I used to frequent their old corner lot shop once in a while for some really great kam heong dishes,braised trotters,soups and gulais.
Back then the environment wasn't as pleasing to the eye as it is now yet it was a really charming place to eat no matter how frenzied the kitchen was.
Regulars knew their short operating hours like the back of their hands and the ample parking space at the adjacent lot catered to that.
This was essential for there was a sizeable crowd that descended here both lunch and dinner time eager to fulfill their cravings before they closed their doors twice a day.
Now the busy kitchen is shut out of sight behind some saloon like doors and there is no need to fight for a parking space except when you come during lunch hour because of the hive of activity spilling over from the streets flanking this lane.
Today,they look like one of those sterilised heritage diners in Singapore complete with nice dim lights and a cash register system.The tables and chairs don't creak,nor do they shake or rattle on an uneven surface like the metal ones in the old outlet.
Fed up with having their clients hovering around waiting for a table they are now housed in two shoplots and have adopted a kopitiam look.
To put it bluntly some suckers had to pay for all the nice fittings,modern systems,the expansion and maybe even the mortgage.
A meal at a full serving chinese restaurant near Macalister Road costs equal to here.Did I mention that the full serve restaurant has air conditioning,billowy tablecloths,carpetting,a beautiful waitress,peanuts as starters and tongsui at the end?Fat hopes you'll enjoy all these extras at Teik Seng.
Illogical but true....the reasonably priced place has turned comparatively expensive.
This explains why most diners are ordering less dishes than before when every table was laden lavishly with food.
To give you another indication of how much more they cost today,I even came across a towkay and his wife having just one dish of vegetables with two plates of rice between them.Nothing else.
Next we come to what people don't tell you about this place.
If you love the way the Cantonese prepare steamed fish elsewhere,you will think that what they offer here is not exactly fresh.Well this fishy taste is totally acceptable to Penangites partly because they do not adopt cooking techniques that aim to get rid of the associated smell.
Like they say,the instant you allow the blood to trickle into its stomach lining,it is gone fut.In the old place every table used to be graced by a steamed fish dish which strangely only I found appalling(maybe I have had too good a life) yet was thoroughly enjoyed by others to the bones with nary a sliver left for the cats.Flash forward only a smattering would even think of doing so this present day.
Let's just say you absolutely must have it here,try to opt for a deep fried version.
Another typical Penang dish which every table will be enjoying today is their pork fried in thick soya sauce and cili padi.This dish evokes memories of childhood for it was something that our mothers would expertly cook.
Now if you like pork,you'd know that the instant it stays a mite too long in the fridge(one day is enough to do the damage)the fat will turn a hint rancid.If you are accustomed to cooking or eating only freshly bought pork,avoid requesting for this.
In a nutshell they shouldn't have expanded.
The dishes that I so loved are just as good but why the heck would I want to eat here when it costs as much as a nice full serve restaurant?
They should have just stayed put in that tiny lot,we would have enjoyed the stress of making it here in time,having peeks at the cooks,politely hovering before finally being rewarded by eating like it was a great reunion and everybody would be just happy.
Back then the environment wasn't as pleasing to the eye as it is now yet it was a really charming place to eat no matter how frenzied the kitchen was.
Regulars knew their short operating hours like the back of their hands and the ample parking space at the adjacent lot catered to that.
This was essential for there was a sizeable crowd that descended here both lunch and dinner time eager to fulfill their cravings before they closed their doors twice a day.
Now the busy kitchen is shut out of sight behind some saloon like doors and there is no need to fight for a parking space except when you come during lunch hour because of the hive of activity spilling over from the streets flanking this lane.
Today,they look like one of those sterilised heritage diners in Singapore complete with nice dim lights and a cash register system.The tables and chairs don't creak,nor do they shake or rattle on an uneven surface like the metal ones in the old outlet.
Fed up with having their clients hovering around waiting for a table they are now housed in two shoplots and have adopted a kopitiam look.
To put it bluntly some suckers had to pay for all the nice fittings,modern systems,the expansion and maybe even the mortgage.
A meal at a full serving chinese restaurant near Macalister Road costs equal to here.Did I mention that the full serve restaurant has air conditioning,billowy tablecloths,carpetting,a beautiful waitress,peanuts as starters and tongsui at the end?Fat hopes you'll enjoy all these extras at Teik Seng.
Illogical but true....the reasonably priced place has turned comparatively expensive.
This explains why most diners are ordering less dishes than before when every table was laden lavishly with food.
To give you another indication of how much more they cost today,I even came across a towkay and his wife having just one dish of vegetables with two plates of rice between them.Nothing else.
Next we come to what people don't tell you about this place.
If you love the way the Cantonese prepare steamed fish elsewhere,you will think that what they offer here is not exactly fresh.Well this fishy taste is totally acceptable to Penangites partly because they do not adopt cooking techniques that aim to get rid of the associated smell.
Like they say,the instant you allow the blood to trickle into its stomach lining,it is gone fut.In the old place every table used to be graced by a steamed fish dish which strangely only I found appalling(maybe I have had too good a life) yet was thoroughly enjoyed by others to the bones with nary a sliver left for the cats.Flash forward only a smattering would even think of doing so this present day.
Let's just say you absolutely must have it here,try to opt for a deep fried version.
Another typical Penang dish which every table will be enjoying today is their pork fried in thick soya sauce and cili padi.This dish evokes memories of childhood for it was something that our mothers would expertly cook.
Now if you like pork,you'd know that the instant it stays a mite too long in the fridge(one day is enough to do the damage)the fat will turn a hint rancid.If you are accustomed to cooking or eating only freshly bought pork,avoid requesting for this.
In a nutshell they shouldn't have expanded.
The dishes that I so loved are just as good but why the heck would I want to eat here when it costs as much as a nice full serve restaurant?
They should have just stayed put in that tiny lot,we would have enjoyed the stress of making it here in time,having peeks at the cooks,politely hovering before finally being rewarded by eating like it was a great reunion and everybody would be just happy.
