Nothing beats Penang when it comes to street fare. Not even my beloved hometown of Ipoh. Every corner, every junction, and almost on every single row of shoplots on the island, you’re bound to bump into a coffee shop, hawker centre, or at the very least, a make-shift hawker stall under some shady trees.

Thick, sticky prawn paste on smooth, steamed rice noodles (Chee Cheong Fun)

I do not know where or how to start off with, for the 2 days 1 night ‘Makan’ tour (read : gluttons at work) had us almost clutching our stomach and begging for some form of respite. Only to be duly served with more and more scrumptious food, completely devastating our plans for a much slimmer beginning to the new year.

I was back to Kapitan on Lebuh Chulia (Chulia Street) for I just can’t forget the taste of the aromatic, creamy and smooth Badam Milk (or Almond Milk), boiled and served at a stall parked at the side of this Indian-Muslim restaurant. Yeah, a glass full of nourishing and no doubt, fattening (who cares?!) warm fresh milk with mild almond flavour, before our meal. Top that!

Steamed rolled rice noodles, and Fried Rice noodles with prawns, eggs and bean sprouts

Kimberley Street in the heart of the city is lined with many hawker stalls, each promoting their brand of incomparable Penang Street Food. From the usual suspects of Char Koay Teow, and Chee Cheong Fun to the delightfully braised and brimming with flavours chicken thighs, wings, feet, egg and all, then capping the feast with a bowl of sweet soup dessert, Penang style.

The Chee Cheong Fun (steamed rolled rice noodles) in Penang is unlike what the southerners routinely have. Here, the Chee Cheong Fun is served with a side of, or sometimes drizzled/doused with thick, pungent and briny prawn paste (he ko), and a dollop of spicy sambal (a condiment with ground chillies, and sometimes with a squeeze of lime juice), then liberally sprinkled with toasted sesame seeds.

Back then, I was very, very accustomed to the Ipoh’s way of serving the noodles, which is either with a combination of chili sauce and a dark reddish sweet sauce, or with gravies such as curry (some even with pig’s skin or wild boar’s meat) or mushroom/minced pork combination. So imagine the look of horror on my face back then when I was presented with a plate of rolled up and cut into small bite-sized chunks of CCF (that’s Chee Cheong Fun), and a thick and black sauce at the side.

The lady’s frying some radish cakes with eggs and bean sprouts, and the delectable toast dipped into the half-boiled eggs

But things changed, my palate finally outgrew the initial rejection of having my smooth CCF with prawn paste. And after awhile, I started to accept the Penang style of CCF, and even developed a sense of fondness for them. And the ensuing cravings, every now and then. (Now tell me, where in Ipoh can I get my CCF served with He Ko?!)

The Char Koay Teow (Fried flat rice noodles with eggs, prawns and cockles) fared reasonably well, but not the best I have tasted on the island. I love the Pulau Tikus wet market’s version at night, and to some extent Ah Leng’s pricier offering as well. The Lorong Selamat and Macalister Road’s Sister’s versions were both out of my books, sadly.

And talking about Char Koay Teow, back then, I fell in love with the one in BB Coffee Shop next to Sunshine Square, the shop that also sells the Penang Road’s Assam Laksa. I was wondering, is the shop still there?

The Tong Sui, or sweet soup desserts were diluted, probably from the addition of too much ice cubes. But the sweetened ginkgo nuts (Peh Koh Thng) version was good, and not cloyingly sweet. The New Lane Hawker Centre next to Sunway Hotel in town still houses my favourite Tong Sui stall in Penang.

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