Hawker Street - Authentic Penang Cuisine @ Taman Desa, KL
11:31:00 PM
Finding a place for a good set of Penang food certainly isn't the easiest of task (with a few exceptions). Now, there is a new place in town where you can enjoy authentic Penang cuisine, straight from a lineage of Penangite chefs. Situated in Taman Desa, this humble cafe offers a good variety of delicious and hearty, Penang food with the ability to tweak and customize a little.
So without further ado, here is what we had for dinner!
Asam Laksa - RM8.50
Starting off strong with the chef's signature Asam Laksa. Done with a generous amount of toppings such as sliced cucumbers, pineapple, onions and chili, alongside a flavourful and well balanced broth that is slurp-worthy, all the way till its last drop.
Amazingly, this light but flavourful bowl of noodles had a great depth of flavour. Especially with the amount of fish used. You could really taste it straight up your tongue.
The noodles too, were cooked beautifully. Not too hard nor too soft. Additionally, the broth wasn't overly sour nor spicy, but had a nice balance of both elements.
This asam laksa is certainly one of the best that I've had and I would recommend it to anyone.
*Customers are also allowed to add-on additional sides such as pork slices, egg, cuttlefish, fish, and vegetables for a small price.
Penang Hokkien Mee (KL Prawn Mee) - RM8.50
For the sake of both Penang and KL, I've purposely listed the name commonly used in these two regions. For some reason, both parties are really defensive about this and I could hardly care less. All I care was how good it looks and how amazing it taste.
Unlike the KL version, this wasn't as flavourful, nor as powerful as the one I grew up eating with. The level of spiciness was really mild, but the aroma and richness of the prawns really came through. That is what is unique about this bowl of noodles. So instead of getting all spicy and nothing else, Hawker Street offers an alternative to that by reducing the chili inside and increasing the amount of prawns used.
*Customers are also allowed to add-on additional sides of spare ribs, big prawn, pork slices, egg, prawn slices and cuttle fish for a small price.
White Curry Mee - RM8.50
Next up, we have a light but addictive bowl of White Curry Mee. Do not be fooled by its innocent appearance as the spoonful of chili will turn it upside down. It comes with a good amount of taufupok, prawns, cuttle fish and cockles.
The spoonful of chili too adds a heap of spiciness to the curry, while giving it a richer and more addictive outcome. The only thing I dislike about this was the cockles, as I'm not really a cockles person. But for those who do, there was quite a number of them in there.
*Customers are also allowed to add-on additional sides such as spare ribs, big prawn, pork slices, egg, prawn slices, cuttle fish, shell and taupok for a small price.
Pork Minced Kuey Teow Soup - RM8.50
If you wish for something a little lighter, then this is the item to go for. Despite it being one of the lightest tasting on the menu, the broth itself was still rather flavourful. It also tasted a little garlicky, which I do enjoy.
Kuey teow noodles were cooked perfectly while the fish cakes and minced pork were pretty good as well. Though I would've preferred for the minced pork to be really minced, instead of being clump together, the flavour was still delightful. The pork slices were a little thin, which is another factor I did not enjoy as much.
Apart from that, the taste was good and the dish itself was pleasant.
*Customers are also allowed to add-on additional sides such as spare ribs, pork slice, egg, fish cake and pork minced for a small price.
Signature Nasi Lemak - RM9.50
The nasi lemak at Hawker Street is certainly a little different from what I usually have but I did enjoy it. The reason was because the sambal is done slightly sour, and less spicy. That gave it the 'appetite-kickstarter' experience which I enjoy. The entire dish was fairly light in comparison to most local nasi lemak and it may not be the one you are looking for. However, apart from that, it still is a pretty good nasi lemak.
*Customers are also allowed to add-on additional sides such as big prawn, rice, fried egg or nyonya chicken for a small price.
Big Prawn Char Kuey Teow - RM12.50
Penang Char Kuey Teow, one of the popular items to have when you're in Penang. This aromatic plate of char kuey teow comes with two large prawns and an abundance of cockles. Apart from it being slightly on the sweeter end, the char kuey teow had enough 'smokiness' from the wok and flavour as well. This is definitely worth trying, though the price may not be the friendliest.
*Customers are also allowed to add-on additional sides such as big prawn, rice, fried egg or nyonya chicken for a small price.
Rojak - RM8.90
The rojak served at Hawker Street comes with an array of cut fruits, crushed peanuts and homemade rojak sauce. The rojak itself wasn't too spicy, which allowed most of the flavours from the fruits to come through. In short, it's pretty balanced.
Corn Flake Sago Melaka - RM4.90
This may sound a little weird, but I think it would work if the corn flakes were to be served separately. After all, by the time it gets to our table and have its photo taken, the corn flakes would've gone soggy.
On the other hand, the gula melaka was absolutely delicious, while the sago was fairly alright as I prefer something with a little bite. The others really enjoyed its melt-in-your-mouth experience but personally, I do not. In terms of its taste, spot on!
Cendol - RM4.90
Last but not least, a good serving of Penang cendol. Done with red bean, cendol, gula melaka, santan and shaved ice. The gula melaka was used in the sago, which is delicious to say the least. Along with nicely shaved ice and a good amount of santan. The cendol too was enjoyable while the red bean still retained a certain bite to it. This dessert is definitely worth having!
In conclusion, Hawker Street itself doesn't really sound like much but the food was exceptionally great. Its simple yet honest set-up of the restaurant too was well reflected on the food served - easy, straight-forward and ultimately delicious.
So if you're planning on having some amazing laksa, curry nodles or char kuey teow, this is definitely one of the places worth considering. Attractive price point too if you'd ask me.
Address:
(Searchable on Waze)
33 Jalan 109F, Plaza Danau 2, Taman Danau Desa, 58100 Kuala Lumpur
Operating hours: Tuesday - Sunaday , 10am - 10pm
Tel: 03-7971 4355
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