Soon Kee Hokkien Fried Prawn Noodle

Currently craving:

Hokkien Mee that I was completely oblivious to until recent months, after spending a bit more time in suburban Singapore. This one comes with a generous mix of thick rice vermicelli with yellow noodles, sweetened with the bouquet of the sea in a deceptively light-coloured gravy. For extra punch, hot, hot chilli sauce (at SGD0.50 for an extra tiny dollop), finish with a squeeze of fresh lime.

Soon Kee Hokkien Fried Prawn Noodle, nothing like the Hokkien mee of my origins, or the darker version one found in KL, but I'm extremely close to claiming it as my favourite among all three variants.

I know there are plenty more versions of this dotted bountifully in coffee shops across the island, and by that I don't even mean the sanitized Food Republic sort. In due time, all in due time.

Soon Kee

Block 155

Bukit Batok St 11

Singapore

Char Koay Teow, the inadvertent revival of "Not many, if any!"

Chinese New Year. Not the sickly hot and tedious affair that I had dreaded.

Earlier plan to abandon the festivities in hometown Penang this year and hibernate in foetal position in KL until the last of the fireworks went poof got upended last-minute. Mag and precious Ollie decided to come home after all!

And who says no to Ollie? To quote this (admittedly catchy in retrospect) one-time NZ hip-hop flash in the pan, "Not many, if any!"

The same quote, also applies as standard response by any person worth his or her weight on the island to my biggest beef during Chinese New Year - the question on the streets, "what to eat ah??"

But this one time, I was coaxed by Toto into the wild frontier of Penang CNY traffic to break fast with him at this cafe, end of Jalan Air Itam, almost at the foot of Penang Hill.

This industrious couple dished up plate after plate of authentic Char Koay Teow.

A decidedly small portion for RM5, as expected. But the smoky, heady plate of silky noodles, thoroughly coated with the goodness of egg and animal fat, topped with two pudgy, fresh prawns KILLED it.

"Uh, how many dudes you know roll like this,

how many dudes you know flow like this,

not many, if any,not many, if any,

How many dudes you know who got the skills to go in and rock,

a show like this,
uh uh, uh uh, I don't know any body."

The exception it seems, is here.

Now excuse me while I try restore my long-buried ambition to become a rapper, uh uh uh uh

Excellent Cafe (also "Xin Ya Zhou" or "New Asia" in Mandarin)
Jalan Air Itam
(last coffee shop on your left if you're coming from Georgetown, right before you hit the Penang Hill roundabout)
11400 Penang

Breakfast Technicolour while we wait

Been a little over a drab, dismal week since Ollie left Penang. And with his departure goes the immediate catalyst for me to head back to the island as often as the opportunity presents itself. It isn't entirely a warranted bias, considering the multiple other wonders each Penang trip packs in.

Tends to start off a little like this - we hit the highway by 5AM, he, eager as a beaver on acid and I, bleary-eyed and most certainly hungover. Engage in sardonic pre-dawn banter until we reach Penang, the sight of the ocean from the bridge crossing to the island drawing a sigh of brief contentment and a moment of silence.

And then, it's time for breakfast.

Ugly commercial monoliths juxtaposed with the agreeable facade of old Penang

This particular morning, he convinces me that I simply must try the famous Pitt Street Koay Teow Th'ng, relocated to Carnavon Street. I argue that I've never seen koay teow th'ng as food fit for the hale and hearty. But he wins this round.

There is something to be said about food this pale and uninviting in colour, but delivers the warmth and nourishment deemed necessary for rehabilitation WITHOUT tasting like it came from the hospital's cooking quarters. The fish balls are high-spirited characters, springing upon every dip and bite.

Requisite condiment of bird's eye chillies and chopped garlic swimming in soy sauce

OK, I couldn't get past the paleness of koay teow th'ng and sent him running for neighbourly atonement in the form of Penang Hokkien Mee from Kafe Ping Hooi down the road. Fire-engine red crustacean-laced broth screams "Welcome back!!!" like no other. The accompanying tender pork ribs are a legitimate rival to Hong Kong Street's version across the road.


