Monday, October 6, 2008

Quintessential Penang, Kafe Kheng Pin, Penang Road

There are simply not enough eating hours, even over a super-long weekend to get my fill of Penang. Thankfully, I have a trusted eating companion in Fat Tulip who is keen on sharing and caring, so we get to sample more variety.
The second day of Raya saw us visiting Kheng Pin, a kopitiam on Penang Road that clearly exemplifies an evergreen oldie but goodie. This place has only a handful of stalls, all of them serving GREAT fare.
We started with the customary plate of loh bak. Granted, it's 9 in the morning and all that grease is probably not the best way to start the day but it's a holiday! And look at everyone else in the kopitiam, tucking in happily! An assortment of deep-fried goodies, a bit of century egg, all dunked in the thick savoury goodness of chilli and loh sauce. Close-up of loh bak - I am not a huge fan of loh bak but this one is simply irresistible, comprising chunkier pork meat than the other standard loh baks around town. I am also awed by the uncle who hovers over the cauldron of boiling hot oil for hours on end, hardly breaking a sweat. He was at it in the morning and when we returned after noon to take away chicken rice for lunch, he was still working it, cool as the cucumber that he serves with his loh bak.


Char Koay Teow with duck egg, and plenty of juicy prawns. This is Penang on a plate!

I also ordered the Wantan mee, having spied the extended queue and the waiting time, always a good sign. And I wasn't disappointed! The wantans were fat and juicy, the noodles drenched in the familiar concoction of dark soy and lard oil. Big ups!


Kafe Kheng Pin is quite the institution so any self-respecting foodie would know where it is. It's located on the corner of Sri Bahari Road and Penang Road. I can't wait to go back!

17 comments:

Anonymous said...

I never tried in this coffee shop although I stayed quite near when I was small. Maybe I can go try it out one day. :)

CK Lam said...

Penang hawker food will always have a place in your heart...haha. Hope you did enjoy yourself with all the yummy food during the holidays.

J2Kfm said...

yeah, this one holds much memories for me as well. eaten here with my parents some years ago.

Christina Kim said...

Hey....Penang hawker food in one post...haha, that's quite a lot.
But I bet that will never be enough for a traveling Penangite....my mum is always like that, she complains she can never get enough Penang food on each trip:p

cariso said...

char koay teow...one dish which I've been banning myself from eating for >10 yrs.

Anonymous said...

Oh I love this coffee shop! The Lor Bak there is really good.

The century egg + chicken + fish porridge combination is kinda nice too. And the "cheap" nasi lemak bungkus that the porridge stall sells is not too bad as well :-)

The satay used to be one of the decent ones around until it changed hands recently :-(

I hear the chicken rice at this shop is nice but I have yet to taste it coz it always seems to be sold out.

minchow said...

Allenooi, this was my first time too!

CK Lam, I gained 2kgs over 4 days in Penang... yes I enjoyed myself! :-)

J2kfm, probably the same uncles and aunties manning the stalls still

Christy, yeah, spoilt for choice growing up in Penang and now I have to make do with only monthly binges when I go back, sniff sniff!

Cariso, wow, why so disciplined one?

Kayameekoo, I heard great things about the porridge too. We went back for the chicken rice for lunch on the same day and it was superb!

choi yen said...

I like lo bak~~Actually I like all sort of fried food :P

CK Lam said...

Forgot to mention, I have changed my url and kindly update it, Thank you.

www.what2seeonline.com

Ciki said...

I wanna be HIM! I wanna be cool as the cucumber that he serves with his loh bak!! (bad day at work.. can u tell?!) reading ur blog sure cheered me up;D

jasmine said...

ooh, another lor bak place to try? during my last trip there, had my best ever at Seng Thor, where this uncle manning the lor bak cart had wonderful sausages, and even fish!

New Kid on the Blog said...

Penang hawker food can never be enough for many people... hehehe, that includes me too! :)

email2me said...

550ml ....

You miss that lansi aunty's chicken rice. That chicken rice you have to wait for at least 30 to 45 mins during lunch hour! And she cut the chicken very slow. She massage the chicken before serve out I think. That's why the meat so tender and juicy. :P

She only sell steam chicken and no roasted type. If you chase her faster, she will tell you. If you cannot wait, please order other things.

Sharon Y. said...

I like the thick noodles in wantan mee. Have to try it out dee!

Anonymous said...

penang hawker food simply irresistible.. :)

CRIZ LAI said...

I think this is the most blog about coffee shop in Penang, considering that all the food there are relatively good. Even the Chicken Rice is one of the most talk about in town.

You could also try out another 100% good food coffee house down in Church Street - Eng Loh. The peanut butter toast garnished with crunchy peanuts is a must to try. Even the Wan Than Mee stall has over 20 different types of combination and toppings to choose from.

http://crizfood.blogspot.com/

Anonymous said...

wah....now I really hungry, want to go find Lobak...but I'm in KL....damn......nice food blog....cheers!!!