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

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

The Other Lorong Selamat (which does not involve CKT!)

While many have professed love for Lorong Selamat on account of its superstar Char Koay Teow resident, I remain firmly unconvinced of its merit and prefer to get my CKT fix elsewhere. However, there may be merit to this road's epicurean fame, beyond just that smug, goggled persona. On a recent trip, we stumbled upon not one but two noteworthy local bowls of finesse.

One was a hearty bowl of Fish Head noodles from Kedai Kopi Baru which sits isolated from the congregation of the food stalls on the Burma Road end.

A rather decent attempt at the less popular non-sour/milky variant of fish head noodles. Without the standard Chinese wine and preserved vegetables, it worked on the strength of fish stock alone and was overall a more subtle offering. Fish slices were so-so. Not mind-blowing but definitely commendable.

The next morning, we went back to Lorong Selamat, to the other end this time (Macalister Road end) to check out a shop we had passed by several times before, called T&T Prawn Mee Shop.

Ooh isn't that red car a gorgeous little machine?

We found out that it's actually the offspring of the old and beloved stall on Hong Kong Street, one that I had missed desperately so I was game to see if the younger generation made the cut. Choice toppings on offer included fish and meatballs, fresh prawns, spare ribs, pork knuckle and intestines.

My Prawn Mee with velvety, fall-of-the-bone spare ribs. Superb!! Obviously they'd stuck very close to the aged-old but not yet over-the-hill stock recipe. Drank it like beer at happy hour!

Fat Tulip's glorious mess of porcine love, starring a hefty pork knuckle and pork intestines. A beaut!

T&T also has Hokkien/Prawn mee steamboat with the delicious prawn stock, great for upcoming CNY season when your relatives gather to insinuate and interrogate. This stock could be the start of a different world for me altogether, one in which I don't abhor the concept of steamboat in what is arguably the hottest, stickiest month of the year.

Kedai Kopi Baru
6A Lorong Selamat
10400 Penang
Tel: 016-427 3717

T&T Prawn Mee Shop
127, Lorong Selamat
10400 Penang
Tel: 04-2263407/ 016 414 3369

My Tasty Hall of Shame in Penang!

Just a quick one to showcase my personal Hall of Shame over the weekend in my lovely hometown Penang - after copious amount of alcohol with some lovely folks, we proceeded to do what inebriated souls do best apart from drunk-dialling/texting/tweeting and emotional outbursts... eating!!

We headed to Green House ("Cheh Chu"), perennial favourite supper stop along Burmah Road. I don't recall having been back here since C&C Music Factory was the biggest act on the charts ("Everybodddy Dance Now!")! Mei Shean, having just consumed pasta at watering hole earlier, ordered an extra-lite serving of beancurd, shrooms and pork balls from Beng Kee Bak Kut Teh. She struggled, understandably, and my barmy appetite, released inevitably by Penang, dove in to lend a helping hand.

My Hokkien Mee from the stately stall parked on the shopfront arrived with my slurred orders to add fishballs (fishballs?? I don't even LIKE fishballs) and pork ribs! Fiery, porky and powerful! I was wide awake once this bowl went down, fish balls and every last drop of the lovely broth.

Got my second wind for the night so after bidding my earlier companions goodbye, I raced over to Chulia Street to meet Jenny and Mel having a chinwag at Banana, one of the numerous backpacker joints over some beer. I didn't want to drink anymore and in my intoxicated wide-eyed restlessness, immediately eyeballed the Ramly burger stall parked outside. Rallied the other two to join me in approaching the rather stoic-looking guy working the grill and although rather full at this point, I ordered the Double Chicken Burger with Egg. This was a glorious mess, overflowing with mayo and ketchup but regret set in only after I finished every last crumb.

I paid for this binge dearly, kept up by indigestion all night! Reminder of why I had forsaken the post-drinking munchies for so long... they're deadly!!

The Boss' Prawn Mee, Kam Heong, PJ State

Saturday AM: Pre-dawn lucid dreaming about Penang Hokkien mee (or Prawn Mee in KL). I wake up and realise waiting till my next visit back to the island is no longer an option; something here will have to do right now! I get a tip-off from Mel, Kam Heong in PJ State and recall reading about this over at Masak-masak's.

Kam Heong is on one of the rows of old shoplots surrounding the MPPJ building with no discernible English signboard except for the KTV outlet's on top of it...

The Boss... of Prawn Mee goodness is in the house!

The incarnate subject of my dream arrives, more real, more substantial, more edible! One sip of the soup confirms that this is not just any weedy stand-in for one of Penang's culinary luminaries. It is full-bodied, reflecting the hours, care and pride that flank its preparation.

Ingredients are unstinting and at RM4.50 per bowl, the serving is appropriately bigger than the standard Penang's. The soup is more pork than prawn though, which doesn't necessarily d0 justice to the Prawn Mee moniker for those who seek heavier notes of shellfish in the soup.

I also pick up curry puff from the Mon Kee siew pau stall for a snack later. The pastry is SWEET, the curry extra spicy, rendering this one weird concoction. I notice a lot of similar stalls using common pastry for both savoury & sweet fillings - am I the only one who has a problem with this? Would the two camps of fillings not require parallel ratios of sodium to lactose?

Carbo-happy, Mak Koh, Bangsar Baru

When you've had your fill of Happy Hour beer in the dai-chow desert of Bangsar Baru, and you're craving for nothing but lard-laced carbs, who do you turn to?