The resident pastry vendor within Pitt St. koay teow th'ng's coffee shop also showcases a few tricks up their sleeves, one of which being the Coconut Tart. Crumbly, candied golden Penang charm.


The potent taste of old Penang deliver the dark, solemn crucial wake-up call to begin another colourful weekend from the island treasure chest.


So while Ollie packs on the year-end warm duds to counter the bitterly cold winter in the Kansai region of Japan, we await his return, drumming our grey fingers on the tabletop serving the sunny, vibrant spirit of Penang.


Famous Pitt St Koay Teow Th'ng
93 Carnavon Street
10300 Penang


Kafe Ping Hooi
Corner Carnavon Street & Lebuh Melayu
10300 Penang

Grease is Goose, Wei Kee, Pudu

Fresh from a surprisingly agreeable visit to Aquaria KLCC in spite of the weekend family mob, we wrapped up VIP Ollie's inaugural visit to Kuala Lumpur with a visit to Pudu for its distinct brand of roasted meat.

Come back anytime, ya hear?

Dad had been singing praises of Wei Kee for the longest time, having been inducted to the fatty roasted goose a few years ago by KL rellies who admittedly have a better nose for the type of cuisine that excited him.

An Ode to Adipose - the roasted goose commanded respect with its off-kilter fat content. Not the kinda stuff that would make me jizz my pants but Dad was delighted, albeit only momentarily, before his conscience settled in.

The roasted duck was leaner, and went down better with the lot of us.


Duck parts I didn't, couldn't touch but Dad and Fat Tulip lapped these up, and then some.



This Kiam Chai Boey I absolutely adored. Possibly the best use of leftover duck. Could've had a meal of rice and this alone.

We attempted to neutralise all that fat with a simple steamed tofu dish. Made Ollie very happy.

Wei Kee makes no apologies for its lacklustre roasted pork offerings. Goose is the business!

Come for the goose, beware the grease guilt trap!

Restoran Wei Kee

50, Lorong Yap Hin

Off Jalan Pasar

Pudu

The Missing Moustache went unmissed, Hai Keng, Section 14

The Saturday Mission: Some fiscal damage at Digital Mall Section 14, but before that, to fill the gut, we sauntered over to nearby Hai Keng Coffee Shop.

Zoomed in on the bright cheery sight of the signboard bearing Fushou Lou Nyonya Seafood Curry Mee. The guy operating the stall was to our utter dismay, devoid of a fushou (moustache). But then we eyed the peace offerings in the form of additional optional toppings for your bowl of noodles like stingray, clams, long beans, cuttlefish and we were appeased.

His Neptunian version came with a hefty piece of stingray, cuttlefish and clams. He pronounced the curry opulent and joyfully liberating... kinda like the sea!

Mine was a more subdued but equally sumptuous affair of poultry and cuttlefish. I loved that they had the option of lai fun or laksa noodles because frankly, I don't give two shrimps for the other sort of noodles. The gravy was thick and had a distinct sourish taste - attributed to lashings of lime, perhaps?

My hot geek friend's intense enjoyment of his bowl of noodles said it all. Yes, he's available, girls! He likes his curry hot and thick, his t-shirts bright and cheerful and his eyewear oversized vintage. He is also a huge proponent of facial hair (on men only... I THINK!) but thankfully, did not find fault with Fushou Lou for the misleading moustachioed appellation.

Both bowls came up to a very decent RM12. Thanks for the treat, Toto!

Fushou Lou Nyonya Curry Laksa
Hai Keng
Jalan 14/20, Section 14
Petaling Jaya

Hup-Hup! Sunday Simplicity on the Double!

Hup Soon's Western food stall had been edging its way into conversations about Sunday comfort food, one that usually lasts for hours as dusk claims yet another tiring day of rest and games. The urgency to visit went up a couple of notches after reading Rebecca's post on her auspicious visit to the same coffee shop during the day.

SS3 has always been a bit of a mystery to me. Particularly at the end of a day of futility, I am even less inclined to navigate my way around old Petaling Jaya. Special thanks to driver this particular Sunday!

Hup Soon illuminated for an evening of family feasting. Note: in the evenings, all other stalls are closed, so you come here either for the standard Western fare or fill up on iced Chinese tea or something.

