Penang Popiah

Local food enthusiasts concur that the best popiah to be found in Penang is at Ong Leng Hin's stall at the Padang Brown hawker center; his popiah is generally deemed second to none.

Popiah, or fresh spring rolls, is Hokkien in origin, but local influence can be detected in the use of chilli sauce. Brown bean paste is also used to flavour the spring rolls.

A savory filling of stewed julienned sengkuang (yam bean), diced beancurd and spring onions is wrapped in a paper-thin crepe. Some cooks also add crab meat for an extravagent twist and shallot crisps for aroma.

For out-of-towners, it might be a bit of a challenge to locate Ong's stall, as it has no sign! Loyal customers all know where to locate the stall and its reputation has spread far and wide via word of mouth.

Visitors should look out for the "Penang Cafe Coconut Water" stall. You'll find Ong's stall right next to it.

Ong's family recipe for popiah has been finding favor with Penangites since the 1950s. As a child, he used to help his father at the same stall he now runs.

Ong begins his day at 7am, stewing the julienned yambean and other ingredients in crab stock for four hours; he is one of the few remaining popiah sellers in Penang to still use crab stock in his recipe.

Unlike the Vietnamese spring roll, the Penang version is much juicier as Ong's yambean filling is moist. Some customers like their popiah doused with lots of extra yambean gravy.