A Chinese style soup spoon, chop sticks and a Laguiole knife are the only arms a foodie needs. Just add a decent private aircraft and we'll fly to discover…
Great food as usual and… lousy drivers on the streets, also as usual.
At home, while watching the French TV channel the reporter announced that the local police will act quiet harsh for those driving to their vacation destiny by road.
As we also plan a trip to Europe in a short while, I’ll have to change my Penang driving habits or I might be paying a fortune on local fines:
I’m already preparing myself mentally to respect rules for overtaking, one-way streets, speeding, crossing continuous singel and double lines, parking and a few more. Of course all this while driving again at the correct and right side op the street! It’s going to be a challenge. More later, after our return.
Malaysian style rules were posted alreay in a former mail (see post of Januari 2011). Only for your personal information, a small reminder below.
Just for your information: how about this way of leaving your car parked? Only in Malaysia, I guess. (Wink)
A guide for expatriate drivers in Malaysia
by David Astley a British/Ozzie guy now living in KL
Since arriving in Malaysia in 1997, I have tried on many occasions to
buy a copy of the Malaysian road rules, but have come to the
conclusion that no such publication exists (or if it does, it has been
out of print for years). Therefore after carefully observing the
driving habits of Malaysian drivers, I believe I have at last worked
out the rules of the road in Malaysia.
For the benefit of other expatriates living in Malaysia, and the 50%
of local drivers who acquired their driving licences without taking a
driving test, I am pleased to share my knowledge below:
Q: What is the most important rule of the road in Malaysia?
A: The most important rule is that you must arrive at your destination
ahead of the car in front of you. This is the sacrosanct rule of
driving in Malaysia. All other rules are subservient to this rule.
Q: What side of the road should you drive on in Malaysia?
A: 99.7% of cars drive on the left hand side, 0.2% on the right hand
side, and 0.1% drive in reverse (be on the look out for drivers
reversing at high speed in the left hand lane of freeways, having just
missed their exit). Therefore on the basis of ‘majority rules’, it is
recommended that you drive on the left. However, be aware that only
90% of motorcyclists travel on the left hand side – the other 10% ride
in the opposite direction or on the sidewalk. Fortunately,
motorcyclists traveling in reverse are rarely seen.
Q: What are the white lines on the roads?
A: These are known as lane markers and were used by the British in the
colonial days to help them drive straight. Today their purpose is
mainly decorative, although a double white line is used to indicate a
place that is popular to overtake.
Q: When can I use the emergency lane?
A: You can use the emergency lane for any emergency, e.g. you are late
for work, you left the toaster plugged in at home, you are bursting to
go to the toilet, you have a toothache or you have just dropped your
Starbucks coffee in your lap. As it is an emergency, you may drive at
twice the speed of the other cars on the road.
Q: Do traffic lights have the same meaning as in other countries?
A: Not quite. Green is the same that means “Go”, but amber and red are
different. Amber means “Go like hell” and red means “Stop if there is
traffic coming in the other direction or if there is a policeman on
the corner”. Otherwise red means the same as green. Note that for
buses, red lights do not take effect until five seconds after the
light has changed.
Q: What does the sign “Jalan Sehala” mean?
A: This means “One Way Street” and indicates a street where the
traffic is required to travel in one direction. The arrow on the sign
indicates the preferred direction of the traffic flow, but is not
compulsory. If the traffic is not flowing in the direction in which
you wish to travel, then reversing in that direction is the best
option.
Q: What does the sign “Berhenti” mean?
A: This means “Stop”, and is used to indicate a junction where there
is a possibility that you may have to stop if you cannot fool the cars
on the road that you are entering into thinking that you are not going
to stop.
Q: What does the sign “Beri Laluan” mean?
A: This means “Give Way”, and is used to indicate a junction where the
cars on the road that you are entering will give way to you provided
you avoid all eye contact with them and you can fool them into
thinking that you have not seen them.
Q: What does the sign “Dilarang Masuk” mean?
A: This means “No Entry”. However, when used on exit ramps in
multi-storey car parks, it has an alternative meaning which is: “Short
cut to the next level up”.
Q: What does the sign “Pandu Cermat” mean?
A: This means “Drive Smartly”, and is placed along highways to remind
drivers that they should never leave more than one car length between
them and the car in front, irrespective of what speed they are
driving. This is to ensure that other cars cannot cut in front of you
and thus prevent you from achieving the primary objective of driving
in Malaysia, and that is to arrive ahead of the car in front of you.
If you can see the rear number plate of the car in front of you, then
you are not driving close enough.
Q: What is the speed limit in Malaysia?
A: The concept of a speed limit is unknown in Malaysia.
Q: So what are the round signs on the highways with the numbers, 60,
80 and 110?
A: This is the amount of the ‘on-the-spot’ fine (in ringgits – the
local currency) that you have to pay to the police if you are stopped
on that stretch of the highway. Note that for expatriates or locals
driving Mercedes or BMWs, the on-the-spot fine is double the amount
shown on the sign.
Q: Where do you pay the ‘on-the-spot’ fine?
A: As the name suggests, you pay it ‘on-the-spot’ to the policeman who
has stopped you. You will be asked to place your driving licence on
the policeman’s notebook that he will hand to you through the window
of your car. You will note that there is a spot on the cover of the
notebook. Neatly fold the amount of your fine into four, place the
fine on the spot, and then cover it with your driving licence so that
it cannot be seen. Pass it carefully to the policeman. Then, with a
David Copperfield movement of his hands, he will make your money
disappear. It is not necessary to applaud.
Q: But isn’t this a bribe?
A: Oh pleeease, go and wash your mouth out. What do you want? A
traffic ticket? Yes, you can request one of those instead, but it will
cost you twice the price, forms to fill out, cheques to write,
envelopes to mail, and then three months later when you are advised
that your fine was never received, more forms to fill out, a trip to
the police station, a trip to the bank, a trip back to the police
station, and maybe then you will wish you had paid ‘on-the-spot’.
Q: But what if I haven’t broken any road rules?
A: It is not common practice in Malaysia to stop motorists for
breaking road rules (because nobody is really sure what they are). The
most common reasons for being stopped are:
(a) the policeman is hungry and would like you to buy him lunch;
(b) the policeman has run out of petrol and needs some money to get
back to the station;
(c) you look like a generous person who would like to make a donation
to the police welfare fund; or
(d) you are driving an expensive car which means you can afford to
make a donation to the police welfare fund.
Q: Does my car require a roadworthy certificate before I can drive it
in Malaysia?
A: No, roadworthy certificates are not required in Malaysia. However
there are certain other statutory requirements that must be fulfilled
before your car can be driven in Malaysia.
Firstly, you must ensure that your windscreen is at least 50% obscured
with English football club decals, golf club membership stickers or
condo parking permits.
Secondly, you must place a tissue box (preferably in a white lace
cover) on the back shelf of your car under the rear window.
Thirdly, you must hang as many CDs or plastic ornaments from your rear
vision mirror as it will support. Finally, you must place a Garfield
doll with suction caps on one of your windows. Your car will then be
ready to drive on Malaysian roads.
Q: What does a single yellow line along the edge of a road mean?
A: This means parking is permitted.
Q: What does a double yellow line along the edge of a road mean?
A: This means double parking is permitted.
Q: What does a yellow box with a diagonal grid of yellow lines painted
on the road at a junction mean?
A: Contrary to the understanding of some local drivers, this does not
mean that diagonal parking is permitted. It indicates a junction that
is grid-locked at peak hours.
Q: Can I use my mobile phone whilst driving in Malaysia?
A: No problem at all, but it should be noted that if you wish to use
the rear-vision mirror to put on your lipstick (women only please) or
trim your eyebrows at the same time as you are using a mobile phone in
the other hand, you should ensure that you keep an elbow free to steer
the car. Alternatively, you may place a toddler on your lap and have
the child steer the car whilst you are carrying out these other
essential driving tasks.
Q: Is it necessary to use indicator lights in Malaysia?
A: These blinking orange lights are commonly used by newly arrived
expatriate drivers to indicate they are about to change lanes. This
provides a useful signal to local drivers to close up any gaps to
prevent the expatriate driver from changing lanes. Therefore it is
recommended that expatriate drivers adopt the local practice of
avoiding all use of indicator lights. However, it is sometimes useful
to turn on your left hand indicator if you want to merge right,
because this confuses other drivers enabling you to take advantage of
an unprotected gap in the traffic.
Q: Why do some local drivers turn on their left hand indicator and
then turn right, or turn on their right hand indicator and then turn
left?
A: This is one of the unsolved mysteries of driving in Malaysia.
Q. What is the use of the hazard warning lights?
A. Contrary to all international protocol, this four way flashing
light is = switched on when the Police are escorting VIPs on the road
to warn lesser mortals to move out of the way and not hinder the flow
of the motorcade. Taking a cue from the Police, motorists use this at
the slightest excuse when it rains to tell other motorist to get out
of the way as using their hazard light anoints them with powers that
part the traffic, somewhat akin to Moses parting the Red Sea.
My daughter sent me lately a few photographs from quite some time ago, bringing back memories of flying experiences, when she still was a young teenager while I was, well… a few years older.
At the airforce base of Koksijde. In the far left a Seaking from the SAR flight.
Years ago while still living in Belgium on the old continent, I started my training for getting the private pilot licence. Following the first part of the schooling and theory classes came the real thing after hours of required flight training with an instructor to get familiarised with the planes: the first solo. Hmm…Piece of cake to get the plane into the air! Only after that I realised also having to bring it down alone by my own, on the correct runway and in one piece preferably, without damaging that flying thing or my own macho pride!
Later I passed a written exam, an oral radio phraseology exam and a practical, behind-the-wheel exam. After extra flying hours, more exams to get an international license and one allowing night flights. It all went ok and after about 45/50 flying hours total and one year later, I got a VFR international license and my first certificates and ratings for single engine prop plane operation in my category of less than 5,7 tons, if I recall well.
IFR certified instruments of OO-TWA.
So, there we were, ready for starting our adventures. Ready for travelling the good old Europe by air and without being bothered by flight strikes of British Airways or Air France or Gawd forbid, the late S.A.B.E.N.A.
Oh… and what about this post and its relation to food, you wonder? Nah, I’m afraid this airline offers no food on board. We fly on a budget after all. But we used the plane on several occasions for a destination near to some very fine restaurants abroad! More perhaps later. For the moment, let’s fly in the sky, enjoying clouds and trips
I’ve nothing against fast food, be it like from Penang hawker places, Belgian fry booths or American hot-dog stalls
However I do have something against those major chains producing food, or better: stuff only to fatten you with whatever stomach filling. I don’t eat at Pizza-Hut, KFC, Taco Bell or hamburger joints.I might eat some Mac Do as a snack but that will be 3 times a year max. Same goes for the “coffee” joints like “Star$” or similar. Hot boiled bitter dishwater in a paper mug is not exactly my thing. It reminds me of that Dutch Heineken: the only branded piss in the world served in lemonade glasses…:-) [I really was unable to resist that one!]
But I’ll admit to visit on a weekly basis our local branch of Super Super. They are part of Café de Coral, a huge chain. I do like their simple Hong Kong Food like:
♦ Chok (Congee) with chuncks of fish, fine slices of roasted pork, rings of squid and a few shrimps. All topped of with scallions and a few nuts. Add white pepper before eating! ♦ Chee cheong fun, with a mix inside of chopped watercress, chopped meat, shallot and more. Put some soy sauce over before eating. ♦ Turnip, prepared with greatly balanced herbs and spices,maybe with a lick of schrimp paste. Comes all grilled -or something like that.
Just while checking through my library, I stumbled upon an old French language marabout book [editor: Marabout; 1987 – Alleur / Belgique]. In it some humourous food drawings by Frapar, who I guess, was a local artist worldwide known in his own village.
Thomas Keller, a U.S. chef, explains that Sous Vide is a foolproof technique, involving cooking at precise temperatures below simmering, yielding results that other culinary methods cannot. However: literally it means “under emptiness” which I hope helps explaining the wordplay that makes up the joke.
Petard means fire-cracker. – Dinde means Turkey. –
Farce has a double meaning -> or stuffing, or joke. So they were “just joking” or “stuffing the turkey with a fire-cracker” is the wordplay in this cartoon. Always difficult to get the point translated I’m afraid, isn’t it?
An easy one: “I tell you it smells like paint, your lackered duck! Great line in a Chinese restaurant enjoying Peking Duck.
The boss of an eating place who identifies a inspector, the one who decides about the stars attributed… “How many stars do you see now, mister G&M ?” (Gault et Millau is a french institution commenting on the quality of restaurants.)
It doesn’t has to be always about Asian food on this blog right?
To start on an ironical although humoristic note, allow me to explain in a simple way the former negotiations of Belgian politics.
(No central government agreement since elections in June 2010 till a year and a half later.)
It illustrates and sums up the fundamental difference between the north and the southern regions in that small next-to be-ex-country.
Here we go: Belgian Political Negotiations 101 explained:
You have one cow.
The cow is schizophrenic.
Sometimes the cow thinks it’s French, other times it’s Flemish.
The Flemish cow won’t share with the French cow.
The French cow wants control of the Flemish cow’s milk.
The cow asks permission to be cut in half.
The cow dies happy.
After this starter, let us go and enjoy some local food.
Mostly stuff from my native regions in Flanders, Wallonia and France. Of course, marvelous food is available coming from Portugal, Spain, Italy… and other regions as well. Just think about Scandinavian seafood places.
Succulent food in fact is available from all over the world and I’m sure people, better informed than I am, are writing about local and regional cuisines all over the globe.
