Penang, one of the few states in Malaysia that is thriving, reasonably safer compared to Johor and a ridiculous Foodie Heaven.
The Siam Road's Cha Kway Teow, aka Penang Kway Teow or White Kway Teow. It is white, uses prawns and soy sauce instead of sweet sauce like in Singapore. The legendary "stall" has been around for ages, the head Chef's in his 70s supported by his son, was one of the stories of the street food culture in South East Asia.
They open just about everyday, starts at 3pm and ends when it's sold out between 8 - 9pm. There isn't any toilet breaks in between, the sip coffee or whatever drinks they pre-prepared. The amazing plate of Kway Teow's creation is simple, lard oil + prawns, let it sit for 30secs, loadsa tau-ghey or bean sprouts, let it sit for 15 secs, throw in the kway teow and start mixing the ingredients, add 5 servings of soy sauce, chilli sauce and chives before letting it simmer again. When serving, he adds more lard and soy sauce before cracking an egg, lapcheong (chinese sausage) and hum (cockles), mix em well and serve.
Been there for a whole 1hr + each day queuing and adoring the gap-less efficient process/shift they run, I still can't figure out his secret, except that the pan was never washed and he uses charcoal instead of gas stove. The problem with the charcoal stove is that he has to constantly fan the stove and add charcoal to get the flame to maximum heat and with every fan, it felt so magical, it's as though the God of Chefs has arrived to add the magic into this phenomenal plate of kway teow.
He wouldn't be able to do this without his octopusy sous chef / son, who takes orders, remembers them, gives the chef his rounds of orders then serve the people who are dining across the road. Comes back with dirty plates, wash them, dry them, cuts the chives into equal lengths, chops the lapcheong, replenishes the kway teow, the eggs, the sauces the cockles, entertains impatient customers, entertains vvip customers, entertains his dad's quick temper...
There isn't clean running water, there isn't additional help, he has to bring water from the toilet opposite the makeshift kitchen then cross this busy 2 lane road, packed with cars parked on either side, customers queuing along the parked cars and the erratic bikes of malaysia weaving in and out. I would insure a stewardess but not him haha.
Day 1 queuing
Le crazy traffic, the customers are all risking their lives for this.
The Siam Road's Cha Kway Teow, aka Penang Kway Teow or White Kway Teow. It is white, uses prawns and soy sauce instead of sweet sauce like in Singapore. The legendary "stall" has been around for ages, the head Chef's in his 70s supported by his son, was one of the stories of the street food culture in South East Asia.
They open just about everyday, starts at 3pm and ends when it's sold out between 8 - 9pm. There isn't any toilet breaks in between, the sip coffee or whatever drinks they pre-prepared. The amazing plate of Kway Teow's creation is simple, lard oil + prawns, let it sit for 30secs, loadsa tau-ghey or bean sprouts, let it sit for 15 secs, throw in the kway teow and start mixing the ingredients, add 5 servings of soy sauce, chilli sauce and chives before letting it simmer again. When serving, he adds more lard and soy sauce before cracking an egg, lapcheong (chinese sausage) and hum (cockles), mix em well and serve.
Been there for a whole 1hr + each day queuing and adoring the gap-less efficient process/shift they run, I still can't figure out his secret, except that the pan was never washed and he uses charcoal instead of gas stove. The problem with the charcoal stove is that he has to constantly fan the stove and add charcoal to get the flame to maximum heat and with every fan, it felt so magical, it's as though the God of Chefs has arrived to add the magic into this phenomenal plate of kway teow.
He wouldn't be able to do this without his octopusy sous chef / son, who takes orders, remembers them, gives the chef his rounds of orders then serve the people who are dining across the road. Comes back with dirty plates, wash them, dry them, cuts the chives into equal lengths, chops the lapcheong, replenishes the kway teow, the eggs, the sauces the cockles, entertains impatient customers, entertains vvip customers, entertains his dad's quick temper...
Day 1 queuing
And here's the final product.. filled with richness of pork lard, saltiness and fragrance of the chinese sausage and soy sauce, the slightly pungent / rich taste of the prawn covered by fresh chives and crunchy bean sprouts. Occasionally you'd taste the raw mussels as well as the smooth runny crazy eggs to wrap this magical plate for a measly RM6.50 / SGD 3.18.
#StreetFood #Rocks.
It's affordable by SG standards because of our strong currency but still, I'll definitely pay SGD6.50 for a plate.
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