One of the most iconic Penang street food has to be the koay teow th’ng, flat rice noodles served in a savoury clear soup, garnished with slivered chicken meat, duckmeat, fishballs and, sometimes, minced pork patties. A spoonful of golden-fried minced garlic in oil and a sprinkling of chopped scallions complete the dish.
Koay teow th’ng is of Teochew/Chaozhou origins - a close cousin to Penang’s koay teow th’ng is Vietnam’s hủ tiếu Nam Vang (literally “koay teow Phnom Penh”), so-called as the dish was introduced to Vietnam by itinerant Teochew noodle vendors from Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
One of Penang’s leading purveyors of koay teow th’ng is a long-running stall at Soon Yuen Coffeeshop run by the efficient husband-and-wife duo, Mr Tan Kee Tin (72) and Mdm Pung Mooi Jee (69). Their koay teow th’ng business was started by Mr Tan’s mother back in 1957 when the British first granted independence to Malaya. Mr Tan and his wife took over the cooking and running of the stall from his mother in 1977, and they’d never looked back since.
Their koay teow thng’s sweet, savoury broth was prepared from slow-boiling pork bones, together with whole chickens and ducks.
Teochew fishballs are made from either wolf herring or eel forcemeat and delivered in sheets such as this one. The fishballs are detached and plunged into boiling broth to cook before being added to the noodles & broth.
Be mindful that Soon Yuen coffeeshop opens early for breakfast (around 7am) and closes by noon. It’s pretty packed throughout the morning, and snaring a table can be quite a challenge. But be wiling to persevere and you’ll be rewarded with some of the best street food you’d find in George Town - besides the koay teow th’ng, the Penang-style curry mee, wantan mee and chee cheong fun here are all very good.
Address
Soon Yuen Coffeeshop
25-27 Kuala Kangsar Road (behind Chowrasta Market)
George Town, 10200 Penang
Operating hours: 7am to 12 noon daily, except Wed.
