AsiaLIFE Media Vol. 102
Baby fish FLOOD DEFENCES Timo bank
INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS PUBLISHING HOUSE
Foodies regale while walking the streets of Penang, Malaysia. Monica Majors gives you the best of what’s available and explains how to make the most of your appetite. Photos by Monica Majors.
O
ur sense of smell is strongly linked to creating and recalling memories, and a great deal of how our brains interpret taste is from our olfactory (smell) receptors. Our tongues process the five basics of taste: sweet; salty; sour; bitter; and umami (savory), while our sensory organs kick in to bring out the flavour. Both are linked to the involuntary nervous system, and I can tell you that, as I ate my way through the streets of historic George Town, Malaysia, it was not only my tongue working overtime, but also my digestive system.
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A few months back I shared with you the exceptional street art that dots much of the UNESCO World Heritage area of Penang. In 2004 Time magazine bestowed upon the island the title of “Best Street Food”. Four years later the area was recognised by UNESCO. With culinary influences from China, Portugal, the United Kingdom, India and its own Malay food (known as Mamak food), there is enough here to keep foodies full for weeks. Street food stalls make way for larger food halls that occupy entire throughways; secret passageways hide some of the best treasures, while the temples of Little India are also sure to be passing out feasts. Fresh seafood abound here as well, and it’s not hard to find oysters or meaty blue swimmer crabs for sale at markets. It’s a cacophony of delightful sights and smells, each of which will stay with you until you return. But it’s important to pace yourself, so let me break it down.
The Rules of the Game
A full day (or three) of eating is serious business, especially when it’s streetside. If you’re serious about heading to Penang for a food-based vacation, you’ll need to consider and bring along a few essentials. Firstly, ensure you’re ready to walk… a lot. You can easily concentrate just on the downtown area of George Town, where you’ve already got enough reason to stroll for a few days and take in any of the many street art exhibitions. Tourist maps easily point you in the right direction, and since it’s visited by visitors from all over the globe, shopkeepers are ready to help you find your way. Good shoes, sunscreen and appropriate clothing are minimum here. The region is a peaceful mashup of many religions, all of which appreciate modesty (shoulders and knees covered). As an extra reason to cover up, with the blaring sun out most of the year, it’s easy to get sun drenched before you’ve even had time to hit up a stall for char kway teow. It’s smart to be cynical about hygiene
while travelling. Peer recommendations are always best, and there are some great blogs that give you detailed walking tours of the city for the purpose of street food tours. Mind you, these places are often too full, but other hidden shacks around them may serve just as good (if not better) versions of the same food with the same levels of hygiene. I carry anti-bacterial hand wipes with me wherever I travel, and it’s up to you on how much of yourself, your table, cutlery and beer bottle you wipe down. Penang takes its tourism scene quite seriously, and I noticed the level of sanitation is much improved over other areas of Southeast Asia. Avoid eating anything that’s been sitting out, which also invalidates the point of getting street food. You want it piping hot and freshly prepared. When in doubt, ask for it to be deep fried or smother it in chilli paste.
Eeny Meeny Miny Dim Sum
With so many delicious options, you may want to decide on which type of cuisine you’d like to focus, especially if you’ve got your stomach set on something in particular. One of the most popular dishes is char kway teow, a thick rice-noodle dish with prawns, chinese sausage and cockles that takes only five minutes to prepare. Try and find a spot using a wok over a charcoal fire, like those found along Lebuh Keng Kwee. Then there’s oh chien, or oyster omelette, found throughout but most easily on Lebuh Cintra. In China Town, dim sum, wonton mee and wonton soup of all varieties are dotted throughout. Chee chong fun is a rolled rice noodle served with sticky black shrimp sauce and sesame seeds. It is usually found around the same stalls serving any other noodle dishes. For an inherently Mamak flatbread, look for roti canai, available around Jalan Penang. Dishes generally go cheap as well, around one to three US dollars per plate. Drinks and desserts are equally represented in Penang. One of my most memorable meals was a hearty serving of
kaya toast. Kaya is a jam made of coconut milk, eggs, sugar and pandan leaf. It’s widely available, but only a few spots do it right, including those along Lebuh Campbell. Here you can also top up on a wide selection of homemade bread with peanut butter, or alternatively with a soft boiled egg. Who knew that comfort food would be so consistent around the world? Cut through it with teh tarik or teh halia both are hot milk teas that have been pulled, with ginger added to the latter. Kopi is also available on nearly every street corner, and is worth a stop. If you’re not a regular coffee drinker, stick to just one and keep your blood sugar level high with milk tea. Fresh coconuts are also in ready supply, but the best option to cut through the heat of the day is the lime juice with salted plum. Don’t let the hazardous-waste green colour throw you off. You’ll probably suck through it before you’ve even realised you’re ordering another. Tartes, rotis and icies are also there to satisfy your sweet tooth, and I recommend you not leave before first trying an apam balik, a simple folded pancake topped with your choice of sweets. George Town is quite flat to walk around, so pacing is easy. Snake your way through the streets while hunting for larger-thanlife paintings, and step out of the heat for any of the city’s mouth-watering dishes. I wasn’t disappointed, and I can’t see how anyone would be. Well, save for one thing. I planned on ending my day at the Purrfect Cat Cafe on Jalan Muntri, where you are encouraged to buy one of their many tantalising cakes to financially support their humane initiatives. However, I was denied entry as a polite Malay gentleman told me that the cats “were currently overstimulated.” I stared back at him, realising I had walked a full day and had sampled one of every dish listed above. Let’s just say, I understood how the cats felt.
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