Air Itam - The Ultimate Street Food Haven !

I have not visited Air Itam for a long, long time and to my utter surprise this is the utmost gem of Penang for street food.
Made me wonder why I have neglected this precious part of Penang ...
Well, I am back.
First of all, Air Itam houses The Best Curry Mee !
Kindly take note that the stall is at the market and it only starts from 1pm till it finished at around 5pm.
So, please make sure you get the time right otherwise you will be utterly disappointed.

To prove a point, I am not a curry mee fan and I ended up having 2 bowls.
If there is going to be 1 phrase to describe this, it will be
Heaven On Earth :-)
Yup it is indeed that yummy !

2nd bowl - add peppermint leaves

Regular bowl RM3.50, Large RM 4.00
Service is super efficient
Very reasonably priced

So we come to the all famous Asam Laksa of Air Itam
What I would like to suggest to you is to try the 'Deaf and Dumb Laksa' stall opposite the all famous one.
In my opinion, this one is better than the all famous one.
However, if you are there late evening, only the all famous one is opened.

The old feel of Penang is still very strong here.
Especially in the morning you still see loads of uncles and aunties bargaining over their goodies.
The ambience is so 'Penang' and you have the beauty of Kek Lok Si as a background.
And there is still plenty of greens as backdrop.
Wonderful ... highly recommend to tourist far and near :-)

Durian season is here too ....

You may also try the pan mee which is rather yummy.
Also the Koay Teow Thing aunty team
Two friendly old ladies ...
Food at Air Itam is still pretty reasonably priced.

There are loads more of yummy street food here.
One visit to this ultimate venue is not enough even if you have 3 meals here a day.
If you have not been here for some time, I highly recommend you to.
I was pleasantly surprised and since the last visit, I have gone back 3 times already.

Tea Time @ Batu Lanchang Market

 This is one of my favourite markets for tea time.

Unfortunately I noticed that prices have gone up heaps and the portions are getting smaller and smaller.

If you are a tourist especially if you are non-Malaysian, this place will be something different.

Loads and loads of hawker food, spoilt for choice.

This is a venue that the locals visit, so you will never go wrong.

The reason why this place is always crowded is because there is a day market, so people will come here either before or after their shopping.

 May have trouble looking for a place to sit.

And the drinks stalls get territorial, so you better make sure you order a drink from them otherwise they will tell you off.

So, if you intend to have ice kacang and nothing else, please sit in front of the ice kacang stall.

 This gave me a little shock, ordered the one with egg, portion is small and hardly any egg.

The Tanjung Bungah one definitely tastes better.

All said, the stall was surrounded by customers :-)

 Pasembur by the Chinese stall is nice.

For RM5 there is jelly fish and the prawn crackers, very fresh.

A little on the sweet side.

Overall it was a good outing.

Lots to choose from, great variety.

I noticed that the prices have gone up by quite a bit, with the portions shrinking.

Maybe this is global inflation.

Good mix but nothing really stands out.

Good place to bring tourists friends who wants to have a go at everything ...

Best Pai Kut Bee Hoon / Ark Thui Mee Suah

 Breakfast only

Kopi O Rating       :       2/5

Pai Kut Bee Hoon :       5/5

Are you a Penangite ?

Do you send your car for service ?

Then you will know this place :-)

Best Vermicelli Herbal Duck Drum Soup in Penang.

http://www.justaround.my/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&catid=3:restaurants&id=536:ark-thooi-mee-suah-at-sungai-pinang-hawker-junction36&Itemid=36

Located at Jalan Sungai Pinang right in front of the Honda showroom.

This stall has been around for ages now and the quality of the food is super good.

 I find the duck drum stick soup too oily.

However, you Must Try the pork ribs bee hoon soup, which is the BEST in Penang !

http://reginatravel-foodparadise.blogspot.com/2009/08/road-side-hakwer-stall-in-front-of.html

 Besides this stall, there are many other stalls you can try ... curry mee, wan ton mee, nasi lemak is not too bad, loh bak etc ...

Just an additional tip ... place is not very clean and not well maintained by the coffee stall, don't sit near the large drain, you will puke before ya food comes, coffee lady is not friendly ...

A typical Penangite act ... I always order one Kopi O peng No sugar then I get a white coffee from the vending machine at the service centre and mix the two ...

really makes a difference to the coffee :-)

Whatever said ... if you have not tried this place, next time you send your car for service ... do check out the Pai Kut Bee Hoon, it is indeed heavenly ... best part is it is piping hot !

Breakfast at Fettes Park Market ?

