Tucked in a corner of Penang's famous Lebuh Chulia (Chulia Street) where good food converges with hoards of people to bring an age-old night street scene to life, a humble elderly known to many locals as 'Ah Chye' makes a living selling one of Penang's most reputable delicacies, the Hainanese pork satay -otherwise known as 'satay babi'. Armed with only a tricycle stall and a knowledge of how to tantalize the taste buds with succulent lean marinated pork meat skewered upon thin bamboo sticks, Ah Chye has been dolling out pork satays for years to date in satiating the cravings of the masses and undoubtedly, it has been nothing short of a crowd-pleaser.
Ah Chye's Hainanese Pork satays -being one of the two authentic pork satay vendors left in whole of Penang- consisted of two evenly sliced lean pork meat with a piece of pork fat in between the meat, which are very well infused with the rich, flavorful marinate of Ah Chye's creation. Well, unfortunately, it's a secret as to what ingredients he used for the marinate but that's not exactly a problem, is it?
Grilled over a charcoal grill and periodically basted with a basting mix comprising of fresh coconut milk, turmeric, water and some other -again, secret- seasonings, the end product is nothing short of a gastronomical relish.
The dipping sauce, aside from the conventional peanut sauce found everywhere else, this Hainanese satay vendor also include a potato-based dipping sauce in his arsenal of good eats. With a mash-potato like consistency, the sauce -derived from a blend of sweet potato, tamarind, sugar and chilli; goes rather well with the intended satays.
