[Penang] Breakfast options at Ah Cheng Cafe (aka Thor Peng Cheng), Jelutong Morning Market

[klyeoh (Peter)]

The lively area around Jelutong morning market, one of the most popular markets on Penang island, has a few popular coffeeshops: Seong Huat, Kim Hee and Ah Cheng Cafe @ Thor Pheng Cheng, all with their own specialty street food stalls, and respective bands of loyal customers.

This morning, we decided on Ah Cheng Cafe @ Thor Pheng Cheng for our breakfast.

1. Oh kuah moi (dried oyster porridge) - one of the most famous offerings from this coffeeshop, and a Hokkien/Fujianese staple. The version here is garnished with shredded chicken, chopped scallions, Chinese parsley, golden-fried shallots and pieces of deep-fried, crisp crullers.
   It’s a simple, flavoursome dish, with the right balance of flavours, and with some interesting textures.
   
   

2. Mee Jawa - this is a Chinese adaptation of an early Javanese dish which, in itself, was first adapted from the Chinese/Hokkiens. The Javanese used Chinese Hokkien yellow wheat noodles, but gave it a typical local Javanese sweet-spicy slant, but added Chinese garnishes like fried tofu. The dish gained popularity, not just among the native Javanese, but also the emigrant Chinese in Java themselves, who then cross-adapted the dish back, and made it less spicy (as the Chinese, in general, prefer milder flavours), but more tomato-ey to retain the dish’s reddish hue. The dish is an example of cross-influences, back and forth, between the natives and the Chinese, typical of many street foods one finds in South-east Asia, where the Chinese have settled for more than seven centuries.

The version here included tofu, crisp-fried yuba skin, boiled potato wedges, hard-boiled egg, Chinese lettuce leaves, and crushed peanuts. It’s one of the most-ordered dishes in this coffeeshop.

3. Penang-style curry mee - the Penang version of curried noodles have a more soupy coconut milk-enriched broth, compared to the KL, Ipoh or Singapore versions, with their thicker curry gravies. The version here, garnished with the trademark pig’s blood pudding cubes, is very spicy! It also included the standard tofu puffs , but also have extras like “char siew” (Cantonese-style BBQ pork), and a sprig of fresh mint leaves.
   
   

4. Otak-otak - the Penang-Nyonya equivalent of Thai “hor mok” or Cambodian “amok”: steamed, spicy, savoury seafood custard pudding, wrapped in banana leaves. The version here utilizes shark-meat. Somehow, the flavours were not as strong today as it was during pre-COVID years. I remembered bringing fellow SF Bay Area Chowhound, DaveMpHound, here and ordering this dish for him, during his visit to Penang in March 2019.
   It had a more distinct wild betel leaf scent and flavour back then.
   
   

5. Economy beehoon mee - this is a classic Chinese-Hokkien breakfast dish, but the Penang version is blander than the sweet-savoury Singapore version which I loved.
   This very popular stall is actually parked outside Kim Hee coffeeshop, adjacent to Thor Pheng Cheng, and also does take-aways.
   
   

I missed a few other popular dishes here at Thor Pheng Cheng this time round, e.g. lor mee and wantan mee, so will have to make a return trip for that.

Address
Thor Pheng Cheng
71-J, Lorong Ipoh (Ipoh Lane), Jelutong, 11600 George Town, Penang, Malaysia
Operating hours: 7am to 2pm daily

[ZivBnd (Ziv)]

Another great report! The Oh Kuah Moi and Mee Jawa look phenomenal. Calling OKM a porridge really expands that word in my mind. I think of porridge as a simple, mild dish but the OKM has so much going on!
That hard boiled egg in the Mee Jawa looks like the part I would taste first! LOL! Even when I order ramen bowls I tend to order extra hard (or better yet, soft) boiled egg. It tends to add texture and flavor while soaking up a bit of the liquid to complement its own flavor. Love eggs just about any way they are prepared.
I have had similar Bee Hoon dishes when I was in Singapore and they were really good as well. But after seeing the first two dishes the Bee Hoon looks like a much more basic dish.

[klyeoh (Peter)]

Come visit me in Penang, @ZivBnd , I’ll show you some local dining gems.

[ZivBnd (Ziv)]

That would be very cool! I used to spend a couple days in Penang when I was taking the train from Thailand to KL or Singapore and the food was always very good. Having a local to show me one of the best spots would be even better! Malaysia as a whole and Penang in particular seem to have been blessed by the “Food Gods”. It seems like some of the best cuisines in the world have been operating next door to each other for centuries in Penang.

[klyeoh (Peter)]

Despite its premier location, and the reputation of being the best coffeeshop on Lorong Ipoh, Ah Cheng Cafe does not have a good wantan noodle stall within its collection of food kiosks.

Denizens of Jelutong will know where to find the best wantan noodles at the bustling morning market: there are two rival stalls, located almost adjacent to one another. One is simply known as The Wantan Mee Stall under the Big Tree, whilst its long-time competitor is known as The Other Wantan Mee Stall.

Both wantan noodle kiosks have their own loyal bands of followers who will never cross the street to the other side for their wantan noodle fix. Both kiosks are also permanently inundated by huge crowds of customers (Jelutong denizens never seem to want to queue).

The Wantan Mee Stall under the Big Tree

The Other Wantan Mee Stall

Granted one will probably never try both places on the same morning, as it’ll probably take one between 30-45 minutes to get served one’s order.

Noodles from The Wantan Mee Stall under the Big Tree

Noodles from The Other Wantan Mee Stall

Which one tastes better? For me, it’s the one from The Wantan Mee Stall under the Big Tree, but I’m pretty sure there’s an army who’d vehemently disagree with my verdict.

[TheLibrarian28]

Love the names - very descriptive!

[tigerjohn]

Pretty sure I went to the “other” one many years ago. Will have to try the non-other one next time.