Penang : Part 7 - Curry Laksa, Asam Laksa, Ipoh Chicken Hor Fun, Tau Fu Fah

140114 - Today, we visit the beach at Gertak Sanggul for some morning breeze, and morning rays. Then, we proceed to the Air Itam market to have a filling breakfast.

First, we have curry laksa. The traditional laksa cooked on charcoal. This is a 2-sisters business. You could see they have been doing it for a long time with their efficient quick hands scooping the ingredients and pouring the curry into the bowl. Curry laksa is a coconut-based curry soup. The main ingredients for a curry laksa include bean curd puffs, fish sticks, shrimp and cockles. In Penang, they have a special ingredient which is coagulated pork blood. It is tasteless. A bowl costs RM4.

After curry laksa, we proceed to another stall selling asam laksa. Now, this stall is famous for its asam laksa. It sells for RM4 a bowl, and has lots of ingredients prepared in anticipation for the large crowd.

Finished with breakfast in Penang, we bid farewell to this historical and food-laden state. We drove back and stopped in Ipoh, a town in Perak, which has its own trademark of food. We were here in time for lunch, and this time we have the famous chicken hor fun (hor fun means kway teow in Cantonese i.e. the flat rice noodles) in Thean Chun Restaurant. The place was packed for its famous chicken hor fun. The chicken hor fun also comes with a plate of taugeh i.e. beansprouts. Before the main dish came, we had caramel pudding, beef balls and fruit rojak (rojak means mix). To me, I love the caramel pudding best. Can you tell I have a sweet tooth? Unfortunately, the chicken hor fun is a bit oily to my liking.

After lunch, we walked for a bit and ended our gastronomic day with tau foo fah. Tau foo fah is soya pudding that can be eaten with grass jelly or ginger syrup. I like the ginger syrup. This small bowl costs RM1.10. The smooth soft and light dessert is the best ending to our heavy gastronomic weekend.

In total, we forked RM200 per person for food, petrol and toll. Well worth the weekend. There was 3 of us. So, RM600. I have no complaints. It was money well spent.