Penang!! Since my last trip to Penang in May 2010, I had not have Char Kway Tiao back in Singapore. None of the Char Kway Tiao in Singapore can match the standard of the CWT in Penang. So, I am back again. We took a half day of on Friday, and took the afternoon flight. It was supposed to be a "secret" trip, so we had to take leave separately.
Once we arrived, we started to plan where would be our first eating stop. We wanted to try the legendary "Goggle" Char Kway Tiao. It got its name as the lady who fried it wore goggles. I wonder if she wore Oakley, it would be called Oakley Char Kway Tiao? However, when we reached there at 6pm, it was closed, so we had to find alternatives. We landed up at the corner coffeeshop which looked good.
Oyster Noodle, a bit like your hokkien noodles, but fried with clams, and served with spicy sambal chilli. If you like the "wet" style noodles, you will like this.
Oyster egg was different from the Singapore' style, though still yummy because of the chilli and the fresh osyters.
What we ordered for 1st stop:
For obvious reasons, these were not enough for us and we made our way back to the hawker near to our hotel for Round 2! The chee cheong fun here was served with Prawn Paste, so either you liked it or you hated it. For me, i still prefer it to be plain.
I had the Char Kway Tiao at the Sunway George Town Hawker in 2010, it was so good that I even packed one packet to eat it in the airport However, this time it was disappointing. It was not as fragnant. It was still better compared to those in Singapore, but it was not as heavenly. Nonetheless, we finished it.
We were so full and tired after round 2, and we went back to the hotel to rest, to prepare for Round 3!!!
Round 3 was at Gurney Drive Hawker. It was surprisely not as crowded, maybe we were there past dinner time.
Ah Bom. Don't know why it is called Ah Bom. This was like mini pancake, with bananas as filling. It was best to eat it while hot.
Our verdict was that the Char Kway Tiao here was average, though better than the one we had at Sunway. Now really looking forward to the legendary "Goggle" Char Kway Tiao tomorrow
Day 2: Saturday
Rise and shine. We were all ready for another day of eating. Before we embarked on our journey, we need to go to the airport to pick Dino. Our initial plan was to pick up Dino, and to go to Gek Lok Si temple to try the famous Gek Lok Si Assam Laksa. However, we had to change our plan as we found out that the Assam Laksa was not open in the morning. We walked around the market and came across a coffeeshop, which look nice enough. Nice means authentic looking and busy.
Iced Coffee for breakfast
I liked this better than the Char Kway Tiao yesterday.
Carrot cake was average. It was nicely flavoured, but the carrot cake was too soft and starchy. I liked the carrot cake in Malaysia because they added bean sprouts. It gave the crunchy taste. The WanTon Mee was also different from Singapore. They used the black sauce instead of the tomato sauce which was commonly used in Singapore.
Right after breakfast, we proceeded to the next stop, the famous "Goggle" Char Kway Tiao. It seems like that was the only attraction in the coffeeshop, at least 90% of the people there were patiently waiting for their Char Kway Tiao. Strangely, the auntie frying the Kway Tiao was not wearing Goggle, and some of us wondered if she was an imposter.
The silky Kway Tiao
We were told that we had to wait at least 45 minutes for our Char Kway Tiao. So while waiting, we kept our mouths and stomach busy by ordering some side dishes. These side dishes were making equally good business as the CWT as we were not the only one who did that.
Finally, these were the CWT that we have waited for 45 minutes. It had indeed lived up to its reputation. The kway tiao was smooth, the chilli was spicy and the ingredients were fresh. You can tasted the lard too. Definitely wortth the RM9 and the wait.
We went for a massage break before heading out for our Assam Laksa. T even went for his RM5 haircut, though it looked the same after the cut.
This was the legendary Kek Lok Si Laksa at Pasar Air Itam. Not very nice environment and the floor was a bit wet too, but nothing could stop us!
Is this a 100 years old pot? Perhaps that was why the soup was so tasty.
The next stop was for dinner. (Note: Laksa was afternoon tea. Doubt many had laksa for tea, but we did) We decided to let M had the option to choose, and she suggested a Malay hawker.
The new beer lady. She was mistaken as a child, so the beer uncle did not bring any mug for her! We ended the night with a nice drive to Batu Ferringhi beach and had coffee.
Day 3:
Last day in Penang, need to stuff as much as possible! We wanted to have Nasi Briyani for breakfast, but alas, the shop was closed, so we went to the nearby Chinatown for breakfast. We chose the busiest coffeeshop, going by the logic that if there is long queue, it must be good.
Delicious curry mee with internal parts.
Look at how T sucked his thumb after breakfast, it must be very good.
The famous chendol
Before we left for the airport, we made a stop at Gurney Drive, to give E a chance to check out the Mua Chi stall. We told her that it was her destiny if she had the chance to try the kungfu Mua Chi. And guess what, it was one of the few stalls opened at 2ish! She was so happy, beaming from ear to ear. And T drove to airport in disbelief! haha
Short trip, but totally enjoyable! Will be back again :)
