Penang Makan list

Day 1

Lunch
Tiger Char Koay Teow (@179 Lebuh Carnarvon)
Opens: 8am to 2.30pm

Verdict:
Char koay teow was flavourful and full of wok hei. We ordered the duck egg version.

Lor bak was pretty normal. RM14 for the small plate was pretty expensive.

Dinner
三条路888 Hokkien Mee (@67-A, Lebuh Presgrave)
05:00PM—11:30PM

Chendol

Fried Koay teow

Oyster Omelette 

Long queue was creeping up upon arrival but with the vendors quick hands and experienced management,  we got our food quite quickly.

Verdict: 

The Hokkien mee broth was rich and thick. Penang (small) portion, I would recommend to add additional ingredients such as crispy pork and pork rib to fill  your stomach. Crispy pork was good. 

Char koay teow was disappointing,  the lack of wok hei and flavour was pale in comparison to Tiger char koay teow we had for lunch

Oyster omelette was not what we were expecting for, it's the soggy version with sweet sauce. Taste is closer to Taiwan version but more spicy, less sweet.

Chendol was decent but more gula melaka is needed to add more oohms.

Day 2

Breakfast:
Pitt Street Koay Teow Th'ng (Eel Fish Ball Noodle) (@183, Lebuh Carnarvon)
8am to 2pm

Verdict:
I was told by a Grab driver that there are only 3 stalls in Penang  that serves eel fishball. Instead of the springy fishball that we usually have,  this eel fishballs are soft and melts in your mouth.  Soup was flavorful from the hours of pork bones brewing.  Each bowl comes with slices of eel "fish cake" which resembles the fish glue in our hotpot. Their new item which is the home made teochew pork balls tasted quite normal to me.

Lunch:
Durian buffet at Baosheng. RM 120 per pax for 2 hour buffet.  Durians available when I was there:
* Kun bao 坤宝
* D604
* D11
* Lipan 蜈蚣
* Hor Lor 葫芦

Kun bao 坤宝

D604

Lipan 蜈蚣

Hor Lor 葫芦

Villa AirBnB at Baosheng

Verdict:
Kun bao is very fragrant with a bitter and sweet taste. D604 was a little more creamy and bitter but the one that we tasted was uneven, one side was tasteless and the other side was bitter creamy. Lipan is a fiberless durian, there is no thread-like feeling when you taste it and has the ice cream texture. D11 was watery and bitter, not our type of durian. Hor Lor was like our old tree MSW, creamy and bitter.  Kun Bao and Hor Lor are the clear winners, followed by Lipan. If you asked me if it is worth spending RM120 per pax for non MSW durian, I couldn't answer you. On one hand, it seems that it's not worth spending so much on "kampong" durians but on the other hand, I am eating organic and species not available im Singapore.  My twice experiences at Baosheng (a few years apart) were happy and satisfied and experienced different durian species at both occassions.

Comment:
If you are looking for MSW, you are at the wrong place. Penang generally is famous for its red prawn and in recent years - black thorns. Baosheng however is famed for its organic durians. Many species of durians in Penang are not available in Singapore as they are not exported. You would never heard of species like Lin Feng jiao, Wu gong, Xiao hong, etc.  

Do remember to make prior booking before heading for the farm as I have tried walking in thinking that durian should be readily available in a farm for just a few paxes. I was rejected flatly and couldn't find another farm to go to as they were also sold out.   

Do take note that if you are taking ala carte instead of buffet at Baosheng, you are only allowed to purchase 2 out of the 5 species of their choice of durians.

Tea break:

Hock Seng rojak (@Macallum Street)
3pm to 8.30pm

Spring rolls with Lasak soup opposite Hock Seng rojak.

Verdict:
This is a must try and dabao rojak paste back place. Unlike our usual rojak where the paste is mixed with the fruits and you tiao, this rojak is "digging into the paste" with your fruits or you tiao.  The paste is brownish (not usual blackish) and full of flavour from dried prawn/peanut added to the paste. 

Spring roll with lasak soup was unplanned and tasted during Hock Seng queuing session. Fried spring roll was dipped into the lasak sauce to soak up the taste. I was told by an old customer that this was how spring rolls were eaten in the old days and he is rekindling the nostigic moments.

