Wan Tan Mee at Lye Lye Food Court

It was one of the moments where we were literally in the middle of nowhere, and just being thirsty for liquid after our morning walk, we chanced upon this coffee shop, Lye Lye Food Court. But to our surprise, it turned out that this place is a popularity among residents in the area. Initially we were only there for a drink but somehow we got caught up with the crowd and tagged along with their interesting occurrence of eating penangite's all time favourite Cantonese noddles, Wan Tan Mee.

 

I have grown up alongside with this food, and it proved to be a good companion whenever I'm hungry. Ever since then I started to develop a particular fondness towards this noodles, probably very much due to its simplicity and availability. Fortunate enough, now it seemed like I'd found myself another reliable place for my Wan Tan Mee list.

 

While most of the stalls are still sleeping away, this one made it a point to start its business early. It wasn't that early though, as it was already close to 12.00pm . This food court usually peaks at night, with more than twenty over stalls competing for business, but ironically at noon, there was barely a few stalls opened.

This Wan Tan Mee had a spell on me upon first sight. I always like food that looks good, because naturally food that is tantalizing to our eyes, is also delightful for both our tastebuds and stomachs, well that's often my theory. And in this case, I was right about the noodles as they were definitely more slender and was very much to our liking. The black soy sauce had a delicate sweetness and complemented the noddles very well.

On the other hand, the fried dumplings were warm and crispy, with a generous stuffing of minced meat inside. Although I still prefer steamed dumplings at times, the dumplings were very much satisfactory. It all looked too simple with all the ingredients in place, yet the taste was far from simple and indeed it was unrelentingly good. Definitely a place worth returning and spending for a simple Cantonese delicacy.  9.0

Prices .

Wan Tan Mee - RM 2.70

Bonus .

This stall opens from 11.30am to 3.30pm .

Located off Terengganu Road just after the small roundabout.


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Fried Maggi at Abu Mamak Stall

Mamak is a term used to describe the Indian Muslims, which is widely acknowledged in Penang. I used to think that roti canai is all indian, but soon I learned that roti canai is actually a fusion of indian and malay cuisine, or simply mamak cuisine. So we were on the move again, in search of our good old place for supper at Abu Mamak Stall.

We have been here for years now, and we learned that this place was called Abu because there were two reasons. One which was there was a graffiti of the word Abu on the wall and one of the staffs (also owner) here has the name of Abu.

 

Operating on a what used to be a car park, this place is frequently patronized by people with night life, as it is open from night to morning. I think that is what makes Penang so unique, when people have always been nocturnal.

It was a norm for us to drink this every time we're here, Sirap Ais Limau (Iced Syrup with Lime).

 

The Roti Canai here never fail to amuse me, it had a some sort of fluffy texture yet crisp on the outside, and it's best eaten with the curry. Though I think that I've had better curries than this, it was still a good match.   8.0

 

Roti Bom is my personal favourite over here. No matter it's a cheese bom or plain bom, when eaten along with the condensed milk provided especially when it was still warm, it felt perfectly good. If you're afraid of sweetness that might cause you diabetes and might consequently causing you to join the biggest loser, worry not as you can eat this roti bom all by itself but with a tiny catch - the inside of the roti bom is already filled with kaya. Fascinating huh ?   8.5

 

If you're wondering what are the sunny-side-up eggs and fried chicken laying there for, you'll find it out soon enough.

 

 Ta-daa ! They're perfect as add-ons for a plate of Fried Maggi Noodles. The noodles here had a touch of spiciness (your own preference) and altogether it was nothing short of delicious. We usually order Maggi Goreng Ayam Sikit or in english, Fried Maggi Noodles with a little Fried Chicken.   8.5

One more thing which I really like about this place is the service. The friendliness of the staffs, namely Abu always managed to get me to return here, and sometimes he gives discounts too :) 

Prices listed are as before discounts.

Prices .

Sirap Limau - RM 1.30

Roti Bom - RM 1.70

Maggi Goreng - RM 4.00

Bonus .

Opens from 7.30pm to 6.30am

Located opposite of the closed-down Kayu Restaurant off Dato Koyah Road.

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Air Itam Market's Curry Mee and Koay Chap

It was a beautiful Saturday morning, and we woke up early at 7am for something different, something we don't do so often - marketing.
It's not business marketing, but grocery marketing to prepare a lot of stuffs for tonight's invited barbeque dinner by the beach.
So we decided to go to Air Itam Market, which is a known spot for some of the very good food in Penang.

It's so lively and crowded out here, where people walked by the side of the road, just inches away from the vehicles. It's amazing how Penangites are always active all day long.

the oldest Sunshine in Penang

inside the wet market

Since we all woke up without having breakfast at home, and after an hour of marketing, we were ready for the food hunt. One of my friends suggested the infamous Koay Chap for a try since it was also a favourite of hers.





