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Been sometime since the blog was really updated. Well, we were busy due to work commitment. Anyway, I’ll introduce a new dish this time. It’s locally known as Yong Tau Fu.

The name of the dish is mainly referring to the tofu which is usually served together with vermicelli, rice or other main dish. But as time passed, more and more varieties of side dishes are introduced. Most of the side dishes will usually have fish cakes as the main ingredient.

Customers can choose from the varieties of side dishes and the seller will then cook those together in a clear chicken soup. Then the dish is usually served with rice, vermicelli, noodles and etc.

Penang, Yong Tau Fu, Tofu, Fish Cakes

I came across this dessert at the Penang TESCO food court which I found to be pretty nice. I think this will be a typical kids’ best friend. Kids just love sweet and cold desserts. It’s mainly consist of shaved ice and some sweet syrup. There’s some nata de coco at the bottom of the ice. The dessert is covered with peach halves. I think this is something nice to have as a replacement of your typical drink after your lunch/dinner.

So, you guys can give this a try the next time you go shopping at Penang TESCO

Locally known as ‘Pan Mee’ or ‘Thit Pan Mee’. The dish is wide available in most of the food courts or hawker centers around Penang. This is one of the very few dishes of local food in Penang that you can find served on a hot plate.

The noodles used here is ‘Yee Mee’. I recalled once when I took a Japanese friend around and introduced this dish to her, she told me that the ‘Yee Mee’ is known as ‘Eh Hu Mien’ in Japanese which is very similar to ‘Yee Fu Min’ in Cantonese.

Well, anyway, the Yee Mee is usually deep fried to crisp prior to cooking. The noodles will then be cooked together with a special sauce on a hot plate. After a while, additional sauce and also some chiken, mushrooms and crab sticks will be added to the hot plate. When the hot plate gets really hot, you can see that the sauce looks like hot volcano lava with bursting bubbles all over the hot plate :p

You have the option of adding an egg into the dish if you like to. Once ready, the dish will be garnished with some fresh vegetables and served. A point to note is that the dish is a little spicy due to the dried chillies used in the sauce.

Penang, Penang Food, Hot Plate Noodles, Spicy Food, Pan Mee, Sizzling

If you are in Penang for holidays, Bukit Tambun is one of the place that you should not miss especially when you are a fan of delicious seafood.

Located over on the mainland Butterworth along the North-South Highway, Bukit Tambun is a very popular place in Penang which is famous for its seafood. “Cheap And Fresh Seafood”, those are the words that got into my mind when it comes to Bukit Tambun.

One can choose from a varieties of shells and clamps, prawns, fishes, crabs, lobsters and the list goes on. And the restaurants here offers a varities of tastes and serving methods like deep fry, stir fry, steam and so on. One only needs to ask the recommendations from restaurant owners and they will be happy to recommend to you what is nice. After that, all you need to do it to wait for the dishes to be served and enjoy.

So, if you are into seafood, do put Bukit Tambun in your place-to-go list to try on the fresh seafood they have available in Bukit Tambun, Penang.

Penang, Penang Food, Holiday in Penang, Penang Seafood, Bukit Tambun, Cheap And Fresh, North South Highway

Well, don’t ask me why this is called Singapore Beehoon … I’m still trying to find out myself. My guess is that this is probably originated from Singapore a loooooooooooong time ago or probably it’s fried based on Singaporean style. Whatever it is, it’s the taste and feels that matter. Hahahahaha !!!

For a typical dish of Fried Singapore Beehoon, it consist of mainly bee hoon or vermicelli. The beehoon will be stir fried with black sauce and some soya sauce which give the bee hoon its taste and also colour. The beehoon is usually fried together with some beans sprout.

The dish will normally garnished with char siew (barbecued pork), prawns and also come cabbage. Singapore Beehoon is not so commonly available everywhere in Penang. Anyway, you should be in luck to encounter at least a stall that sell this dish with the many hawker centers / food courts around Penang. Happy hunting !!!

Penang, Penang Food, Holiday in Penang, Singapore Beehoon, Vermicelli, Singapore

Lor Bak or literally translated as Meat with Gravy is another favourite dish among local Penangites. Available at most of the hawker centers / food courts around Penang, Lor Bak is usually taken as a snack along with other dishes. It’s also loved by kids as it’s not spicy and it’s served with a Lor or gravy which is sweet and easily likeable by them.

The content of Lor Bak is usually not fixed. Each stall that sells Lor Bak will have their own varieties and choices. The usual choice that will be available at most stalls will be things like lor bak which is seasoned pork wrapped in a soft piece of soya wrap, prawn crackers or better known as haer piah and fried tofu. For the rest of the selections available, it depends on what the stall operator offers.

