Food For Thought

Rawr, food fiesta! Who said I was done with roasted pork and board noodles. This Penang Food Expedition is brought to you by J.Y.!

Headlines : The Safe Lane (not food)

Welcome to Lorong Selamat aka Safe Lane, Penang. I, J.Y., am proud to present to you my experience upon entering this lane of dangerlessness......

Okay, enough of the formality. Welcome to Lorong Selamat, Penang, home to some of the most famous food on Penang Island! Yippee!

Day 1 (1st Attempt)

Well, to be honest, it wasn't really the day I really planned for. Actually wanted to try out the famous Char Koay Teow at Lorong Selamat, probably the most expensive and famous one in the entire Penang Island. You got that right! One plate was heard to be at least 6 dollars. Eating gold? Well, maybe platinum. No matter, it was still some expensive stuff. You think? Upon arrival, THE SHOP IS OFFICIALLY CLOSED!

D=

Well, maybe not. Just for Tuesdays. So much for wasting petrol to come. You should really come watch us go clueless while standing and wandering arond the place after we parked. Big letdown. At least, for the returning Jia Rong. Sadly, it was a no show from the Fried Koay Teow shop. I guess they had too much money in their pockets eh?

Ah well.. going on with our story, the 4 of us (Sheng, Soony, JR and I) decided to instead go to the corner shop at Lorong Selamat. Well, for my parents, this is the shop they go to during weekends if we cannot think of anything to eat. What's there? If you've heard of Fried Oyster at Lorong Selamat, this is where we were heading to.

Ah and again, sadly, no Fried Oyster show too..... So what did we have?

Fried Hor Fun! Woots! Well, it actually isn't that bad. It is actually quite famous among Penangites as well. Just ask for Lorong Selamat Sar Hor Fun. I didn't know they were open during the afternoons too. Kind of lucky to actually be able to eat this dish. Well, this was for 3 people as I was starving after my exercise. JR and I shared this plate. It's quite good. Maybe you'd argue it's quite normal. But, well, for a shop which is quite renowned, at least it lives up to its potential. May not have a very unique taste like having some super rare ingredient, but tastes real good. Enjoyed my lunchies! 7.2 outta 10!

Next, we go to ze ShandSoon's food. They apparently had some disgust towards Fried Hor Fun. Probably because the shop was not busy at that time and they thought it was just a regular coffee shop. Haha, just to tell you, this shop is always full during weekends :X. They had the Wan Tan Mee. I didn't quite get their reaction for the noodles. We didn't talk about it. But from my experience, I can tell you that it's quite different from the regular Tok Tok Mee aka Wan Tan Noodles. The main attraction is their Wan Tan, or well, shrimp dumplings. Costs about 50 cents per dumpling if you buy them separately I think. It's a round dumpling and I think, is tastier than normal dumplings. More meat inside I guess, and softer. The noodles itself is quite nice. It's more of a slippery, sticky type. Forgive me about my descriptions. Been a long time since I had this dish. I rate it 7.4 out of 10!

Ah, after that we went to visit New World Park for a little while. Incidently, it was right at the other end of the Safe Lane. Had to walk all the way just to visit Mr. Chong Eng and Collins. Ah well, got to see them. No pictures though, sadly. Incidently, it was my second outing in a day at New World Park. You see, while I was waiting for the slowpokes to arrive *=P*, smartly decided to go enjoy a little appetizer before my lunch...

Behold! The mighty Ice Kacang!!!! Well, maybe you won't call it an appetizer. More like a dessetizer? Ah, suit yourself. Anyway, I had mine with less sweetness. What do I mean? Well, you see, the regular Ice Kacang is one purplish nut.... well, not literally. But well, there's more purple syrup used to give a certain sweetness to it. Somehow, it's more like a sour Sarsi kind of sweet. I don't really like it. Sue me. Hence, I ordered one which suited my taste. Here at the New World Park Ice Kacang Stall, you get to add many things, like fruits and even ice cream. Well, most stalls have that. But anyhow, just telling those who haven't tasted Ice Kacang a bit of a sneak peak on how nice this dessert is.

I ordered Ice Kacang with Banana as well as with extra Corn. Yeah, it actually tastes really good. Think of it as a sweet dessert with lots of ingredients on top of a ball of shaved ice. A must try if you come to Penang. After all, this is the famous Swatow Lane Ice Kacang which was moved inside a better facility or otherwise known as New World Park. Perfecto dessetizer! 8.2 out of 10!

And that's the end of Day 1. Sad outing eh?

Day 2! (Attempt 2)
Rawr! Now, sadly, I am all on my own, hunting for food to eat. Before I knew it, I kind of circled the entire town area. Couldn't really decide on what to eat. Yes yes, I know you all will shoot me for wasting petrol. Oh well, me and my indecisions. But thankfully, the Safe Lane has saved me again!

Behold..........

Tadaa! Heng Huat Cafe!!!! Home of...... Hmm, hold on, a picture speaks a thousand words right? In this case, I'll let it speak three words since I am stingy =P

Char Koay Teow! Why thank you, picture! Ah, yesh! Success! After two attempts, I have finally succeeded in hunting for probably the most famous Fried Koay Teow! Yesh! *victory dance*

Ah, as you can see, the prices are pretty crazy. The cheapest is 6 dollars.... which is double the normal price of the regular Char Koay Teow. Well, why so? Observe!

Yarrr! Presenting, the Lorong Selamat Char Koay Teow! Yeah, this small plate = RM6.50. Expensive hah? Well, it is quite good. Maybe not really worth that. From the way you see it, the only noticable feature is the "huge" prawns on the Koay Teow. Yep, those are quite common, relatively bigger than the usual ones used for Char Koay Teow though. For that, the price is doubled. Haha, amazing how people here are businessmen eh? But of course, it does have to meet its high standard and from my view, that Char Koay Teow did. Well, maybe it was the prawn. The Koay Teow was fried well, no doubt. But the things that stand out are the prawns. You know, it felt fresh cause if you actually tasted it, the meat is quite well... not too sure how to describe it, but certainly not overnight stuff for sure. Give it a 7.8 out of 10! :D

Another closer look at the mighty prawns! xP

Ah, last but not least, the drink. Well, I don't know why I am actually talking about it but well, it was chrysanthemum tea. I ordered Herbal Tea though. Oh well. It isn't special. It isn't unique. IT IS JUST TEA................................ which costs RM1.60 >.>..... Yeah, amazing hah. I should've just ordered Orange Juice. Then again, it might cost 5 bugs? Rated... 5 out of 10! *evilfaceafterrevenge*

After finishing my "gold" tea, it's time to let this Lorong Selamat expedition come to an end. Home!

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Haha, disappointing conclusion, ain't it? Well, maybe so. Even though my blogging is quite well, inhaling profusely, I guess the whole experience was great. Not to mention the nice food. Haha.... Till the next time!

..Yummy.. ain't that all satisfying... XD

..End