Koay Chap originates from Singapore, which is influenced by a multi-ethnic background, mainly Chinese. It is a dish made of rice noddles sheets dipped in soya soup together with various parts of pork, vegetables and tofu.

koay chap

The rice noodles of the Koay Chap has indeed a very smooth texture, making it very soft and blends well with the sweet soya soup. I'm not a fan of Koay Chap, but from the look of my friend, I think she really enjoyed it.   8.0

apom (pancake)

While waiting for her to finish, we ordered Apom Manis (apong or pancake) just outside the coffee shop, a known local delicacy which is made of flour, eggs and sugar on a claypot and originates from India. It is never stomach-fulfilling to eat Apom at any time of the day, but it is a very good add-on for meals and snacking. The Apom tasted really crunchy and sweet, and once inside your mouth, it melts itself in a slow manner - really delicious.

Right one more thing, I used to think that all the drinks in any kopitiam is the same, but I was wrong when my friend, once again suggested and ordered the Milo Ice for us. At first look, the cup, the straw, the ice do look the same, but one thing's different, the taste. It tasted better than what my mum used to make for me when I was a little boy after I'd helped her with the housework, because somehow the Milo had a thick chocolate flavour.

milo ice

It was my turn, as I just ate 2 pieces of Apom and it wasn't even enough as an appetizer. We went to the other corner of the market, beside the river, where a legend resides. I sincerely think that she's a legend because of the years she has served as a hawker, and she might even be older than most of our grandmoms. and therefore she is known as - the Curry Mee legend. And what's more spicy than the Curry Mee was the fact that the ah ma sits all day long on a bangku (wooden stool), preparing and scooping the necessary ingredients for the perfect Curry Mee.




The last time I ate her tradisional Curry Mee was nearly 10 years ago, and I am really glad that I have the chance to eat again.

curry mee

ah ma and stools

The Curry Mee has very interesting details of the tauge (bean sprout), tau pok (stuffed friend tofu) and sotong (squid) placed on top of the noodles. What I like most about the Curry Mee was it's tau pok which is very soft and juicy. Although it wasn't the best Curry Mee ever, but the reputation is there and some of the customers even enjoy eating on the bangku.   8.0

If you have never try before, I recommend you to try it as this is a really good experience which you can't find elsewhere in Penang.

Prices .
Koay Chap - RM 4.50 a bowl
Apom - RM 0.40 a piece
Milo Ice - RM 1.40 a cup
Curry Mee - RM 3.00 a bowl

Bonus .
To find good food, you always have to sacrifice, and that includes waking up early on a Saturday morning.
Air Itam Market is located near to the Kek Lok Si Temple.
This is also the place for some other famous good food like Laksa and Susu Lembu is sold at night but that would be next time.
The ideal hours for marketing and breakfast is about 7 - 9am .

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Jawa Mee at Seasons (Vegetarian)

The 1st and 15th day during each month of the Lunar calendar is celebrated by the Chinese simply by visiting temples, praying or practicing vegetarianism. The enigma in many people is that vegetarian food does not taste good or at least not as good as non-vegetarian food, and therefore people only eat vegetarian food when they need, especially during auspicious occasions. But one thing I noticed is the mindset of the people has changed ever since the vegetarian food industry bloomed in Penang years ago.

Believe it or not, I used to patronize this particular vegetarian restaurant, be it an auspicious day or not. It's simply because the food here, so basically nowadays people prefer to eat vegetarian food not because they need to, but because they like to.

 

 

This stall sells a great variety of local delicacies, comprising food like Wan Tan Mee, Jawa Mee, Curry Mee and also Chee Cheong Fan. I have always wondered how a small kiosk like this alone can sell such variety of food, but somehow they (the husband and wife) still managed to do just that.

 

   soup for both curry mee and jawa mee

The alleged rumour was that the prices of vegetarian food are always expensive and sometimes throat-cutting. But in this place, this is never the case as the food here is priced reasonably (as below).

 



While waiting for my food, I ordered a bowl of Almond with White Fungus Soup. This nourishing dessert is a very good way to start the day with the nutrients prescribed by the Chinese which also contains red dates and longans.It tasted average probably since it was meant to be herbal, but nevertheless I enjoyed it.

wan tan mee

The Wan Tan Mee was served in a short 10 minutes. Apart from comparing it to it's non-vegetarian cousin which contains real pork meat, I think the taste was good and everything was just in place. There were pinches of small pork meat cubes (literally) which added more munch to the noodles. The fried wan tan (friend dumpling) was indeed crunchy and if you would to be eating this blindfold, you would never guess they were actually made from vegetables or vegan recipes. Now that's another reason why vegetarian food is getting more popular.

jawa mee

The best of all is none other than the Jawa Mee. First impression, it does already look like the real thing. First bite, it still tastes like the real thing. Amazingly, this jawa mee is capable of making you reconsider whether is it really a vegetarian dish. I think the taste is really good and might even surpass some of the famous jawa mee(s) out there. The fact that this jawa mee has no prawns or egg may sound disappointing, but the use of crispy vegetarian fritters (prawn crackers) and fresh orange potatoes had actually compensated the use of poultry. The gravy itself is fantastic with a little bit of spiciness, blending together with the noodles, making each bite so rewarding.

