Capturing Penang

Penang's Spice Gardens - Then & Now

2011-10-12T07:29:00.000-07:00

In my right hand, I squeezed the orange, plastic chopsticks and lifted the koay teow noodles into my mouth. Mark slurped up the last drops of his fresh nutmeg juice and raised his eyes to my drink. I kept my other hand tightly around the glass. It was automatic when I heard that sound.

“Can I just have a sip?”

“Nop.”

“Just a little.”

I shook my head and slid the glass of nutmeg juice closer to me. I had heard that line before. Of course, I wasn’t the first Southeast Asian in history to hear it. White guys have been following the Spice Route to this part of the world for 500 years trying to steal nutmeg.

Nutmeg – like almost everything else on this island – wasn’t here before 1786. That’s when Francis Light, in the name of the East India Company, leased the island from the Sultan of Kedah with some lofty promises he couldn’t keep. A few minor battles ensued, but Light prevailed and established the island as a free port to convince traders from around the region to help develop what he named “Prince of Wales Island.”

This was the late 18th century, a significant period in human history. For thousands of years prior, the Spice Route flourished between Europe, the Middle East, India, East Asia, and to the far corner of Southeast Asia to the Moluccas – The Spice Islands.

The tiny, remote, Spice Islands were home to the only source of nutmeg and clove, making these spices worth their weight in gold, and making whoever controlled them, extremely rich. Through the 17th century and into the 18th century, they were in the hands of the Dutch East India Company. But as the French and British grew more powerful in the region, they smuggled the nutmeg and clove seedlings to their own colonies, breaking the Dutch monopoly and ending the ancient Spice Route.

Clove buds sprouting

As a hilly, tropical island under control of the (British) East India Company, Penang was the perfect site for spice plantations. Under the direction of Irish botanist, Christopher Smith, thousands of nutmeg and clove seedlings were planted in the Air Itam Valley at the end of the 18th century. An image difficult to envision now that the valley is the most densely populated area on the island.

In addition to these most sought after spices, Smith was instrumental in bringing numerous other plants and cash crops to the island from around the region like cinnamon, coffee, cacao (cocoa), sugar palm, lempoyang (shampoo ginger), langsat, gandaria fruit, mangosteen, sago palm, pink guava, and much more. So many during the lucrative plant trade of Smith’s time, that to this day, no one is certain about the origin of a number of the plants on the island.

Following his work in Penang, Smith spent five years in the Spice Islands researching native plants and collecting seedlings to be shipped to the colonies of the East India Company. But his commitment to the work he had started in Penang led him back to the island to fulfill his dream of establishing the Company’s preeminent spice gardens.

However, it was not to be. Competition from Sumatra and other colonies, combined with the difficulty of growing nutmeg and clove trees, led the East India Company to sell their 16 Penang spice plantations in 1805. Not one to give up, Smith purchased all the plantations with the help of friend, James Scott. But only a year later, to his vehement protest, Smith was ordered by the Company back to England, leaving his spice gardens to be sold off to plantation owners.

Shortly after his journey home – still distraught from having to abandon his years of work in Penang and the Spice Islands – Smith died under mysterious circumstances, leading some to speculate that he had committed suicide.

Left: Vanilla bean vine, Right: Curry leaves

200 years after Christopher Smith’s death, his legacy lives on in the amazing variety of plants on the island. In the nutmeg juice Mark and I each order to go along with our favorite beef koay teow soup. In the exotic fruits selling along the road in Balik Pulau. In our cendol dessert sweetened with palm sugar.

But if Christopher Smith were alive today, he would be even more astonished that from the foundations of his work, Penang now has Southeast Asia’s preeminent spice garden.

On the northwest corner of the island, on a hilly slope along the Straits of Malacca, Penang’s award winning Tropical Spice Garden features over 500 species of tropical flora, including many of the same spice plants Christopher Smith brought to the island two centuries ago.

On our most recent visit, we were guided through the gardens by Joseph – a man so passionate about spices, he could be the reincarnation of Smith. Joseph explained the role of spices in local remedies and cooking, as he snipped off leaves and seeds for us to smell and taste. I had no idea leaves from the cinnamon tree actually smell like cinnamon, and that Malays have traditionally used betel nut (the spice from the Pinang tree of which Penang is named for) in dishes to calm their guests during large gatherings.

After all the smelling of spices and talking about food during the tour, we quickly headed to the Tropical Spice Garden cooking class with Pearly Kee, who is an expert in the local cuisines of Chinese, Nyonya, Malay, and Indian.

Pearly demonstrating how to prepare belacan for toasting

I whipped up a plate of belacan rice with chicken and a spicy cucumber kerabu salad that Mark devoured without lifting his head to say it was delicious, until he finished the last grain of rice.

I think if Christopher Smith were alive today, he would be very impressed with what Kat, Kenny, and the rest of the team have created on a jungle hillside in Penang.

Tropical Spice Garden is open from 9am - 6pm daily. We highly recommend the guided tour for a five sense experience.

And stop by Tree Monkey Restaurant to catch a glimpse of dusky leaf monkeys just sitting around...

Source: “Christopher Smith & Penang’s first Botanic Garden” – a talk by Marcus Langdon on October 1, 2011.

Some images provided by Tropical Spice Garden.

Street Scene: Raining Desserts

2011-10-02T07:49:00.000-07:00

We are well into rainy season in Penang, and while I previously wrote about how to escape the rain on the island, sometimes it's best to get your feet wet and wait in line with the locals at Lebuh Keng Kwee for a dessert of the colorful sweet ais kacang, or the famous cendol - a mix of white (coconut milk), brown (gula melaka - palm sugar) and green (pandan flavored rice flour in a jelly form).

Don't forget to bring your umbrella...or your red hat...

or your motorcycle helmet...

Or forget it all and get soaked like we did, escape to the the cover of the cendol stall, order an ais kacang, make an excuse that it is still too rainy to go anywhere else, order a cendol, then when the rain stops make another excuse that the puddles are too big, and order one more.

You can find the Penang Road Famous Teochew Cendol stall at the intersection of Penang Road and Keng Kwee Street, right outside of Joo Hooi Cafe. But we prefer the stall directly across the narrow street for ais kacang mixed with the soda drink, Sarsi, and all those extra red beans, sweet corn, and sea coconut. Yum!

To see the aunties in action making cendol and ais kacang along Keng Kwee Street, watch our "Penang Street Food - Part 1" video.

Zee Avi in Penang

2011-10-01T06:19:00.000-07:00

From singing in her room in Malaysian Borneo, straight to signing with a major music label in the US - that's the power of YouTube.

After a few years of making records and successful tours around the US, my favorite Malaysian singer, Zee Avi, is finally coming home. She will be performing this Friday night at Straits Quay. See you there!

Zee Avi - Penang - November 18, 2011

You can buy tickets online or at the AirAsia office on Chulia Street.

One cup of herbal tea a day, keeps the doctor at bay 凉茶一杯

2011-09-24T06:17:00.000-07:00

Chinese in Penang drink herbal tea when they have sore throat, fever, indigestion, and whatever else ails them. We can’t prove the healing powers of drinking herbal tea, but we are certain you will feel better when you stand in the middle of an historic George Town street, late at night, next to a Chinese auntie and a tea cart, watching yourself in a giant mirror gulping down a refreshing drink.

Our favorite? Chrysanthemum tea mixed with something slightly bitter, which is cleverly called bitter tea - 苦茶.

Where: Lebuh Cintra (between Lebuh Campbell & Lebuh Kimberly)
When: Around 4pm-11pm

Rehab, My Foot!

2011-09-17T21:00:00.000-07:00

Bordering on depressive and destructive, these figurative faces gazed at me when I entered a crumbling shophouse along Beach Street.

Their stirring expressions - and the ruined environment of the space - drew me into their world of desperation, fear and a sense of longing.

At the corner of the entrance, Chee Eng Hong, the artist behind these thematic works, gave us a surprisingly wide grin amid the torment of his work. Feeling at ease, Mark and I peered down the open space of the 180-feet long shophouse and saw no one but effigies in various forms.

“Some of the locals refuse to enter this shophouse,” Chee revealed. “They believe the space is haunted because it has been neglected for decades. And now having images like these all over the shophouse only discourages them more. But I believe spirits would never enter such a dirty, lonely space.”

Basing his work on his observations and experiences with superstitions, norms, and traditions within the Malaysian-Chinese community, Chee tells a story of life. “I want you to question what you feel. Is your mind playing tricks on your consciousness as you see each work?”

It was a raw emotional experience walking through the interpretative installation in the century old shophouse. Cracks along the walls and floor, ceiling boards missing, stagnant puddles. But also a sign of its opulent past in the decorative banister of the spiraling staircase.

Once owned by Tye Kee Yoon, the last Qing Dynasty vice consul to Penang, the shophouse is itself a significant piece of history, lending a compelling connection to the installation.

