Penang Food | Ong Cheng Huat Seafood
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Most of the time, good food are typically located at the front of busy road or can be clearly visible from the main road. But sometimes, you need to manuever slightly further in before you can see the restaurant. The same goes to this seafood restaurant that we dined just last week. Although not that far into the kampung, you will still need to know where to look at the sign before making the right turn. Else you can simply miss it.
Mention the dishes like fish head, small chicks, curry crabs and tuak (fermented rice wine), most people will be able to instantly think of this place. Yes, finally PenangTuaPui steps foot to Ong Cheng Huat Seafood Restaurant. If you are coming from the oats factory (Federal Oats Mills), keep moving until you pass a traffic light. Then look at a “BGM” sign overhead before slowing down. There is a signboard to indicate Ong Cheng Huat Seafood which you need to turn left. Follow the road for about 150m and you will see a large compound with many cars. You have reached the destination…
There are plenty of cars there by the time we reach this place yet the compound is quite large that it can easily accommodate 20-30 cars at the same time. Ong Cheng Huat Seafood has expanded its dining area to cater larger crowds as well. You can see the one with white signboards are the dining area while the green one in the middle is actually the kitchen area.
This is the crowd at lunch time with all the tables fully occupied and some of the guests are seen waiting. We too had to wait a while before getting a table. This is the larger dining area among the two. The other side has probally 5-6 tables only.
This open air dining area is well ventilated and not stuffy. Also, the roofs have been fixed with heat reflectors that keep the dining hall as cool as possible despite the low ceiling, thus making the lunch session here comfortable. One thing that we feel good is the floor has been covered with cement, which makes the place easy to clean and does not look messy or shabby.
This is the kitchen area with each persons already dedicated to perform certain tasks, in a way. The fish steaming and chicks frying are done outside the cage, while those inside the cage were seen preparing fried bee hoon. Notice the fan on the left of the picture. Even if you have no place to sit, never ever, choose the table behind the fan or you will end up regretting it. The hot air blows directly to that table.
If you notice carefully, all the staffs here wear the Phua Chu Kang boots one. Well, the floor can be quite wet and slippery which using the rubber boots to move around helps to maintain the grip that prevent them from falling. This is a good safety measure to implement.
We ordered two bottles of leng teh (herbal tea) with each costs RM5.50. The herbal tea is stored using recycled mineral water or soft drinks bottle. Each bottle can fill up 6 glasses almost full. The leng teh is slightly sweet with moderate herbal taste, nice to quench our thirst while waiting for the food.
These are the dishes that we ordered for the lunch; fried chicks, octopus, popiah, steamed fish head and fried bee hoon. The whole meal for six persons costs RM121.00. Before we conclude if the money is worth paying for this meal, let us take a look at each of dishes we ate in details…
Another shots of the dishes ordered but focus more on the fried chicks… (yes, we are referring to small chicken, keh kia)
First to arrive is the fried bee hoon. The fried bee hoon looks and tastes quite like economy bee hoon except this one is slightly wetter. There is also limited ingredients that come together with this bee hoon, some beansprouts, vegetables and prawns. At RM7.00 per plate, this is really expensive and we do not really see the worth to pay RM7 for this plate. Unlike the one at Ah Keat Seafood with salted fish (kiam hu), this fried bee hoon is just plain. Oh, they do not serve rice here, by the way.
The “eight legged fish” came next in the familiar metal plate. The portion is kind of limited with some garlic sprinkled on top of the octopus. It tasted normal and slightly chewy but our stomachs could actually have more.
The boiled octopus that we have contained lots of the legs and the “body” portion and less of the “head” partion. We like that but this dish is RM10 which considered slightly above average for that portion we had.
Steamed fish head was served is a large pan, almost the same size as the curry fish head at Juru. There are two processes involved before the fish is served to customers. The boss will take the fish out from oven and steam it like the picture above before serving to customers. In fact, he was quite friendly that the moment he saw us holding the camera, he signalled us to take the shot above. Very friendly and approachably person indeed.
