Street food is a way of life for most Malaysians. When I travel to Malaysia, I love dining at pop-up street stalls! Penang is famous for its wealth of street food. It is an affordable way to sample authentic dishes and truly see the real culture of Penang. I have been wanting to go back Penang for a long time (read my previous blog post), but I have been too busy with work and wedding these few months. So when I heard that York Hotel Singapore’s Penang Hawkers’ Fare is back, I immediately agreed to go for dinner with all my foodie friends!

From 4 to 20 September 2015, indulge in Penang’s authentic street food include Cuttlefish with Kang Kong. Blanched cuttlefish are neatly paraded in front of the stall. Once the dual is cooked together, a gravy made of thick shrimp paste and sweet soy sauce is poured over. Roasted peanuts are then sprinkled over the gravy to give the dish a hint of crispiness and texture.

The lightly charred orh luak is crispy at the edges and starchy in the middle with the right amount of starch solution to hold the ingredients together. I just love its fluffy eggy omelette and oysters on top! We also had the penang rojak with shrimp paste and sprinkled with coarsely chopped peanuts.

From the pasar malam in Taman Kheng Tian, the Penang Prawn Mee has rich prawn broth which is comforting to the tummy. There is also assam laksa from Boon Wah Cafe in Komtar Complex. I find it a little watery that night.

The Lor Bak has perfect marinated meat, which makes it tender and delicately flavoured. The skin is also not as thick. When it is being fried, you can see the golden brown crispy exterior.

Char Kway Teow is sold in almost every part of Penang. There are so many good Char Kway Teow in Penang and it becomes a very hot debate on where to eat. Every seller has their own personal touch to the dish. York Hotel has brought in the char kway teow stall from Sin Lee Hin Café in Tanjong Bungah. Well you can’t really compare with the typical stall in Penang where most of them use charcoal to fry their noodles. Here, you get some wok hei from the noodles but the flavours are perfectly balanced. Think about diet tomorrow.

I love the Koay Teow Th’ng comprising of fresh flat rice noodles in a clear but flavourful soup broth, topped with fish balls and golden brown garlic bits with scallions.

We also had the nasi lemak served with Nonya Chicken Kapitan. Deeply infused with the spices, the gravy was savoury and had a rich balance of sweetness, saltiness, and sourness. The chicken is tender and paired with a mildly lemak rice. There is also

The Lee Brothers stall in New World Park Food Court in Swatow Lane is also here to serve its famous ice kachang and chendol. The green chendol stripes is soft, with big red beans and it is not too sweet. The gula melaksa has the nice burnt sweetness. My favourite for that is the ban chang kueh which I queued almost half an hour for it. It’s a thin, crispy shell with liberal helpings of margarine, sugar and peanuts. Made fresh, each bite is incredibly satisfying.

Penang Hawkers’ Fare is available from 4 to 20 September 2015. It is reasonably priced at $25.80++ per adult on weekdays and $28.80 ++ per adult on weekends. Children below 12 years old is priced at $18.80++ on weekdays and $20.80++ on weekends. Stand a chance to win accommodation and meal vouchers from their lucky draw when you dine here. The top prize is worth more than $1,500 with a weekend stay in the Premier Room for a family of up to 4 persons alongside meal voucher redeemable at White Rose Cafe.

Penang Hawkers’ Fare

Address: White Rose Café @ York Hotel, 21 Mount Elizabeth, Singapore 228516
Tel: 6737 0511
Opening hours: Lunch 12pm – 2.30pm; Dinner 6.30pm – 10pm