MY FAVOURITE THINGS ...

or noodles as the case may be, because if there's one noodle dish I love, it's HOKKIEN MEE - and I'm not talking about the fried noodles with sauce (although I'm fond of it too, especially the way it's made in KL - dark and greasy ... mmmm ... here in Penang it's a bit too "weak" for me). But we really excel in this prawn-based soup noodle dish, so every opportunity I get I will try and indulge in it although of course people say it's not really a very healthy dish, laden as it is with lard and prawn otak.

However, cholesterol, salt and grease notwithstanding, it is still my favourite hawker food, as I love the hot soup too. One place in Penang that is very famous for it is the self-styled "SUPER HOKKIEN MEE" at the 1-Corner Cafe in Jalan Bawasah, where the demand is so high that as soon as you stand near the stall, without even looking at you, the response is, "To boi dan ah" (there's a long wait). And if you dare to ask, "How long?" like I did yesterday at about 10.20am, his response was, "Chab it diam lai bin" which means, "Till at least 11 something".

OK, as I had a bit of time, I thought I'd do it. I've heard about this place for so long that I was determined to try it. Quite full, but not packed out. And there are other stalls who were all busy too. So whilst I waited, I ordered a "Chee Cheong Fun" but it was disappointing: it looked attractive and seemed quite "saucy" but in fact was a bit bland and there wasn't actually enough to cover it when you mixed it all up. And as anyone who knows me will tell you, I am rather saucy.

However the wait wasn't as long as all that - as I had an appointment at 11 round the corner (to do my nails, if you MUST know) I rang them up to tell them I might be a bit late, anticipating a long wait. I was served my bowl at 10.40am. I may be wrong, but I got the feeling that they were deliberately helping to perpetuate the myth about the long queue for their "super" Hokkien Mee, because actually the place wasn't that crowded. Granted there were lots of orders for takeaways - people buying bags of the stuff - and also after my bowl came there were others who were turned away, disappointed, because they were running out. "Bo liao".

SO was it worth the wait? Well first impressions were good. Piping hot, lots of soup (they didn't stint on that) and it looked like the real McCoy, and anyway I was hungry. When you tuck into it, there's a LOT of mee, and actually quite a few pieces of pork and prawns. Almost full marks presentation-wise except there was probably TOO generous a portion of noodles in it. However the soup, although quite thick and tasty, was VERY salty. Why don't people realise that TASTY does not equate SALTY.

Overall, I'd say it was about average, on par with almost any other HKM stall in Penang. And the eu chang (onion fritters - compulsory!) was clearly not home made, which does make a significant difference to the end taste. At least for aficionados ... ah hem.

Overall, I'd give it a 6.5 out of 10 - definitely not full marks, and certainly nowhere near justifying the long wait (even just the 20 mins let alone, apparently, sometimes 1.5 HOURS!!!), price (RM3.50) and the, shall we say, slight attitude of the stallholder (although his wife - I think - at least smiled when she brought me my change).

Certainly it doesn't compare favourably to the Tnt Hokkien Mee shop in Lorong Selamat, which I wrote about for Star Sunday Metro a few months back. There it is brought to you fast and is available all day long. The place was started a year ago by Hokkien Mee Seller Tang Chooi Kee, 63, and run by daughter Katherine and son-in-law Terence (hence the name). Tang has been making and selling this perennial favourite for the past 40+ years.

Definitely worth paying a visit to, as it's in a clean and spacious restored heritage house. Condiments like chilli sauce, pork scratchings and even eu chang are a table to which you help yourself - so you can pile on as much as you want! They’ve also got Hokkien Mee with a difference: "Claypot Special”:with extras: rice, fresh large prawns, fish balls, hard-boiled egg, intestines and other ingredients. They are open from 8.30am to 5pm or when sold out.

Of course if all else fails my all-time favourite stall is Ah Choo who sells near the Tg Bungah Market. At least she's friendly, (except sometimes at weekends and during public holidays when demand is so fierce she can get a bit short but that's quite understandable - the different combinations people want: no this, want that, a bit of this a lot of that etc etc etc - she is remarkably good at remembering orders really). Hers is, as they say, simply the best.