EatingAsia

Where to Eat, Caffeinate, Shop and Stay in George Town, Penang: An Opinionated List (UPDATED August 2016)

 

     

    This post was first published a little over two years ago, and it's been one of the most viewed and shared posts ever since. We're still here in George Town, still eating around and taking in life in the city. Sometimes it seems that things never change here, but of course they do. And over five years after moving from Kuala Lumpur to Penang island we continue to stumble across new-to-us spots. So it seemed time for an update:

    Our experience of George Town is somewhat unique; we've been fortunate to know the city as tourists, a writer and photographer on assignment and for the last three-plus years, as residents. We know what we like as folks living right in the heart of the city, right now. But we can remember well what struck us as observers keen on finding a story, and what we wanted from and liked best about the city as travellers without a mission.

    Every week I (Robyn) receive emails asking for recommendations -- for restaurants and hawker stalls, for hotels, for non-street food places to eat. There's already loads of Penang and George Town info on this blog as well as in articles I've written for the New York Times, SBS Feast, Wall Street Journal Asia, Travel+Leisure Southeast Asia and other publications. But now, as tourism to the UNESCO world heritage site I call home grows by leaps and bounds, it seems a good time to pull some loose ends together into a post that will hopefully insure visitors make the most of their time here.

    If you're planning a visit to Penang know first that George Town is the place to stay. The island's beaches just don't rate, especially when compared with others in the region. Penang is an increasingly urbanized island half of whose coastline is separated from a busy shipping port by a well traversed strait.-- which doesn't make for pristine waters. And, unfortunately,increasingly larger swathes of the island are falling to unsightly development; head north up the east side of the island from George Town past kilometer after kilometer of eyesores and you'll see what I mean. Sure, there are spots outside George Town worth visiting: Balik Pulau, durian farms (in season), Penang Hill (not on a weekend!) .... but all can be done comfortably in a day trip.

 

George Town: a mostly lowrise, very walkable city. Red tile roofs mark old shop houses.

    Despite gentrification and a serious overstock of boutique hotels, cafes and trinket shops -- and the resultant loss of many long-time residents -- George Town is still, somehow, very 'real'. Moreover it is unique in the region for its historically rich (and fairly intact) cityscape, loads of authentic (ie. not designed for tourists) "street theater" (the Hungry Ghost festival is on as I write this) and fabulous food, especially on the street. 

    Best of all, George Town is completely walkable. A reasonably fit individual can walk the heritage site end-to-end (Penang Road to Weld Quay, Prangin Canal to Fort Cornwallis) in less than an hour.

WHEN TO GO

    Penang's climate - much like that of many other places in the world - is a bit screwy: it rains during the dry season, is dry during the wet season. In short, there's really no bad time to visit George Town (even when it rains showers never last all day), though there are some less-good and times than others. Many Chinese hawkers close during the first week, or at least the first 3 days, of Chinese New Year and February, March and April are often beastly hot (you won't want to be out walking between 11:30AM and 4:30 or 5pm). August is a great time to visit Penang, both for the George Town Festival and for Hungry Ghost month, observances of which reach a frenzy in Penang not seen elsewhere in the region. Photographers flock to Penang for Thaipusam (January or February; the festival is several days long and involves a procession from George Town's Little India to a temple on a hill in the middle part of the island) and the Nine Emperor Gods Festival (September or October), which lasts for nine days and culminates in a night-time procession the ends with small unmanned boats filled with offerings being set afire in the waters off Weld Quay. (Dave  published a multimedia of the event here. Turn your sound on to watch.)

WHERE TO EAT

    This list is far from comprehensive, it could extend for pages. I won't claim that any of these spots are The Best this or that -- isn't that a fairly useless exercise when taste is so subjective? -- but they are places that I, and folks whom I refer, consistently enjoy. There's enough here to keep you busy and well-fed for a good 3 days or so. Addresses are listed or are to be found in links.

Tek Sen

These days you'll rarely find Tek Sen this quiet

    Our first meal here was in 2009, back when Teochew-Chinese-Malaysian restaurant Tek Sen was a glorified stall with tables occupying an alley and a five-foot way, before it had a Facebook page and an illustrated menu and a few years before its mention in a Lonely Planet guide made tourists as often seen here as locals. When Tek Sen tripled its capacity by relocating to its current double shophouse premises we feared the worst. But quality has remained high, probably because the family that opened the place 25 or so years ago is still on hand, in the kitchen and the front of the house, to insure that your bacon candy is every bit as savory-salty-sweet-lardy as it should be.

    These days the queues are gruesome (but it's worth the wait, we promise!), so go early (around 6pm), late (around 830pm but beware -- customers are often turned away by 8:45), or for lunch (11 am to 2 pm). After all these years Tek Sen is still the first place we take visitors for a meal, and for good reason. 

    Some of our favorite dishes from a very long menu: Teochew steamed fish with tomatoes, tofu and sour plum; gully tumis; French beans stir-fried with pork; steamed homemade tofu; pork belly with preserved mustard greens; potato leaves stir-fried with sambal or garlic; bean sprouts with salted fish; tamarind prawns; pig's trotters stewed in Chinese black vinegar and of course -- bacon candy (aka double-cooked pork with chilies). Ask about the specials on the white board (written in Chinese).

Foong Wei, Sri Bahari half a block from Penang Road

    After Tek Sen, the dinner spot we recommend most often is this classic oldish Chinese-Malaysian restaurant just outside the core conservation zone. Expect fluorescent lights, red tablecloths and brusque service -- along with very good kind-of-retro (in a non-hipster way) food. We like the mango chicken, prawn spring rolls, roast pork leg and spinach with century egg. You can also ask for recommendations. 

