Penang, Malaysia - Best Hokkien Mee and Koay Chiap
1) Hokkien Mee in Penang refers to a noodle soup dish which consists of a mixture of yellow Hokkien noodles & bee hoon (a finer white rice noodle), garnished with slivered pork, dried shrimps and shallots, and served in a strong pork/prawn-flavored broth. One of the best Hokkien mee I'd tried so far is located at Swee Kong Coffeeshop on Moulmein Close, Pulau Tikus. Penangites call it the Hokkien Mee stall opposite the police station, as the coffeeshop is right across the Pulau Tikus Police Station building. The stall itself is very popular, so one should be prepared to wait. The coffeeshop's also pretty packed with patrons in the morning, so sharing of tables with strangers is quite common.
2) Koay chiap in Penang's very different from the type we get in Singapore, where thin, flat noodles are served with an assortment of braised pork & pig's parts like intestines, plus soy-braised tofu, soy-braised hard-boiled eggs & pickled chopped mustard leaves. In Penang, the noodles are usually handmade, with a thicker, rougher appearance, and chewier consistency. It's usually served in a soup form, with the thick, dark broth made from boiled, braised duck. Penang koay chiap is usually topped with duckmeat, duck's blood, duck intestines, Chinese parsley, soy-braised tofu & soy-braised hard-boiled egg. Absolutely delicious!
The best Penang koay chiap I found so far is served by the first stall (it doesn't even have a signboard, but every self-respecting Penang foodie will know exactly where it is) in Ayer Itam market in the mornings (Ayer Itam is a township about 7km from downtown). Its version is simply UNBELIEVABLE!! The other good stall I know of is located in Kimberley Street in downtown Georgetown - and I got to try it soon!
By klyeoh
on Feb 13, 2011 01:06 AM
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Re: Best Koay Chiap in Penang
Oops, a friend reminded me that he'd actually brought me to the famous Kimberley Street during my visit to Penang early last year. Dang, it must have slipped my mind - anyway, here are the photos taken then. I made some notes at that time that the koay chiap stall in Kimberley Street opens only in the evenings (they sometimes close on certain days without notice!), somewhere in front of shophouse no. 137, Kimberley St. The current stallholder/chef is Por Beng Kuan, who's been plying his trade for > 30 years on this spot. He actually took over the business from an earlier koay chiap seller who's been operating since the 1950s.
Por's koay chiap was absolutely delicious - a bowlful of flat wide rice noodles, full of chopped duckmeat, duck's intestines & parts unknown, soft cubes of coagulated duck's blood, and a soy-braised hard-boiled egg. The broth has a depth of flavor that can only be gleaned from slow-boiling ducks & herbs/spices for hours. Garnished with sprigs of fresh coriander, it was like manna from heaven :-)
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BTW, across the street from this famous koay chiap stall is another must-not-miss stall; a Penang fried koay teow (rice noodles) stall located right in front of Sin Guat Keong coffeeshop. It's very good.
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Also across from the Kimberley Koay Chiap (for me, the best in Penang) has an excellent Keow Teow Th'ng stall especially the dry type. It's braised chicken feet have a melt in the mouth smoothness. Don't forget side orders for braised eggs, intestines and chicken drumstick.
Finish off the meal with a bowl of almond soup and yeoh char keow from the Thong Sui stall next door.
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Thanks for the tip, I'll try that on my next Penang visit. "Dry type" koay teow thng - that's a misnomer, isn't it? :-D
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Ah, the dessert stall in Kimberley Street or as we Penang Hokkien call the street: 'Swatow Kay'. That is my favourite stall for ang tau t'ng (red bean soup) and heng jin t'ng (Chinese almond soup). Their eu char koay is a bit oily but goes well with the dessert soups. I was a customer even when current owner Goh Cheng Hoe's father was running it. The father started it in 1933 (easy to remember as it was the same year as my older brother's birthday).
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Finally got to try the Koay Teow Th'ng spot (the one with braised chicken feet) that you recommended, OneBigMouth - thanks, it was amazingly delicious!!! I've started a new thread for it:
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/831311
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