Sunday November 1, 2009
Delectable hawker fare
Pictures by HELEN ONG
Check out these outlets ifyou are in the mood for some nice hawker specialities in Penang.
WALK along the busy Kelawei Road into town and you’ll come upon a simple semi-al fresco eatery with a zinc roof situated on the left with the enigmatic name Carey Bean Café. (Apparently, owner/proprietor Mohd Nasir Amanullah had originally intended to call his outlet “Caribbean” but someone else had already taken the name and he settled for Carey Bean instead.)
Nasir, 26, who earned his stripes at another food outlet where he worked as a waiter for nearly 10 years, started this cheerful, noisy place about a year ago. His chef specialises in Malay food with a dash of Indonesian thrown in, although by popular demand he has now added a few Western dishes – the menu also has steak, chicken or lamb chops, and fish and chips.
Mohd Nasir’s Ayam Kelasan Nusantara is crispy fried chicken served with soy sauce. Starters include soups and a variety of kerabu, and there are grilled fish and prawns, but chicken dishes make up a significant proportion of the menu. Among them are Ayam Kelasan Nusantara (crispy deep-fried chicken served with soy sauce); Ayam Nenas Bermadu (with honey and pineapple): Ayam Chili Bermangga (with mangoes and chilli); and Ayam Kari Kapitan.
Various sets, quite reasonably priced from RM8.90, are available and come with coffee or tea.
The outlet also serves some traditional pencuci mulut (dessert) including Ais Kacang, Cendol and Sago Mango, and, for the health-conscious, fruit.
In the evening, a “Wow” Burger stall stationed outside adds variety. The Carey Bean Café is open from 11am to midnight weekdays and up to 2am on weekends.
Over in Jalan Dato Keramat, 26-year-old Mohd Ubai Ghani and his brother Peer Mohd Ghani, 37, are the third generation in their family to run the famous Pasembur and Mee Goreng business started by their grandfather over 30 years ago.
From about 3pm (except every other Wednesday) at Stalls 28 and 34 of the Padang Brown Hawker Centre, these cheerful siblings can be seen hard at work laying out mounds of the different ingredients that go into making the fresh, crunchy local salad – julienned vegetables, taukua (firm bean curd) together with various fried batters and fritters – as well as preparing enormous vats of the various sauces and dressings required.
Family business: Mohd Ubai Ghani (right) selecting ingredients for Pasembur. “Our recipes have not changed since my grandfather’s time,” says Mohd Ubai. “We have many old clients who come back regularly because they like our food so much.”
The delicious Mee Rebus with lettuce leaves and a good squeeze of fresh lime definitely has that special je ne sais quoi which is reminiscent of the red spicy soup of long ago.
At his little stall (FC8) on the first floor food court of the Giant Hypermarket in Bayan Baru, Shafiee Din has been slowly gaining attention for his delicious Mee Melayu. He’s also been cooking and serving Mee Bandung, a dish that’s popular with all races, for the past four years. His version is based on a Johorean recipe and he uses sweet potatoes, nuts, and dried prawns. It comes with a whole poached egg on top.
His other signature dishes are Mee Kari in gravy – made by blending three types of curry powders, home-made chicken stock and a “secret ingredient” – and a light, Malay-style Assam Laksa.
Shafiee, 60, says that after 25 years in the culinary industry – he used to work in various hotels and restaurants here and in Kuala Lumpur – he can cook practically any popular dish, from local and Chinese to Western. The dishes on his small menu (there are about 10 or so items) include a fragrant Fried Glass Noodles, which he learnt to cook while working in a Chinese restaurant.
Shafiee, who does the bulk of the cooking and makes all the soups, has his wife Hatdija Noor, 58, at hand to help. To reduce his work load, he has taught Hatdija to cook and they take turns at cooking and manning their stall, which is open from 10.30am until 10pm.
Helen Ong loves Penang and food, not necessarily in that order. Check out her website at www.helenong.com.
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