GEORGE TOWN, JAN 6 — Fancy some boiled duck intestines and braised duck wings? Or how about some braised pigs' large intestines that is so buttery soft, it almost melts in your mouth?
These dishes may sound "weird and exotic" but to many living in the inner city, these were staples and not mere novelty dishes.
Over at Kedai Makanan 113 on Malay Street, Ong Tooi Hong and son Choon Chuan have been serving up these traditional dishes, including duck feet and wings, to their regular customers for decades.
“Our customers love them... they eat it with rice or with our koay teow or even as is... they are really good, you should try some,” Tooi Hong said when we visited their coffee shop.
The duck intestines were boiled to just the right consistency so they still had this crunchy bite to it. It is best eaten with a sweet chilli sauce.
As for the duck wings and feet, Tooi Hong said they always made sure that these are cooked till fall-off-the-bones tender.
“If it is not tender, we will not serve it... so our regulars know they can get soft, tender duck wings and feet at our place,” he said.
Their coffee shop is best known for duck meat koay teow thng but the additional choices of pig and duck innards along with duck wings and feet are what made them special.
Just like many hawkers in Penang, Tooi Hong started selling duck meat koay teow thng from a three-wheeled push cart by the roadside.
“It was sometime in the late 1960s when I started selling it on my own... I was helping out another hawker previously and learnt how to cook the broth for koay teow thng from him,” he said.
He saved up what little he made as an apprentice to another hawker and bought a three-wheeled cart to start his own business.
Tooi Hong was based along Malay Street, near the corner with Beach Street, for many years before he took up a stall in a coffee shop at the corner of Malay Street and Carnavon Street.
He was in the coffee shop for 15 years before he bought a shophouse along Malay Street and shifted there 12 years ago.
“This will be our permanent shop since we own it and we will not move anymore so our customers know where to find us,” he said.
Other than koay teow thng, they also serve rice with braised duck meat, duck meat porridge and another traditional dish, koay chiap.
Koay chiap is a flavourful dish of thick flat rice noodles, duck meat, pork slices and innards in a rich herbal broth.
In recent years, Choon Chuan, has taken over the operations of the shop and the cooking while his 72-year-old father helps around at the coffee shop.
“It is time for me to take it easy but I have to continue to help out and work, that is how I stay strong at my age... we must never stop working,” he said.
He said he has passed down all of his recipes to his son especially preparation of the base broth for the koay teow thng and koay chiap.
“Preparing the broth is the most important part... we have to start cooking at 6pm every evening and leave it to simmer over the embers of a charcoal stove overnight to get the rich, flavourful soup,” he said.
While the shop is well known among locals, it is also often crowded with visitors especially during the holidays.
Just like many hawkers in Penang, the coffee shop does not have a fixed day off.
As Tooi Hong puts it, “We will be closed when we need to take some time off or when we have some things to do... otherwise, we are open most days especially public holidays including Chinese New Year because these are the busiest times for us,”
Kedai Makanan dan Minuman Satu Satu Tiga
113, Malay Street,
George Town.
Time: 6.30am-3pm
