Ah Leng Char Koay Teow is one of the more well-known Char Kuey Teow stalls in Penang that earned it the actual ‘famous’ title. Ah Leng is actually the name of the man that used to run it, until recently when his daughter took over. Wanting to keep things simple like most of its kind, for many years the delicacy only exist in the form of a stall in a restaurant. The location of the stall has also moved across the road from its previous one, renting out a space from one of the restaurants there.
Serving only Char Kuey Teow, it comes in two versions; the regular ones and the special. The difference between the two is the extra addition of ingredients in the special version. Both versions are cooked the usual way; strip rice noodles with bean sprouts, chives and egg in lard and oil on high heat.
While the regular is fried with a few cockle flesh and big-sized prawns, the special had more prawns and cockles, and mantis prawns are thrown in for good measure. Not always you’d get a shop that is generous with their prawn size and quantity. You can opt to add more kuey teow as well as swapping the usual chicken egg with a duck egg instead, albeit incurring a slight additional price. The dish carries the authentic taste of Char Kuey Teow; sweet, savoury and spicy, the kick that comes from stir-frying on high heat, and the extra flavour stemming from the fresh, juicy seafood.
