Chuan Bee Kopitiam

There are over 12,000 prewar buildings within the historic enclave of George Town which was the heart of this UNESCO Heritage City. If you are not local you may not be able to locate some of the best coffee houses (or more commonly known as kopitiam in local Hokkien dialect) that are hidden and scattered around the maze like street network of this heritage town. 

There is one such place located along China Street (Lebuh Cina), it is the road right across and run perpendicularly to the famous Kuan Yin Temple  (觀音亭). 

The appearance of this modest little shop doesn't look very impressive at first. In fact it may even put off many potential customers who wish to be in newer and presentable premises. This is where you always need the locals to bring you to places like these that never appear in your Lonely Planet travel brochure.

Kopitiam in Penang Hokkien means coffee house. However it is unlike Starbucks or Coffee Bean which specializes on variety of coffee. The name derives from the fact that the locals always enjoy their local Penang coffee in places like these where they can also dine in and chit chat with their friends. The local coffee served here is particularly good and I never fail to order a cup. The mixture of bitterness and sweetness is just right in my view.

Pomfret Fish Curry

Stir Fried Bitter Gourd with Egg

Like many other Kopitiam in Penang, you can find the standard Chu Char (煮炒) menu here like fish curry, stir fried vegetables, fried Hokkien Mee etc. But one dish that you MUST order when you are there is their 金香雞 (pronounced as Kam Hiong Kai in Cantonese) where the chicken is deep fried into golden brown color in their secret recipe spices. I've been trying to find out what are the spices that they use but I was not successful so far.

 金香雞

A Taste of Penang In Sungai Petani

Penang hawker food is world renowned for its flavour sensation thanks to the variety of spices easily available in this part of the world. It is only natural that the demand for Penang food is even greater when you do not live in Penang.

Sungai Petani, the second biggest city of the Kedah state is located just a mere 45 minutes away by car from Penang Island. Take the North-South Expressway after crossing over via Penang Bridge, exit at Sungai Petani Selatan. After the first traffic light, turn left then go straight until you approach another traffic light, you will then find the first kopitiam on your left called Restoran Choon Nam. Look for a stall selling Curry Mee, Hokkien Mee and Lo Mee. To get a taste of Penang when you are living in Sungai Petani, this is the place to go.

Curry Noodle

Prawn Noodle Soup or 'Hokkien Mee'

The chili and fried onion are home made to ensure their freshness and fragrance intact. Each bowl of these delicious and mouth watering noodle soups costs a mere RM3.00! You won't get the same portion of it with that price in Penang Island! The husband and wife team start their business everyday at 7am and will usually sell out all their noodles by 10am! So wake up early and make sure you don't miss out!

Minced Crab & Prawn Meat Ball

Gurney Drive Penang, world renowned for its offering of all hawker food you can find in one location. Tourists and locals flock to this place every weekends just to savour the gourmet delights that Penang is famous for. Penangites who are seasoned food hunters of the local food environment will tend to stay away from the famous roundabout food court due to the higher price that the hawkers charge over there as many tourists patronize the area. 

Therefore, as far as the roundabout food court is concerned, I believe many people have wrote about it and we are not going to discuss it here. We are going to find food the Penangites' way. If you have been to Gurney Drive, you would have notice that there are small eating outlets scattered along the 2.2km stretch from the roundabout all the way to Gurney Hotel. And you would find that you usually come across tourists in these places when they are accompanied by locals. The area I'm talking about is located between Jalan Birch and Jalan Lim Chin Guan just before the Evergreen Hotel if you are coming from Gurney Plaza. There are four small food courts namely: Song River, Public, Carnation and New Zealand. You can find Bah Kut Teh, Seafood Noodle Soup, rice dishes and variety of local hawker food here.

In Public Cafe, there is this stall called Loke Sok Seafood. You can order rice with variety of Chinese dishes and it is value for money compare to eating in a restaurant. I'm not going to divulge the full list of their menu here as I'm only particularly interested in one dish that I never fail to order every time I visit this place. It is the deep fried minced crab & prawn meat balls, or it is called Cim Co in Hokkien. I suggest you order it in Hokkien to avoid getting something else in surprise. The minced crab and prawn meat are mixed together and wrapped up in a roll with bean curd skin ( 腐皮). The roll is then cut into several pieces and then deep fried in steaming hot oil. I also suggest that when you order it, tell the waitress that you don't want the meat ball to be cut in half. It is because from my experience when it is cut in half and then deep fried, it tends to be dryer and the tasty juice of the meat is lost. The price is $6 for 6 pieces, $8 for 8 pieces, $10 and $12.