Penang Trip: Hameed Pata, Fort Cornwallis @ Day 2

While Chinese food predominantly dominate the food scene in Penang, the island is no less famous for its Mamak style food.  One place in particular that hits the spot light among foodies is  Hameed Pata.  Located in a large canteen style shed, this little eatery serves up Mamak favourites such as Mee Sotong, and Mee Rebus which are best complimented by a freshly blended coconut shake from the stall next door called Jalil’s.  The address is located below:

Padang Kota Lama Food Court (next to Fort Cornwallis)

Jalan Padang Kota Lama 10200, Georgetown

Penang

Opens at 11.30am and closes on Sundays

Since we just had our breakfast at Toh Sun Cafe, we decided to take it slow and only ordered one of Hameed Pata’s specialty each.The Mee Sotong for RM4 is your typical fried noodles with a gravy that is rich and thick.  The flavours are great with the sauce being sweet, salty and spicy altogether.  Add that squeeze of lime and its a home run for most.  For me though, I liked the sauces but despite it having great flavour, I did not feel the motivation to finish up or order another.  This is like an Asian Carbonara that tastes good but gets stodgy after awhile.  It becomes uninteresting.  But really, it got off in great style and flavour but never really ended its race.  The squid on the other hand had a sauce which packed greater sweetness and a decent chilli kick but this type of chewy squid is never quite my kind of thing.

 

Mee Jawa @ RM6 was my dad’s pick.Dad who is a big fan of Mee Jawa found his noodles lacking anything kind uniqueness that sets this place apart from others. Its sauce felt like a thinner version of the one used for the mee goreng.  For me, I wanted more of the crispy prawn bits that add texture to this noodles.  To put it together this was simply OK.   Travelling many hours from KL where I live, I expected more.

But when all else seems impossible, it was the drink made me happy.  The coconut shake as recommended by many others was lovely.  Never thought that ice cream and coconut juice along with soda when all mixed together could taste so awesome!

 

And some photos to end this post.  Taken from the surrounding of Fort Cornwallis :)! Shelter for the soldiers.

 

Some random cannon structure pointing towards another ally structure.  Seems legitimate to build another building there.  Imagine if the cannon was operable. Just add some Malaysian mischief for a different picture.

 Old school ammunition store.  Look as if it was meant to contain explosions!

While I would love to recommend visitors to visit the Fort which is an important landmark, its deplorable condition makes it a hard to recommend!

 

WenY

Penang Trip: Toh Soon Cafe @ Day 2

While most cafes have at least a decent establishment from which food is served, Toh Soon Cafe does otherwise.   This old time charmer located along a back alley on Campbell street has been here for ages from the looks of it.  But while many might associate old to rusty, Toh Soon Cafe still attracts a large crowd daily showing that the folks still have what it takes to remain competitive.  Its customers range from Penang-nites and their families looking to start their day to teenagers as well as inquisitive foodies like myself.

No. 148, Lebuh Campbell, George Town

Pulau Pinang 10200, Malaysia

Closed on Sundays it seems

This placed is famed for the usual suspects such as the butter and kaya toast as well as hard boiled eggs.  Other Malaysian delights served here includes packed Nasi Lemak as well as curry puffs.  While the large crowd clearly shows that this place is popular, is the food really as good as it seems?  Well, to find out I ordered my staples.

The first thing we had was the pre-packed Nasi Lemak which should not have been more than RM1.20 each :)!I am not sure whether the Nasi Lemak here were packed by the Toh Soon Cafe itself or brought for sale by another vendor.  But really, I could not be bothered about such details after my first spoonful  The coconut rice is cooked perfectly grain by grain with its fragrant just right.  It is simple but you would be surprise how many people still make blunders cooking rice.  What made me even more chuffed was the anchovies used here.  Coming in at 10am, I expected the typical sad anchovies that have turned soft because it was pre-packed but I was wrong. It was still crispy and went well with the mildly sweet sambal! Totally yums!  Both my mom and dad were pretty impressed.

 

The next one was a simple kaya butter toast While I have again mentioned “simple” kaya, I have not had any good ones back home in Perth as most of the ones sold are either too sweet or have no fragrant =/.  The toast that day was presented like little planks and had a decent spread of butter and kaya between them.  Prepared the old way, this was toasted in a charcoal oven which gives it that good old charcoal flavour albeit very minimal.  For me, this tasted good although I was expecting more kaya as the toast was rather thick.  But would I make my way to Toh Soon Cafe just for the toast?  Probably not.  Yet, there is something terrible nostalgic about having toast prepared in such a manner.   Not like I was born while my mom used a charcoal oven.  No, I had electric and gas but still, there is just something about such places that keeps me keen.

 

Last but not the least is the obligatory soft-boiled eggs.  A significant or at least common breakfast food across the globe.A dash of soy and pepper followed by a quick stir creates a magical flavour which I have always loved.   I really enjoyed this.  However, it would be an overstatement to say that the eggs at Toh Soon cafe were the best as I found the egg yolks not runny but was rather solid.  But to highlight it as a major problem would be rather petty.  It was just good old eggs in the end.

 

Once we were done, we walked away without paying more than RM20.  The included drinks, toast, and nasi lemak for three people along with eggs for me! I was like WoW! Cheap cheap!!  Even by KL standards, it was really cheap!!

