Fort Cornwallis Food Court

Fort Cornwallis Food Court (15 February 2014)


Fort Cornwallis Food Court (GPS: 5.42072, 100.34344) is one of two hawker centres at Esplanade, the other being the Esplanade Hawker Centre. This food court has been operating for many decades, though I only visited it to make a review today, 15 February, 2014. I came here because I was recommended on my Penang Hawker Food Facebook Group to try the mee sotong.

What to eat at the Fort Cornwallis Food Court

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Fort Cornwallis Food Court is on the map of Jalan Tun Syed Sheh Barakbah

30 August, 2014: It;s been half a year since we visited the Fort Cornwallis Food Court to have the mee sotong for lunch. In the six months that passed, we saw that the price has risen from RM6 to RM7.

Now that I have eaten the mee sotong before, I know very much what to expect. At the same time, I could better judge its taste. As before we ordered two plates, a regular one for me and a non-spicy one for my wife. On either plates, we now feel that the taste is extremely strong. In particular, even though the mee was spicy, it was also very sweet, too sweet. I suppose that is how the customer likes it.

15 February, 2014: It was no trouble finding the stall. The mee sotong stall is located next to the one selling coconut shake. Both were highly recommended by the foodies at my Facebook Group. I arrived around 11:50 am (as I was told that the mee sotong stall operates from 12:00 noon till 5:00 pm). I am happy to see that it was already open and has served a few customers.

Hameed Pata Mee Sotong, Fort Cornwallis Food Court (15 February 2014)


We ordered two RM6 plates of mee sotong goreng. My wife opted for the non-spicy plate while I took the regular. We also ordered two coconut shakes and one ice kacang.

All in all, I am very satisfied with this mee sotong. It is tasty and spicy. Very spicy but I love it. In addition, it goes well with the coconut shake and ice kacang. With the sweet and spicy combination, I half expect to get a stomach ache, but luckily I didn't.

Jalil Special Ice Kacang, Fort Cornwallis Food Court (15 February 2014)


It's hard to compare between this mee sotong and the Bangkok Lane Mee Goreng, and say which one I like more. Having tried here, I definitely would look forward to coming back. However, there are a few minuses which I would point out.

Firstly, the squid is not as tender as at Bangkok Lane. In fact, it was quite tough. Price wise, at RM6 it is one ringgit more than the Bangkok Lane Mee Goreng, which is RM5 (Feb 2014 prices). The seller at Bangkok Lane was also friendlier. My wife commented that the hawker centre at Fort Cornwallis had a rancid smell, like that of fruit gone bad.

Mee Sotong, non spicy (23 January 2014)


Mee Sotong, spicy (23 January 2014)


Coconut shake (15 February 2014)


Ice kacang, Fort Cornwallis Food Court (15 February 2014)


On the plus side, I look forward to having the coconut shake again. I also like the ice kacang, even though the same thing at the Keng Kwee Street cendol stalls is cheaper. But you can't get mee goreng there, right?

In the end, I conclude by saying that, rather than deciding which one I like better, I will visit both from time to time, based on my inclination on the day.

In addition to the mee sotong, the Fort Cornwallis Food Court also has stalls for chicken rice, Western food and Thai food.

Timothy Tye at Fort Cornwallis Food Court (15 February 2014)

Updates

22 February, 2014: As I've promised myself, I returned to the Fort Cornwallis Food Court to try the mee sotong, this time the "rebus" version. I ordered the RM6 plate but the seller did not hear me correctly, so I was served the RM4 plate instead. Nevertheless, I am fine with that.

The mee sotong rebus is very nice. At the moment, I cannot decide which one I like better, the goreng or the rebus. Both taste nice.

Tim with the Mee Sotong Rebus (22 February 2014)


Mee Sotong Rebus, Fort Cornwallis Food Court (22 February 2014)

Getting there

The nearest bus stop is along Light Street. It is served by Rapid Penang bus 103, 204, 502 and CAT. If coming by car, park anywhere along Jalan Tun Syed Sheh Barakbah.

List of Hawker Centres in Penang