Beach Street Gu Bak Koay Teow Stall

The Beach Street Gu Bak Koay Teow by the present hawker (12 October 2016)


The Beach Street Gu Bak Koay Teow Stall is perhaps one of the most popular stall selling Gu Bak Koay Teow, or flat rice noodle beef soup.

I learned to eat gu bak koay teow as a small boy, being introduced to the dish by my brother, who took me to Federal Coffee Shop, at 223 Beach Street. For years I firmly believed that Federal Coffee Shop had the best gu bak koay teow in town. Sadly, the coffee shop closed down or moved away, I didn't know as I had already grown up and moved.

Many years later, I learned from colleagues at work that there is a good gu bak koay teow stall at Beach Street. The name of the coffee shop I later learned was Kedai Kopi Lam Ah. We went there during lunch break. As soon as I tasted the gu bak koay teow of this stall, the fond memories of childhood came flooding back. This was the taste that I have missed all these years, and the stall at Kedai Kopi Lam Ah became my favourite gu bak koay teow stall in Penang.

The Gu Bak Koay Teow stall by the previous hawker (1 September 2008)


Beach Street Gu Bak Koay Teow, previous hawker (6 June 2011)


Unfortunately, over the years, the quality of this gu bak koay teow deteriorated while the prices continued to hike. At the same time, the gu bak koay teow became less "ho liau", meaning there is less stuff in a bowl. Since then, I have visited this stall less frequently. Yes, at times, if I'm lucky, the soup will be tasty, at times less so. It is not too consistent.

At the same time, I noticed that this gu bak koay teow stall is getting more and more customers, so it was not unusual that the seller got our orders wrong.

In terms of taste, I would say this is still one of the best gu bak koay teow in town. But in terms of portion size, it has come down.

New Hawker Takes Over Stall

12 November, 2016 It has been quite some time since I visited Kedai Kopi Lam Ah for the Gu Bak Koay Teow. I am well aware that since then, the previous hawker has relocated her Gu Bak Koay Teow Stall to Carnarvon Street, and her old stall on Beach Street has been taken over by someone else. Although I have enjoyed the previous hawker's Gu Bak Koay Teow when it was at Kedai Kopi Lam Ah, I have had issues such it, such as the waiting time is usually too long and also the amount of stuff was lacking despite the price. Ever since she moved to Carnarvon Street, I have not made a point to visit her new stall over there. Even though I love Gu Bak Koay Teow, apparently I did not miss her Gu Bak Koay Teow that I would immediately go to Carnarvon Street to try it.

Beach Street is a more convenient location for me, so, yesterday, my wife and I decided to visit Kedai Kopi Lam Ah, to check out the new hawker that has taken over the stall.

We arrived at Kedai Kopi Lam Ah at around 11:30am. It was almost empty. The stall is now maintained by a different lady. Clearly, the the old customers have learned the news and have migrated to the new stall on Carnarvon Street. The Gu Bak Koay Teow was not cheap. The small bowl was RM8 while the large bowl was RM11. As is customary with us, we ordered two large bowls of Gu Bak Koay Teow.

Considering there were no customers in the coffee shop, the service was swift. We received our orders within 5 minutes of placing the order. This is the Gu Bak Koay Teow prepared by the new hawker.

The Beach Street Gu Bak Koay Teow by the present hawker (12 October 2016)


How's the taste? Well, it is excellent. Just like the taste of the Gu Bak Koay Teow when it was prepared by the previous hawker. But there's a major plus point here: the portion size of the Gu Bak Koay Teow right now is larger than it was when the previous hawker operated the stall. Just take a look. Particularly, there was more beef and koay teow than previously. When my saucer run out of chili sauce, the hawker replenished it for me.

I suppose this is all because the business was slow. The Gu Bak Koay Teow at Kedai Kopi Lam Ah has rocketed back to the top of my list, as my favorite in Penang, displacing the Gu Bak Koay Teow at Perak Road, which had displaced this stall before that. I credit the lack of customers for the quality of service, and am half hearted over writing this review, for fear of bringing the throngs of customers which ultimately destroyed my "Gu Bak Koay Teow Experience" at this stall previously. I just hope the new hawker would be able to cope with increased business when the time comes.

Kedai Kopi Lam Ah was completely empty when we arrived, at 11:39am. (12 October 2016)


Here I am enjoying the Beach Street Gu Bak Koay Teow by the present hawker (12 October 2016)


My wife enjoying the Beach Street Gu Bak Koay Teow by the present hawker (12 October 2016)

Getting there

Follow the directions on the page on Kedai Kopi Lam Ah.

List of Gu Bak Koay Teow Stalls in Penang and Hawker Stalls in Penang