page_title: Char kway teow
section_title: Variations
hierarchical_section_title: Char kway teow / Variations
caption_attribution_description: We were quite excited to be able to try this new "Malaysian Cuisine" that appeared in Chinatown, especially after several false starts of it being [/photos/avlxyz/3118154414/in/set-72157611093877385/ closed for one-day renovations] a few days after its opening, and queues during lunchtime. Maybe our expectations of it were too high, but our first impressions was that the coconut rice wasn't that "lemak". In other words, not rich enough in coconut milk and/or pandan leaves, or in their posh terminology, "pandanus". Aiya, call a pandan a pandan lah. The beef rendang was quite good, but wasn't that great. I think I prefer the rendang at Nelayan where the sauce is rich and unctuous. The sambal squid turned out quite well though, tender morsels of fat squid in a good tangy sambal. Julia failed the dish after tasting soggy peanuts and ikan bilis, the deep fried anchovies that are supposed to be crunchy. Next came the "white coffee" that Old Town Kopitiam supposedly invented, so named after the White Cafe that was its birthplace, or so the story goes on the Old Town White Coffee website. One sip from both of us and our knowing glances at each other signalled, instant coffee. C'mon lah, brew the real stuff. Our last dish was the Char Kuay Teow. They had ran out of blood cockles, or clams proclaimed the menu, even though it was a AUD2 addition to the dish. Authentic CKT comes with cockles. If you don't like it, exclude it, but perhaps in a nod to Western sensibilities, it is left out. Educate their palates I say. While the noodles and dish itself is not bad, with a faint whiff of smokiness from a hot wok, the noodles were thin, like Pad Thai noodles. Not entirely authentic, but not too bad either. And the prawns were decent sized. The logo on the signage and menu suggests that it could be somehow related to Old Town White Coffee or Old Town Kopitiam in Malaysia. I should have asked a friendly waiter dressed in black, who i suspect might be the boss or shareholder. Then again, the service was very friendly overall. Would we go back? Well, I'll at least give it a second chance for the [/photos/avlxyz/4313050123/ curry laksa], assam laksa, chicken curry, or the nasi goreng fried rice. I didn't even manage an Ice Kacang or Cendol. Both sold out, apparently. Old Town Kopitiam Little Bourke St, Melbourne (previously Banana Palm, between Russell and Swanston Streets) Photos: - [/photos/avlxyz/3118157168/in/set-72157611093877385/ White Kopi] - [/photos/avlxyz/3117329663/in/set-72157611093877385/ Char Kuay Teow] - AUD9. AUD2 extra for blood cockles. - [/photos/avlxyz/3102439596/in/set-72157611093877385/ Char Kuay Teow] - Jeff's iPhone - [/photos/avlxyz/3118156830/in/set-72157611093877385/ Old Town Kopitiam Nasi Lemak with Beef Rendang and Sambal Squid] - AUD10 - [/photos/avlxyz/3118156344/in/set-72157611093877385/ Top view - Old Town Kopitiam Nasi Lemak with Beef Rendang and Sambal Squid] - AUD10 - [/photos/avlxyz/3117327803/in/set-72157611093877385/ Authentic sauces + trendy display] - [/photos/avlxyz/3117327465/in/set-72157611093877385/ Entrees and rice menu] - [/photos/avlxyz/3117326979/in/set-72157611093877385/ Dessert Menu] - [/photos/avlxyz/3117329961/in/set-72157611093877385/ Decor] - [/photos/avlxyz/3117328095/in/set-72157611093877385/ Dinnertime crowd] - [/photos/avlxyz/3101605603/in/set-72157611093877385/ Under construction] - [/photos/avlxyz/3118154414/in/set-72157611093877385/ Closed for one-day renovation]
context_page_description: Char kway teow is a popular noodle dish from Maritime Southeast Asia, notably in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and Brunei. In Hokkien, Char means “stir-fried” and kway teow refers to flat rice noodles. The dish is considered a national favourite in Malaysia and Singapore.