Among Chee’s provocative works - No Title Yet 还没封拿督; Got Project Ah? 有空头, 无?; Father and Emigrant Son, Sorrow of an Emigrant’s wife 两头家庭 – are interpretations of social issues that are familiar to anyone from the local Chinese community. These works represent the stories of our friends, neighbours, family members, and ourselves.

But Chee wants us to see beyond these dark portrayals, to find the strength to rise above their hopelessness.

Many of the objects found at the shophouse – such as clothes, rope and building materials – are used as part of the installation.

When I saw an old Chinese man in his white singlet and blue striped pajamas reclining on a metal framed, plastic armchair, I immediately thought of my late-grandfather. Grandpa too used to wear those blue striped pajamas. The installation depicts the sentiment of many Malaysian parents who encouraged their children to leave the country to seek better opportunities. In retrospect, they too once left their homeland for a better life in Malaysia.

‘Ultra-Wallet Protection’ - This piece mocks the Chinese community for thinking that they can protect themselves from all ills as long as they have money.

The final work entitled The Great Skull @ Miluo River makes an explicit reference to Qu Yuan 屈原 (340-278 BC.), a patriot who despaired at the corrupted state of China in the third century BC. “I found this piece of work very relevant to Penang because of the practice of Duanwu Festival 端午节 - dumplings and dragonboat festival etc.”

“In this venue, an old, but significant piece of historical remnant, I take example of a pride of place created by the owner. How proud he must have felt when he first built this house, and how it has been left unattended and reduced to this dilapidated state. The house probably bore silent witness to the events that shaped the owner’s generation, experienced his dreams for it. It is a situation that mimics what our forefathers have dreamt for us, their future generation, only to have their aspirations and sacrifices shattered by some of our apathy and blind pride.”

But like this shophouse that will begin restoration next month, Chee is optimistic that there can be rehabilitation of thought and action to combat our corrupt society.

Rehab, My Foot - a featured exhibition for 1MCAT (Malaysia Contemporary Art Tourism event) - runs until the end of September. The exhibition is located at No 212, Beach Street (near intersection with Chulia Street), opposite the fire station.

Chee also informed us that he will be having a second exhibition at the same shophouse, when the restoration of the house is halfway complete.

The Other Side of Penang

2011-08-15T10:07:00.000-07:00

The new Balik Pulau Visitor Centre. Sounds official. It’s even listed on the Penang Tourism website.

A young guy, Eddie, picked us up at the Balik Pulau bus terminal and drove us the mile to Air Putih. Eddie and his two friends opened a bicycle tour shop out of a rented shed at a fruit farm in the middle of nowhere and called it a Visitor Center.

Well, self-proclamation is the first step to entrepreneurship.

Eddie pointed on a map taped to the wall of the shed, and gave us a quick idea of our two hour route through the ‘back of the island’ – Balik Pulau.

Malay kampongs, Chinese villages, tropical fruit farms, rice paddy fields.

Places you tend to forget even exist in Penang when living on the developed side of the island.

We made the trip out to enjoy the last of the tropical fruits as the season comes to an end in August.

And as we biked through peaceful Malay villages, we passed red and yellow rambutan trees weighed down like over decorated Christmas trees

Clumps of langsat dangling far out of reach.

Swollen cempedak and jackfruit ready to fall with the next touch of wind.

Papayas larger than the tree they grow on.

Durian trees holding onto the last one or two fruits of the season.

As we made our way into the open, along an irrigation canal, we were fortunate to catch sight of a Malay woman driving a combine, harvesting rice from one of the last paddy fields in Penang. A sight that will soon disappear with the rapid housing developments on the west side of the island.

Like any adventure in Penang, there are always contrasts. Excitement.

As we left the serenity of Malay kampongs, we biked into a Chinese village to be welcomed by dogs that had their fill of rambutans, and were searching for meat. Eddie slapped his knee to scare them, but it seemed to make them hungrier. The angriest dog only backed down after a truck barreled down the road, giving us time to bike away.

Among the fruit trees, charming sides of Penang’s history appear, like Malay wooden kampong houses. Even a colonial mansion that must have been the home of a Malay village leader in the early 20th century.

For a peek into Penang’s countryside, contact Eddie for a bike tour* of Balik Pulau. And let him know that you are fine skipping the welcoming committee at the Chinese villages…

Explore Balik Pulau Visitor Centre
Contact: Mr. Eddie Chew
Email: aventleisure@gmail.com
Phone: 6-016-4522-100
Open: Monday – Friday: 2pm - 6.30pm, Saturday-Sunday: 12.00pm - 6.30pm Cost: RM20 for two hours

*We wouldn’t recommend this tour for families with children. No helmets or vests or any safety measures are taken, and the busy roads are dangerous.

The life of a river

2011-08-07T09:01:00.000-07:00

Surreal. Humbling. Hopeful. These emotions emerged after we presented "River Meets Light" at Prangin Canal.

An ambitious production, and at times overwhelming due to inadequate resources, "River Meets Light" took place only because of the sheer focus and commitment from the entire team.

Given only the day before to fully utilise the site for rehearsal, we had to quickly overcome technical hiccups, unfamiliarity of the space, and many unforeseen elements from the surroundings (like a shophouse fire down the street during the middle of the second performance). But with a supportive and energetic audience of a few hundred people on both nights, River Meets Light came together to share the story of what has been lost at Prangin Canal.

“The experience of being led around the available space, the artifice and rawness, the dust, stones and fetid smell, the original and trite materials mingled with snatches of actual audience conversations, made this a very good entertainment indeed.” - A generous comment from one audience member that was shared in The Star.

Together with the team of River Meets Light, we are truly grateful to the many people who joined us on both evenings at an unconventional location for a performance, amidst the foul stench of the canal. And thank you to those who came forth with their well wishes and encouraging reviews.

“Imagine an essay being torn apart into pieces. River Meets Light is styled in a way that it is not a linear performance. We are not telling the story from A-Z, but rather stories in fraction. You can interpret the different pieces at the moments you capture it,” explained our Artistic Director, Chee Sek Thim. "We want to create a sense of curiosity throughout each scene. We want the audience to ask what’s happening next? What emotions are evoked?"

Special appearance of our national poet laureate, Datuk A. Samad Said, reading his poem about our rivers, as his son, AZ Samad, plays guitar.

Entering the abattoir: an installation by Lisa Foo, our installation artist and initiator of The River Art Project. She put together this amazing larger-than-life cocoon with a small team of volunteers in less than three days.

Many of Lisa's installations represent her frustration with our rivers. "Our plastic-filled and poisoned rivers are slaughterhouses for all the creatures inside. Do we not care for them?"

Reenactment of the once bustling Sia Boay market - uncovering a part of George Town's history. With this community lost, what will become of the remaining communities in George Town?

Plastic creature? Based on the design of the dragon dance - a cultural symbol of Penang.

The plastic creature samples the water in the Canal and is poisoned by the toxic sludge. The beast grapples for life as death nears. Are we to witness such tragedy with the few remaining creatures left in our rivers? 

Audio-visual projection by visual artist, Yasunari, with poetry contribution from Cecil Rajendra.

No fish inhabit these rivers. Neither crabs nor mudskippers...

Boat of plastic trash: We hold in our hands the trash that we have created, allowing it to drift into our rivers day after day. What are we to say for our actions, and inactions? Where do we go from here? Do we continue to pollute and contaminate?

To those who joined us, we hope you have gained a new insight of the river environment and its impact on our life.

There will also be an exhibition in Kuala Lumpur which showcases Lisa's eco-installations and documentation of the Project.
MAP@Publika, Level G2-01, Block A5
Solaris Dutamas 1, Jalan Dutamas 1
Date: 15 Aug - 28 Aug, 2011
For more details, click here.

# These photos are taken by Oon Tian aka myBest, Okui, Yew KH and Lisa. Thank you guys!

2011 Penang Island Jazz Festival

2011-07-29T01:37:00.000-07:00

Kick off the Penang Island Jazz Festival this year at Tropical Spice Garden!

River Meets Light - Behind the Scenes

2011-07-27T10:02:00.000-07:00

River Meets Light, one of the final highlights of George Town Festival, will be this Friday and Saturday night at Prangin Canal.

Prangin Canal was once a vital waterway in the heart of the city. Anyone who grew up in George Town before the 1960s would remember Prangin Canal as a center of activity, with tongkang (barges) and perahu (boats) going up the canal to bring produce to the Sia Boey Market.

Sadly, what we know of the canal today is an open sewer next to a parking lot full of trash.

There are plans already underway for the redevelopment of the Canal area, which has resulted in most of the historic shophouses (and traditional businesses and residents) being removed, and with it, any sign of the past.

We hope, through River Meets Light, that we can transform Prangin Canal into a stage to connect the significant economic, cultural, and environmental impact the space has played in Penang’s early beginnings and through its development.

