What is it about a recipe or food guide that sets it apart from another. To me, it’s not the photography (trust me, I know just how well it can be used to deceive), nor is it about design (it helps, but remember, the foodie that reads it is not too fussy about colour, typography and space dynamics) and having a way with words about food is sometimes an oxymoron. You can wind up eating your own words.

There aren’t many that hit the mark for me but those few that I enjoy thumbing has that get-off-your-a_ s-and-come-makan appeal. One such guide is the Famous Street Food of Penang( retialed here at about $28). To any Malaysian makan connoisseur worth his sambal, Penang is the de-facto street food capital of Malaysia.

I don’t really care that it was an attempt at being a coffee table book masquerading as a guide. It’s too big (almost A4) to lug about for easy reference. But it’s 160 pages of content raked up memories of my last food-ful trip up there almost two years ago and yearn for another makan fest there again.

The guide has telling black and white images of the actual hawkers featured. What’s useful was the background information they build of the stall, food and the cook. A tad too verbose for a guide but it was good food for thought. It goes on to reveal recipes of the dishes featured, unfortunately and understandably, not the hawker’s version, with a slick Vogue-ish studio styled picture of the dish. Nice.

I flipped to page 92 and it featured their legendary char kway teow icon, the Sisters Char Kway Teow. When I first ate it in 04’, I was not even looking out for them along Macalister Road. I was taking refuge in the Lam Heng coffeshop away from the blazing heat and an old lady, the younger sister Ms Lam Mew Heng, now 68 years of age, drifted by with four plates of their signatures. I was not hungry as I had just devoured a meal of kueh kak (fried carrot cake). But the intensity of the wok hei punched me and beckoned a response. In cartoon speak, I was like a Goofy possessed by the aroma of the fried chicken wafting by and found myself helplessly floating towards it. Immediately, sensing my advances (to the char kway teow, not her) she stopped and warned “it’s RM10 for two person and you have to wait half hour”.

My hypnotic reply, “Yes, ok!”, and it arrived forty minutes later and was sensational. They do it with a thinner Ipoh kway teow and the light and relentless tossing and searing of the noodle over the slightly flatter wok was what gave it the wok hei aroma. Unlike Singapore’s version, which has Teochew origins, their Hokkien style does not use sweet soy sauce, just a regular good grade soy sauce. They add the usual prawns, cockles and Chinese sausage slices and they lift the fragrance with fresh chives.

If you are headed there, keep this die-die-must-try list of mine and some extractions from the guide.

1/ Sisters Char Kway Teow
Lam Heng Café
Macalister Road
8.30am-4pm/closed on Mondays

It the definitive Penang char kway teow. Eat theirs and you’ll know why the Penang version here cannot hold a candle to them. They are so busy they actually close for luch each day between 12.30pm to 1.30pm!

2/ Ais Kachang (ice kachang)
Stall in coffeeshop along Lor Selamat
Lunch daily

It’s the quality of the ice, which is smooth like snow, that sets it apart. The big red beans are sweet and soft and the milk and syrups are generous. They not only sprinkle crushed peanuts over it but also top it with peanut ice cream.

3/ Ark Chup (duck kway chap)
Roadside stall at junction of Kimberly Road and Sungei Ujong
Dinner only, from 7pm

The kueh (flat rice noodle) is curly when cooked and has a very nice and firm texture. The dark broth is not overly herbal and the offals include my favourite duck blood cakes and crunchy intestines. The stewed duck slices was juicy and soft and the tangy chilli sauce helps balance the heaviness.

4/ Mamak Popiah (Indian style popiah)
Padang Brown hawker row along Jalan Johor (opp petrol station)
1pm-7pm daily
Closed two Sundays a month

It’s actually Chinese style popiah but with a Penang Indian twist. It comes blessed with a sambal sauce that is made with dates and chilli powder. The cook Mr K Sulaiman, learnt it from the Chinese more than 50 yeas ago and adapted it to include tumeric in the vegetable stew.