Traditional Ice Blended (Ang Tau Kah), Sungai Petani

I have been studying and staying in Penang for years, near to 10 but I still do go back to hometown which is 30 to 45 minutes drive away depending on the traffic condition. So if you ask me about SP, my answer to you might be the outdated ones cause I myself is impressed with the infrastructure  and development progress, to meet the Kedah Maju 2010 goal.

But one thing I never fail to boast about SP is our favourite traditional ice blended.. the ones in sunshine here can’t beat this one. haha.. Our all time favourite will be ang tau kah (red bean ice blended), tho tau kah (peanut ice blended), jagung kah (sweet corn ice blended) and ea kah (coconut ice blended). They even have fruits ice blended based on availability and si sua kah(mixed ice blended) too!

These stalls are located behind the bus station and taxi station, which have been operating since my mother was young and the bus station was there all along. My mom said she used to go for ang tau kah whenever she go SP many years ago. There are few stalls and the stall I usually patronize is the first stall at the corner, also known as “Tua Phih’s” (Big Nose), reason being the owner of the stall, has got big nose… so bad uh.. being called such.. it’s not huge actually.. but well.. I don’t know..

This local specialty was also introduced by the 8TV’s Ho Chak TV program but they introduced the next door stall instead… Well, some prefer to patronize the next door I guess..

That’s the uncle, the owner

Ang Tau Kah, perfect for a hot sunny day! How they actually made it is by shaving ice using the traditional ice shaver, where you can see most ice kacang stalls are using. Shaved ice are then filled in the blender mixed with the sweetened red bean, condensed/evaporated milk, blended thoroughly, serve in a glass and topped with milo powder… simply out of this world… so yummy.. and it’s only MYR1.80. Used to be cheaper…. haha.. but compared to the coffee joints… you know what I mean…

Ang Tau Kah and Ea Kah…. and of course it’s not topped with milo powder.. cause it’s gonna spoil the fresh coconut taste… another refreshing choice… so cooling… so yummy…

There’s the tho tau kah… fragrant peanuts blended with shaved ice and topped with milo powder too..  it can be heaty but it’s really good… If you are a big fan of peanuts, this is the one for you!! You will gulp down one and ask for more :D

  Milo powder with no extra charge… its defaulted topping.. in sunshine market, I think they charge you extra for milo powder :P

Besides the famous ice blended, they of course serve normal drinks too like coconut drink, fruit juice, coffee, tea or me?? haha… no no.. milo… and many more… also serving laksa, fruits rojak, sotong kangkung (cuttlefish convolvulus or known to the chinese as jiu hoo eng chai) and another stall serving “lam mee”.. i think… or was it dried noodles? oops.. this i could not recall…

The jiu hoo eng chai comes with fat juicy cuttlefish and water convolvulus in some kind like rojak sauce.. similar to mixture of sweet sauce and shrimp paste of chee cheong fun, and sprinkled with lots of frangrant crushed peanuts and fried shallots….

Must mix everything together so that the sauce is evenly distributed…

This is good that I have the urge to go for a second plate :P Another place that is famous for it’s jiu hoo eng chai is Gurun, further up north towards Alor Setar.

Here, you get to have the view of the river of Sungai Petani, which is urm.. you judge yourself by the colour of the sungai’s (river’s) water… :P

We rarely see this kind of chairs anymore..

Tempted? Head to SP to try them out lo :D

Yea Pin Dim Sum Restaurant, Lagenda Heights, Sg Petani

I usually do not wake up early in the morning for a dim sum breakfast, be it in Penang or my hometown, Sg Petani, unless I really have to, parents’ request or a planned breakfast with friends. There’s a dim sum place nearby my house, but so happen a friend from Penang came over and I was bringing her touring the humble boring SP town from my house in southern SP until towards the north side of SP, I decided that we stop by for breakfast since it’s still early for lunch. It became brunch in the end :P

This was only my second time here, the last time I went was last year’s CNY with my babes. It was not that good the last visit but this visit actually change my perception a little. Perhaps it was full packed with people previously which explains the quality of the food that time. We arrived there around 10 something where the crowd starts to slow down on a Sunday morning. I managed to meet my cousin and her family too. Getting a seat is easy if you are there on a late morning in a dim sum restaurant.