Also, it’s very difficult in my opinion to recreate original far-away-cuisine-specialities abroad if the cook or chef is not educated in its taste finesses and has not always access to the fresh original ingredients. Restaurants in ***** hotels have great results, I know, unfortunately at very “Warren-Buffet-like” prices!
Now, to start with some favourites of mine:
For a very Flemish snack I suggest cherry tomatoes filled with freshly hand peeled grey shrimps. Going for the best ones? Only available in Belgium I’m afraid! Unpeeled fresh grey shrimps are very rare to find EVEN in the Netherlands! Go figure.
Grey shrimp snack with cherry tomatoes
cherry tomates crevettes
The shrimps are cooked directly after fishing while still on board the vessel.
Prepare a light homemade mayonnaise (avoid industrial products by all means), add black pepper and finely chopped spring onions.
Simple but heavenly food. Also be attentive for the quality of the little tomatoes as nowadays sometimes they lack taste! A pity!
A tad more elaborated version below.
Served as a starter, using bigger flesh tomatoes, hand peeled –Noblesse oblige-. On a bed of butter lettuce, with some parts of hard-boiled egg and freshly cooked but cooled asparagus.
Asparagus to be cooked 20 seconds longer than “al dente” while keeping the tips out of the boiling water so they will remain crisp. Shrimps mixed with chopped parsley, spring onions and the mayo. Fill the tomatoes and voila!
Grey shrimp & tomato salad
Another Snack below: deep fried cheese & bread bits, Flemish way.
Use a mixture of French/Suisse Emmenthaler, Suisse Gruyère and Italian Parmigiano. Those cheeses have some subtle differences among themselves. So, make the mixture according to your personal preferences.
First, start making a béchamel sauce, adding an egg-yolk at the end. Gently heat it with the cheese mixture added. The sauce needs to have some consistency.
At the end of the heating process: add 1 TS of Kirsch.
Allow to cool off. That will make the sauce even more consistent.
For the bread: use sliced white bread that has aged for a few days. ( it becomes firmer that way).
With a small glass with a diameter of about 3 to 4 cm to make / cut-out circular bread bits. Cover the bread with the cheese mixture and keep it all cold in the fridge or put all in the freezer for later use.
When ready to party: deep fry in vegetable oil, heated to 190° centigrade.
Serve with some branches of parsley, also deep fried for 15 seconds.
NEXT: “Platte oesters uit Zeeuws Vlaanderen” (Netherlands) [* note to myself] are among the best if not the best, available in western Europe.
[* note to myself]: Phuleese, …don’t get me started about local geography in and around Belgium, … east and western Flanders, Flanders as a Flemish Belgian region, French Flanders in.. errr: France and Zeeuws Vlaanderen in err… the Netherlands, not Holland)
Succulent taste, full of finesse, excellent balance for saltness, with very light hints of ‘noisettes’.
Unfortunately they are becoming rare and thus expensive. Sizes from 1 zero to 5 zeros. That translates as “0” to “00000”.
As usual personal taste prevails. So, in my opinion the biggest are far from being the best. The finest for me are: “00” or max. “000”.
¿ I know that’s against the opinion of some of my Chinese friends who live according the gospel of “Fattheus”: “Big, Bigger, Biggest“, but he… !! ?
For those friends: Try them smaller if you get the chance.
Open them with what we call a special oyster knife (get some training first to avoid cutting off your hand). Get rid of the initial juice as half a minute later the oyster has reproduced new juice.
That’s the time to eat them live, direct from the shell.
Adding some lemon juice and pepper is ok but really not necessary when they are just as fresh as possible. After that experience you never again will go for live tropical oysters, so be warned!
flat oysters from Zeeuws Vlaanderen - Netherlands.
More traditional than Mussels you die! Belgians are known for being the best mussels lovers in the world!
Bouchot mussels
La sole meuniere, elsewhere AKA Dover Sole. Don’t settle for less than the original from the North Sea.
Sole meuniere - real Dover sole (Origin North Sea)
It is a fun and weird thought altogether, definitely.
I’ve been feeling like a young 30 something guy my whole life long. Lots of sports and hobbies, traveling much, operating a few local successful businesses, among them a small flying school… and leaving finally Europe for living in Asia about almost 10 years ago. In short: a very busy and adventurous life.
Ok, probably also not the most healthy one but who cares? One only live once. On the other hand, I stopped smoking more than 3 years ago, stopped drinking strong booze also years ago. So, no problem, right?
Wrong, as all of a sudden, according to the doctors, I’m suffering from a weak heart. Huh??? After being admitted to the well-known Queen Mary Uni Hospital here in town for observation, they even had to fight all of a sudden for keeping me alive. Go figure. A serious shock for my ego, difficult to admit, although, as I realised later, a perfect timing had brought me to the hospital. In hindsight however some warnings already had been manifesting themselves. I just didn’t catch them.
However, things are getting back to normal after that catastrophic last 3 months of 2011. After our not-so-funny-stay in Penang in september because of the passing away of my wife’s aunt and also her mother and after my personal health problem, we now just returned from Penang after arranging some administration with banks and other firms. And (grin)… after writing and officially registering my will! (A thing I only thought about doing after that bloody-Near-Death experience. Maybe all of us should think about that one in time! )
Of course Pulau Penang to me means also enjoying lots of the local food. I only was hoping my medicine intake results would not be influenced by all the yummy, but alas, maybe not recommended food I enjoy there. (One only lives once though, remember…). Lucky me however, because after returning to HK and after some blood checks by my doctor, everything was ok! So, the original planning about retiring to Penang to enjoy the local cuisine stays an objective for my future life. – Great, as now I am ready for returning to my food paradise as soon as we can.
Filet Américain… that’s the Belgian variation and translation (Flemish, Brussels’ natives and Walloons use the same french lingo in this case) to refer to what Frenchies and you might actually be calling ‘steak tartare’. But it’s different!
Belgian ‘delicatessen/butcher shops’ and ‘traiteur shops’ sell premium ground meat as ” filet américain nature”, meaning no additions (???- Hmm) as well as “filet américain préparé”, meaning with added different herbs and other seasonings. In the end every one has his/her own recipe. However what makes it different from steak tartare is that the meat is minced with a mechanical grinder. Personally (according to my added 5 local ¢) it does not enhance the meat’s flavour, if I’m allowed to write so! On the contrary.
Not so for the real and only freshly made steak tartare!
steak tartare my way
What transforms filet américain into a real steak tartare is both the seasoning, and more importantly: the freshly knife-chopped meat just before mixing all ingredients before serving. Indeed, the finished product you buy from the chops usually (read: always) has some preserving“E+ a nbr” chemicals added to keep the meat nicely red for a few days. Home made steak tartare, freshly chopped from premium steak needs to be served asap after finishing the dish. Quality will remain for only a few hours when kept in the fridge!
steak tartare
filet mignon or filet pur
egg yolk
mustard, Dijon mustard recommended
onions or spring onions, finely chopped
capers, drained
tabasco sauce
Worcestershire sauce
a minimal amount of freshly hand-made mayonnaise; parsley finely chopped
salt, pepper, crushed red pepper
I serve this dish with toasted bread slices, tomato & garlic lettuce salad and a Belgian beer: triple Westmalle trappist.
a picture says it better than words
Toasts can be replaced with Belgian french fries or pan baked potatoes.
Peng Chau is one of Hong Kong’s smaller outlying islands. Situated west of Lamma island and east of Lantau island, its todays population is about 6,500 (2011).
Peng Chau viewed from a hill on Lantau
With an area surface of about 1 km², it is, as said, one of the smaller islands but it comes with a full range of services for the locals: a covered wet market with lots of fresh seafood on offer, a full time police station, super market, bank and ATM service, lots of small chops and even a full branch of the Hong Kong Library.
Besides fresh seafood places (not many) there are also a few bars and restaurants, some ran by… frenchies (???). How about that? We visited this french bar/eating place. The name is referring to a popular song of Georges Brassens. He was a Frenchie born in Sète – southern France and had a great reputation as a post WW2 poet and guitar playing singer and composer.
Brassens was a bit of an intellectual anarchist, what was considered “bon ton” in those days after the war. Brassens himself said (tongue in cheek): “I’m an anarchist, so much so that I always cross at the zebra crossing to avoid arguing with the police.” – “Les Copains D’ Abord” has also a decent offer of French wines and Belgian beers.
"Obbao" french restaurant with some Brittany specialties
“Obbao” although using a funny spelling translates as “Full tummy” or so I’ve been told. They have a nice offer of juices, brittany crepes, burgers, home made pizzas and a yummy preparation of steak tartare. (Although I personally prefer my tartare cut a tad more finely.) They have also some wines on offer but probably not as specialised as their neighbours (les copains d’abord). Please,correct me if I’m wrong.
They also offer a few different beers. Unfortunately that includes some “yellow dishwasher-fluid stuff” called Heineken. Alas, C’est la vie! Nobody’s perfect. – Note to Alex & Chris: if you guys read this: don’t shoot me on our next visit please. Wink 🙂
Obbao's new summer menu
The overall food quality is, to be honest, better than in some other parts and more trendy places on HK island!
French wine & cheese bar with some great Belgian beers also on offer
We haven’t tried “Les Copains d’ Abord” yet but we are going to on the first saturday or sunday of next month. Good fine french wines with great cheeses, cold cuts (sausages, hams, country pate) and quiches really are very tempting, both for my wife and myself.
However, regarding chinese fresh seafood restaurants, to be completely honest, the variety on offer on Peng Chau is no competition for places on Cheung Chau, Lamma Island or Sai Kung and Lei Yue Mun. (Just google for more info on any of these).
Still, during the week-end breaks the island is popular and visited by numbers of locals, expats and a few tourists alike. Good destination for a day-trip or even for a half day-trip. Its small island lifestyle is very refreshing. While walking around one forgets that one is only half an hour away from the busy Central district or Kowloon.
And just to be complete, Peng Chau has very small but inviting streets for wandering around with no cars allowed other than official transport like police or ambulance. We locals (sic) walk or use bicycles.
You can reach Peng Chau by different ferries, sailing from Central (HK Island), Mui Wo (Lantau Island), Cheung Chau etc. From Discovery Bay (just across on Lantau) it’s only a few cable-lengths away. It takes the small local and slow Kai-to ferry less than 15 minutes of sailing time to get you to Peng Chau.
The Hungry Ghost Festival
According to a website about “Chinese culture” :
(Quote): You have probably heard of the Chinese Lunar New Year. Have you also heard about the less well-known Hungry Ghost Festival?
Just as the Americans have Halloween, the Chinese have their version of a ghost festival too. In 2007, the festival of hungry ghost started on the 13th of August to 10th September of the Western Calendar.
(note: this 2011 was during a different period obviously, because the dates of the festival are calculated according to the lunar calender)
Celebrated mostly in South China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and especially in Singapore and Malaysia, the Hungry Ghost festival is a mixed Taoist/ folklore occasion that is taken very seriously by the Chinese. This festival falls on the 7th month of the Lunar Year and it is believed by the Chinese that during this month, the gates of hell are opened to let out the hungry ghosts who then wander to seek food on Earth. (unquote).
Video beneath was filmed by Jay-P. and his better half on August 20th 2011 during the local Hungry Ghost Festival on Peng Chau. Lots of dragons, lots of drums, lots of incense and other offerings. In short: lots of noise, local folklore and liters of sweat under that bloody hot sun.
Another famous landmark of L’ Ilot Sacré for sure is the world-wide-well- known “friture” to savour the real “Mussels from Brussels”, as opposed to the now mature (grin) “Muscles from Brussels”, aka Jean-Claude Van Dam. (Used to be a former Hollywood B-movie star of Belgian origin).
Adding a little historical gossip: It was said that Van Dam always hated that nickname, for the obvious mussel reasons about his abs and other mussels/muscles. I doubt if he ever ate at Chez Léon.
– “Chez Léon” -.
This is the original moules-frites restaurant of Brussels. Management is still in the hands of the founding family (since 1893). Not to be compared to the franchised ones in other places in Belgium, France, the Middle East etc. The “Leon de Bruxelles” chain was originally started by the family but later sold to international investors. Quality is different and adapted to local taste. As for the original restaurant: very good quality but the service may vary, depending on the number of patrons. It tends sometimes to look like a food factory. My advice: visit outside the holiday season and avoid week-ends.
Their signature plate:
And for starters, I ‘ll suggest the traditional “Tomate Crevettes”. Grey North sea shrimps with butter lettuce, tomato and home made mayonnaise:
Below their promotional video that will make you hungry:
Btw, avoid the Italian or Portuguese places in this part of Brussels. There are very good Italian, Spanish and mediterranean restaurants in other parts of town, just not here.
About the addresses and info for the places I suggested: click the pic below and then click Restaurants in the upper red menu bar. It also provides an interactive link for Beer Shops and bars concentrated there – Courtesy “La Commune de l’ Ilot Sacré.”
Brussels Grande Place is of course a must-see; Manneke Pis and the less well-known Jeanneke Pis ( Pissing-Jeannie) are also worth a visit when you make a trip to Belgium’s and Europe’s Capital.
I ‘ll add 2 places not to miss in the area: Galeries St Hubert
and the already mentioned best restaurant of the Sacred Islet: “Aux Armes de Bruxelles”. Highly recommended, not cheap but really NOT a tourist trap. The mayor of Brussels is a frequent visitor. and that guy is the living definition of an Epicurean.
Click the above “écusson” pic for a direct link to the interactive map and website for the history of L’ Ilot Sacré.
L’ Ilot Sacré got its name after a battle of the local restaurants, land lords and associations in the 1950-ties against promoters who saw big bucks to be made. Just read the history in the above mentioned website. They wrote it better than I would.
