Save the airfare to Penang and come here instead!

Sounds luxurious? The reality: Buffet was hawker fare, and the shopping was just wistful browsing. “Ooh, look! So gorgeous! Wah, so ex!”

We are, after all, merely HDB tai-tais. Still, it was fun!

Back to the food, which is the main reason for the outing. Ever since my Penang trip, I’d been unable to forget the delicious street food. Besides, I’d been wanting to try York Hotel’s legendary Penang hawkers’ buffet. Ongoing since 1986, the hotel flies in hawkers from Penang 3 times a year (in March, September, and December) for this theme buffet.

Compared to usual hotel buffets, this one has considerably less variety. The focus is on hawker food. Each dish is prepared a la minute at live stations. The whole set-up is like a food court!

Lor bak (fried meat roll)

Let’s start with my favorite item of the spread. Lor bak = Singapore’s ngoh hiang. Served with other deep-fried items like prawn fritters, beancurd, battered taro and sweet potato.

The batter was very light and crispy, and nearly grease-free. Even the prawn shell was crispy enough to be devoured. This was really addictive!

Hokkien mee (prawn noodles)

Penang Hokkien mee = Singapore prawn mee. The prawn and pork broth was flavorful and tasty, and the pork ribs were fall-off-the-bone tender. But why did they use such small prawns? Crunchy they were, but not particularly sweet.

Koay teow thng (fish ball noodle soup)

Not a terribly exciting dish, but this was well-executed. The soup was very clear, and tasty but light at the same time. The dry-tossed version is also available.

Assam laksa

I actually enjoyed this version more than the one I had in Penang, probably because the broth here is less fishy and sour. I liked the balance of sweet, tangy, and spicy flavors. Very appetizing!

From left: Ban chang kueh (peanut pancake) & apom balik

Another “hot” stall was the pancake station. The apom balik is a new addition. There’s a small piece of banana hidden in the fold of the soft pancake. We were pleasantly surprised by coconut shreds in the batter, which gave the pancake a wonderful fragrance and texture. The apom balik was so popular that there was no more when we went back for seconds!

The peanut pancake was just as more-ish! Filled with crushed peanut and sugar, the wafer-thin pancake was very light and crispy. There’s a slight drizzle of melted Planta margarine inside, which gave a subtle kick!

Penang fried koay teow

Without doubt Penang’s most famous dish, the fried koay teow station had the longest queue! According to Camemberu who did the queueing, there were two chefs, each frying a wok of koay teow. One is the master and the other is the disciple. She got a plate from each of them.

The difference in taste was heaven and earth! The disciple’s version tasted flat, and the noodles were broken and looked unappetizing. But the master’s fried koay teow was full of wok breath, and the flavors were robust and complex. So now you know whose koay teow you should queue for!

Fried oyster

Penang fried oyster egg is more “wet” in style. I’m not crazy about oysters, so this was just ok for me. The eggs were very tasty.

Penang rojak

Penang rojak is fruit-based. The thick hae ko (shrimp paste) was delicious, but I’d have preferred it to be more piquant.

Ju her eng chye 鱿鱼蕹菜 (cuttlefish & water spinach)

Ok, I’m not a fan of ju her eng chye, so no comments.

Cendol & ice kachang (background)

The cendol was sorely disappointing! I was so looking forward to it, but it isn’t authentic. The green bean jelly isn’t the soft, pale green type, and there’s no distinctive gula Melaka taste. Even the ice kachang was lacklustre. I really miss the awesome cendol we had in Penang.

So, did this satisfy the Penang food craving? Well, I was very happy up to the point of the cendol, which shaved many points off the overall grade! I was also hoping to see more items, like satay, curry mee, or even curry chee cheong fun, but no such luck. Some might say 30 bucks is too much to pay for hawker fare, but hey, it’s still cheaper than the price of a plane ticket to Penang!

The buffet also includes free-flow bandung (rose syrup and milk drink).

Penang Hawkers’ Fare (4 to 20 September 2009)
White Rose Cafe, York Hotel Singapore
21 Mount Elizabeth
Singapore 228516
Tel: (65) 6737 0511

Lunch: 12 noon – 2:30pm
Dinner: 6:30pm – 10pm
Price: S$25.80++ (adult), S$18.80++ (child below 12 years)
No table reservations.

The famous Penang char koay teow stall in Lorong Selamat.

It’s already Day 3, but I’d yet to try the most acclaimed Penang dishes like assam laksa and char koay teow! Well, this was going to be THE day! Our friendly taxi driver “uncle” took us to Lorong Selamat for the famous char koay teow in front of Cafe Heng Huat. Apparently, Lorong Selamat is one of the popular food streets in Penang. There are several roadside stalls and coffee shops that operate there in the day.

The larger-than-life char koay teow lady in her signature red beret and goggles.

One look, and I knew this is a master at work. Look closely! Deep in concentration, the char koay teow lady silently channels all her energy. Beneath the heavy cast-iron wok are roaring flames fueled by burning charcoal. With her spatula as a natural extension of her arm, she sears and swishes the rice noodles with a mastery that leaves you in awe!

Because there are also many other orders, and only small batches are cooked each time to ensure quality, we were told that it was at least a 20-minute wait. So we ordered food from other stalls outside. Yes, you’re allowed to order from the roadside stalls and bring the food into Cafe Heng Huat.

Laksa stall

Our taxi uncle told us this assam laksa is also very good.

Penang assam laksa, RM4.00 ≈ S$1.65

Doesn’t look very attractive, right?