The menu with revised pricing. I had imagined this stall to serve Hainanese chicken chop so imagine my dismay that the dialect here was anything but Hainanese.

The driver friend goes for the Lamb Stew, which commanded attention with its huge chunks of fall of the bone lamb in potent clear brew, bursting with goodness of generous dashings of pepper and accompanying vegetables. Very satisfying.

My Mushroom Soup was a bit of a modified Campbell's disaster. If you think it looks like dishwater, wait till you have a taste.

The Mexican Chicken Chop was massive slab of deep fried (you get a choice between deep fried or grilled) chop, drenched in a blah sweet & sour sauce, a masterpiece of culinary misappropriation.

My Chicken chop with Brown Sauce fared a wee bit better but I was terribly defeated by the massive serving - got about halfway through the reasonably uhh... well-fried chop? Passed the rest to my alarmingly ravenous driver friend, who had yet another serving of the same...

...Grilled chicken chop with brown sauce. We concurred that when you're in these quarters, don't even think about going easy on the grease. Hup Soon is meant to feed the coarse yet cheerful pleasure-seeker in all of us.

Despite my initial misgivings, I foresee a few more Sundays where I will need Hup Soon's heavily simple comforts. Still no clue how I'd get there though!

Hup Soon
Jalan 3/29
SS3 Kelana Jaya
47300 Petaling Jaya
Selangor

You Shall Eat Well in Penang

Who ever gets tired of Penang food porn? Not me!

So while I try to sift through the massive collection of random food photographs amassed in the camera and figure out what the hell to do with them (how do food bloggers do it? Do you guys make notes? Impose a post deadline?), here's another edition of more friendly food finds on sunny island.

Penang Curry Mee arrived at the perpetually packed New Cathay Coffee Shop, Pulau Tikus. I like this version because the curry is a notch thicker than average but not as loaded as the curry laksas down south. Cloud Nine mornings are made of this.

We also visited the poorly ventilated Sin Kim San Coffee Shop on Macalister Road. The Curry Chee Cheong Fun gets top marks with the olds because of the healthy chunks of chicken on smooth silken rice rolls. Didn't fancy the plasticware it came in, but I could definitely appreciate the robust gravy.

Also at Sin Kim San was Koay Chiap, a craft that is slowly but surely dying. The stall here serves up a perfectly worthy bowl of this herbal and somber delicacy, the handmade rice noodles springier to the spoon compared to the famed Kimberly Street's version.

To round off this day of eating well in Penang was a serving of Stewed Pork Leg, served with rice. The pork was fatty and invoked varying levels of lust. While not the best around, it was still very satisfying.

New Cathay
425E Jalan Burma
10350 Penang

Sin Kim San
Corner of Macalister Road & Rangoon Road
10400 Penang

Rasta Food Court, TTDI

Rasta's new location next to the Penchala link is definitely an improvement from the tight squeeze next to the Mobil station at TTDI.

The rainy spell's really freshened up the dreadry weather all around, so Rasta's very airy, extremely open concept was perfect to enjoy some fancy-free, food-court grub in cool, KL evening breeze and parade our flip flops and faded post-office appearances. The setting imparted a strange sense of pliable well-being, enough for me to be persuaded to overlook my disdain of Jason Mraz's Malaysian format radio casualty and agree to go to his concert in March. I hope I know what I'm doing!!

Waffles with ice-cream arrived first - impressive amount of ice cream on lovely waffles, not at all like the stuff they make outside hypermarkets.

Yoda's Bihun Sup - Yoda wasn't ill but his meal suggested otherwise. Very generous vegie quota though, which seems to be an aversion by hawkers everywhere.

An order of Nasi Goreng USA came drowned in gravy of the accompanying beef slices, rendering its consistency porridge-like 1/3 into the meal. The dish owner proclaimed this good though, licking the entire plate clean.

From the famed Azim's Burger Shack, I ordered the Grilled chicken burger. For RM7, it isn't your standard mat burger pricing, but this was real tender, superbly marinated chicken tenderloin, not patty, served with healthy dosage of lettuce and tomato. Knowing their tendency to go crazy with sauces, I asked for less mayo and the result was beautiful. Could've done with a slightly larger bun though!

