Duck Egg Fried Koay Teow @ Ping Hooi, Penang

Ping Hooi Char Koay Teow

When in Penang, do what the Penangites do; Eat Char Koay Teow. That’s right! You have not been to Penang if you don’t get your ass to the popular places to savour the legendary Penang Koay Teow (Fried flat rice noodles). They are usually fried with eggs, chinese sausages, chinese chives, bean sprouts, deshelled prawns, cockles, chili paste and garlic.

There are apparently a few popular koay teow stalls recommended by many. You have the Lorong Selamat, the Macallister Road etc. I have never wondered far from these beaten paths of great koay teows until last year when I spent the new year eve celebrating a couple’s engagement party in Penang. They took a whole bunch of us to a quiet corner of town to this stall that does char koay teow differently from the rest. They use duck eggs instead of normal chicken eggs to fry the koay teow. Sounds interesting doesn’t it.

Prior to that, I have never heard of duck egg fried koay teow. I do know that duck eggs are richer and stronger in flavours. It enhances a dish when it is used as thickening or coating ingredient but in Koay Teow?

The stall that we went to is called Kafe Ping Hooi. Located at the corner intersection of Lebuh Melayu and Lebuh Carnarvon, this place was empty when we arrived. Normally this is not a very good sign when you are the only patron. The shop was really old and has got a yesteryears feel to it. Since it was recommended by our dear friends, we gave it a benefit of a doubt. Turns out the version here is a killer!

We were so overwhelmed by their delicious koay teow, we ordered a second round. The char koay teow was done to perfection with the colour slightly golden brown and not too dried. The duck egg apparently gave it a moist finishing and strong yet smooth flavour. Combining well with the thinly sliced chinese sausage, aromatic chinese chives, semi raw cockles, fresh prawns and crunchy bean sprout, this is really worth the travel. It HITZ the SPOT!

All I can say is duck egg fried koay teow rocks big time!

My perception of char koay teow has changed and I will never look down on duck eggs again…ever. Next time round, I wouldn’t want it any other ways. How come they don’t do it here in Kuala Lumpur? Do they even know about this?

Location

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Address:
Junction of Carnarvon Street and Lebuh Melayu.

GPS Coordinates: N5 24.873 E100 20.046

Hakka Noodle @ Jalan Sayur, Pudu

Chun Kee Hakka Mee 

I seldom wander into the heart of the city to hunt for food. It is simply because there are plenty of good foods within a 10 km radius from where I stay. Just the thought of the traffic congestion and my lack of knowledge in manoeuvring around the KL roads is enough to discourage me. But the truth remains. If I want to discover the best food that reflects the traditions and history of a country, chances are I can most probably find it in city street corners where merchants use to roam and cobblers and street vendors ply their trade.

So on one sunny Sunday morning, while accompanying a friend for a meeting down town, we stumble across a very busy coffee shop right across from where we were. With my dependable camera on hand and a huge morning appetite, we decided to investigate all that fuss.

When we finally got a table right at the corner, I realized what we have discovered; an old popular coffee shop that is well known amongst the city folks. The ambience is not quite your typical coffee shop. At the corner of a very busy street, you have to bear with the noise and fumes from the vehicles passing by. Don’t even think about looking down on the floor unless you want to do some forensic study on food remnants.

We ordered from all three stalls there. The stall right in the center sells curry mee (curry noodle).

Curry Mee Stall

You can have a choice of yellow noodle or vermicelli or a mixture of both. The curry broth is nice with a good spicy and rich balance. Filled with tow gay (bean sprout), chue pei (pork rind), meat balls, si hum (raw cockles), the vermicelli has a nice crunchy feel and well complimented by the softer yellow noodle.

Curry Mee

The pork rind and the huge cockles are the highlights of the curry noodle here. Apparently we just made it by ordering the last bowl coz they started washing up their stall after that. And it was only 12 noon. All in ‘half-a-day’s work aye. Apart from curry noodle, this stall also sells Kai See Hor Fun (Flat rice noodle with chicken strips in prawn broth).

The Saito Fish Ball Stall

Another stall parallel to the main Pudu road (Jalan Pudu) sells Sai Tou Yue Tan ( Saito Fish ball aka Wolf-Herring Fish ball). They have an interesting variety of fish balls and fish cakes; deep fried ones and boiled ones. We just ordered a mix of various types although you can actually order it with noodles.

Saito Fish Ball

This is nice as a side dish. The fish balls have got a nice springy texture but I’d prefer it to be a bit more ‘solid’. Comes with some bean sprouts as well and they are like the ones from Ipoh, all fat and crunchy….Nice !