My contribution: just some suggestions about the places where you will get good to excellent quality food or where you can go sniffing the local atmosphere, sipping coffee, enjoying a beer or other drink while watching people. Although it is a popular and touristic area, you still can enjoy the buzz, just be attentive to avoid tourist traps. Just don’t forget the place is prime location and that means pricier than in less popular neighbourhoods. So, no real cheap deals available!
Two of the most popular streets in L’ Ilot Sacré are called ‘Rue des Bouchers’ and ‘Petite Rue des Bouchers’. That translates like ‘Butcher street’ and ‘Small Butcher street’. A lot of restaurants are attracting patrons while lots of seafood and vegetables are on display on ice, in front of the resto. A waiter at the door will be soliciting you in any possible language. As my wife and I walk by, it’s all “Ni Hao” from left and right…
In general these are the places where you take some nice souvenir pictures with your friends and family. Just don’t eat there. They might propose Belgian, French, even Italian, Portuguese or Spanish cuisine. Many of the very young kitchen staff are sometimes not even trained cooks, but people from all over Europe including Eastern Europe, the Balkan, North and Sub-Saharian Africa. Nothing wrong with that, unless they got declared ‘cook’ after half a day training!
Let’s point out some addresses in the neighbourhood. For drinks and watching people:
Delirium cafe –
A La Mort Subite- (translates as: At A Sudden Death)
Inside "A la Mort Subite" - Click the picture
Le Roy d’ Espagne –
Toone estaminet –
Beer shops, restaurants, taverns all over the place – I suggest “Aux Armes de Bruxelles” – “Restaurant Vincent” – “Scheltema” – “L’ Ogenblik” – “Le Marmiton” etc…
Our latest trip with the airline of Mr Tony Fernandes flew us back to… Penang, of course.
A 3 hours 15 minutes flight and a 25 minutes taxi drive later we were ready for FOOD… even if it was close to midnight.
Again Penang, you may ask?
Well, yes. I’m considering Penang like a second home after Hong Kong. It is by far the best food place of Malaysia. In fact I consider it the best food place in the whole of SE Asia, although that might be a bit unfair as I have not experienced food from ALL of the nearby regions and countries.
Anyway, after the favourite places offering Char Koay Teow, Hokkien Mee, Satay, Loh Bak, Wan Tan Mee, Penang Laksa and having lunch or diner in local restaurants like Heng Kee, Siang Pin Seafood and Goh Huat Seng, we decided to visit a seafood place that we never patronized before.
After all these years, we never had diner at that restoran on Gurney drive, the one with the flashy lights and screaming advertisement billboards.
BALI HAI SEAFOOD MARKET
90 ->90D Persiaran Gurney, 10250 Penang
Tel: 04-2288272 / 04-2281272
“If it swims, we have it” ??? Oh Right, I swim. Means I may end up in their wok? [Sorry: obvious cheap joke.] Anyway, during our April 2011 trip, we decided to give it a try, although personally I was not expecting a lot, even if the restoran was recommended by some local floggers.
I anticipated it would be expensive without reaching high-end quality service. Right I was unfortunately. On the other hand, their many cooks and chefs’ cooking skills were doing a correct and professional job. In fact, to be completely honest, Bali Hai is not really a tourist trap like many other places are. It’s a money trap, so, if you agree to pay their prices, food quality is not an issue. Fresh seafood is great and not that difficult to cook. In my book cooking, grilling, ‘wokking’ or steaming some nice garupa, crab, prawns or other seafood has to be done in the simplest way to get the best results.
Perhaps some readers might think I’m too critical. Well, yes I’m getting more critical when the restaurant charges top bucks and pretends to offer top quality. In fact I try to remain very much “feet on earth”. A small kopitiam or a big hawker centre in a loud environment? No problem. But if you want to charge big money, you better get me state-of-the-art service. Otherwise big no-no. Allow me to explain it this way: If I want to have some food in a small snack bar charging me a few bucks, I can be forgiving about service mistakes and will accept small bloopers. On the other hand, when my wife and I are going to take a bill of a XXX Euros/pounds/dollars in a so-called top end place, everything has to be just as close to perfection as possible, it’s as simple as that.
Back to Bali Hai: I asked for fresh live fish suggestions. The waitress came with a seriously declared and confirmed small dead fish of a disputable “brand”, size about 700 grams. Asked about the price: 100 Ringgit !!! Right, so… thanks but no thanks! My guess: if you are a western expat or tourist, price goes up by 25% at least? Anyone to confirm or deny this out there? This Ang Mo is not buying and is not buying fish or crabs from the live aquariums neither, as they sell at about the price of gold. If I would have ordered the same number of plates we usually order in other local seafood places, we easily would have spent 350+ MYR for food alone! According to what I regard as Penang standards, that is way overpriced, especially for this kind of more or less open-air setting. Those guys are competing in price with the 32Mansion without playing in the same league.
Anyway, finally we ordered some plates from their general menu – mixed fish chunks and veggies; deep-fried squid etc.- Stuff that didn’t need me to take out a second mortgage on our home. Quality wise, it was good and decent food without being exceptional. … I’m sure the crabs, garupa, sea bass etc would have tasted better. I just was not ready to pay the price.
In short, I made a mental note to myself, not to come back. I mean, in a place like Penang you can get very fresh and excellent seafood for prices that do not have to compete with Saint-Tropez’ like jet-set places. Doh! Doh! Triple doh-lah!!!
About the Bali Hai Seafood Market itself: it’s a nice restoran situated along Gurney Drive’s prime location coast-line . It reminds me in a way of my native Brussels’ “Ilot Sacré” touristic area near ‘La Grand Place’. Very much an eye-catching place but unfortunately also very much overpriced and good quality only in a few places. Locals know, unfortunately tourists get trapped!
Bali Hai employs a lot of friendly service staff ( although their training could be better) and a number of good local chinese cooks and helpers doing a fine job in the kitchen. I understand their system is attractive for tourists to whom it will look like the (real clean) tropical local food paradise. Indeed, I know the “looks” and (lack of) decoration of some smaller local restorans tend to put off less adventurous visitors. (Walls not Swiss-like clean-looking, cigarette butts on the floor, very basic tables and seats…)
Amazing as it sounds: for some of the local penangite clientèle, places like Bali Hai also tend to exert some kind of attraction (???), maybe for a special occasion when making a point (aka showing off) is more important than the price/quality relation. I believe it’s a cultural thing that westerners are not really grasping. I’ve seen the same happening in Hong Kong’s expensive restaurants when local Honky patrons were ordering bottles of Chateau Petrus to impress their guests. Followed then by adding ice cubes to their wine! Argh …pure and plain blasphemy in my book!!!
To conclude, Bali Hai Seafood Market is worth a visit if you don’t mind the prices they charge. If you come by car, you can park along the seaside for a minimal parking fee, or at a parking lot behind the restoran.
Personally, I prefer to patronize the many other good seafood places in and around Georgetown. If not looking as “nice” or trendy, they are [according to my personal taste] more authentic, serve great quality and are very much loved by people who don’t care for todays superficial bling-bling attitude.
Chee cheong fun (*see note below) is widely on offer by Chinese hawkers in Penang. Originally it came from Hong Kong and Guan Dong province in China. That makes it a Cantonese thin (well, sort of?) steamed rice roll. It’s sheets of rice noodles, made from a mixture of glutinous rice flour and water, spread open on a table and wrapped together. This intestine (chee cheong) noodle (fun) is very popular, also in Hawker Paradise Penang.
They are filled with a diversity of ingredients. Pork of course but also beef, shrimps,fish, chicken, bean sprouts or other veggies. When served pour soy sauce over before eating. In Malaysia it is served mostly with a black sweet sauce, a kind of hoisin sauce. (Goooooogle is my friend!). In Penang, I’ve been told it is usually served with a black and sweet shrimp paste sauce or a chilli sauce or a mix of both. And there I was thinking the Penang chee cheong fun was served with just an ordinary soy sauce!
Still, not really my personal favourite as I find it in general a too much slippery noodle with not enough filling. Not well balanced according to my taste. Then again, as the frenchies say: “Les gouts et les couleurs ne se discutent pas!” And right they are.And then here is another way, also made in Penang:
(*note) Not referring to Sgt Chee Chong FFFUNNN from the Singaporean army as shown in a rather comical series on the National Geographic Channel about “every Singaporean son’s military service”.
Marinated spiced pork, then rolled in thin soybean/beancurd sheets, crispy spring rolls with chicken and beansprouts, deep fried beancurd, cuttlefish, prawn cakes, prawn fritters, sausages and much more. Served as a snack or as a main dish they are deep fried and come with 2 sauces: a spicy chilli sauce and a sticky starchy sauce called loh. Bak means meat.
At Kheng Pin Café (since 1971) at the junction of Penang road and Jalan Sri Bahari or 100 meters further at the Ho Ping Café (corner of Penang road with Lorong kampung Malabar) are two places that in my view offer excellent Loh bak. But then again as it is a very popular dish all over the island, there really is no “bad” loh bak, only the variety on offer may be different from one place to another. The thing to keep in mind is to go as soon as the stall starts its operation, because the fresher the oil, the better the frying for the best yummy results.
Ho Ping is situated at the junction of Lorong kampung Malabar and Penang road.
A special good address but in my view, not necessary only for the steamboat experience though. Steamboat is called “Chinese fondue” in mainland Western Europe and I prefer to have it at home because too messy to go for it in a restaurant.
The other thing is that my “steamboat” cooking pot is heated electrically while the original one (like in Goh Huat Seng) is heated by charcoal. Thus (allthough more ORIGINAL (?)), you end up with all your clothes and hair stinking because of the coal fumes.
As a former cigarette smoker, I think it’s funny that lots of people complain all the time about getting second-hand smoke from a cigarette but accept first hand smoke from a charcoal fueled steamboat restaurant! It’s almost as strong as the cannabis coffee shops in Utrecht, Netherlands. Then again, just funny and I can live with it. Just don’t forget to throw your clothes in the washing machine when returning home after diner.
Anyway, we do like this place because they have some great recipes for cooking seafood, fish and vegetables, teochew style. Another reason is that the restoran only gets crowded after 18:30 or even 19:oo hours.
So we usually get there at or even shortly before 17:00 hours, firstly to avoid the traffic jam(s) created by people returning home from work. Another reason: no trouble finding parking space. Also, the restoran itself is still 95% empty at that time, allowing the cooks to pay extra attention to cooking OUR dishes. (:-0)
We prefer not to order everything at the same moment but continue with new orders after finishing a few plates. Makes more sense to keep your food warm! No menu available as most food comes from the daily market offer to get the freshest available seafood and fish. Just ask the Supreme-Leader-lady-in-charge who writes down your orders about what is on offer. You also can ask for some specials you want to try. Enjoy their excellent teochew cooking skills.
Some not-to-miss and must try dishes: prawns [of course] with that heavenly taste of BBQ/stir fry cooking. For westerners, please note that we eat here almost all of it, including the shells. Personally though I do not eat the major part of the head. I just suck it clean. (Excuse my burp.)
Below is what I tend to call my favourite dish at Goh Huat Seng:
Deep fried chunks of garupa filets, prepared with a succulent Sechuan pepper sauce. A definite A+ or 10/10 rating. It’s really excellent but do not tell them too loudly as the price might, ahem, get “adapted” even more.
About Teo chew cuisine according to wikipedia:
Chiuchow cuisine, Teochew cuisine or Chaozhou cuisine or Chaoshan cuisine (Chinese: 潮州菜) originates from Chaoshan, a region of China in the north-easternmost area of the Guangdong province, which includes the cities of Chaozhou, Shantou and Jieyang. Teochew cuisine, however, bears more similarities to Fujian cuisine, as which it shares many of the same dishes, than to Cantonese cuisine, under which it is vulnerable to inaccurate categorisation. This is likely due to Chaoshan and Fujian‘s cultural resemblance and geographic proximity. Read more here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teochew_cuisine
And don’t forget to order simple veggie dishes. They always are succulent. Side dishes with baby spinach, …bean sprouts, …bean curd with green beans, mushrooms and shrimps and much more.
Another special dish below: sea snail (Don’t know the local name but looks a bit like the french bulots or escargots, only a bit smaller) . Again cooked with a sauce based on Sechuan pepper and fresh coriander. A bit chewy but still tender.
BTW, these snails are way less chewy than the ones sold for instance near the Brussels’ Grand Place.
SMALL BONUS / Intermezzo and link to Brussels’ street food: Escargot stall or in the local lingo: Caricole stal.
(They are cooked in a broth with celery and lots of white pepper: I mean -> LOTS of pepper! To absolutely try-out if ever in Belgium. Tastewise however I prefer the Goh Huat Seng preparation because more flavourful.
(photo below By Mr Cl. Carlier.)
Movie here under was borrowed from the youtube site. Filmed by a tourist in a side street from the Brussels’ Grand place. To get you a sniff of the local spirit.
By the way, this is the same street that leads towards “Manneken Piss”. I guess I’ll have not to introduce you to that little bugger, right?
END OF INTERMEZZO.
Back to Penang now. The movie below gives you an idea about the atmosphere at Goh Huat Seng in a local noisy chinese environment savouring a steamboat menu.
If you want to pay them a visit, call first to check about their closing days, as they are more or less variable.
I don’t pretend to have tried all the Georgetown Hokkien Mee stalls but this one remains my favourite. For those of you who haven’t visited Penang before and are going to look for a Café with a sunscreen like the pic just below: don’t, because last year the kopitiam invested in a brand new flaming red sunscreen.
The former sunscreen at kedai kopi Classic
Have a look at the video below. It shows the new outside look of the kopi Classic.
