Assorted hawker tastes at a market

Cecil Road is one of the most happening place in Penang; being the home to a wet/dry market and also a huge hawker foodcourt.

You will be spoilt for choices when you are here; as long as you can bear the noise and the heat underneath those aluminium roof.
Prices are truly unbeatable and the tastes here are classic (though I do feel some of them have deteriorated)

Penang Chee Cheong Fun (RM1.70)

The version of CCF here in Penang is different from KL or Ipoh; as they do not have fishballs or anything to go with but just plain flat rice noodles either rolled up or flattened with a toss of the sauce of your choice (usually sweet sauce, shrimp paste or plain soy sauce) and then sprinkled with sesame seeds and some oil on top before serving.

As you can see, it's an assortment of the rolled and flat rice noodles and with a mix of sauces.

Another Penang hawker delight which is also a variant from the Nyonya version; Popiah (rolled steamed spring rolls) RM1.60

It's stuffed with mengkuang char rolled with lettuce leaves before adding the outer layer of the popiah skin to the roll.
It's one of the healthy option; and I used to term it as the Chinese/Nyonya version of the salad.

Lam Mee (RM3)

This is a Chinese verison of mee bandung; and it has a Chinese taste to it.

Most of my family and friends enjoyed this and they prefer the stall here in Cecil Road:D

Jawa mee (RM3.50)

This is different from Lam Mee; the gravy is different and the ingredients are different.
The gravy is blended with light sour sauce (I think it's tomato) with some grinded peanuts in it.

They use the yellow mee for this with a half of a hard-boiled egg (actually a slice), along with cut-up fried fritters, bean sprouts and shallots as well.

Lastly, if you want to enjoy the Penang Ice Kacang which does not use coconut milk but with sarsi/syrup, then you can order one here too at RM2



So, if you are thinking of getting Penang food all at one go, this is like the one-stop solution!

**I feel like I should be paid for promoting...**

I will be compiling all the Penang food soon....hehehe, make it into a blogger-pedia...I like that name:D

First trial at the foodcourt along Burma Road

There seems to be an endless list of hawker foodcourts in Penang, as I have observed. After all, what can you expect from a place which has gained its international fame as a food paradise, right?

Tourists are all too familiar with the roads which promise vast varieties of food; Macalister Road, New Lane, Penang Road, Pulau Tikus, Burma Road...and almost everywhere else in Penang, there's food to be found.

Along Burma Road, if you go along the whole way (Burma Road is very long if you come from Komtar area) heading to Gurney, you will see a foodcourt on your right before you come to the fork leading to Gurney on your right.
It is right opposite Kocha Taiwanese restaurant and next to Jemputree:)

There is a big banner displayed which you can spot from the road, reading the famous Anson Road Chu Char or something like that.
That is the first stall which started its operations here.

I was not there to try the chu char (maybe next time); but instead, I just wanted to see what are the other 'Dai pai thong' food they have here.



I don't know why, but I thought it looked pretty miserable with the number of stalls available and also, judging from the crowd.


We didn't order much; how could we, after sensing the forlorn and quiet atmosphere.
My mind had already wandered to the conclusion that the food is probably not so good here (as often tipped by most Penangites, including my mum who used to say, "If you don't see a lot of people at a place, it's either the food's not good or they are overpriced")
Such wise words, they were proven most of the time I was here:p

Fish Head noodles (RM5)

If I mentioned I did not have much of an appetite, well, this plain-looking bowl of food with a slightly unworthy price tag did not do much to boost or whet my appetite.
I was also shocked at the oily texture of the soup.

It was not that bad; plain-tasting and pretty good for anyone who is really down with the flu or fever and have no appetite at all.
Price at RM5 seems like the standard tag for most of the hawker food these days; especially when fish or seafood is involved.

