Travel: Penang, Malaysia (1,182) GUARDIAN NEWS SERVICE (MALAYSIA)

Travel: Penang, Malaysia (1,182) GUARDIAN NEWS SERVICE (MALAYSIA) By Andrew Catchpole = STANDFIRST: Chinese, Malays, Indians and Thais have left their mark on Penang cuisine. Andrew Catchpole whets his appetite

Penang cuisine result of many external influences

Andrew Catchpole Guardian News Service/Penang, Malaysia

Eating "C'n'G" (cheap and good) is a national pastime in Malaysia.

Locals boast of eating six or seven times a day. Such is their food obsession that excellent street stalls and canteen-style eateries are rarely more than a short stroll away, but foreign visitors often find the experience bewildering. Where do you start?

Our Malaysian Chinese friend Lian gave us a quick beginners' guide. "Grab a table at the kedai kopi (coffee shop), but you'll have to look sharp," she said. "The British obsession with queuing never really caught on here. Then once you've got a seat, you can order from any stall you like."

Armed with a crumpled note covered with the hastily scribbled names of a few must-try dishes, my wife and I headed for Georgetown's New Lane, where a kedai kopi spilled its tables out among the raucous hawker stalls.

Staking our claim on a battered melamine-topped table, we began peering through the smoky clamor for vendors of fried oysters and eggs, duck char kway chow (a twist on a fried noodles classic) and gee chap chuk (pig innards congee or rice porridge).

Around us, makeshift notices on neon-lit street carts proclaimed each hawker's speciality while the hissing and sizzling of cooking gave up tantalizing aromas to the muggy night air.

Cheery crowds milled about, happily munching on spicy satay and tender balls of chee cheong fun, a Chinese speciality of steamed dumplings filled with pork or prawn. Oliver, our blond and blue-eyed baby of eight months, also proved an immense hit, his toothy grin attracting his own admiring crowd, effortlessly bridging any cultural divide.

In New Lane, for a smattering of ringgit (Malay currency), we feasted on a succession of superb dishes, each brought to our table on a medley of plates, bowls and banana leaves only moments after leaving the wok. Even the subtle and slithery tripe-infused congee was too good to pass on.

Gastronomic diversity

Malaysia has a gastronomic diversity unrivaled among Asian countries, with Chinese, Malay, Indian and Thai existing cheek-by-jowl as well as the Peranakan cooking of mixed Chinese- Malay descent.

The reason for this diversity is not hard to find.

The following morning, buoyed by traditional Malay breakfast favorites of nasi lemak (rice, crisp anchovies and eggs) and roti canai (an Indian paratha bread), we took a short stroll from the colonial splendor of the Eastern & Oriental Hotel to an overgrown graveyard on Jl. Sultan Ahmed Shah.

Here, the modest headstone of Captain Francis Light stands quietly under a tangled canopy of trees. It's an oddly low-key place of rest for the man who, more than anyone, was the catalyst for the multicultural flavor of modern Malaysia.

In 1786, when Light established Georgetown as the first permanent British settlement on the Malay peninsula, he must have frightened the life out of the handful of Malay fishermen who lived on the island. He apparently had the wonderfully eccentric idea of firing off canon shots of valuable coins into the dense jungle to help persuade early settlers to clear the land. Canny Chinese merchants followed close behind.

Reminders of the wealth these merchants accrued can still be seen in the graceful old mansions on Lebuh Leith a short walk from Light's grave. Many are now sadly dilapidated, though the Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion at No 14, with its striking blue facade, has been beautifully restored. You can rent gorgeous rooms there at very reasonable prices.

While the British and Chinese traded spices, tea, fabrics and, later, tin, timber and rubber, indentured Indian workers were drafted in to work the land. Each ethnic group held on to its own traditions, religion and food.

We had arranged a tour with Din, a knowledgeable and food- loving guide, who promised to show us durian, nutmeg and clove plantations in the island's fertile interior, before returning to town for another encounter with the hawker stalls. Appropriately, we met at Georgetown's bustling wet market, a short cab hop away on Jelang Penang.

Heaps of fruit and vegetables

Among the heaped vegetables and exotic fruits, glistening fresh fish and baskets bursting with herbs and spices, we stocked up on heavenly scented mangos, rambutans and mangosteens for Oliver, plus dense slabs of tamarind paste and dark palm sugar, and bags of ikan bilis (dried fish).

Din introduced us to durian, a stinking, spiky green monster of a fruit considered a sublime delicacy in this part of the world. "To tell if it's ripe tap it with your finger," he instructed. "A solid noise means it's under-ripe, a 'tap' noise is good, so dive in."

Personally, I can take or leave durian, with its over-ripe cheddar scent and cloying, creamily-fleshed texture, but Asians consider it a powerful aphrodisiac.

Din drove us out past the popular northern beaches and resorts of Batu Ferringhi, where in May and June, during the height of the durian season, hotels offer "eat all you can" durian packages. Din said that enthusiasts came from as far away as Australia and Japan.

We took a break to lunch on stuffed chilied squid and a snapper curry at a Malay canteen near the Batik factory near the charming fishing harbor of Teluk Bahang.

The British brought nutmeg and cloves to Penang and the island is still highly regarded for the quality of its spices. Both still grow in the cooler heights of the interior, along with the immense durian plantations.

In the shady light, these trees stood up to 30 meters tall. "When the fruit are ripe they fall to the ground. These are the best, the B29 clone, which is a real bomba!" said Din.

Apparently, different durians are named after bombers -- easy to understand when you hear the heavy thump of armor-plated fruit hitting the ground.

Good to his word, Din then delivered us back to Georgetown, leaving us with his recommendations for the best dishes at the famous hawker stalls on Gurney Drive. At the northern-most end we found a table, and we peered at the signs on the stalls.

Appetites whetted, we set about ordering aromatic asam laksa, the subtle noodle dish of prawn mee and Penang's mixed fruit speciality rojak, combining the tangy flavors of guava, pineapple and cucumbers with spicy peanut sauce and lime.

They certainly tasted like the best in Penang.

COPYRIGHT: GUARDIAN NEWSPAPERS LIMITED 2005

GetDPA 1.10 -- JUL 17, 2005 23:03:54