Penang Fried Kway Teow : around for 20 years

This stall only serves Penang Fried Kway Teow for $3.00 per plate. The Aunty saw me taking pictures of her stall. She asked, "You are taking pictures?". I replied, "I want to tell my friends about your stall as there are not many stalls serving Penang Fried Kway Teow these days." 

She said, "We are the second generation hawker, the stall has been handed down from my parents and it has been around for over 20 years in this food centre." And, I said, "Some of the younger hawkers only managed to be around for a few months before quitting it." She continued to say, "It is not easy to run a hawker stall these days. I read about it in the newspaper. It has been very much monopolized." I asked, "How much is your rental?" She replied, "All in all is around $2,000. The cleaning fee itself is already about few hundreds." I asked, "May I know your operating hours?" Aunty replied, "Better do not say, I will close when it is sold out."

It did not actually taste like the Penang Fried Kway Teow but more like a healthier version of usual Fried Kway Teow. The kway teow was broken up in the smaller pieces, it was served with a generous amount of bean sprouts added together with choy sum and other ingredients like lup cheong, prawns and cockles. The level of spiciness of the chilli was mild. 

PENANG FRIED KWAY TEOW

17 Upper Boon Keng Road #01-08 Upper Boon Keng Road Food Centre SINGAPORE 380017

Penang Seafood Restaurant : Assam Laksa, a must-try

We came across this restaurant while going to Kwong Cheong Thye to get the ingredients for making mooncake. When we were browsing the menu, a friendly lady approached us. She said, "Table for 2? We are famous for the Assam Laksa and Penang Fried Kway Teow. We used to be at the opposite before moving here." She continued to say, "We are celebrating our 10th anniversary by offering a 20% discount for the food items from 11 am to 4 pm on Monday to Friday till the end of the month."

I decided to go with Assam Laksa, there are 2 sizes, the small portion is at $4.80 and the big portion is $5.80. The same lady was taking our orders, she asked, "Small or big portion?". She pointed at the table next to us and said, "That is the big portion. I can finish it by myself." I opted for the bigger portion. My dining companion ordered the Penang Fried Kway Teow ($5.00) and he requested to have it without chili. We also ordered Prawn Paste Chicken ($12) to share. We also ordered a canned drink ($2.00) and Lime Juice ($2.50). I wanted to order coffee but was told they are using the 3-in-1 instant coffee. 

The canned drink and Lime Juice came right after.

The Assam Laksa came first. There were some reviews stated that this is probably the best Assam Laksa in Singapore. I eagerly took a mouthful. It was flavorful, spicy and tangy. It would be even better if they are using the right type of noodles, those that are thicker and chewier and not using the thick bee hoon. 

The Penang Fried Kway Teow was not as good as expected. The chilli was omitted as requested, it did not taste as savory as expected. They might have replaced it with the usual dark sauce as it actually tasted like the local style fried kway teow. It was stir-fried with ingredients like cockles, lup cheong, and prawn with a handful of bean sprouts.

Those pieces of Prawn Paste Chicken were nicely fried to the desired crispiness but the prawn paste taste was not as intense. 

I am likely to come back for their Assam Laksa if happen to be in the vicinity.

PENANG SEAFOOD RESTAURANT

32 Aljunied Road SINGAPORE 389817

Operating Hours: 11.00 am to 11.55 pm (Daily)

Penang Authentic Delicacies : Penang Fried Kway Teow in banana leaf

I came across a picture posted by an FB friend not too long ago. It showed the Penang Fried Kway Teow wrapping in banana leaf in the shape of a cone, it is by a new stall in Golden Mile Food Centre. I was not particularly looking for this stall but wanted to eat Hainanese Curry Rice and it just happened this stall is just next to it. I changed my mind at that point in time and decided to try the Ah Gong Penang Fried Kway Teow. There are the $3 and the $5 portion which I decided to go with the big portion. They do serve Penang White Curry ($3/$4.50), Fried Mee Tai Mak ($3/$5) and also Fried Mee Sua ($3/$5). The lady that took my order, said, "Go, take a seat."

