From the pearl of orient

And it has been about 3 weeks now that I’m living in Penang. Yup, if you didn’t know already, work sent me to this lovely island and I’ll be based here for some time. I do miss Klang Valley but settling here isn't too bad. To begin with I got a lovely condo by the sea. The layout of the place had all the rooms and the living room with sea view.

So when I’m not work, and not staring blank at sea from my room, I go stuff myself silly. Well, it’s Penang folks, there is always something to munch on, every corner, all the time. So last weekend I went to look for char kuey teow. I have sampled few including the notorious ones, the hidden ones, the dancing ones and so on, and I think I found my favorite.

This is char koay teow @ Sin Guat Keong Kopitiam. They only sell from evening to late night, and it’s char koay teow with a twist; by adding deep fried mantis prawns at RM 5 per plate.

From a distance I could already hear the clanking of their wok and when I got to their stall, the air is filled with aroma of chilies, charcoal and awesomeness. So I ordered my portion, and before anything, it’s served. This is fast! Super fast! The glistening flat rice noodles is packed with flavours, of being spicy, salty and this unexpected sweet-ish taste. The fresh prawns with the plump cockles and the meaty mantis gives a lovely combination to the oily charcoal scented noodles. Makes me salivate just to rewrite the experience again.

And unlike the other infamous notorious yet arrogant char koay teow stall, this guy is very very friendly. His wife and his workers have a welcoming gesture despite swarming with orders and work. And they love sharing their stories whenever they can. I chatted with the wife, shyly but proud she told me about all the media feature they had over the years. Their char koay teow stall has been around since his grandfather’s time. That’s like 3 generation ago, and the same night I was there, his teenage son is helping and honing the cooking skills under the watchful eyes of his parents.

Then I asked about the speed, how could they serve it so quickly. The trick is pre-fried koay teow. As part of the preparation he would pre-fried plain koay teow and upon orders he would refry them again with the rest of the ingredients, plate by plate. That way they could serve it faster and at the same time keeping the ingredients cook time and taste, just right.

Thumbs up for char koay teow @ Sin Guat Keong Kopitiam.

86,Lebuh Kimberly, 10100 Georgetown, Pulau Pinang

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