Joo Hooi Cafe (愉园茶室) at Penang Road (Jalan Penang) is one of Penang’s longest surviving coffee shops that are still popular to this day. Every weekend, the place is packed with customers of local and foreign origin.
The coffee shop was notorious for its controversial policy of forcing every customer to order a drink. However ever since Teochew Chendul took over operation of the entire coffee shop, this policy has been discontinued. On the flip side, most of the former stalls have been asked to relocate and are being replaced by Teochew Chendul’s own people.
Penang Road Famous Chao Kuey Teow (槟榔律仁哥驰名炒粿条) is the sole remnant of previous batch of hawkers. Like most stalls of its era, char koay teow (炒粿条) here is served on a sheet of banana leaf for extra fragrance. The portion is quite small for foreigners but it’s the norm here in Penang. The dish is priced at RM6.00 and RM5.50 for a standard portion with and without egg respectively. Chicken egg can be substituted for duck egg for RM0.50 more, which I highly recommend.
The noodle dish has reasonably good fiery aroma (镬气). It is quite spicy by default, so if you have a milder palate, remember to request for less chili upfront. Ingredients used are shrimps (虾), cockles (血蚶), Chinese sausage (腊肠), bean sprouts (豆芽) and garlic chives (韭菜). Overall, this stall’s char koay teow retains the appealing flavor and aroma which Penang is renowned for.
Address: 475, Jalan Penang, 10000 George Town, Pulau Pinang
Contact: N/A
Business hours: 9:30am-6:00pm, closed on WednesdaysTaste