Why You Can't Resist Penang Food

Do you ever wonder why Penang food is so good that you want to go back for more? Why is it that you find yourself patronizing the same stall over and over again if not on a weekly basis? And how come you can never find authentic Penang food elsewhere except on the island itself?

There is no single answer to those questions. First of all, have you realized that Penang hawker food always come in smaller portion compare to elsewhere say KL or Singapore. You may complain that Penang hawkers are calculative or stingy but I believe that is one of the reason that makes Penang food so irresistible. All good things are rare to find and that's why gold is so precious while rubbish is worthless. By serving the food in smaller portion, we could savour its taste more explicitly. It is the emphasis of quality over quantity. If it's portion is too big then you find yourself trying to finish up the food instead of completely immerse yourself in your palate sensation. 

The next reason why Penang food is so unique lies in the professionalism of its hawkers. Yes, you heard me, Penang hawkers are professionals! Have you realized that most Penang hawkers only sell one dish? If they are selling Asam Laksa then you won't be able to order Char Koay Teow from them. It is the skill and home made recipe that have been passed down by their previous generation that they want to upkeep and be faithful to their cuisine. The complex combination of ingredients and spices, the texture of the noodles, the amount of time and effort of preparation works all culminating into a small bowl of beautifully presented dish. These people are even more professional than the so called 'professionals' in suits that patronize their stall. 

I have always think that hawkers are under-appreciated by the general public because people only look up to careers with social status such as engineers or lawyers. But these engineers and lawyers would still have to sit by the roadside and wait for their food. 

There are many people trying to sell Penang food elsewhere. In fact you can find Penang food in all corners of the world. It is good to share our cuisine with the rest of the world but most of the times it doesn't work. If you try it you will know that the taste is not the same. There are two major reasons for that. Firstly, our wonderful spices are not easily available in other parts of the world. Secondly, they sell too many different dishes and thus lack focus on the food they serve. Some even mix dish from Singapore or Indonesia but their shop's name is about Penang food. 

Anyhow, let's get back to why Penang food is so unique. Besides the portion of the food and the professionalism of the hawker, there is this beautiful settings of heritage George Town that acts as the perfect backdrop to anyone's culinary experience in Penang. Everything seems to fit flawlessly - old buildings, narrow streets, casual lifestyle, street food and organized chaos. And you can find food anytime of the day from early morning until even after midnight. Penang people eat 24 hours a day and the food scene in George Town never sleeps.

You can't experience all these in big cities. You have to go into huge shopping centres in Singapore to eat 'street food'! Just imagine that, having street food inside a modern building instead of by the street, it is hilarious! 

So these are the reasons which I believe contribute the authenticity and uniqueness of Penang hawker food. I hope the same spirit will continue throughout future generations and not be washed away by rapid modernization of our society. Until then, just find a good spot by the roadside and enjoy your bowl of noodles!

Sungai Pinang Food Court Revisited

I can't recall if there was any food court in Penang when I was a kid. Back then, the streets are the food court. Penang people really make full use of their street. Streets in Jelutong town centre are converted into market in the morning. They revert back into streets in the afternoon and transform into hawker centre in the evening. This was the norm everywhere around the island.

But now with rapid urbanization and heavy traffic, roadside trading is gradually becoming less practical and hence the beginning of the food court era in Penang. While the situation is definitely getting more organized, I find that the food is less appealing compare to those served by traditional roadside hawkers. The reason is simple, those roadside hawkers are both chef and proprietors of their own business. They are serious about what they do and will try very hard to earn a decent living. They labor hard everyday to make ends meet and as a result of their passion and seriousness, we as the customers got to enjoy delicious food.

Those stall owners in modern food court however employ people to operate the business for them. There are very few who would personally manage their stalls. Sometimes you would find Indonesian maids serving you Penang Hokkien Mee for example, it just doesn't feel right and you could easily taste it as they are not authentic.

As you would probably know by now that I'm not a big fan of food court but if there is any food court to recommend then I would suggest the one in Sungai Pinang for its many choices of food, comfort and some stalls do serve authentic Penang delicacy.

Ikan bakar or BBQ fish Malaysian style - Golden Pomfret.

Have you tried BBQ vegetable before? This one is a bit too salty for me.

East Coast BBQ is the first prominent stall that greets you at the entrance to the food court.

Variety of seafood to choose from. Sometimes you just can't decide.

Customers are spoilt for choice.

Squid, fish, prawn and so much more.

Deep fried chicken skin always appeal to the locals as we are not very health conscious people.

Black chicken herbal soup. Not really a common dish in Penang and that makes it unique.

Noodles that goes with the black chicken herbal soup - my personal favourite.

Now this is the stall that boasts authenticity where the man himself shows you how he makes his famous biscuits.

The boss, the chef and the marketer.

He hit hard with wooden mallet onto the ingredients that make his biscuits.

Some cute lanterns hanging above the Lok Lok stall.

Customer thinking of which skewer to choose from.

Variety of meat and seafood in skewers on display at the Lok Lok stall.

I always go for fruit juice whenever I was there. A way to balance out all the greasy food that I took in.

The spacious interior of Sungai Pinang Food Court.

New Lane Street Food

Being the street food capital of Malaysia, streets all around George Town come alive after sun set. It is as if another type of economy takes over the island during night time. It is never difficult to find something to eat in the evening, the only problem is making up your mind on where to go. 

For those who are lazy to decide, why not go to a place where you can find all the popular Penang's street food in one place? New Lane during the day is deserted with just a few cars passing across Dato Kramat Road and Macalister Road. However, it is a completely different scene altogether at night when the street comes alive with lots of hawker stalls set up along both sides of the street. The street is so congested in the evening that the authority decided to convert it into a one way traffic at night. Below are some of the vibrant sights of New Lane at night:

Penang famous Char Koay Teow is everywhere. New Lane Char Koay Teow is slightly different from the rest in that crab meat is added to increase the sweetness of the dish.

Chee Cheong Fun (plain rice rolls drizzled with aromatic shallot oil, sweet sauce and prawn paste sauce) - not my personal favourite but lots of people like it.

It is still quite hot and humid in tropical Penang even in the evening, so why not have a fresh coconut juice to cool you down and quench your thirst?

Ice Kacang makes for perfect dessert Penang style.

Kangkung with blanched squid.

Satay or BBQ Malaysian style.

Chicken and pork satay.

I personally like to visit the Ikan Bakar stall as there is always so much to see.

Hawker stall set up besides a road side drain and seating arranged on car park are just some of the versatility of Asian urban planning which makes full use of the city's infrastructure.

If you are lucky you could even witness a parade by devout Hindus whose temple is just nearby.

Imagine eating your favourite Penang food in the open streets with the iconic 65 storey KOMTAR behind you, savouring the distinctive sight, sound and smell of the evening ambience. Occasionally cars and motorbikes would pass by next to you while you were slurping noodles. You could clearly hear the conversation from other tables. People are simply enjoying themselves out in the open without reservation. The food is good, the weather is not too hot in the evening, there are so much to see and experience, such is the definition of a food paradise.

View of the vibrancy of New Lane from Macalister Road with Sunway Hotel at the background.

This is how you convert a street into an open air food court.