Now what is so special about a dish serving a bowl of noodles in a broth? As far as I’m concerned the most important part is the making of the broth itself. It’s a shrimpy and spicy soup and I guess it’s all about balancing the ingredients with a not too sweet and real spicy shrimp/pork broth.
Penang being a food paradise has of course many signature dishes but for me personally, a big bowl of kopi Classic’s Hokkien Mee is the best way to start the day. So, for the newbies, what is it all about?
Mr Ooi's hokkien mee
Hokkien Mee is a mixture of yellow noodles, rice noodles and bean sprouts served in a prawn and pork broth. What makes it special in my experience and view is the balance of the strong, spicy and flavourful shrimp/pork taste. It’s usually served with sliced and fried shrimps, thin slices of lean pork and sprinkled with crispy fried shallots. If you come very early to kopi Classic you also can get great fried lard crisps adding an extra kick to your noodles dish.
The bowl comes also with a spoonful of added chilli for people who really like it hot. YES, I do!
Noodles for HM
Some stalls in Penang add too much extra pork meat while cooking the broth; in my view that makes the soup way to sweet. Some also add sliced hard-boiled egg (what I like) but no extra egg in the Classic’s bowl though.
The Classics' Mrs & Mr Ooi crew in full operational mode
The place usually starts business at 8 in the morning. Regulars however are already sitting round the tables as early as 07:30! Just bring along a book or a newspaper. Or you also can admire the team getting prepared to fire up the gas-cookers, unloading bags of noodles to start a new day for us to enjoy delicious Hokkien Mee.
There is another Hokkien Mee stall in the “One Corner café” coffee shop (Jalan Bawasah).First we tried to visit the place on tuesday, kopi Classic’s closing day. No good as it was also their closing day. Then we tried again 2 day later ( it was not yet 11:oo am), they already were closing down: sold out! We’ll try again on a next visit as it also has a reputation for being one of the best in town. As a matter of fact, I later read somewhere that Kedai Kopi Classic Hokkien Mee’s Mrs Ooi is the elder sister of Mr Lim Bok Huat, owner of the stall at One Corner Café. So, I guess they share the same recipe and in fact are having 2 of the most popular HM businesses in Georgetown. Both stalls closing Tuesdays,… to avoid losing customers to one another? A good alternative in my opinion is the Hokkien Mee stall in Swee Kong café, across the police station in Pulau Tikus. They open very early and close already round 09:00 in the morning.
Hokkien Mee (Swee Kong)
Just a little warning: when asking for Hokkien mee in Singapore or KL, don’t expect the same dish as in Penang. In Singapore they use both the egg noodles and rice noodles, stir fried in lard and served dry without soup. It comes with shrimps and sliced lean pork, sambal (chilli) and lime. In KL they use thick egg noodles braised in thick dark soy sauce. Ingredients include cabbage, squid, fish cake, pork and crispy fried cubes of pork fat.
Since many years we are very faithful visitors of Penang, Malaysia. The most important reason: visiting family, as an excuse to go to my most cherished S.E. Asian food paradise. So, since Mr Fernandes’ company started to have direct flights from Honkers to Pg, we gladly increased our visits. Why not? A decent price for a +3 hour flight direct to Penang International Airport. It’s fun and all the people [customs, immigration] are very nice. Always great to be back.
Now back to reality: “TODAY’S RANT”
During our former visit in october 2010, a bloody young local had the smart idea to crash his old wreck into the right side butt of our family car. How Come? Well, because I did have that stupid idea to hit the brakes when the traffic light went to RED. The aggressor told me “sorry lah, sorry, sorry lah… I was not paying attention, I was talking to my girlfriend lah” Yeah, Right, OLALA!
So, to cut a long story short: after many years of successfully avoiding locals crashing into our car they finally made it. The kid was driving a vehicle that, first of all, never ever should be allowed on a road. That is, if the country has a technical control organism. Oh, but then I read that roadworthy certificates are unknown in Malaysia? Even if they had a control organ, the bribing culture would take care of that detail, lah?
As we were leaving the morning after, no way to go to the police and confront all the red tape to get even with the local Schumacher. The guy obviously used our lack of available time against us. Okay, the repairs were not that very costly but the low mentality of that little punk was what made me really mad. The guy didn’t even want to pay for the total of the repairs (Only 200 ringgit!). Believe me, this Ang Mo was fuming out of his nostrils like a toro in the arena. It took me a while to cool down because of that prick’s arrogance. A question of principle and honesty. Later on, I even thought about shaming him by posting his ID on the forum but after cooling down and getting my blood pressure back under control I decided to let go of this C. C. Joo prick-by-excellence with lousy driving skills and his even worse mentality. BTW: I suggest this for the guy’s next attack: END OF RANT!
Just for your information: how about this way of leaving your car parked? Only in Malaysia, I guess. (Wink)
The local way to park your car
Anyway, to end this post on a more funny note, I copy/paste this article, a report about driving in Malaysia.
Written by a Brit/Oz guy living in KL in “those” days. I think it is worth the read, reflecting well the local driving culture (with a wink and some exaggeration for good measure). Great humour. Lots of irony and very much tongue in cheek. Enjoy!
If you think you have passed the driving test in Malaysia-try this:
A guide for expatriate drivers in Malaysia
by David Astley a British/Ozzie guy now living in KL
Since arriving in Malaysia in 1997, I have tried on many occasions to
buy a copy of the Malaysian road rules, but have come to the
conclusion that no such publication exists (or if it does, it has been
out of print for years). Therefore after carefully observing the
driving habits of Malaysian drivers, I believe I have at last worked
out the rules of the road in Malaysia.
For the benefit of other expatriates living in Malaysia, and the 50%
of local drivers who acquired their driving licences without taking a
driving test, I am pleased to share my knowledge below:
Q: What is the most important rule of the road in Malaysia?
A: The most important rule is that you must arrive at your destination
ahead of the car in front of you. This is the sacrosanct rule of
driving in Malaysia. All other rules are subservient to this rule.
Q: What side of the road should you drive on in Malaysia?
A: 99.7% of cars drive on the left hand side, 0.2% on the right hand
side, and 0.1% drive in reverse (be on the look out for drivers
reversing at high speed in the left hand lane of freeways, having just
missed their exit). Therefore on the basis of ‘majority rules’, it is
recommended that you drive on the left. However, be aware that only
90% of motorcyclists travel on the left hand side – the other 10% ride
in the opposite direction or on the sidewalk. Fortunately,
motorcyclists traveling in reverse are rarely seen.
[BTW, below video is just mine (Jay-P.’s), shot a few weeks ago. It’s not part of our Brit’s funny report]
Q: What are the white lines on the roads?
A: These are known as lane markers and were used by the British in the
colonial days to help them drive straight. Today their purpose is
mainly decorative, although a double white line is used to indicate a
place that is popular to overtake.
Q: When can I use the emergency lane?
A: You can use the emergency lane for any emergency, e.g. you are late
for work, you left the toaster plugged in at home, you are bursting to
go to the toilet, you have a toothache or you have just dropped your
Starbucks coffee in your lap. As it is an emergency, you may drive at
twice the speed of the other cars on the road.
Q: Do traffic lights have the same meaning as in other countries?
A: Not quite. Green is the same that means “Go”, but amber and red are
different. Amber means “Go like hell” and red means “Stop if there is
traffic coming in the other direction or if there is a policeman on
the corner”. Otherwise red means the same as green. Note that for
buses, red lights do not take effect until five seconds after the
light has changed.
Q: What does the sign “Jalan Sehala” mean?
A: This means “One Way Street” and indicates a street where the
traffic is required to travel in one direction. The arrow on the sign
indicates the preferred direction of the traffic flow, but is not
compulsory. If the traffic is not flowing in the direction in which
you wish to travel, then reversing in that direction is the best
option.
Q: What does the sign “Berhenti” mean?
A: This means “Stop”, and is used to indicate a junction where there
is a possibility that you may have to stop if you cannot fool the cars
on the road that you are entering into thinking that you are not going
to stop.
Q: What does the sign “Beri Laluan” mean?
A: This means “Give Way”, and is used to indicate a junction where the
cars on the road that you are entering will give way to you provided
you avoid all eye contact with them and you can fool them into
thinking that you have not seen them.
Q: What does the sign “Dilarang Masuk” mean?
A: This means “No Entry”. However, when used on exit ramps in
multi-storey car parks, it has an alternative meaning which is: “Short
cut to the next level up”.
Q: What does the sign “Pandu Cermat” mean?
A: This means “Drive Smartly”, and is placed along highways to remind
drivers that they should never leave more than one car length between
them and the car in front, irrespective of what speed they are
driving. This is to ensure that other cars cannot cut in front of you
and thus prevent you from achieving the primary objective of driving
in Malaysia, and that is to arrive ahead of the car in front of you.
If you can see the rear number plate of the car in front of you, then
you are not driving close enough.
Q: What is the speed limit in Malaysia?
A: The concept of a speed limit is unknown in Malaysia.
Q: So what are the round signs on the highways with the numbers, 60,
80 and 110?
A: This is the amount of the ‘on-the-spot’ fine (in ringgits – the
local currency) that you have to pay to the police if you are stopped
on that stretch of the highway. Note that for expatriates or locals
driving Mercedes or BMWs, the on-the-spot fine is double the amount
shown on the sign.
Q: Where do you pay the ‘on-the-spot’ fine?
A: As the name suggests, you pay it ‘on-the-spot’ to the policeman who
has stopped you. You will be asked to place your driving licence on
the policeman’s notebook that he will hand to you through the window
of your car. You will note that there is a spot on the cover of the
notebook. Neatly fold the amount of your fine into four, place the
fine on the spot, and then cover it with your driving licence so that
it cannot be seen. Pass it carefully to the policeman. Then, with a
David Copperfield movement of his hands, he will make your money
disappear. It is not necessary to applaud.
Q: But isn’t this a bribe?
A: Oh pleeease, go and wash your mouth out. What do you want? A
traffic ticket? Yes, you can request one of those instead, but it will
cost you twice the price, forms to fill out, cheques to write,
envelopes to mail, and then three months later when you are advised
that your fine was never received, more forms to fill out, a trip to
the police station, a trip to the bank, a trip back to the police
station, and maybe then you will wish you had paid ‘on-the-spot’.
Q: But what if I haven’t broken any road rules?
A: It is not common practice in Malaysia to stop motorists for
breaking road rules (because nobody is really sure what they are). The
most common reasons for being stopped are:
(a) the policeman is hungry and would like you to buy him lunch;
(b) the policeman has run out of petrol and needs some money to get
back to the station;
(c) you look like a generous person who would like to make a donation
to the police welfare fund; or
(d) you are driving an expensive car which means you can afford to
make a donation to the police welfare fund.
Q: Does my car require a roadworthy certificate before I can drive it
in Malaysia?
A: No, roadworthy certificates are not required in Malaysia. However
there are certain other statutory requirements that must be fulfilled
before your car can be driven in Malaysia.
Firstly, you must ensure that your windscreen is at least 50% obscured
with English football club decals, golf club membership stickers or
condo parking permits.
Secondly, you must place a tissue box (preferably in a white lace
cover) on the back shelf of your car under the rear window.
Thirdly, you must hang as many CDs or plastic ornaments from your rear
vision mirror as it will support. Finally, you must place a Garfield
doll with suction caps on one of your windows. Your car will then be
ready to drive on Malaysian roads.
Q: What does a single yellow line along the edge of a road mean?
A: This means parking is permitted.
Q: What does a double yellow line along the edge of a road mean?
A: This means double parking is permitted.
Q: What does a yellow box with a diagonal grid of yellow lines painted
on the road at a junction mean?
A: Contrary to the understanding of some local drivers, this does not
mean that diagonal parking is permitted. It indicates a junction that
is grid-locked at peak hours.
Q: Can I use my mobile phone whilst driving in Malaysia?
A: No problem at all, but it should be noted that if you wish to use
the rear-vision mirror to put on your lipstick (women only please) or
trim your eyebrows at the same time as you are using a mobile phone in
the other hand, you should ensure that you keep an elbow free to steer
the car. Alternatively, you may place a toddler on your lap and have
the child steer the car whilst you are carrying out these other
essential driving tasks.
Q: Is it necessary to use indicator lights in Malaysia?
A: These blinking orange lights are commonly used by newly arrived
expatriate drivers to indicate they are about to change lanes. This
provides a useful signal to local drivers to close up any gaps to
prevent the expatriate driver from changing lanes. Therefore it is
recommended that expatriate drivers adopt the local practice of
avoiding all use of indicator lights. However, it is sometimes useful
to turn on your left hand indicator if you want to merge right,
because this confuses other drivers enabling you to take advantage of
an unprotected gap in the traffic.
Q: Why do some local drivers turn on their left hand indicator and
then turn right, or turn on their right hand indicator and then turn
left?
A: This is one of the unsolved mysteries of driving in Malaysia.
Q. What is the use of the hazard warning lights?
A. Contrary to all international protocol, this four way flashing
light is = switched on when the Police are escorting VIPs on the road
to warn lesser mortals to move out of the way and not hinder the flow
of the motorcade. Taking a cue from the Police, motorists use this at
the slightest excuse when it rains to tell other motorist to get out
of the way as using their hazard light anoints them with powers that
part the traffic, somewhat akin to Moses parting the Red Sea.
Since our latest visit we have counted the months, weeks and days before finally touching down again in Penang some 10 days ago. And boy … were we in need! Desperate for Food with Capital F. So, as from the moment of arrival till the eve before flying out one week later, I gained about 5-6 kg. Na und? So what? Anyway, that still is only about 70+ kg for a guy over 6 feet. No danger for turning into a sumo or average USA-er there yet [grin].
