Last day in Penang: Street food opposite Traders Hotel

Before you groan, “Not another Penang post!”, this is the FINAL post on our June ’09 Penang trip.

We were supposed to leave our hotel at 3pm to catch our flight back to Singapore. Because we had a late, big breakfast, we still weren’t hungry by 2pm. However, I was determined to squeeze in one more meal before leaving Penang!

Plate of fried fritters (3 pieces for RM2.20) & red bean soup, RM1.00

The day before, based on CK Lam’s recommendation, we went to an alley along Magazine Road. It’s at the traffic light junction opposite Trader’s Hotel. However, it was already evening, and the stalls had already closed. This time, we were lucky. All the stalls were open!

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Last day in Penang: Dimsum at De Tai Tong Cafe

I just realized that there are still a couple of posts left on our Penang trip in June. Here are pics from our dimsum breakfast on our 4th and final day in Penang.

Thanks to CK Lam’s recommendation, we had a fabulous meal at De Tai Tong Cafe in Cintra Street, which is a short walk from Traders Hotel where we stayed.

Dimsum breakfast

De Tai Tong looks like an established dimsum place in Penang. There was another joint selling similar dimsum down the road, but that one was rather empty, whereas Tai Tong was packed!

The staff said it’s self-service on Sunday. So after getting a table, I grabbed a tray and went to the kitchen section to pick the dishes. There were so many items to choose from! So, I just grabbed the first few items I saw.

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Penang Day 3: The Great Penang Cendol Face-Off!

Penang Road's famous Teochew cendol!

Folks, this is THE most famous cendol stall in Penang! Many proclaim it to be the best on the island. Just remember, it’s located in Penang Road in Penang!

Technically, it’s in Keng Kwee Street off Penang Road. But no worries, just ask and the friendly locals will point you to the right direction!

Interestingly, directly opposite the No.1 stall is another cendol stall. They claim to be just as good as the original!

So how will the clueless out-of-towner know which is which? Easy!

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Penang Day 3: Lunch at Lorong Selamat

The famous Penang char koay teow stall in Lorong Selamat.

It’s already Day 3, but I’d yet to try the most acclaimed Penang dishes like assam laksa and char koay teow! Well, this was going to be THE day! Our friendly taxi driver “uncle” took us to Lorong Selamat for the famous char koay teow in front of Cafe Heng Huat. Apparently, Lorong Selamat is one of the popular food streets in Penang. There are several roadside stalls and coffee shops that operate there in the day.

The larger-than-life char koay teow lady in her signature red beret and goggles.

One look, and I knew this is a master at work. Look closely! Deep in concentration, the char koay teow lady silently channels all her energy. Beneath the heavy cast-iron wok are roaring flames fueled by burning charcoal. With her spatula as a natural extension of her arm, she sears and swishes the rice noodles with a mastery that leaves you in awe!

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Penang Day 3: Char koay kak 炒粿角

Char koay kak, RM2.30 ≈ S$0.95

So here’s what really good char koay kak tastes like! The sad, soggy version I had on the first night is nothing like the real deal!

This was an unexpected find. Ricky and I were walking back to Traders Hotel after breakfast at Toh Soon Cafe. From Campbell Street (Lebuh Campbell), we walked down Cintra Street (Lebuh Cintra). When we reached Kimberley Street (perpendicular to Cintra St.), I spotted two pushcarts selling food.

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Penang Day 2: Hotel breakfast, Toh Soon Cafe, and tang yuen for supper.

The good: nasi lemak with chicken curry; beehoon goreng. Not so good: sausage, baked beans, hashbrown.

So I sauntered cheerily into the executive breakfast lounge, only to be stunned that Michael Jackson had suddenly died of a heart attack. I’m not a big Michael Jackson fan, but still, I admire him for his incredible talent and the musical legacy that he leaves behind. RIP, Michael Jackson. You’ll forever be the King of Pop.

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Penang Day 1 – Supper from street stalls along New Lane (Lorong Baru)

Hubby has been in Penang, Malaysia since Monday to conduct training at USM.  By the time I checked into Sunway Hotel, Georgetown on Thursday, it was nearly 9pm. Hubby and colleague already had dinner.

I wasn’t very hungry either, after all that free food and plane meal, but I just couldn’t resist the bustling street stalls just outside the hotel entrance. Real street food! So exciting! So I went to tar-pow some supper back to our hotel room.

Oyster omelette , RM7.00 ≈ S$2.90

Very fresh plump oysters, with no fishy smell. But unlike the Singaporean version, this one was rather “wet”. Our or-jian (oyster omelette) is more like an crispy omelette, with the starchy bits. This one is more like scrambled eggs, with a lot of sauce. But still, it pretty much hit the spot, after such a disastrous day of eating.

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SIN-PEN Silkair Business class dinner

Chicken char siew and wonton noodles

To be fair, it wasn’t that bad. It’s just that I wasn’t hungry. But the other choice — lamb stew with rice — smelled and looked so much more tantalizing! So far, I’ve found that rice rather than noodles is the better bet for airline food, unless it’s cold noodles.

The dessert — hazelnut cappucino cake — sounded much better than it promised. Where’s the taste of cappucino?

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