 Toh Yuen, Campbell Street near Cintra

    Go to this old Cantonese spot for the tea and the atmosphere -- plenty of old-timers while away hours here. There is poached and roast chicken rice which is good but not as good as that at Keng Pin (see below), and the odd dim sum and pork buns which are OK. We go for the handmade fish ball soup with greens, and always ask them to throw in a few sui gao (pork dumplings); 'veggie' (blanched choy sum a drizzle of oyster sauce and sesame oil) and kiam chai boi, a sour-spicy soup-stew "leftovers" dish of meat (duck, here) cooked with mustard greens, chilies, tamarind, asam keping ("sour slices") and chilies. Noodle dishes are also excellent -- try the sang har meen.

Nasi Padang/nasi Melayu at International Hotel

Gado gado on the left, pineapple curry and fried tempeh with green chilies on the right, deep-fried fried fish up top 

    Simply the best nasi campur ("mixed rice", ie. rice and curries) in George Town, perhaps on all of Penang island. The owners of this stall migrated a couple decades ago from Sumatra, and the Indonesian island's influences come through in dishes like deep-fried tempeh with green chilies and dried anchovies, long eggplants fried to silkiness and doused with fiery red chili paste, beef jerky deep-fried with red chilies and an addictive sambal made with grilled green chilies and tiny fish. Pineapple curry, whole round eggplant in an Indian-ish curry leaf-flecked curry, papaya leaves stewed in coconut milk, chicken stewed in kecap manis and red chilies and fresh pineapple achar say "Malaysia", and the Chinese touch can be seen in a mild tofu skin-and-rice vermicelli soup. The amazing spread here includes several types of whole fish (look for deep-fried specimens spilling crispy caramelised sambal-rubbed sliced onions), a few different sambals and plenty of vegetarian options including, occasionally, do-it-yourself gado gado. Open till 4 or 5, but this is really a lunch place.

    Go by noon for the best selection, and know that this place gets really crowded (as in No Seats) on weekends. Note: this stall remains open for lunch during Ramadan.

    

Cozy seating and darned fine nasi campur at International Hotel

 

Woodlands, Penang Street about half a block east of China Street, Little India   

    Our beloved Veloo Velas just up Penang Street, which I included in the original version of this post, has taken such a dive in quality that I can no longer recommend it. Happily Woodlands, a fairly comfortable (yet still ridiculously inexpensive) air-conditioned cafe with a friendly staff, is still going strong. We go Woodlands for tiffin, the southern Indian term for morning and evening meals that do not revolve around rice and curries and other dishes but are comprised of deliciously easy-to-digest specialties made with fermented rice batter: thosai, idli, uttapam, etc.  

Nasi Kandar at Toon Leong Cafe

    Is this the famous Penang nasi kandar stall that Anthony Bourdain ate at? NO. It's better. Run by the grandson of its founder, this little stall is parked at a kopitiam (coffee shop) run by the grandson of the guy who opened it over 80 years ago. Service is mornings only, most things are sold out by ten. I became reacquainted with the fragrantly spicy beef curry a week ago and am thrilled to report it's as tender and delicious as ever. Toon Leong's strong kopi beng (iced coffee with sweet milk), surely one of the best in town, is especially nice sipped while sitting in one of the coffee shop's unironically vintage booths. The coffee shop sells its ground coffee in 10-ringgit bags.

Hainan chicken rice at Keng Pin on Penang Road

    Hainan chicken rice may be Singapore's national dish but we're lucky to have a mighty excellent version here in George Town. If you're one of those folks who doesn't "get" this dish try the version here, served from about 1130am (Mondays off) by an intense couple who don't smile much but do know how to delicately poach a chicken to barest doneness and cook rice in the bird's broth with garlic to perfection, grains tender and separate. The sourish chili sauce is nice too. Specify when you order, breast or leg/thigh, with or without skin.

Oyster Omelette stall, front of narrow shop on Carnavon three doors east of Kimberley Street

    This vendor does not get enough love. It pains me to see his stall so unappreciated when the vendor of the 'famous' oyster omelette of George Town, at a coffee shop just two doors down, does a rip-roaring business. Be bold -- skip the famous version (which is really just OK) and try this one, which is really different. Instead of the usually greasy, gummy pile this stall serves of a thin and lacy, crispy pancake of tapioca and rice starch batter layered with egg, and tops it with a mess of oysters fried with chili and bean paste. The garnish of cilantro leaves takes it over the top. The beef noodles soup served at the other stall occupying this narrow (and, admittedly, hot as heck) shop deserves notice too. 

Note: in September oyster omelette and beef noodles will move down Carnavon west towards 1st Avenue shopping mall to a wider and more airy shop on the same side of the street.

Curry Mee (on the same street as "Famous Cendol" -- see below -- off Penang Road)

    Note: as of two weeks ago this curry noodle vendor was on temporary hiatus. I include her stall nonetheless, in the hope that she'll be back soon.

I love Eng, the bubbly woman who runs this stall, and I love her curry mee even more. She used to park her stall on Cintra Street, but moved when the building behind her was refurbished. I thought she was gone forever until we stumbled upon her current location, in front of a cute little shop house whose three tables offer a cool, quiet respite from George Town's hot noisy streets. Be sure to order the loh han goh, an (admittedly pretty sweet) herbal drink made with a dried medicinal fruit that is said to be cooling -- more so if ordered with ice. Read more here.

