Shiok Penang char kway teow by kueh hawker, solely obtainable 3 hours a day

As I used to be strolling by way of Holland Drive Market and Food Centre, one specific stall caught my eye. It was Sweet Bistro— a humble hawker stall promoting numerous kuehs and tidbits like yam desserts. I realised that folk who have been queuing up for the stall weren’t ordering kueh, however char kway teow as an alternative. Bizarre!

It was solely upon nearer inspection that I realised Sweet Bistro had a smaller signal board under its most important one, sporting the phrases “Penang Char Kwa Teow” on it.

I had a bit of chat with the proprietor, Benz Tan, who defined that he used to work in Conrad Hotel’s buffet restaurant a few decade in the past, earlier than he got here out to be a hawker in his personal proper.

His Penang Char Kwa Teow is barely obtainable from 11am to 2pm every day making this definitely an elusive plate of char kway teow.

What I attempted at Sweet Bistro

Like a moth to a flame, I went straight for Sweet Bistro’s Penang Char Kwa Teow (S$5). Though every plate was cooked to order, I acquired my order rapidly, inside a few minutes.

First impressions? This appeared completely improbable. The char kway teow didn’t look too oily, and had a smokish tint from its time on the wok. It additionally got here with a considerable amount of components, similar to bean sprouts, a complete prawn, fish desserts, lup cheong and a few greens.

My first chunk obtained me nodding my head in approval.

Every chunk was full of savoury wok hei, and since it’s drier than the char kway teow we’re used to right here in Singapore, I may style a smoky spiciness, which solely added on to how scrumptious it was.

Plus, what I liked about Sweet Bistro’s char kway teow was the feel of the noodles— it was gentle and delicate, but it didn’t break aside simply, nor did it clump along with the remainder of the noodles or components.

This was significantly good Penang char kway teow!

If something, I actually liked how beneficiant Sweet Bistro was with the remainder of the accompanying components. The bean sprouts gave that well-needed crunch issue, whereas different components just like the lup cheong, fish desserts and egg created a good looking different texture when paired with the char kway teow.

While I initially had thought that the S$5 plate of char kway teow wouldn’t be filling sufficient, I ended up being fully stuffed on the finish of my meal.

It should’ve been the beneficiant components and the deceivingly little char kway teow (which turned out to be not so little in any case).

My solely gripe with Sweet Bistro’s char kway teow was that it was a bit of oilier than I’d like. As I reached the top of my meal, I seen a slew of oily streaks on my plate.

Though I ended up countering the oiliness from the meal with a cup of lime juice, I’d collect that some of us won’t take pleasure in it as a consequence of this issue alone.

To spherical off our meal, my eating companion and I made a decision to order a few of Sweet Bistro’s kuehs, and we ordered 3 kuehs for S$5.

We began it off with the Kuih Sago with Gula Melaka, which peeled aside superbly in a sticky method.

While I had initially thought that this kueh was made with glutinous rice, I used to be stunned to seek out out that it was really small sago pearls! I liked the best way its texture was gentle but chewy, and the gula melaka added a aromatic coconut-y sweetness to every chunk.

The subsequent kueh that we tried was the Putu Ayu. These are steamed pandan coconut desserts, and is normally topped with a sort of palm sugar sauce.

These have been delectable little cupcake-like treats that have been fluffy and light-weight. In specific, I loved the grated coconut on the highest, and the way it added not simply gritty texture to every chunk, however an exquisite fruity aroma too.

Last however not least, in all probability my favorite kueh of all of them— the Kueh Lapis.

The vibrant layers peeled aside gorgeously, and my eating companion and I spent 5 minutes merely sitting there and peeling the Kueh Lapis as if we have been kids once more.

In phrases of style, Sweet Bistro’s Kueh Lapis was fairly conventional— there was that jelly-like texture and a richness from the coconut milk.

Final ideas

I can see why of us would queue up for Sweet Bistro’s Penang char kway teow. It’s splendidly smoky, full of wok hei, and only a tad bit spicy. More importantly, it’s extra dry than moist, and got here accompanied by a beneficiant quantity of different components for a wonderfully textured chunk.

It’s fascinating to notice that Sweet Bistro solely sells its Penang char kway teow from 11am to 2pm every day, so you’ll want to swing by throughout this timing for those who’d wish to snag your self a plate!

Expected injury: S$5 per pax

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