Of course we went to many of our favourite places in George Town during the week. I’m personally getting good at comparing quality at different stalls for their recipes of CKT, Penang Hokkien Mee, Loh Bak, fried rice, satay and more. In fact, I/we even start being picky! On average we visited and sampled food from up to 5/6 different shops every day and almost always it was well worth it. Regarding Hokkien Mee, Kedai kopi Classic and Swee Kong remain among “da best” but we tried many more and all were ok, from average good to real good, to very good. Yet… we also started noticing [already during our last trip] that we better avoid the newer, so-called modern Hawker centres, equipped with LCD screens and loud music. As it seems the food quality at those places is going down hill while prices are climbing and the offered decoration is of a definite and certain lack of taste for those older than 13. (My opinion only). Now sadly that is nothing new for me but I was hoping Penang would have been able to avoid that kind of “modernisation”. I explain:
On our last visit to Belgium I invited my wife to one of the local stalls selling Belgian fries. Once upon a time in Old Belgium they all were selling their stuff with an ok to very good/excellent quality. Those hawkers prepared the potatoes at home (peeling, cutting) as well as they did prepare themselves the extras like curry chicken [local Belgian style], beef carbonades and more. Nowadays however the youngsters that take over the business, buy the food from industrial manufacturers. Gosh, even the fries now, they buy them pre-cut, if not [the horrour] frozen.Go figure. In fact it’s simple, they don’t find pleasure in preparing. They are becoming a lazy bunch. The only thing they want is selling and getting your/my money. Well, we just vote with our feet and our wallet as we do no longer buy from that lazy bunch. To find a decent “fritkot” (translation: fry-stall) one, sadly, has to look around for quite a while. I hate to say it but having been there and seen that, I’m afraid that Penang’s GOOD hawkers also are a disappearing breed. Let’s hope I’m wrong but…
I’ll be posting about our latest experiences in the coming days, as for the moment I’m in “kicking-off mode”, being back home in HK. Not because of jet lag but more because of Makanan lag, sort of.
In the mean time: here is a nice read from another blogger from Penang… (living in the UK… the poor thing) for those who are new to culinary Penang Hawker Food.
Location: Pulau Penang – Malaysia. – Gurney Drive North – Open air night hawker centre. – January 2010.
This Indian Penangite gentleman has a very well-known stall, selling Rojak. I also think he has a few talents as a performer. Perhaps one day he’ll be discovered by Bollywood, who knows. In the mean time he already is world-famous locally and on the YouTube’s Penang visitors site. Personally I think little performances like this emphasize the multicultural aspects of Malaysia and more specially among Penangites from different origins. A strong and leading example from a country that has a majority Malay muslim population. Hopefully it stays this way!
More about Rojak? Wikipedia says it better than I:
“Mamak rojak, or Indian rojak (Pasembor)
Indian rojak in Singapore.
In Malaysia, mamak rojak (or Pasembur) contains fried dough fritters, bean curds, boiled potatoes, prawn fritters, hard boiled eggs, bean sprouts, and cucumber mixed with a sweet thick, spicy peanut sauce. Traditionally, Tamil Muslim (Mamak) rojak vendors used modified sidecar motorcycles as preparation counters and to peddle their rojak. These mobile vendors now use modified mini trucks. The Pasembor available in Singapore is an assortment of potatoes, eggs, bean curd (tofu), and prawns fried in batter, served with a sweet and spicy chili sauce. In Penang, where it is very famous, it is always called pasembor, but in Kuala Lumpur and Singapore it is called rojak.
Fruit rojak consists typically of cucumber, pineapple, benkoang, bean sprouts, taupok (puffy, deep-fried tofu) and youtiao (cut-up Chinese-style fritters). Raw mangoes and green apples are less commonly used. The dressing is made up of water, belacan (shrimp paste), sugar, chili, and lime juice. Ingredients vary among vendors with some also using hae ko prawn/shrimp paste, tamarind or black bean paste in the mix. The ingredients are cut into bite-sized portions and tossed in a bowl with the dressing and topped with chopped peanuts and a dash of ground or finely chopped bunga kantan (pink ginger bud). Penang Rojak is another type of Rojak found in Penang, Malaysia. It is similar to fruit rojak, but adds jambu air, squid fritters and honey to the mixture. (End of Wikipedia quote.)
Hello everyone. A belated happy new year for 2010 and also an early “kung hei fat choi” for the coming Chinese new year and the arrival of the year of the Tiger… (not the beer and… neither Woods.)
Year of the Tiger?
I’ve not been posting for a while but, as we just returned from a stay in Penang, the inspiration came back. For starters I’d like to write about a local specialty, maybe not loved by all of us? A little bit of controversy here.
Evaluation by an Ang Moh:
Durian is a fruit from South-East Asia, mostly unknown to Westerners who haven’t traveled in the region. Loved by most locals, the opinion of Westerners is more divided. In fact it’s definite an acquired taste (and even more importantly an acquired smell!)
I admit I don’t like it and… neither does my wife, who is a Penang native but never liked the fruit. See: it’s not just Gwailos that have trouble with the Durian. They (the Durians, not the Gwailos, although ?) come in a few different varieties, some sweeter some more bitter. For the real lovers the more bitter tasting one is the best. The funny thing (Although I personally don’t see the fun of it!) is that the smellier they are, the better they are supposed to taste, all this according to some diehard lovers of the fruit. The season for the Durians of Penang mostly runs from April till the end of June. The ones we bought last week came from other parts of Malaysia. Anyway, there’s a lot of other fruits and fruit juices around that I do like. Ever tried fresh nutmeg juice for example? Unknown in the West but heavenly refreshing. Just order it without extra sugar.
In the mean time, I’ll leave the Durian to my mom in law, like I also leave the “Brussels cheese” (also very stinky) to my dad. I’ll settle for the food stuff I like more! No hard feelings heh, you durian lovers?
Lok Pin at Anson road is a place selling Fish Head Behoon, Chicken Rice, Hokkien Mee, Wantan Mee, Loh Bak and (according to the stall’s owner own saying) “Famous Asam Laksa Anson Road”. On the street in front a few more hawkers selling pancakes, fruit, Mee Goreng…
The café itself was under renovation. I don’t know what it looked like before but now it seemed they were busy turning it into a more modern place, with more fancy seating and tables and a few flat screen TVs on the walls and giving it a so-called trendy look. We’ll have to come back another time to see the final result. I’m always a little wary about this kind of renovation. Most of the times it turns a beautiful place into a cold venue with no traditional or heritage feel left at all. I wonder what the stance of Unesco is.
The Penang Asam Laksa we ordered was worth every sen. Nice sourish, not watery it is one of my favourite plates and one of Penang’s signature dishes, totally different from laksa from other Malaysian regions. A yummy balance of sweet, sour and spicy flavours. One suggestion: don’t miss it!
Loh Bak is also very good, …especially as I forgot to pick the most important item when I was chosing among all the different goodies… Hmm, yes after they fried our plate and served it to our table, my wife wondered where actually the Loh Bak was???… Right, my blooper for the day.
Where is the Loh Bak hiding, he?
Some tropical downpour all of a sudden helps to cool the temperature at lunch hour.
After a huge but short downpour, the streets are drying in only a few minutes and everybody resumes cooking, buying and eating. This place below, called “Kedai Kopi Juventus” is the neighbour of Lok Pin and sells among others Curry Mee, not FC Juventus T-shirts. It’s the old style small kopitiam with neon tubes, not fancy but I like the atmosfere perhaps more.
Have a look at this café just a little round the corner, I think on Siam street. These are the ones I personally like much more than the new modernised places. All it needs is a decent maintenance and eventually some restoration, not modernising. No need to make it look like boring western places without a soul.
Ang Hoay Loh occupies some space on the grounds of the State Chinese Association of Penang on Perak road.
Upon arrival the parking seemed full. We drove on and made a left turn, another left and another to check again about their parking lot. I got slightly irritated by the mess on the parking ground. People just seemed to drive in and stop their car anywhere, without caring about others. That resulted in an awesome occupation of 100% of the total parking grounds by less than half of the cars that could easily have fitted in otherwise… #@$%%*!!
Right, as the saying goes: “When in Rome, do as the Romans.”
You imagine the mess after a while?
I pulled our car into the main entry drive and managed to get it between 2 or 3 others. Of course that was not helpful for the next one to arrive but he, I didn’t start this kind of not-so-smart-behaviour visual cacophony. “Where are the guards when you need them?’ came to mind.
Anyway, we were in and got ourselves a nice table allowing me to continuously overlooking the parking lot. In case of, you know…
A real nice table with strategic outlook. Now how about ordering some food.
I read from other reviews that one of their must try dishes was a soup made with rich pork meat and bones stock. The kind of stock that is simmering over a low fire for hours and hours with some onions, celery, other veggies, maybe a bay leaf and a clove and herbs. Revealing in the end of the process all the finesses of their flavours.
The soup is served with green or white cabbage and pork meat that was previously put through some kind of batter (?), then deep-fried in oil before being served into the soup. After deep frying the pork is crispy but softens up when in the bouillon. Spring onions are added just before serving to your table. I liked it very much but had to add a few loads of white pepper as the meat and the cabbage tend to sweeten the soup too much for my liking. Anyway, thanks to the peeps that brought this dish to our attention. It’s called Bak Kee and a winner in my book although the stock could have been made richer, or so say my taste buds.
Among the other dishes, one was very simple but special for me, as I’m kind of an enthusiastic tofu lover. Stir fried tofu in a (again) sweetish gravy with veggies they called leek but to me looked more like some local bak choi. Very tasty dish that was served with prawns. I only had to add some chilli and soy sauce plus as usual more of my friend: “the white pepper”, for an extra kick.
I don’t recall the correct local name of this dish. I just call it fried tofu with prawns and veggies. My only remark: I would have preferred some more prawns and veggies.
Finally, the mystery of the parking mess was about to be solved too. All the time we were hearing a ladies’ choir/singing group in the background, voices emerging from the main building. After a while the singing stopped and a crowd of older ladies emerged, all going towards different cars and starting to honk to be able to leave the premisses. So, they probably parked there in the earlier morning when the eating place was still closed, leaving their cars all around the [then empty] place and thus oblivious to the mess they were about to create? I refuse to think this was a one-off happening. So? Maybe the Associating should try to get its act together and find a way to solve this very local problem without having to call in rocket scientists, I guess?
All together it was fun though, especially at the end. As irritated I initially was, I now just looked at the confused scene and could not hide a grin on my face when slowly walking towards our car for allowing the local version of Motown’s Supremes or Miami’s Golden Girls to get out of the mess started by them and them only… Funny to see and hear some of them getting a little excited for not being able to leave as fluently as they came in.
Standing in the back of this pic, just enjoying the scene of people fiercely trying to get out of the labyrinth they created. Was funny after all!
Some thoughts, not directly related [yet] to good food, although it’s a sign on the wall that also our dear hawker food, traditional centres and even cafes and local restorans are probably more endangered than we think… in a not too far future.
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Every time we fly back to Penang, I am mortified to see at what quick pace George Town is changing, not always for the better. Old big mansions left without basic maintenance are falling literally apart, sold already to the real estate “developers” who start planning how to get authorisation and permits for another high rise with shopping mall, another hotel and more so called upscale condos. However, after its listing by UNESCO in 2008, the 18 meter height restrictions were imposed. So what’s going on with city planning? Serious action needs to be taken to preserve and restore historical houses, heritage mansions and to not allow high rise construction everywhere.
According to an article (March 26, 2009) by Yusof Sulaiman, eTN Asia/Pacific :
[Quote] Together with Malacca, UNESCO has proclaimed George Town a historic site of The Straits of Malacca as it “constitutes a unique architectural and cultural townscape without parallel anywhere in East and Southeast Asia. Featuring residential and commercial buildings, George Town represents the British era from the end of the 18th century.
“It is believed there were “inconsistent and contradictory” statements given to UNESCO as part of Penang’s listing process, according to Ooi Chun Aun, an aide to Penang’s chief minister. He has now proposed holding an “official domestic inquiry” to extricate itself from being at the end of a legal lawsuit by four property developers who claim they have been prevented from continuing with their hotel building projects because of height restrictions, under terms of its World Heritage Site ruling. [Unquote]
Could be much nicer... How about cleaning up the car exhaust related pollution from that building? And a lick of paint on the upper outside walls.
George Town also has streets full with rows of pre-war “shophouses” where generations of Penangites lived and still live, conduct businesses, operate restaurants or traditional craft chops on the ground floor, their living quarters being upstairs. Smart way to avoid rush hour traffic from and to work.
although many houses nowadays remain in a questionable condition.
Individual owners also have some responsibilities…
A good thing is that here and there people who changed those houses into pure residential housing achieved fine and remarkable results. Pictures here about a few examples along Burma road and another successful renovation along Bangkok road.
This restaurant in Lorong Chulia is probably older than we are. Many Penangites know the place “since always”, they have been eating at Shing Kheang Aun with family, parents and siblings since their childhood. Some actually remember the present owner when he was a young pre-teenager and the restaurant was ran by his parents!
It’s said to be renowned for its Hainanese as well as for its local Penang cuisine. Although not only a seafood place, we always order at least one fish preparation. Depending on the daily availability you get pomfret, garupa or other delicious fishes, cooked in different ways.
Mister Ong still uses recipes from his father, such as a pomfret or other fish cooked in a tamarind and ginger flower gravy with curry, served to your table displaying a delicate balance of flavour and taste. Are you all getting hungry yet again?We also enjoyed a small dish of Loh Bak. Very nice and flavourful, not dry or oily but I still prefer the one served at the Kek Seng Cafe. However, we for sure are not going to complain!
