Red Prawn Durian @ Penang

Was walking back to the hotel from town centre and passed by this durian stall. Weather was scorching hot that day. A truck has just came in and men were unloading baskets and baskets of durians. Was just watching them when the lady manning the stall asked if I'd like to eat durians. Remembering that one of Penang specialty durian is Red Prawn, I requested for that.

red prawn durian @RM30 for this size

closer view

Its flesh was feather soft with slight bitter-sweet taste. Seeds were small. This stall is after New Lane, and before Glow Hotel. It's operating off a cart with makeshift tables and chairs at the road junction.

boss of the durian stall

Boss was very friendly, and whenever I passed by that few days, he'd asked if I'd like more durians, or just have a pack of water.

Penny Char Koay Teow @ Macalister Road Georgetown Penang

Thought I'd get to try the famous Lorong Selamat char koay teow since the place that I was staying at, was just 2-3 minutes away. Destination was Kafe Heng Huat, home to the stall of the 'Goggles Lady'.

Was thinking of having a late lunch to avoid the lunch crowds. Hmm, guessed 'lunch' has no fixed timing for tourists who came to try a bite of famous foods.

overflowing queues at 3+pm

Surveyed the grounds and the whole coffeeshop was filled to the brim with eagerly waiting patrons. Mostly were tourists. There were two woks firing away the orders. One by the goggles lady wearing the red beret and the other fried by a man. Spied the ingredients, and indeed there were large prawns all awaiting to be thrown onto the hot woks. Both chefs were frowning as they were frying away. Mood seemed foul.

Asked the assistant if I could take-away a packet. Answer was negative. No take-aways allowed. Ok. Then asked if I could order a plate. She frowned even more and stated that current waiting time is more than an hour. Her boss could be heard shouting away in the background barking out orders. And so, the quest to taste this famous char koay teow ended there and then. Didn't want to wait more than an hour in a hot stuffy coffeeshop.

Ended up at the Yi Garden Kafe, the coffeeshop next to the main road and had Penny Char Koay Teow instead. The ckt stall had a sign that proclaimed it as the winner of 'The Battle of Penang Hawker Masters 2012'. Prices starts from RM5.50, add 50cents for duck egg and for extra ingredients (加料), that'll be extra ++. Mindful of cholestrol, I asked for regular chicken eggs fried and 'geh liao' for the extra prawns.

Penny Char Koay Teow

char koay teow with added ingredients @RM8

Got my late lunch in a short while. The secret ingredient to that plate of char koay teow, was lots of deep fried crispy lard. And, truly quite a lot! Prawns were big but unfortunately, overfried.

Glow Hotel @ Macalister Street Georgetown Penang

Stayed at Glow Hotel for two nights, during the recently concluded Penang trip. Nice little boutique hotel that's nearer to town. Taxi fare from Evergreen Laurel Hotel, Gurney Drive to this area costs RM17.

Was greeted immediately by the bellman once he sees the guests walking into the lobby. Bags taken, welcome drink presented while waiting for the frontdesk to process the check-in.

refreshing glass of nutmeg drink

Stayed at the 7th floor, and near the fire exit. Noise from outside, for example, closing of doors could be heard clearly from within the room. Floor was abit dusty.

super single

open wardrobe area

view from window

bathroom and shower area

Room was minimalistic, and there's no toothbrush nor toothpaste provided so remember to bring your own. Other than that, it has the basic necessities.

Found a lollipop on the bed with a handwritten note, as a welcome gesture by the hotel. Nice.

sweet

Breakfast was included, and I had the expectation of simple toast bread served with bread/jams, but Glow Hotel provided more than that.

bread counter with butter, jams and kaya

fried pasta, sausages and sambal for nasi lemak

cut fruits (watermelon, honey dew), hard boiled eggs, bread butter pudding, baked beans and porridge

nasi lemak section

It was nice having a bowl of comforting salted egg porridge in the morning. There was only one staff manning the breakfast buffet area and when he is not busy, he'll even bring your coffee/tea to your table. 

salted egg porridge with fried anchovies and topped with spring onions

Glow Hotel is about 2-3 minutes to Lorong Selamat, less than 10 minutes walk to New Lane (Lorong Baru) eating area and about 15 minutes walk to Chowrasta Market.

Next to the hotel, is a coffeeshop that opens day and night. In the morning/noon, there are stalls selling koay teow soup, char kway teow, breakfast set etc while during the night, one could get bak kut teh.

Opposite road of the hotel (right side), one could find a shop selling tau sar piah and other pastries. The pastries were quite good. There's also a nasi kandar shop but didn't try. One could also get to the famed Ghee Hiang head office at Macalister Road, by turning left from the hotel. However, it was quite tricky to cross the busy roads.

If one would like to travel further, you can request the hotel to get a cab for you. There are private car drivers sitting at the coffeeshop, so exercise your own caution and judgement if you choose this alternative. A ride to Armenian Street cost about RM15 per trip. Otherwise, the nearest free CAT shuttle is at Chowrasta Market (bus stop #12) or Komtar (bus stop #9).