Sri Weld Food Court on George Town’s Beach Street is a popular spot for hungry office workers and tourists alike. The reason is simple: It offers a large variety of local food to suit every palate imaginable.
One of the more popular attractions in the food court is the Famous Penang Beef Soup Koay Teow (槟城祖传牛肉粿条, RM6.00). Do not be put off by the price tag; the bowl is really huge, and yet they call it “regular” size. For an extra RM1.00 you can try the large size, but you need to be really hungry to finish it. I mean really, really hungry.
As if the large portion is not attractive enough, it is only starting to get better. The ingredients in the soup is just captivating. There are several large beef meatballs, beef slices (neatly sliced through lean and fatty meat), tendons, intestines, liver, stomach etc… almost everything you can find in a slaughterhouse. If you stop eating to think how the slaughterhouse looks like, you shouldn’t. You should be eating.
The meatballs themselves are juicy and springy. As I sink my teeth into one, the it releases a sweet, meaty sensation, hallmark of a nicely-prepared meatball.
The beef slices and tendons are tender and taste awesome; I just cannot find the right words to describe how much I enjoyed it.
The koay teow (rice noodles) itself is smooth and springy, and serves to pick up the rich, flavorful beef stock. Surprisingly, the soup itself is not too overpowering, which explains why I nearly emptied the entire bowl.
I heard that there is another famous beef noodle soup stall at Beach Street (Lebuh Pantai) nearer to Chulia Street (Lebuh Chulia). I wonder which one tastes better? Well, I cannot answer this question until have I tried both!