Fat Towgay

The next stall is really the star of the place. This stall is called Chun Kee Hakka Mee. There is a sign above the stall that reads Dapu Mian (Dapu Noodles). Dapu is a small town in the eastern part of China’s southern Guangdong Province. Most of Dapu’s residents are of the Hakka ethnic group. So I assume the owner is from Dapu and this is his inherited recipe from his ancestors. This makes it even more authentic!

Chun Kee Dapu Noodle Stall

A small portion of noodle costs RM4.00, medium RM4.40 and large RM4.60.

I never liked my noodles drenched with soy sauce like the KL version of the wanton noodles. This Hakka noodle is completely pale and no soy sauce. That’s a good start. I believe if the noodle is tasty and fresh, you don’t need soy sauce to season it as the aroma that exudes from the noodles is good enough.

At Chun Kee, they use pork lard to coat the noodles. The lard gives it a ‘sticky’ feel at first bite. The combination of the aroma from the fresh egg noodle and the flavours from the pork lard is simply gorgeous. They serve the noodles with Char Siew (BBQ Pork) and Yuk Sui (Minced pork) and a few strands of vegetable. To me it is kind of like a Hakka Wanton Mee coz it comes with a bowl of wanton at the side. I must say, this is one hell of a Hakka mee. HITZ THE SPOT!

All in all, I would recommend you to give this Hakka noodle stall a try. I would definitely come around again.

Location

Address: Jalan Sayur, Pudu

Directions: Diagonally Opposite Sek Yuen Restaurant and next to a Klinik Ho.

Parking: You can park at the back lane behind the shop lots that are right across from the stalls.

Operating hrs: 6am to 10pm

Dim Sum @ Ying Jia Seafood Restaurant

Dim Sum @ Ying Jia Seafood Restaurant, Happy Garden.

Want some no frills affordable dim sum? Then check out Ying Jia. There are many places similar to this place; alfresco style, simple setting that looks like a typical Chinese coffee shop. I have tried a few of these ’no frills’ dim sum restaurant but this one is sort of recommended by my parents. It is not all that, as compared to dim sum made by top notch chefs from HK. But it still offers me quite a pleasant treat.

Atmosphere

Steam Station

Note: ‘No frills’ = no air conditioned atmosphere, no cushioned chairs and carpet floors, no dim sum carts, waitresses are not in cheongsam with high slits, no white table cloth, no appetizers like steamed peanuts, achar and wet wipes and no premium Chinese tea.

We took some friends from Germany to experience a typical Sunday morning dim sum outing and they liked it. They have many varieties to choose from. Check this out!

The Dim Sum

Seafood Roll wrapped in Bean curd Skin (Hoi Sin Kuen)

Its got crab stick, shrimps and mushroom wrapped in bean curd skin and steamed to perfection. Very tasty and full of flavours from all that ingredients.

Steamed Pork Ribs (Pai Guat)

One of the dim sum favourites, this plate is filled with small pieces of pork ribs and steamed in fermented black beans and garlic sauce with freshly sliced red chili. Savoury and yummy.

Steamed prawn dumpling in wheat flour wraps (Har Gao)

The prawns are fresh and the wraps are translucent and not too sticky. Nice texture and goes well with the Kampung Koh chili sauce.

Oyster Sauce & Kampung Koh Chili Sauce

Deep Fried Yam Croquette (Wu Kok)

Had many version of this before. The ones here are not the best. The fluffy pastry exterior is nice and crisp and not soaked with oil remnants from the deep frying. So a plus point there. The yam shell is pretty smooth and barbecue pork core is not too sweet. Quite a good balance.

Steamed Fish ball (Yue Tan)

Nice and has some ‘elasticity’ in it. Can’t really taste any fish flavours though.

Steamed Prawn & Pork dumpling (Siu Mai)

One of my personal favourites, this dim sum is probably the more popular of the two ( the other being the Har Gao. Kind of like you can’t have one without the other. Almost a sense of guilt if you do not mention Har Gao , Siu Mai in one breath. The Siu Mai here is pretty okay. A nice balance of pork and prawn and a great bite size too.

Steamed Rice flour rolls with roast pork stuffing
(Cheung Fun or Chee Cheong Fun)

You can have the rice flour rolls with pork stuffing or prawns. It is steamed in light soy sauce with infused shallots flavour and accompanied with pounded chilies / dried shrimps paste at the side. This one is too soft and overly drenched for my liking.

