We have been loving this plump lady's kuey teow for ages. On some days we would drive to Kelana Jaya just for her smokey CKT and barely cooked siham. And we are sure to bring a couple of packets back for seconds. Finally we had a chance to have a little chat with Auntie Gemuk...

What's in a Char Koay Teow? We have flat rice noodles, soya sauce, some garlic, shallots and eggs. How about cockles then? Yup that too. Some soft cooked siham that if you fry it right, will taste like its barely cooked. That's the novelty here. The way Char Koay Teow is stir fried looks like nothing, throw in some stuff here, then pour some other stuff in, stir this for about 1 minute and it's done. But then again, there is an art to frying Char Koay Teow.

If you've never seen how this dish is made, or you've learnt it from a r-e-c-i-p-e book, chances are it'll come out tasting like noodles in soya bean paste. The best ones are arguably fried in Penang. The tastiest ones are arguably lard laden. But if you don't have time to drive up to Penang for a plate, or lard is just not your thing, there's a fat lady in Kelana Jaya that has been frying up a CKT storm for the past 29 years!

I almost never have time to talk to this nice lady who goes by the name "Aunty Gemuk" (Fat Aunty). Why? Because there are always orders. And she's always frying. Why do I like it? Firstly, her CKT has the Wok Hei taste or "taste of the flame" as we call it. This can only be achieved by furiously frying the noodle under a high flame until it almost burns. But it doesn't. You see, she's just teasing it to burn. She'll be working the noodles until looks like it can't take it anymore, it's like the last second before it explodes... she'll rescue it out of the flaming wok. And the noodles shows their gratitude by having this delicious smokey taste and smell that is characteristic of a great CKT. That takes skill.

That's not all... her Siham (Cockles) is perfectly fried raw. You don't get it? She knows exactly when to throw in the cockles. So it has a slightly raw taste and texture but it goes perfectly with the stir fried noodles. Is it a health risk? Will you be paying with an all night long toilet experience then? Nope. So far, never happened. Well ok.. once. But not with this stall though. Besides, what's a little risk in life? It's not like you're eating Fugu. Now, that's dancing with the devil.

"One perfectly delicious Char Kuey Teow that is slightly charred..."

So, there you have it. One perfectly delicious Char Koay Teow that is slightly charred, slightly salty, slightly ajinomoto'ish, slightly soggy and slightly hot. Delicious! One day, just after the new year, I had a chance to sit down with her to ask about her CKT in between orders. I know that I don't have much time so its questions spewing time!

"AiyahAuntyahyoumanyakbusylahsayatanyacepatAuntysudahberapalamabukainitempat
..bla ..bla..bla"

So now, here's an interesting story. She's been selling CKT for 29 years. Her recipes come from Penang and she used to be the assistant to a CKT seller a long time ago. One day, her boss decided to call it quits so she decided to continue the legacy.

Another interesting story is that she used to sell CKT at another restaurant just around the corner from the current one. Several years ago, she was forced to move to the present location because "allegedly" the owner wanted to set up her own CKT there leveraging on the the popularity of Aunty Gemuk's CKT. So "allegedly" the rent was increased and she moved. But that's not all, according to the locals around the area, nearly all the stalls moved with her to her current location. She's like their mascot you see. So, I guess it ain't over till the fat lady sings then...

She now has a prodigy that she's training to succeed her. It's one of her sister in-laws apparently. Her CKT is similar but not the same, so I guess that she still has a couple more years of apprenticeship to do. Prices are reasonable. RM3.80 for small plate: RM4.30 for big. And if you want extra siham that's another RM1 extra. Go for the BIG one with extra siham!

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Aunty Gemuk’s Penang Fried Kuey Teow

                   

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