I was amazed at the roads going into this restaurant! We have to go from main road towards some small lanes with factories along the lanes. Then turn into a small pathway with the width of only one car can pass through.... and a sharp corner too! I am a person who don't love driving, moreover in a strange village place in Penang, a place I am not accustomed too. Oh My God, into this narrow bend some more, where I can't see the opposite on coming car! Ms Lee, my local Penang friend pointed and said, "Go, go, go". I said "Really, seriously? Where are we going?" "Reaching liao" (liao is means already) she answered.
Oh yeah, we turned the corner and came into a big open space and a big restaurant. Ong Cheng Huat Seafood Restaurant (王清发海鲜 ) restaurant that has over 100 tables inside.
"See, the number plates that indicates the cars are mostly from outstation, see so many Kuala Lumpur number plates, see!" Ms. Lee exclaimed and pointed out to me. Yup, there are a great number of cars parked along the whole stretch of open spaces. "Further down there, that's where their original stall was", she said.
Ong Cheng Huat Seafood Restaurant (王清发海鲜 ) started over 30 years ago as a small tuak shop. Tuak is a local alcoholic beverage produced from coconut mayonnaise whose sugar content has not been changed to alcohol. In Malaysia, there are two known types of tuak, namely rice bran, coconut palm and coconut milk. (source: Tuak definition) I remember when I was small (in the 60s), there are a number of tuak shops where laborers would go to drink in the evenings after a hard days work as it is cheaper than the bottled and canned alcoholic drinks sold in grocery shops. My mother would send my brother there to buy tuak when she makes traditional cakes as it can be used in place of yeast.
This Ong Cheng Huat Seafood Restaurant (王清发海鲜 ) started as a small stall selling tuak and other small simple easy menus such as fried noodles of meehoon, mee, fried prawn fritters that is easy to go with the tuak. Slowly, with time, they still maintain the signature dish and another signature dish of fried spring chicken, and other seafood such as steam fish, boiled octopus, cockles, clams, mantis shrimp, and fried popiah, just to name a few.
Signature dish: Fried Spring Chicken
Two fried spring chicken served cut into half
Since there are only 3 of us, all ladies, so we ordered two (2) of their signature fried chickens. It cost only RM6.50 per chick. It was well marinated and fried to perfection. It is called "chien kae kia" or fried baby chicken in local Hokkien dialect.
2 Fried Spring Chicken: RM13.00
This fried spring chicken size is smaller than my palm, looks just like our local fried pigeon sold in Mamak Stalls. Taste is ok, and of course do not expect to have mighty chunks of meat. This is suppose to be eaten with Tuak, biting and nibbling and drinking this local mild natural alcoholic drink, tuak.
Steam Fish: RM30
Another signature here is the steam fish that is really and actually steamed! Ms. Lee explained that for some steam fish dishes sold in some restaurants the fish are boiled or blanched first. Here, it is well known among the locals that they really steam the fish with the ginger together.
Fried Noodles
Fried Noodles: RM4.50 per plate
The all time favorite is this simple fried noodles. I asked for rice, but was told that they don't sell rice here. So this means, Ong Cheng Huat Seafood Restaurant (王清发海鲜 ) still maintain their signature menus from the original small tuak shop of fried noodles. Fried noodles cost RM4.50 for a small plate just nice for us three ladies.
Fried Popiah is another unique dish here worth a try. Like fired prawn fritters this one is big with some prawn fillings inside. Named fried popiah maybe because they use popiah skin and the size is also big. Costing RM7.00 a plate of this fried popiah, the one I am holding is a quarter size of the whole. Hmmm.... sometimes, it is too late to take a photo of the plate of food before being swapped up by my co-diners ^-^. So I manage to snap this photo before I wallop it also, haha.
Signature Drink: Tuak
Middle front white glass is Tuak. From left: glass of iced cubes, 2 glasses of honey lemon behind, and glass of ice cubes.
At Ong Cheng Huat Seafood Restaurant (王清发海鲜 ), please do not miss tuak. Tuak has become a novelty nowadays as very few stalls sell it in this modern times where alcohol has become cheaper and easily available. We ordered just a glass of tuak as I share it with my sister, so we asked for two glasses of ice cubes. Then we ordered two glasses of iced Honey Lemon as it was a very hot day. A glass of tuak costs RM3.00, and a glass of Honey Lemon costs RM2.80. The tuak is mild, tastes and smell of light alcohol and drinkable to me, a person who can't drink hard liquor.
Mantis Shrimp (Hae Kor)
Big and spacious inside with many tables.
Local products and delicacies are sold here too
There is a corner in Ong Cheng Huat Seafood Restaurant (王清发海鲜 ), where local products such as Tambun biscuits, Hong Peah biscuits, prawn fritters, peanut cookies, sambal and many others.
From left: Fried noodles, steam fish and fried spring chicken
*Prices are accurate at the time as dated in the receipt.
Overall menu is limited, with tuak, fried noodles, steam fish, fried popiah as the main attraction.
Celebrity Foodie "Ah Xian" was here too
This is not a sponsored food tasting event.
Price: Mid range
Food Taste: 4/5
Drinks: 4/5,
Service: 4/5 (fast and furious at times)
Atmosphere: 4/5
Ong Cheng Huat Seafood Restaurant (王清发海鲜 )
7612, Bagan Lallang,
13400, Butterworth, Penang
Tel: +60 4-331 4782
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