Simply mention Duck Koay Chiap or Duck Kway Chap in Singaporean lingo and the Penang locals will definitely point you towards the heart of George Town, particularly to Kimberly Street. Most Penangites would have heard or tried this famous night-time Duck Koay Chiap. A simple street stall by the roadside, the proprietor, Por Beng Kuan has been serving Koay Chiap for three decades at the very same spot.

Por has insisted not only on using good quality ingredients. Besides that, he and his family are very much involved in preparing everything by themselves. Ranging from the Koay itself to the stewed duck and the chilli sauce, all these are produced from their very own kitchen. He is proud and passionate about how he and his family has manage to maintain the quality of the koay chiap throughout these years. He emphasises, even to cook simple street food require one to know all the nitty gritty – from the quality of the ingredients to the preparation of all the stuff, in order to achieve satisfaction from the customers.

I had the privilege to be invited by him to learn the process of making and preparing this famous Koay Chiap, as well as the rest of the dishes. It is surprising to learn and observe how tedious and time consuming the process of making Koay noodle is! In actuality the koay is simply pieces of semi translucent flat sheet of rice noodle. Slightly chewy than the usual koay teow, it is a soup base dish served with offal, duck meat, pig’s blood and stewed hard boil egg.

Por insists on churning the koay noodle by hand in order to get the smooth and chewy texture. His son, who is being groomed to assist with the daily operations, is on hand to show me the process of making the Koay. Interesting enough, the process of making the Koay is very similar to pancake making, but slightly more tedious.

Step 1: Flour and water are mixed carefully and slowly in large container until the batter is runny, smooth and silky. How well the batter is mixed is of utmost importantance as it will determine the texture of the koay noodle.

Step 2: Warm up the flat round pans which have been coated with oil.

Step 3: A ladleful of batter is scooped into the heated pan & cook over the gas stove.

Step 4: The pan is delicately swirled around to ensure the mixture is evenly spread out to cover the surface of the pan.

Step5: It is then placed on the gas stove for it to cook. The heat has to be right so as not to cook the batter too fast.

Step 6: Once cooked, the batter is then swiftly lifted up and transfer to the 2nd pan which uses charcoal fire for the warming process.

Step 7: It is left there to be warmed, while the process starts over again for the first pan.

Step 8: After a few minutes of being warmed, it is lifted from the 2nd pan and placed on a rattan tray to cool. As it starts to cool it turn brittle and hard.

Step 9: Once the tray is full, it will be placed on a shelf and left to cool down.

Step 10: After completely cooled, the Koay will be cut manually into pieces with a pair of scissors.

The preparation of the stew duck and offal are equally interesting. Among the major ingredients for the preparation of the stew are star anise, cinnamon sticks, ginger and a few others. Beside the duck, other parts are used as well including the duck gizzards, necks and wings and even pig’s intestines and ears.

The pot puree is left to braise till tender and soft and that will take a few hours. The stew has to be continuously stirred or else the bottom of the pot may get burnt and that will ruin the whole stew. Besides the above ingredients, they also prepare their own braised eggs, chilli paste and fried garlic flakes.

Besides the Koay, there are also other choices to go with the dishes such as plain rice and porridge. A basic bowl of Duck Koay Chiap is RM7 (SGD $2.90) with plenty of ingredients plus a whole braised hardboiled egg, while add-ons are charged separately.

Kimberley Street Duck Koay Chiap

Kimberly Street, Penang, Malaysia

Opens 6.30pm – 11.30pm (Closed Thursday)