Ever tried breakfast at Fettes Park Market ?
One of the more popular stalls there is the Economy Fried Bee Hoon (picture above) 

A large variety of choices available from cakes and biscuits .
The Chinese New Year cookies are out if you go at this time. 

This is the popular stall with a continuous flow of customers all morning. You can choose to add the little anchovies or the beancurd sticks.
The green chili and chili sauce also should not be missed.

So many options, you may get confused.

                                 

Foodie's Choice
Mix Char Bee Hoon and Noodles add Little Anchovies
RM1.50

I found a Mee Jawa stall only opens on Friday, Saturdays and Sunday. RM2.50 only

Foodie's personal opinion.  It is super crowded here and the ambience is like fighting for food.  If you are in for a good crowd this is the place to go.
However, if you want a quiet breakfast morning, you may be disappointed.
Looking for a carpark could be a major hassle, the tip is to park at the back road opposite the block of apartment.

If you are into variety, this is not too bad a place.
Food here is still reasonably cheap :-) 

Eat here if you wanna be a Sucker

Another post to fill up the NO GO ! list ...

During this festive season, you must NOT go to places that treat customers like suckers.

This is one of them.

The hawker place by the roadside between Jalan Mount Erskine and Lengkok Halia.

This is a brunch cum lunch venue.

This place used to be good, unfortunately due to the swarms of KL TAR college students this place has become popular.

Some tips on how you could be 'conned' here ...

1. The Drinks Stall - tells you there is no lime juice - offers to serve you lemon juice, and conveniently adds a sour plum in it then charges you RM2.50!  Ice kacang here if you don't mention anything - comes with the ice cream, again charge charge charge ...
2. Old ladies selling Laksa - 1st impression poor old ladies, so old still selling laksa, order 2 small bowl, comes 2 large bowls, sorry already prepared err... did you say you wanted small, yes auntie I mentioned 3 times, already made, expensive, so-so taste ... no please don't make the same mistake as me, pitiful old ladies, maybe not :-) Big bowl - eat it at 1pm, by 3.30 I am hungry ...
3. Economy Rice - not so economical, don't believe, try it ... one of the most expensive ones I have ever eaten
4. Sweet tooth - go for the desserts there, careful this lady is not so friendly
5. Look into the drain nearby - totally lose your appetite

Lots of variety here, used to frequent this place regularly, sorry changed my mind.

Absolutely over priced with rude people, feels like a war zone eating here...

Some good write ups of this place if you want to visit ...

Po Pia and Pasembur here quite nice

Only thing good about this place is the Fresh Fruit Stall - reasonable

http://kyspeaks.com/2012/04/25/ky-eats-laksa-and-curry-mee-at-mount-erskine-hawker-center-penang/

http://penangstreetfood.com/2010/05/mt-erskine-hawker-center/

By the way, if you are a person who loves sarcastic remarks and criticism, this is a blog you could visit, I bumped into it and thought this person is rather interesting ...

http://borhochiak.blogspot.com/

Happy Reading :-)

don't be a hawker sucker !

Best Koay Teow Thing in Penang

Food Rating        :      5 stars
Value for money :      4.5 stars
Kopi O rating      :      5 stars
Ambience           :      Very Busy Coffee Shop

This is a must try especially for locals.
The best 'old chicken' (lou kai) in Penang, you don't know what you are missing if you have not been here.  The chicken above is RM17 comes with 2 bowls of noodles.
This breakfast will last you till tea time.  Don't be too late though, nothing left for you after 11 am.

Home made fish balls.

1 piece of chicken with red chilli and koay teow mix noodles, super yummy. 

The boss in action, nice and friendly guy.

You have the option of duck meat as well, also very delicious. 

Foodie's Choice - Bee Hoon soup with chicken as a side , never forgetting a cup of Kopi O 

Kopi O also very good - 5 star rating !

Ice cold version also just as good :-)

Finding a place to sit is a challenge, sometimes need to fight with people who refuse to share the table with you.

Chee Cheong Fun here also very, very good.

Remember the face of this Indonesian maid, she speaks perfect Cantonese. 

When you are done, take a stroll at the market, plenty to see ... 

Kedai Kopi Soon Yuen is also known for the Wan Ton Mee and the Curry Mee.

I have tried the Wan Ton Mee and honestly, it is no where near yummy and the man selling it is rather sweaty and sloppy.  If you ask me, I suggest you can pass this one.

Curry Mee is ok but finishes rather early.

Let's just stick to the chicken and Koay Teow Thing, they have been around for many years now and it is super super yummy.

Better try it before this couple retires :-)