Lam Mee, just outside pork section of Campbell Street Market, Carnavon Road

    In a town of curries and smoky fried noodles it's easy to overlook this subtle dish of yellow noodles (or rice vermicelli, or a mixture of the two) with bean sprouts, sliced pork and perfectly cooked tender-crunchy prawns in rich meat broth, but I encourage you to give it a try. This stall parked in front of the pork butchers at the back of dilapidated (but lovely) Campbell Street Market crowns each bowl with a flurry of cilantro leaves and offers alongside an unusually (for Penang) fiery chili sauce redolent of fishy-funky belacan (shrimp paste). The noodles here were a recent 'discovery' of ours (if you can call a stall that you've registered while walking past several times a week a 'discovery') and I deeply regret all the years e've passed not enjoying them at least once a week. The adjacent coffee stall serves an excellent traditional Malaysian brew.

Char Siew on Carnavon (corner of Cheong Fatt Tze / Hong Kong Street)

    Arrive to this coffee shop by 12:15 or you'll end up waiting quite a while for your sweet-sticky pork. All hell breaks loose when this vendor, one of the few in George Town to BBQ his pig Kuala Lumpur-style (with a sticky, smoky glaze rather than Hong Kong style, dryish and rimmed in red) arrives at 12:30, unpacks roast pork, char siew and roast duck from his motorbike and hangs the meat in his glass display case. For my money the roast pork is not quite as impressive as the char siew, but it certainly isn't awful. The duck is very good, but nowhere near as tasty as that cooked over charcoal at Kuala Lumpur's old Sek Yuen restaurant. But then again I'm not sure there's a roast duck in Malaysia to match Sek Yuen's. Served with a kickass chili sauce, cucumbers, rice and gravy (if you want it).

Asam laksa at Weld Quay

    Judgment of whether or not an asam laksa is "good" or "bad" or somewhere in between comes down to chilies, tamarind (and/or asam keping, aka "sour slices") and fish. I like my asam laksa spicy, tart and full of piscene flavor. If you do too get your asam laksa at the stall that parks at the corner of Weld Quay and Aceh from around 2 in the afternoon until 5. (Tip: Go late for a more concentrated broth.) Read more here. If you can score a dozen of the delicious battered and deep-fried bananas sold from the stall across the street you have better luck than I do (customers frequently by them by the whole batch).

Cendol on Burma Road at Lorong MacAlister 

    There may once have been a day when George Town's "famous" cendol, located on a lane just off Penang Road, was famous for a reason other than that it's famous, but that day is gone. Watery coconut milk, suspiciously vividly green mung bean "pasta" and sloppy presentation (the latter due, I suppose, to the need for speed to appease the inexplicablly huge crowds that mob this stall) make this version a No-Go for me.

    Do yourself a favor: bypass the crazy queue. Walk right past and take a right at the flyover. Two or three blocks up Burma Road, on your left, you'll find a cart whose owners dish up a cendol much more worth your time and your money. The wait is short, the coconut milk is thick and rich and the gula Melaka is deep and butterscotchy. After 12pm, odd off days. (Thanks to Bee of Rasa Malaysia for this tip.)

CAFFEINATE

    Over the past 18 months George Town has seen a rash of cafe openings. In the last two years cafes have sprouted in George Town like fungi in a pine forest after a long rain. I'll be honest -- after many dismal cups I stopped trying them. Instead I stick with two tried and true favourites:

    The owner of China House is an Australian caffeine addict and her love of the bean comes through in the coffees served at the cafe. Her baristas know what they're doing and the beans are imported from a boutique roastery in Singapore. (Desserts and homemade ice creams are a bonus.) And if you can catch it open, the owners of Ete Cafe, a blink and you'll miss it spot on Lorong Carnavon off of Carnavon Street, lend their uniquely Taiwanese love of coffee to brewing a very good cup. His beautiful French pastries and macarons and her quiche (both trained at Le Cordon Bleu) are a bonus.

Narrow Marrow, run by a young couple who take their coffee seriously and have a great design sense, occupies George Town's narrowest shop house; it's worth a visit just to take in the space itself. We don't get there as often as I'd like, especially now that the cafe is only open on weekends. But the vibe is very friendly, the espresso drinks are fabulous; the also serve fruit drinks and beer. Carnavon Street opposite the entrance to Prangin Lane.

WHERE TO SHOP

Kedai Kek Sunflower, Hutton Lane a bit north of Penang Road

    Kueh lapis, a lovely cake composed of many many super-thin layers that is made by pouring, baking, pouring, baking, pouring baking and so on for each individual layer, keeps and travels well-- making it an excellent gift or edible souvenir. The good version is made with butter, as is the kueh lapis at this little shop where, the last time I was in, you could watch the co-owner make her cakes up front near the display case. Go for the original version -- not chocolate chip or raisin or whatever other flavours they've got going now. Expect to pay around 20 ringgit for a cake, which is justified if real butter is used.

Chop Kongsi, Penang Street next to Ren I Tang Hotel, Little India

    You never know what you'll find at Chop Kongsi, an artist-run matchbox of a shop right next to Ren I Tang (see Where to Stay, below). Malaysian Foo May Lyn does her own thing with needles,yarn, threads, lace, textiles, pen and pencils. A nice change from the same-old same-old items sold in many shops around George Town. Check out Chop Kongsi's wares on its Facebook page. 

Kitchenware shops, Carnavon Road across from 1st Avenue shopping mall 

    Right next to the fruit store at the corner are two side-by-side shops selling almost everything for the kitchen, including new enamel ware (from China, most likely). Be willing to sweat a bit and poke around in the dust for wooden moon cake holds, colourful melamine plates and bowls, patterned ceramic ware and other odds and ends. You'll find many of these items for sale in cute shops nearer the centre of George Town -- for a lot more.