The fish used is Ang Sai (Red Snapper) and the size of this fish can be quite astonishing considering a part of the fish can fit such a large pan, how long and how big do you think this fish is going to be? The boss said they can sell this fish in terms of tens per day and the supply of this fish is constant because of the volume. The fish is delivered daily from the wholeseller instead of being kept here.
The steamed red snapper looks just like normal steamed fish but the uniqueness is in the gravy itself. It has sour and salty gravy, sprinkled with lots of garlic which can be very addictive. On top of that, the fish is fresh as well and tasted a bit sweet. With each scoop that we took that time, you could see a big chunk of fish meat and when you eat it, the feeling is just great! Definitely a sense of satisfaction. Too bad we only had one side of the fish head which we hope to have more. The price of this fish? RM56.00
While in the kitchen, we managed to capture this photo that looks like either curry chicken fillet or chicken in sweet and sour sauce… what is it actually? Too bad we did not ask.
This is one of the specialty of Ong Cheng Huat Seafood, fried popiah skins that looks like heh chee (prawn crackers). The fried popiah aka heh chee is made of 3 layers for popiah skin that put together before being fried. In between those layers are prawns, garlic, 5 spices and chopped celery.
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Aiyo… I also want to eat fried chicks la~
You should try their steam lala with bird chili. I like it lor…
allies last blog post..Penang Food | Fettes Park Western Food
I dont think the price is high…. do compare this with Penang food price.
In fact, their economy type of char bee hoon is the best… better than many places in Penang.
Though they only serve few dishes, however if you come in a group and order all their dishes in one go, I tell you, that worth the money.
This post reminds me I have this Ong Cheng Huat pic yet to upload.
You’ve ordered their main one like fried popiah and spring chicken. You should also try their steam lala, and curry wild boar. They also have assam prawns, the prawns are absolutely fresh. They also have crabs, by the way.
New Kid On The Blogs last blog post..The Eclectic Lounge & Restaurant
allie,
you’ve missed the earlier boat…. next round there
hehehe
New Kid On The Blog,
Agreed for this restaurant, the more the better due to economy of scale reason.
Still, if we were to remove the steamed fish (RM56), the total bill still stands at RM65, which is quite high in our opinion, given the dishes that we ordered were just simple dishes. The fried popiah, though unique, is just too pricey for the dish…probably RM8 per plate makes more sense.
There are others that we did not order but it’s worth to note that you pay for the freshness in seafood which is something we definite acknowledge but the simpler dish could have been reasonably priced also. Don’t you think?
I’ve seen this in Ah Xian program, the prawn fritters & steam fish..look so good…
SimpleGirls last blog post..Japanese Restaurant - Akamomiji@Medan Ipoh
SimpleGirl,
yes, they do look good and the fish is fresh!
hmm, not that pricey lah … and the fried popiah skin with fillings look kinda good. perfect snacks to munch on.
but half a fish head only? i’d rather have my fish in whole, thank you.
J2Kfms last blog post..Motormouth Survived Hanoi … & Turns ONE !!! Yay ?!!
the fish looks fresh and the fried popiah of heh piah looks crunchy.
foodbins last blog post..SUSHI ZANMAI - I UTAMA
J2Kfm,
Pricey in terms of the food + servings not worth the price paid especially the simpler dishes. Seafood however, was a thumb’s up for its freshness.. highly recommended especially the steamed fish
foodbin,
you’re right on both cases!
Marked for my next food trip back to Penang …..
Sien with prawns oledi …. must go hentam a bit Todi there ….
email2mes last blog post..Cupcakes and Red Velvet Cake by A Taste Boutique Cakes & Bistro
This is the most handsome red snapper head I have seen though the price is on the high side. If the meat is superfresh it is worth the premium.
