Restoran Nasi Dalcha Kassim Mustafa @ Lebuh Chulia

Drowning in Mee Goreng

  Whenever a Malaysian or Singaporean go overseas, the first thing we crave for is mamak. No bar, no cafes and no restaurant can be the same as the Mamak. The food you have won't have the skills that the Abang and macha provide. The service they provide won't be like how the Macha attends to your needs. Every hand you put up, the macha comes running to you like a fireman to a fire. No menu can be as versatile as the mamak's one, they are the creators and you provide them the stepping stone, the idea for their creation. 

  Enough talk about our fellow boss, abang and macha. Less talk more food. It was a dark and chilly night where our hotel was. I took it upon myself to explore what lies in the mamak of the streets of Penang, something to suffice my palates. As I walk through the valleys of darkness with only a few streetlights to guide my path and the bright neon green light at the end of the tunnels which wrote Restoran Nasi Dalcha Kassim Mustafa.

  I chose my seat and right away the abang asks "minum ?".

  "Teh O ice"

  "makan ?"

  "Mee Goreng"

  Off he went to tell his boss of my order. I waited in silence but deep down I was hoping not to be disappointed. Afterall, no one wants to leave a mamak with a let down stomach. Plates of the mee goreng was passing me one by one but they weren't mine, I took a sip from my sweet cold Teh O ice and suddenly he passes me a plate. Thank you Macha, finally.

"Finally lah Macha"

  At the top of the mee goreng was some fried onions used as garnish, giving it a crunchy texture to the soft noodles. Fresh cabbages were added to provide some colour to the dish and texture. With each bite I took I had a spectacle of texture and taste. Spiciness from the green chillies, crunchy cabbage and fried onions and the soft noodles to provide the stage for this performance. One thing which took me by surprise is the cabbage because it acts as the enforcer stopping the spiciness from covering the potential of other ingredients. The chef knew his dish had to be balanced, he knew the chilies could overpower the taste buds and he brought the cabbages in the same like how some places give you slices of cucumber for your mee goreng. This mee goreng embodies all ingredients like an act, no ingredients gets to be THE single star but the dish as a whole becomes a star. The mamak is Broadway and the mee goreng is its performers.

Makan Meter:8/10

Restoran Nasi Dalcha Kassim Mustafa

Lebuh Chulia, 

10200 George Town,

Pulau Pinang, Malaysia

Penang Road Famous Teochew Chendul @ Lebuh Keng Kwee

The Overshadowed Ais Kacang

  Now remember the cendol on the second makan-ing and how we ordered the ais kacang too but didn't feature it ? Well this is for the Ais Kacang. As we were sitting on our bikes devouring the marvelous blue small bowl of sweet cold cendol, the second art piece for out Galleries/stomach was the Ais Kacang. Given unto us was a bowl filled with fairy tales and dreams. It was bowl with the colours you'd get in that expensive colour pencil set you really wanted as a child but was given instead the old unsharpened colour pencils of your siblings. Fairy tales could have been written from its looks and poems could have been written from it.

Red beans are red,
Agar jelly is green,
Will you be my bowl of sweetness ?

The Luigi of the shaven ice dessert.

  Let's put looks aside now and focus on the inside, the taste of it. The bowl of Ais Kacang was made with shaven ice topped with red beans, agar jelly, grass jelly, nata de coco and sweet corn. The finishing blow was coconut milk and red syrup was drizzled on it like honey on pancakes. The bowl as you can see is filled to the rim. The texture a mixture of softness from the condiments coupled together with the crunchy ice forming a unity of texture. It had a rather pleasant smell like flowers blooming in spring. What I had gotten was a sugary taste that melts in my mouth but at most it didn't excite me to want more. It was good the first few bites but it felt heavy with every bite. It was like a date with a girl/guy that was fairy tale almost at first but failed to deliver in the end.

  Ais Kacang and cendol are brothers to each other but like all families siblings can overshadow each other out of competitiveness. This Ais Kacang happens to be the one being overshadowed. It is the Luigi of the Mario bros. Its taste cannot outshine its brother and it cannot leave a strong mark on its victim. Its presentation however still remain unchallenged by the cendol. There were some positives in it, its presentation and its sweetness if you have a sweet tooth and its portion for it only cost an extra 50 sens more than the cendol.

