And the name is Tiger Char Koay Teow! Roar! Not only the name is a tad different from others, they did add extra ingredients to their Koay Teow – Bamboo Clams.

Yea, bamboo clams. Really, people can be as creative as they can be, by simply adding new ingredients to the food they are selling to attract people to it. The days are gone that you can keep on selling the same old thing for years and years, no matter how delicious it is, you will need to change a bit or else your customer will get bored of it too. So hence the bamboo clams!

The special version with clams here cost RM6, price is consider cheap if compare to those premium ones. Taste wise? Quite near the top but certainly not the best I had taste. Although lard is used, and the “wok hei” is good, I still prefer Ah Leng and the now under-fired Lorong Selamat’s one.

One might ask, so how do the clams taste like? Personally I don’t really like it as I find that it doesn’t help much to enhance the taste of the koay teow. 7.7/10

We did tried the Lor Bak @ RM4 here which turns out to be really really average. 6.0/10

The Hokkien Mee here taste quite good though @ RM4.50. As you can see, the prawns given are quite big which is good.

Overall, Tiger Char Koay Teow is sorta special since I don’t know where else I can find fried koay teow with bamboo clams. However, it had since never came into my mind to revisit them again as since everytime I am in crave of Char Koay Teow, Ah Leng will be the place to go!

Total Damage: Char Koay Teow Extra ingredients – RM6

Lor Bak – RM4

Hokkien Mee – RM4.50

Operating Hours:8.00 AM to 2.30 PM

Location: Lebuh Carnavon, Penang

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And at this particular coffee shop – Kafe Hai Beng located just beside the famous temple, there is this famous Lor Mee which is really really good. The lor mee gravy is thick but not too starchy until uneatable.  Besides, if you are a fan of pork skin, you should opt extra for those as they are really good! 8.9/10

There are this 2 yellow and red bottle on almost every table in the coffee shop, which were used to store chili and garlic sauce. Don’t say I never warn you, the 2 bottle can make or break the Lor Mee! I had heard that many people, including my mum and PenangTuaPui almost miss it! Well, they can’t be blamed as usually the 2 bottles are used to store chili and tomato sauce in western cuisine, and there ain’t any Chinese Hawkers that used it besides here.

However, putting too much of them will make the Lor Mee become too sour and different from it’s original taste, so before you go crazy and add in as much as you can since it’s free, try it first.

The Loh Bak here is quite OK too, nothing too fancy and all you get is Loh Bak only, while something like fried beancurd and prawn fritters is not in the menu. 7.1/10

Otak-Otak (fish cake) is another side dish that you can order here. Otak-Otak at Penang is very different from the southern version as it is steamed, while the southern version one is wrapped up as a thin slice using banana or coconut leaf and grilled over a charcoal fire. The Otak-Otak here is consider so-so only as it’s not hot enough when served. I also prefer to have more fish meat in my steamed version of Otak-Otak. 6.0/10

Drools again, yummy yummy, especially the pork skin…..

Hai Beng Coffee Shop, just beside the temple, easily to be found.

Total Damage: RM11 (3 bowl of Lor Mee, 2 pieces of Loh Bak, 1 Otak-Otak)

Operating Hours: 7am to 12pm

Location: Jalan Masjid Kapitan Keling, Penang

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However, these days, even in Penang, it’s quite hard to find really good Loh Bak, and luckily Kheng Pin Cafe at Penang road still able to maintain it’s standards after years. The variety here is quite a lot compare to others, and each piece is very crispy. Besides, the flour here is not overwhelming until you can only taste flour but not the meat itself. 7.7/10

The old uncle is busying preparing to serve almost every table in the coffee shop.

The most important part of a plate of good Loh Bak is the chili sauce and the thick starchy loh sauce since you basically will dip almost everything in the plate to it.

The Wantan mee however is a failure to me, as I really hate this type of Wantan Mee. The Wantan itself taste good since it’s quite big and stuff with meat inside, but I just don’t like the way the noodle was cooked. My mum find that it’s good though. 5.0/10

Do visit Kheng Pin cafe if you wish to try some really good loh bak.

Operating Hours: 8am to 3pm

Location: Penang Road, Penang.

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So what makes this plate of “Ais Kacang” so famous? Well, 1 of the 2 scoop of the ice cream is their homemade durian ice cream. The ice cream taste great IF you are a durian lover. It’s nothing like those durian ice cream from nestle, its way smoother, and gives you way more durian flavor. You can tell them not to add in the durian ice cream if you hate the king of fruit.

Besides, the red beans and jagung (sweet corn) toppings is good, and makes the “Ais kacang” just great! However, I find that the jelly (also homemade) is just so so. This plate of “Ais kacang” is way more satisfying than the famous Penang road Teowchew Cendol, simply because the standard here is consistent, unlike the Cendol sometimes taste good, sometimes bad.

The “lor bak” (fried pork roll) however is a disappointing to me. The standard had dropped, the “lor bak” does not have so much pork taste in it as compare to the past. I feel like they are cutting cost in using lesser ingredients. Besides, the single most important thing of a good “lor bak” is the chili paste and “lor” paste in my opinion. But the one here, the chili is not nice, not spicy enough, and the “lor” paste, er….eating it is just like eating plain starch, no other taste. Really way below average for Penang standard.

The chicken rice here is good though. The meat is soft and tender. I especially like the roasted one as the fragrant smell of the roasted chicken is there. The steamed one however is just normal.

However, 1 shall notice the sign board inside the coffee shop, which says – Each table didn’t order drinks, will charge RM0.40. However, they cover up the “each” word, so I am unsure what it means now. Anyway, if you are here, you MUST try the “Ais Kacang“! So just forget the sign board and order it.

Besides chicken rice and “lor bak“, so of the other nice hawker food here is the laksa, char koay teow, koay teow soup and few more. Although there are not the best in Penang, but all of them is still above average. A Must Try! coffee shop in Penang, mainly due to it’s “Ais Kacang“!

Total Damage: Forget the price, but prepare to pay around RM3 for each things you order.

Location: 382 – 384 Penang Road (it’s directly opposite Komtar)

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