Great Penang food in Singapore? Enter Gurney Drive Restaurants

I have often lamented the poverty of authentic, well cooked Penang hawker fare in Singapore. While understadable as Singapore is not Penang, but yet, inexplicable because of the great popularity of Penang cuisine amongs our inhabitants.

So it is with a bit of joy, that I present a restaurant which brings us one step closer...not exactly there yet, but at least all the flavours are authentic and well cooked.

I had eaten at Gurney Drive...the real street food in Penang as well as the restaurant here in Singapore. My first experience with them was a few years ago, when they first opened in Suntec City. My conclusion then was it was not ready for prime time, and thus never wrote a review. But recently, I sampled their cooking again, in Changi Airport Terminal 3, and was pleasantly surprised. So I went to re-sample, to ensure that there was indeed consistency in the cooking at the Jems outlet. And indeed was pleasantly satiated, yet again. Bravo!

The Penang Prawn Hokkien Mee, shown above was rather well presented. Two large prawns, the correct ingredients. Taste wise it was quite good, though a tad salty. The soup had a deep savoury flavour typical of those found in the better hawker stalls in Penang. This is not a crustacean flavour in the Singapore version, but a pork bone based flavour with a touch of rock sugar.

Of course the Penang Char Kway Teow is indicated...rather prescribed

This is an all time favourite of mine and apparently a lot of Penangites. One would find a CKT stall almost every other coffee shops in Penang, and there are at least 3 or perhaps 4 which can claim to be world class in their interpretation of this dish. The Gurney version is very good. With nice wok hei, beautifully fried, not too greasy...though a little grease cannot be avoided as the kway teow itself is a bit greasy and pork lard used to fry it. Very nice.

The Penang version of the Mamak Mee Goreng is also very good

A bit different from the ones offered by the mamaks in Singapore, where we tend to use a red dye,they tend to add potato bits and croutons with the slightest bit of kichap manis, and fresh lettuce. Quite authentic. Nice flavours. Again a tad salty.

Their rojak is also authentic

With very nice ingredients. Tiny, sour mango, sliced cuttlefish, jambu, cucumber, bangkuang, pineapple, croutons from yu tiao, all mixed in the fabulous hae ko based sauce, and sprinkled with crushed peanuts and sesame seeds. Very nice.

The dessert is equally nice. The classical Malaysian iced dessert of ice kachang...or ABC - air batu campur is superb:

A mountain of finely shaved ice, drizzled with a tricolour syrup, topped with sweet corn, and covering a base of red bean, jelly, attap seeds. In the Gurney version, the chef take a bit of poetic license and adds thinly sliced nutmeg and crushed peanuts. The nutmeg lifts the dish from good to quite exceptional.

and the chendol

Nicely flavoured. Reminds me of the Teochew Chendol stall in Penang Road when I visited as a youth. Alas, the last visit several years ago, the taste of the stall in Penang Road has deteriorated. But this version concocted by Gurney brings back those memories of the good times for me. The red bean was large, soft, nice aroma. The ice finely shaved. The gula melaka used to sweeten the dessert could have been a bit more aromatic and flavourful, and the coconut milk could have been fresh instead of out of a can, but this was good enough for a fascilime.

With this tasting, I can safely recommend Gurney Drive for Penang Cuisine. I had also tried the jew her eng chye and lorbak at my second tasting in T3, but still find them to lack the authenticity for a recommendation.

Gurney Drive Restaurant
04-27 JEM
Various other locations

www.gurneydrive.com.sg

Wantan mee: KL Style in Singapore?

with family

Malaysia and Singapore may be brothers (or sisters?), and we share history, culture. Food which are present and enjoyed in one country is usually also enjoyed in the other. But with a twist...a different style, emphasis, or ingredient often makes the geographical variations very interesting.

Wanton mee, a wheat and egg flour noodles, in soup or dry with a little gravy is one. Probably invented in Hong Kong, where the standard is the soupy version I blogged about here, this is a mainstay either as a snack, breakfast food, or main meal. Even in Hong Kong, the dry version - known as kon lo is available. And in Singapore and Malaysia, the kon lo is indeed preferred.

The main difference between HK and SEA is the noodles. In HK, many shops, at least the traditional ones like Mak's and Kau Kee, make their own noodles. The noodles are thin, springy, and have a kind of tough consistency. In KL, the noodles are fatter...sometimes almost flat - wider than it is thick. And many of the best, when cooked al-dente have a tough-ish, springy consistency. In Singapore, where most of the noodles are supplied by possibly one factory, they are thin, and a bit powdery.

But more than just the difference in noodles, KL wanton mee is drenched in a black soy sauce, and heaped with fragrant pork lard...both in liquid form as well as bits of crunchy crisps. Chilli is never added as a paste to the noodles, and if desired, pickled green chilli, sliced into pieces and accompanied with light soy sauce is prescribed. Whereas in Singapore, we favour some chilli in the noodles, or tomato ketchup. And the appearance of the noodle is pale - showing the real colour of the wheat and egg base.

I have come to enjoy both varieties for what they are. But growing up in Penang, eating KL style (wanton mee is a Cantonese dish, and Penang being predominantly Hokkien lacks the cultural sensitivity to develop its own, but to borrow from KL), I often long for the black wanton mee. None in Singapore serve this variety well, but some get quite close.

Lucky Wanton Noodles in Tanjong Pagar Food Centre is one example.



The black noodles, and the wonderful fragrance of the pork lard whifts into the nostrils...sending nostalgia to my brain...the char siew looked pale, insipid even - a dry, lean mess. In taste, the char siew leaves much to be desired - it was dry, and insipring. I wish to combine some Alex's char siew. If you remember...Alex serves a mean char siew, but his noodles are Singapore style, complete with chilli paste. Not bad, but a different style.



The wanton is very nice. I detected pork and bits of flounder within. This version does not come with shrimps, just pork and flounder. Mak's in HK is also similar, but comes with a succulent piece of fresh prawn. Lucky's wanton skin was light, soft, delecate. Mak's was a bit springy, had a nice smooth texture, and firm-ish.

Despite the misadventure with the char siew, the wanton mee is quite enjoyable.



The deep fried version was just that. The same wanton wrapped tighter, and deep fried. The skin was crispy, but just so. I would have preferred crispier skin, and more punchy flavour in the filling. In contrast, the deep fried wanton typical in a tim sum stall in HK was lighter, and very crispy. I suspect in HK, they use a different skin when deep frying than when in soup.

To wash this down, we had some ice kachang with peanuts.



Annie's version was covered with bits of ground peanuts. Dig inside, and one is rewarded with a fairly generous helping of jelly, red bean and other bits. The jelly was of the right consistency, though I think different pieces of different consistency and chewiness would have added one more dimension to the dish. the red bean was de rigeur, and I wish they could use Japanese type red bean...though I guess the cost of the Ice Kachang would easily triple. A scoop of vanilla ice cream would also be interesting. I looked in vain for the atap seeds, a favourite of mine, but in vain. No attap seeds! This is an outrage. There should be a law to ensure that Ice Kachang come with atap seeds. Overall, despite this ommission, the Ice Kachang was quite nice.

Read ieat's view of Annie's Ice Kachang.





Lucky Wanton Noodles
#02-33

Annie's Peanut Ice Kachang
#02-36
81635678
10.30am to 7.15pm Weekdays
10.30am to 6pm Weekends


Blk 6 Tanjong Pagar Plaza
Tanjong Pagar Plaza Market & Food Centre
Singapore 081006