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If you ever find yourself in Penang and craving for stir-fried noodles, a plate of Jawa Mee might be right up your alley. But what is jawa mee exactly? Adapted from the Indian-Muslim hawkers, fried jawa mee utilises yellow Hokkien wheat-and-egg noodles in a tomato-based sauce. And if you’re wondering where to get a delicious plate of Jawa mee at an affordable price, where better to head to than Penang’s 40 year old hawker stall run by Auntie Hooi Eng?
Finding Auntie Hooi Eng’s stall was thankfully rather easy. A helpful tip would be to locate Gama Supermarket & Departmental Store, then take a short walk and her little stall is located right behind at a corner. Parking can be quite a hassle because the location is in a high-traffic area. But fret not— you can either park in the departmental store or if you’re lucky, a street parking (like we did).
After a five minute walk under the sweltering Penang heat, there was 65-year-old Auntie Hooi Eng right behind the wok plating up a plate of fried jawa mee. Fun fact, this extremely hardworking lady has been selling jawa mee to hungry Penangites for an impressive 40 years.
What I tried at Jawa Mee
You’ll find her stall accompanied by a cute looking drink cart and economy rice stall. This unassuming coffee shop was packed with patrons when we were there, with many of them working in the departmental store and offices nearby. The menu is straightforward— you have the option between Fried Jawa Mee (RM5.50) or Jawa Mee Soup (RM5). Heads up, Auntie Hooi Eng can be a little shy— I discovered this while snapping photographs of her in action.
My fried Jawa mee came within 10 minutes, generously topped with ingredients. And of course, it also arrived with a lime sliced into two halves at the corner of the plate. I squeezed some lime onto my noodles and mixed everything up for a more balanced flavour and for that much-desired tangy kick.
I had to admit, for RM5.50, the portion was indeed far too generous. If you have a small appetite, you can definitely share it between two— that’s what we did. However this isn’t your everyday fried jawa mee. Instead of the usual fare of fritters, she adds in fresh prawns and homemade barbecued pork. Yum! The barbecued pork isn’t the fatty type and is more towards the lean kind, which is perfect with these noodles.
I found her Fried Jawa mee to be simple, straightforward, and absolutely addictive— it leaves you wanting more. The sweet-sour-savoury flavours came together perfectly and the gentle, pleasant soft texture of the Hokkien noodles complemented the sauce perfectly, absorbing some of the flavours of the sauce coating them.
Furthermore, the eggs and sliced potatoes were really well-paired with the noodles. The secret to a yummy plate of fried Jawa mee lies in the chilli paste. And the big pot of chilli paste made by Auntie Hooi Eng definitely hits the spot (and it’s not spicy!).
For those of you who are not keen about stir-fried food, I’d recommend you to try the wet version of fried jawa mee— the Jawa Mee Soup.
Final thoughts
As we stuffed our faces full with noodles, I couldn’t help but feel a pang of gratitude that I was able to eat this dish in Penang. It is indeed difficult to find good Jawa mee in the Klang Valley as the commercialised versions at various Penang food chains in shopping malls were never ones to impress. They were either too sweet, too watery or too sour.
Auntie Hooi Eng’s jawa mee is a big hit amongst Penangites, so it’s no surprise to see her up to her arms in orders during lunch time. Especially since the stall is situated right next to the department store.
For those who are craving for that good bowl of sweet, tangy noodles, you’ll have to try this. So when you’re out to tapau your lunch, do drop by Jalan Tongkat especially if you reside in the area. It’ll be a hearty lunch that will not break your bank.
Expected damage: RM5 – RM5.50 per pax
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