STEEM Food Tours #23: Wahong Cafe's Char Koay Teow (華豐餐室 炒粿條) - Bayan Lepas, Penang, Malaysia

As what a Penangites would say, “You have never been to Penang unless you have tried the Penang Char Koay Teow (CKT)”. In case you have never heard of it, it is a stir fried flat rice noodles with eggs, bean sprouts, chives, cockles, Chinese sausages and shrimps. You might find its ingredients slightly different from one hawker stall to another but the taste usually are quite similar. Ya, I know the Siam road Char Koay Teow, which was ranked 14th in the top 50 list of the World Street Food Congress 2017, it does taste good I must say, but I do not intend to wait for a 2 hours queue, not under this scorching sun.
Anyway, I found this hidden gem a few years ago. Unlike some foods which lose its authentic flavor over times, its flavor is very similar to what I had tasted 20 years ago, and it has been my number one CKT ever since.

“來檳城沒吃炒粿條，等於沒來過檳城” 這經典的金句顯示了我們檳城人對炒粿條有多麼的驕傲和多麼的喜愛。然而，隨著逝去的光陰，很多美食已經失去了它們以前傳統的味道，除了可惜，還是可惜。就連以前大名鼎鼎安全巷的小紅X炒粿條，雖然深受遊客喜愛，但自從退下把棒子交給其它人掌廚後，味道就不是那麼一回事了。那傳統的古早味炒粿條，我目前知道的，就只有暹路（要在太陽底下排隊等兩小時 = =），大路後巴殺（巴殺 = 菜市場的馬來語），還有我接下來要介紹的這間。這檔炒粿條，地點位於Kampung Jawa 大眾銀行的隔壁華豐餐室裡面。基本上，從早上到中午賣完之前，餐室內都是高朋滿座，而且每次點餐都要等個半小時。這時候，可以跟餐室的老闆點一杯咖啡、一份烤土司、和兩粒半生熟蛋；這樣吃一吃，喝一喝，滑一下手機看一下新聞，很快的，你那盤炒粿條就出現你面前了。

I have ordered a bigger portion of CKT with more shrimps, and it costs me RM13. Ya, I know its presentation is not appealing, but believe me, it definitely tastes a lot better than it looks. Just take a bite of it and you would know what I mean. Honestly, the charcoal flavor of the chewy flat rice noodles, coated with their secret mixed soy sauce and chilies sauce; the crunchy bean sprouts; the freshness and sweetness of shrimps with tender texture and salty briny smell. All of those ingredients have to be cooked on a super-heated wok in less than two minutes!!! I can’t imagine how long it is gonna take to harness such culinary skill.

我知道你在想什麼，這個賣相確實不怎麼吸引人，請先少安毋躁，千萬別讓這假象給誤導了，畢竟味道才是重點啊!!! 我點的這盤炒粿條是大份的，而且有額外多點了幾隻明蝦，所以總價RM13，折合人民幣22元。至於味道的部分，可以吃到很明顯的鍋氣，每一口粿條，都均勻的吸附了那特調的醬油和辣醬；而且每一隻明蝦，竟然是如此的鮮甜，要知道從蝦子一下鍋後，在極度高溫大火下與粿條一起被翻炒，到起鍋只有一到兩分鐘，要做到全熟，口感咬起來不會像塑膠，然後又如此鮮甜，還能吃到那鹹海水味，說真的就只有在這裡吃過。話說，我好像把蝦子變成主角了，但事實上粿條和蝦子的味道是相輔相成的，而且最重要還是得靠老闆那操控火的超高廚藝，才能炒出如此美味的炒粿條。看到這裡，你還在等什麼，趕快過來試一試吧!!!

Holy mother of god, look how big those shrimps are!!!
這蝦子一咬下去能不滿足嗎?

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Restaurant Name	Wahong Cafe (華豐餐室)
Address	Lorong Kampung Jawa, Taman Perindustrian Bayan Lepas Fasa 3 (Ftz), 11900 Bayan Lepas, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia
Location	5.3901568, 100.3091811
Type of Food	Local
Occasion	Breakfast
Time of Day	Morning
Price Range	Medium
Rating	5

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