Fish Paste Dumpling (Yue Mai)

I can’t quite remember exactly what this is but it is some version of Siu Mai but with fish paste instead of pork and prawns. Apart from the looks, it has got a nice aroma from the chopped chinese mushrooms and extra crunch from the water chestnuts. Interesting variation.

Steamed BBQ Pork Buns (Char Siu Bao)

These buns are quite good. Fluffy on the outside and molten-like on the inside. Eat it when served as the core of bbq pork is nice and moist with steam making their escape the moment you pull the soft buns apart. Mmm!

Glutinous Rice with Chicken and Chinese sausage (Loh Mai Gai)

This is quite filling. Only have it towards the end when you couldn’t fill your bottomless pit with all the dim sum there is to try. Glutinous rice will do the trick and bloat you up like they always do. Steamed with probably chicken stock and soy sauce together with chicken pieces, Chinese mushroom and Chinese sausage slices, you can imagine the flavours you get from this little fella.

Pan Fried White Radish Cake (Loh Pak Kou)

Another dish that goes well with Kampung Koh chili sauce. But really, if this dish is done to perfection, you don’t really need anymore dipping sauce. The strong pungent flavours from the radish plus the aroma from the chopped shallots and dry shrimps would have sufficed. The ones here were kinda sticky in texture and I’d preferred it a bit more crispier on the outside. Just leave it on the pan a wee bit longer to get that golden brown crisp. That will do !

Oven Baked BBQ Pork Bun (Charn Bao)

This is classic. Not such a popular dim sum order but I loved this a lot when I was a kid. It was sort of like a bonus to take away after having stuffed myself with all those steamed and heavy goodies. So I would ask for it as a ‘take away’ to savour later on with the afternoon tea. This you can keep unlike the steamed buns. It is oven baked and glazed with syrup to give it that shiny golden brown glow. The core is pretty much the same (BBQ pork) but it has got that extra lingering edge from the baking in the oven. And it comes in twos. Nicely tanned, proportional and firm looking buns…I Like !

Verdict

Special Guest - Florien and Cora

I think this is one of the better ones out there that serves decent quality dim sum with reasonable price. They have varieties to choose from and the service there is quite prompt. Nice and cooling atmosphere, this is a place I would drop by occasionally. And apart from dim sum in the morning, they serve seafood at night. I definitely would try and check out their dinner menu. A great place to bring your overseas guests, my friends loved it and I think you would too.

Location

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Address:

Ying Jia Seafood Restaurant

5, Jalan Lazat 1,

Happy Garden,

Off Old Klang Road,

58200, KL

03-7983 6541

Khuntai Restaurant @ Petaling Garden

Khuntai Restaurant

Sawadeekap…Sawadeeka! That’s probably what you would hear when the waiters and waitresses in Khuntai greets you the moment you step into the restaurant. And the funny thing is that they were still greeting everyone in the midst of a chaotic situation. We arrived right smack in between the peak hrs and we were not the only one waiting for a place to sit. The peak hours it seems are before 9:30pm. It is almost always crazy with every single corner of the restaurant filled right to the brim. Well, if you don’t want to stand around and wait and you prefer some peace and quite dining experience, go about 9:00pm.

We got our table after waiting for about 15 mins. You could take the idling moments and check out what the rest of them are having. This would pretty much give you some idea of what are the most popular house dishes. Well, that’s what I did. I knew already what I wanted and I couldn’t wait to taste it. It didn’t help that all of us were starving.

Service was quite prompt and we ordered our food and drinks in no time. The waiters seem to be on high gear all the time and they seemed pretty motivated. I was thinking to myself “what the **** have they been eating?” Maybe it’s the nam pla.

Even the cooks were quite efficient. The food came even before our beers arrived (RM 13.50 for a Large Tiger). I really wanted to chill and have a few beers first before digging in. That was the minor glitch that evening. It threw me off balance. I wanted to take pictures of the food and at the same time all the hungry faces were getting a bit impatient waiting for me to snap away. To make things worse, the beers were sitting there, getting warm and I was totally ignoring it! What’s wrong with me!!??

The Rice Pot

Anyway, let me tell you about the food. Of course, a must-have is the Seafood Tom Yam (RM19). There have two variations here. You can either try the clear soup version or the spicy red hot ones. Personally, I prefer the red hot version as I am addicted to anything that makes my tongue trembles and sweat dripping down my neck. The tom yam is filled with seafood (prawns, squid, fish fillets, oyster mushrooms and coriander). This is good.
The Clear Soup Tom Yam

The Red Hot Tom Yam

The Choong Omelette is another interesting dish of eggs and some veggie (I have no idea what kind of veggie they use) but it gives it a bit of crunch.

