Air Itam Asam Laksa, Sister's Curry Mee, & Kek Lok Si Temple

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Rating: 4.0; Vote: 1

Read my blog post about how to visit Kek Lok Si Temple: There are a lot of delicious Penang street food dishes to eat when you visit, but perhaps one of the most famous is asam laksa, a speciality found uniquely of this version in Penang. There are many famous places to eat asam laksa on the island, but probably the most famous is Air Itam Asam Laksa, located near Kek Lok Si Temple in the Air Itam (also spelled Ayer Itam) area of the city. Since we were staying in George Town, we decided to make a day trip out of going to Kek Lok Si temple and eating at two different noodle restaurants. From George Town we headed over to the bus station and caught a bus towards Air Itam. Though we had no idea where we were going, I followed the map and I could see we were going in the right direction the entire time. It took about 30 minutes on the bus until we reached a market area in Air Itam, and thats where the bus route ended and we got out and were surrounded by the market. The market at Air Itam by the way was pretty good too - there were plenty of snacks and things to eat if youre hungry. Our first stop was for Malaysian curry mee - curry noodles - and another Penang street food legendary stall called Sisters Curry Mee. Operated by two elderly sisters as soon as I found the street food stall, they welcomed us in and invited my wife and I to sit at the lonely table they had set up next to where they were cooking. The stall was truly remarkable, the sisters were serving the curry and noodles out of big pots sitting over charcoal, slowly bubbling away. It was an amazing site to see. Ying and I each got a bowl and after they finished dishing out their existing orders, they dished our bowls of curry expertly. The curry mee came with a variety of different noodles on the bottom of the bowl, filled with a mixture of curry, some pieces of squid, some sambal chili sauce, and a few ingredients that I have no idea what they were. The curry mee wasnt too rich, and it had a salty and sweet, with a shrimpy flavor. Happy full of Sisters Curry Mee, we walked over to Kek Lok Si, which is one of the biggest Chinese Buddhist temples in Penang and in Southeast Asia. I didnt know about Kek Lok Si temple very much before visiting, but I figured out there were a number of different parts of the temple, each connected, yet completely different areas. Ying and I first found our way up the hill and headed to see the giant statue of Kuan Yin, the Goddess of Mercy. We then walked around for a bit, and then walked down the hill to get to the Kek Lok Si Pagoda. The pagoda is said to be Chinese on the bottom, Thai in the middle, and Burmese on the top. Climbing to the top of the pagoda was the highlight of my visit to Kek Lok Si Temple. After walking around in the Penang heat for a while it was time to eat asam laksa, located near the temple. We made our way over to Air Itam Asam Laksa, one of the most famous street food spots for laksa in Penang. The street food stall was packed out as it always is, and it was a little confusing to figure out how to order - but eventually I figured it out - we found a table and ordered two bowls of asam (assam) laksa. To make asam laksa at Air Itam Asam Laksa, they added a handful of herbs and vegetables at the bottom of the bowl, then came the thick rice noodles, then the curry, which was fishy with a sweet and sour taste. The final component was some kind of a black sauce, that maybe was dark kecap manis style sauce - it almost tasted like hoisin sauce. The asam laksa at Air Itam Asam Laksa was a little on the sweet side for my preference, but it was still excellent, and I loved all the herbs and vegetables in it. If you go to Kek Lok Si temple when youre in Penang, you have to try the asam laksa, and maybe the curry mee as well. Going to Kek Lok Si temple and eating at Sisters Curry Mee and Air Itam Asam Laksa made a fantastic Penang day trip from George Town
Date: 2019-08-19

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Traditional Chinese Malaysian Food - CHARCOAL STEAMBOAT in Penang, Malaysia →

