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