Kedai Kopi Sin Hwa — Restaurant in George Town

The better Char Kuey Teow

Lorong Selamat, Siam Road, Ah Leng.. just a few names when it comes to CKT. When in Penang especially the island, almost every nook and corner you can find CKT. So which CKT is the best, you might ask? I don't know how to answer this question.. my vocabulary is not big enough to justify my decision.

But I do like it when I eat a good plate of CKT. My second morning in Penang Island and I was visiting Komtar with the family so I looked up my list and Sin Hwa was quite near to my destination. After solving the difficult parking puzzle, we walked a shirt distance here to enjoy one of the most debated dish of all.

Located along the busy Jalan Burma, the CKT stall is placed right in front of the restaurant with a fan to direct the smoke outside. A simple kopitiam with the boss frying plate and plate of CKT, one by one.. while an elderly lady (I assumed that she was his mom) was seen preparing drinks.

My verdict? It was very good.. enough wok hei, the Kuey Teow came not lumped together, the quintessential cockles were present and 3 rather big piece of prawns (calamari was present too) were given. Flavour-wise it ticked the right box for me, while the kids enjoyed the same dish minus the spiciness.

A cuppa of Kopi O Kosong and the day just got better...

I was walking to the House of Wan Tan Mee when I came across this Char Kuay Teow stall outside Sin Hwa coffee shop. I nearly didn't make if to my Wantan Mee as the aroma of wokhei from the CKT nearly made me change my mind - however, as I sat down and ordered my plate of wanton noodle from the House of Wan Tan Mee, I asked if I could davao my CKT. The lady said OK, I quickly jumped off my feet and went to Sin Hwa Coffee shop to order my CKT. After enjoying my WTM, I quickly digged into my CKT forgetting to take photo of the wokwei aromatic CKT. So I did the 2nd best, I took photos of the CKT.

Will definitely come again .... to enjoy the trilogy... WTM, CKT and roti chanai from...

Sin Hwa is a coffee shop along Burma road in Pulau Tikus opposite the police station. Their fame is overrated and their rating should be lowered a few notchems. Their famous Char Kuay Teow is a pale shadow of what it formally was. It now lacks the oomph and what the Cantonese connoisseur would refer to as "Wok Hei". Currently the grandson of the original Sin Hwa char kuay teow old lady seems to be going through the motion without the same passion. Even with duck egg and extra cockles it still is an average dish. He lacks the touch. To make matters worst the Assam Laksa was dilute and tasted poorly even with a dollop of Hae Ko ( dark prawn paste ). Disappointing...