Mighty Fine Fare

By SANGEETHA NAIR
Photos by DARRAN TAN

Two friends team up to serve delightful Penang food in the Klang Valley.

THIS is a story about two women whose passion for delicious food brought them together.

Lynda Goh and Tan Gim Ean had known each other since 1990 when they were working for a credit card company.

The two, who come from Peranakan families in Penang, clicked the moment they had a meal together.


Curry Kapitan

Tan was the type who would travel from one state to another to satisfy her craving for chee cheong fun while Goh would only settle for the best.

Several years down the road the two went their separate ways. Goh decided to open a cafe called Rasa Penang in 1 Utama shopping centre in Petaling Jaya while Tan opened a restaurant in Bukit Damansara.

When business did not pick up as well as they expected, the two decided to join forces.

Goh established Specials of Penang, a restaurant serving authentic Penang hawker and Nyonya food that you might only find in a Peranakan home. She has two branches; one in 1 Utama and the other in Petaling Jaya New Town.

Since business was picking up quite well, Goh needed a helping hand. And she thought it would be a great idea to ask Tan to join her.


Chee Cheong Fun

“I love food and Lynda has a knack for detail. She is very particular about quality. So I thought we would make a great team,” said Tan.

Specials of Penang is known for its Assam Laksa, Penang Lam Mee, Mee Rebus, Penang Rojak, Chee Cheong Fun, Popiah and Curry Kapitan.

“These are the dishes that Penang is famous for and we have brought it down with us to Petaling Jaya,” said Tan.

The Assam Laksa takes a lot of hard work to prepare and tastes like it has been flown down directly from the back streets of Penang.

“The most crucial part about preparing the dish is the gravy which we take pride in,” said the duo.

Goh said the Penang Lam Mee is known as the birthday mee in Nyonya families.

“This dish is a must-have for birthdays hence the name birthday mee,” she said.


Assam Laksa

Taste the Penang Rojak here and you will be sure to come back for more. The healthy plate of cut green apples, pineapple, young mango, cucumber, sengkuang, tofu pok and sotong topped with sweet and spicy black sauce and crushed roasted peanut is simply out of this world.

Their Chee Cheong Fun is also different from the regular ones found in Klang Valley. Again, the secret is in the sauce.

“Ours come with the sweet sauce and petis udang which is what makes it very Penang,” said Goh.

The Mee Rebus is the typical Penang mamak style with the boiled potatoes, fried ote-ote, tofu, half boiled egg and a dollop of sotong sambal and gravy.

If you are familiar with Penang Nyonya food, Jiu Hoo Char shouldn’t be too difficult a word to pronounce.

Goh said she grew up on this Nyonya speciality made from stir-fried turnips, cabbage and cuttlefish.

“It is a dish we have every Chinese New Year eve. I have had so much of it that I have asked my mother to change our menu next year,” she joked.

You would also notice that there is a difference between the Penang Nyonya dishes and Malacca Nyonya dishes.

“Our Nyonya dishes have more Siamese influence with a lot of sour and spicy flavours. The Malacca Nyonya dishes, on the other hand, are cooked with more coconut milk,” explained Tan.

Specials of Penang also has a variety of appetisers to choose from like Pai Tee, Popiah, Tahu Bakar, Otak-Otak, Chicken Lor Bak and Roti Bakar.

On weekends, they have a special menu consisting of Lemak Laksa and Assam Fish Head Curry.

They also have three set meals to cater to the lunch crowd. They are the Nyonya set which comes with rice, Chicken Curry Kapitan, Jiu Hoo Char and mint omelette, the Baba Set which is rice, Beef Rendang, Jiu Hoo Char and Sambal Sotong and the Nelayan Set served with rice, Fish Gulai Tumis, vegetables and Chicken Lorbak. The lunch sets are priced between RM7.90 and RM9.90.

This restaurant specialises in three types of desserts. They are Leng Chi Kang, Ice Kacang and Cendol.

Penang food aside, they also serve Western dishes like Chicken Chop, Chicken Sausage and Fries or Fish and Chips and the Nasi Lemak which comes with a selection of side dishes.