The requisite Koay Teow goreng made an appearance on the table. Apparently, this was only so-so, with no more than one lonely shrimp gracing the plate.

Rasta is extremely reasonable and there are plenty of halal menus to choose from, including dimsum, kampung curries and even shisha. We paid RM40 for 5 of us, including drinks. Like that there's the tacit trust factor in place, in the form of the eat-first-then-pay self service counter.

Fishing for Attitude at Song River, Gurney Drive

They say the grilled fish at the infamous Song River Cafe on Gurney Drive is not like any other in the world. And the guy who makes it isn't like any other grilled fish hawker either. Tread carefully with him, they say, for you never know what his erratic mood swings will throw your way. The list of don'ts when ordering from menopausal uncle is endless, but the key ones are: don't mince your words, don't hesitate at point of ordering, don't ask for something he isn't "feeling" like grilling (this can be quite tricky), don't remind him if you've been waiting long for your order unless you're ready to risk not getting it at all.

He arrives and opens his stall as and when he pleases. On this particular visit, a large group of us arrived at 9PM with great anticipation, armed with BYO wine, and contented ourselves for a long wait ahead.

While we waited, we stocked up on some other Song River goodies, which are abundant and thankfully not entirely the domain of difficult divas.

The much sought-after grilled chicken wings - smoky, smoky sweetness! Multiple rounds of these were ordered.

Char Koay Teow, equally inspiring with three may-jah fat pink prawns.

Hokkien Mee. I didn't taste this, but the soup looked a tad too clear for my liking.


The wait went on. More bottles were opened to soothe frayed, impatient nerves.
A camera-friendly uncle came by, hawking plastic containers of arrowroot chips, signalling the arrival of the rambunctious pre-CNY season. One container was purchased for RM18, finished with gusto paired with refreshing Tiger, having polished off the wine.

Still no sign of Uncle and that charming attitude. We were getting restless. And boisterous. Oysters are kinda shellfishy, so one plate of fried oysters appeared to help tide us over.

It barely helped. Oysters were aplenty enough but much too oily, eggs overfried and generally not what it was remembered to be.

Finally, the eminent fish griller swanned in at 10.45PM but wait, no hassling him while he takes his own sweet time setting up. Come 11.15PM, KJ meekly approached him to place his orders in the way that only KJ knew how. More waiting ensued. Finally...

Grilled fish belly, begging the question, how can such a disagreeable demeanour produce something so tender and delicate? Silence fell over the table as this disappeared almost instantly.

Stir-fried lala - the lalas were extremely malnourished but never mind, the heavenly coating rendered the shells good enough to swallow.

Someone mentioned grilled brinjals. KJ had asked for this earlier, only to be told there weren't any. Spurred on by Dutch courage, a group approached Uncle Attitude. A bellowing negotiation ensued, with the kind of chutzpah that would only apply in Hokkien, and it went something like this...

"We wondered if you have any brinjals?"

"NO! I told you I don't have any! Stop pestering me!"

"OK, in case you do have some, and you felt like preparing it later, please let us have some."

"I don't feel like it! I never feel like brinjals on weekends!"

"Right, in case you felt differently tonight..."

"If you want brinjals so badly, leave me alone and go on over to the mainland... you'll probably find some THERE!"

Defeated, we settled for an additional order of grilled fish. Same deal with the earlier belly, exquisite flavours beyond compare. 5 minutes tops, and the plate was empty.

Paying him proved to be just as big a challenge. Apparently, money isn't motivation enough for him to be nice. We asked to pay about three times, each time knocked back with a barked "I'm too busy right now!" Apparently, the story goes that he actually holds down three jobs - one as a fisherman, two as a fishmonger during the day and three, as grilled fish diva at Song River at night. Could explain the attitude, but seems to me he enjoys torturing the lot of grilled fish worshippers who remain unfazed by the ill-treatment.

Certainly a dining experience for the memory cards. Would love to return for the brinjals but I don't know if I could handle Uncle with as much aplomb minus the group.