Also their grilled prawns are a must-eat. They taste a little “smoky” and have that typical wok or grill flavour that I can not really describe but like so much! It’s as different as the taste of pan frying over a gas stove compared to BBQ-ing or grilling over a charcoal fire.
The fresh veggies with spring onions, cabbage and mushroom were simple and just fine. They were cooked in a not spicy gravy and went along very well with our bowl of plain white sticky rice. (I always add more white pepper though and chilli, but that’s just me.)
For reservations – Tel: 04-2614786, Mr. Ong Chin Hong. Address: 2 Chulia Lane – 10200 Penang. Closed on Monday.
Just aside the restaurant, its own personal parking lot including a guard, welcomes the cars of the patrons. Class!
Above: Lorong Chulia and its typical houses.
Unfortunately, a lot of these original pre-war shophouses turn shabby. So a good thing that Penang is part of UNESCO’s World Heritage Sites Program since 2008. Let’s hope that concrete action will be taken to preserve and restore these houses. They were simple but cleverly built with street-long arcades providing shelter from rain or sun, but many nowadays remain in a questionable condition. BTW, being part of the Unesco heritage program is not a magical solution guaranteeing good preservation. It’s an ongoing process. Local authorities and government must act on it. Otherwise site will lose their status. So: keep pushing the elected representatives into real action to protect heritage buildings and mansions.
This Chinese old style eatery is situated on Lebuh China, close to the corner with Lebuh King. China street is one of the oldest streets and used to be the main Chinese commercial street in the early days. In Hokkien it was called “Tua Kay”, meaning main street. Lebuh China starts just in front of the oldest Chinese Buddhist Taoist temple in Penang, dedicated to both the Goddess of Mercy (Kuan Yin Teng) and the patron of sea travellers (Ma Po Cho). It was built by the first Hokkien and Cantonese immigrants in the early 1800s.
The restaurant has been around for a very long time and is well known for its Char Siu and its Kangkung Ham Har.
They also serve some real great fish tofu, cooked in a soya bean gravy. ( It’s one of my personal favourite dishes at Heng Kee).
We also like their very fresh little prawns. Together with the veggies, the tofu and a bowl of rice, it’s a very tasty food for Lunch.
Let’s not forget to add some spicy Chilli.
Each time we are back in Penang we try to visit Heng Kee. We don’t always succeed though as there are so many, many eating places that we also want to visit.
After the accidental discovery of a Malay stall proposing a do-it-yourself Assam Laksa dish, we finally were about to reach the initial target of our expedition journey. It’s situated close to the sea, along a small river in the Kampung Jalan Baru, a Chinese community close to Batik Pulau.
I saw a lot of private houses that were having hawker stalls on their grounds, although most of them were not in operation. We got the impression it was a friendly small community where everybody knew everybody. Next time we visit, I want to walk a little around in the village and also follow the river to the sea. Maybe we could try to ask some of the locals to show us around in one of their little fishing boats.
So,there it was! We finally found the place. We drove into a big parking lot and were ready for some reputed food. The house in the background was the major cooking place. Alongside a house in front, there were also a few stalls, selling Loh Bak and fruits.
Loh Bak and Fruit stalls
Assam Laksa & Hokkien Mee ready to be served! At the left side of the house in the back, there is a covered terrace with tables and seats for the customers.In the beginning there only was one other table being occupied but by the time we left, people were already waiting to be seated.
About the quality of the Hokkien mee and the Assam Laksa, we can only agree that it is up to its reputation! I really recommend this place without hesitation and I suggest that you gals and guys go and try it out for yourself. The people serving and cleaning the tables were all very friendly. It’s a small family business from their house, only open for customers during the weekends.
The Loh Bak was also very tasty.
A big bowl with tasty succulent Hokkien Mee.
The Laksa, very rich with a thick fish soup.
It was our first visit but clearly, we will be back for more.
All those little fishing boats along the river leave a very nice impression and add to the attractiveness of this Kampung. It’s clearly not yet a site for visiting tourists and I hope it stays that way.
This was going to be a challenge: I only had very few information how to find a certain place I read about. It was way out of town, a private house in a fishing village on the West Coast, near to Balik Pulau. Anyway, we’ll be trying to find it. Moreover we wanted to drive via Batu Feringgi, the Telok Bahang dam and reservoir all the way to Balik Pulau. A very scenic road through the hills of Penang. At times it remembered me of some driving I used to do in Europe’s Dolomites or Ardennes. When we finally arrived in Balik Pulau, we started asking around, got lost a few times but finally we had the impression we were nearing our destination driving along Jalan Bharu (P16). For the exact location check the map at the end of this post. Along this kampung road look out for a small bridge over a also small river; before the bridge on the right you can see the stall, it’s a small makeshift place. It’s a Malay food stall promoting its own Assam Laksa. I think the place is called Sungai Pinang kampung. We decided to have a look and have some food, in case we wouldn’t find our initial target.
A friendly Malay lady told us the Laksa on offer was a self service operation thingy. So we started to fill a bowl with those thick rice noodles, chopped some onions and the other laksa ingredients like bunga kantan flower ( torch ginger in English), cucumber, lemongrass, chilli, mint…
The fish stock is made with mackerel (ikan kembung) and its most important feature is the assam ( tamarind) which gives the soup its typical sour taste.
The good thing about that self service was that you could pick more or less of the ingredients and noodles according to your preferences .
After all the ingredients were added the lady did pour the hot Laksa broth in our bowls and then it was up to us to judge the dish.
It was tasty and although the broth was rather light we did enjoy it very much. After we finished the lady put a box with homemade cookies on our table, inviting us to have some.
Price: 1 Ringgit/person all in! Incredibly cheap.
After paying we innocently asked the shop owner if she knew about some Chinese community in the neighbourhood that was reputed for its Hokkien Mee. (We didn’t mention Chinese Penang Assam Laksa, as we thought it might not please her.) And yes, she knew about that place, only 1 or 2 km down the same road along the river on the outskirts of a local Chinese fishing village. So, we were going to have more food and more precisely the food we initially came for! I’ll write about that experience in a next post.
A well established seafood restoran mostly patronised by locals. Fresh seafood and many fishes like garupa and pomfret, depending on the catch.
I especially enjoy their Shark’s finn soup. I understand that nowadays the PC police is frowning upon that dish but I like the taste. There is crabmeat added. I normally spice it up by adding white pepper and some kind of soy vinegar sauce.
You can order your food from a large menu. Usually though my better half has a good idea what to order without looking at the menu. We only ordered a few items as we just returned from a serious food excursion to Balik Pulau.
For starters we got a succulent dish of prawns cooked with veggies ( flat green beans, mushrooms, carrots and onions) in a lightly thick tasty sauce.
Adding chillies and white pepper to my taste.
As we already had steamed whole fish many times at other places, we ordered the fish to be served grilled.
It was very well done, a crispy skin with soft but tasteful fish meat that easily came of the bone. This is one of my favourite preparations and cooked really to my liking.
Siang Pin Seafood. – 598, GF-02, Jalan Tanjung Bungah, 11200 Penang. Tel:012-4960546 – 016-4522923 – Jocelyn Cheong – Sole Proprietor.
According to Wikipedia there are 3 kinds of Hokkien Mee. My favourite is the Penang version.
Hokkien hae mee
(prawn noodles)
Hokkien char mee
(fried noodles)
Refers to either the Penang prawn noodle or Singapore prawn noodle
Refers to the Kuala Lumpur Hokkien noodle
Soup based (Penang) and stir fried (Singapore)
Stir fried
Egg noodles and rice noodles
Fat yellow noodles
No dark soya sauce used
Dark soya sauce is used
Prawn is the main ingredient with slices of chicken or pork, squid and fish cake.
Kang Kong (water spinach) is common in the Penang version
Slices of chicken or pork, squid and cabbage
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Together with Penang Assam Laksa and Char Koay Teow, Penang Hokkien Mee is one of the signature dishes of the state and more precisely of the island [Pulau] of Penang. The soup is a ‘sourish’ and ‘shrimpy’ tasting seafood broth using fresh prawns, dried shrimps and pork meat. It’s served with egg and rice noodles, small prawns, sometimes with thin slices of pork and a half hard boiled egg. Served with a spoon of chilli paste for an extra kick aiming at your taste buds. I’ve eaten Penang Hokkien Mee at different kopitiam and hawker stalls and here I’m trying to get a few of them in some kind of ranking with my personal rating.
Kedai Kopi Kwai Lock is one of the bigger coffee shops in Pulau Tikus. It is located at the corner of Jalan Burma and Solok Moulmein.
Rating: 13/20.
Good balance between the sourish broth and noodles, little prawns. A decent but average plate. Good spicy chilli. It’s a big coffee shop and very busy in the morning.
Kedai Kopi Swee Kong is situated just opposite Kwai Lock, also on the junction of Jalan Burma with Moulmein. Opens very early in the morning till about 9:30. Reopens afterwards for lunch.
Rating: 15/20
Comes without the egg but it’s very tasty. If I recall correctly there are also some small clams mixed in the broth. Worth a try but do come early, you might have to wait a while as the place can be very crowded.
Kafe Khoon Hiang – Jalan Dato Keramat at the corner with Jalan Dunlop.
Rating: 9/20
When I ordered the dish was looking very promising. Alas, at the first tasting it turned out to be a disappointment. The secret of a good typical prawn broth was definitely not mastered by this cook. Way to sweet and even adding lots of chilli paste was not able to improve the taste. A pity.
Bee Hooi Coffee Garden– on Kimberly road is a big cafe. We were strolling through the neighbourhood and decided to have some refreshments at the outside terrace. Then my eyes made contact with a Hokkien Mee stall in full schwung. Of course,I had to order a bowl> Mind you, only for analysing and rating purposes [grin].
Rating: 15/20
Very good balanced broth with many prawns and added hard boiled egg.
Kedai Kopi Classic – Address: 126, Jln Perak, opposite Padang Brown food court. It has the reputation of being one of the best Hokkien Mee stalls on the island and yes, the stall lives up to that reputation!
Rating: 18/20. Simply superb.
Sungai Samagagah-Kuala Jalan Bahru. Fishing village near Balik Pulau at the Kampung Jalan Baru. Private houses that open their kitchen for guests only during the weekends. This one is famous for both Hokkien Mee and Penang Assam Laksa. The Hokkien Mee was very good and served in a rich broth with plenty of sliced prawns and pork meat. Yummy.
Rating: 17/20. Excellent, full of rich flavours. Quality ingredients.
My apologies for only reviewing a small number of outlets. I’m sure there are many more excellent Hokkien Mee sellers. It would take a life time job to review them all. When returning and testing more places I’ll update this post.
Lam Heng Cafe is a corner coffee shop at the end/beginning of Macalister Road. It’s in this place that the sisters operate their business. The kopitiam also offers Assam Laksa, Mee Jawa and their own Otak-Otak. They say the Laksa is also of superior quality but I haven’t tried it out yet. Next time…
2007 Picture courtesy to Jay Jun's blog
Regarding the Sisters and their reputation, I admit being a tad sceptical. No doubt that their Char Koay Teow is among the better on offer in Penang but I must say that the quality is lacking consistency, especially when the skinny Sis is stirring the wok. Sometimes it’s completely out of balance, like on our visit in June, but then again, last week the plate was perfectly cooked. I don’t know how to explain those inconsistencies unless maybe that the girls are getting older and are loosing some of their skills. Not impossible, as I experienced the same with some elderly members in my own family.
I prefer the CKT cooked by this sister:
Anyway, my biggest complaint regarding this stall/cafe is their use of styrofoam plates and throw away chop sticks. Ok, there is no need for using their best china plates, porcelain spoons or high-end ivory chop sticks. Good hard plastic plates/spoons/chop sticks will do, thank you very much. I’m thinking to bring my own plate and chop sticks but am a little bit afraid that might cause a tantrum… Anyway, someone with more guts than I have, ought to tell the sisters that they are really a lazy bunch, apparently oblivious regarding the impact on the environment. We, our kids and grandkids do really appreciate. NOT!
Location : Kafe Khoon Hiang, Jalan Dato Keramat/Corner with Jalan Dunlop, Penang. Opening hours are from 8am till 2pm and their closing day is Thursday. It’s situated in the same neighbourhood as Padang Brown food court and Kedai kopi Classic. A highly recommended area for food lovers.
Anyway, after some 12+ visits in 5 years, [trying to make that now a 4 times visit per year] I’ve made up my mind about the Penang Char Koay Teow. It’s basically a great dish but at some places it’s way overrated. So, I stopped asking for the special or extra add-on stuff, as I personally feel that the basic dish is the right one. No need for extra big shrimps or prawns, neither for (too sweet) mantis prawns. Just K.I.S.S. = keep it stupid simple.
I’ve had the CKT at various places and personally I prefer it with regular chicks… Oops, I mean chicken eggs, instead of duck eggs. Anyone out there tried with goose egg? (Grin).
Thus, when we made our way to Ah Leng, I already knew I was going for the regular dish and boy, THE WORKS! It was simply a great treat!
Tastewise? The fast frying-and-tossing-noodles technique of the wokmeister plus a professional handling of the heat, resulted in a most delicious Char Koay Teow dish. Malaysia, truly Asia? CKT: truly Penang!
Another stall in the same Kafe was selling Hokkien Mee. As I’m a big fan of that dish, I could not resist and ordered a bowl.