Choong Omelette

We ordered a few types of vegetable namely the Thai Veggie Pak Liong and the Deep Fried Kangkung (RM8). Well, excuse my carnivorous nature; I really don’t know my vegetables. Pak Liong is some kind of veggie deep fried till it becomes crunchy and brittle and sprinkled with some omelette as accompaniment. I didn’t quite like this one as I like to feel some substance and bite and this just didn’t make sense.

Thai Veggie Pak Liong

The Kangkung deep fried with flour batter came up on top. Their version of vegetable tempura, this dish goes well with beer and so good you can even eat it on its own!

Deep Fried Kangkung

Still on the veggie trail, we also tried the stir fried Paku in Belacan (RM10)(Fiddlehead Fern in dried shrimp and chili pepper paste). I was kind of excited when I was told that they had Pucuk Paku for that day. It’s not in the menu but they do it once in awhile. Pucuk paku is one of my favourite veggie but it is not commonly available in most restaurant here in the peninsula. However, it is easily available in Sarawak. Apparently it grows in the wild there and too much of it is not good for you. Spicy and packed with a slight crunch, this was a great treat!

Pucuk Paku In Belacan

Another kick-ass dish is the Spicy Mango salad (RM10). A must try and a great appetizer, it is filled with ingredients like julienne green (unripe) mango, cashew nuts, crispy anchovies, chili padi, raw onions, strips of red chilies, coriander, basil and drench in lime juice, fish sauce and sugar syrup mix.

Spicy Mango Salad

While we were waiting for a table, I spotted an interesting dish, wrapped nicely with aluminium foil. Curiosity got the better of me and I ordered it. It was also highly recommended by the waitress. It’s the Seafood Otak Otak (RM16)(Seafood wrapped with fish mousse seasoned with coconut milk and spices). It is typically a peranakan (nyonya) dish steamed to perfection and usually wrapped in banana leaf. This version here is wrapped with foil. This is so so good! Packed with a variety of seafood like fish, squid and prawns, this dish is very rich and filled with extreme flavours and aroma. Simply gorgeous. It Hitz the Spot!

Seafood Otak Otak

If you are a fish person, you can try their fish dishes here. Served on an aluminium plate with hot charcoal burning underneath to keep warm, this Thai Style Steamed Fish (Siakap) (RM35) is really delicious. The sauce itself is something to die for. Just take a spoon full of the sauce and slurp it. You will know why. This dish got us really sweating, not just from the spicy sauce but also from the heat from the charcoal. Don’t worry if the burning charcoal evaporates the sauce faster than you can savour it. They actually have an unlimited ‘top up’ for the sauce. So go ahead and slurp away!

Thai Style Steamed Siakap

The other version of the steamed fish is the Steamed Siakap in Soya Sauce. Just as great but I prefer the former.

Steamed Siakap in Soya Sauce

Apart from the tom yam, one of the way to test their Thai culinary skills is through their green curry chicken. I simply had to order this dish to erase the bad memory of a lousy version of the Thai green curry I had in Phuket just a couple of weeks ago. It is almost unforgiving to have lousy Thai food in Thailand of all places. And Khuntai didn’t fail me. This is definitely a much better version of green curry.

Green Curry Chicken

And with all these spicy and overwhelming flavours, you need to have some refreshing drink to wash it all down… and I don’t mean beers! They have this interesting drink which they called Umpera juice (RM14 for a jug). It is actually freshly squeezed ambarella juice with sour plum. Ambarella a.k.a golden apple is a pleasant tasting acidic tropical fruit with a pineapple-mango flavour and a crunchy texture. The fruits yield a delicious juice, which can be made in to drinks and sherbets or mixed with other tropical fruit juices to enhance flavour, aroma and taste.

Umpera Juice

Verdict

All in all, this is a place for good Thai food without any frills. Forget about all the Thai artifacts / handicraft decorated place where food is overly priced. Khuntai serves great Thai cuisine and very close to traditional Thai cooking. Most of the staff there are from Thailand and they are very helpful and service is good and prompt. What more can you ask for.

Special Guest

Mr.Tham looking satisfied after a sumptuous meal. He’s wearing one of the waiter’s hat. All of them have one. Apparently it is part of their perks. We tried to buy it of them but we couldn’t unless you work there. Well, this gives me something to look for on my next trip to Thailand. Kob Khun Krap!

Location

Address:

KhunTai Restaurant

6 Jalan 5/44, Petaling Garden,

Off Jalan Gasing, 46000 Petaling Jaya

Tel: 03-77817523

Mobile: 012-4708872