Char Siu, Siu Bak & Siu Ark @ Wai Kee

Located along Chulia Street, it is quite difficult to miss this blue-ish green 3-storey building. The 1st & 2nd floor is the sky hotel while the ground floor is home to WAI KEE, Penang's dee-licious char siu (bbq pork), siu bak (roast pork) & siu ark (roast duck).

We arrived at about 12.00pm and it was already full house. Kia-su we might have to wait long, we ordered even before getting a seat. We were estimating a 20-min lunch coz our coins for parking can only last that long! The place was packed; customers queuing up to buy takeaways were also long. Mostly motorist who stops by to takeaway as it is quite difficult to get parkings around this area.

Half hour passed... and we were still waiting. Changed coins and added for our parking meter.. then finally it was here. FINALLY - FOOD!

Siew Bak (Roast pork)'s most important element of a good roast pork is a balance of the meat and the fat. What we love most about it is the fact that the fat is cooked to perfection thus it is not all oily and chewy but instead, it is very aromatic. The skin is roasted just nice - crispy! Just the way we like it.... (7/10)

"Char siu" literally means "roasted on a fork," the traditional cooking method for the dish. Long strips of seasoned boneless pork are skewered with long forks and placed in a covered oven or over a fire. The meat, typically a shoulder cut, is seasoned with a mixture of honey, five-spice powder, fermented tofu, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, red food colouring (optional) and sherry or rice wine (optional). These seasonings turn the exterior layer of meat dark red, similar to the "smoke ring" of American barbecues. The char siu is really yummy... Don't really know how to explain the taste but it is very well marinated. Once you start, it is really very difficult to stop. It is not over burnt like most place. It is slightly burnt which enhance its taste. Very NICE!!! (7.5/10)

The siu ark is very popular but we found it to be average only. It doesn't smell very ducky like some places and the meat is very tender. But besides that, the taste is just so-so... (6/10). It is perhaps slightly above average.

To complement & balance up our meal is a plate of vege!

And a bowl of soup with pork intestines!

Overall... we will definitely come back again! Mainly for the CHAR SIU! We finished at about 1.00pm. Make sure you have enough patience & time at hand before coming... :)

Location: Chulia Street

Price: RM2.50 (1 type of meat); RM3.50 (2 types of meat)

Super Tanker - Buns

Oooohhhh... the buns are absolutely tasty & delicious. It leaves you wanting more and more! Yumm yumm... for RM1.00 per piece, it is definitely a must have! They have all sorts for you to choose from hot dog, bbq pork (char siew), luncheon meat, butter bun and many many more. It is baked and made there. The aroma of fresh baked buns will lead you to them and it is quite difficult to resist them!

Location: Super Tanker, Lip Sin
Price: RM1.00
Ratings: 7.5/10

Bangkok Lane - Mee Mamak

Mee mamak in Penang is almost synonymous with Bangkok Lane. That's how popular the mee mamak @ Bangkok Lane is.It is also know as Mee goreng or Mi goreng (English: Fried Noodles, Indian-style) which is a dish famous in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore. It is made with thin yellow noodles. The dish is fried with onion, fried tofu, chili, vegetables, tomatoes and egg, and is available commonly at Mamak stalls in Malaysia.

The mee mamak here is cooked with sotong (squid) which adds to the nice aroma. Quality may be inconsistent when busy but on the whole, the taste is there. During rainy or hot & sunny days, just drive past, wind down your windows and shout your orders! They will then bring to your car for you. Easy & convenient.

Location: Bangkok Lane
Price: RM3.00 (with egg & sotong)
Ratings: 7/10

Penang Road - Cendol

Whenever you tell a penangite 'Cendol', they will tell you Penang Road Cendol... Though it is always hard to find car park around here, this place is always packed with locals & tourists.

The ice is very fine, and the taste is just right. The ideal dessert on a hot & sunny day!

Location: Penang Road
Price: RM1.50
Rating: 7/10

Sin Hup Aun - Koay Teow Th'ng

Koay teow th'ng aka flat rice noodle is a popular Penang dish. It is usually garnished with shredded chicken or sliced pork, fish balls, fish cake slices, mustard leaves and topped with garlic oil.

The minced pork is very thin and nice; the clear soup base is average; and on the whole, the dish is very normal. There are so many Koay Teow Th'ng in Penang...