We took a few types of steamed dim sum from the steam cart, and also the prawn salad from the deep fried cart. Choices were limited at that time though, cannot complain… it’s a little late for dim sum near to 11am… Tea choice was recommended by the lady who took the order. It was a new tea from Thong Guan, the Piao Xiang tea and they were having promotion where you buy one, which they will brew in a teapot, they give you another additional pack of the same tea and on top of that, few packs of 3 in 1 kopi O. Thong Guan is pretty known in SP and Malaysia and made famous by the Teh 888 brand name. The tea was smooth and indeed something new compared to the typical tea orders made usually.

Century egg with meat dim sum… quite a big piece… juicy and filling… one piece is enough… else you will feel “jelak” after eating the second piece

Something like siew mai, bigger in size with fresh prawns… also juicy and the prawns are very fresh…

 

Something like the same with different skin.. so happen most of the items chosen are topped with prawns, which was good choice made as the prawns are really fresh that day and all the dim sum are all piping hot and so juicy…

The har gao.. prawn dumplings also filled with super fresh prawns and the transparent skin is just nice. Did not dry up easily, not thick and so tender.

Also another siew mai’s friend, same size with siew mai with pea.. look at the juicy yummy pieces…

Braised chicken leg.. this was not that wonderful, but I’m not saying it’s bad also la… the sauce is quite sweet.. perhaps I prefer the ones i cook myself better.. muahahaha… it’s fresher :P

The prawn salad, real fresh prawns wrapped with in like thin bean curd sheet, and fried to crispy perfection accompanied by smooth mayonnaise/salad sauce. This was the winner of the day… really good. Tea for 2, and the above orders came with a bill of around MYR 28.00. With the amount of fresh prawns I had, I have no complain on the price :D

Mom says there “ada angin” one.. sometimes it can be great, sometimes just  good, sometimes just so so, hmm.. very hard to fare if it’s really good or not… why not you tell me?

Yea Pin Dim Sum Restaurant

265 & 266 Jalan Legenda 10, Lagenda Heights, 08000 Sg Petani, Kedah

Contact ☎ 04-4219190

Teng’s Economy Fried Bee Hoon (Rice Vermicelli), Kopitiam Heng Huat, Sg Nibong Penang

When I usually drive home from Queensbay Mall, I will have to pass the flyover over to Sg Nibong on my way home. And usually will have the urge to stop by this stall, to buy economy fried bee hoon. It seems be to be well known among the people staying around Bayan Lepas actually.

Teng economy fried bee hoon stall is at the side of the corner lot coffee shop, Kopitiam Heng Huat, Sg Nibong. Well, this is not the one in Lorong Selamat with the famous Char Koay Teow though.

What they have to offer? Well, they have the basic char bee hoon, koay teow, noodles, cintan noodle and rice too.  One normal size pack cost you only MYR1.20 and big pack is at MYR1.40.  Fried rice is at additional MYR0.20 respectively. These all are vegetarian, no pork and lard.  They also have yam cake at MYR1.20 which sells out really fast, so if you want to have a taste of it, better go early :D  I overheard it’s home made by The lady’s mother in law, I assume is Teng’s mother la.. :D They also have sweet soup desserts like red bean soup, peanut soup and more..

Business is very good.. you have to queue up during peak times. I have a customer that happen to know the seller too…  they were school mates, he told me and have been purchasing from him for years and only got to know that he was his schoolmate not long ago. My customer said that his son loves the char bee hoon a lot too!

If I’m not mistaken, the one helping him to pack is his wife and sister in law, i think… haha… it’s called economy for a reason… haha… cheap and big… enough to fill a tummy with less than MYR1.50.

The all time favourite yummy fried bee hoon, with chilli mixture and pickled green chilli topped with deep fried sweet bean curd sheet chunks.. Many loves the char bee hoon especially. The texture is always just nice, springy but not hard. And it’s always either piping hot the moment you purchase it or at least warm.

The fried noodles, topped with the same ingredients…. it’s more oily compared to the bee hoon but still another yummy fare… same like all economy fried bee hoon stalls, you can mix 2 items together in a pack, so they give you half each and still selling at the same price.

Teng’s economy fried been hoon is available from 6:15pm onwards to around 11:00pm, and closed on Sundays.

Pork Bee Hoon (Rice Vermicelli) & Porridge, Ho Ping Coffee Shop

A friend introduced this place to me, I was darn sick and she thought that it would be best for me to have something clear and not the fried stuffy food. So, I accidentally came to know about this place. :D. It's a roadside stall selling pork bee hoon and porridge beside Ho Ping Coffee Shop located in Penang Road/ Kampung Malabar junction, a corner lot, opposite the old Kayu Nasi Kandar. Their business hour starts from late afternoon around 5:00pm onwards to late.