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Comments and reviews: 10

Engchoon Koay
The way you ate the Assam Laksa was wrong and l do not understand how the way you ate the noodle with broth or soup. ln my opinion or the way it should be eaten is, you have to totally mixed untill all the ingredients were total merged and thoroughly mixed instead l noticed that you just dig straight in without mixing everything in the bowl. ln that case how can you get the real taste of that actual noodle. For example when you ate that Assam Laksa you just only lightly touched the top and start digging into the noodle up and then stuffing it straight into your mouth so that's why you get a bit extra sweetness of the Shrimp Paste that look like some dark thick sauce that they put on top along with the veggie sprinkled on it. As the Shrimp Paste was supposed to be a bit on the sweet side for those preferring more sweetness to their broth. If your preferrence is not of sweetness you can alway ask them to omit the shrimp paste or minimise it. Probably if you stir it thoroughly it might not be that sweet. And l also notice when you ate that curry mee you did not stir it completely mix the ingredients in that bowl to get the true flavour of that bowl of noodle wholesome. My apology for the comment. Since l watch that you were mentioning about how you felt about the noodles l just can't resist to point out the correct way of eating these two type of noodles in order not to present the wrong rating of these two items
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15Patriot
Mark: Great site Great videos All the foods are so yummy, you have my dream job But, there is a very troubling issue i have, regarding the unsanitary condition of many of the eateries you presented(primarily in Asian countries such as India, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam; etc. , and how the foods were handled and prepared. Are you ever concerned about unsanitary issues in a restaurant setting? Eating delicious foods from all these places, are you ever concerned about health issues? Have you ever gotten sick from eating in any of the places you ate from? Do you do anything in particular, to safeguard yourself from eating at unsanitary places?
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imwhy
yeah man i feel the Ayer Itam Asam laksa is more hype than its actually tasty. like mark said its a bit on the sweet side and not the sour salty taste i expected. And the Petis (black sauce) just ruins it a bit for me. Makes the laksa even more sweeter and has its own acquired taste. But the other different stuffs they put inside the laksa such as the veggies tastes really good thoughh.
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The Wordless Traveler
Hi Mark, I just came back from Georgetown (13th October): I don't think the 2 sisters are making the noodles anymore as they sat at one corner while a younger lady makes them and a younger guy is also helping out by cleaning tables (maybe they're the grandchildren) I think I also sat where you sat hahaha. You should also visit Penang Hill if you do visit Penang again: )
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Long Truong
Hello Mark WiensI've seen your videos of when you were in Japan, and some of them have this clip at the end where you eat sushi but yet am I unable to any video about that. If you haven't uploaded it, would you please do so? Would love to see you eat it and end with your marvelous face, it's delightful to see: )Thank you for taking your time to read my comment, :)
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trinhcuong 1979
English word not really have word for hot or spicy, anyway, if u talk about spicy food, vegan food, asian food, temple n asian scene n culture, im there. Those 2 sisters are as old as fak, lol, but still hardworking n cook great, good, talent n humble, very good tho. We rarely see these people in west or usa due very few asians there tho i guess, lol.
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Lawrence Viles
I tell ya Mark, your videos are getting better and better. The noodles dishes looked great, but when I saw you eating the Rojak I could imagine it wasn't your favorite, I know you don't care for things too sweet and I know you used the word molasses. Thanks for sharing your travels with us, You are as awesome as the foods. Lawrence
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Thomas Clinkscales
Hi Mark, Thanks so much for the videos, they are awesome. I am going to be in Bangkok on August 3-6 and was wondering if you could recommend to me one or two quintessential Bangkok street food/hole in the wall experiences that I shouldn't miss, and what dishes to order. I can't thank you enough for your help. Tom C.
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Domaemon Idohonshu
O I'm glad you found this Laksa. It is 100% representing the best of Laksa as 'Penang Laksa' goes on this Planet The ones you had in Langkawi are also very good Laksa, but they are the Malay Laksa. They are very representative of the traditional Malay Laksa. And I love both types so very much.
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Marissa L
Omg. you went to my hometown. The brown sauce you had in your laksa is the shrimp sauce called he ko. To make the dish not so sweet you can ask them to put less of the shrimp sauce. The soup base is a mackerel fish soup base. They put some lime inside too to make it slightly sour
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