“You need to build a relationship with the space. Do not let the harsh conditions and the rawness of the surroundings intimidate you." Our dance director for River Meets Light, Aida Redza, has been pushing us to explore the space in the many months of practice leading up to this weekend's performances.

It has been a journey of bruises, scratches, rashes, and torn muscles, but also a journey of connections that I hope will come through in our movements and creative expressions.

Please join us on Friday or Saturday night at 8:30pm for the first contemporary performance at Prangin Canal, to revive the historic and cultural importance of this special place in Penang.

Capturing Penang in the 1930s

2011-07-19T10:15:00.000-07:00

With Penang’s rich history, it’s surprising how difficult it is to find film of the island before WWII.

Penang was a major port in Southeast Asia at the turn of the 20th century, site of a famous naval battle during WWI, and a required stop for many steamers carrying pilgrims to Mecca, as well as Western tourists on round-the-world trips. Tourists that included many famous personalities of the 1920s & 1930s like Charlie Chaplin, Noel Coward, Douglas Fairbanks, May Pickford, Hermann Hesse, Rudyard Kipling, and Somerset Maugham. All of whom stayed at the E&O Hotel in George Town.

Film does exist like the restored vacation film (shown above) from an American couple who visited Penang in 1932 aboard the Glasgow built ship – Edavana. The film provides a glimpse of Penang in 1932 with shots of the harbor from the lawn of the E&O Hotel, of Weld Quay and the Malayan Railway Building (the tallest structure in George Town at the time), kampung houses with attap roofs, Batu Ferringhi, bullock carts, and Snake Temple. But the most fascinating shots are toward the end, when the American tourist films his journey (on a rickshaw?) through the shophouse lined streets of George Town on his return to E&O Hotel.

But where are the other films of Penang? With the number of affluent tourists and famous personalities who passed through, they must exist? Many films must have already deteriorated or been lost. Others stored away in film studios and military archives. And maybe more buried in attics in Europe and the US. Some may have been found and restored, but the owner hasn’t made them public, or has, but can’t determine the locations of a film that may cover numerous countries during a round the world trip.

Evelyn Reinhardt, a high school teacher from St. Louis, Missouri, dreamed of traveling the world before her 40th birthday. And in 1939, at the age of 39, she boarded a ship in San Francisco and filmed her journey around the globe, stopping shortly in Penang.

The majority of the clip (shown above) reveals life in Singapore a few years before WWII, as well as a few shots of the Kuala Lumpur area and a major tin mine in Malaya (maybe in Perak?). But the last part of the clip shows Penang, starting with a shot of the pagoda at Kek Lok Si Temple, and then a very interesting shot of a trishaw, which didn’t replace rickshaws in Penang until after WWII. She then films her ride down Penang Hill on the funicular railway, with views of Air Itam before it was the heavily populated area it is today. A quick shot of a viper from the Snake Temple, but note that the temple shown after is actually Khoo Kongsi Temple (with a badminton net in the foreground). She then films a shophouse lined street in George Town (maybe Beach Street?), and scenes of Weld Quay.

Hopefully, more film of Penang before WWII will be found and made available to the public.

Unfortunately, films of Penang in the two decades following WWII seem to be almost as scarce. The clip above is of a group of men pulling in large fishing nets at Batu Ferringhi in 1952.

And this is a vacation video from a couple, Hans & Toyoko, during their visit to Penang in 1964.

A Small Place with a Big Appetite

2011-07-12T06:38:00.000-07:00

“No, we don’t live in grass huts." “Yes, we have McDonalds here.” “No, it’s not in China.” “Yes, Malaysians can speak English.” “No, it’s not an island and it’s not all jungle.” “Yes, Malaysia is a country.”

Just a few of the interesting - and hopefully sarcastic - questions I have been asked before about Malaysia. I’m sure Malaysians reading this will have many others to share, especially from travels in Western countries (and I’d love to hear them in the comment section below).

Who is at fault for these misconceptions? Is it the education system in the West? A general lack of interest in Asian geography and culture? Not enough people travelling to Southeast Asia? Probably a bit of each.

But I can understand the reasons. Malaysia is a small country (just over 25 million people), and we are far from influential on the international stage. To break stereotypes and improve people’s understanding of the country, we Malaysians need to take a more active role in promoting our home.

One Malaysian, a Penangite, is doing just that in the US from her home in the Los Angeles area. Last year on Capturing Penang, I talked with Bee Yinn Low who runs one of the largest Asian food sites in the world – Rasa Malaysia. I caught up with her again last week as she launched her first cookbook called Easy Chinese Recipes.

Hi Bee, congratulations on your first cookbook! When does it hit the shelves?

Thank you, the cookbook is available now in Malaysia and Singapore at all major bookstores. The US release date is September 10th, but you can pre-order the book now at Amazon.

It must be very exciting to hold the final product in your hands. It's called Easy Chinese Recipes, but I'm sure it was anything but easy to make happen. What was the journey like creating your first book?

I worked on the cookbook while I was pregnant with my son, starting from my second trimester and finished everything two weeks before my due date. It was a lot of hard work as I had to develop recipes, cook, style, photograph, and write the cookbook, in a little less than six months. The cooking part and food styling/photography were quite challenging, mostly because of my pregnancy. It was hard to stoop down to take the photos at a certain angle with the pregnant belly, but I did it and am very proud of the results.

That will be a fun story to share with Baby G when he’s older. I think you might be the first Penangite to publish a cookbook in the US?

I think so. I can’t think of another Penangite who published a cookbook in the US.

I heard that one of the biggest food chains in the world, Chipotle Mexican Grill, is launching a new venture called Shophouse Southeast Asian Cuisine, which will feature some Malaysian flavors. Being based in the US, do you sense that shift in interest toward Southeast Asia, and particularly Malaysian cuisine?

Definitely. Malaysian cuisine is the next “hot” cuisine and certainly up-and-coming in the United States. There has been a lot of press about Malaysian cuisine, and the fact that Chipotle is including it as part of their Shophouse business says a lot about the appeal of Malaysian food. It will officially put Malaysian cuisine on the culinary map of Americans. Southeast Asian food has been around in the United States - Thai and Vietnamese are very popular - but Malaysian cuisine is in a class of its own because of the diverse offerings of Chinese, Malay, Indian, and more. It’s about time that Malaysian food gets its much deserved recognition in America.

Do you have the chance to introduce many Malaysian dishes in your new cookbook?

It’s a Chinese cookery book, mostly about Chinese food served in the United States, all-time classics, Chinatown favorites such as Dim Sum, dumplings, and many authentic Chinese dishes that I sampled during my many travels in China. It’s great as I love Chinese food.

Any plans for a cookbook with a Malaysian flavor?

Yes. I hope to prove myself and build my credential as a cookbook author; the second book will definitely be a Malaysian cookbook.

I hope so too because Malaysian food is definitely underrepresented in the genre of international cookbooks. It would be a great tool to promote Penang food to the world. Speaking of local food, do you have any concerns about the future of Penang's food culture?

What I am most worried about is the disappearing hawker culture in Penang once the current operators retire and no one in the family is interested to take over the business. Something that is already happening. I hope the state government is planning something to preserve it, e.g. apprentice programs to find the right people to continue the trade.

You are definitely not the only one. From speaking to many older hawkers over the past year, they have the same concerns too. That’s why you see many of them still working well beyond the normal retirement age. What would you like to see done in Penang to promote it as a premier destination for eating?

Penang state government or tourism authority has to step up their game in the international space (especially the US) when it comes to promoting Penang as a culinary tourism destination. They have to be strategic and invest in programs and initiatives that will bring them long term ROI. For example, sending our best chefs (hawkers, Nyonya chefs, etc.) to professional culinary events in the United States, to offer live cooking demos and food samplings. People in the culinary industry are always hungry for new culture, new tastes, and new eating experiences, and we have to market to the right people - renowned food writers, top chefs, culinary trendsetters, and media. Make them the evangelists for Penang food, and the rest will follow.

Let’s hope they’re listening. But in the meantime, at least we have Rasa Malaysia as an outlet for marketing Penang’s food. Where does Rasa Malaysia go from here?

I hope to take it from online to offline one day. I am interested to explore TV in Malaysia if there is the right opportunity. I think the idea of having a food + eating + travel show can be a lot of fun. I am hopeful.

From blog to cookbook to TV...very exciting opportunities ahead.

Thank you Bee for sharing your thoughts on the future of Penang's food culture, and all the work you are doing to promote it on Rasa Malaysia. I wish you all the best with your new cookbook!

All images courtesy of Rasa Malaysia

George Town Festival 2011: Tapestry of Cultures July 7, 8, 9

2011-07-06T04:30:00.000-07:00

So much to experience on Thursday night (and so much to eat), it's difficult to decide which place to go. But for food, save your appetite for the Nasi Kandar Food Festival in Little India, and for the traditional snacks at Meng Eng Soo open house. Have a wonderful time!