Chins last blog post..The Best Job in the World - Top 50 Shortlist Announced (Island Caretaker Great Barrier Reef, Queensland, Australia)
that curry is wild boar meet la…. heehee
email2me,
come lar… was looking for Tuak kaki that time… hahaha
Chin,
Handsome or not… it’s still goes into our stomachs.. hahaha
Yes, the fish we had was indeed fresh.. too bad, half side only…
Pete Lim,
Mystery’s solved!!!
and Fei Fei lost to Tam Ciak in the bet already… hahhaha
Why didn’t drink tuak…very geng taste. They do sell it in individual glass if you don’t have minum kaki to finish the whole bottle.
ck lams last blog post..Pan Mee @Macalister Road/Lorong Selamat, Penang
The food tastes nice. Aiyo…. I also dunno they sell individual glass of tuak. If so, I would have try. lol (I also don’t have minum kaki to finish the whole bottle. lol)
FoOd PaRaDiSes last blog post..Sabah Food Hunt Part 7 @ Lintas, Kota Kinabalu
hey guys, you had beat HO Ciak 8TV team, they will recommend this place in the coming episod. you guys rock!!!!!!
ck lam,
we got ordered one..a glass only but it never came…
end up we canceled it
FoOd PaRaDiSe,
the glass cost RM1.50 each… if seldom drink.. can try lor…
The fried popiah looks sooooooo delicious. Wish I was in Penang right now!
Becklees last blog post..Paintings by Charles Gordon from Wales
Daniel,
just happen to be one step earlier… hehheee
Becklee,
put this into your itinerary when you’re in Penang next time
yaya.. i saw it in the 8TV too.. look at the fish, OMG, i love fish, this look really fresh and delicious… I love it.
Will go there in person for sure. Thanks.
this stall is really good. u covered all the must-haves!!
very happy to see it finally getting the credits~~ great job!!!
by the way, congrats on making the list on the edge.
guffy,
the fish is the real star attraction in this place… fresh and delicious. The price differs depending on which part you get..
tamchiakfella,
yes, we’ve stepped here finally…
and tasted the freshness too…
and thanks~!
Sorry ah, guys! Still find that it isn’t pricey! ;P
New Kid On The Blogs last blog post..The Eclectic Lounge & Restaurant
My sis used to buy their tuak for baking.
Little Inboxs last blog post..Dinner @ Four Seasons Tea Restaurant, Sunway Tunas
Who who who who? who is the one saying eating the keh kia so cruel one????
carisos last blog post..Kozue Japanese Restaurant
New Kid On The Blog,
Hahaha… no problem at all, we do have different views at times but that’s what this comment boxes are for, right?
at least on your side, you find the price is reasonable. So others can go ahead and try themselves, that’ll be the best way to judge..
happy eating, folks~!
Little Inbox,
Yea, can buy tuak there. We were told got customers who came here to buy fish during the CNY also…
Speaking of tuak, isn’t that one of the ingredients used to make huat koay also?:p
cariso,
we never thought of that ourselves until one of our colleagues expressed her surprise when we said we went to makan keh kia… Her expression of “Aiyoh, so kesian!!!” made us all speechless for a moment…..
Else we would have thought it’s a normal food too… after all itu boleh makan punya mah… right???
[...] you order has oysters in it. Yes, it sounds like this restaurant is an oyster house. Just like the Ong Cheng Huat, this place has only few specialty dishes and most patrons are here for their [...]
[...] the cheapest we can get so far. At RM6.00 per plate, this is definitely a real bargain compared to Ong Cheng Huat or BM Tree Shade. Of course, fresh octopus is easily available here which makes it cheaper compared [...]
i went for it last week and the cracker is amazing even it is a bit expensive, and the little chics… yum yum
[...] the cheapest we can get so far. At RM6.00 per plate, this is definitely a real bargain compared to Ong Cheng Huat or BM Tree Shade. Of course, fresh octopus is easily available here which makes it cheaper compared [...]
This also can call “seafood” ? you never tried seafood b4?
kingdom,
we can help you to feedback to the owners if you think seafood is not the right term used. It’s in their signboard anyway
There’s a new seafood makan place near Bagan Ajam Market Complex called Win Win Restaurant. Check it out!
Fat brothers, tuak is not fermented rice wine. It is actually the sap from the flower stamp of the coconut tree lah! They used to be famous for the tuak, but the sweetness has been substituted by the sourness from over mixing or may not be fresh enough.
As for the price, it definitely increased through the last few years. The meal you guys had would have only cost around RM 80-90 only just 2-3years ago.
the popiah isgood
Your pointer and GPS coordinates does’t match!
the picture looks nice but not the taste, and the price is above the average, you guys should try ” Lok Yuan” at Bukit Tengah.