Penang Banana Leaf Char Koay Teow In Ipoh
Wuan had been telling me about how delicious the hawker food is at Restoran New Hollywood in Canning Garden. We passed it many times too on our way to Ipoh Old Town for lunch but have never stopped there for meals. This typical Chinese kopitiam is located along Jalan Lee Kwee Foh. It was only on last Tuesday that we finally dropped in for breakfast. Since we had a lunch appointment with her parents later, Wuan and I decided to share a plate of char koay teow. The signboard above the stall says Penang Banana Leaf Char Koay Teow.
Penang Banana Leaf Char Koay Teow.
Restoran New Hollywood, Canning Garden, Ipoh.
GPS: N04 36.131 E101 06.564
Wuan paid RM3.30 when our order arrived. It came with vinegared chilli sauce by the side and had the usual ingredients of bean sprouts, cockles and prawns but no chives or sliced lap cheong (Chinese waxed sausage). I am a “mai hum mai koo chai” (no cockles no chives) char koay teow lover. It did not matter to me whether it had chives or not but I would have preferred a few slices of lap cheong to vary the taste. Wuan on the other hand loves si hum in her char koay teow which she happily picked off from the plate. Contrary to the stall’s sign, there was no banana leaf lining the plate. I felt cheated.
My disappointment immediately disappeared when I chewed into my first mouthful. It tasted good although a little on the salty side. The aroma was what I would expect from a good plate of char koay teow. There was no raw smell from the bean sprouts, evidence that it was stir-fried in a well-heated wok. The lumps of egg that stuck to the koay teow made it taste even better.
I did not find any bak eu pok (crispy pork lard) as I picked through the dish. I asked Wuan. It was only then that she told me the food in the kopitiam is pork free. No wonder there were no lap cheong slices as well. This shows that one can cook a good plate of char koay teow without pork lard. It is more important that the sauces are correctly blended and the koay teow stir-fried in a well-heated wok.
I could not get used to having vinegared chilli sauce with my char koay teow. Good thing that it was poured onto the side and not the top. I did not stir it in. That aside, I will definitely drop by again to savour another plate of this halal char koay teow and the other hawker fare in the kopitiam that I have yet to try.
Tags: bak eu pok, bean sprouts, Canning Garden char koay teow, char koay teow, char kway teow, Chinese waxed sausage, chives, cockles, crispy pork lard, eating out Ipoh, halal char koay teow, Jalan Lee Kwee Foh, ku chai, lap cheong, lup cheong, Penang banana leaf char koay teow, Penang char koay teow, Penang char kuey teow, Penang hawker food, prawns, Restoran New Hollywood, rice noodle, shelled prawns, si hum, stir fried rice noodle, taugeh, vinegared chilli sauce
Penang Char Koay Teow At 1 Utama
Penang char koay teow.
Wuan and I would patronize restaurants serving Penang hawker food whenever we come across any in the Klang Valley. We were at 1 Utama last weekend and were undecided on what we wanted to eat after we finished watching ASIMO in action. We wandered around and came across a restaurant tucked in a corner and remembered that we had eaten there once a few months before. I also recalled that I had a rice set dish which I thought was too bland in taste.
To play safe, I decided to order something else. The last time I had char koay teow was many many months ago. I have yet to taste a plate of nice Penang char koay teow in the Klang Valley. I ordered that anyway hoping that it would appease my appetite at the very least. I also ordered cincau. Cincau or leong fun is a black grass jelly. It is served thinly sliced in a glass of simple syrup and ice cubes. It is one of my favourite drinks. Cincau is especially refreshing on hot days.
It took a while before the dish was served. The moment it was laid on on the table, I already knew I would not like it. First, it did not have that unique aroma common in a good plate of char koay teow. First and foremost, the koay teow must be stir-friend on a kuali that is well heated which I believed was not the case. The heat is to remove the raw smell of the taugeh (bean sprouts) and bring out the aroma of the other ingredients, especially the egg.
The dish had the usual ingredients like ku chai (chives), si hum (cockles), shelled prawns, taugeh, crab meat and egg. What it did not have were bak eu pok (crispy pork lard) and sliced lap cheong (Chinese waxed sausage). The omission of the last two ingredients kind of contributed to the lack of aroma. Penang char koay teow without the bak eu pok is just not Penang char koay teow.
Sauces also play an important role in making a good plate of char koay teow. I guess it was not well blended. The dish was rather bland and not as spicy as it should be. Char koay teow should be a little on the salty side which is somewhat complimented by the sweetness of the lap cheong slices. This dish was none of those. All said, I would rather forget that I had char koay teow that day. It was a total disappointment and I promised myself that I will never return to eat at that restaurant again.
Tags: 1 Utama, bak eu pok, bean sprouts, black grass jelly, char koay teow, char kway teow, Chinese waxed sausage, chives, cockles, crab meat, crispy pork lard, halal char koay teow, ku chai, lap cheong, leong fun, Penang char koay teow, Penang char kuey teow, Penang hawker food, prawns, rice noodle, si hum, simple syrup, stir fried rice noodle, taugeh
Penang Hawker Food Slowly Losing Its Unique Tastes
It was silly of me to still think that only Penang has the best hawker food anywhere in Malaysia. Penang used to have hawker food that tasted really nice. Among my favourites are hokkien mee, kali mee, wantan mee, popiah and char kuey teow. Over the years, especially since I moved down to Kuala Lumpur, I have come to realise that the hawker food in my little island paradise do not taste as good as it used to be anymore during those few trips back.
In my opinion, the major cause of this is the ingredients. In the olden days, the hawkers prepared all the essential ingredients by themselves. They pounded the chilies, made the pastes and soup stock, deep-fried the shallots and even made the noodles used in their trades. This made the taste of their respective food unique only to them.
In contrast, many hawkers nowadays buy ready-made ingredients such as chili paste, noodles and even deep-fried shallots to cut down on preparation time and cost. That special touch in making the taste unique is lost. The ingredients used by one hawker is used by a few others who get their supplies from the same wholesaler. Mass production in the name of economy of scale is slowly killing what Penang has been famous for.
Once in a while, I still pine for the hokkien mee that the uncle sporting a crew cut hawked beside the bus stop opposite the PBA (Pihak Berkuasa Air) in Rifle Range. The spicy prawn and pork bone-based soup was simply delicious. Thinly sliced prawns and pork were generously added into the noodles. That was when I was still in primary school. Those were the days when hawkers went the extra mile to ensure that they put in only the best ingredients. How I miss those times.
Tags: Penang char kuey teow, Penang hawker food, Penang hokkien mee, Penang kali mee, Penang popiah, wantan mee