 

WHERE TO STAY

    I live here so obviously I'm not staying at hotels. I include places that I have either viewed several times, that are run by people who have a reputation for being on top of service, or that have been recommended to me by at least three of my street food walk clients. (FWIW George Town's two oldest, and most 'classic' hotels, consistently get the thumbs-down from folks staying there. No need to mention names, but it seems to be a case of resting on laurels.) My bias is towards smallish, unique hotels that are the result of a sensitive/smart refurbishment of older structures by owners who've really put their heart(s) into the project. There's a lot of sub-par refurbishment going on in (formerly) lovely old buildings around town; know when you book a hotel that the word "heritage" in its name guarantees nothing.

 7 Terraces

    Stunning suites with very cool black and white mosaic tiled bathrooms arranged around a long courtyard on the second story of seven rebuilt terrace houses. Very private (only guests and their guests are allowed beyond the bar and restaurant) with a small pool. Read my full review for Wall Street Journal Asia here.

Campbell House

    I included this early comer to George Town's boutique hotel scene in my NYTimes Travel "36 Hours in Penang" piece, which a few years ago was republished in a book of 36 Hours pieces. As such rooms here can be hard to come by but it's worth trying, because Campbell House is small and intimate and the welcome is warm, thanks to the hands-on management style of its Malaysian and Italian owners. 

    Note: Do not be fooled by the copycat signage of the 'Campbell House guest house' opened right next door. It has no association with this hotel.

Ren I Tang

Ren I Tang lobby

    Fabulously located in Little India, which to my mind is one of George Town's main attractions, the rooms at this refurbished Chinese medicine hall are as beautiful as they are comfortable, and are varied in size and configuration so as to accomodate the needs of single travelers and families as well as couples. The cafe downstairs is a great spot in which to cool off (passion fruit soda highly recommended) while people watching.

Sin Keh

    Sin Keh describes itself as a "guest house" but has all the comforts of a hotel; it occupies a stylishly refashioned old shop house sited in a neighborhood not yet pocked with same-same cafes and trinket stores. There's an arts workshop and performance space in the hotel, which makes for a good crowd. The vibe  is laid back and friendly and the roof deck is a great place to relax at sunset with a drink. As one who often finds that the problem with hotels is not the hotel but inconsiderate guests I appreciate Sin Keh's "Quiet at Night" policy.

Lang Hoose

    More than ten street food walk clients have talked up this guest house located on Beach Street opposite Toh Aka Lane. But it's recently changed hands, and I have no idea how that will affect the guest experience, if it does. Still, if you're looking for something a bit more on the budget side of things it may be worth checking out. 

 

***

When we're in Penang I offer private street food walks in George Town, while EatingAsia photographer Dave Hagerman, who shoots for Saveur, SBS Feast, the New York Times and other publications, runs private and small-group photography workshops ranging from 3 hours to 1.5 days. Check out reviews of Dave's Penang photography walks here. I limit walks to two a week, so I'm rarely available for last-minute bookings; Dave is more flexible. For more details contact us by email: robyn[DOTt]eckhardt[at]gmail.com and drhagerman[AT]gmail.com.

AND HEY! We're both honoured to have been nominated for the Saveur magazine 2016 Food Blog Awards. If you're so inclined you can vote for EatingAsia (category: Eat the World) and David Hagerman (category: Instagram) here. THANK YOU! 

 

A Little Love, Please, for Koay Teow Th'ng

Koay teow th'ng, you get too little love.

Rice noodles in chicken, duck or pork broth with meat, (sometimes) offal, meat and/or fish balls and perhaps a wonton or a stem or few of choi sum, depending on the vendor, koay teow th'ng is unloved not by Penang-ites -- who rate it over most any other street food (judging by the number of koay teow th'ng stalls in George Town alone) as a breakfast dish -- but by non-Asian visitors for whom white noodles in pale broth just can't compete with the flash of a sambal-dolloped mound of coconut rice (nasi lemak), the sizzle of rice noodles in a lard-slicked wok (char koay teow) or the wow of a rice flour pancake rolled around a filling fragrant with warm spices (masala thosai).

Poor koay teow th'ng (th'ng means "soup" in Hokkien, a reference to the broth). I've tried introducing you to visitors on street food walks. While some are immediately hip to your simple elegance, most set down their spoon down with a shrug after the first sip of soup (almost no one digs the fish balls). It's true that you're plain and nothing much to look at, a wallflower compared with other prettier local dishes. But when made and assembled with care you are the perfect first-thing-in-the-morning food, greeting the awakening appetite with a gentle stroke rather than a bludgeon.

I have to admit I had my doubts at first; I was visiting George Town twice a month for over a year before I gave in to koay teow th'ng's understated persuasion. I really only truly saw the light once we'd moved into our shop house. You see, our front door sits ten steps from a seller who begins preparing his koay teow th'ng just as the night's last bit of black begins to leach from the sky.

The vendor in question; he runs the stall with his wife and son.

By the time we head out the door with our dogs the vapors rising from his cauldron of duck and chicken broth scent the street. As we round his corner our older hound raises her nose to the heavens, breathing deeply (and always hopefully), and I try not to see the fowl carcasses heaped on his prep table,; the noodles folded over on themselves like silk ribbons, the perky choi sum leaves mounded on a stainless steel table next to the soup pot. If I gave in I might never get past that corner. I might sit down for one breakfast and not leave until I'd had three or four.

