[Penang] Breakfast options at Lee Huat Cafe, Batu Lanchang

[klyeoh (Peter)]

Breakfast at the ultra-popular 𝗟𝗲𝗲 𝗛𝘂𝗮𝘁 𝗖𝗮𝗳𝗲 at the intersection of Jalan Masjid Negeri (Green Lane) and Jalan Tan Sri Teh Ewe Lim (Batu Lanchang Road), opposite Lam Wah Ee Hospital.

I’ll always remember 𝗟𝗲𝗲 𝗛𝘂𝗮𝘁 𝗖𝗮𝗳𝗲 as the place where I had my first taste of 𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘪 𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘪 as a young boy - this was back in 1973, when my grandfather (who was a serious foodie, at a time when the term was not invented yet) wanted to introduce me to a “new food item”. It was the best thing I’d tasted back then. Subsequently, the roti canai man here was among the first group of hawkers sent to Adelaide, South Australia, in 1975, as part of the Penang Week celebrations there.

𝗟𝗲𝗲 𝗛𝘂𝗮𝘁 𝗖𝗮𝗳𝗲 was founded back in 1962 by one-armed Teochew merchant, Eng Liang Hock. He’d lost an arm due to an accident, and was subsequently nicknamed “Tu Pi Tao” by his customers - after the hero of a famous 1960s Wang Yu movie, “One-Armed Swordsman”.

Eng Liang Hock named his cafe after his two sons, Eng Chin 𝗟𝗲𝗲 & Eng Chin 𝗛𝘂𝗮𝘁. Today, the two sons’ families, the third generation of the Eng clan, still run the cafe.

𝗟𝗲𝗲 𝗛𝘂𝗮𝘁 𝗖𝗮𝗳𝗲 continues to offer a wide range of hawker food items which Penangites look for at breakfast. It opens 6am to 12 noon daily.

Some of their breakfast options which we’d tried here:

1. Dry duck-meat koay teow - flat rice noodles with a tasty duck/pork/soy dressing, garnished with shredded duck-meat, fish cakes slices, fish balls and pork meatballs. It’s topped with freshly-chopped scallions and parsley, and a dollop of golden-fried chopped garlic.
   Singularly my favourite dish to order whenever I come here.
   

   

2. Oh kuah moi, dried oyster rice congee. This is a new hawker - taking over from the more famous previous one who decided to consolidate his business at Rifle Range hawker centre. Very tasty rendition - more than a worthy replacement here.
   

   

3. Curry mee - yellow Hokkien wheat noodles and rice vermicelli in a thin, spiced broth enriched with coconut milk. The standard Penang version comes with pig’s blood cubes, cuttlefish strips, tofu puffs, and cockles. It’s topped with fresh mint leaves and finely-chopped torch ginger (a unique addition here). This is a branch of an award-winning stall at MAGA kopitiam, corner of Perak Road and Van Praagh Road.
   

   

4. Ark tui mee suah - duck drumstick in herbal soup, with wheat vermicelli. This is a fairly new addition to the food court, and is an outpost of the popular original stall in Sungai Pinang.
   

   

5. Chicken and roast pork - this is the most popular stall at this food court, but not to my taste. To each their own!
   

   

Address
Lee Huat Cafe 利发茶室 (独劈刀)
377-B, Jalan Masjid Negeri (Green Lane), 11600 Batu Lanchang, Penang, Malaysia
Opening hours: 6am to 12 noon daily

[klyeoh (Peter)]

Back to Lee Huat for breakfast this morning, and tried the enormously popular nasi lemak stall.

We could see why: the coconut milk-infused rice was perfectly textured, fragrant and tasty.

There was a variety of sides to choose from: sambal udang, chicken curry, fried chicken, fried assam-marinated fish, curried squid, chillied aubergines, hard-boiled eggs, etc.

The fried chicken is a must-order - fried fresh on-the-spot. It’s marinated in a soy sauce-coconut milk-sugar marinade, and the resultant chicken pieces had dark, caramelly, crisp exteriors, and very juicy and tasty inside.

[klyeoh (Peter)]

Back to 𝗟𝗲𝗲 𝗛𝘂𝗮𝘁 𝗖𝗮𝗳𝗲 in Batu Lanchang this morning to try out its newest stall - an outpost of Ayer Itam market’s most famous Teochew 𝙠𝙤𝙖𝙮 𝙘𝙝𝙞𝙖𝙥 stall by Madam Lee.

Their first foray outside Ayer Itam is helmed by Madam Lee’s daughter, Ms Foo Sot Tin, who faithfully reprised the flavours which made her mother’s 𝙠𝙤𝙖𝙮 𝙘𝙝𝙞𝙖𝙥 so legendary. Now, I don’t have to go all the way to Ayer Itam from where I am in Island Glades, in order to get good 𝙠𝙤𝙖𝙮 𝙘𝙝𝙞𝙖𝙥.

𝙆𝙤𝙖𝙮 𝙘𝙝𝙞𝙖𝙥, called 𝙜𝙪𝙖𝙮 𝙟𝙖𝙗 in Bangkok, is a popular breakfast dish amongst the Teochews: thick curls of rice noodles in a deep-flavored, slightly herbal broth. It’ll be garnished with sliced braised duck-meat, pig’s innards and pig’s blood pudding. Copious amounts of golden-fried garlic crumbs, fresh shreds of coriander leaves and chopped scallions will be sprinkled on top before serving: