A trip back to Penang is not really a trip back to Penang unless I get to savour some of the popular hawker food. Wuan and I went to Genting Cafe the last time we were back. She has never eaten there before. Ask any Penangite and they probably would have eaten there one time or another, or least heard of it before. This typical coffee shop is at the corner between Lorong Delima 6 and Lorong Delima 3, and opposite the Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Hamid Khan field.
The road is narrow and car parking bays are limited. The times that I wanted to eat there, we could not find a place to park. It must have been our lucky day that morning. We got a space just across the road from the coffee shop. I had to negotiate around stalls and puddles of dirty water to get in. While we were looking for an empty table, one of the hawkers offered us the table he was occupying.
Wan than mee (wantan noodles) at Genting Cafe in Penang.
It has been a while since I last had some nice tasting wantan noodles and decided on a plate of kon lou. Incidentally, the hawker who gave up the table for us was the stall owner. The small serving I ordered cost RM2.50. It came with deep fried wantan, chai sim, char siu slices, shredded chicken and pickled green chillies. The noodles were springy like how I liked them to be. I would have preferred the wet wantans but the deep fried ones were nice, too.
Chee cheong fun at Genting Cafe in Penang.
Wuan had a bowl of something that did nothing to impress her taste buds. So we ordered the chee cheong fun which was very popular as evident by the queue at the stall. (My previous entry on this is here). The small serving of two rice rolls was RM1.70. The strong aroma of the prawn paste was subdued and there were hints of peanut butter. I could make do without the peanut buttery taste. A more distinct prawn paste aroma would have tantalised my palate more, although I always hated how my breath smelt of prawns afterwards. Having filled our tummies with some “authentic” Penang hawker fare, we took a leisurely drive to town to run some errands and experienced, yet again, the crazy traffic this island has become famous for.
I’ll be there next week.The food looks so tempting!! But…I have to control myself.My BP is sky high and crazily my creatinine level seems to have crept up.I wonder if consuming a lot of food with proteins or exercising hard can cause a rise as i came down with a severe attack of gout before going to have my blood sample taken, Mine is slightly over borderline at 13.1 What do you think Pete? You’re the expert.
Peter:
When I am in Penang, it is difficult to resist the temptation most of the time. I would if I could, but I am more scared of the repercussions of unbridled lust for hawker food than to allow them to go wild. The doctors are the expert. I am just someone living with that condition. A high-protein diet and strenuous exercises could elevate your creatinine level. Maybe do another renal profile when things have settled down to see if those are the causes? Do take care mate.
I miss the plain chee cheong fun with bean & chilli sauce with green pickled chillies. I wish I can have a plate now.