From another stall, there is this Sizzling hot noodles with seafood (RM4.50)

It was a bit bland and diluted for a version served in the sizzling pan. There's not much seafood to look forward to as well; unless you fancy fishballs and cuttlefish:)


I tried one of their home-made dessert soup; Snow Fungus with red dates and pears (RM2.50)

It was soothing and cool to the throat; as it was kept in the fridge.
I find the pears too sweet though; perhaps they were already sweetened beforehand?

The next time, I want to try the much-publicized chu char stall from Anson Road because I noticed a few customers ordering from them ;)

Expensive fish for a dinner! and a dissatisfied customer!!

Judging from the excited (and positive) responses to my previous post on Teluk Kumbar, I am guessing no one is bored with my repetitive posting on that place and its food..LOLs!:)

Anyway, there is another seafood place which I used to frequent and unfortunately, in this post, there is some disappointment to be expected in the tone of my post.

I brought my family and cousin brother to this place for dinner on a Monday night; after our working hours, looking forward to a light and simple meal.

The lady boss came and took our orders; and I made sure I reminded her that all are to be small-serving-sizes.

First, we had the stir-fried brussel sprouts (which I have forgotten to take a picture of:p)
It was RM8; that was crunchy and nice.

Then we had the crab meat with beancurd; which we chose the local beancurd which is plain white beancurd with a slightly fried exterior.

It's RM12; but I think the crab meat was a bit scarce and minced to such pieces where I could barely see much.


The steamed Kappa with garlic; as recommended by the lady

It was not bad, but I was shocked to see the size of the serving as I remembered that I requested for small-size, remember?
I asked the lady again; and she confirmed, yes, that's the small serving but she gave us the rest of the kappa they had left since there's not much left.

It was RM16; and she said she had already provided the discount.
My question is, since when did I ask them to give me all of their remaining shells? In the first place, she should have come over to confirm with me prior to making that decision on her own to add the number of kappa.
C'mon, am I the customer or her? Am I the one paying or what?
I was seriously dissatisfied with the answer...

But that's not the worst; the final blow came when the fish came
We ordered Steamed red snapper (I think that's what Ang Cho is called in English)

This small fish costs a whopping RM42 bucks!
I was shocked at the price of the fish; I mean, I may not be the expert in the prices but I still know my favorite food well enough to know what they're worth.

This fish is not even garoupa; and you charge me for this price?
I think that's exorbitant!

The total price for the dinner was RM80+++ for the above four dishes only!
I was seriously frustrated!
Worst part is, I was a regular customer and they did this....how disappointed can one be?

Furthermore, even my cousin bro could do the math; stating that this is so expensive comparing to Teluk Kumbar where we had real big crabs and even prawns....
Wow, I think this fish must be weighed in gold bars' weight...

Whatever, I don't think I will go back anymore....it's too big of a disappointment already.....and it's not worth it at all..

I forgot to reveal the place...it's Chai Seafood restaurant in Batu Maung....
So disappointed...

A Seaview meal @ Teluk Kumbar again

I think this must be the umpteenth time I have been blogging about this place; but I really like this place and so does all my friends or anyone whom I have brought for that fact:)

This time, my cousin has recently started working and since my family was also in Penang for a short trip, we have decided to bring cousin brother to the place to try it out as well.

We started with Hokkien Char (RM8)

Bountiful serving of the ingredients; such as fishballs, shrimps, vegetables, and fish cakes.
As cousin bro was quoted saying, "Thumbs up for the ingredients; better than anywhere else!"



Singapore Beehoon (RM8)

Light orange in color; it had a nice and fragrant tomato scent in the air when it was served.
Again, there was a generous serving of the side ingredients. Quality wise, it is not too bad but at the same time, it is not as good as some of the other versions we have tasted in KL:)


Spiky shells (RM8)

I always call this spiky shells; but now I know that the Hokkien name for it is actually "Chi Lei" (How about English/scientific name ler?)