The one thing I don't fancy about this place is the unfriendliness of the hawkers (both husband and wife). But if you're in for the food, there is much to fancy.

Prices .

Almond with White Fungus Soup - RM 2.00

Wan Tan Mee - RM 2.70

Jawa Mee - RM 2.70

Bonus .

16-G, Medan Angsana 4, Bandar Baru Farlim, Ayer Itam, Penang.

It is located in Farlim Business Centre on the row opposite to Shell's Laksa or directly behind Farlim's KFC.

Business hours are from morning 7.30am to 11am .


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Meat Noodles at Raja Uda

This isn't a delicacy that we can always find in the island. So just yesterday, I decided to travel down a little to mainland in search of this local delight.

Basically i don't know what to call this in English. It's a kind of noodle (rice noodle similar to koay chap) that is cooked with pork meat, intestines, kidney (organs), even the skin and etc. We used to call it 'chu yoke fun' in cantonese. I think I'll just call it, meat noodles.

Here is how the shop looks like, it is located exactly beside the Shell petrol station. Somewhere near Raja Uda's famous tom yam mee.



Ta-daa. I love it so much because although it is cooked with some inner organs, but at least it doesn't have that stinky and disgusting smell that annoys me all the time when i have pork organs. The soup was just perfect, not too salty and after you drink the soup, you won't feel very thirsty (a sign of just nice ajinomoto). I kind of like the softness of the pork meat as it managed to somehow melt so easily in my mouth with merely just a few munches. The lard added some extraordinary aroma into the whole thing.   - 8.0



The special chilly sauce, not spicy at all. Garlic oil has been added into the sauce.

Homemade tom yam paste and chilly sauce are also available here.

Prices .
Meat noodles (choo yoke fun) - RM 4.00


Info .
Kedai Makan Cun Jia
No 7308, Jalan Raja Uda Taman Anggerik,
12300 Butterworth, Pulau Pinan Butterworth, 12300, Pulau Pinang.
Tel: 012-5523648
Latitude: 5.4248
Longitude: 100.3822

Bonus .
It located right beside Shell Petrol Station.
Opens from 12pm until 8pm daily.
Closed every Thursday.



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Laksa and Yam Rice at Seang Tek Road

People often think that in order to promote their food business well, one of the criteria is to have a good location, a hot spot, or a slot where all the commotion is in town. But in Penang, that's not always the case.
Good location does not make a food good, but it is good food that makes a location good.

So earlier today, I was invited for a food review at my friend's place. To be honest the kopitiam is rather small, but again the size of the location is never the deal to begin with.

big banners will do .

Since it was lunch time and our stomachs were supposed to fill in a few pounds of food, we decided to order everything (all the food in the pic above).
We were seated on the narrow pathway, while looking at the handful of customers (not in pic) who were waiting to ta pao (take away) the purportedly delicious Laksa.

lady in apron

The great thing about this place is that the food is always served within minutes, somehow that I supposed is an important criteria for food business. It was odd to order Laksa and Yam Rice together, which was my first time eating the combo.

I think the Laksa gave a promising first impression, with the colourful combination of onions, mint leaves, cucumber and red chillies which were sprinkled on top beautifully.

The different point to note for the Laksa was also its white noodles. The noodles were very soft and succulent. And for the soup, I thought it was a little not-so-spicy but tasted not too bad altogether.

yam rice

On a different course, the Yam Rice. It was served and to be eaten together with the Laksa. Although we usually eat Laksa with Popiah, I have to admit that the Yam Rice was terrific. I've always remembered how a perfect Yam Rice tasted, and frankly this one is close to it.
Remember we ordered all the food above, do you know what's missing ? Right, it's the Prawn Cracker or heh pia in plain Hokkien or keropok udang in Bahasa Melayu.




Altogether there were many different ways of eating this local snack food. You can dip it inside the Laksa soup, to add a spicy savoury flavour in it. You can also break it into small pieces and eat them as a dish with the Yam Rice. Or to make things simple, you can just eat it by itself which is already very satifsfying and good enough for me.



To finish things off with a sweet note, the Ai Yu Ping (Jelly Ice) did a really great job on cooling down our tastebuds. It tasted almost similiar to the famous Okio (which is located near the jetty) with a mixture of different jellies. So now you can always save a trip to that far if you're craving for some sweet and sour dessert right ?

Overall, it was definitely a sweet experience and something new if you have never tried eating Laksa with Yam Rice before, not to mention with the 100% homemade Prawn Cracker.


Prices .
Laksa with Yam Rice - RM4.00 a bowl
Ai Yu Ping (Jelly Ice) - RM 2.50 a bowl
Prawn Cracker - RM 0.50 a piece

Bonus .
This kopitiam is located down the street of Seang Tek Road, just the beside of Anson Market.
It is open from 11am to 5.30pm and only closes on Monday.

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