7 JULY 2011 (THURSDAY)
No	Time	Event	Location
1	2pm-5pm	Open House - Heritage Sites	George Town various places - 22 sites
2	5pm -9pm	Malay Cultural Performance	Main Stage at Lebuh Acheh
3	3pm-10pm	Demonstrasi Kebudayaan Cina	Penang Teochew Association, Lebuh Chulia
	6pm-10pm	Persembahan dan Demonstrasi Kebudayaan Cina	Penang Teochew Association, Lebuh Chulia
4	3pm -6pm	Vintage Bicycle Parade	Starts at masjid Kapitan Keling - Gurney Drive
5	9am	Opening Ceremony - heritage tree & Gold Trail	Starts at E & 0 Hotel and proceed to a trail
6	5pm-9pm	Showcase of Traditional Food & Crafts	Lebuh Armenian
7	6pm-10pm	Open House Meng Eng Soo	Meng Eng Soo, Pintal Tali
8	6pm-10pm	Indian Muslim Musical Performance at Lebuh Queen	Main Stage at Lebuh Queen
9	7pm & 9pm	Lion Dance on High Pole	Lebuh Cannon/ Jalan Masjid Kapitan Keling
10	6pm-8pm	Violist on Street - Nanaco	Lebuh Cannon/ Lebuh Armenian
11	5pm-9pm (Exh)	Vintage Heritage Penang Postcards	Cheah Kongsi
	7pm-10pm (Perf)	Contemporary Chinese Orchestra	Cheah Kongsi
12	8pm-10pm	George Town Cultural Show	Main Stage at Khoo Kongsi
24	10am & 7pm	Teochew Puppet Show	Yeng Keng Hotel, Lebuh Chulia
25	10am-10pm	Exhibition at Masjid Kapitan Keling	Masjid Kapitan Keling
26	10am-10pm	Heritage Celebration at Acheen St Malay Mosque	Masjid Melayu Lebuh Acheh Compound
27	3pm-10pm	Penang Teochew Asst Exhibition	Penang Teochew Association, Lebuh Chulia
28	6pm-10pm	Nasi Kandar Food Festival	Lebuh Queen


8 JULY 2011 (FRIDAY)
No	Time	Event	Location
13	10am-5pm	World Heritage Interactive Photography Exhibition	Town Hall
8	6pm-10pm	Indian Muslim Musical Performance at Lebuh Queen	Main Stage at Lebuh Queen
14	6.30pm-10pm	Indian Dance & Music Performance at Little India	Sri Mahamariamman Temple & Junction of Lbh Penang and Lebuh Chulia
15	7pm-8.30pm	Talk- Japanese Occupation by Clement Liang	Town Hall
16	8.30pm-10pm	Talk- Muslim Community in Penang by Wazir	Town Hall
17	7pm-8.30pm	Talk- History of Baba Nyonya by Michael Cheah	86, Armenian St
18	8.30pm-10pm	Talk - Sun Yet Sun in Penang by Lim Gaik Siang	Penang Teochew Association, Lebuh Chulia
24	10am & 7pm	Teochew Puppet Show	Yeng Keng Hotel, Lebuh Chulia
25	10am-10pm	Exhibition at Masjid Kapitan Keling	Masjid Kapitan Keling
26	10am-10pm	Heritage Celebration at Acheen St Malay Mosque	Masjid Melayu Lebuh Acheh Compound
27	3pm-10pm	Penang Teochew Asst Exhibition	Penang Teochew Association, Lebuh Chulia
28	6pm-10pm	Nasi Kandar Food Festival	Lebuh Queen



9 JULY 2011 (SATURDAY)
No	Time	Event	Location
19	10.00am-11.00pm	Indian Muslim Cultural Celebration	Dewan Makam Noordin/ Perkarangan Masjid Kapitan Keling
20	9.00am-10am	George Town Heritage Shophouse Trail	-
	10.30am-12noon	George Town Heritage Shophouse Trail	-
21	9.30am-11am	Sun Yat Sen Heritage Trail in Penang	-
	3.30pm-5pm	Sun Yat Sen Heritage Trail in Penang	-
22	10.30am-11.30am	The Living Museum: Sharing Our Stories	-
	3.30pm-4.30pm	The Living Museum: Sharing Our Stories	-
23	2.00pm & 3.00pm	Cemetery Tour	Protestant Cemetery
24	10am & 7pm	Teochew Puppet Show	Yeng Keng Hotel, Lebuh Chulia
25	10am-10pm	Exhibition at Masjid Kapitan Keling	Masjid Kapitan Keling
26	10am-10pm	Heritage Celebration at Acheen St Malay Mosque	Masjid Melayu Lebuh Acheh Compound
27	3pm-10pm	Penang Teochew Asst Exhibition	Penang Teochew Association, Lebuh Chulia

George Town Festival 2011: July 1-31

2011-06-29T05:57:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it has been a year already since the last George Town Festival - a month of theatre, music, dance, film, art, opera, food, fashion, photography - as well as a variety of heritage events - to celebrate George Town's history and culture.

At this time last year, Mark & I were busy helping out on the George Town Festival team. However, my role has changed this year to a performer in the site specific performance - River Meets Light - on July 29 & 30 at Prangin Canal. I hope to see you all there!

For those of you in Penang from July 1-31, there will be plenty to keep you busy. This year's festival has a budget of more than double from the prior year, so there will be more than 80 programmes featured, including many well known international performers. The heritage celebration, entitled Tapestry of Cultures, has also expanded from one day to three days - July 7, 8, & 9 - to accommodate the number of events.

We will Tweet about upcoming events every few days, which you can find on the sidebar of Capturing Penang, but for the overall programme and calendar, please see the documents below (the programme may take a minute to load before you can scroll).
George Town Festival 2011 Program

George Town Festival 2011 Calendar

For additional information please visit the George Town Festival website and the Tapestry of Cultures website. Have fun!

The Secret Ingredient for Living to 100

2011-06-20T06:18:00.000-07:00

A stroll through George Town and you will see it everywhere -

At Beach Street, where Chinese aunties dry blue pea flowers (bunga telang) along the five-foot-walkways, and then bundle them up to sell at Chowrasta & Campbell Street morning markets for the blue coloring in Nyonya kuih. At China Street, where chilis and other spices are ground into a fine powder before being packed and sold to local restaurants in Little India. At Queen Street, where Mr Kok engraves wooden signboards that adorn Chinese homes and businesses throughout the city.

It's everywhere. Cultural interconnections. Heritage value chains.

But are they interdependent? Kuih makers could easily buy blue food coloring to make kuih. Restaurants in Little India could shop at Giant Supermarket to buy imported spices. All the Chinese residents and business owners could purchase electronic signboards.

And the uncle in George Town, who fries up the best char koay teow could switch from the sweet, fragrant, homemade soy sauce he has been using for decades, to a bland, generic sauce that was fermented in steel drums in a factory.

Maybe the uncle didn't have a choice.

Thin Seng Soy Sauce for sale at the outdoor factory

Thin Seng Sauce Factory on Kampug Malabar 天成號 is the last traditional soy sauce maker in George Town.

Started in 1912, the factory may not reach its 100th birthday.

Soya beans fermenting for months in traditional barrels from China

Soya bean cooker

Their business has slowly diminished from two dozen employees in the busy years, to now only Grandpa (Yee Saik Choon), two other family members, and two very sweet grand-kids who help out after school. Even though their business has not been able to compete with the large scale production of its competitors, Thin Seng receives steady business from their loyal customers - the hawkers in George Town who continue to purchase Thin Seng's traditional soy sauce because they know that their dishes just won't taste the same without that homemade flavor.

Bean paste (tau chiau 豆瓣酱) - an essential ingredient in dishes such as steam fish and Teochew porridge

The highest grade thick soy sauce at the factory - sweet, fragrant...and I wish I had brought a spring roll to dip inside

Like many traditional businesses within the UNESCO World Heritage site of George Town, the family running Thin Seng does not own the property. And now with tourism booming, they were recently informed by the owner of the property that they are being evicted, so he can sell the land to a developer.

The family would like to continue their business if they can find a suitable location. But with the skyrocketing price of land in George Town, and almost everywhere in Penang, that might not be possible.

When Thin Seng Sauce Factory empties the last bottles of soy sauce at the end of 2011, many people living in Penang, and visiting, may not see the difference in George Town, but they will taste it.

Crystals forming on top of the fermenting soya beans

Dusky Leaf Monkeys (Spectacled Langurs)

2011-06-11T22:04:00.000-07:00

Sometimes we get some funny looks on Capturing Penang.

And other times, indifference.

And occasionally (okay, this is the first time), we find two characters willing to duke it out to be featured on Capturing Penang...

We spotted this group of dusky leaf monkeys (spectacled langurs) for the first time at Air Itam Dam, but for the best chance to see them, try Penang National Park - on the trail to Pantai Kerachut.

You might even be able to see a baby dusky leaf monkey with its characteristic orange fur (you can see the orange tail of a baby in the photo below).

