tg Tokong (in front of Naza Hotel)

Price: RM6.00/plate

Rating: 7/10

Ba-lee-tong @ Golden Sands Tg Tokong

We're not sure what this is called in English, but in Penang, it is known as 'Ba-LEE-tong'. It should be a type of snail which is very popular here...

(ps: if any of u know wat the name is in English, pls let US know!)

This dish is best cooked with curry leaves - not too spicy though... This one added 'kacang botol' which enhanced the taste! Yumm YUmmm...

Location: Golden Sands Tg Tokong (previously known as Sea Horse)

Price: RM6.00/plate

Rating: 7.5/10

Pan Mee @ Yee Hong

Another place worth going...

Noodles are made upon order with the pasta maker...

The uncle is amazed @ our lack of knowledge about 'pan-mee' being a penangite but he was nice and kind enough to share his knowledge with us :)

Quite similar to the one in Bukit Jambul, the pan mee here is also served with:

a small bowl of vege soup with fish balls, which comes with dry noodles

the dry & fat noodle is served with anchovies, minced pork, black fungus & fried garlics

and oohh... the chilli is really G.o.O.d!

and the soupy ones are served with fish ball soup, anchovies, vege & black fungus.

We found the pan mee's serving here to be bigger and more filling... compared to the one in Bukit Jambul. oh... and the soup is definitely more tasty!

Location: Yee Hong Food Court, Lip Sin Garden

Price: RM2.80 (small) RM3.30 (big)

Rating: 7/10