My cousin and my bro were both fascinated by it and I think they enjoyed it very much.
Not for me though; I am not a fan of shells; especially spiky ones like these..LOL!

Stir-fried Brussel sprouts (RM8)

Crunchy and yummy; not to mention healthy, this is always my pick when I am here...either this or the stir-fried potato leaves which always linger in my memory after the meal!:D

Sweet and sour prawns in sizzling pan (RM20)

I couldn't recall whether I've tried this before until it arrived:p
Indeed, I have tried this before...LOL!
It is more sour compared to the sweetness; but it blended very well with the abundance of green peas and also the sweet strips of onions which they put atop the big prawns.

Aren't the prawns big?:)

Sweet sour crabs (RM40)

This was as usual; the must-order for everyone who patronize this place for seafood; not just because of its price but it's really fresh!


A serving of steamed buns (aka mantou) (RM6)

They used flavored buns; which you can get from supermarkets.
Bro commented that they should have used the original buns without any flavor; so that the buns could blend better with the sauce/gravy.
(The buns served were pandan-flavored)

We ordered a mix of steamed versus fried buns.

The hammer is not featured as part of our order; but it is the important tool to get down to your crabs!


Plates and all the chili sauces served for us to begin our meal with




This is for the spiky shells I think (I will continue to call it spiky shells; it's really too spiky!)


Finally; Chinese tea for everyone


Total price was only about RM112++; I think.
I forgot about my fish; I forgot to take a picture of it:( The fish was RM22.

I am probably going to head there again soon this weekend; hmmmm....should I post about it again?
I think I am boring everyone...haha, but this is after all, a food diary mar..

Snow fungus with red dates

Another of my creation; with the help of slow cooker....
I don't know why, I am using my slow cooker for every single thing...LOLs!

What you will need:
Snow Fungus
Lotus Seeds - optional
Red Dates
Sugar/Rock Sugar - as much as it suits your sweetness tolerance level
Gingko nuts - optional

Do not ask me about the amount; I am just estimating them accordingly
(I knew I should've used a bicker or a test tube to measure them accurately huh?)



I think I left it boiling for 4-5 hours and it was all ready to eat.
If you want softer bites on the lotus seeds, then you should cook them overnight (as I was told)
Then you can add in the additional ingredients accordingly.

Sugar is definitely last; ahhhh, that I know through my learning!:)


I am still not into cooking much...but I like these cookers...praises to those who invented these little helpers who have reduced the trouble in cooking:p

What do you like about this Laksa?

Air Itam asam laksa is one of the most recommended laksa stall in Penang when one mentions the word Asam Laksa.

It is a little stall located near the bus-stop and the market


First of all, I am not a fan of laksa or the taste/aroma of shrimp paste. Therefore, I will not comment much on the quality of the food, etc as I know there is a huge base of Asam Laksa fans out there:)

The laksa here is about RM2.70

It was definitely served piping hot (out from the boiling hot soup in the pot which is constantly cooking); with a strong scent of the 'fragrant' laksa soup.

As you can see, it was frothing with the ingredients at the top of the bowl.

The serving is not too much; whereby a few bites would lead you to the end of the laksa noodles in the bowl.



Besides laksa, there is also another stall selling Fried Popiah

Now, warning, if you are not a fan of deep-fried or even fried food, do NOT order.
It was really oily and greasy; and I was definitely not appetized by the sight of this plate which even cost us a whopping RM4 for just a 2 items!


I don't know about you; but personally, I don't find eating by the marketside which emits such 'fragrant' aroma at all times, topped with the carbon monoxide from all the passing vehicles and surrounded by flies and probably if you are lucky/unlucky, you may even have a rat or two running by your feet!
YIKES!
I think it was a bit unhygienic and also the surrounding food here were also overly priced.

I am not sure, is this still the best Asam Laksa in Penang?
I think this is a matter of personal preference, so no offense to those who do enjoy the laksa here...
In fact, do not let my post affect your appetite! :D