It's a good version, this vendor's duck koay teow th'ng. The broth is light but substantial, truly tasting of its main ingredient (I once asked him if he added MSG; he looked stung). His fish balls show resistance to the bite but aren't rubbery, his wontons -- which sell out quickly -- taste home made. Choi sum, in addition to gracing each bowl of noodle soup, is served  (order simply "veggie") blanched and tossed with oyster sauce. Bowls of koay teow th'ng come with the usual accompaniment of chopped chilies to douse with soy sauce at the table, but also with an unusual (in my experience) firecracker of a sambal made with cilantro and green chilies.

Koay teow th'ng, soup and "dry" versions. You can also order your fixings with yellow noodles. Sometimes there are chicken feet too.

The only problem with having such a fine koay teow th'ng so close to hand is that when koay teow th'ng calls we rarely make it further than the corner. Off the top of my head I can think of five other sellers within a three-block radius of our house. I can't remember the last time we ate at the tables of any of them. And many more of them lie further afield (if a 10 to 15-minute walk can be called "further afield").

Our next departure for Turkey is a little over five weeks away. I figure that's good for at least five koay teow th'ng breakfasts. I'll blog them all. It's high time; I owe it to Penang's most unloved noodle.

Duck koay teow th'ng. Kimberley Street, 1 block from Carnavon. Mornings from about 730am. Off days are Monday, and sometimes other days too.

George Town: The State of the (Our) Stomach(s)

    Chicken curry mee (yellow noodles), up the street from "famous" Teochew cendol (which is meh). The slivered torch ginger flower and fresh mint say "Penang".

     We had plans to be in Turkey right now. But two weeks ago we decided to give ourselves more time to settle into our new home and pushed our departure back. Lucky, I guess. Or not. Turkey has become a big part of our lives over the last three years and a big part of me wishes that I was there this week. Not to make some half-baked attempt at "reporting" on the protests -- but to observe, talk to people and get a firsthand feel for the mood. We care deeply about what's going in Istanbul and the rest of the country, and where all this will end. Whether we're physically there or not, right now our hearts are in Istanbul.

    Our stomachs, however, are another story.

Hainan chicken rice at Kheng Pin. We love this vendor's precisely poached bird and the wonderfully grain-y texture of the rice.

    Over the last few weeks we've eased into a routine that we could only dream about as we waited, in our suburban Penang rental, to move into our George Town shop house. Walking instead of driving, almost everywhere. Shopping at the morning wet market just three blocks from our house. Becoming regulars at certain stalls in the market and finding "our" butcher. Exchanging hellos with neighbors. And, of course, breaking up hours in front of the computer with meals and snacks out.

A pretty decent char koay teow and lor bak, on Carnavon at the corner of Malay Street.

    Perhaps we've gone a bit overboard. When all is said and done, a steady diet of hawker food can kill you. (Malaysians are, in fact, the least healthy population in southeast Asia, with high rates of obesity, diabetes and heart disease. Their devotion to street food is partially to blame.)

Gado-gado on the left (weekends only), pineapple ring stewed in fragrant curry on the right, sambal belacan front and center. International Hotel, Jalan Transfer.

    But there is so much goodness out there in our new hometown -- much of it literally minutes from our front door. And we've only scratched the surface. The streets of George Town present temptations often impossible to resist.

Wonton mee "dry", super seafood-ish prawn fritters on the side. Corner of Carnavon and Kimberley.

    It's amazing to me, really, that so few travelers outside of Asia are aware of the culinary attractions of this city. Not to pick on Singapore, but the Lion City's self proclamations set it up for the comparison, so  here goes: Southeast Asia's "street food capital?" You must be joking.

A simply superb thosai, or fermented rice flour batter pancake. Location? My lips are sealed..

    Spend a couple days just in George Town -- let alone the rest of Penang -- and such an assertion will come to seem as absurd to you as it does to me. And pesumably, also to the hundreds of Singaporeans who descend on Penang's kopitiam and hawker stalls every weekend.

Breakfast food: duck koay teow th'ng, silky rice noodles in a subtle broth, Kimberley Street.

     I love the street food in Chiang Mai. And Saigon. And Hanoi. And Taipei and in other cities on Taiwan. But the bottom line is this: if you're contemplating a street food-fueled tour of southeast Asia you'd be crazy to skip Penang.

Roast duck, sticky barbecued pork and gravy-soaked rice. Carnavon and Cheong Fatt Tze.

    At the recent World Street Food Congress in Singapore, organizer KF Seetoh insisted that street food "is a cuisine, not a physicality. "To which I say: "Baloney!" You can't take this food, put it in a prettyshopping mall food or restaurant, and expect it to taste the same.

Hokkien mee, mixed noodles in a savory prawn-pork-chili soup. A signature Penang dish that, for some reason, many western tourists end up missing out on.

    (If you're looking for a few more reasons to visit my home town I can -- and did, for Wall Street Journal Asia -- think of five. Read them here. Not to mention the George Town Festival, on until July 7.)

UPDATE: This post generated quite a bit of discussion on a FB page. Among other tidbits, World Street Food Congress organizer KF Seetoh deemed me a "semi-retired auntie" and a colonialist, presumably because I am a foreigner who enjoys local food. Fairly offensive, but we're all allowed our opinion! You can see the discussion here, though the original poster has now closed it to comments: https://www.facebook.com/ivan.ng.56027/posts/279519462193565 

As George Town Changes, One Thing Remains Constant

 

    George Town is changing fast. In the little over four years since we began visiting on a regular basis the city has sprouted  a dozen boutique hotels (with more on the way), a bakery turning out Paris-worthy rustic French baked goods and coq au vin, a cafe where the daily specials might include handmade tamales steamed in banana leaf or a perfectly dressed Caesar salad and a hole-in-the-wall serving delicate French pastries crafted by a Cordon Bleu-trained chef and siphon coffee from a menu with detailed tasting notes. There are new galleries and performance spaces. The George Town Festival, which takes place every summer, has grown from a nice little celebration of Penang culture to a month-long fest that attracts artists, musicians and performers from around the world.

