Gastronomic tour of Penang: Where's the best Ais Kacang?

Ais Kacang at Kek Seng Coffeeshop along Penang Road

The weather in Singapore is just so unbearable these days. And it hadn't been fun the past weeks as Kai was down with a viral fever four days straight. Subsequently, I was down with a fever for four days.

Back to the business of food blogging... It is the weather that made me think about the Ais Kacang, we had in Penang recently. It comes with two scoops of homemade durian ice cream (slurp) and a jelly. I kick myself for losing the piece of paper where I scribbled the pricing, but I remembered it didn't cost much.

It had the right amount of milk to satisfy the sweet tooth and the durian ice cream was smooth, flavorful. We gulped down everything in seconds because it was melting so fast in the heat! (Penang laksa lovers note: Kek Seng is reported to have one of the best Penang laksas.)

Noteworthy: Really the best? Well, Kek Seng Coffeeshop is apparantly 40-50 years old, and I read it was THE place to eat in the past. Google Ais Kacang Penang and Kek Seng (and the durian ice cream) will come back as one of the best places to to enjoy the dessert.

We liked it. If not for the durian ice cream, but for the whole experience of sitting in that old world coffeeshop whose furnishings looked like it's never changed for decades.

The moon rises over City Hall, Penang

Lollipop, lollipop

Oh lolli lolli lolli...

Call my baby lollipop...

Tell you why

His kiss is sweeter than an apple pie

Sweeter than candy on a stick

Huckleberry, chimry or lime

If you had a choice

He'd be your pick

But lollipop is mine

(My very own Mother's Day gift!)

Gastronomic tour of Penang: Where's the best Penang Laksa?

Penang Laksa at Joo Hooi Cafe, Lebuh Keng Kwee

A Penang food blogger said he doesn't know why but women love Penang Laksa. I don't know about other women, but I love how the sour and spicy flavours come together and this was even before I was pregnant.

Some stalls would put slices of pineapple together with the cucumber and onion slices, and that really drives up the yum quotient for me.

Everybody talks about the Penang Laksa (RM3 or S$1.30) at the Joo Hooi Cafe^ at Lebuh Keng Kwee, and that was our first stop on our first day in Penang. It was good. Really good, and I wanted more, more, more.

Penang Laksa from the Pasar Air Itam (RM2.70 or S$1.10), which is reported to be the best in Penang and some say Malaysia

But one needs to optimize calorie intake, so Terence hunted down another Penang Laksa stall for me which is located near Penang Hill^. It took us RM50 (S$21) to get to from Rasa Sayang Resort & Spa which is in Batu Feringgi. Cost was one thing; it took us 1.5 hours to get there because it was a public holiday and the roads to Penang Hill were chock a block with cars.

The cook wears a floppy hat

It is located in the Pasar Air Itam (or Air Itam market)^, and the scene there was of an organised chaos. There were crowds and crowds of people squeezed in the narrow alley way eating, waiting, ordering, cooking, walking, taking photos... everyone knew just what to do.

After all the fuss, our Laksa was finally delivered to us. Verdict:
- Terence says it tasted like they threw five decomposing fish in the soup.
- A blogger wrote that they put tissue paper in the soup to thicken it.
- I say: What the heck. It was a good experience.
- And I add: Go on a weekday and take a bus. Our return trip costs only RM$1.50 (S$0.60) to Komtar in Georgetown (heart of Penang)

Penang street shots: As scene on our Char Koay Teow trail

Living in a flat; differentiated regularity

Living is eating; street style

Gastronomic tour of Penang: Where's the best Char Koay Teow?

Char Koay Teow at Joo Hooi Cafe, Lebuh Keng Kwee

For a trip that involves calories, I consulted a friend who grew up in Penang to point us to places that guarantee 'good calories' before we left (read 'VERY GOOD food'). The first item on her list is the Joo Hooi Cafe at Lebuh Keng Kwee, which is very well known for its Chendol stall outside the coffee shop. (Lebuh is "Street" in Malay.)

Serving up the "best [Chendol] in the world"

There are two stalls selling Chendol there, but the real McCoy^--or as my friend said "best in the world"--is the one that's right outside the coffee shop with the picture of Puah Chu Kang and Rosie on its signboard. (Yes, Singapore's very own Ah Beng contractor was there.)

But I digress. She recommended the Assam Laksa at Joo Hooi and "not bad Char Koay Teow". The Char Koay Teow (that's how it's spelt in Penang) there costs RM4 (S$1.70) and tasted ok, but Terence felt it lacked 'omph''. So he wanted to walk to Jalan Selamat to try a stall that is suppose to be the most famous in Penang.

Now, the portions served by hawkers in Penang are really quite small. So with our stomach half-full and armed with Google Maps on Terence's mobile phone, we made it to Kafe Heng Huat^.

IMHO, Penang's best Char Koay Teow is from Kafe Heng Huat, Jalan Selamat

POWER. The Char Koay Teow is spicy, smoky, flavorful, and there is real skilled involved as the lady cooked it over a charcoal stove. They, however, charge a 'premium' at RM6.50 per plate. This is considered expensive in Malaysia but it works out to about S$2.80, which is reasonable in Singapore's standards.

We were really lucky to have the opportunity to tuck in the famous noodles, as they started packing up after they served us. Terence read that usually the waiting time can take as long as one hour. We were the only customers when we went. :)

Note: The Penang food blogs that we visited generally don't tell readers the opening hours of the stalls. Joo Hooi was also closing for the day when we visited. So I guess both shops wrap up around 5pm.