It looked very nice but after tasting, it was a bit of a disappointment. Not spicy, not sour, the soup tasted sweet. A pity for sure, but then again, who am I to judge? Lots of people, looking like regulars, came and ordered the Hokkien Mee. So, lets agree to disagree and accept that personal taste is very different from person to person.
Sin Hup Aun Kafe is situated in Pulau Tikus at the corner of Jalan Pasar and Jalan Moulmein. On the street in front of the shop there always are a few stalls selling fruits and sweets like those colourful rice snacks and other candy or Muar Chee.
Muar Chee is made from glutinuous rice paste, steamed. And then, it is cut into small cubes and mixed with grounded, roasted peanuts and sugar. One can choose whether to add some fried onions on top too.
Located along Penang Road, near Komtar Kek Seng is well known for its durian ice-cream and ais kacang. For my better half, Kek Seng brings back childhood memories about visiting the place with her school friends.
The shop started more than 100 years ago: established in 1906.
As the sweet stuff is not exactly my thing, we went for some little snacks as we already had a great breakfast earlier at the Kedai Kopi Classic and it still was way to early for lunch.
We ordered a small plate of Loh Bak. I was surprised by its excellent taste but then I learned later that the place is very well known for the loh bak as well as for its desserts.
I also ordered a bowl of their Assam Laksa. I did like it although perhaps the soup was a bit light and watery. For the laksa there definitely are better places. I’ll write later about some of them that we patronized.
We then tried the Popiah. Very decent one although a little dry as they did not add some of the juicy soup. (My favourite one is served by a stall on Padang Brown.)
Excellent and refreshing watermelon juice
All in all, Kek Seng is a nice place to eat and to contemplate the history of Penang… I wonder what George Town looked like in the early 1900s.
Situated close to Padang Brown food court, this coffee shop is known for its excellent hokkien Mee. A very popular venue among locals. Even if you show up before 8am you still might have to wait some time to get your dish. In our case, we only staid a little week in Penang, went about 4 times for breakfast there and waited always between 3o till 45 minutes to get our bowl of heavenly Hokkien Mee.
Lots of regulars indeed do call to make reservations for picking up several batches. While we were there and waiting at a table, sipping on our drinks, the phone didn’t stop! Calling for take away 3, 4, and up to 7 batches.
The place is a real goldmine in our opinion. I couldn’t really count the number of Hokkien mee bowls that were delivered while we were waiting. I’m sure though that after a few hours of morning service, several hundred batches of Hokkien mee are sold every day.
Also amazing is that the lady in charge of taking the orders never ever writes anything down. It’s all by memory to know whose turn it is and what dish: regular, with more prawns, extra or large. Beats me how she remembers it all but she’s really good at it.
As far as the Hokkien Mee dish itself is concerned: it’s reallllllyyyy and trulllllyy the best I ever had in my life till today. Of course it’s all about the secret of the broth. The soup here is very well balanced yet very spicy. I also think they add a lot of lala shells in the preparation because I thought eating some of that small shell-meat seafood while finishing the soup.
If you’ve never tried the kedai kopi Classic Hokkien Mee, by Jove, I’ve only one suggestion for you. Get your butt running for it as soon as you can! You’ll not regret. No boss, no ma’am, you won’t regret at all!
The chinese section opens in the afternoon while the Malay section runs in the evening. At least that was our impression.
Malay section closed in the afternoon
The land on which Padang Brown is located was donated by David Brown, one of the wealthiest landowner in Penang at the time. Brown Memorial, erected in Esquire D. Brown’s memory, once stood in the middle of Padang Brown. It was subsequently shifted to the corner, near the junction of Jalan Perak and Jalan Anson, and stands today in the midst of the Padang Brown Food court.
The food court itself has a Chinese section next to Dato Kramat road and a mostly Malay section that borders the Padang. The day of our arrival we checked it out in the evening and it seems that only the Malay section was in operation while the Chinese part already was closed down. I think they open only from noon till late afternoon. But there are also Chinese stall on the other side of the field, along Johore road. They open in the evening as well. We had some great Satays, prepared the Malay way:
Ordering beef & chicken satay from Satay Station No 33.
Cooking the Satay skewers to perfection over a charcoal fire.
Padang Brown food court – Malay section Beef and chicken satay, accompagnied by the traditional cucumber, onion and a well balanced satay sauce. On another occasion we went back in the afternoon to some more food at the Chinese section of the food court. BTW, they have a parking lot that you can enter from Dato Kramat Road,just opposite the “Kedai Kopi Classic”, famous for its Hokkien Mee. This time the Malay section was closed while the Chinese one was starting to get in full swing. We came here to check out a specific stall. According to local foodies, one of the best popiah tastings on the whole Island defends its reputation here. We arrived round 01pm but the stallwas still not in operation. After asking around we were told they usually show up round 2 pm! Ah…ain’t it sweet to be a famous hawker celebrity? You pick your own working hours as you know patrons will always be lining up to buy your stuff.While strolling around, a Malaysian Pancake stall looked like selling very nice banana pancakes. I hesitated but still, as I am not really into sweet deserts etc, I decided not to try it out. Maybe on a next visit.Yummy pancakes for those with a sweet tooth
Malaysian Pancake stall
While waiting for the popiah, my wife decided on getting some cendol. Looked great but again to sweet for my taste buds.
Then, finally the local Prince of Popiah made his entree on the Royal Tricycle with pots filled with all his goodies.
So, now let’s see what all the fuss is about. BTW, when you are ordering, do address the old lady because SHE says SHE is in charge of the orders. She was not the most nice person to address (attitude problem that might be related to be a [rich] local celebrity?) but hey, we didn’t come for her but for HIS popiah!
Indeed it is the best popiah I had till now. During our stay we went back several times for more and more. Have a look at the preparation on site, and enjoy.
We flew Air Asia before in 2004 but this was a first for a direct return flight from Hong Kong to Penang. Not a disappointment at all! Agreed, one has to walk a bit more to get to the airplane and you have to walk up a flight of stairs to get in the plane. So what? Even the POTUS has to do that on AF1!
3 hours and a few minutes after take off we walked through immigration, got us a taxi ticket and were on our way to savour Pg Food Paradise for a week. After getting rid of our luggage at mom’s place, we took the car and went for FOOD!
Kedai kopi Sin Hwa, Burma road, Pulau Tikus: here we come!
It happened to be “Malay New Year” this Monday 21st, so the place was crowded. No problem to wait for about 30/40 minutes because at the end of the tunnel there was something better than light: namely Char Koay Teow!
In the mean time we had some refreshing drinks and then, 75 minutes after landing + 40 minutes waiting:
However, the CKT was ok but did not convince me as being one of the best. Maybe the cook was under much pressure because of the many customers that day. It seemed to us that the dish was a bit off balance and a little too oily. I noticed he made batches for 4 to 5 plates at one go. Perhaps that influenced the finesse of the taste?
Then again: hear, hear… are we too picky? We will try again on a next visit. And yes, even if we are critical, the CKT still was tasty!
At the corner of the street, facing Kopitiam See Kong was a hawker stall selling Malaysian pancakes. A big crowd around was telling the best marketing publicity story ever… One day I’ll try the pancakes, even if I don’t have a sweet tooth!
The kitchen equipment in western cuisines is sometimes very abundant. Also sometimes silly.
I remember buying tools that afterwards are kept in the closet unused. One of my worst buys was a fruit press that I used only once. Why? Well, because of the time it took to clean the press after using it! Not really a good investment.
On the other hand, some other kitchen ware and tools are almost a must for cooking. Ever heard about something called “Un saucier” or Sauce-maker? I do recommend this little pearl if you are a lover of tricky-to-make sauces, like “Hollandaise, Bèarnaise, Choron, Ravigote, etc.”
Another little gadget I like very much is a so called grill pan, made of cast Iron and a great tool to grill fish, steak and even veggies like peppers (paprika) and such.
Anyway, yesterday for diner we had some grilled steak (and Belgian fries, of course) with a home made bèarnaise sauce.
For the sauce: a half glass of white vinegar, a half glass of dry white wine, pepper and salt, fresh chopped tarragon, shallots, chervil, parsley. Put it all in the saucemaker at heating level 5 (hottest) Turn on the sauce maker and allow it to reduce till only 2 spoons of liquid remain. Sieve and allow to cool down.
Afterwards, add 3 egg yolks and the sieved reduced liquid to the saucemaker. Turn on at heating level 2 and start adding cubes of clarified butter. The sauce will thicken and after about 15 minutes turn the heating level down to 1. Add some freshly chopped tarragon leaves. Réserver.
Heat up the grill pan and start grilling the (slightly oiled) steaks.
Last year in January we quickly had to use up free Cathay air miles as their expiry date was nearing. We decided to spend a week in Sabah on Borneo and booked a little hotel, The Hamin Lodge. Ratings on the travel websites were better than average and while the place was not High End, it was clean and had a nice bathroom. Also important: it came really inexpensive, especially if comparing with those resorts à la Rasa Sayiang and Co. It might seem like comparing apples and oranges but all depends what you expect from your holidays. In this case no need for a lazy stay at a beach resort alongside the pool/bar/spa, nibbling on not so good resort-like finger food etc. We wanted a bit more action to get an idea about the environment, the local [sea]food and get on some Rain Forrest trail to visit our brethren, the [red] men of the woods… aka bro and sis Orang Utan.
As for the Lodge, the only negative experience was the mattress on the first night: hard like rock. After remarks made the morning after they immediately changed ours to a softer version. Terima Kassih!
Another positive coincidence was that the hotel was next to one of the most popular food courts of KK. – Seri Selera @ Sedco Complex. The $$ saved on Hotel prices were used to make our tummies purr with joy. Most evenings we ended up here enjoying the seafood, lobsters, steamed garoupa, satay, veggies, cockels and all you can dream of in coastal Malaysian seafood places.
Steak frites is another signature dish from traditional local cuisine in Belgium. Sure you’ll find great beef meat in other regions ( think US beef, Argentina beef, Japanese beef, Scottish beef etc… All are succulent yet different in their own ways.) The differences make it typical ambassadors of their own native regions.
About the local popular Belgian beef breed/race: “BBB” or Bleu-Blanc-Belge (Belgian Blue-White also known as Belgian Blue). Look what Wikipedia writes:
“Belgian Blue cattle are a beef breed from Belgium, known in French as Race de la Moyenne et Haute Belgique. Alternative names include Belgian Blue-White, Belgian White and Blue Pied, Belgian White Blue, Blue and Blue Belgian. The sculpted, heavily muscled appearance is known as “double muscling”, and is a trait shared by the Piedmontese breed. They are named for their typically blue-grey mottled hair colour, although it can vary from white to black.
The Belgian Blue has a natural mutation of the gene that codes for myostatin, a protein that counteracts muscle growth. The truncated myostatin is unable to function in this capacity, resulting in accelerated lean muscle growth. The defect in the breed’s myostatin gene is maintained through linebreeding. This mutation also interferes with fat deposition, resulting in very lean meat. Cows bred to double-muscled bulls are often unable to give birth naturally, requiring a caesarean section.
The breed originated in central and upper Belgium in the nineteenth century, from crossing local cattle with Shorthorn cattle from the United Kingdom and probably with Charolais cattle. At first there were milking strains and beef strains of the breed. The modern beef breed was developed in the 1950s by Professor Hanset, working at an Artificial insemination centre in Liege province.”
How about this ox? Growing lots of yummy steaks! As said above their meat is very lean, so it does need some special attention while cooking . More about that later.
Second part about the fries… easy? Not really. Even in my native country it’s sad to see how those stalls selling fries are no longer an evidence regarding the quality. People want to sell but don’t want to work. Buying themselves pre-cut fries: what a joke! The freshness of the product and the know-how of the cook must go hand in hand. Just compare it to making Char Koay Teow. It seems simple but finally it’s not!
As for the fries, the potatoes that give the best results are the [big] Bintjes variety. Peel and cut into fries of 1 square cm large and about 8 to 10 cm long. Wash in water and make sure you get them dry with a kitchen towel. If no Bintjes are available, you will have to check different varieties before choosing. If the fries start to get dark brown spots while deep frying, the potato is useless. It’s a proof that they carry too much sugar. It helps a bit to blanch them for a minute in boiling water before deep frying but the end result will never be real good.
Deep frying in fat or oil? – Best result for taste is using 2/3 of vegetable white fat and 1/3 of horse fat. As nowadays the food police is always religiously concerned about eating as healthy as possible, their followers will be against using this kind of fat. The industry came up with special refined liquid oils as a ” less unhealthy” cooking method. The result is that taste-wise the fries are only a shadow of what they used to be in Grand-mom’s time… but, if it makes “them” feel better, so-be-it !!! However, I stick to the original whenever I can.
Regarding the frying pan, I suggest a high quality, electrical frying pan with a big oil capacity up to 5 liters and a very sensitive thermostat. When starting the frying use small batches of potatoes for avoiding the frying temperature dropping too fast. Fry the first time at temperature between 140 and 160 degrees C. The exact temperature depends on the oil and the quality of the potatoes. Don’t fry till golden yet.
After this first deep-frying keep the frites apart for at least half an hour on kitchen tissue that will absorb some of the oil/fat.
For the final frying session heat up till 180 degrees C, fry the batch in a few minutes till crispy and golden. Take them out of the oil, shake to get rid of the remaining oil and serve with a pinch of salt.
About the pics posted here: as I’m not living in Belgium I have no access to the white fat, Bintjes or BBB beef. So, I used vegetable sunflower seed oil.
Sunflower seed oil.
Red potatoes (U.S.) who are the only ones I found to be relatively low on sugar.
Australian tenderloin fillet steak. BTW, if the steaks are very lean, ask the butcher some extra fat and pan fry it together with your steaks. It will enhance the taste. I always use extra fat when cooking BBB back in Belgium.