    But make no mistake: George Town is no twee boutique town tarted up for tourists, with no real sense of its old self. For now at least this place that we'll soon call home -- after 20 months (!) of renovations --  is still real. Those new cafes and exist side-by-side with hawker stalls and coffee shops and restaurants that have been around for decades.

    From the latter category, one of our favorites is International Hotel's coffee shop and its famed nasi Padang/nasi Malay stall. This enterprise is decades old and family run. Its proprietors came to Penang from west Sumatra, Indonesia (home of nasi Padang) over 20 years ago. In the four or so years that we've been eating here the place hasn't changed a whit. Nor has the sky-high quality of its food, or the composition of its clientele. Few tourists seem to make it to Jalan Transfer, which sits just outside George Town's UNESCO conservation core. Fewer still make it to International Hotel which, given the dearth of choices when it comes to Malay cuisine in George Town, is a pity.

    Be forewarned: choice here can be overwhelming, especially if you know (and now you do, because we're telling you) that every dish is worthy of space on your plate. Eating at International Hotel as a couple is painful, the decision of what to eat almost too onerous. No matter how wisely you choose you'll walk away wishing you'd chosen differently, or eaten more, and vowing to return.

    If at all possible, come with a group.

    What you'll find, if you come for lunch around noon (and you shouldn't come much later, lest the most popular dishes be finished and the coffee shop too crowded to seat you), is a two-level glass-fronted display case at the coffee shop's entrance groaning under the weight of stainless steel trays holding dishes west Sumatran and Malay, and sometimes kind of Indian and sort of Chinese. Curries, stir-fries, sauteed vegetables, small rectangles of golden crispy deep-fried tempeh that will make you wonder why chips makers don't get hip to the possibilities of this fermented soybean cake. There are salad-y concoctions of morning glory (aka water spinach), bean sprouts, chilies and coconut and sometimes mango, and a lovely refreshing acar consisting of fresh pineapple, cucumber, and mild red chili rings in sweet-tangy vinegar dressing.There is fish stewed (look for the pot of lemon-yellow turmeric and coconut milk fish curry) and deep-fried and sauced. A glorious, truly truly gloriously warm spice and chili-laden beef rendang. Whole long Asian eggplants, cooked to impossible silkiness and slathered with fresh red chili sauce. An unctuous pineapple curry -- yes, you read that right, a richly aromatic, sunset hued cinnamon-heavy coconut curry sauce with no meat or chicken or fish, just thick rings of semi-firm, sweet-tart pineapple. And chicken cooked with kecap manis, its almost black sauce and slightly sweet stickiness countered by chunks of bright red fiery chili.

    There's more. A small table behind the display case holds milder dishes: greens stewed in coconut milk, rehydrated ropes of delightfully chewy dried bean curd with rice vermilli in soup, globe eggplants halved and floating in a delicious but unchallenging Indian-ish curry. This table is also home to what might be considered this family's piece de resistance: whole fish whose split bellies hold a stuffing of chili sauce-rubbed sliced onions. At a cooker just to the side of the coffee shop the fish are submerged in hot oil; they emerge crisp, the color of black coffee, their bellies spilling onions sweetened by the heat and gone to caramel, some crunchy and some still slightly soft. These fish go fast.

    And yet still more: nearby, a 2-tiered shelf displays cooked and fresh vegetables and a few sambal (chili sauces, made with belacan/shrimp paste or just fresh chilies and lime) with which to assemble your own ulam spread (think of it as the Malay version of a crudite plate) .Relatively recently the stall's proprietors introduced a new item: a platter holding the makings of gado-gado (tofu cubes, bean sprouts, chunks of cucumber, etc) and a bowl of chunky peanut sauce to spoon over your vegetable mix.

    This is a self-serve operation. Most diners opt for a plate of rice over which they spoon sauce from a curry or two, bits and pieces from 2 or 3 dishes, maybe a bit of sambal on the side. But to make the most of this stall's vast selection we recommend you accept a plate of rice, then use the empty bowls, plates and platters neatly stacked by the rice cooker to assemble a family-style feast at the center of your table.

    Don't be embarassed to make several trips to and from the display to your table; it's the only way to make sure you've covered all of this establishment's hits. Once you've mapped out your meal let the staff know. They'll come to your table and figure your bill, and even offer to cut some of the more unweildy dishes (those long eggplants smothered in chilies, for instance) into shareable portions with kitchen shears. Order a drink from the coffee shop's Chinese owners (and pay them directly), then pay for your lunch after you've finished.

    In the unlikely event that you're still hungry you're no more than a 5-minute walk from an exquisite walnut and salted caramel tart, and a good espresso is just ten minutes further by foot. All this, and International Hotel's nasi Padang too. Welcome to the new George Town.

Nasi Padang/nasi Malay stall at International Hotel, Jalan Transfer at the corner of Jalan Sekerat. Lunch is the best time to go, as early as 11/1130.

More on Those Grilled Chapati

When I publicized our post on grilled chapati in George Town, Penang yesterday on Twitter one knowledgeable Indian food lover remarked that "if they tried that in India they'd be deported." (Loose quote.) But this morning on the EatingAsia Facebook page I found another Indian had weighed in: "In north India the chapati is commonly griddled and then grilled on the fire but without this contraption." (By "contraption" I assume he means the metal grill that's placed over the flames.)

