George Town Heritage Route

A Chinese quarter of koay teow and noodles

The Chinese hawkers of George Town turn on the flat rice noodle "koay teow" and egg noodles. The same koay teow becomes char koay teow when fried over charcoal, koay teow th'ng when sunk in clear soup. Wan tan mee is dry with char siu, chee cheong fun a steamed rice sheet under a black, sweet prawn paste. Duck koay chap simmers broad sheets in a star-anise duck broth. The methods that Teochew, Hokkien and Cantonese migrants carried in have passed down the narrow lanes for generations. More than signs, the wok's breath and charcoal smoke point to where a shop is. Begin by sharing a light plate and settling into the flow of the street.

Charcoal and the breath of the wok

What sets this street's taste is the handling of fire. Char koay teow is tossed all at once over a hard charcoal flame, the scorch of soy and the scent of prawn passing into the noodle. That wok's breath, called "wok hei," divides a good plate from a poor one. So the best fry one plate at a time and never drop the flame though the queue grows. The soups are the opposite, feeding you with a clear broth quietly drawn from chicken, duck or prawn shells. The clear liquid of koay teow th'ng settles the mouth after the richness of the fried plate. Into Penang chee cheong fun and duck koay chap fall black sweet prawn paste and the scent of star anise, building depth through fragrance and sweetness rather than heat. Alternate a hard-fired plate with a quiet bowl and the palate tires less. Add the chili sambal little by little to shape your own edge.

How to walk this route

Starting from Komtar or Chulia Street, take a plate of char koay teow at Siam Road while there is daylight. Once you know the hard charcoal scent, stop into an old kopitiam on Cintra Street for a light dry wan tan mee. Past noon, swing south to Penang Road and take a bowl of cendol on the lane of Lebuh Keng Kwee, cooling the mouth with ice. By evening, as the night market rises on Kimberley Street, graze on chee cheong fun, settle over a bowl of koay teow th'ng, and close by sharing a star-anise duck koay chap. Midday frying, afternoon sweets, night stalls — a street that changes face by the hour. Two to three hours in all. It is walkable, but muggy, so keep water at hand, and reckon on queues in the crowded afternoon and on weekends.