Siam Road Charcoal Char Kuey Teow

Char Koay Teow with Egg (Spicy) = RM9.00 No Service ChargeThis is a Michelin Bib Gourmand Food Stall.Queueing 50 Mins for this is probably one of the Stupidest Thing I've ever done in my Life, and I promise I will never do this again.Located in a Dedicated Shophouse of its own, with a Residential Section on top. I reckon the Owner probably lives here too. When I arrived here at 1.16pm on a Friday Afternoon, there was a Super Long Queue that was at least 25 People Deep. It stretches all the way into the Eatery itself.The Interior is full of people already sitting at Tables while waiting for their Friend in their Queue. Not Airconditioned although there are Fans that thankfully made it feel Less Warm and Stuffy.The Chef is a Middle Aged Man who is doing all the Cooking and he is assisted by 2 Assistants who help him with taking orders and prepping ingredients. Once your Queue is reaching near to them, just order what you want from the Assistant and pay her directly. Once done, it will be just 2-3 Mins more before you get your Food.Protip: If you are a Solo Diner, don't expect to be able to sit down because ALL the Tables would have been taken. I myself had expected to just stand and eat but I was very lucky that a Fellow Patron offered her Seat to me because she is still waiting for friend who was still in the queue. She will probably never see this Post, but I would like to thank her for Generously offering her seat to me. Of course after I finished, I signalled for her to come reclaim her seat.Total Control of the FlameThe first thing you will notice is the Pile of Charcoal on the Floor next to him and he will occasionally take a piece to put into the Burner with what looks like a Self-Jury Rigged Air Blower with Dedicated Manual Controls. While Frying the CKT, he will actually push some buttons on this Air Blower to manually control the Fire. It is quite Fascinating to see how he controls Every Little Aspect of the Flame like this.Char Koay Teow with Egg (Spicy) = RM9.00With all that being said, how does the Actual CKT taste like?First Bite of it, was Sweetish, Salty and Savoury. It certainly has Wok Hei to it. Sweetness, Saltiness were all just at the Right Level. The Noodles have a Noticeably Stickier than usual sort of Texture for some reason. Its the Sort of CKT where after the 1st Bite, you want to keep eating more.Also Very Fragrant due to the Presence of Pork Lard. Chilli also very Mildly Spicy. I feel compared to Jin Kor CKT that I reviewed previously, it is slightly more 重口味 but not as Heavy as Singapore Version of CKT. Again, Kicap Manis is not used in this Penang CKT.That said, I feel this is a Very Small Plate although is just nice for 1 Person. There are 2 Fat Mid-Sized Prawns, Pieces of Pork Lard, Lup Cheong and all the Ingredients you'd expect from a CKT. The Cockles here are one of the Smallest I've ever seen for a CKT. They are so Small!Conclusion and Closing ThoughtsAt RM9.00 (S$2.70), it is definitely worth the Money because this CKT really does taste Very Good although I wouldn't specifically fly to Penang just to eat this, much less queue 50 Mins for it.The Precise Fire Control he does here fascinates me more than the Actual CKT itself. Self Jury-Rigging an Air Blower just to have Precise Control of the Fire is just Next Level Dedication for me.Like I said before, No Food No Matter How Good, is never worth more than 20-30 Mins of Wait. I can recommend this, but you must be prepared for a Long Queue. Given that they open at 12.00pm Noon, your chances of seeing Little Queue is pretty slim.Having said that, I do admire his Endurance. For me, it was a 50 Mins Queue. For him, he is standing infront of a Blazing Heat in this Crazy Hot Weather for over 6 Hours, 5 Days a Week. Can't imagine how he can tahan like this.Thanks for Reading. Come join my Facebook Food Blog: "A Solo Singaporean's Guide to JB Foods" to view the Full Review with Photos.

My wife and arrived at 3:30pm on a Thursday and luckily there weren’t many people waiting in line. We came to try the kuey teow due to the highly rated reviews on google and it did not disappoint. Waited in line for 10-15 minutes before ordering and the food came really fast. My wife grabbed a table before I was able to order the kuey teow and she was able to order a lemon tea and fried chicken from the lady in the back of the establishment. I believe they are separate entities, as you pay for each separately. We ordered one spicy Kuey Teow with egg and one non-spicy kuey teow with egg. My wife and I agreed that we liked the spicy one slightly more because of the extra flavor from the chili but the non spicy one was still good. We enjoyed the sweetness from Chinese sausage, the spice from the added chili, slight bitterness from greens, and the texture of the crispy pork. It was a great mix of flavors. If you come hungry, then I recommend ordering 2 plates of the noodles. The chicken wings were also a delight with a crispy skin and tender meat that falls off the bone as you bite into it. Highly recommend trying this establishment.

They say Penang are well known for Char Kuey Teow but this one, this one is really a MUST-TRY. A unique experience where u have to line up to wait for your turn to order and then collect your food once done (freshly "Char" from the Wok ) my local friend bring me there and it was non peak hour so we are quite lucky that they offer to send our food to our table. And don't missed out the must-try local drink -The nutmeg Juice, ordered the red nutmeg juice and it was so refreshing!!! For those who decide to drive there, it's very challenging to find a spot to park at that area as usually its either private parking area or u can choose to double park beside the shop.

I waited in line for over an hour to try this legendary char kuey teow. It was delicious - rich, smoky, and packed with flavor. Totally worth it, no doubt about that. But next time, I'll definitely try to come when the line isn't quite so long.

One of the better char kuey teow in Penang but is it worth the 1 hour plus queue on a weekday? They however do not compromise quality and ensure that each plate is properly fried. Has good wok hei but you need to order large to be of reasonable size.