This discussion inspired Dave to sift through photographs he made a few years ago in New Delhi, when he stopped over on his way to Malaysia from a photography workshop in Manali. (I, regrettably, did not join Dave on this trip. Judging by the photos here and his images and commentary here, he ate very well.)

What he found was this: proof that in New Delhi at least, chapati can be found grilled, sort of. Here we have a wood-fired portable stove with a small griddle pan on top. The guy on the right rolls out the chapati on a wooden board. They're cooked on the griddle and then removed with tongs and held directly to the flame. No "contraption" involved but, I imagine, the result is a lovely flatbrad infused with plenty of woody smokiness. (Just looking at those thick fresh chapati makes me hungry.)

Seems like the chapati makers in our previous George Town post brought a penchant for grilling flatbreads with them to Penang and adapted their method to a charcoal brazier.

All this talk of chapati has incited an unbearable craving so now, in honor of chapati makers in India, Malaysia and anywhere else, we're jettisoning all hopes of a productive afternoon and heading into George Town for lunch: chapati.

 

In Penang's George Town, Chapati Not Griddled but Grilled

    As we get tantalizingly close to finishing work on our old shop house in George Town, Penang, I'm beginning to allow myself to imagine what it might be like to actually live there. I imagine breaking up long stretches at the computer with a walk to a favorite kopitiam for a glass of iced caffeine, or a quick hawker stall lunch -- noodles in beef broth rich with Chinese medicinal herbs perhaps, or a spicy coconut milk-rich curry mee. I contemplate having Tek Sen a 10-minute walk away on evenings when I'm just too tired to cook. And I anticipate meandering George Town's endlessly fascinating lanes during the day's best hours, early in the morning while the air is still fresh and cool and as afternoon becomes evening, when the setting sun casts a beautiful hazy glow on the city's pastel building facades.

    I foresee a lot of evening strolls in Little India. There's always something going on there, always something worth seeing. On weekdays office workers congregate in the evenings at tables bunched around teh tarik stalls. Barber shops are busy, a male customer in the chair getting a trim and a shave while friends and onlookers watch and comment from chairs lined up beneath the shops' picture windows. CD shops engage in music wars, blaring Bollywood hits at top volume, drowning out the tap-tap of goldsmiths sitting out front of jewelry shops. Worshippers walk up and down China Street on their way to and from the Goddess of Mercy Temple and the small Ganesha shrine on the corner just opposite. Single devotees come to light a few sticks of incense and whole groups intent on performing a complex ceremony file in and out of Mariamman Temple on Queen Street.

    Of course, this being Penang there is also food being made, sold, eaten. Several vendors proffer samosa, deep-fried gram balls, warm spice-scented mashed lentil "doughnuts" and various other savory and sweet snacks from stainless steel trays displayed on plastic-topped trestle tables. On Penang Street, a vendor and his wife steam ground rice layered with butterscotch-y Indian jaggery in tubes and serve the finished cakes, called putu, on a piece of banana leaf with shredded coconut and more jaggery. (It's absolutely delicous, a must-try if you're in Little India after 4pm).

    Roti jala -- lacy griddled dough "nets" -- and curries can be found at a stall on Lebuh Pasar near Jalan Masjid Jamek (formerly Pitt Street, also known as the Walk of Harmony). I can't offer an appraisal though; the vendor's distinct unfriendliness has put me off all these years. On Queen Street there are freshly stretched, flipped, folded and griddled roti for sale, and chapati too.

    Street side chapati are not so easily found in Kuala Lumpur, but in George Town's Little India are five or more five spots that make and serve the wholemeal flatbreads. On Queen Street between Lebuh Pasar and China Street an elderly woman and her husband offer a variety of curries to go with their chapati. Whether or not the chapati are fresh depends on when you arrive to their stall. If they make as if to serve you from a stack of pre-made chapati you can attempt to cajole the old woman into making you a fresh one; sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.

    At any rate, their chicken curry is superb -- very spicy and laden with fresh curry leaves. If you're not up for a whole piece of chicken just ask for a bowl of gravy to eat with your flatbread.

    Up Queen Street towards Chulia and almost directly across from the entrance to Mariamman Temple is something different: chapati grilled rather than griddled. The stall sits in front of a shop which also does roti; you order from the two men patting out the chapati and cooking them over the coals and then eat in the shop. (The shop owner will expect you to order a drink.)

    

    I've no idea if BBQ'd chapati are done in India. But I'm glad they're done in George Town.

    The fire blisters the flatbreads something fierce, but somehow doesn't leave them with a burnt flavor, just a haunting smokiness from the charcoal. Pliable in some spots, mildly crispy in others, the chapati becomes a bread-chip perfectly suited to dipping. Served alongside is a not-too-fiery, warm spices-fragrant dal featuring plenty of fresh curry leaves and another nice change of pace: chickpeas rather than the usual lentils.

Evening stalls in Little India usually don't get going until around 4:30/5pm. The place is busiest Monday-Thursday, when workers from the office buildings near/on Beach Street and other 9-to-5ers wander over for a snack before heading home to dinner.

 

    

Penang in Print (and other news)

A divine Malay lunch at International Hotel, Transfer Road

As we were wrapping up a little over three weeks in Turkey a piece we worked on last Oct/Nov ran in NY Times Travel. If you missed it, the link to my (Robyn's) 36 Hours: Penang is here. While you're there be sure to click on Dave's accompanying slideshow, a whopping 32+ photographs taken around the island.

For more Penang in photos sans words, Dave has posted out-takes from this shoot on his photo blog Sky Blue Sky, here.

