Many of the famous local dishes that we all love take on a
slightly different from. The most obvious one in this list is definitely the
Penang Hokkien mee, which is basically prawn mee to the rest of us in other
states. Another one that gets a similar treatment, although not as prominent,
is wantan mee. One of the eateries that stands out as being a premier
destination for wantan mee in Penang is a stall located in the Jelutong Market.
A makeshift coffee shop houses the lone stall that’s run by a husband and wife
duo, Mr. and Mrs. Khoo. The two started the business in late 1993, and have
continued pleasing diners as well as food fanatics all these years.
As far as the wantan mee here is concerned, the noodles are
for the most part similar to what you would find in other states. Mr. Khoo has
kept it simple by simply boiling, soaking in cool water, and then reheat the
noodles with a quick re-dip into boiling water. Its when it comes to the other
ingredients does it start to show some variance between the other plates of
wantan mee you might be used to. For starters, the sticky sweet char siew or siew
yoke pieces that adorn the versions of this dish that are found in other states
are replaced with pink-edged, relatively lean Hong Kong-style barbequed pork.
Besides this, sambal belacan is the more prominent flavour booster here as
opposed to the pickled green chilies ubiquitous to wonton mee elsewhere on the
peninsula. Fortunately at this stall, both are available.
So head over to the Jelutong market to try out this plate of
wantan mee, and you will certainly be pleased with the experience.
