๐๐ผ๐๐ฏ๐น๐ฒ ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ด๐ผ๐ป ๐๐ป๐ป was started back in 1969 by Hakka restaurateur-chef, Chan Kok Hung. At the time, it was called ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ด๐ผ๐ป ๐๐ป๐ป. Its hey-days was the 1970s-80s, when its freshly-kneaded, then stir-fried Hakka-style noodles was the talk of town. Reservations was a must at this relatively tiny restaurant: about 60 covers, divided into 5-6 tables. In those years, their main rivals for Chinese fine dining in Penang, Haloman and Fortuna, were more like banqueting halls which could seat hundreds.
At one point, sometime in the 1990s, the restaurant had a branch known as ๐๐ผ๐๐ฏ๐น๐ฒ ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ด๐ผ๐ป, on Jalan Mas in the upper middle-class suburb of Taman Guan Joo Seng. It had exactly the same menu. But, after a decade or so, the branch closed down and its operations were consolidated with the original outlet on Gottlieb Road, which was subsequently re-named ๐๐ผ๐๐ฏ๐น๐ฒ ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ด๐ผ๐ป ๐๐ป๐ป.
The restaurant is currently being run by founder Chan Kok Hungโs son, Chan See Chew, who still does all the cooking. Mr Chan See Chewโs wife, Serina, manages the front of house.
Our dinner last night consisted of:
๐๐๐๐ก๐ก๐ค๐ฅ ๐ฌ๐ง๐๐ฅ - shredded scallop-and-crab meat, fried till dry & crisp, then served with fresh lettuce. This was a house special and every table seemed to be ordering it.
IMO, itโs the kind of dish which one have to grow up with, in order to like: the finely-shredded scallop-meat was stir-fried with crab-meat and finely-chopped water chestnuts, among other indecipherable ingredients, until the whole hodge-podge was quite dry & crisp. For first-timers like me, it was a bit hard to accept.
๐๐ค๐ข๐๐ง๐๐ฉ ๐จ๐๐ง๐ซ๐๐ ๐ฉ๐ฌ๐ค ๐ฌ๐๐ฎ๐จ - braised fish fillets, and crisp-fried battered fish-bones. This is another popular house specialty, and a variant on the version served at Singaporeโs now-defunct Hua Zhu on Farrer Road. Hua Zhuโs version had a tomatoey gravy for the braised portion of the pomfret.
Over here at Double Dragon Inn, the pomfret fillets were smothered with a light gravy which had a capsicum flavor. The batter-fried, crisp pomfret bones were absolutely delightful - exactly the same as the ones from Hua Zhu.
๐๐ฉ๐๐ง-๐๐ง๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ฌ๐๐ฉ๐ ๐ ๐๐-๐ก๐๐ฃ - this was our favorite dish for the evening: perfectly-textured beef fillets, in a light, subtle stir-fry with kai-lan greens and thinly-sliced carrots. An absolute delight.
๐๐ง๐๐ฌ๐ฃ๐จ ๐๐ฃ ๐จ๐ฅ๐๐๐ฎ-๐ค๐ฃ๐๐ค๐ฃ ๐จ๐๐ช๐๐ - this was a rather heavy dish - the fresh prawns were covered with a spicy-peppery brown sauce.
๐๐ฉ๐๐ง-๐๐ง๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ ๐ ๐ฃ๐ค๐ค๐๐ก๐๐จ, served in a ring of crisp, julienned lettuce. This was the restaurantโs claim-to-fame during its hey-days 4-5 decades back, but which seemed a bit dated nowadays. Still quite a palatable dish if one adds a dollop of spicy sambal belacan.
After all these years, ๐๐ผ๐๐ฏ๐น๐ฒ ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ด๐ผ๐ป ๐๐ป๐ป still maintains its long-standing reputation as a โNo MSGโ Chinese restaurant. Its dishes also tend to be blander, as compared to other restaurantsโ offerings, but seemed to suit their loyal following. The majority of their clientele are those who practically grew up and continued to patronize the restaurant through the years, bringing their own children along nowadays.
Address
Double Dragon Inn
27B, Jalan Gottlieb (Gottlieb Road), 10350 George Town, Penang, Malaysia
Tel: +604-227 7049
Opening hours: 7pm to 9.30pm daily, except Tuesdays (closed).