A fellow Penang Walkabouts club member and I had a very early breakfast last Sunday morning in the tiny hamlet of Bukit Tambun, before we participated in a guided history tour of the village organized by the local historical society there. The walk was to start at 8.15am, which was how we ended up at How Kee, perhaps the only kopitiam in the village that was open at 7am, but already filled with grizzled old Teochew fishermen having their morning cuppa.
There was only one food stall in the kopitiam which offered breakfast - a noodle joint, which turned out to be very good. We ordered one bowl of dry “koay teow” noodles, and one dry “yee mee”. Both accompanied by bowls of pork broth with minced pork, sliced pork, pig’s liver, pig’s blood pudding and intestines. Lip-smackingly delicious.
Dry “koay teow” - flat, linguine-like rice noodles dressed in dark soy sauce, light soy sauce, pork-lard oil, garlic oil, and sesame oil, with chopped scallions scattered on top:
It’s served with a bowl of hearty pork broth, replete with generous cuts of pork slices, minced pork, pig’s intestines, pig’s liver, and pig’s blood pudding:
Dry “yee mee” - which used a fragrant twice-cooked egg-wheat noodles. “Yee mee” gets its lovely texture from its processing: fresh noodles were first deep-fried in large cakes. These are the ones sold in grocery stores or supermarkets:
During the cooking process, the noodles would be rehydrated by a quick blanch, before seasoning is added. I liked the spongey texture of the porous “yee mee” noodles (a result of its deep-frying phase), and its unique, inherent fragrant, toasty aroma.
Its accompaniment here was similar to the one for the “koay teow”.
A pity that How Kee is located in a small hamlet in an isolated corner of Penang’s countryside, far away from everywhere else. The noodle dishes here trumped those from 90% of George Town’s eateries!
The walk later that morning was pretty informative - a bit on how the little village came about, as part of Penang’s sugarcane industry started by the British in the late 19th-century.
Small fishing boats lined the river running through the village. The inhabitants here are largely Teochew/Chaozhou fishermen, reflected in the local dialect spoken, and the cuisine we find here.
Salted fish hung up to dry.
The village’s trademark rainbow-hued shophouses reminded me somewhat of Cape Town, South Africa’s Bo-Kaap neighborhood at the Cape Malay Quarter there.
Address
How Kee Seafood Village (豪记海鲜村)
24, 149, Bukit Tambun, 14100 Simpang Ampat, Penang
Opening hours: 6.30am to 11pm.
