Son emulates mum’s feat in char koay teow contest
GEORGE TOWN: The son of a char koay teow finalist from last year’s Battle of Penang Hawker Masters is hoping lady luck will shine on him.
Yeoh Soon Lin, 21, who learned to cook the dish from his mother Teh Bee Geok, said he owed everything to her.
Yeoh, who has been frying the Penang “heritage” dish for over a year now, said the competition would be a good platform to test his skills.
“I am entering the finals with confidence as my mother is my mentor. Our char koay teow stands out as we use a thinner version of the noodle from Taiping. The texture is more springy which many customers enjoy,” he said when met at the competition venue, Penang Times Square, yesterday.
The other two finalists are Teow Khweng Sum, 60, who has been frying char koay teow for over 30 years and Penny Pooh, 43, who started her business three years ago.
Teow, who also entered the competition last year, said he failed to qualify for the finals then as he was unprepared.
Pooh said she had not wanted to join the competition but it was her daughter, Mabel Ooi, 20, who submitted her entry.
The judges will be celebrity TV host Jason Yeoh, also known as Axian, The Star executive director and group chief editor Datuk Seri Wong Chun Wai, food columnist Helen Ong, food blogger C.K. Lam, Penang Chefs Association representative Audee Cheah and Golden Chef Culinary Academy principal Vincent Lee.
The finals will start at 2.30pm today while the tasting session for visitors will be from noon to 2pm.
The tasting is opened to 500 people but only 100 tickets are still left for the public to purchase at RM10 each. The event is supported by the Malaysian Palm Oil Council.