The Letter P: Penang, Prawn Paste and Peanut

In a nutshell

Fudz: Penang Hawkers' Fare at York Hotel

Cuisine: Malaysian

Code: Dress touristy, but really, nobody cares.

Location: 21 Mount Elizabeth, Singapore 228516

Dial: +65 6737 0511

Interweb: http://www.yorkhotel.com.sg/dining.php

Email: enquiry@yorkhotel.com.sg

Damage: $34

Taste: Almost as good as being in Penang itself. Almost.

Ambience: Screaming, heavy-footed kids running around while you carry two bowls of something. Two bowls because it's two servings limited to each diner per queue.

Service: Moderate. They could have cleared the empty plates more promptly but no fuss.

The story

To be honest, I've never heard of York Hotel prior to this visit. It's tucked behind a few buildings along Orchard Road (http://www.yorkhotel.com.sg/location.php). Same like how I wouldn't have found Nassim Hill Bakery if I wasn't in a cab. I'll save Nassim Hill for another post. I don't think you want to see another Eggs Ben picture for the next ten years.

Penang Hawkers' Fare come to York Hotel three times a year. If you miss this one, you won't miss it for too long. Not to worry if this post comes a little too late for your action. Let me entice you with the food pictures and you can wait for another four months to try them yourself. 
(Note: Every March, September and December)

Xaviere had kindly invited me to join her friends and herself for this Penang foodventure. Uncontrollably, I started snapping photos of my food. One of her gamer friends, this really outspoken but humorous person called Jimmy, asked with straightforward curiosity, "Do you always take photos of your food? Do you have a food blog or something?"

I know snapping food photos can be an annoying trait of a Singaporean. The biggest gripe is to wait for someone to take a 'perfect' shot of EVERYTHING EDIBLE on the table. Sometimes, you are really too hungry to be patient. Not patient enough to wait for someone to find ten angles of a strawberry shortcake.

"Yes. In fact, I do," I answered proudly, like a mother who was acknowledging a menace for a son. 

Jimmy raised his perfectly-shaped eyebrows with an 'Oh'. Thereafter, Xaviere's friends were very helpful in helping me find the perfect angle of each dish for a shot. I would like to dedicate this post to them. 

I would also like to confess that I seldom update my 'menace for a son'. I have more than 15 folders of food photos that are supposed to be reviewed but I did not. I had conveniently left out this important detail. Nobody needs to know what a bad mother I am.

To get on with the story, I enjoyed most of the Penang delights in this hawkers' fare. I started with the Penang Laksa. It brought me good memories when Fanny's mom made this for us many moons ago.

Penang Laksa

People seldom register how spicy Penang Laksa is because it is not just spicy. It is sour (asam and tamarind), minty, spicy, refreshing (cucumber), sweet (pineapple) and salty (prawn paste). Have I covered all types of taste yet? 

Laksa is my favourite food. Next to many other favourite foods. Thus, I have high standards for laksas. This isn't the best I've eaten. I wish the noodles were more Q. The assam laksas I had in Malacca were probably the best ones I had so far. Making comparisons is always a bad idea, especially when you do it to children. Comparisons are seldom fair. I'll just say that it could have been better with a steamier broth.

Prawn mee

One of Xaviere's friends had more than two servings of prawn mee. I didn't think I could eat another bowl of noodles so I skipped this. It could be one of the best things on the food list.

Orh Jian (Oyster Omelette)

Very oily. Very good. The queue was perpetually long. Everyone likes to chew on fried flour with oysters. It has been written into our genetics for years. We didn't know it until someone invented orh jian. We can thank the hawker who invented it. Also, you cannot eat orh jian without the sour chilli sauce. Please don't commit a food crime. Like eating chicken rice without chilli sauce. Same offence.

Kang Kong & Cuttlefish

This unique mishmash of prawn paste, chilli paste, peanut bits and a dash of sesame oil creates a sublime dish that contains 'tasteless' foods like cuttlefish and kang kong.

Lor Bak
(Note: We call it 'Ngoh Hiang' or 五香 in Singapore.)

It's like tempura in Taiwan. Fry everything and create a sweet, tangy dip. Voila! Lor Bak for a snack. This is akin to Indian rojak. There are too many food relations out there.

Penang Chao Kway Teow

Before the buffet officially began at 6.30pm, people already started queueing for this plate of fried noodles. It's good but it's nothing we haven't eaten before. I went to Genting for Penang CKT. I didn't have to queue and it tasted way more awesome than this one. Then again, we weren't in Genting. York Hotel is in Singapore. Back to reality please, Shups.

Ban Chang Kueh was the next popular dish in the buffet line. The queue snaked a few turns but it did not deter anyone of us who can wolfed down this crispy treat with a few bites. The pancake was wafer-thin and they were generous with their butter and sugared peanut bits. One of the must-haves.

Something so simple like a bowl of fishball noodles can be so tasty. I think the minced garlic helped. It's hearty to eat fishball noodles soup after so many plates of greasy foods. That's how we cleanse our palate. Hrm.

Ice Kacang

Speaking of cleansing palate, an ice kacang usually does the trick. This ruby red crushed ice is filled with red beans, corn bits and attap seeds. Adding a dash of evaporated milk, this is a very ice-cold bandung (rose-flavoured) drink with extra ingredients. I don't like bandung but this is so good. Full of syrupy goodness. You can skip your Gongcha fix for this any day.

Penang Rojak

Penang Rojak is a plate of cut fruits with prawn paste and peanuts bits. Like again? Penang food is all about good prawn paste and peanut bits.

Chendol

I like the chendol in Malacca more. No surprise because chendol is about gula melaka, and boy, only Malacca knows the gula melaka game. It's named after Malacca, duh. Stick to the ice kacang if you want something sweet.

***

We concluded the dinner feeling too full to move. We had so many bowls of noodles, we couldn't feel sorry for ourselves. We deserved it. 

Nonetheless, we walked to Centrepoint from York Hotel in hopes of feeling a bit better after some exercise. Unfortunately, I didn't feel better. I suffered a major food coma. I kept wanting to fall into the 1000-threadcount bedsheets in Robinsons'. Greed got me this time.

I hope you can still catch the Penang Hawkers' Fare this month. Aforementioned, the buffet starts at 6.30pm but queue early. Preferably by 6pm. They don't accept reservations and it's hugely popular.