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CMCO delivery: Get your Penang-style 'chee cheong fun' fix from Kepong's Penang Street Food

Lee Khang Yi
·4-min read
Missing Penang's prawn paste 'chee cheong fun'? Get your cravings sorted out at Penang Street Food with the milder tasting sauce — Pictures by Lee Khang Yi
Missing Penang's prawn paste 'chee cheong fun'? Get your cravings sorted out at Penang Street Food with the milder tasting sauce — Pictures by Lee Khang Yi

KUALA LUMPUR, May 5 — Even though inter-state travel is restricted, our taste buds are not. Hence when I started thinking of Penang, their chee cheong fun served with prawn paste springs to mind.

Look towards Kepong-based Penang Street Food for all sorts of savoury snacks, rice dishes, fried noodles and desserts. They trace their roots to New World Park food court in Penang, where the owner used to run a stall there selling chee cheong fun. They also offered snacks like chai kuih, bak chang and otak-otak.

In 2019, they relocated to KL where they opened up an eatery at Plaza Sinar. Last year they pivoted their business model to a home-based one. Now it's only concentrating on takeaway and delivery.

Zoom in on their chee cheong fun. Unlike the ones served in Penang, the rice flour noodles aren't served in tight rolls.

However, this version is actually rolled out versus the KL versions where they stack the sheets and cut it. This lets you enjoy the texture of each thin sheet.

You will find that it has a nice, slight bounce to them which I thoroughly enjoy. This goes well with the sauce that has a lovely fragrance of prawn paste with just a hint of spiciness from the chilli.

The texture of their 'chee cheong fun' is wonderful with a slight chewy taste
The texture of their 'chee cheong fun' is wonderful with a slight chewy taste

The presence of prawn paste is more subtle in the sauce, making it suitable for novices to this version.

You get a pretty large portion for RM5 that can easily keep your stomach satisfied. If you're still peckish, how about their signature yam cake?

Their yam cake comes with chunks of yam and is topped with dried fried shrimp
Their yam cake comes with chunks of yam and is topped with dried fried shrimp

The portion is pretty substantial with chunks of yam inside. This version has an abundant topping of crispy fried baby shrimp.

Dip it with the mild chilli sauce for more taste. If you enjoy yam cake with a harder texture, this version will suit you fine.

Nibble on 'lorbak' with a distinct taste of five spice powder and tender meat
Nibble on 'lorbak' with a distinct taste of five spice powder and tender meat

Alternatively, they also have fried Penang lorbak (two rolls for RM6) which is deep fried and cut into pieces. The meat is tender with a distinct aroma of five spice powder.

I really enjoyed this, and believe me you won't be able to stop at one piece. You also have the option to order the frozen version so you can eat it whenever you want, freshly fried.

You can also get otak otak to pair with rice
You can also get otak otak to pair with rice

There's also otak-otak for RM4.50 wrapped in banana leaf. The creamy mousse with chunks of fresh fish has a nice fragrance and is mildly spicy. If you prefer, this can also be purchased frozen.

They also make their own chai kuih. It's sold in a set of five pieces for RM6. Select from their yam bean or chives version. If you can't decide, get both.

'Chai kuih' is fragrant with chives or yam bean
'Chai kuih' is fragrant with chives or yam bean
'Chai kuih' can be ordered steamed or frozen
'Chai kuih' can be ordered steamed or frozen

I really couldn't stop eating the chives version as it was very fragrant. Even the yam bean version is delicious with soft strips of the vegetable. My only gripe would be the skin was a little too soft that it tends to break easily. If you want to keep it for another day, opt to take away the frozen version.

There are other nibbles like fried spring rolls, fried tofu or bak chang. If you prefer a more substantial meal, they also offer various fried rice, braised pork rice and Hokkien char noodles.

This is quintessential Penang, yellow and green coloured 'tee nya kuih' served with a brown sugar syrup (left). Dip the cold, bouncy 'kuih' with the syrup to give it a sweetness (right)
This is quintessential Penang, yellow and green coloured 'tee nya kuih' served with a brown sugar syrup (left). Dip the cold, bouncy 'kuih' with the syrup to give it a sweetness (right)

For desserts, they offer bubur cha cha or a refreshing ice longan lemon tofu. My favourite is their tee nya kuih (RM3.50).

They're alkaline kuih that have a wobbly texture which you eat cold and dipped in a brown sugar syrup. This always reminds me of Penang as my first time eating it was at one of the stalls at Swatow Lane, which eventually moved into New World food park.

The yam cake here tends to be the firm type (left). The 'chee cheong fun' is unrolled so you get to eat each sheet's texture (right)
The yam cake here tends to be the firm type (left). The 'chee cheong fun' is unrolled so you get to eat each sheet's texture (right)

For orders, you can use The Other Kitchen's food delivery platform (https://app.theother.kitchen/penangstreetfood). The website allows you to select various choices for the third party delivery companies too.

Penang Street Food, No. 1, Jalan 5, Taman Kepong, Kuala Lumpur. Tel:011-11105650. Open:11am to 4pm (Monday to Saturday). Closed on Sunday. Instagram: @penangstreetfoodmy

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