Food Finds @ Air Itam

Get yourself a retro porcelain bowl of goodness at this Lin’s Sister Curry Mee! This noodle tells a tale of two sisters and their 60 years of Air ltam Curry Mee legacy. A mixture of thick yellow noodles with vermicelli topped with beansprouts, beancurd puffs and coagulated pig’s blood pudding, dried brown squid strips is served with a light curry base – but the extra “kick” comes in only with mixing the homemade chilli paste.

Air ltam – a comparatively laid back town in the foothills of Penang is well known for two icons of the island – Penang Hill and Kek Lok Si Temple.

But, Penangites don’t go to Air ltam for these two tourist attractions alone. The food finds there, unbelievably, have a large part to do with Penang getting its name as the “Food Paradise”.

Air ltam Laksa – these two words are inseparable. Some even say that Air ltam is the only place that offers the authentic Peranakan cuisine till date. This dish is made out of rice noodles, heaps of sweet shrimp paste and lots of love, and trust me when I say you can taste all that goodness in a spoon!

As rice is interpreted as the staple food of many Asian, this popular dish presents rice in an out of the norm way as Char Koay Teow translates to “stir-fried ricecake strips”. This tantalising dish is made with soy sauce, chilli, prawns, de-shelled blood cockles and bean sprouts, and on request also egg. Often, Char KoayTeow is served on a cut piece of banana leaf for added aroma to the noodles.

Fragrant rice, chicken and soy sauce – what can go wrong now? The Papa pi & Bubu Chicken Rice is made popular at the food stall at Genting Kopitiam in Island Glades in another part of Penang. This stall is no more there as the hawker has retired. The second generation from the hawker’s family decided to quit their job and continue to serve this wonderful plate of comfort food at Air ltam.

Rather than eating a pre-mixed rojak, this stall allows you to mix and match your favourite fruits in skewered form. The typical hot boiling soup of a classic lok lok is replaced with two different rojak gravies -spicy and non-spicy. The spicy gravy honestly takes you on an emotional tongue numbing spice experience that will cause you to drench in sweat.