Hidden goodies

Hidden goodies

To savour the best of Penang food in George Town, head for the stalls at the back lanes and alleys. The food there is appetising even if the surroundings are a bit derelict.

ONLY in Penang will you find good food in (literally) every nook and cranny. Here, even the backlane stalls are famed for their mouth-watering offerings.

Run by third-generation hawkers who use tried and tested secret family recipes and traditions, these stalls do not have signs screaming “Penang’s Best”, which are common at big hawker centres and tourists haunts.

Nevertheless, they are thriving, as can be seen in the backlane stalls dotting George Town’s narrow alleys and between drains, proving that location is not everything when it comes to food.
Backyard bounties: Despite the makeshift appearance, business at the backlane stalls in George Town is thriving.

The most well-known of these humble establishments is without doubt Toh Soon Cafe. A place where time seems to have stood still, its owner Y.S. Ooi still steams and toasts his bread over hot coals in a little “oven” that’s as old as some of the pre-war buildings around it.

Here, RM5 will get you a simple meal of coffee, toast and eggs – with change to spare.

Ooi, who has two young sons, says he’d like to see the third generation taking over. “I don’t want to impose this business on my children because it’s hard work but it would be nice if they could turn Toh Soon into a franchise,” he says.

Expanding the business in the immediate future is not on the cards, though. For one, space is limited at their current premises, Ooi says. “Besides, it’s very tiring. I am here six days a week because my regulars prefer I make their drink.”
Ahamad Ansari makes a mean cup of tea at his stall along Hutton Lane.

Toh Soon adopts an open kitchen concept and customers can see how their food is prepared. “They like to see us in action; it’s really the atmosphere that’s made this place so popular,” Ooi says.

Journalist Ang Tong Kai, who has been a regular for the last six years and sometimes comes two or three times a day “to have coffee while writing”, maintains that the kopi-o there is the best.

“It takes a lot of skill to make the perfect brew because the temperature of the water has to be just right,” he says.

He also recommends the toast and steamed bread, which he describes as special. “The kaya and peanut butter are homemade and the bread is from their own factory.”

Ang believes there aren’t many places left where people can find tasty toast made the traditional way, and points out that it’s common to spot cars bearing Singapore number plates blocking the alley.

Another regular patron, Lim Siang Siang, says the stall with its fresh green zinc facade has community leaders, Hong Kong celebrities, politicians, and prominent businessmen among its customers. Even celebrity shoe designer Datuk Jimmy Choo has visited the stall.

“The chairs and tables are beside a drain and there’s a huge rubbish bin nearby but nobody minds. If you come in the morning, you’ll see cars parked illegally along the road, and shouts warning of the police arriving are quite comical,” she says.

M.M. Abdul Jaafar, who has been operating a stall nearby since 1957, must be quite used to that commotion by now.

“This was my father’s business. We started selling roti Bengali bakar with half-boiled eggs one day before Merdeka,” says the 73-year-old. “Then we added apom manis, roti canai and nasi dalca to the menu.”

The apom manis was taken off the menu after his wife found the work of making them too much for her. His son now helps to run the family’s two stalls along Hutton Lane.
To sample Foo’s boh saik mee (above) and Aunty Ghen’s curry mee (below), go to the back lane along Magazine Road.

From 4.30am to 4pm daily, the sprightly white-bearded man with his friendly, toothless grin will be around serving customers.

Then there’s Gerai Kopi dan Makanan Abdul Hamid, a popular breakfast haunt that serves tasty nasi lemak and also charcoal-toasted Bengali bread.

Located on a back lane along Transfer Road and a mere 10 minutes’ walk away from Toh Soon Café, Abdul Hamid is always packed in the mornings.

And just across the street from Abdul Hamid’s is the famous and unassuming Ah Boy’s Koay Teow Thng.

Ah Boy, aka Lim Kah Beng, runs the business that was started by his grandfather.

“My grandfather’s stall was in Padang Brown. In 1977, my father moved the business here and now I am running it with my wife,” he says.

His mother, Lim Ah Moey, says their soup recipe has not changed at all. The family wakes up at about 4.30am every day to prepare the stock. “In the old days, a bowl was only 20 sen and his grandfather would make hundreds of ringgit in profit; it was that famous,” she recalls with pride.

Flanked on both sides by drains and with plastic canopies for shade, the stall looks quite makeshift but its rows of plastic tables are normally packed with hungry customers patiently waiting for a steaming bowl of Ah Boy’s Koay Teow Thng.

With a generous helping of ginger meatballs, fish balls, pork intestine and coagulated pork’s blood, the Koay Teow Thng there is among Penang’s finest.
Ah Boy’s Koay Teow Thng along Lebuh Clarke is a popular breakfast spot for workers in the area.

“The dry version of the dish is really good and I always ask for extra ingredients like the quail eggs,” says lawyer K.N.S. Lim who has been having breakfast at Ah Boy’s since she started working five years ago. “It’s near the court so my friends and I usually have our morning rendezvous here.”

Smartly dressed in their high heels and office wear, the ladies don’t seem to mind the humidity.

“And the coffee here is also really aromatic,” Lim adds.

If you fancy curry mee, the city’s tastiest is just a stone’s throw away from Ah Boy’s stall.

Tucked in an alley opposite the iconic Komtar tower (along Magazine Road), this curry mee stall is run by a lady who introduces herself as “Aunty Ghen”.

“This is my husband’s business but he is 80 now and can’t be here all day,” she says. “He started in the business, helping his mother, when he was 14.”

Aunty Ghen says the secret behind the rich, tasty soup is the santan. She says she herself prepares it every day, waking up very early to do so. “If you buy the coconut milk from the market it won’t be as fragrant because it’s diluted. That’s why I do it myself.”

If you chance to look across at the next stall, you will see Foo dishing out his boh saik mee (uncooked noodles), a traditional Hokkien dish, and Chinese desserts.

“I believe I’m the only one still selling boh saik mee in Penang. The youngsters have never tasted this dish so most of my customers are from the older generation,” says Foo, 46.

“Boh saik mee is very filling and used to be popular among the trishawmen because it was cheap and the portions were huge.

“During my mother’s time, it was five sen per bowl and was cheaper compared to Hokkien Mee, which was double the price. I charge RM1.50 now,” Foo says.

He says not many can stomach the strong smell of the tapioca flour that’s used in the dish. And he’s right: you either love it or hate it as the raw noodles are left to simmer with vegetables and lard until they become thick and starchy.

As backlane food enterprises go, there seems to be no end to the line of customers at Line Clear as well.

Known for its nasi kandar, Line Clear is just a stone’s throw away from Magazine Road and is bound to satisfy even the pickiest eaters.

So, for those with an insatiable appetite (and a willingness to explore), George Town’s meandering back lanes are worth checking out for some of Penang’s best lipsmacking food!

-Info courtesy of The Star-