Penang Food – Page 5 – Peter Tan – The Digital Awakening

Penang New Lane Chee Cheong Chook

Once upon a time, one of my favourite Penang hawker food is chee cheong chook. It is Cantonese style congee with pig intestines as its main ingredient. The intestines are either deep-fried or boiled. Chopped char siu (barbecued pork) is usually added to the porridge with spring onion thrown in as garnishing. I prefer the deep-fried intestines for its aroma and crunchiness. The boiled intestines can be a little chewy at times.

Hawker stall at New Lane Penang selling chee cheong chook.
Photo by Wuan.

The taste of the porridge differs from hawker to hawker depending on how the intestines are prepared. I was told that the better tasting intestines are those that are not thoroughly washed so as to retain its natural pungence that reeks slightly of urine. I am not fond of that smell. That is why I am selective of the hawkers I get my chee cheong chook from.

When Wuan and I were in Penang recently, Suanie and her friend Pinky incidentally were there too. So we arranged with Bryan and Reallybites to meet for dinner. We went to New Lane which is famous for its hawker food. This area has been a hawker food heaven in Penang for as long as I can remember due to its strategic location that is smack right in the middle of town.

Penang New Lane chee cheong chook.
Photo by Wuan.

At the mention of New Lane, the only thing that struck my mind is chee cheong chook. There are other nice food there but I have always related New Lane to chee cheong chook. It is actually taboo food now but I have not had it for at least a decade already. I have forgotten how it really tasted like before but it was something that I wanted to try again. Inside the mouth, the crispy intestines were a stark contrast against the smooth texture of the porridge. After years of eating bland food due to my kidney problems, I found the taste too strong for my liking. I did not finish eating it. Nevertheless, I was contented that I had finally gotten the opportunity to taste the porridge that my taste buds have been pining for a long time now.

Apong Guan – Delicious Pancakes In Penang

Apong Guan - delicious pancake in Burmah Road, Penang

Apong Guan Pancake at Burmah Road Penang.
Photo by Wuan.

Apom, apong or pancake is a delicious savoury that can be enjoyed in between meal times. It is made with a batter of flour and eggs with banana slices and corn added while it is cooking. My first taste of it was more than three decades ago. At that time, I was staying in Ayer Itam. There was a hawker selling it at the market in the evenings. It was my parents’ favourite. Every now and then when my parents were still around, they would buy ten pieces on their way home from work.

Ah Guan, the famous pancake man busy at work at his stall.
Photo by Wuan.

When I had a motorcycle, I would sometimes detour from my usual route home after school to buy a few pieces from a stall located just before Union Primary School at Burmah Road. On my last two trips to Penang, I took Wuan down a memory lane of sorts. We stopped at the stall for a few pieces of my favourite pancake. It is amazing this stall is still around after so many years – twenty five at least. We had to wait for thirty minutes as there was a queue of people buying ten or twenty pieces each at one go.

Ah Guan adding sweet corn to his pancakes.
Photo by Wuan.

It now costs 30 sen per piece. If I remember correctly, it was only RM1 for five pieces during my schooling days. Nevertheless, it still tasted as good as I had remembered it, especially when it is fresh out from the pan, moist and piping hot. It is not too sweet also. This suits me just fine as I do not have a sweet tooth. The banana slices and sweet corn made biting into it a pleasure to the senses – the banana with its fragrance and the sweet corn kernels with its chewiness. The 30 minute wait was worth it. You can be sure that I will drop in again for a few of the pancakes on my next trip to Penang.

Apong Guan’s absolutely mouthwatering pancakes.
Photo by Wuan.

Joo Leong Cafe – Best Breakfast In Penang

Best breakfast in Penang - Joo Leong Cafe

Joo Leong Cafe butter toasts and half boiled eggs breakfast set.

I am not a breakfast person. I know, I know. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Once upon a time, it was the first meal until I began to get stomach discomfort right after having it. This went one for several weeks. I have skipped breakfast since. I never found out the cause of the problem though.

My cousin Peter introduced me to this quaint little kopitiam called Joo Leong Cafe at Sungai Tiram on the way to the Penang International Airport. It serves seafood porridge and noodle in the evening. They had fish maw which is one of my favourite. I usually had it with sliced fish in piping hot porridge. There were also several stalls selling jiu hu eng chai (cuttle fish and kangkung in thick sauce), yim kuk kai (salt-baked chicken) and satay.

Other than porridge and noodles, they also serve toasts. I prefer thick toasts over regular sliced ones. Joo Leong uses Hailam bread which is bread with its crust removed. The bread is toasted and generously slathered with butter and sprinkled with granulated sugar. Toasts and porridge is an odd combination especially for dinner. I was soon initiated into it and could not stop eating the first time I had it.

For breakfast, the toasts are served with half-boiled eggs. The taste of buttered toasts dipped in the eggs is simply heavenly. This is one breakfast that is worth having a stomach upset over. Wuan likes the packed nasi lemak and fried noodles too. Each time we are in Penang, we would try to make time to drop in either for breakfast or dinner. I am already salivating at the thought of sinking my teeth into the toasts when we get to Penang next week.