  It is made from flat rice noodles or kway teow of approximately 1 cm or about 0.5 cm in width, stir-fried over very high heat with light and dark soy sauce, chilli, a small quantity of belachan, whole prawns, blood cockles without shells, chopped Chinese chives, slices of Chinese sausage, fishcake, bean sprouts, and less commonly with other ingredients. Char kway teow is traditionally stir-fried in pork fat, with crisp croutons of pork lard. In Penang, Char kway teow is commonly served on a piece of banana leaf on a plate, so as to enhance the aroma on the noodles.
  Char kway teow has a reputation of being unhealthy due to its high saturated fat content. However, when the dish was first invented, it was mainly served to labourers. The high fat content and low cost of the dish made it attractive to these people as it was a cheap source of energy and nutrients.
context_section_description: As the dish has become increasingly popular, many cooks have come up with their own interpretations of the same basic main ingredient of ricecake strips/flat rice noodles fried with anything from eggs (chicken or duck), onions, garlic, prawns, cockles, Chinese sausage, chives, etc.
  In the past, it was usual to stir-fry char kway teow in pork fat without eggs (which were, however, available on request). More recently, ordinary cooking oil is commonly used for health or religious reasons, and eggs have become a standard ingredient in the dish.
  Versions of char kway teow prepared by Muslims in Malaysia will exclude pork fat and may include extra soy sauces and spices and the use of broader-width flat rice noodles. A popular version of char kway teow in Malaysia is also known as fried kway teow, where it is not as drenched in sauce as much as char kway teow is. There are also vegetarian varieties that may or may not include eggs.
  There are also "gourmet" versions of char kway teow, commonly found in Ipoh and Penang, where the dish may be prepared with more seafood, with crab meat and with duck eggs.
  Char kway teow is also popular at takeaways in Australia and New Zealand.
  In Myanmar, a variety called the Beik Kut kyae kaik (the Beik Scissor Cut) exists. It is popular in the southern coastal regions around the town of Myeik ("Baik" is the Burmese pronunciation) and in Yangon, the largest city in the country. It uses more pepper and seafood compared to the kway teow of Singapore and Malaysia. The rice noodles are slightly thinner and are stir-fried with boiled yellow peas, bean sprouts, squid and prawns, spring onions and dark sweet soy sauce. After being stir-fried, the noodles are cut with scissors (kut kyae in Burmese), thus its name. In many Asian fusion restaurants in America, such as the popular Cafe Asia chain, this dish is offered under the name Gway Tiao.
  Many Southeast Asian restaurants in Hong Kong offer char kway teow as a Malay speciality although it is of Southeast Asian Chinese origin. The char kway teow served in Hong Kong is an entirely different dish: stir-fried Chinese-style flat rice noodles with prawns, char siu, onions, and bean sprouts, seasoned with curry and bright yellow in colour.  In some places this is known as Fried "Good Dale", a transliteration of the characters "炒貴刁".
  In Indonesia, there is a similar dish known as kwetiau goreng (Indonesian: fried flat rice noodles) and is served in Chinese restaurants, street side tent warung, and by traveling street hawkers' carts. This Indonesian version tastes mildly sweet with generous addition of kecap manis (sweet soy sauce), has spicier and stronger flavor with addition of sambal condiment, less oily, mostly halal which means uses no lard or pork, and normally incorporates beef or chicken to cater to the majority Indonesian Muslim population. However, some Chinese restaurants in Indonesia that mainly serve non-Muslim customers might use pork and pork fat.
  In Vietnamese cuisine, a similar stir-fried noodle dish is called hủ tiếu xào. Thai cuisine has its own version called Pad see ew.
  In Singapore, the char kway teow is a popular, inexpensive dish usually eaten for breakfast and sold at food stalls in Singapore. A unique feature to Singaporean style char kway teow is the use of yellow wheat noodles alongside the flat rice noodles. There are also healthier versions with more vegetables and less oil. Furthermore, the greens and bean sprouts give off a fresh, crunchy texture that makes the dish stand out even more from other dishes of the cuisine. There is also an incorporation of seafood (like prawns, cuttlefish, squid, lobster meat), although the typical hawker variety usually uses blood cockles. This version is also common in Perth, Western Australia, which has a large expatriate Singaporean population.
caption: Char Kway Teow
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