[Penang, Malaysia] Koay teow th'ng at Lorong Ngah Aboo, off Kimberley St

Penang koay teow th’ng can be divided into three major types: the pork version, the duck-meat, and the less-common chicken version. This very popular stall at Lorong Ngah Aboo sells the latter version. It opens early in the morning around 7.30am but it’s off-days are not fixed. Last Friday when I went down there, it was closed :frowning:

Using charcoal brazier to simmer their duck-pork broth.

“Koay teow th’ng” - flat rice noodles in a light pork-duck consommé is of Teochew (Chaozhou/Chiuchow) origins. In Vietnam, it’s known as “Hu Tieu Nam Vang” and tastes 95% the same as Penang’s. “Hu Tieu Nam Vang” basically means “koay teow from Phnom Penh” - as itinerant Teochew vendors from Phnom Penh, Cambodia, introduced this dish to the Vietnamese.

The Teochews also cannot do without their fishballs:

This very popular stall is located at the small Lorong Ngah Aboo, off Kimberley Street, near Carnarvon Street. Come early as they sell out before 11am.

Address
Poh Lay Duck Meat Koay Teow Soup (寶麗鴨肉粿條湯)
Lorong Ngah Aboo, off Kimberley Street, 10100 Penang, Malaysia
Tel: +6016-4739393
Operating hours: 7.30am to 11.30am, Tue to Sun. Mondays off.

3 Likes

Good to know the history of the koay teow th’ng/ hu tieu nam vang dish. I did not know that its a teochew dish. the versions around where i am, including one in San Jose i posted a few days ago, don’t have fish balls.

How’re their fish balls? Or are the noodles the star?

I think for “koay teow th’ng”, most Teochews go for the fishballs, which are springy/spongey in texture. I’m half-Teochew myself but do not have any affinity for those :smiley:

Teochew soups are usually light and clear, blander compared to Cantonese versions, but that’s what the Teochew palate prefers.