Makan meter: 5

Penang Road Famous Teochew Chendul

4, Lebuh Keng Kwee

George Town

10100 George Town

Pulau Pinang, Malaysia

Opens from 11am - 6pm

Penang Road Famous Teochew Chendul @ Lebuh Keng Kwee

The Unexpected Cendol

  On our second Makan-ing, we were cycling through the alleys and streets of penang in search of the holy grail of Char Kuay Teow. Instead, we were lost again in the jungle which is Georgetown and under the blazing sun our crusades for the holy grail of Char Kuay Teow had to wait. After all, how can one deny an icy treat after being slowly roasted on our bikes by the red ball in the sky we call the sun. We got down out bikes and parked it beside the stall which was surrounded by people, all of a sudden we were given a dilemma that got us discussing which cendol to try.

  In the end, we went with the more popular one. A young Chinese man was holding the stall while his workers worked around him. He seem to be one in charge since he was taking people's orders and making his creation. We ordered a bowl of Ais Kacang or ABC and one bowl of Cendol. Sat on our bikes we were given the bowls just like how an artist presents his art to a king without the kneeling down of course.

The ever so beautiful Cendol

  Cendol is an ice dessert made from shaven ice drown with coconut milk and palm sugar then jelly noodles made from rice flour are added into it with some red beans. This bowl however wasn't that sweet like most stalls but it had a unique texture because of the creaminess. The red beans added some texture while the jelly noodles were give the cendol a bit of slurpiness. The shaven ice wasn't too thin that it didn't melt straight away once the coconut milk was added and wasn't too thick that it gave every spoon a bit of crunch. The result is a creamy sweet cooling desert that incorporates taste together with temperature and texture.

  The portion size was perfect for a person but if you're looking to share it like what we did then you might want to consider another bowl for yourself. For one bowl of cendol it cost RM2 which is cheap if you're looking for an escape from the heat. 

Makan Meter: 8/10

Penang Road Famous Teochew Chendul

4, Lebuh Keng Kwee

George Town

10100 George Town

Pulau Pinang, Malaysia

Opens from 11am - 6pm

Pasar Air Itam Laksa @ Ayer Itam

The first makan-ing at the Iconic Island of Penang

  Little did I know I'd find one of the best Hokkien Mee in Penang, not the one you'd have in dark soy sauce. This was of a different breed, the Har Mee style (Prawn Mee style). Lost and hungry we were after finding out the famous temple Kek Lok Si was close, we were then guided by a local who was the hero we needed during this hard makan times. Uncle Chua was his name and he told us to have dinner at a spot we least expected it to be. 

  During the day Pasar Air Itam is the stronghold for a certain Asam Laksa but when night strikes so does the food change. It was her we were looking for, it was her hokkien mee Uncle Chua was talking about. Located next to the main road this place is only open during the night with only the Hokkien Mee and Kuay Teow soup there to fill our empty stomachs. We sticked to Uncle Chua's directions and ordered 4 big bowls of Hokkien Mee.

The tale of the lost Hokkien Mee

  

  The noodles were a mixture of bihun(thin rice noodles) and thick bright yellow noodles.The noodles weren't bland in taste as each strand was coated with the broth. The most important thing of any Har Mee is its broth or gravy. The taste of the broth once mixed with the chili paste was a combination of spicy and creaminess that came from mixing the hard boiled eggs together. The noodles were topped with fried garlic that gave it a crunchy texture. The chili paste wasn't too spicy but just enough to give the bowl an extra kick and warmth for the tummy. Most Hokien Mee that I have come across in Penang have a greasy broth and this bowl isn't the usual grease pot. It was clearly made with love and precision. 

  The portion size however wasn't worthy enough to be called big. The price for a small bowl was RM4 and the big one was RM4.5. Expensive or not that is up to you to decide but to me it's quite cheap.

Makan Meter: 7/10 

Pasar Air Itam Laksa

1, Jalan Pasar,

 11500 Ayer Itam, 

Pulau Pinang, Malaysia

Opens from 7:30 pm - 10 pm