And for yet more Penang, a couple blasts from the past: our late 2010 piece on post-Unesco world heritage designation changes in George Town for the same publication, here; some street photography and portraiture in Penang, here and here; and a sweetly nostalgic multimedia of Penang black and whites set to old-timey music, here.

(Now seems as good a time as any to mention once again that when he is in Penang Dave offers one-one-one photography walks/workshops. Info here.)

The week before our Penang piece ran my tiny write-up on Bangkok wine bars hit print; see it here. Yes, yes -- I've heard the grumbling from various quarters to the effect that none of these places are, in fact, wine bars. Beyond my puzzlement as to how exactly one should define "wine bar" these days (Must there in fact be a "bar"? Should there be potted ferns? Are DJs just not done? Is the bar not also allowed to offer beers on tap and mixed drinks?), I can say firsthand that they are all great places to enjoy a glass or a bottle, and they all boast a good -- and in some cases unique -- selection of vintages. Let me put it this way: no freebies were enjoyed in the course of this reportage.

And, before we asphyxiate ourselves with all the hot air blowing about this post, last week American photo agency A Wonderful Machine ran on its blog an interview with Dave about his current obsession with Turkey. You can read that, and view some photos, here.

And there you have it, our self-promotion quota for the month. Back to regular programming tomorrow. 

Seeing as I've ended on a Turkey note and that having been back in Penang for less then 48 hour, we're still in a Turkey frame of mind, a couple photos Dave shot last week. Snow is a unique and wonderful thing for us. On this night in Istanbul it was especially beautiful.

If You're Planning to Be in Penang....

For quite a while I've been meaning to start posting jpegs of our published work, even that which is not focused on food. But then the publication comes out, I get busy and .....

But judging from the hordes of tourists I saw in George Town this morning, this is timely -- a round-up of recent boutique hotel openings within the Unesco world heritage site that appeared in last month's issue of Travel+Leisure Southeast Asia.The 2011 George Town Festival is going on from now until the end of July, which makes it the perfect time to book a stay.

We've got more Malaysia coverage and a bit of Taiwan coming up in near-term issues, so stay tuned.

A Taste of Penang

We are settled in, kind of. I've unpacked the kitchen, and the rest of the house too -- sort of. My office is nearly together, and we now have internet at home, which means I can get back to spending time in this little space.

But it's late Friday afternoon and unlike in Kuala Lumpur, where we regularly worked until 8 or so, in Penang we make a point of enjoying our evenings. So I plan to close this computer while there is still light in the sky, take the dogs for a walk, and then kick back and contemplate dinner.

But first, one of the many reasons Penang agrees with us: ingredients. From fresh fruit to fish, they're on the whole spectacular here. We bought these fish 5 minutes by car from our house, at a roadside stall just 2 blocks from the little fishing boats that brought them in. Every day at 2pm the stall sets up, with some of the most beautiful, freshest seafood we've ever seen.

Did I mention that six of these beauties set us back the equivalent of only three-and-a-half US dollars?

We haven't bought charcoal for the grill yet, so after Dave cleaned the fish -- which taste something like mackerel, strong and oily and able to take assertive flavors, our favorite kind of fish -- I rubbed them, inside and out, with a fiery sambal made by a favorite Nyonya market vendor. I layed the chili-fied fish on a bed of cilantro leaves and stems and shredded green scallions spread over a lightly oiled piece of foil, squeezed over lime juice, and then tucked the spent lime quarters between them.

I placed a piece of foil over the top and secured the sides, leaving enough air for it to puff. And I cooked the fish for about 15 minutes. (This has become my fish preparation technique of choice lately, when I'm too lazy to get the bamboo steamer out of the cupboard.)

They turned out brilliantly, the sambal perfuming the fish's flesh and a nice little pool of fishy sambal juices under the wilted cilantro and scallions. And they're easy, something that would work well with shell-on prawns or squid or tuna or even salmon.

Making your own sambal is as simple as pounding (in a mortar) or blender-izing or food processor-izing: a handful of fresh small chilies, a bit of toasted (in the oven or on the stove-top, in a piece of foil) belacan or shrimp paste, garlic, salt and a bit of lime juice. It'll keep in the fridge for a couple weeks and is lovely stirred into wok-fried greens or just a mound of steaming plain rice.

Make your sambal strong and hot, because it will lose potency as it cooks into and over the fish.

Happy weekend!

 

Movin' On Up. North.

No shirt, no problem. Dave is looking forward to never wearing a shirt again once we're settled on Penang.

We've called Kuala Lumpur home for over 5 years and 8 months. That's the longest continuous stretch of time that Dave and I have lived anywhere, inside or outside of the USA. It's been a great run. But it's time to move on. Time for a change.

We're not going very far. Last weekend we signed a lease in Penang.

This isn't just about moving house. We've got a couple of fun projects in the works up north, one of which will birth a new blog in 6-8 weeks. EatingAsia will continue as it always has -- well, maybe (hopefully) with a makeover. We'll keep you apprised here, and there.

In the meantime we're off to Chiang Mai tomorrow to continue with our Gat Luang project. When we return there's work to do in Melaka and Kelantan, and on Taiwan. We have the frightening material results (detritus?) of almost 25 years of marriage to sift through. (PURGE is the operative word.) We have much too much packing and organizing to do. In addition to ourselves and Wan, we have 3 dogs and 3 cats to resettle.

Bottom line -- the next two months are going to be hell. But we know we're fortunate to be in a position to make this kind of decision. After nine major moves for grad school or work this one is just for us. We're doing it solely because we want to.

And if all goes to plan (fingers crossed), by June we we'll be in a very good place indeed.