Cheap & Good Penang Food At Suntec

My headline says it all! Cheap and good – the Singaporean’s war cry when it comes to all things consumer.  And since we all love Penang food – which isn’t easy to find in Singapore – this is a double whammy of good news.

 

We went to Gurney Drive, a restaurant at Suntec City, recently on the spur of the moment for weekday dins. It wasn’t very crowded so getting a seat was a breeze. Decked out in black and white tiles, booth seats and black and white images of Penang’s hawkers to evoke a sense of nostalgia (which we all lap up tirelessly), this was a seriously informal restaurant you can come to in your shorts and flip flops, and drag the family along.

 

Like most restaurants here these days, there were lots of Filippino staff, so the accents detracted from the Penang feel. But the service was friendly, the food was good, and considering the prices, it’s easy to come back again and again.

 

I started off adventurously with this drink called Ampla Juice (right, $2.50) made from the Indian gooseberry. I have never heard of it before, and it turned out a very chilled, green, raw, grassy yet surprisingly refreshing drink with a tinge of bitterness in the end. Can’t say I liked it enough to go for seconds, but it’s certainly worth a try. The cheerful pink bandung chin chow ($2.50) and nutmeg juice (also $2.50) were much more enjoyable.

 

For food, I just had to have the Penang Laksa (below), always my favourite yet always elusive here. It was a most generous bowl, full of thick bee hoon, pineapple bits, shredded cucumber and flaked mackerel. They were a little stingy on the herbs which give Penang laksa that special ‘oomph’, and the soup was a tad watery compared to the real deal back at the Air Itam market in Penang, so this was somewhat disappointing. It certainly could have been better. But I still enjoyed the dish – especially when it cost only $5.50! How to beat?!

 

The Penang Fried Koay Teow (top, only $6.90!) was really good though. Cooked in pork lard with gobs of pork fat cubes, it wasn’t the healthy option, but it’ll rank among the things that give you ‘quality of life’ over longevity. It was flavourful, slightly sweet with lots of lap cheong, prawns, fish cake and cockles. You’d blast your cholesterol quota for this.  Mind you, this isn’t the dark sweetened char kway teow from Singapore, but a pale dish which does not use the dark sweet sauce. Instead it comes with homemade chilli paste. All very unctuous and supremely yumms-laden.

 

The Penang Cuttlefish Kangkong ($4.90) and Penang Rojak ($3.90) was also good, the former being rather authentic. The only disappointing dish was the nasi lemak which wasn’t fragrant despite being rather generous on the meat and sambals. Rather blah, I’m sorry to say. For dessert, the chendol (left, $2.50) was great – as it should be from Penang – but the ice kachang, which counted Sarsi as one of the syrups drizzled on it – was seriously rather odd. Not to my taste, but it could well be yours. 

 

Also on the menu – we didn’t have enough stomachs to try them all – were Penang Hokkien Prawn Noodles in soup ($5.90), Premium Crayfish Prawn Noodles ($10.90) and Penang Curry Mee ($5.90) amongst others.

 

Last but certainly not least, Gurney Drive brings in fresh stocks of Penang’s famous Ghee Hiang Tau Sar Pneah (right, $5.50 for 16pcs), Beh Teh Saw ($8.50 for 8pcs), Phong Pneah and more and sells them by the box at their retail corner by the front entrance. These divine Chinese confections are must-buys for me every time I head to Penang – and I’d bring back boxes and boxes of them from the old, no-frills Ghee Hiang shop. Now I can just get my tau sar pneah fix from here! My favourite for afternoon tea! One of my personal top 10 good news for the year.

 

Also good to know, Gurney Drive serves brekkie here from 10am – 11.30am. Six variations of toast, soft boiled eggs, home made coffee and tea, and ice cream toasts for the kids. This is a good place to meet up, have coffee before hitting the shops with the girls. Nice!

 

Gurney Drive
Suntec City Fountain Terrace
3 Temasek Boulevard,
Suntec City Mall, #B1-058
Tel: 6336 8847