A New Meaning to Duanwu Festival

2011-06-06T09:46:00.000-07:00

My mom's homemade Bak Chang

June 6, 2011 happens to be the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, which marks the Duanwu Festival 端午节 (also known as the Dragon Boat Festival), celebrated by Chinese people all over the world.

The celebration of Duanwu includes dragon boat racing and feasting on traditional rice dumplings called zongzi 粽子.

In Penang, 'zongzi' is more widely known by its Hokkien name - 'chang'. Made of glutinous rice that is stuffed with various fillings, zongzi is available in savoury & sweet versions, wrapped in a pyramid shape with bamboo or reed leaves. The most common rice dumplings in Penang are the meat filled versions called 'bak chang'.

Auntie selling various zongzi at Chowrasta Market

Like many traditional Chinese foods cooked during festival time, zongzi is based on folklore, and was one of the many stories I learned as a child.

The legend is based on Qu Yuan 屈原 (340-278 BC.), the pioneer poet of ancient China. He was a descendant of the Chu royal house, who was banished from his high ranking position when he opposed the king’s decision to ally with the expanding neighbour state of Qin. When the capital of Chu fell into the power of Qin, Qu Yuan’s grief drove him to commit suicide by drowning in the Miluo River on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month.

To honour Qu Yuan’s courage for standing up to the king, the local people threw rice dumplings into the river to feed the fish so that they would not eat Qu Yuan's body.

The annual tradition continues today, so on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, families come together to make zongzi. But to the dismay of all the hungry fish in Penang, zongzi are now given out as gifts to family and friends. And also sold all over the island at morning markets during the days leading up to the festival.

A Thai-Chinese lady selling mini zongzi at Chowrasta market

As simple as ‘rice dumpling’ sounds, there is a good reason why it is only made once a year at home – it’s a tedious, multi day process in the kitchen. An exhausting activity that only the most determined can accomplish. Of course, I’m talking about my mom.

Mom spends three days in the kitchen to make different types of delicious zongzi - meat dumplings (bak chang) with Chinese five spice, alkaline dumplings (kee chang) with coconut and palm sugar sauce, and Nyonya dumplings (Nyonya chang) that have similar ingredients to bak chang, but include a few surprises like candied winter melon, and a spice blend of anise seed and coriander powder.

Last year alone she made 200 dumplings for relatives and friends, proving again not only her gift in cooking, but also her love for those around her.

Getting ready to fill the bamboo leaves

“You didn’t learn to make zongzi from Grandma?” I assumed that such a traditional food had to be taught and passed down from one generation to another.

“She made the best dumplings, but I was never interested to learn when I was younger. Your aunts helped out instead,” Mom replied.

I felt reassured that maybe there was still hope for my zongzi making skills. “How did you learn then? And the leaf wrapping part?”

“I bought a few bamboo leaves at the Air Itam market, and then tried folding them at home. I regretted not learning from Grandma, but I kept at it until I figured it out.” She noticed me struggling with wrapping the bak chang. I handed it to her and she folded it in a flash. “Look, it’s easy.”

Masters always forget they were once amateurs.

“Of course, I did ask a few questions about the ingredients and process before getting it right.”

My mom appears innocent, but she’s fearless in the kitchen.

There I was, trying to record all the ingredients; estimating the measurements; watching her every step; taking over some cutting and stir-frying tasks; and feeling completely overwhelmed with the process. Making zongzi is a messy, demanding job. It’s unfortunate, but it’s comes as no surprise that more and more families are buying zongzi instead of following tradition and doing it themselves.

About to cook for four hours on my mom's stove

After the experience in making zongzi with Mom, I promised myself never to take for granted any traditional foods that Mom cooks up. For many people, Duanwu Festival may only mean a time of feasting, but I now see the annual tradition as a day to remember Mom's love and hard work.

For the most determined of you, and the curious, you can find Mom’s recipe for bak chang (rou zongzi 粽子) on Season with Spice.

Mom's other versions of zongzi - the mini Kee Chang with coconut & palm sugar sauce and Nyonya Chang with spices.

A House; A Hotel; A School; A Film Set; A Treasure

2011-05-27T07:47:00.000-07:00

“There’s not much up here. I mean the view is really nice, but...”

I pointed at a small, outdoor stage, and laughed. “You can have your photo taken with a snake around your neck?”

“Yeah, that’s why I paid 30 ringgit to come up Penang Hill.” Mark glanced over at a sign that advertised 25 ringgit for a golf cart tour down the road and back. He shook his head. “Wow, this might be a bigger tourist trap than Snake Temple.

“Okay, let’s go.”

We headed back to the train station when someone called out our names from behind. Penang has over a million people, but it is a small enough world where you keep bumping into someone you know.

It was a local friend of ours who is active in the heritage movement in George Town, and around the island. He had just finished a meeting with the Penang Hill Corporation and had a look of disappointment. “Do you guys want to go and check out the old Crag Hotel?”

We looked at each other and then nodded to him.

We hadn’t heard of the hotel, but after he explained its location, we realized it was a cluster of buildings on a nearby hilltop that we saw earlier from the lawn area in the back of the rundown Bellevue Hotel. Our friend also told us that two developers were vying for the opportunity to raze it to the ground and build a five star hotel on the land.

We followed him down a steep, paved road, where we were lucky enough to spot Malayan Giant Squirrels, hopping along the tree branches above.

We stepped off the main road to the right and entered a hidden dirt road that the jungle was trying to reclaim. If that wasn’t enough to keep people out, a few wild dogs were barking and running ahead of us. “Not a good idea to come here alone.”

“And probably not a good idea in a small group either,” Mark half joked.

When we came around a corner, we were met by a black dog sitting on a wooden bridge, guarding the only way in. But when we approached, the dog forgot his duty and ran off. Or maybe Mark got the password correct when he said out loud – “I’m not going in there.”

Crossing over the bridge, deserted buildings greeted us on both sides of the path, and an entryway beckoned us to explore.

As we passed by, and wandered through, building after building in silence, I expected to feel an emptiness. But images of rusting doorknobs, address plaques, crumbling stairwells and bathrooms, and open windows, reminded me that this was a place full of life. And as I learned, a place with a fascinating history.

Around 1885-1890, a house was built on the site by Captain J.W. Kerr – an employee of the East India Company who traded between Penang and Aceh. But shortly after, around 1894, the site was already converted into a hotel as a retreat for Europeans to escape the heat of the lowlands.

At the turn of the century, the hotel was taken over by the Sarkies Brothers – the famous Armenian hoteliers who ran the most elegant chain of hotels in Southeast Asia, which included the E&O in George Town, the Raffles in Singapore, and the Strand in Rangoon. With their reputation of extravagance, the brothers developed the Crag Hotel into a famous retreat, especially popular with honeymooners.

The brothers built additional chalets to accommodate more guests, including families. These smaller buildings were scattered around the main building, which was situated at the highest point of the hill at 2,260 feet. Leading up a stone staircase, guests would be welcomed into the grand hall of the dining room, and then to the side lounge and reading room areas.

The hotel was renovated again when it changed hands in the late 1920s, with the new hotel owners adding an extension to the main building in 1929.

The Crag Hotel continued operations until WWII broke out. But when the Japanese finally surrendered in 1945, the hotel was not revived. After a decade of disuse, Uplands School – a boarding school for the children of European plantation owners – leased the property and opened it to 60 primary school students in January 1955. The secluded location was specifically chosen for safety, since this was during the Malay Emergency - the guerrilla war between the Commonwealth and the Malayan Communist Party, from 1948-1960. Uplands School presence on the hill spanned three decades, with the highlight being Queen Elizabeth II’s visit to the school in 1972.

The annual class photos at Uplands were taken on the staircase

After Uplands moved out in 1977, the site has remained unoccupied to this day. However, there was a flash of its previous glory when the main building was used as a shooting location for two pivotal scenes in the French film, Indochine (first, as Catherine Deneuve’s residence, and second, as a restaurant where she dances the tango with her adopted daughter). The film won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 1992.

While many of the chalets are now in disrepair, the main building is in surprisingly good shape. What’s most captivating as I peered into the rooms is that I could still find signs of each period in its colourful history. Beautiful, wooden shutter windows that overlook the property and George Town far below, stirring images of the Crag Hotel, with guests lounging on recliners, drinking tea and smoking cigarettes. Chalk boards in the smaller rooms, with broken pieces of chalk on the floor, reminding me that the halls were once filled with students, studying in the cooler air of Penang Hill. And large wooden frame backdrops in the main dining hall, left behind by the film crew of Indochine.

Now that the Penang Hill railway has reopened, and development plans are underway for the top of the hill, it would be wonderful to see this Penang treasure restored. Don’t you?

For anyone visiting Penang Hill, I highly recommend reading through the special Penang Hill issue of Pulau Pinang Magazine from 1989 (Vol. 1, No. 4), which covers the history, culture, and botany of the hill, as well as extensive details on many of the colonial mansions located there.

