Taiping Char Kuey Teow

I have heard so much about Taiping from my friends that were born and bred there. Comparing food is a norm especially comparing Taiping and Penang food! I guess its just a Malaysian metaphor, comparing the incomparable. Food is an art; observable, experienced, smelt and tasted. In Malaysia, food is a contemporary street art and its a reflection of our cultural diversity. I had the opportunity to savour a local favourite, Char Kuey Teow (also known as Fried Flat Noodles) in Taiping last week and this what I'd like to share. Char means fry or fried. Kuey Teow is the Hokkien (a Chinese dialect) name for flat noodles.

I paid a visit to a place the locals termed as Casual Market with my sister and her husband during tea time last weekend for a glass of the once again famous Taiping Kopi-O (local black coffee). Casual Market is not a market per say but more to a hawker centre. A food arena. My sister's husband was born and bred down Taiping. As usual, the locals will brag about their famous coffee, tea and street food especially their Char Kuey Teow. Although I went through a particularly heavy seafood lunch at Kuala Sepetang earlier, I ordered a plate of Char Kuey Teow from a silver haired chef. Sorry I forgot the stall number but it is located opposite a stall selling Chinese pancakes facing the road. There are at least a few stalls selling Char Kuey Teow. We sat in front of the store and I noticed that the Char Kuey Teow is served on a plastic plate covered by banana leaf, with pickled chillies. Wow, it was an amazing sight! Plus, the Char Kuey Teow was served with condiments of fish ball, fish cake, char siew and green leafy vegetables(chai sim).

When the Char Kuey Teow arrived on my table, it had an aroma of lard, burnt soya sauce and garlic. The aroma of a hot dish on banana leaf was heavenly. This is hard to explain in words! You must and have to experience it yourself. The banana leaf will unleash its sweet pungent aroma when the leaf is hot. In this case, the Char Kuey Teow was piping hot with palm oil and some age old secret sauce, on top of the banana leaf. The aroma filled me with excitement even before I put it in my mouth I started to salivate heavily! The first bite of the meal was not as what I had expected. It had a mild taste and was not spicy but aromatic. After that, I ate the fish balls, fish cake and char siew.

Alas I found out where all the flavours went to! It was absorbed by the fish balls, fish cake and char siew. I was suppose to take a bite of the Kuey Teow (flat noodle) accompanied by the condiments and the pickled chilli for the extra kick! The fish balls were halved, fish cake cut into medium strips and the char siew is cut into thin slices. This helps to quickly absorb the special sauce and the fragrant oil when they are fried together with the Char Kuey Teow. They are prepared in perfection, firm in texture and full in flavour. It is hard to unlock the full flavour of the fish ball and fish cake although they are pre-seasoned. Remember when we used to eat Kuey Teow soup with fish balls and fish cakes, we dip them in the soya sauce with chillies to unlock the full flavour.

Now I know why the Char Kuey Teow was prepared in such different way. Lets not forget about the chai sim, although the Char Kuey Teow was oily, the chai sim was just slightly fried and the structure of the chai sim was still maintained. The chai sim was bitter sweet and the juices from the stems naturally wash away the oil from the Char Kuey Teow . What a brilliant combination! The Char Kuey Teow is in a class of its own. That my friends, is a slice of Malaysia on a plate.

You won't find it anywhere else in Malaysia. Only in Taiping, Perak. Here's a video on how you enjoy Char Kuey Teow with a cuppa of Kopi-O.