Penangites love an Economy Char Bee Hoon and the Fried Fish Bee Hoon at Goh Chew Kopitiam in New Lane, Penang – the top luxury breakfast items!
My previous trip to the Fried Fish Bee Hoon at New Lane was in 2005!
When I went today, I realized how long it has been since I moved around George Town for breakfast.
This was one of my haunts before I went off to Kuala Lumpur.
Economy Char Bee Hoon or Fried Bee Hoon
Economy Fried Bee Hoon is a simple vegetarian stir-fried rice vermicelli that is a typical breakfast for Malaysian Chinese breakfast, lunch, or supper.
This cheap filling meal can be eaten at room temperature and have the same great taste.
So you will find this simple dish served at parties and even at hotel buffets.
The rice noodles are filling and have a light, palatable taste – great as a light carb base to complement all other finger foods and even curries.
In Penang, you can find this type of economy fried bee hoon at stalls in the morning market, some Kopitiam, economy rice food stalls, and hawker street stalls at night.
The inexpensive dish is made from dried rice vermicelli, soaked to soften before stir-frying. Fried Bee Hoon can be a quick and simple meal, or you jazz it up – to serve a LUX version.
Even though this dish is straightforward, it tastes excellent on its own due to the combination of dark and light soy seasonings.
This dish is a hit for breakfast and supper for the locals.
This recipe is even more straightforward as it’s only seasoned with basic seasonings
- light soy sauce
- dark soy sauce
- Fish Sauce
- sesame oil
- oyster sauce
- salt
- white pepper
The Economy Char Bee Hoon stalls typically sell rehydrated Bee Hoon (thin rice vermicelli), fresh yellow mee (wheat flour noodles), and Kway Teow (flat rice noodles).
Penangites are frugal, and Char Bee Hoon is one of the best breakfasts we don’t tire of.
For me, my breakfast choice daily can be the simple Char Bee Hoon.
I believe this is still one of the best places that Penangites managed to keep under the tourist radar.
Exterior view of Kedai Kopi Goh Chew located on Lorong Baru in Penan
Fried Fish Bee Hoon Stalls
There are a few places that sell decent Fried Fish, such as Bee Hoon.
I have enjoyed this dish from time to time.
Many stalls sell this dish for about RM7, frying individual plates of noodles and garnishing them with battered fried fish slices.
It depends on the individual stalls—you might find the fish less fresh or taste like frozen-style fish.
The coating for the batter can be thin or even thick.
Fried Fish Bee Hoon @ New Lane, Penang
There is no doubting the freshness of the fish at this stall.
The fresh, deep-fried seafood, including Sea Bass fillet, fish head, and XXL Prawns, makes this breakfast worth waiting for a good seafood meal.
As you walk in, you will see one of the workers cutting whole Fresh Sea Bass into chunks and marinating them with soya sauce at the stall.
Another is dredging the fish chunks with flour before deep-frying them in a huge wok filled with cooking oil.
You can select Fish Head or Fish Meat Cubes for your meal.
The price is reasonable if you want freshness and add more indulging items.
- 1 Prawn RM11
- Four pc Fish RM10
Aunty Gaik whispered that if Singaporeans come for this, the price will surely increase.
Aunty Gaik: Well, the price has increased, right, Dory?
Dory: Of course! The last time I ate here was 15 years ago, Aunty Gaik.
Is the price luxurious? Of course not.
I always believe in paying for the freshness of ingredients over eating frozen stuff from a fancy restaurant.
History of Fried Fish Bee Hoon
The Fried Bee Hoon has a history of over 50 years.
It has evolved to the present-day edition, with the owners listening and taking customer feedback.
Bee Hoon, or Rice Noodles, is a popular breakfast dish for Penangites.
The stall was half a century ago and has evolved to the present-day edition, with the owners listening and taking customer feedback.
With fresh seafood getting increasingly expensive, I feel the price is fair.
You will gladly pay for the portions if you are a seafood connoisseur.
The taste of the Fried Bee Hoon cooked in lard is a winner – depending on whether you are a fan of lard or not.
Goh Chew is a popular hangout with locals.
Early in the morning, this coffee shop was filled with hungry customers waiting for the fried fish bee hoon with fried fish Filet or fried prawn.
It is tasty, and customers are willing to wait for an hour (if the Kopitiam is full) to get a plate of the delicious fried fish.
Penangite workers are riding up in their motorcycles, and office workers are enjoying breakfast here every morning.
How to order Fried Fish Bee Hoon
Most customers choose Fried Bee Hoon or Fried Mee with a separate serving of Fried Fish and Fried Prawns.
You can opt for a platter of all-in-one, a mix of stir-fried rice vermicelli/noodles, fried fish slices or chunks of fried fish head.
You can request a particular Fried Bee Hoon Mee order without Fried Fish or even a Special Order with more vegetables (Choy Sum).
Just check with the young man who takes the orders.
Fish Head Bee Hoon Large – RM11
Fish Head Bee Hoon Small – RM7.50
The Fried Fish Bee Hoon Stall at Goh Chew Kopitiam.
Fried Fish Bee Hoon Breakfast Brunch at Goh Chew Kopitiam
The Fried Bee Hoon is cooked infused with lard and mild sweet savouriness from soya sauce.
Some may find the Fried Bee Hoon too dry, flat, and bland tasting to enjoy.
There is none if you are looking for Wok Hei of a Char Hor Fun Bee Hoon.
The Bee Hoon is a typical Economy Stall type Char Bee Hoon; it is not unique or incredibly delicious.
The noodle portion is quite big, and I couldn’t finish it.