Your order will come with all the pig’s innards (spare parts) from brain, kidney, intestines, liver to mince meat as your ingredients, but as for myself, I will pass the brain, “hun cheong”(direct translation would be powder intestines) and the liver. Too bad they do not have my favourite pork stomach. My friend’s order usually comes with additional kidney, her favourite. You can tell them which ingredients you do not want and which ingredient you might want to add. It comes in clear broth that can be murky sometimes if all parts added in, but adding flavour to the soup of course.

There are choices of thick or the thin rice vermicelli (bee hoon), and also rice porridge. Also added in is the “tang chai” (preserved Tianjin vegetables) for the extra zest, topped with generous amount of chopped spring onions which my friend spends real hard time picking them out.

Inside the coffee shop also has a stall selling white plain porridge and rice with a selection of dishes to go with, something like economy rice. Also got to know that there is a famous lor bak stall but never manage to try as I usually go pretty late for the bee hoon. But if I’m not mistaken, my colleague once bought it to the office years back when I was in Dell.

It’s a corner lot small coffee shop and if you are not to order any drinks, be prepared to pay MYR0.40, reminders available on the walls.

Ho Ping Coffee Shop
Jalan Kampung Malabar / Penang Road

Hung Makanan Laut Siput Balitong, Esplanade, Penang

On cool windy nights, having drinks at the open air stalls, at the medan selera by the sea in Esplanade is one of the perfect choices for Penang hangouts. You get to enjoy the sea breeze, savour variety types of food offered by the stalls, like fried noodles, hor fun, bee hoon and stuffs,  pasembur, western food, “zhu char”, grilled fish and other seafood, and the the other stalls I regularly patronize is the Hung Makanan Laut Seafood Balitong, which only serves balitongs, fresh clams (kepah or known to hokkiens as kapah), thanh, and fried oyster omelette and the fruit stalls, serving fruits rojaks and also chilled freshly cut fruits of your choice. You name the fruit, they have it. and with that, you can opt to have fresh fruit drinks, coffee, tea and stuff or another best pair with seafood, beers!

Previously, this guy here can be seen singing around the food court, well earning that extra income… but the last 2 times I went, I did not see or hear him though…

Regular orders would be the yummy oyster omelette (orh chien) with huge juicy oyster, cooked to just perfection but, sometimes could be tad oily. My friend though adores the orh chien a lot and claims no other orh chien could beat this one.. haha…. it’s not too starchy, and it’s not all about presentations, there’s no spring onions sprinkled to add colour and add flavour. Perhaps that’s why my friend loves it so much, causes she hates spring onions…

Secondly is the stir fry fresh big juicy clams with spicy sweet thick sauce.. with very strong flavour and the sweetness of the clams combined, this is just simply one of the best I’ve tasted so far. Not sure if MSG is added though, cause sometimes I do feel thirsty after the meal :D But it’s still taste good anyhow…

The thanh.. I never manage to find out what is it called in english.. it’s something like razor clams… longer slimmer clams with thinner shell, also very fresh and juicy stir fried in another type of spicy yet flavourful and palatable sauce…and yes, all this can be really oily sometimes.. so need to remind the uncle to cut down the oil :P… each cost around MYR 8 to MYR12, depending on the size ordered.

Sometimes, orders can be a lot, you would have to wait and queue, sometimes or even coming to an hour before they serve your your food, they’ll inform you though to expect delays. That indicates good business i guess.. haha… but sometimes, they will come and ask tables to tables if you would like to place orders…

The fruit rojak, with variety of cut fruits and even cuttlefish, mixed in rojak sauce, topped with aromatic crushed peanuts.

My friend ordered and asked of extra cuttlefish, well, we actually meant to have the fresh cuttlefish added, but it cam with.. jeng jeng jeng.. special one… dried cuttlefish…

Fresh fruits platter… of any fruits of your choice.. you make your order form the stalls, naming the fruits you want, and they’ll have them cut and topped with ice to keep the fruits chilled. It can be pretty expensive though compare to if you go buy the fruits yourself and cut at home… but sometimes, just too lazy, so wouldn’t mind spending once in a while for someone to cut and serve you these yummy chilled fresh fruits…

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Just when I was planning with May and studying fares from MH, CX, China Airlines and Jetstar. Now I've got another option to shop from.

From MYR101/one way (significant with the tallest building in the world) but…. I tried to search for the dates I planned to go perhaps this year end… not available… so fast sold out d meh??? or am i just too early? kiasu la tu :P