I have only recently had the chance to try out the Sister’s Char Koay Teow at Macalister road. I have always heard of the Sister’s Char Koay Teow, from friends and to guide books, but could never find the stall. I have thought the Lorong Selamat Char Koay Teow to be the Sisters Char Koay Teow. I was wrong. Many of my friends also made the same mistake, and none of the people I knew really knows where this famed Sisters Char Koay Teow is. Everyone knows that it is somewhere in Macalister road, but none know exactly where on Macalister. Finally, with the help of “Famous Street Food of Penang” book (recently launched at Upper Penang Road), I manage to locate the Sisters Char Koay Teow shop. They are situated at the beginning (or end) of Macalister road, in the Lam Heng Coffee shop. According to the book, the Sisters have been serving Char Koay Teow for half a century now. Imagine that, 50 years, could you be in the same profession for that long? The sisters did and are now 68 & 71 years old.

We were there on a Sunday noon, and the place was busy. Not exactly packed, there were still some empty seats, but everyone is waiting for the Char Koay Teow. When ordered, the sister said (in hokkien) “It will be long, are you willing to wait?”, I quickly said yes, and made it to the nearest empty table. She will do a bulk fry, and then customize at one end of the wok based on customer demand, like less chilli, or no prawns, or more chilli, etc.. 20-30 minutes later, our two plates arrived. I was surprise to see crab meat sprinkle all over and a nice big prawn sitting on top of the Koay Teow. These were the only visual plus points. I was a little turn off by the styroform plates, and the wet look of the Char Koay Teow. I like it dry, just a personal preference.

After all this anticipation, I finally get to taste the famed Sisters Char Koay Teow. We were a little disappointed. It was very salty, and the taste was not consistent through out the plate. It felt like not properly done. It was unfortunate that both or plates were like that. It could be our expectation were too high, or we were just unlucky to get a lemon. I believe that the Char Koay Teow is better than this, and therefore, we are not concluding yet. Anyway, how could 50 years of fame be wrong, rite…

“This articicle was originally posted on Nov 22, 2005 and was lost due to Host HDD crash. I reporduce it here from my original draft.”

Since I am in a Char Koay Teow blogging frenzy, I would like to introduce yet another much talk about Char Koay Teow in Penang. This shop is located at Lorong Selamat off McAlister Road. The stall is managed by two Aunties, and they can be nasty at times, especially the place is crowded. There were stories that gangsters has closed down the stall for weeks as the ladies has angered one of the gang boss. Usually, if the place is crowded, you will have to take your own plate and queue behind the lady to get your Char Koay Teow. If you left the queue, you loose your food. The Char Koay Teow is to my liking, and if it’s good or not?, you can try to judge from the photo above.

Aug 30, 2006 update

We visited the stall last weekend and it was still jam pack, as usual. We were quite late, at 1.45pm, we could hardly find a seat, and the que for the Char Koay Teow was very long. I waited 20minutes in line for the Char Koay Teow. Majority of the patrons were tourist, and some are Penangnites living elsewhere. At such high volume, the quality of the Char Koay Teow is in-consistent. Based on what I see, the texture defers from plate to plate. The best is to visit the stall early, at opening time from 11.30-12am. After that, the place will be swamp with people and the food quality will be inconsistent and also the wait time will be long. The price per plate is now standing at RM 5.50 for a regular size.

Last weekend, we decided to explore the beach located a couple of Km away from our home. With the main objective to walk more than 4000 steps, we started towards the sunset on the beach. It was low tide when we arrived, and we were the only ones on the beach. Not surprisingly, as this is not a beach where one could swim. The southern beaches of Penang are very murky and not inviting at all. With the sun on our face, we walked the stretch from one end to the other. The low tide expose a layer of soft sands and multiple types of tiny habitat. The burning sun brings out an occasional complaint from my sister in-law, but was quickly defused by the breeze from the Straits of Malacca.

As we move towards the other end of the beach, there were a group of wellbeing’s sitting on the exposed muddy part of the beach. They were gathering something, and as we got closer, we realized they were actually gathering a shell fish called la-la. It’s a local shellfish loved by my wife and seafood enthusiast. The mud was very soft, and if one would put ones leg into it, one would get stuck. So, the la-la hunters usually just sit and crawl on the mud.

Close to the la-la hunters, were a couple of WWII battery, built to protect the Island from southern landing. They are now half buried in the sands. This beach is located at the south part of the island. There are two way to come to this beach. One is thorough the coastal highway, heading south, go past the Factories (Free Trade Zone) and you will come to the Batu Maung Cross Junction Traffic Light. Turning right will take you to the World Fish Center and Aquarium, but you will have to go straight. You will go through a couple of villages and come to the back part of the Airport landing strip. You have arrived. From the landing strip, you can see the beach. The beach is just 150m from the road, you can park along the road and walk towards the beach. The second rout is to head towards the Airport, through Sunshine or Bukit Jambul. Coming to the Airport, head towards Bayan Lepas old town. Right after the old town, there is a ‘T’ Junction traffic light. Turn left there and go straight. This will bring you to the back of the Airport landing strip, and you are there.