Since I love Economy Fried Bee Hoon, I like the noodles fine.
Our RM36 brunch set includes fried bee hoon, fried prawn, and fried fish for two.
Fried Fish (RM10 or RM20)
I love big chunks of fish meat deep-fried to a golden brown and served directly to the customer.
The best part Is picking up the fried fish meat and biting into the sweet and fresh meat!
The fish are freshly cut, coated with flour, and deep-fried.
The coating powder has a slightly salty flavor, making it delicious.
For our order, we had one prawn and three servings of fried fish for RM46.
Each serving of fish is four pieces.
Big chunks of fish meat are deep-fried to a golden color and are still juicy inside.
The fish is sweet and fresh, while the coating powder has a slightly salty flavor, making it delicious.
The deep-fried sea bass has a crispy batter.
It is served straight from the frying wok and is very hot.
The deep-fried sea bass has a crispy batter.
It is served straight from the frying wok and is very hot.
So be careful not to pop the fish wedges into your mouth – it is scalding!
When you bite in, the tender fish meat is moist, and you can taste the sweetness of fresh fish.
Of course, for fish this fresh, I had to have eight pieces of Fried Fish Fillet.
Delicious deep-fried fish is served at the restaurant.
Fried Fish Bee Hoon Is Not Fish Head Bee Hoon
In Penang, there are two types of Fish, Bee Hoon, so you are not confused.
Fish Head Bee Hoon is a soupy dish.
The soup base has a chicken and fish stock mixture, forming the fish bones for sweetness with slices of ginger to cut out the strong flavors or fishy smell.
The dish offers a choice of hot, boiling soup: fried fish soup, Sliced Fish Soup, or fried fish head.
Fish Head Bee Hoon is served in bowls; sometimes Pomfret is used, but Fish Cake is never used.
For added fragrance, the cook adds some Evaporated Milk and a Tbsp of Chinese Cooking Wine, served with soy sauce and chili padi.
The garnishes are chopped Spring Onions and Cilantro.
Some special stalls serve Fish noodles, which are made from fish paste.
Fried Prawns (RM11 each)
Aunty Gaik’s firm favorite is the deep-fried fresh giant prawn – the large-size crustacean is not cheap.
Juicy, succulent, sweet sea prawns are fried whole—shell, head, tail, and all intact—to preserve the moist, juicy flesh.
The prawns are fried until super crispy; their shells, especially the legs, are a little salty and taste like prawn crackers.
If you like eating Fried Prawns, this is a must-order dish.
Please note and ask for the price before ordering.
Remember, these are Sea Prawns, not Farmed Prawns—for seafood connoisseurs, this is a huge difference.
When you bite into Sea Prawns, you will taste the difference in the prawn meat quality.
The freshness of the Sea Prawns makes the price worth it.
If you order three prawns with fish meat and Bee Hoon, it will probably cost RM50.
Succulent deep-fried big prawns served at the restaurant
Condiments
As I was driving there, Aunty Gaik described the special homemade sauce that goes so well with the Fried Fish Bee Hoon.
The Sambal Sauce looks a little like satay sauce without the chopped peanuts.
She kept telling me that this sambal alone was the most memorable part of the meal.
Aunty Gaik: The special sauce is pretty oily. It has lemongrass and a curry fragrance, and it is so delicious to dip your fish meat into it.
The fragrant sambal dipping sauce had beautiful aromatics in the mix cooked down to a mildly spicy but oily paste.
- sweet shallots
- onions
- lemongrass
- curry leaves
- Tumeric
The sauce has a great mouthfeel but quickly feels greasy, especially when the food gets cold.
Delicious fried fish served with flavorful sambal sauce
Review
For RM36, this is what we got for brunch
Two plates of Fried Bee Hoon (large)
Two serves of Fried Fish (8 pieces)
1 Fried Prawn
The Fried Bee Hoon was quite a lot, so we shared one plate, and Aunty Gaik packed home her portion for dinner.
I enjoyed the Fried Fish the most.
After munching down four pieces dressed liberally with the Sambal Sauce, I decided I could do more.
I promptly ordered another serving of the Fried Fish Meat without the Fried Bee Hoon RM10.
It was served piping hot with more Sambal Sauce on the side.
Long story short, I was thrilled and enjoyed the food.
However, oily food makes me feel queasy, and downing eight pieces of Fried Fish with all of the Sambal Sauce is a new record for me.
Later, when we went to chill at siTigun, I ordered a lovely lemonade that did well and helped me digest my food.
Expect to pay around RM20 per person if sharing prawns and sea bass fish with noodles.
The Kopitiam is packed during the weekends and public holidays.
Tip: Go when it’s raining; there’s a smaller crowd.
Kedai Kopi Goh Chew 五洲茶室 (Non-Halal)
GPS: 5°24’53.6″N 100°19’35.3″E | 5.414895, 100.326480
Address: 45, Lorong Baru, (New Lane) George Town, Penang
Tel: +60 16-483 6609
Business Hours: 8.30 am – 12 noon (Closed on Tuesday)
Landmark: Next to Sunway Hotel
Updated 11 April 2024
The price for two pax with large fried fish and 2 XXL prawns is now RM52.
Blog Disclosure: This is a NOT sponsored blog post. All opinions are mine. The writer and friends paid for their meal.
Yummy fresh prawn & fish… ❤️ I love the texture of the bee hoon. Will definitely be coming back for more!
Absolutely agree! The combination of delicious fresh prawns and sea bass with the delightful texture of the beehoon is a winning combination. Can’t wait to revisit and indulge in this mouthwatering dish again.