Penang Food Trail 1

Dear readers, sorry about the long absence from 'flogging'. I was off to Penang and indulged so badly that I literally screamed when I stepped on the scales on my return. But that's another story that would never see the light of day forever.


Penang and food were synonymous. I was about to find out how much in this series of me on the Penang Food trail.

We landed on the island on the first day and was immediately whisked off to a place my friend assures me has the best chee cheong fun.

It was a modest coffee shop in Island Glades that was our first landing point. I used to live there but things has changed so much over the twenty years (ahem, yes I just showed my age) that I hardly recognised the place anymore.

We sat two shops away from Genting because my friend told me the Tau Foo Far is a must try. She was right. Smooth and silky and slides down the throat.

I tried the Soya Bean drink instead. It was good but in terms of thickness, I loved the one from the shop at Hutong Lot 10.

It's been an age since I had Asam Laksa Penang from Air Itam. It's oh-my-God good. It's completely different from the KL variety where the gravy is sour. Penangites like it with a slight tinge of sweetness but it works very well with the Hae Ko (prawn paste). The noodle was also soft and breaks when you pick it up with your chopsticks.

Deep fried popiah that came with the Asam Laksa. The sengkuang inside was juicy and the chilli has enough kick for a spicy maniac like me.

Curry Mee. While it looks really colourless, wait till you mix the sambal in. it turns a rich red colour. The taste is different from those we have in KL. The KL type is more like a curry chicken version but the Penang version is more focused on the spices. No complaints.

Hae Ko Chee Cheong Fun. This is fabulous. It's a good mixture of sweet sauce and hae ko that is sticky and sweet at the same time. I can't even find the words to describe the perfection that attacked me unknowing taste buds. A definite must-try.

This is definitely not the Muar Chee that you get in KL. The texture is so soft that it breaks up while mixing it in the peanuts. And the glutinous pieces were still warm. I wished now I had ordered more because I couldn't find Muar Chee of similar standard elsewhere.

That's part one. Stay tune for EBM on the Penang Food Trail.