Little known to many people in Penang, you can actually watch planes land and take off from this part of the island. You can bring your children to watch plans fly over your head. The main road actually cuts across the landing or take off path, and you can see the plane from up-close. Best of time to visit this place is during the morning, from 7-9am and in the evening from 6-8pm. These times are the peak time for Penang Airport and you can witness all kinds of plane landing. From the Jumbo 747 to the more slim 777. Unfortunately, the latest Airbus does not come to Penang Airport, and so you only get to see the Boeings and an occasional old Airbus.

“This articicle was originally posted on Aug 30, 2005 and was lost due to Host HDD crash. I reporduce it here from my original draft.”

I arrived home from a Merdeka party at 10pm and heard some booming sound from a distance, it sounded like some one blasted music from their car. We did not pay too much attention to it and went into our home to freshen up.

While retiring in front of the TV set to celebrate the National Day from our couch, we heard noises that sounds like fireworks. “But it was only 11pm.. ” I thought. We ignored it and five minutes in, the fireworks sound still persist. I took my camera and went outside and saw the celebration in a distance, behind a block of houses.

The celebration was actually at the fishing village (Pematang Damar Laut) next to my home. The fishing village actually consist of Malay, Chinese and Indians and Merdeka are celebrated at a large scale here. The entire kampung (village) are decorated with arches that promote racial harmony and celebrate the birth of the nation. The Malaysian spirit is strong at this village and appreciates the independence that we have achieved. The scale of celebration at this village is shown by the duration of the fireworks which lasted for 30 minutes with intermittent breaks.

Happy Independent day Malaysia, may we all prosper in harmony till the end of time…

“This articicle was originally posted on Aug 24, 2005 (1 year aniversary) and was lost due to Host HDD crash. I reporduce it here from my original draft.”

Being a Char Koey Teow (Fried Flat Rice Noodle) myself, I could not resist the temptation of trying out Lilian’s Favourite Char Koey Teow stall at Kimberley St. The stall was easy to find, mainly because I know where Kimberley and Cintra St is. Arriving there at 6pm, I was worried if the stall was open that early, and truly the guy was just getting ready and was frying the prawns. The sign at his stall suggest small plat @ RM2.20 and large @ RM2.80. I ordered a “koey teow mee without chilies’ for my wife and a regular “koey teow” for myself. He then asked if we want to “kar lieu” (add ingredients) and we figured why not.

We then settle ourself at the coffee shop where the stall is located infront of and ordered our drinks, a Milo Ice and a Coffee Ice. The drinks came to Rm2.50 and I thought to myself, boy, it was like yesterday where Milo ice was RM1 and Coffee Ice was just RM0.80, is this the result of the fuel price increase? Life will be tough ahead. The atmosphere of the location gives the urban living feeling. Everyone at the area seams to know each other and goes about gossiping the days news. There were also some tourist flooding the area, mainly because Kimberley St. is located a couple of blocks away from the “Backpacker’s lane” Chulia St. Within minutes, the Koey Teow came, first look was a little disappointing.

The one without chilies looked pale white and without life and mine looked reddish (normal). We immediately dig in and found nothing special about the taste. Different people loved different kind of Koey Teow and mainly because there are different kinds. I love the types that have lots of carbon in it (probably cancerous, but I loved it) and dislikes the ones that are wet and drenched with soya source. For this, the koey teow was drenched in chili source and there was nothing special to it. Maybe if the koey teow was left overnight in the refrigerator, it might taste better (my personal method to make dull fried koey teow taste good).

The Koey Teow mee was even worst, lacking of chili, which made the taste, the entire dish was blend and almost tasteless. It was the fried prawns and mantis that saved the dish from going into the gutter. The prawns were fresh and loaded. My first impression when the plates arrived was “Wow” that was a lot of prawns. Then I remembered oh ya, it was extra ingredients, no wonder the portion was so generous. When we were done, we were shock when the koey teow price was RM11.20 total. Wow, RM5.60 for each plate, and we did not enjoyed it at all. Well, I don’t have any regrets as Fried Koey Teow was my favorite hawker food. Trying out this place is just like exploring for hidden treasures, it is just that we did not found any. My wife commented that “the Fried Koey Teow in Malacca (where she is from) is the best, nothing in Penang has ever matched it yet” and I do agree with her. For me, Taiping (Where I am from) Fried Koey Teow is the best.

I heard there is another “Great” Fried Koey Teow at Mackalister Rd called “Sisters Fried Koey Teow”, not the one at Selamat Lane, and that would be my next destination to search for the “Best” Fried Koey Teow in town.