When one were to order Lor Bak, you can choose from the varieties available at the stall. It’s not necessary to choose everything but you can also do so if you want to try everything. Customers are usually charged based on what they have chosen. Prior to serving, all the items selected will be deep fried by the stall operator. The selected items are usually fried till they are crispy.

Once the dish is ready, it will be served together with a small bowl of lor or gravy and also a small bowl of chilli sauce. For those who do not like spicy food, then you can enjoy the dish having the meat dipped into the lor. For those who like spicy food, the chilli sauce is there fill up your crave

So, when you are having a holiday in Penang, remember to order this dish as a snack along with other dishes. This will add varieties to your dishes and also keep the kids occupied if you have them along.

Penang, Holiday in Penang, Penang Food, Penang Lor Bak, Snack

The all time authentic local Penang dish is definitely Laksa. Penang Laksa is a sour, fish-based soup dish. It’s made up of specially prepared white Laksa noodles, shredded mackerel, finely sliced vegetables like cucumber, chillies, onions, pineapple, lettuce, mint leaves and ginger buds.

The most important ingredient of Penang Laksa is the soup. The soup is prepared using finely shredded mackerel and asam (tamarind). The shredded mackerel will give the Laksa it’s sweet taste and the assam will do it’s part in the Laksa’s sourness. Together, they give the dish a sweet & sourish taste which is simply unique and out of this world.

Laksa is usually served with the ingredients stated above together with a sweet prawn paste known as ‘hae ko’. Personally, I like Laksa with extra pineapple and prawn paste.

There is another variety of Laksa called Lemak Laksa which the soup is prepared with rich coconut milk. It’s also known as nyonya laksa. The dish is heavily influenced by Thai laksa till a point one can even claim that they are both the same thing.

Laksa can be found all over Penang in most hawker centers / food courts. Be sure to try out this classic Penang dish when you are in Penang. You’ll sure to love it.

Penang, Penang Food, Holiday in Penang, Penang Laksa

Previously, Phua Chu Kang was mentioned in the blog. Well, now let’s talk about PCK’s favourite dessert which is Tau Huay

Tau hua or soya bean curd is one of the favourite dessert available in Penang. It’s also known as Tau Fu Fa in the Cantonese dialect. It’s one of the all time favourite desserts among local Penangites.

Tau hua is widely available around Penang mostly in the evening. There are also some shops which sell soya bean desserts that have it available during the day as well.

Usually, tauhua is served with white sugar as well as brown sugar. There are certain shops that also have solid brown sugar to accompany the dessert. My recommendation is to mix the white & brown sugar together. The reason is that the white sugar will sweeten the tau hua and the brown sugar will enhance the fragrance. For varieties, tauhua is also served with longans, lychees and other fruits.

Give tau hua a try when you are in Penang and you’ll love it.

Penang, Penang Dessert, Holiday in Penang, Tau Hua, Phua Chu Kang, Soya Bean Curd

Fried Hor Fun is a popular Cantonese dish in Penang. It’s also popular among kids as it is not spicy and usually comes served with gravy. It is also known as Char Hor Fun or Sar Hor Fun.

The dish is made up of Hor Fun which is a type white and flat noodle which is similar to kuey teow. The hor fun is usually fried with soya sauce and black sauce prior to serving. You can also request the dish to be added with vermicelli as a variety.

For garnishing, most of the stalls will put in a couple of prawns, char siew (grilled sweet pork), fish ball slices, porks and vegetables. The dish will then be served with a soft and smooth gravy. Personally, I would recommend an egg to be added to the gravy. The egg will further smoothen the texture of the gravy and enhance the fragrance of the dish.

Penang, Holiday in Penang, Penang Food, Asia Food

Barbecued Fish or more popularly known to the locals as ikan panggang is another favourite dish available in Penang. The dish can be served together with rice or just eat it on its own.

Usually, a varieties of fishes or squids are used for the barbecued dish. Among all, the most popular fish would be stingray. Somehow, the taste of stingray goes perfectly with this dish. Barbecued stingray is very popular among the locals as well as tourists.

Usually, the fish will be wrapped in a piece of banana leaf. The fish will then be barbecued together with the banana leaf on charcoal fire. The banana leaf wrap will enhance the fragrance of the dish. Once done, the barbecued dish will then be served with a specially prepared chilli sauce.

So, if you are a fan of spicy food, you definitely have to give the Barbecued Fish a try.

Penang, Holiday in Penang, Penang Food, Asia Food, Spicy