The fiesty lady in green was the lady running the show for her bosses where money and orders were concerned ;)!  Quick and efficient she was.

 

By the end of the meal, I was not so convinced that this little eatery was worth the hype when judged solely based on the food that we had that day.  Yes, the Nasi Lemak was great but that was about it.  Even then, the Nasi Lemak might have came from elsewhere. The toast was noteworthy and the eggs were passable.  Our drinks came fine though dad lamented the quality of his coffee.  He said that it was nowhere near the standards of a typical kopitiam.  However, add in all the memorable things which humans often overlook such as the history of this place, its setting, simplicity and suddenly, it becomes an emotional eat.  Its charisma is overflowing with dedication no longer seen.  Yes, they have foreign workers serving the goodies, but ultimately it was the old timers that were preparing the food.  Furthermore, coming out of bed to such convenience is always nice.  At the end, I was sold.  Definitely worth a revisit.  So there you go, my little review on this charming little place called Toh Soon Cafe in Penang.  Definitely a noteworthy eat along with the Hawker fare on Kimberley Road.

 

WenY

Penang Trip: Kimberley Road @ Day 1

Ask most foodies which state in Malaysia has the best food, and most will mention Penang.  This Northerly State is a mix of old and new with English settler influences clearly noticeable as heritage roads named after famous figures who landed on the island.  In fact, my dad told me that the older generation Lee’s came from Bishop Street.  Food is gorgeous here, with my trip of 4 days to Penang mainly revolving about overindulging in what the internet claims to be the best of the best of Penang eating.  So how do these “highly recommended”  places that got the internet buzzing, fare?  Reaching late in the evening, I headed out to Kimberley Street located in the earlier parts of Penang to find that while most places were relatively quiet on the street, a small section was full of activity.  The place is the area surrounding Sin Guat Keong Coffee Shop on Kimberley Street.

Sin Guat Keong Coffee Shop

86 Lebuh Kimberley, Georgetown,

10100 Georgetown, Penang, Malaysia

Open from : Morning but the stalls reviewed below only opens in the night

 

While the place is filled with hawkers, one hawker that was noticeably more busy than the rest was the man cooking up Fried Kuey Teow.  With his stall  emanating a fragrant which is from the by-product of oil used to fry mantis prawns, my stomach was growling!

 

No quick shutter speed will catch this man in calm moments.  His orders are never ending!  We had two orders of Penang Fried Kuey Teow that night, a simple one without mantis prawns (RM3.60) and another one with the lot (RM6.60). Hype or not?  I reckon not.  This old school fry up has got to be the finest of my trip.  Its “wok-hei” or stir-fry flavour was plenty.  This is something I definitely miss eating when I am in Australia as the fried noodles often come out oily but in terms of fragrance, nowhere near the final product achieved in Malaysia.  At this stall, the chef puts in a small slice of squid which gives the noodle an extra layer of flavour which was pleasant though the squid itself was not nice @@!  What I did not find impressive though, was the additional mantis prawn which close to double the price of the noodles.  The mantis prawns were good flavoursome protein, but for a simple dish of noodles, I preferred it to be less complicated.  The normal prawns were definitely fresh and good enough.

 

Another popular eat in the area was the braised chicken feet and innards in a rich soy with a bowl of noodles.  This was just a few stalls away from the Char Kuey Teow hawker. I am not sure what this translates to but taken from Vkeong’s Food blog it is called Sky Emperor Chicken Feet Kuey Teow Soup.

 

While innards and chicken feet is strange in Australia, it is a delicacy back home.  With the feet cooked till super soft and tender, I can understand why locals come in droves.Chicken feet combination with soy eggs and innards (RM10).  While I am no big fan of innards, mom and dad reckon that the ones here did not stink which is definitely a positive feedback.  The chicken feet for me were deliciously soft and the sauce was rich though it lacked a stickiness that I am more familiar with.  Eggs were braised in soy but I could not find the saltiness it needed.  Dad reckons this is a typical Penang style of preparing chicken feet where it had a subtle sweetness than a salty sauce.  But fret not, it came with a small saucer of cut chilli and soy.  It went nicely together!  For those who dislike both innards and chicken feet, there is also an option for soy chicken wings and thigh which looked absolutely delicious too!

 

The Kuey Teow soup that came with it was nice and dad preferred this over the chicken feet.  Crispy garlic oil with finely diced scallions gave this soup a delightful fragrant.  But I understand the pairing of braised chicken feet and the Kuey Teow soup.  They were meant to compliment each other though the chicken feet did not taste all that great.

 

As we were about to go back to the hotel, a motorcycle pulled up with the sign “famous” Yong Tau Fu.  Feeling overly enthusiastic and confident about my stomach space, I decided to order a plate to share. While I did not find it special, the Yong Tau Fu were of decent quality and his garnish of fried garlic was generous.  I guess back in KL we have high quality Yong Tau Fu in Ampang! 

 

We had our dinner rather early and finished while the sun was still up.  Kimberley Street was still well lit and it was a good thing.  The old charm of this bountiful street was still clear as ever. 

Keep a look out for Part 2 of my Penang trip! ;)

 

WenY