The Hunt of the Great Fried Oyster

I used to be addicted to fried oyster in a small coffee shop called Bee San Kopitiam in Air Itam, I would go there almost every week just to get a taste of it - until the world came crashing down on me when the uncle decided to retire.

Bee San Kopitiam Fried Oyster!!!

I was in panic mood, I prayed that the uncle would change his mind, I vowed that I would visit the stall religiously every week if the uncle re-opened his stall…

It’s now almost a year, miracle did not happen, my craving for fried oyster is still as strong as ever… I’ve decided not to sit and wait, I’ve decided to find an alternative - thus the great hunt begins! *cue the adventure music*

*How?* You may ask. Well, GOOGLE! The wonders of technology! I googled “fried oyster Penang” and found a few stalls to be tested out. Here are 2 of the stalls that grace the Google list.

Fried Oyster opposite Fire & Rescue Station at Beach Street
This stall was highly recommended in the foodblogs that I found in Google. From what I gathered, there are 2 different types of fried oyster that the uncle is selling: the crispy fried oyster or the traditional fried oyster. We ordered the crispy one and the taste was… hard to describe! Okok, don’t boo me! Let me explain!

Crispy Fried Oyster - Look at how Crispy It is!!!

I might’ve left out a minor detail earlier when I said I love fried oyster. The fact is I don’t even like to eat oyster. The reason I like “fried oyster” is the egg! I just LOVE LOVE LOVE the taste of the omelet when it was fried with oyster, chili paste and starch! The issue here is that I only eat the omelet!

So the problem arises when the uncle fried the egg and oyster separately. He fried the egg until nice and crispy, then fried the oyster with chili paste then poured the oyster mixtures on the crispy egg. In this case, the egg just didn’t have enough oyster and chili taste in it. Don’t get me wrong, the crispy egg is nice but it would be nicer if it has more oyster taste. I think it would work well for those eating both egg and oyster together though.

Other than fried oyster, the coffee shop is also famous for beef koay teow and nutmeg drink. The beef koay teow tasted like the one I ate in Cambodia… hmm.. so I guess it’s a good thing? :p The nutmeg drink is NUTS!!! I have no idea how much nutmeg the auntie put in for blending,  it’s just NUTMEGY (is this a word?) and sour.. I think it’s love at 1^st sight… *sigh*

Beef Koay Teow

My Love at 1st Sight!

Thai Style Fried Oyster at Perak Lane
I read a few reviews on this stall and decided to give it a try. The verdict? NO NO NO NO!

Perhaps the auntie was underperforming that day. The fried oyster tasted…or should i say lack thereof? It just tasted nothing, bland, zero flavor. Or maybe it was my tongue that was underperforming? I tried their fried beancurd as well and it tasted better.

Thai Style Fried Oyster

Fried Beancurd

Next Fried Oyster Hunt: Carnavon street fried oyster – the brother of Bee San retired uncle. I went there few weeks ago and the uncle asked us: can you wait 1 ½ hour? *Jaw dropping* Yes, it’s that popular. Need to find a day that I have 1 ½ hour to burn for this.