Koay teow th’ng is the quintessential Penang street-food dish of Teochew/Chaozhou/Chiuchow origin, the forerunner of Vietnamese pho and Cambodian kuyteav, which were also disseminated throughout Indo-China by itinerant Teochew street vendors.
In Penang, where its street food culture is dominated by the Teochews, koay teow th’ng is one of the most popular street food item: flat rice noodles in a clear broth, garnished with sliced meat (either pork, chicken or duck), fish-balls, sliced fish-cakes, chopped scallions and golden-fried minced garlic. There are basically three major branches or genres of koay teow th’ng, each with their own fans:
- Duck broth version - perhaps the most popular option, as duck is also the meat of choice for the Teochew people. Perhaps the most popular duck-meat koay teow th’ng purveyor in Penang is the Michelin Bib Gourmand-listed Lum Lai Duckmeat Koay Teow Th’ng at Cecil Street Market.
- Pork broth version - the pork-based koay teow th’ng is my personal favorite, maybe because I absolutely love pork, but also because koay teow th’ng purveyors all seem to cook up the most savory-sweet minced pork meat-balls or meat patties this side of the universe. My fave spot for pork koay teow th’ng is from One Corner Cafe.
- Chicken broth version - the less common version, but which has its own legion of fans.
However, a fortnight ago, I was tipped off towards perhaps the rarest form of koay teow th’ng - the pig’s offal version, long thought to be an extinct street food which had died out in the last decades. George Town used to have not more than a handful of these old-school, very traditional form of koay teow th’ng, as the preparation is very labor-intensive: all the different pig parts have to be cooked separately, and have different cooking times in order to achieve the right textures.
This stall at Eng Hin kopitiam (traditional coffeeshop) is the last of its kind - an old-school, traditional 𝘬𝘰𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘦𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩’𝘯𝘨 which comes with soft strips of pig’s large intestines (“toa huan”), small intestines (“hoon cheong”), pig’s stomach (“too tor”), pig’s blood pudding cubes (“too huek”), plus a selection of minced pork balls, fish-balls, etc.
The hawker finishes each luscious bowl, overladen with goodies, with a generous dusting of white pepper, and a spoonful of chopped fresh coriander leaves and Chinese parsley. Absolute umami overload!
𝘒𝘰𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘦𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩’𝘯𝘨-man, Tee Ah Huat, is a true-blue Teochew, like all good 𝘬𝘰𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘦𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩’𝘯𝘨 hawkers tend to be.
He has been selling here for the last 3 decades, and only opens Tue, Thu and Sat, from 6.30am till he sells out, usually by 9am.
Address
Eng Sin Kopitiam
365-G, Perak Road, Symphony Park, 11600 Jelutong, Penang, Malaysia
Tel: +6016-464 5126
Opening hours: 6.30am till sold out - can be as early as 9am. Tue, Thu and Sat only.
