Have you heard about this stall? Apparently most of the locals in Penang want to keep this secret. In a recent trip up north to Penang, we were told to search for this place along Argyll Road. So the Sunday before we left the island, we dutifully drove along Argyll Road looking out for a push cart that reputedly serves one of the best Kwayteow T’ng on the island. As we took the turn-off from Penang Road and drove down Argyll Road (which is a one-way street), we couldn’t spot any cart. Unfazed, we made our way back to Penang Road and drove through one more time and it was then that we spotted it – at the junction of Lebuh Clarke and Argyll Road! Look out for the Caltex station – the cart is just across it in an alley.
Across the cart and all along the alley, tables and stools are set up. There’s a drinks stall towards the back manned by a friendly old chap called Ah Hock.
As it was still fairly early, we managed to secure a table immediately and placed our order for the famed noodles and a plate of poached chicken. The bowl of piping hot kwayteow appeared and I spotted slices of chicken, two types of fishball, one large pork ball, one pork tendon ball and slivers of slippery smooth congealed chicken blood. A generous sprinkling of chopped spring onions and fragrant fried chopped garlic topped the noodles. The slightly milky-looking soup was delicious, with an intense sweet flavor – a result of boiling old layer chickens, I was told.
The plate of boneless chicken thigh meat was a treat. The skin has a bouncy texture while the meat yielded quite a bite. If you are partial to soft tender chicken meat, this is not for you. The poached chicken served here is from huge kampong chickens. While this may not be as soft and tender as the usual market broilers, the kampong chicken meat tasted deliciously sweet in its succulent chewiness.
As we sat slurping the noodles, we could see Ah Boy’s helpers patiently cleaning up huge chickens for the soup pot.
A bowl of the kwayteow th’ng is RM3.80 while the poached chicken is priced from RM7 upwards.
Ah Boy
Ah Boy Kwayteow Th’ng
Junction of Lebuh Clark & Argyll Road
Penang
Opens every day from 7am till 2 pm, except Tuesdays