Dinner
Ivy Nonya restaurant (@ Jalan Chow Thye)

Verdict:
Rendang, curry chicken and soya sauce chicken are simply heavenly.  Itek tim tasted a little too diluted for my likings. Joo hu char 鱿鱼炒 was like our pie tee cup fillings but with dried cuttle fish added to the usual bang kuang. Assam fish was generously topped with ginger flower and reminds me of assam laksa broth.  i was actually looking for babi ponteh in the menu and realised that it was a pork free restaurant.  Generally, all dishes are authentically Nonya with lots of flavoured spices. Will definitely go again.

Comment:
It's a small restaurant with only 7 tables indoor and 3 tables outdoor. Reservation is a must. 

Day 3

Breakfast:
Kedai Kopi Sing Thor Lor mee (@160 Lebuh Carnarvon)

Verdict:

Read from a few blogs and even a local told me this Lor mee is the best in Penang.The  Lor mee gravy was rich and thick but somehow lacks the kick.  I would prefer the SG version. 

Mini Egg tarts from the next door were baked fresh but the crust was too thick and can barely taste the egg.  I was told by locals that the char siew bun was fantastic but only available at around 1 pm.  I truly missed the freshly baked egg tarts from KL Jalan Imbi coffee shop.

Souvenir biscuit:
Hock Lok Siew Biscuit Trading
(@120 Lebuh Noordin)

Comment:

Read that this is the place local goes to for their biscuits. Have not tried the biscuits as this blog was written live. Recommend to pop by if you are visiting 三条路888 Hokkien Mee as it's just down the street.

Lunch:
Air itam Penang Laksa

Verdict:
Assam broth is full of fish flavour but with added Har Ko. I have not tried assam laksa from other stalls to compare which is the best. 

Two sisters curry mee

Verdict:

If you are looking for thick lemak curry noodle, you are bound to be disappointed.  This curry noodle is a watery prawn based broth which is very different from ours. Must add the cuttlefish for that extra oohms. 

Comment:

The two old sisters are already retired but they are sitting there to guard their branding. Thumbs up to these ah mahs!

Dinner:

Souper Tang 汤师傅

Comment:

After 2 days of mainly street food meals, we wanted some comfort food.  Actually, the real reason was we wanted more time to shop at Gurney Plaza.  Being a chain,  Souper Tang keeps its cooking standard. All dishes are delicious and our most liked dishes are truffle fried egg with prawn and fried abalone mushroom. 

Supper:

101 Rojak (@Kota Lama Food court)

Verdict:

Rojak sauce was the Penang typical blackish colour sauce but this rojak is filled with "secret powder" which made it different.  Fruits from this stall were incredibly fresh and with the combination of the rojak sauce, it certainly does make an excellent rojak.  If I were to compare this to Hock Seng rojak,  I feel that Hock Seng rojak is still a clear winner due to the unique taste of the rojak paste.

Comments:

I was recommended by a shop keeper about this famous rojak, so decided to give it a try before heading home tomorrow.  The layout of this hawker center has 2 portions, one side mainly Muslim stores and the other are mainly Chinese stalls. There's only 1 rojak stall and you can see the queue upon entering the Chinese portion of the hawker center.  This place actually reminds me of our Newton circles hawker center.

Day 4

Breakfast (before going to airport):

Corner coffee shop beside Pasar Chow raster

Chee Cheong Fun

Fried mee sua

Wanton mee

Hokkien mee

Goreng pisang

Verdict:

Fried mee sua and Lam mee 淋面 (which i forgot to take photo) were good, the others are just pretty normal. Lam mee is a chicken soup broth with added spinach.  Chee cheong fun was different from those at home. Rojak prawn paste was added on top of the usual brown sweet sauce and chilli.

Comment:

Pasar Chow raster is a market mostly frequent by local. It's a good place to feel everyday life of a local.

Places that I wanted to go but did not managed to cover on this trip:

1) Tek Sin restaurant 

2) Ah Leng and Siam street Char Koay Teow

3) Kafe 2828 beef noodle

4) Foong Wei Heong restaurant

5) Poy Oy Thong medical hall (@365B Chulia street) to get the five spice powder.  It stated that it is open on Sunday but wasn't. 

6) Roti Canai at Transfer Road

7) Nasi Kander

* Disclaimer: All opinions are solely my truthful opinions, no monetary was taken from any stalls mentioned in this post.