Unfortunately, the magazine is very difficult to come by now. If there is enough demand, maybe the former editor, Salma Khoo, will republish them. You can contact her at her publishing company, Areca Books, at arecabooks@gmail.com.

Sambal Belacan

2011-05-16T21:48:00.000-07:00

Mark & I have been sticking around home lately, not because there are no more Penang stories to tell, but because we have been busy doing this...

We're undergoing intensive culinary training to master home-style Malaysian cooking.

The training is not from any cooking school, but from the top "chef" in Penang - my mom. Who better than a kitchen soldier like my mom - a knife in one hand, a pestle in the other, clouds of smoke and steam engulfing her, not eating until the mission is complete. Then there's me - sneezing from the chili powder, crying over onions and coughing my way out from the burning oil in the wet kitchen.

It's been tough, but the rewards are plenty.

The first, and most important - Sambal Belacan - the quintessential ingredient, and complimentary relish, to many Malaysian dishes.

You can’t say you have tasted Malaysian food without giving sambal belacan a try. For the story and the recipe, click over to Season with Spice..

‘Bangku’ Curry Mee at Air Itam Market

2011-05-06T00:58:00.000-07:00

At the base of Kek Lok Si Temple is the most bustling morning market in Penang - the Air Itam Market.

Quick footed aunties pulling their shopping trolleys, vegetable and tropical fruit carts spilling over on the two lane road, Rapid Penang buses squeezing past each other, hawkers yelling and clanking their woks, steam rising with aromas that draw hungry locals in, pork and beef and lamb and chicken and fish lining rows of wet tables, traditional spice traders scooping colorful curry pastes that they grounded the night before, Indians and Malays and Chinese eating, buying and selling side by side, motorbikes zooming through any open space, dogs resting, cats running, horns honking...and the sun just came up.

Amidst the commotion, along a narrow lane between numerous fresh produce and food vendors, there are two happy, wrinkled faces that are oblivious to it all. It is just another day in the over half century they have been selling curry mee at Air Itam Market.

Adorably known by locals as the Siamese ‘Ah Ma’ (grandma), the two elderly sisters continue their parents’ tradition of cooking up the famous dish.

But it is easy to miss them if you are not looking down.

Mark had walked right by, but I caught a glimpse of a large rattan basket and the glow of a charcoal fire, with the two women behind, crouched down on ‘bangku’ (wooden stools only a few inches off the ground). They were surrounded by chili paste, yellow noodles, bean curd puffs, cuttlefish, bean sprouts, and dozens of cooking tools, all perfectly placed within reach. Between them, a pot of boiling, fragrant curry soup that finally seemed to catch Mark’s attention.

“Hello. You can sit anywhere you like.” One of the energetic ah ma called out to us in Hokkien as we watched them. She gestured at the tables next to a giant tree, and more on the opposite side of the lane.

“Can we sit here instead?” I pointed at the old 'bangku' in front of them. Just like the ones they were sitting on.

“Oh yes! Of course. If you’re comfortable, sit there.” They laughed at the awkward way we sat.

She handed us two bowls of curry mee.

While Mark was slurping the noodles, I overheard the sisters chatting to each other, wondering if Mark could handle the spicy chili, which they themselves still grind into a paste every day.

“He says no problem. It’s ‘ho chiak’ (delicious).”

They both smiled and continued preparing bowl after bowl of curry mee for their line of customers, showing no signs that being in their 70s means slowing down.

The sisters cook and serve their regulars every single day at the Air Itam Market from 8am to 1pm. We won’t tell you the exact location this time, so go out and explore the market and you’ll be as thrilled as we were when you find them.

But before you go, learn a few Hokkien words. It may not be enough to chat with the Siamese Ah Ma, but you will definitely put a smile on their faces.

Penang Wildlife

2011-04-27T01:08:00.000-07:00

Green Crested Lizard hiding in the ferns at Air Itam Dam

Street food, shophouses, beaches, festivals, markets, heritage…all things that come to mind when people think of Penang.

But what about nature? What about wildlife? Other than the east side of the island, Penang is still very much jungle.

No tigers or tapirs like on the mainland of Malaysia, but Penang still offers the same fascinating diversity of wildlife, just in smaller form - sea otters, snakes & giant tortoises, macaques and dusky leaf monkeys, Malayan giant squirrels, leaf insects...

Re-sharing this amazing leaf insect from my previous post on Air Itam Dam

Wildlife can be found throughout the island, but as I shared in one of my first posts on Capturing Penang, Air Itam Dam is my favorite place to explore the natural wonders of the island. I’m not sure if it’s the location, the path, or pure luck, but I always spot interesting creatures there.

Like this moth.

Or is it a rat?

Or a bird? Maybe an owl?

Penang's Fading History

2011-04-20T07:20:00.000-07:00

What fascinates me about Penang are the stories that are missing. The lives once lived in magnificent shophouses and mansions that are now crumbling between new apartments and office buildings, or hiding behind fences and overgrown vegetation, or merely left to a caretaker like Loke Villa on Gurney Drive (pictured above).

While great work has been done to restore many of these historical places, I admit that I find myself more drawn to the mystery of what has been neglected. Images that reveal a piece of a story, leaving your imagination to complete the rest.

The faded colors of a vacant shophouse…

A sun bleached sign for a business that is gone…

The empty window frames of a mansion consumed by the jungle…

A year when life began there…

Initials on an iron gate…

A lock from a bygone era…

A terracotta tiled roof with no house…

A decorative bat, splotched now with cheap paint, grasping in its left claw the remains of the original façade...

When I returned to Penang in early 2010, I felt fortunate to have the opportunity to see many historical places on the island before they were torn down, or transformed into something entirely different. But now I've realized that I'm lucky to have seen many of these places before they were restored, when they still had their haunting stories to tell.

Fresh Nutmeg Juice - Spiced Up!

2011-04-13T19:57:00.000-07:00

On Capturing Penang, we’ve discovered the spice road in Little India, a spice mill in a George Town shophouse, and many colorful spices in my mom’s recipes. Now, we’ve discovered “Season with Spice”!

Okay, we didn’t discover it. We created it.

SeasonWithSpice.com will feature all sorts of recipes from Malaysian dishes to Minnesota dishes, from curries to stir-fry, ice creams to cocktails. All sharing one thing in common – the wonderful flavor of spices. So put down your salt shaker and head over to Season with Spice!

To kick off Season with Spice, and to celebrate, we invented a cocktail. Not just any cocktail, but an original Penang cocktail. If Singapore can have the “Sling”, Penang can have its “Back of the Island”.

Penang is the home of fresh nutmeg juice. A delicious frothy concoction of nutmeg fruit, sugar, and a preserved sour plum. After planting so many nutmeg trees on the island’s hilly west side to get at the pit of the fruit (the seed that’s ground to make the nutmeg spice), it was inevitable that the abundance of nutmeg fruit was put to good use.

While developers have recently moved into the area, the quieter west side of the island is still mainly jungle, organic farms, and tropical fruit orchards. The main town, and sometimes the name used to refer to the entire west side of the island, is called Balik Pulau - a Malay term which literally means “Back of the Island”. The perfect name for a tropical spice drink.

For this recipe, and many more to come, our kitchen is always open at Season with Spice!

WANTED: Have you seen this teh tarik man?

2011-04-11T02:13:00.000-07:00

Description:

Name:     Ghani
Alias:     "The tea guy"
Occupation:                    Professional teh tarik maker, since the age of 12
Date of birth:                   Unknown
Particulars:                     Male, about 165cm, mustache, wearing black sandals and a red F&N apron.
Last known address: Teh Tarik stall on Lebuh Union (Street), but according to his unhelpful coworkers,
                                        he no longer works there and they do not know where he went.

Caution:

This man is considered armed with hot tea and he knows how to stretch it to the limit. Even known to perform the impossible task of pulling tea behind his back.

If spotted, stay at least five feet back to ensure full view of tea pulling spectacle, and to avoid hot tea splashing in your eyes.

Reward:

Delicious Penang teh tarik (pulled tea).

Date of picture: Unknown (but probably sometime last week)

If you have any information concerning this person, please contact Capturing Penang or leave a comment below.

Rasa Chowrasta 萬山風情

2011-04-05T06:51:00.000-07:00

“Hi Auntie Hoon.”

“Morning, morning, young lady, come out of the sun.”

I ducked under the plastic tarp that formed a makeshift vegetable stall along bustling Chowrasta Road. “I just need some coriander leaves.”

“No problem, no problem.” Auntie Hoon picked out the freshest leaves and spun a rubber band around them.

“Oh, I made the Chinese watercress dish you told me about last week. Thank you for the recipe.”

She smiled and put the coriander in a bag.

I took my wallet out. “How much is it?”

“Just take, no problem.”

“Are you sure?”

“It’s small, no problem. No problem.”