Mel ponders over late afternoon draught Tiger in Bangsar, confused... should we risk unpredictable uncle at Tengkat Tong Shin? Head for Thai elsewhere? So many choices, yet all requiring the nasty (and irresponsible) task of getting into our car clearly befuddled. But then someone recalled...

...Restoran Seafood Mak Koh on Telawi 2! Sticks out like a sore thumb among the rows of sleek bars, hideous pubs, first-floor boutiques and overpriced mamaks.

We skipped the impressive menu of typical and premium dai chow dishes and headed straight for where the carbs were at!

Salted Fish Fried Rice for 2, enough to feed 4!

The details - strips of deep fried salted fish, shrimps, fresh lettuce, Chinese sausages. You can tell these were just jumping off the behemoth of the golden wok no more than a minute ago!

KL Hokkien Mee - caramel darkness that oozed warmth, inspiring sobriety. Lard therapy never fails. Jane, however, declared solemnly that this wasn't all that good, for the prominent flavour was still the dark soy sauce and not the requisite balance of flavours for Hokkien Mee. She mentioned something about Setapak. Didn't take notes, too busy shoving it in.

We did good, four of us polishing off everything. Bill was a very manageable RM32 for both, given the neighbourhood. Rendered us sober to take on the dreadry Sunday drive home, the prospect of a full week of work ahead no longer fazing us.

Hometowning in Penang

It is reassuring to know that even in dubious times of the changeover in country leadership (same same but different) and the suspicious nouveau yet dodgy stance of the Opposition state government (ROAR, anyone?), some things remain the same in Penang.

The food still tastes amazing, at home or on the streets...

My very lovely Mom's cooking prowess' victorious attack on air-flown Alfonsino, which has the best name for a fish, hands down. She spiced up this already gorgeous deep-water fish by lightly frying it and serving it with a turmeric, chilli & bean paste sauce. Served at home. I think Alfonsino's a much underrated name, don't you?

Penang Hokkien mee classique with a twist - with tender slices of pork leg! Served at corner of Carnavon St & Jalan Cheong Fatt Tze (also known as Hong Kong St. by locals). RM3.50 for a slice of crustacean heaven. Tell me the country (and state) is in perfect government condition and I might even believe ya!

Apom, interior. 2 and a half kernels of corn and banana slices go a long, long way. Served at Ah Guan Apom stall, Burmah Road.

Fish meat beehoon, for the patient citizen, willing to endure a 50-minute (or 50 years?) for a good thing. I learned about this first from this very sexy post at Allie Food Talk.

The fish, glorious glorious deep fried pieces of siakap that melts in your mouth. Dunk in soup, then crunch, then swallow. RM7 per bowl, served at food court opposite Red Rock Hotel, on Macalister Road.

And the drink to numb the senses of you pesky, questioning, demanding, argumentative and critical folks...

Left: Seifried's Gewurztraminer, which traversed oceans from the wine-producing region of Nelson, NZ to the confused shores of Penang, impressing even sticky tastebuds of baby Ollie. Served at home.

Right: Local pints, easy on MS' tastebuds and her fiery defence of the local government. Served at Soho's, Penang Road.

I can only hope that the real charm of Penang holds out against the sordid changes that have been, or are about to be subjected to this little island I still like to call home.

A pint, or five, Online Pub and Brussels Beer Cafe

Some evenings, you just need that solid, no-frills pint, when dressy cocktails and uniformed wait staff just won't do. I was fortunate to have a friend point me in the right direction one night after work, to Online pub at Damansara Kim.

This is really back-to-basics pubbing - a working man's neighbourhood watering hole, where the beer's always cold, the satisfied "aaahhh" after your first sip always guaranteed.

The central bar counter area, lined with old rickety bar stools. In fact, the place itself seemed a bit rickety as a whole, which is part of its charm. There is definitely a sense of having left that weight on your shoulders once you enter. No pretenses, no confusion over what the place is for - you come here for a few quiet pints after work before you bugger off home.

Apologise for this nasty piece of photography but by this time, I think I was well into my third pint :-P Online has a simple, sufficient menu and they serve up a mean lard-laden Hokkien mee. I think the intent is to make sure any inhibitions are shot, or as long as you're at Online - have a pint, have five! Fill up on lard, it doesn't count if it's consumed while intoxicated!

The exterior of Online pub, spartan and understated. Plenty of parking around in the evenings too.

Two days later, on a fine Sunday afternoon, we felt compelled to visit the famed Brussels Beer Cafe at Jaya One for some European ales. While I enjoy draft Hoegaarden as much as the next drinker, I am partial towards Stella.

Mmmmm.... Sunday afternoon beer buzzes... the pints were drained before one could say "beer belly". We probably went a bit overboard that afternoon. Pints at Brussels, while tasty and worthwhile enough, are hardly in the same $$ bracket as Online pub, and we were abit taken aback by our own indulgence, when the bill was presented to us 3 hours later :-S

Drinking on an empty stomach is a no-no, as anyone with half an appreciation of the wonders of inebriation, would tell you. We were delighted to find that Brussels serves pork but the kitchen was closed, it being the after lunch lull when we were there, but they rustled up a bacon and egg sandwich for us to share. It was a modest affair, garnished with very wilted lettuce but redeemed itself with fat, fat fries, which were polished off as quickly as our early pints!

There's great joy in discovering nooks and corners for a cold one, or several. Where's your favourite pub?