Hooked on Penang food

What say you on the issue below?

Penang cuisine is alive and very popular in the Lion City.

OVER in one corner was the Assam Laksa stall, and next to it was the Hokkien Mee seller. A separate section housed the two Char Kuey Teow “friers”. Then there were the Kuey Teow T’ng, O Jian and Jiu Hoo Eng Chai stalls, and near the entrance, the Ban Chang Kueh and Ais Kacang vendors were poised, ready to serve their yummy desserts.

Many Singaporeans flocked to savour typical Penang hawker fare during the fest.

With all these famous Penang hawker delights in sight, you’d be forgiven for thinking that I was standing in Gurney Drive or any one of our ubiquitous food courts.

But you’d be wrong, because I was actually in the coffee house of the York Hotel in Singapore, where the popular tri-annual Penang Hawker Fest was being held.

For three whole weeks, a coterie of hawkers from Penang had been specially flown in to cook and serve their respective specialities.

Among them was coordinator Lee Eng Huat from New World Park, who was running the Ais Kacang and rojak stalls with his grandson and sister. “I’ve been coming here since 1991,” he said.

Despite the current heated debate about the origin of certain dishes, there appeared to be no doubt in the people’s minds that this was Penang food! It certainly gives a good idea on how popular Penang food is in Singapore – the massive place was packed with groups of friends and family all eagerly tucking into our famous lip-smacking hawker dishes.

Orderly lines formed at practically every stall as people waited patiently to be served. It will come as no surprise that the stall with the longest queues was our very own heritage item Penang Char Kuey Teow, partly because, for optimum taste, every dish had to be individually fried up.

Journalist and ex-Penangite Sylvia Toh was apparently instrumental in starting this Hawker Fest in the early 1980s at another hotel, and she continues to support it by eating there every time it takes place. “It’s a trip down memory lane for me,” she said.

In conjunction with the Food Fest, Penang Global Tourism held a two-and-a-half day Penang showcase at the hotel. A whole contingent, complete with cultural dance troupe, had been bussed to the City State, with representatives from several Penang organisations exhibiting their products and services on the second floor.

Perennial favourite: Penang State Exco for Tourism Development and Culture Danny Law (left) being served ais kacang by Lee Eng Huat.

Some were invited to give talks about their areas of specialty, and I was asked to go down and talk about … yes, Penang food.

The event, attended by Penang State Exco for Tourism Development and Culture Danny Law Heng Kiang and PGT General Manager Ong Thiam Hiong, was launched by Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng.

“Penang has so much to offer. We want to show Singaporeans that they can enjoy the same things as they have here – but at Penang prices!” he stressed.

However, there is another place where Singaporeans can indulge in our kind of food all year round: the daily Penang Buffet at the Princess Terrace, Copthorne King’s Hotel in Havelock Road.

Pioneered by canny Penangite Yeoh Cheng Kung, it started in the late 1970s and has proven so successful that over four decades later it is still running, regularly patronised by both Singaporeans and ex-Penangites.

It’s all there – Otak Otak, Nasi Ulam, Kuey Teow T’ng, Hokkien Mee, and much more. Everything is made in-house by chefs specially recruited from Penang: Chef Loh Hong Chye, from Air Itam, told me must-haves are the Char Kuey Teow and Too Tor T’ng (soup made from pork innards). He is supported by assistant chef Danny Ooi from Pulau Tikus who knocks up some authentic, beautifully-presented nyonya kueh: Kueh Bengkah Ubi, Kueh Ang Ku and Kueh Talam, to name but a few.

“I’ve been coming here for the past 20 to 30 years,” said Diana Tan, 82. “I love the Char Kuey Teow, popiah and satay here.”

If you want to try it, general manager Benedict Ng is happy to offer Malaysians a 15% discount.

It’s really great that these places are keeping Penang cuisine alive in the Lion City.

Having said that, with the low-cost air travel now available, it is no longer beyond most people’s means to fly up here so they can spend a few days not just enjoying our good food, but also enjoying everything else we have to offer, at, as the Chief Minister said, a good price.

So, rather like the famous ad which exhorted people to imbibe a certain drink, we look forward to seeing you in Penang, if you want “the real thing”!