Closed 27/28 Dec / Re-Open 29 Dec 2010

Christmas 2010 is just around the corner. It is a time to share your blessings and joy with your family, friends and also the less fortunate.

133 Penang Authentic would like to wish all our patrons and friends a Merry Christmas. We are open for business on Christmas Day as usual.

We will be closed for business on the 27th and 28th December (Mon and Tue) for a pre-scheduled Bukit Timah Market Cleaning Days. Business will resume on 29th December (Wed).

Our Operation Hours Have Changed

With immediate effect, our operation hours are as follows:

Monday - Friday
Open from 7.00am to 3.00pm / 6.00pm to 9.30pm

Saturday, Sunday and Public Holiday
Open from 7.00am to 4.00pm / 6.00pm to 9.30pm
Except for Char Koay Teow, we do sell Penang Prawn Noodle from 4pm to 6pm on weekends.


(except quarterly spring cleaning week, all market and hawker stalls are closed on Mon and Tue)Closed Every Wednesday

Penang Prawn Noodle is Penang Hokkien Mee

In Singapore, it is commonly known as just Prawn Noodle. For this dish, you get prawns, slices of pork, fishcakes, beansprouts and noodles in soup version and doused in black soya sauce/ketchup/chilly in the dry version. In some, they may add some Pork Ribs, Intestines, Pig Tails or other parts of Pork.

In Penang, this is a popular hawker dish, commonly known as Hokkien Mee. Hokkien Mee in Penang comes in soup version. Nope, you can't get a dry version of Hokkien Mee, for all I know. But, I've also heard from elderly Penangites that there were rare instances in the olden days, a dry version was also available.

In Kuala Lumpur, it is also known as Har Meen or Mee Yoke.

In general, Hokkien Mee of course originates from Fujian province, in China (Fujian = Hokkien). Penang version is an enhanced and spicier version. If you were to tell the Singaporeans about Hokkien Mee, it is most often they will think about Fried Hokkien Mee. But if you tell them it is a soupy version, then a darker coloured broth conjours up in their mind.

Penang Hokkien Mee will NEVER BE COMPLETE without Sambal

On the other hand, Penang Hokkien Mee, has a lighter colour broth and the taste is somewhat more concentrated in prawn flavours, compared with Singaporean style - the broth has a stronger pork flavour. Penang Hokkien Mee - by default, comes in a Beehoon and Yellow Noodle mix version, with slices of fried shrimps, lean pork slices, beansprouts, kangkung (water spinach), wedges of hard boiled egg in Prawn broth and garnished with lots of Fried Shallots and Sambal. Without THE Sambal, there is no kick at all. Penang Hokkien Mee will NEVER BE COMPLETE without Sambal. Authentic Penang Hokkien Mee has sambal added into the soup. So do add Sambal into your soup for that extra oomph. Fishcakes are optional but in recent years more stalls use fishcakes as habits of consumers change. There are also versions that has Pork Ribs but due to expensive price of fresh pork, many stalls prefer not to carry this product.

At 133 Penang Authentic stall, Penang Prawn Noodle has been specially cooked with the chilly sambal separated so kids of any age can enjoy this dish.

Penang Char Kway Teow

There is nothing quite like THE Penang Char Kway Teow.

It is comfort food to many Penangites and if you were to utter 'Penang' under your breath, Char Kway Teow and Assam Laksa always comes to mind. However, Penang style CKT is not often found in the south of Malaysia and Singapore. 'Southern style' Char Kway Teows (Johor and Singapore) are usually fried, laden with sweet sauce and fried wet. If you had not seen the cook at work, you might even think it is a braised dish. Travel further up in the north further than Penang, reachingThailand, you will discover that the Thais have something similar to Penang style, Pad Thai, also flat rice noodles without sweet sauce, fried dry. The colour is also lighter, compared with Singapore CKT that has dark soya sauce. Hence, Singapore CKTs are also commonly known as 'Or Kway Teow' (Or = Black in local dialect).

Penang Char Kway Teow has always been popular among foodies. Among the ingredients are Prawns, Cockles, Chinese Sausages, Beansprouts and Koo Chye (Chinese Chives), fried in either vegetable oil or lard. These are must-haves. For some health conscious foodies, they would opt out Cockles and Pork Lard.

In the later years, slices of Fishcake become apparent since prices of Prawns and Chinese Sausages have soared. Not many CKT cooks uses Fishcake slices but I know of a lady who fried it in school canteen in early 80s uses it all the while. For a plate costing 50cents to school kids it was too costly to use prawns and chinese sausages, don't you think so.

In recent years, prices of CKTs have really soared, with that I heard that prices can be as expensive as RM$6 - RM$8 per plate? Is it true? Average price when I last went home (March 2000) for a visit was about RM$3.50 - RM$6.00. Only Penangites can confirm..



Getting Acquainted
If you are a Penangite living in Singapore, it takes a very very long time to get accustomed to the Singapore style CKT. I know of many who still can't. Singapore CKT is something, I would classify as 'cultivated taste'. It needs alot of time and patience because once one is so used to Penang CKT with all that 'wok-hei' flavour, a wet and sweet dish becomes a straight turn-off. I, for one took almost 15 years before I learnt to appreciate this dish, unbiased and without any negative influence.

It works the same for Singaporeans who think about Laksa and just cannot appreciate the sourish taste of Penang Assam Laksa. It will take them time and patience to understand that 'Laksa' by name does not have to be a 'curried and coconut gravied' noodle dish alone.

Eat with an open mind, without preconceived opinion, without prejudice. Discover the joy in each find.