“Thank you Auntie.”

Whether it’s the Indian uncle selling fish inside the meat market, or the 82 year old Chinese uncle serving coffee at “Kedai Kopi 7-Up” on the floor above, or the Chinese auntie selling bananas and mangoes on the street outside, or Auntie Hoon nearby throwing in free vegetables and cooking advice - every regular visitor to Chowrasta Market has their favorite.

Walking down quiet streets at night in George Town is a sad reminder of the dwindling population of residents in the inner-city. But bumping shoulders, stepping on toes, and avoiding motorbikes in the morning along Kuala Kangsar Road are a reminder that George Town is still very much alive with thousands of people making the journey to the market every day.

Yes, most of the sellers are older, customers too, but there are younger faces in the crowd, who realize that big grocery stores may offer convenience, but not the sense of community, culture, history, and heart at Chowrasta Market.

One of those younger faces is Okui (her nickname in Hokkien). A talented first year college student, who takes wonderful, lively photos.

Photos that truly capture life in Penang.

She shared some of her work with us in the “River Meets Light” post, and we liked it so much that we invited her to join the Capturing Penang team to contribute photos on a regular basis.

Welcome Okui!

Okui’s portrait shots shared here are part of the “Rasa Chowrasta” exhibition, which aims to depict the daily activities of the market. It is clear from these images that the organisers chose her not just for her technical skills with a camera, but for her gift to tell a story with one.

The photos have been blown up into poster size and suspended above each respective stall at the Chowrasta meat market. The on-site exhibition runs through April 18.

Rainy Days in Penang

2011-03-30T05:38:00.000-07:00

How high is Penang Hill? A little bit higher than a rainbow

During this period last year, we were stuck in a very hot and sunny cycle for a few months. This year, it won't stop raining.

While some tropical areas in the world have distinct dry and rainy seasons, predicting weather in Penang is as impossible as predicting which direction a Penang motorcyclist will drive on a one way street.

Cannonball tree in full bloom

Luckily, just like spring showers, the rain comes in waves. Taking advantage of one of those intervals, we escaped the house and took a walk through the Penang Botanic Gardens. Admittedly not our favorite place to walk - it may have something to do with the gunfire echoing from the outdoor gun range next door, the monkeys not allowing you to walk on the path until you share your snacks, and the over-development in and around the Gardens.

But with the aroma and vivid colors of blooming trees right now, it is a reminder that even though many recent changes at the park have been detrimental, the Gardens are still a special place to explore.

As we hid from the rain at the Botanic Gardens, this camouflaged spider hid from predators

With the rainy days continuing, we decided to come up with a list of the Top 10 things to do in Penang on rainy days (in no particular order):

Shopping - the best way to pretend it's not raining is to dart through noisy Prangin Mall in search of cheap gifts and DVDs, electronics, a pedicure, a massage, and a haircut (try Albert at Doremius Hair Salon behind McDonalds), or over to Gurney Mall for a stroll through the higher end shops.
Peranakan Mansion - the driest stop along the George Town heritage trail. Take your time appreciating all of the intricacies of the Baba-Nyonya lifestyle.
Chocolate Boutique - endless chocolate to sample in this shop located inside a heritage mansion.
Straits Quay: for a coffee break or a much needed cocktail break.
Penang Cooking Class at Tropical Spice Garden.
Veenai Odeon Cinema - for a more cultural escape from the rain, check out a Bollywood or Kollywood film in this historic theatre near Little India.
CTY Aquarium Shop (Chew Thean Yeang 周天央) - the largest aquarium shop in South East Asia. You can find this "zoo" next to Tune Hotel on Burma Road (afterwards, dash across the road for some local Penang pastries and beancurd jelly). Or in the Batu Ferringhi area, check out the butterfly and insect zoo at the Penang Butterfly Farm.
Rent a car - Penang is a big island with much more to see than just George Town. Right outside the town area, stop at Suffolk House, Dhammikarama Burmese Temple, and Wat Chaiyamangkalaram Thai Temple (Reclining Buddha Temple). Further out, visit Kek Lok Si Temple in Air Itam.
E&O Hotel or 32 at the Mansion - for a drink and a view of the sea.
Visit Capturing Penang's Twitter account to find out if any special events are going on in Penang that day.

Siam Road Char Koay Teow

2011-03-24T23:59:00.000-07:00

Featured on one of the first posts on Capturing Penang, the old man at Siam Road is still frying up the best char koay teow in Penang. It’s a comforting sight to see him at the end of the street, still fanning the charcoal, clanking the wok, and cooking for a long line of customers.

So much has changed on Siam Road, the street I grew up on.

In just over a year, many residents have been forced out from their shophouses by businesses offering to pay higher rent. Sadly, my grandfather’s place couldn’t escape the development, and the unique architectural features that made it a shophouse are gone. The carved ventilated door and louvre shutter windows have been replaced with glass. The decorative air vents have been sealed. The terracotta roof tiles have been replaced with a tin sheet roof that covers the airwell. Inside, the steep wooden staircase and room partitions have been torn out.

The historical shophouse has been transformed into something modernly simple. Cheap. Boring.

If only Penang Shophouses were like Penang Char Koay Teow – appreciated now, and not when it’s too late.

Masjid Kapitan Keling on Penang's "Street of Harmony"

2011-03-20T05:45:00.000-07:00

After a morning meeting on Cannon Street, we wound our way through George Town on our way home. We passed down Masjid Kapitan Keling Road (Street of Harmony), in front of the masjid (mosque) of the same name, right when the caretaker unlocked the gate.

We had never been inside. Only a handful of mosques in Malaysia are open to visitors, so we had walked by this one a hundred times thinking it wasn't any different.

Masjid Kapitan Keling is one of the oldest mosques in Penang, founded in 1801 by the Indian Muslim community, who were originally from Tamail Nadu state in southern India. Sitting in the center of the UNESCO World Heritage site of George Town, the magnificent building is impossible to miss with its striking white walls and black domes against Penang's blue skies.

We weren't dressed appropriately - shorts and t-shirts - but we thought we'd give it a try. As we approached the entrance to the mosque, an Indian man named Din welcomed us with a big hello, and a bigger smile. He asked us to put on a black robe that covered us from the shoulders down and then offered to show us around.

The only time Din doesn't smile? In front of the camera.

As non-muslims, we weren't permitted in the worship hall, but the large, open archways allowed us a view inside of the rows of prayer mats between white pillars and decorative arches, and the intricate calligraphy and carvings on the walls.

Din, who grew up in George Town, told us he converted to Islam when he was 18. When he first visited the mosque in the early 90s, he was disappointed that it was closed to non-Muslims. He convinced the leaders of the mosque to embrace visitors of all faiths, so they could appreciate the historical and architectural significance of the site, and more importantly, be introduced to the Indian Muslim community of Penang. Din is now the Information Chairman of Masjid Kapitan Keling, and promoter of Inter-faith Dialogues.

After the tour, Din brought us to the office, which was surprisingly located at the bottom of the minaret (tower outside the mosque that is used for the call to prayer). We discussed everything from his childhood to his work now, life in George Town, and facts we didn't know about Islam. I think everyone is aware that Muslims pray five times a day, but do you know the five places where Muslims can't pray?

Middle of the street
Camel field
Bathroom
Graveyard
On Kaaba (that's the black, cube shaped structure in Mecca, which is the holiest site in Islam, where all Muslims face when they pray no matter where they are in the world)

The best time to visit Masjid Kapitan Keling? During George Town Festival on July 7th, the anniversary of George Town's listing as a UNESCO World Heritage site, when Masjid Kapitan Keling participates in the huge street celebration, presenting a number of Indian Muslim cultural activities and exhibitions. You will be amazed by the acrobatics of the teh tarik (pulled tea) demonstrations!

River Meets Light - Reflections

2011-03-13T23:41:00.000-07:00

Friday, March 11 - We were preparing for our technical rehearsal for River Meets Light when we received the news that an earthquake had just hit northern Japan causing massive destruction. We felt shock and panic. It immediately brought back memories of the Boxing Day Tsunami in 2004, when so many people died, including here on Penang.

Saturday, March 12 - Performance day.

With heavy hearts carried from the day before, we started early in the afternoon to clear up the trash around the riverside.

But two hours before the show, it poured.

Will people still come for our performance? Is the flow of the river going to be strong? Can we dance on the slippery, muddy riverbank? Do we cancel the show? Are we taking too much risk?

20 minutes before the performance. With umbrellas in hand, dozens of people streamed into the site and congregated on the pedestrian bridge over Penang River. We did not expect this at all; not in Penang.

Kids from the near-by village watching the performance

The team came together and we prayed. Compared to the catastrophe in Japan, it seemed trivial and selfish to pray for the rain to stop. Instead, we prayed for everyone’s safety and we prayed for Japan.

10 minutes past the scheduled start, the rain stopped. The crew quickly finished the lighting setup. We pushed our anxiety and doubt away, and began the performance.

