Penang food week at Xiamen Wyndham
By admin on 2014-12-29

Char Koay Teow is a Penang hawker dish of flat rice noodles stir fried with prawns, eggs (mostly chicken but some times duck), bean sprouts and chives (koo chye). Cockles are often added. Chilli is another optional ingredient. The rice noodles, called koay teow, are stir fried in pork fat, and crisp pieces of pork lard, called bak yew phok, is considered a delicacy by many.

Ingredients of Char Koay Teow:

• - koay teow (flat rice noodles)

• - prawns

• - eggs (chicken, some times duck)

• - chives

• - cockles

• - chilli paste as desired

    
  Char Koay Teow had its origins among the labourer class. Due to its high fat content, it was a cheap source of energy among the working class. Today, however, Char Koay Teow is accepted as a dish for all classes of the community, and some of the most famous Char Koay Teow stalls are literally dishing it out at premium prices. 

• Location 1: Pulau Tikus Market (evenings only)

  
  The very first thing that always comes to mind would be the Penang Char Koay Teow, of course! I cannot leave Penang without my daily fix for Char Koay Teow! And because I only have 3 days there, I made sure I have one plate of this delish flat noodle once a day and there were occasions where I had them twice-a-day. I have to watch my cholesterol level now that I am back in Singapore!

• I had Char Koay Teow at the convenient places, not really looking for the best ones in towns like most of the locals do. Among the best one I had was one stall that was sold at the Pulau Tikus Market in the evening. I had no idea there were food stalls behind the market in the evenings because previously there were none. It was a pleasant find and there was one stall that was recommended by a Penangite, MY MOM! I patronized this one on the second night and packed one CKT back for supper on the third night. *burp*

• This Char Koay Teow is packed in brown waxed paper, lined with banana leaves to bring out it's fragrant aroma, just like the old days.

  If you want to try it, this stall is called Sin Wa Char Koay Teow. You can order it in two varieties- Chicken Egg or Duck Egg. I went for Duck Egg because I've always loved it with Duck Eggs! A plate with Duck Eggs cost $RM4.

  Verdict: Two Thumbs Up!! Value for Money!

  When I was younger, I used to bring an egg or two to pack Char Koay Teow just across the Pulau Tikus Police Station where a lady fries with gusto in front of an intermediate shophouse. This lady, has a defect eye on one side but I can swear that she fries the best Char Koay Teow at that time. As she had grown older and retired, I believe her sons took over but somehow they had not captured the essence of perfecting this dish like their mom did. Since then I had not patronized this stall as one try was all it took to decide her son has no 'Kung Fu' (not master the skills yet).

• Location 2: Lorong Selamat across 99B Hoe Peng's Mee Koo shop

  This was an accidental find. I was running errands collecting Mee Koo (will blog about it in another post) and was there so decided to have our late lunch at the coffee shop across. There was a man who was frying Char Koay Teow in a frenzy and he had marked his orders with eggs. I thought it was a good idea as this way he would know how many orders he had by the look of the number of eggs lining up on the stall. I ordered his Char Koay Teow and it cost a whopping RM$6 - expensive, compared with other stalls! Perhaps it was because they used 3 large prawns?

  The taste was alright but I still prefered the Sin Wa's CKT with Duck Eggs. $RM6 is not really value for money for an average tasting plate of CKT.

  Verdict: Average but Expensive

  Location 3: Gurney Drive near Sunrise Tower (evenings only)

  The other CKT that I had was in Gurney Drive. I was there in search for the Edgecumbe Road Mee Goreng which I had loved since my teenage years. But I could not find it among the many many stalls there.

  These Gurney Stalls that I patronized were located near the 'roundabout' (now no more roundabout!) or just below the Sunrise Tower (the first luxurious apartment built in Penang!).

  There were many CKT stalls and I didn't really appreciate the long queued ones that fried their CKTs in a large batch. I like those that fry on individual orders. It gives a better wok-fried fragrant when it is fried in smaller portions.

  I stopped by this one that had few people in the queue. Stall number 47. This one has two woks and is fried by a middle aged lady and a man. I like the idea that there are two woks instead of one. I'm sure they are both adept at frying since they do sell Fried Rice and Noodle. Each one fries his or her own a plate at a time. This was the first CKT on the first day of arrival and I ordered one with Duck's Egg. It cost $5.50 per plate but it was simply yummy! More expensive than Sin Wa but just as good!

  Verdict: Two Thumbs Up!! Expensive

  If you are in Gurney looking for YUMMY CKT, I will recommend this stall. But if you have the time, go to the Pulau Tikus Market at night.