Mix it all up!

But looks are deceiving! Penang assam laksa is totally different from Singapore laksa. There’s no coconut milk involved.

First, the broth is made by simmering mackerel for an hour until it disintegrates and creates a rich stock. Then, tamarind is added for that tangy taste. The end result is a sweet, tangy, and spicy broth!

This was my first authentic Penang laksa, so I’ve no benchmark to compare. But I found the broth sufficiently rich and thick with fish, and the overall flavours very pleasing! Hae ko 虾膏 (prawn paste), fresh pineapple, cucumber, and mint leaves make it even more appetizing. The thick rice noodles are cooked till soft and swollen, which kinda reminds me of udon.

Lorbak stall

We also ordered lor bak. Penang lor bak = Singapore ngoh hiang. Usually, lor bak is sold alongside fried spring rolls and prawn fritters.

Mixed platter, RM7.00 ≈ S$2.90

Penang lor bak is slightly different from our ngoh hiang. It’s braised pork which is chopped then rolled in beancurd skin and deep-fried. Sliced lor bak is served with braising sauce and chilli dip. I actually prefer lor bak cos there’s no 5-spice powder, unlike in ngoh hiang. Texturally, it’s also more meaty.

For this stall, I thought the items we tried were so-so only. Besides lor bak, there’s also fish (the yellow strips), prawn fritter (behind the fish), beancurd, and braised egg.

Char koay teow, RM8.50 ≈ S$3.50

Finally, after an agonizing 30-minute wait, this was our reward. We ordered the most expensive version, which comes with 5 unimaginably sweet, crunchy and juicy prawns! The prawns are seared till just cooked. Absolutely perfect timing! The cockles are just as fresh and succulent.

As for the koay teow, man, it had me weeping tears of joy. Fiery and smoking hot, it’s as if the noodles had come alive! Each chopstickful of koay teow was breathing with smouldering steam. And the charred noodles were slick but not oily. I’ve never eaten char koay teow with so much character!

The char koay teow is pricey by local standards, but I think it’s absolutely worth it!

Also read:
Penang Day 1
Penang Day 2: Hotel breakfast, Toh Soon Cafe, and tang yuen for supper
Penang Day 3: Char koay kak

The VIPs putting on their rubbers. Gloves, that is. What were you thinking?

The guest-of-honor was Minister of State for Trade and Industry, Mr Lee Yi Shyan (second from left in above photo). He tried his hand at making one of Singapore’s iconic hawker dishes, char kway teow. The other VIP made rojak.

The pro showing the con artist minister how to fry it right.

Guiding him every step of the way was Mr Saw Cheng Poh. Wonder whether the minister’s char kway teow passed the taste test?

Drummers giving their all.

After that, the Singapore Food Festival was declared officially open, with the drummers giving a rousing performance.

The sample platter for invited guests.

This was the platter that was served to invited guests. It was a sampler of popular hawker dishes like char kway teow, roti prata with curry, chicken rice, laksa, and satay.

This was more for photography rather than consumption, cos all the dishes were already cold (read: not nice to eat).

Cuppa cappucino

One of the perks of wearing the “media” pass was being plied with samples, like free java. The cappucino was actually pretty good.

Our local brand liquid gold.

Free booze! Alas, I don’t drink beer. Now, if only they gave out champagne…

That’s Nic of Black Tie, White Lie angling for a good shot in the background! I also met up with Keropokman and Momo of Singapura Daily Makan.

Char kway teow.

We were each given a stored-value card by the organizers to purchase food from the vendors at Lau Pa Sat. The char kway teow at Stall 77 Lakeview Char Kway Teow was great, as evidenced by the long queue.

Chai tow kway (fried radish cake with black sauce)

The chai tow kway, from the same stall, was also not bad.

Bak kut teh.

From Stall 14, this is a S$6.00 portion of bak kut teh. This is the Teochew version, pork ribs stewed with white pepper seeds and garlic in a clear broth. I liked the light, sweet broth that wasn’t too peppery, but the ribs weren’t tender enough.

Braised duck set.

Also from Stall 14, there was very little duck given. Taste was so-so.

Rojak.

Someone from our table got this. Not bad, but I don’t know which stall it came from.

To reflect the retro theme of this year’s festival, old black-and-white movies will be screened at Lau Pa Sat in the evenings. There are many other food-related activities and events throughout the month of July. For details, go to the official website: www.singaporefoodfestival.com

Chwee kueh (4 for S$1.00).

Jian Bo Shui Kueh is a Singapore household name synonymous with great chwee kueh (steamed rice flour cakes topped with chopped salted radish). Having been ages since the last time I had their chwee kueh, we popped by Tiong Bahru market last weekend for an afternoon snack.

Their chwee kuehs are still as good as ever. A perfect equilibrium of softness and firmness, the texture of the plain rice cakes was oh-so-smooth. The sweet-salty chai poh (salted radish) had been fried till fragrant without being overly oily. Who would have thought a marriage of humble rice cakes and salted radish would taste so heavenly?

Char kway teow (small, S$2.00).

Still feeling peckish, we ordered a small char kway teow to share from Tiong Bahru Fried Kway Teow, the stall opposite Jian Bo. Surprisingly, it was pretty good. R and I thought this version was almost as good as the one at Zion Riverside, whose standards seemed to have slipped a bit lately.

Jian Bo Shui Kueh (01-06)
Tiong Bahru Fried Kway Teow (01-40)
Tiong Bahru (Temporary) Market & Food Centre
2A Kim Pong Road