Pasar Malam Food Crawl @ Gat Lebuh Macallum

Delicious Night Market 

Oh man, it's really been awhile.

I mean it has been years, since I last posted anything on this blog. Gosh. Why the return? Well, I wanted a creative outlet and food plus writing about food has always been tugging at me so why not.

Anyway, I was thinking what better way to start restart with a food crawl at one of the most popular night markets, or "pasar malam", in Penang. To the best of my knowledge, this night market convenes every Monday at Gat Lebuh Macallum.

I got there about 7.15pm and the crowd had already started to stream in. To start things off, my friend (who regularly haunts the place), took me to a stall selling Thai-style satay. Unfortunately, there are no pix of the two succulent pork kebabs. My hunger saw those orally inhaled in no time.

Appetizers continued with a deep-fried collection of mushrooms, one of my favorite things to eat. A combination of crispy, greasy and spicy fungi, with nose-clearing zing wasabi mayo, is the best.

Eat all the mushrooms!

The crawl continued with a generous portion of Penang's best-loved hawker fare - char koay teow - and this version is up there with the best of them. Furiously frying away at the roadside stall, the aunty had no time to take orders which was noted down by an assistant. Her daughter, I believe.

Although there was a line, my order came relatively quick. I was not disappointed. This plate was smokey, full of wok-hei (the mark of a well-seasoned wok) while the noodles were smooth and greasy but in a good way. Standing out in the plate were the crunchy bean sprouts, good stuff.

Slippery, oily and greasy in a comfortingly good way

This stall caught my eye. Salted fish bao? Yes please! A quick chat with the friendly aunty revealed that they were have been selling these buns for almost a decade. Stuffed with minced pork, onions and grounded-up salt fish, they were uniquely delicious. As a bonus, the bun is also house-made too.

Still going strong after almost a decade

When ordered, the uncle slaps the bao on the griddle and adds a generous amount of margarine. The smell of sizzling vegetable fat and dough on a cool evening night is truly something else.
As a result, I got mine piping hot, broke it open, and the fragrance is a full on nasal assault. A deep blow of briny, salty and umami. Paired with fatty pork and sweet onions, is there anything better?

Pungently porky and briny

The evening ended with a bowl of taufu fa. Literally translated to bean curd flower, this bowl of taufu fa is one of the most, the most, the most slippery, smoothest, and silkiest by far. Those earthy pillows  just slides down with no effort at all. The stall, on a lorry, is located near the end of the night market. It cannot be missed as it is the only one there.

A perfect pair of pungent bun and slippery smooth curd 

Pair this bowl with the salted-fish bun like I did and end the day on a good note. All these good food for less than RM50? Bring it on. #makanalls