This recipe was served with home-made black pepper cream sauce.
Other traditional accompanying servings are “Beurre Maître d’Hôtel”, “Sauce Béarnaise”, the steak’s own “butter gravy”, “Sauce Provençale”… All all great if home-made. Please never use industrial sauces, gravies or mayonnaise. It’s an insult to your and my epicurean taste buds.
Below a few pics of Sai Kung, a very popular seafood place, well known but maybe a bit too touristic nowadays.
Live seafood
Pick your fish, lobsters, prawns, cockels here and have them cooked to your liking by one of the surrounding restaurants.
Also on Lamma Island there are a big number of seafood places. Below you can notice the restaurant in the back, their open air terraces are built on stilts opposite the kitchen. Your order the seefood from the menu or you choose your own directly from the aquariums.
Seafood Lunch on Lamma
Cheung Chau ( Long Island) also has a reputation for yummy seafood. Same recipe: pick from the aquariums or order from the menu.
About some menus – you also can enjoy the funny way of writing in Chinese English or… Chinglish:
Cheung Chau is the home base of Hong Kong largest fishing fleet. The picture below was taken on July 1st, 2007, the 10th anniversary of the return to China, hence all the flags.
Peony is the name of the Chinese restaurant in the residents club of Discovery Bay, a development on Lantau Island. It’s only a 25 minutes sailing away from Central on HK Island.
Before, only members were allowed in but since some time now they also accept non-members. The bill has to be settled by credit card only. Members are billed via their membership card. So the place avoids handling cash.
For the classic Dim Sum they change the menu every day with order sheets numbered from 1 to 4. So instead of offering an immense variety every day, they have not as many items on the menu but as the day after you can get a different choice, that’s not really a problem… unless you want to stick always to the same food.
Dim Sum is among Hong Kong finest food traditions
They also offer other items that will change on a regular basis and of course the classic Chinese menu is available the whole year around.
Zhau Mei is one of our favourite teas when going for Dim Sum.
As pictures say more than a thousand words: enjoy some of our local Dim Sum specialities:
Dim Sum places can be very crowded; however, as this one is mostly aiming at local resident club members you will never have long waiting queues at Peony. We are not members but do live nearby. That makes is very convenient.
If you are visiting Hong Kong and want a really high end Dim Sum place, I can recommend:
A real classic in the traditional Belgian Cuisine.
I want to share one of the best classic recipes from the Flemish Belgian cuisine. A shame that here in Asia it’s almost impossible to get fresh North Sea grey shrimps, so this recipe is only meant to make you hungry.
Otherwise just buy some airline tickets to Belgium and savour this fine food in one of the many restaurants in Brussels, Antwerp, Ghent, Bruges or at the coast.
But do pay attention: you might become addicted to that dish as much as I’m addicted to Hokkien mee or Char Koay Teow when in Penang!
And now the recipe:
for about 10 croquettes: 1/2 kg fresh unpeeled grey shrimps, 50 g of flour, 1/2 liter milk, 50 g of butter, 1 egg yolk, 1/2 lemon, 50 g shredded Emmenthaler cheese, pepper and salt.
Before the final frying you will need extra flour, a few drops of vegetable oil, breadcrumbs.
When serving add deep fried parsley and a lemon wedge to the plate.
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First start with the hardest part of the job: Peel the shrimps and keep both the heads and shells/carcasses apart.
Heat up the milk with the shrimp heads and shells. When it reaches its boiling point, turn off the fire and let the shrimps’ taste impregnate the milk during half an hour. Sieve the milk and keep aside. (Réserver).
Make a white roux with butter and flour + pepper and salt. Make sure that it doesn’t get burned sticky on the bottom of the pan! So: keep stirring.
Mix the milk with the roux to obtain some kind of non liquid dough. Keep stirring. Remove the pot from the fire after 5 minutes and add the juice of half a lemon, the egg yolk, the shrimps, the cheese, pepper and salt. Mix that dough.
Butter a metallic plate and transfer the dough on it. Spread the dough on the plate till a thickness of about 2 cm. Cover with a plastic foil and put in the fridge for the night.
Next day you either cut rectangular croquettes or roll traditional cylindrical croquettes. Use a shaker, a whisk or two forks to beat the egg whites. Beat till foamy but still liquid. Next pull the croquettes through some flour, then through the egg whites and finally through a plate of breadcrumbs.
Deep fry till golden, frying temp. at 180 degrees Celsius. It will only take a few minutes. When ready put the croquettes on some kitchen tissue to allow absorbing most of the oil.
Deep fry the parsley for about 10 seconds . Dress the croquettes, parsley and a wedge of lemon on a warm plate . Before eating sprinkle lemon juice over the croquettes.
Grey Shrimp Croquette filled with "Crevettes de Zeebrugge"
A chilled dry white wine is recommended to keep this dish company. Think Chablis, Sancerre or a light Muscadet sur Lie.
De Oesterput (oyster pitt) is very well known by a few in Belgium. It’s in Blankenberge, a popular seashore town along the Belgian coast. It’s a typical family holiday place, not fancy like Knokke… just a place where the hard working commoner family goes on holiday since the early 50ties.
I know my parents went there since I was a baby. Every year. Again and again. Probably that’s why, when I grew up I only very rarely visited the place again. However, last year when my wife and I returned to Belgium for a family visit, we also took a trip to the Belgian coast. (68km of North Sea coastline: yup… that’s Belgium… a HUGE country -grin-)
Blankenberge, West-Flanders.
Anyway, we had lunch at the Oesterput with some great seafood: Dutch Zeeland flat oysters which are definitely the best in the world, unfortunately also the most expensive;
Zeeuwse platte Oesters. The best in the world. Because of these little animals I’ll forgive the Dutchies for being Dutch!
Fish soup with rouille. We both loved it. Wonderful dish.
And another speciality from Flanders: Garnaalkroketten -> think gray shrimp croquettes, dipped in egg-white and bread crumbs, then deep fried in oil. I’ll post the recipe in a future cooking post but just forget about cooking this in Asia, as there sadly is no way to buy those North Sea grey shrimps here!
A Classic with Capital C in Flanders’ cuisine.
If you want the real stuff: catch a flight to Belgium to enjoy them. Just don’t tell me, as I would turn green and have a tantrum out of jealousy!
Behind the windows in the back are 4 large basins where they keep life lobsters and oysters. It used to be an open space but due to health and safety reasons they had to separate the basins from the restaurant with those windows. People call that progress but I preferred the charm from before!
Although they announce 4 languages on their home page, English and German is still unavailable. Sorry for that. If you want to read, you’ll have to stick to Dutch or French!
Being both customer and judge doesn’t make us foodies as if we were having a PhD in that inexact science called Epicurean Gourmetology. Admit it, we just are not objective when it comes to food. Our upbringing, our cultural inheritance, our traditions and also our instinctive aversion of some exotic dishes do play tricks on us.
Hawker centres however have a huge advantage with their many stalls to allow you always to find that yummy dish among the large choice on offer. There are so many hawker centres in Penang that it would be impossible to try them all.
We all have our preferences because of that one famous stall in that one particular hawker centre that serves that one famous dish that we consider our favourite.
Goodall Food Court is quite large, situated at the corner of Jalan Scott and Jalan Gottlieb. Very convenient for us as it’s very close to our house in Penang. My favourite cockles cooked in a hot and spicy sauce are found here.
Also the satay stall offers very high quality, although I do agree that it’s maybe a very easy dish to cook.
My wife also likes the Poh Piah sold here
while her mom says the Durian seller has great quality and is also very inexpensive.
(Regarding the stall that sells chicken wings and bisshop’s noses: not as good as the one on Gurney drive’s Song River Food court.)
This place is situated at the seashore in Tanjung Tokong, next To Tua Peh Kong Temple. They serve Egg crab, Meat crab, Sand/Flower crab, cockle sheels, fried squid, fried shells, fried noodles / rice / vegetables. There is also a little stall selling very good quality Malay satays.
We ordered meat crab simply cooked on the BBQ. It’s that way I always prefer eating crab, lobster or langoust (rock lobster) as the meat gets impregnated with some smoky taste through the shell.
While waiting for the crabs to be cooked we had some satay skewers (Chicken and beef) with the traditional shallots and cucumber and the obvious satay sauce.A bit further along a dam into the sea some people were fishing with a rod and deeper in the bay there was a small fish farm.
Fish farmSatay
That’s how I like my crab.
In fact this place is a prime location and relatively unknown by the tourists. Only locals and we were enjoying the seafood and the view.
After finishing our plates we had to clean up a bit. Tapwater bassins were available to wash up. No need for soap as there were lots of chopped pieces of green lemons available to clean our smelly hands!
As for the price: 1kg of meat crab for 40 ringit sounds like a good deal.
What makes a country, the size of Maryland, famous?
The bickering between Flemings and Walloons? Its 6 (yes six) governments? Being the Capital of Europe? Its chocolate and beer? For me, it’s their fast food stalls serving fritten (fries) with different sauces and/or beef stew, chicken stew, satay skewers…
However the national dish in Flanders is not one to be found in that “fritkot” (fries-barrack) but in restaurants or at home: Mussels & fries.
The mussels come from Holland’s Yerseke and the Easter-Scheldt. There is a rumour that the Dutchies sell up to 70% of their annual mussel harvest to Belgium.
The cooking is very simple. No need for specials> Just wash the mussels 2 or 3 times in fresh water, then transfer them to a big pot.
Chop lots of onions, lots of celeri and parsley; add white pepper. Put the pot on a high fire and pour some dry white wine in the casserole. Once the mussels open they’re ready to be eaten. Serve in deep soup plates and don’t forget to drink the bouillon as well.
As for the fries: deep fry them the Belgian way: first 3 or 4 minutes at 150 Celsius. Afterwards let them rest for 1/2 hour and finish frying them at 180 degrees Celsius till crisp.
Hint for the fries: use potatoes that are very low on sugar. “Bintjes” are the best but unfortunately not on offer all over the world. BTW, if no good potatoes available just serve the mussels with buttered bread. In fact, I personally prefer it that way.
Lok Pin at Anson road is a place selling Fish Head Behoon, Chicken Rice, Hokkien Mee, Wantan Mee, Loh Bak and (according to the stall’s owner own saying) “Famous Asam Laksa Anson Road”. On the street in front a few more hawkers selling pancakes, fruit, Mee Goreng…
Serious action needs to be taken to preserve and restore historical houses, heritage mansions and to not allow high rise construction everywhere. 
Individual owners also have some responsibilities…
A good thing is that here and there people who changed those houses into pure residential housing achieved fine and remarkable results. Pictures here about a few examples along Burma road and another successful renovation along Bangkok road.
Are you all getting hungry yet again?
We also enjoyed a small dish of Loh Bak. Very nice and flavourful, not dry or oily but I still prefer the one served at the Kek Seng Cafe. However, we for sure are not going to complain!
Also their grilled prawns are a must-eat. They taste a little “smoky” and have that typical wok or grill flavour that I can not really describe but like so much! It’s as different as the taste of pan frying over a gas stove compared to BBQ-ing or grilling over a charcoal fire.
Above: Lorong Chulia and its typical houses.
After paying we innocently asked the shop owner if she knew about some Chinese community in the neighbourhood that was reputed for its Hokkien Mee. (We didn’t mention Chinese Penang Assam Laksa, as we thought it might not please her.) And yes, she knew about that place, only 1 or 2 km down the same road along the river on the outskirts of a local Chinese fishing village. So, we were going to have more food and more precisely the food we initially came for! I’ll write about that experience in a next post.
A well established seafood restoran mostly patronised by locals. Fresh seafood and many fishes like garupa and pomfret, depending on the catch.
Rating: 13/20.
Rating: 15/20
Rating: 9/20
Rating: 15/20
Rating: 18/20. Simply superb.
Anyway, my biggest complaint regarding this stall/cafe is their use of styrofoam plates and throw away chop sticks. Ok, there is no need for using their best china plates, porcelain spoons or high-end ivory chop sticks. Good hard plastic plates/spoons/chop sticks will do, thank you very much. I’m thinking to bring my own plate and chop sticks but am a little bit afraid that might cause a tantrum… Anyway, someone with more guts than I have, ought to tell the sisters that they are really a lazy bunch, apparently oblivious regarding the impact on the environment. We, our kids and grandkids do really appreciate. NOT!
Tastewise? The fast frying-and-tossing-noodles technique of the wokmeister plus a professional handling of the heat, resulted in a most delicious Char Koay Teow dish. Malaysia, truly Asia? CKT: truly Penang!
It looked very nice but after tasting, it was a bit of a disappointment. Not spicy, not sour, the soup tasted sweet. A pity for sure, but then again, who am I to judge? Lots of people, looking like regulars, came and ordered the Hokkien Mee. So, lets agree to disagree and accept that personal taste is very different from person to person.
So, now let’s see what all the fuss is about. BTW, when you are ordering, do address the old lady because SHE says SHE is in charge of the orders. She was not the most nice person to address (attitude problem that might be related to be a [rich] local celebrity?) but hey, we didn’t come for her but for HIS popiah!
How about this ox? Growing lots of yummy steaks! As said above their meat is very lean, so it does need some special attention while cooking . More about that later.
Blankenberge, West-Flanders.
Zeeuwse platte Oesters. The best in the world. Because of these little animals I’ll forgive the Dutchies for being Dutch!
Fish soup with rouille. We both loved it. Wonderful dish.
A bit further along a dam into the sea some people were fishing with a rod and deeper in the bay there was a small fish farm.
Fish farm
Satay
That’s how I like my crab. 
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