Location: Pulau Tikus Market
Price: RM3.00
Rating: 5/10

Sin Hup Aun - Wan Ton Mee

Wonton noodle or wanton mee is a Cantonese noodle dish which is popular in Hong Kong, Malaysia, and Singapore. The dish is usually served in hot soup, garnished with leafy vegetables, and wonton. The types of leafy vegetables used are usually kailan also known as Chinese kale. Another type of dumpling known as shui jiao is sometimes served in place of wonton. It contains prawns, pork, spring onions with some chefs adding mushroom and black fungus.

The wanton mee here is very tasty. It is served with chinese mushrooms, vege, barbeque pork (char siew), spring onions and wanton. It is best eaten with pickled green chillies in soy sauce. Overall, the taste of this wanton mee is just nice....

Location: Pulau Tikus Market
Price: RM2.50
Rating: 7/10

Macalister Lane - Char Koay Kak

Char Koay Kak is also known as "Fried Radish Cake". The Koay Kak is made by steaming rice flour batter which cools to form a firm pudding like cake. It is then cut up roughly using a pastry cutter or a metal wok turner and fried with garlic, preserved radish, beansprouts, chinese chives, dark soy sauce and some chilli paste if desired. Egg can also be added depending on one's preference....

The Koay Kak is quite well known and there is also quite a long queue but it was quite disappointing for us. It was quite burnt, too spicy & quite tasteless. Oh well... we'll have to continue hunting...

Location: Macalister Lane
Price: RM2.50
Rating: 3/10

Macalister Lane - Char Koay Teow

2nd stop for CKT! Penangites are usually very fussy when it comes to popular Penang dishes and Char Koay Teow is definitely one of them!

When this plate of CKT was served, it did not smell nor looked as good. But, once you eat it... the aroma just fills your mouth. The best part is... it is not very oily.... Yumm Yumm... not bad at all.....

Location: Macalister Lane
Price: RM2.50 (pretty reasonable)
Rating: 6/10

Macalister Lane - Chee Cheong Fun

This is the second place for Chee Cheong Fun. It is operated by 2 elderly couple. It was the first dish we ordered when we arrived and it only came about 20 mins later. And trust me, it's not because they are slow. But it was worth the wait.

The texture of the rice sheets and the not-so-strong "hae-ko" smell... Oh, and it is not very oily... Overall, we really enjoyed it!

Location: Macalister Lane
Price: RM0.70/pc
Rating: 7/10

Macalister Road - Bah Kut Teh

Bak Kut Teh is a Chinese soup popularly served in Malaysia, Singapore and also cities of neighbouring countries like Batam of Indonesia and Hat Yai of Thailand. The name literally translates as "pork bone tea", and at its simplest consists of meaty pork ribs in a complex broth of herbs and spices (including star anise, cinnamon, cloves, dang gui and garlic), boiled together with pork bones for hours. However, additional ingredients may include offal, varieties of mushroom, lettuce, and pieces of dried tofu. Light and dark soy sauce are also added to the soup during cooking, with varying amounts depending on the variant.

Bak kut teh is usually eaten with rice, and often served with youtiao (strips of fried dough) for dipping into the soup. Soy sauce (usually light soy sauce, but dark soy sauce is also offered sometimes) is preferred as a condiment, with which chopped chilli padi and minced garlic is taken together.

The bak kut teh here is really nice. Not oily, doesn't leave you feeling very thirsty (not much MSG) and the taste is consistent. It is usually packed for dinner and very popular among business people as well.

Location: Macalister Road, opposite Agora Hotel
Price: RM17.00 (for 2)
Rating: 7.5/10

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New Lane - Char Koay Teow

Char kway teow, (CKT) literally "fried flat noodles", is a popular noodle dish in Malaysia and Singapore. It is made from flat rice noodles (called Shāhé fěn or hé fěn in Chinese), approximately 1 cm or slightly narrower in width, fried over very high heat with light and dark soy sauce, chilli, prawns, cockles, egg, bean sprouts and Chinese chives.

We're not sure if the taste of the CKT is inconsistent or what... but the taste is not as aromatic as we remembered it to be and it was very oily. At RM4.00 per plate, don't think it's worth it.

Location: New Lane
Price: RM4.00
Rating: 5/10