I asked, "Why did you choose to wrap it in the banana leaf? Is this a practice over in Penang? The lady replied, "This method and the recipe are passed down from our Ah Gong (Grandpa). He served it in this way to better preserve its aromatic flavor." Then, I asked, "Are you from Penang? "She said, "No. Not me. My husband is from Penang though."

It was ready in less than 5 minutes as I was the only customer at that time. The lady handed it to me and said, "Thank you." I have traveled to Penang quite a few times but never come across such a method in presenting the Fried Kway Teow there. I slowly unwrapped it by moving the 2 toothpicks that were used to hold the banana leaf together. I was greeted with a nice smoky flavor. The thin flat rice noodles were stir-fried with prawns, clams, roasted meat, Chinese sausage, fish cake and a handful of bean sprouts for a textural contrast. They actually made an effort to peel the prawns leaving only the head and tail part.

It definitely requires the right ingredients coupled with the correct techniques to stir-fry a plate of fried kway teow at high heat for a charred taste. And, this might not be the best that I have tasted but it was actually better than most of the others in Singapore. It was savory, moist and drier in texture, not oily too. I requested to have an extra amount of chill added for a spicier flavor.

PENANG AUTHENTIC DELICACIES

505 Beach Road #01-111 Golden Mile Food Centre SINGAPORE 199583

Tong Ji (同记 ) Penang Fried Kway Teow at Jurong West

It is getting difficult to find a good Penang Fried Kway Teow in Singapore, it is even more so if you have visited Penang and eaten the Fried Kway Teow there. I visited Penang a few years ago and I got to try the popular Siam Road Char Kway Teow and the Famous Ah Leng Char Koay Teow, both tasted equally good. I used to be patronizing Simei Penang Laksa Speciality regularly at the food centre over at Block 347 Jurong East Avenue 1 for their Penang Fried Kway Teow. This stall serves Penang Laksa too but I did not like it as much. Besides, there used to be a stall at one of the coffee shops at Holland Drive that served good Penang Fried Kway Teow and that was the closest that I have eaten in Singapore but that stall has closed down a long while ago. Since then, I have been looking for good Penang Fried Kway Teow in Singapore. 

A friend left a comment on my blog about this stall at Jurong West that used to be at Block 959 Jurong West Street 91 before moving to its current location. This friend mentioned that a Malaysian couple recommended the stall to him when they shared a table at Malaysia Boleh food court at Jurong Point. The wife came from Penang and she only eats from this particular stall. This friend visited him on his last day at the previous location and then again at his new location. The comment stated, "He is very meticulous in his cooking. I was able to observe his fry his CKT at the old stall as the stove was just at the front. Instead of just cracking the egg and mix it with the other ingredients. He would drizzle some soy sauce on its first. But his chili was nicer when I tried at the new location."

I was there for lunch at about 12 pm. I pointed to the signboard and said, "Penang Fried Kway Teow, please. The $5 portion." The smaller portion is at $4. And, I said, "A friend recommended your stall." I asked, "I heard that you are from Penang?" He nodded his head. He said, "Some people thought I am a Japanese." He pointed to the towel that he tied around his head. He said, "That is for absorbing sweat." While waiting, there were other customers came by to order the Fried Kway Teow. There is also the local style Fried Kway Teow ($4/$5), Mee Goreng with Cockles ($4.00) and Bean Sprouts with Cockles ($5.00) on the menu. 

There is actually a difference between the Penang Fried Kway Teow and a local one. The taste is different, the Penang style is more savory and spicier, the local version is sweeter as no dark sweet sauce is used in Penang Fried Kway Teow so it tends to be lighter in color. His version reminded me of those that are easily found in the streets of Penang. I shared it with a friend and he commented, "That portion is big for $5." The flat rice noodles were nicely stir-fried with ingredients like prawns, cockles, Chinese lap cheong, eggs, bean sprouts and chives in a mixture of soy sauce. The color was slightly darker but it was flavorful. 

TONG JI PENANG FRIED KWAY TEOW

Block 504 Jurong West Street 51 SINGAPORE 640504

Operating Hours: 12.00 pm to 10.00 pm (Daily)