Noodles Worth the Abuse

If you've been to Penang you know this noodle.

And, chances are, you recognize this woman.

She has been called many things ('crusty' might be the most complimentary) by those who have supplicated at her stall and endured the wait for what is argued to be Penang's best char koay teow.

'We Penang-ites are arrogant,' a native of the island told me before our last trip up north. 'We know we make the best food in the country, and we know you know it. So we don't have to be nice.'

Uh-huh.

In truth we didn't find Soon Suan Choo, who's been working her well-seasoned wok on Lorong Selamat since the mid-1970s, to be quite as gnarly as all that. She might have even showed a bit of teeth. Smile or grimace?

Frankly we don't give a hoot, because she makes one incredible stir-fried rice noodle. Soon Chuan Choo's char koay teow are well seasoned (not gloppy with soy, just slightly heaty with chile paste), heavily imbued with wok hei, the 'breath of the wok' (see the smoke in the second photo? it's flavoring those rice noodles), and silky-smooth yet pleasantly chewy.

The piece de resistance is the generous number of big, incredibly fresh, and perfectly cooked prawns in each serving.

It's a true talent, the ability to take a prawn to just barely-cooked and ever-so-slightly crunchy but no further. It takes triple the skill to do it in a scorching wok over high, charcoal-fueled heat. The prawns in this woman's char koay teow are among the most sublime we've eaten anywhere.

For those shellfish alone, we'll happily suffer her indifference.

Char koay teow stall, Lorong Selamat, Penang. 11:30a till 6 or 6:30p. Closed Tuesday.

Comments

[Kevin]

Man, you're killing me. This makes me want to abandon what I know about western cooking and live off of noodles for a few years.

[LovelyMalaysiaFood]

I am very happy you also like eating the Lorong Selamat char koay teow. Actually I hear a story that one day she nasty to a gangster and the gangster came back and mess up her stall. So today she not so rude already in case her customer is another gangster. But I suppose you don't look like gangster but since you are tourist she will be not so rude to you.

[Franco]

Hi Robyn,

The photographs are as always amazing. Malaysia is definitely on the top of my list of vacation destinations. Thanks for the post.

[LY.Tai]

This may be the last Char Koay teow I will like to try in Penang, not because the Char Koay Teow is not good but I won't pay money to get scolded no matter how delicious the food is.....by the way, there are lot more Char Koay Teow that taste better than this one but will provide with decent service such as this Ah Leng Char Koay Teow that can be found in this coffee shop, Kafe Khoon Hiang, it is just a short distance from the Dato Keramat’s huge field.

[Nate]

Lorong Selamat CKT is one of the best in Penang, IMO. I appreciate that it is one of the few still cooked over charcoal rather than gas. To me, it really makes a difference. I also appreciate the bits of cracklins mixed in among the noodles.

[Jennifer Jeffrey]

Sometimes when I look at your site, I get SO HUNGRY! And a little bit jealous...

Today is one such day. That looks amazing.

[ELE]

Robyn and David, you are killing me. Char koay teow is my favorite hawker dish, and I can't find good char koay teow where I live. I could practically smell the fragrance from the wok, in a couple of these pictures. Dying, just dying here!

[Rasa Malaysia]

I can never figure out why the prawns in Penang CKT are so sweet, succulent, and crunchy. They soak it in ice cold sugar water? Don't know. Anyway, I am heading home again in end of Oct. Care to come up for round 2? I can take you to the hawker food stalls not covered by guide books. ;)

[Robyn]

Kevin - I am a noodle hound, could eat them everyday and never tire of them.

LMF - hmmm, interesting. Thanks for the 'inside story'!

Franco - Malaysia is tops for street food in the region, in our opinion.

LY - though she has a reputation for being crusty she didn't actually scold us, just a bit of a scowl. But thanks for the other suggestions, we'll check them out next trip.

Nate - agreed about the charcoal. It makes all the difference. Forgot the cracklings - thanks for reminding me.

Jennifer - this a pretty exemplary noodle. I don't usually go for the fried stuff but in this case the fat is totally worth it!

ELE - I think a good CKT is hard to find, they are few and far between. This one is a stunner.

Rasa - sugar water. Yes, that's what I've heard. I've also heard (not in reference to Penang) that a quick soak in ice cold salt water does well too. But knowing just how long to cook them, and doing it at just the right temp, must have something to do with it as well (as with cockles).
Our timing seems to be perpetually off ... I am planning to be back in the States end of Oct. We did manage to hit quite a few 'off the books' stalls thanks to our taxi driver.

[FatMan Seoul]

Tried this several times in the past but never got round to loving it.

My personal fav is still the one in Damansara Heights, behind the Hock Lee Mini-Market. Plus the bonus of having the rojak there, which is also tops in my books.

http://eatingasia.typepad.com/eatingasia/2005/10/chard_to_perfec.html

[Robyn]

FatMan - Haven't been back to the Dsara Hts place in many months, thanks for reminding me of it. The thing abt this Penang CKT is the prawns. They were incredible. I also liked its relative 'dry'-ness. But yeah, the guy behing Hock Lee does an awfully nice version, no doubt about it.

[Godoffoods]

They they got kung fu style. The prawns are fresh and big too...

[Jennifer]

Wanted to send my kudos to Dave for the picture with the "wok hei" in the wok. It looks like like "char"-ing in motion -- centrifugal force at play there? Just beautiful, beautiful, beautiful.

[Jennifer]

Alas... "Aunty Goggles" seems to have moved up the street to 108 Lorong Selamat (from #84)... and disappeared. We first had the CKT from the new vendors at No. 84 -- whose owner gave us a dismissive wave of the wrist when telling us that Aunty had moved. We're glad to report that the new vendors (two men in their '30s and '40s?) fry up a really, really good plate, not too wet, not too salty, crunchy prawns, yummy lap cheong, just the right amount of heat, lots of wok hei. (Lovely ice kacang with peanut ice cream too.) We walked past No. 108, saw the cart -- but it was a man (her son?) and a younger woman (his wife?) in a red baseball cap. No real queue either.

The next day we went to #108 -- Aunty wasn't there again. Again the man and the woman. And the char kuay teow was... OK. Not great. It was a little wetter, good wok hei, a little salty, good fresh prawns, a little stingy with the lap cheong... but I'm not sure why, something was missing. I actually much preferred the one from No. 84.

Hopefully Aunty has just taken a vacation and will be back to satisfy the cravings of Penangites (willing to pay $5.50 for a plate) and visitors alike.