Penang's Gem of a Wet Market

We travel for food. Would we relocate for a wet market?

It's a question we asked ourselves in Penang, after a couple of mornings at Pasar Pulau Tikus, a market in the middle of a neighborhood of the same name (which means, literally, 'rat island'; the neighborhood was supposedlyy named after a mouse-shaped island off Penang's coast).

Pulau Tikus market isn't jaw-droppingly huge (in fact it's rather dimunitive) or overbearingly frenetic. It's crowded, but not claustrophobically so. It's not the kind of market that makes one stop in her tracks and say 'Wow.'

But this market is easy to fall in love with. In almost every respect, it's just right - just big enough to offer everything you could ever need in the kitchen: fresher-than-fresh vegetables, gorgeous fruit at the right price (not a little of it imported from Thailand), fantastic seafood, dried and preserved foods galore.

It's inside and outside - a market building flanked front and side by open-air stalls. If you're there for serious shopping, head inside. But if you just want to pick up a bit of fruit, a vegetable or two, or any manner of prepared foods, outside is the place to be.

A whole day's worth of meals and snacks could be assembled from the cooked foods on offer here. There are multiple vendors selling local specialties like Nyonya kuih, kerabu beehoon, vinegared fish (something like an escabeche),

and apom balik, not-too-sweet pancakes enclosing a few slices of banana.

Here, noodles are fried to order.

There, mounds of coconut-scented rice are doused with sambal, topped with ikan bilis, fried peanuts, and half a hard-boiled egg,

and wrapped into bungkus to make a portable breakfast.

In the middle of the prepared food section stands a couple using the old-fashioned 'sock filter' method to brew coffee. Thick and fragrant, its indigo hue barely lightened by the addition of sweetened condensed milk, it's mostly served in bags to go - but if you ask they'll rustle up some seats, making it possible to enjoy a proper cup, sitting down.

Perched on tiny plastic stools, hemmed in by hawkers and shoppers, attempting fruitlessly to parse the spoken commerce swirling about our heads, alternating sips of coffee with hearty sniffs of the aromas drifting over from the fried noodle vendor, we agreed that we'd stumbled upon the best spot in Penang to pass an early morning hour or two.

Comments

[mbe]

Oh Stop that right now!!! Too tasty! Not allowed!!

[teckiee]

Gosh... I wish I'm in Penang now. Totally love the vinegared fish and apom telur manis.

[Kevin]

Wow. I seriously need to broaden my horizons travel-wise. This market and food looks exotic and fantastic!

[Nate]

Wah, how I could tuck into a couple of those nasi lemak, a plate of real, charcoal-fired CKT, and a couple of apom!

itch, itch, itch...

[Robyn]

mbe - sorry!

teckiee - truth to tell we didn't get a chance to try the vinegared fish. Next trip - it's one of my favorites.

Kevin - if you're into food Penang is the place to be and, first thing in the morning, P Tikus market is a cornuccopia of deliciousness!

Nate - you and me both. Remember, we're in KL. Nothing here comes close to the Penang versions of your wish list.

[Chris]

I was back there in 2005 after almost 10 years away. You captured exactly what I saw and felt! Not too sure about the vinegared fish but I had some "perut ikan" which is essentially pickled fish guts made into a curry-type stew with tons of vegt and herbs. It is better than it sounds!

[LovelyMalaysiaFood]

My family is also from Penang and they go to the Pulau Tikus market too. But they don't only go there to buy food, the market is also a place to exchange gossip. That is the ohter attraction of the market. Penang still a small town in many ways.

[Robyn]

LMF - I think this is the case for most markets, even the huge ones in urban areas. At Pudu market you still see pple gossiping (or, I imagine they are) over coffee. One of the cool things about wet markets - it's about more than just the food.

[leonard]

Dear Robyn and David

Fantastic article and photos. I'm hooked on your writing/articles & photos. Very professionally and tastily done. I took a friend to Pulau Tikus market during my trip to Penang in late May this year. Not a lot have changed since I first when there with my parents. I'm a Penangite but now living in Auckland. I trully loved the market, the life and atmosphere. There are shops and vendors operating since my grandparent's days.

Penang is the best for food !!!!

All the best.
leonard

[Robyn]

Leonard - Penang really is hard to beat. We fall in love with it a bit more with every visit. And we've barely scratched the surface.
Thanks for you compliment and for your readership!

[ep]

You both are the most fortunate people in the world. Go everywhere eat everything - aiyah what a life.
Thanks for the Pulau Tikus article- it really is what you say. Heaps to eat n cheap too.
We go back there every year from Perth so please keep all the interesting eating places coming. Cheers

[Robyn]

ep - you are right. We are pretty lucky. Well fed, at least. ;-) We have heaps more to post from Penang and we'll keep going back. So stay tuned.