Tuai Pui Curry Mee / Da Fei Ka Li Mien @ Penang

In addition to Penang Laksa, one of the "must-eats" in Penang is the curry mee. Mentioned on Penang's food trail brochure (available at the airport) was Tuai Pui Curry Mee located at Weld Quay. Since it was easy enough to get to the Quay with the free city shuttle service, I set my mind (and stomach) on having curry mee for brunch on our last day there.

This is how the stall looked like. From the bus interchange at the quay, we walked in the hot merciless heat down the road looking for the curry mee stall which we figured would be a prominent large coffee shop or at least a decently sized stall. However, Tuai Pui is nothing more than just a small stall which one would most easily bypassed if one wasn't looking out and asking around for it. The stall is about 5 mins walk away from the bus interchange on the opposite side of the road and near a large foodcourt that offers free wifi.

The curry mee is prepared by 1 of 2 brothers and there are all of 4 wooden tables set out under some large multi-colored umbrellas. The picture below should give one a better idea of the surroundings and set up of Tuai Pui Curry Mee. It certainly isn't a place which can accommodate a large group and really is nothing more than a roadside store. The kind that I wouldn't dare to eat at without risking a major stomachache.

However, since we had come so far and there was nothing else to be had, we decided to have the curry mee. Tired, hot and hungry, I didn't pay attention to what ingredients there were laid out at the stall and told the store uncle that I would have whatever he recommended. As a result, we both had a bowl of curry mee that came with congealed pig's blood. You can't get curry mee with blocks of congealed pig's blood anymore in Singapore according to my mother for whom this dish brought back memories of her childhood.

Of course, I didn't eat the pig's blood at all, or the pig's innards that came with the bowl of noodles but the curry was so delicious that I ordered another bowl of curry mee. However, this time, I chose the ingredients carefully - fishball noodles and chicken meat only. At RM 5 only, this bowl of curry mee was worth every calorie it contained.

There were only home-made drinks available at Tuai Pui so we headed to the open-air foodcourt a few steps down for drinks which might be safer on the stomach. I ordered the 3 colored tea which turned out to be a frighteningly sweet combination.

The Slog Reviews: 7.5/10 for Tuai Pui Curry Mee. Despite the oily flavorful richness of the gravy, it really isn't worth making an effort to go to Weld Road just for the curry mee. The curry mee is good, no denying that but the setup, surroundings and accessibility of the place (esp given the weather in Penang) are quite deterring factors.