Sunday June 17, 2007

Pearly gems in Lim’s oh chean

PENANG
By AH WAI KOR

sundaymetro@thestar.com.my

Simply to die for: Lim is generous with plump, juicy oysters in his oh chean.

THIS is one of my must-stops each time I return to Penang. This oh chean (oyster omelette) is certainly one of the best in the state, if not the country and has been regularly featured in many food guide books.

Lim Hang Liang has been operating his stall for years together with his wife. They also sell very delicious Penang-style Hokkien char and fish fillet bee hoon.

Lim comes from a famous lineage of oh chean sellers, with his brother operating from the Seng Thor coffee shop along Carnarvon Street.

That stall was founded by his father, who started the trade in the late 1950s.

Unlike oh chean in Klang Valley, whose texture is too heavily egg-flavoured, the oh chean dished up by Lim is generous with plump, juicy oysters, with just the right combination of watered-down starch and chopped spring onions.

In the past, lard was the preferred oil but he has switched to vegetable oil, which is much healthier and cheaper.

I have tried the oh chean at a coffee shop in Pulau Tikus but it failed to match the standard of these two brothers’ while the one at Lorong Selamat appeared to have lost its quality, although I grew up in Penang frequenting this stall.

Oh chean is a popular Hokkien dish which can be found in Klang, Johor, Malacca, Kuching, Penang and even in Bangkok and Taiwan with slightly different versions.

At the MBK shopping complex’s food court in Bangkok, you can order oh chean which comes with not just oysters but other mussels as well. In Petaling Jaya, there are some stalls selling oh chean but they are a disappointment.

Surprisingly, at the Penang Village restaurant at Putrajaya’s Alamanda shopping mall, I found the oh chean to be decently prepared.

For demanding Penangites, they should visit the restaurant to try out although the outlet has a reputation for serving the food slow.

But if want to let your Muslim friends try the oh chean, this is a good stop as the Penang Village in Putrajaya also serves good fish head curry.

Visitors to Penang must not miss the oh chean stall at Bee San Coffee Shop – you will never regret it.

BEE SAN COFFEE SHOP
584, Jalan Air Itam
(corner of Jalan Padang Tembak and Jalan Air Itam)
Open: 7pm-12.30am

SENG THOR COFFEE SHOP
160, Carnarvon Street
Open: 1pm-5.30pm

Ah Wai Kor is a Penangite. Only the best food matters to him. Since moving to the Klang Valley, he continues to be choosy.

News Poll

Latest Jobs from Star-Jobs

Latest from StarProperty