We danced along the riverbank of Sungai Pinang, climbed and rolled on the wooden bridge, leaped in and out of garbage bins, while the musicians played and sang their hearts out. The energy was remarkable.

The rain brought the river to life, the current rushing under the bridge, giving us the opportunity to voice its story and issues through our work. On that night, I felt I was finally a part of the space.

We were touched by the support and encouragement from the audience and the community who joined us. It was the first presentation, but we hope River Meets Light will bring about greater awareness and positive change towards our environment.

The performers with our artist collaborators - Aida Redza, Lisa Foo and Tan Sooi Beng.

Note: We'll be running our premier performance in July at the George Town Festival. Do stay tuned for details.

These gorgeous photos are taken by Okui, a talented Media Art student from Penang and also Doris Lee & Joie Koo from Allspire Photography. Thank you Okui, Doris & Joie!

(For a clip of the performance, please visit Capturing Penang on YouTube)

To read about River Art Project mentioned in the press, please click here & here.

River Meets Light - A Mixed Media Performance @ Sungai Pinang (Penang River)

2011-03-13T01:42:00.000-08:00

It has been an exhausting month preparing for our performance, but such an enriching experience working with artists from many backgrounds.

Under the training of dance choreographer Aida Redza, my co-performers, Kent, Hil, and Izzard, and I have been working hard to not only build our stamina, but also to overcome the many challenges of our riverside performance - rolling on dirt paths with biting ants, suspending over a wooden bridge, swirling at the edge of a dark river...I don't want to reveal everything.

I hope to see many of you on Saturday night at Sungai Pinang!

River Meets Light

A mixed media performance, River Meets Light encompassing light design, dance, music and visuals in an evening of experiential showcase to trace the past and present relationship between our rivers and communities.

The first workshop presentation, held in conjunction with International Day of Action for Rivers on March 12th, will lead to a sequence of events within this year, including a premiere performance during the 2011 George Town Festival at the end of July. Concurrently, an exhibition will be conducted in August at MAP@Publika in Kuala Lumpur to raise awareness of the unfortunate state of our rivers and the need for its revitalization.

The evening of performance will see eco-sculpture installations, dance, poetry recitation, interplay of sounds from songs and dialogue with the river communities, environmental music from recycled materials, and light and audio-visual projection.

Wonton Noodles - Kung Fu Style

2011-03-06T02:05:00.000-08:00

With tables hiding in the five foot walkways at each corner of the intersection, we instead found the nearest table to the cook.

His kung fu style of serving one of the best wan tan mee in George Town kept my finger on my camera trigger, trying to catch his lightning moves.

Where: Intersection of Lebuh Melayu & Lorong Toh Aka
When: 12.30pm - 5.30pm (closed on weekends)

Find Wan Tan Mee @ Malay Street on our "Ready to Eat in George Town?!" list.
And click here for Part 1 and Part 2 of our "Ready to Eat in Penang?!" video series.

Capturing Penang featured on Rasa Malaysia

2011-03-03T23:08:00.000-08:00

A few days into Chinese New Year, Mark and I headed to breakfast at Toh Soon – a rusty, bustling coffee shop in an alleyway along Campbell Street in Penang, serving roti bakar with kaya (charcoal-roasted thick bread with coconut jam), soft-boiled eggs with soy sauce & white pepper, and strong local coffee to give you that morning kick.

When we walked in, there was a film crew around the first table, and we were surprised to spot a familiar face seated among them – Bee from RasaMalaysia.

Bee had arrived the week before from California, for a two month visit to the island that she will always call home. At that moment, I realized it was exactly one year since I moved from Singapore back to Penang with the same goal. It would be a journey that would draw me into the thriving cultural and arts scene of George Town after its recent listing as a UNESCO World Heritage site. A journey that I reveal through stories, photos, art, and videos, on my blog – Capturing Penang.

However, I didn’t expect this a year ago. While Mark was confident about the move, I couldn’t push my apprehension away. I had left seven years earlier, like so many other Penangites, in search of bigger and better things. I had convinced myself that if I ever returned to live in Penang, it would only mean a step back in my life.

But by the first week, to my relief and exhilaration, I felt the energy of a revitalized Penang. Not only from the millions of visitors every year to the island, but also from the locals, like myself, who had taken this wonderful island for granted for too long.

I love saying it now – Penang is an exciting place!

To read the rest of the article, please visit RasaMalaysia for our guest post...

The Smallest National Park in the World hidden in the corner of Penang

2011-02-26T01:41:00.001-08:00

Getting the evil eye from a tortoise at Penang National Park

Reese (walking ahead, around a corner): Ahhhh!
Mark: What?! What is it?!
Reese: Oh sorry, it's nothing. (sighs in relief) Just some sculpture.
Mark: A sculpture? In the jungle?
Reese: Ahhh! It moved!
Mark (running up to see): Wow! That's one, mean looking tortoise

The slowest hiker I've ever seen (wait, wasn't that what the hare said?)

To remind ourselves that we are living on an island, and that there is much more to Penang than just George Town, we jumped on bus #101 and took it to the end. It follows the coastline through Batu Feringhi, past Teluk Bahang, to a dead-end road on the northwest corner of the island, at the trail head of Penang National Park (or Pulau Pinang Taman Negara).

After buying two bottles of water, we signed in at the park entrance and headed off. Ten minutes down a paved path, you have the option of going right to the canopy walk, monkey beach, and the historic Muka Head lighthouse, or left, as we did, to Pantai Kerachut (Beach), a rare meromictic lake, and the Sea Turtle Conservation Centre.

The trail is an old timber hauling track where locals would use water buffaloes to drag the logs down the hill. Now the track is a mix of concrete stairs and dirt paths (unless you have knee high boots and are highly motivated, I wouldn't recommend going if it is raining hard or you think it might). The well marked trail takes about 1.5 hours through spectacular rainforest. It's well worth the hike, but if you want to take a shortcut, you can always rent a boat to go straight to the beach.

Watch your step along the trail...

A Painted Bronzeback snake near the path

Emerging from the jungle, sweaty, and already out of drinking water, we stepped onto a bridge and welcomed a strong sea breeze from Pantai Kerachut beach on our right.

On the left, a shallow meromictic lake that only exists during intermittent periods of the year, when it can fill or empty many times during monsoonal changes. It is a rare phenomenon, where the warmer, denser sea water sits on the bottom of the lake, and never mixes with the cool fresh water layer on top, fed from five jungle streams.

Along the shore, you can find many small crabs scampering in and out of the water

After the irate greeting from a tortoise on the walk down to the beach, we were hoping for a friendlier welcome from a sea turtle along Pantai Kerachut beach. Since the reintroduction of sea turtles here, you will find many holes burrowed into the sand along the tree line. We found a few recently dug holes, but unfortunately no Green or Olive Ridley Turtles in sight.

Behind the tree, you can see holes in the sand, dug out by sea turtles to lay their eggs

At the far end of the beach, you can find the Pantai Kerachut Turtle Conservation Centre which is open to the public. If you're lucky, you might be there when they release a hundred baby turtles as they scurry into the ocean.
You can find more information at the Penang National Park official site and in their pdf brochure.

For jungle trekking in Penang, you can head over to the recently launched PenangTrails.com website.

Sun Yat Sen Penang Base - 120 Armenian Street

2011-02-22T17:35:00.000-08:00

Decorative tiles on the five foot walkway outside of Sun Yat Sen Penang Base. The tiles continue inside, covering the entire ground floor.

The newly restored facade (completed October 2010) that includes detailed ceramic sculptures along the timber beam

Within the walls of this 19th century shophouse, lies a rich and significant legacy. Many activities and decisions that took place in this unassuming premise, contributed to the end of the last dynasty of China.

Once the Southeast Asian headquarters of the Tongmenghui secret society, it was here where Dr Sun Yat Sen, the father of modern China, planned the Canton Uprising of 1911. The decision to use Penang was swayed by the support Sun Yat Sen received from the Chinese community here. In addition to being the base for Dr Sun Yat Sen's revolutionary movement, 120 Armenian Street was also where Malaysia's oldest Chinese newspaper (and the oldest Chinese newspaper outside of China), Kwong Wah Jit Poh, was founded.

Today, 120 Armenian Street serves as a museum and exhibition space on Dr Sun Yat Sen's life in Penang.

A green touch to catch the rain and sunshine through the air well of 120 Armenian Street. The air well is a typical feature of residential shophouses in Penang to help with natural ventilation and cooling.

Kitchen filled with antiques in the back of the shophouse

Cost: RM3/person for tours in English or Mandarin
Hours:     Monday-Friday 10am-2pm, and Saturday & Sunday 10am-5pm
Tel:      604-2620123
Email:      sunyatsenpenang@gmail.com
Website: www.sunyatsenpenang.com and www.lestariheritage.net

Mom's Recipe for Popiah (fresh spring rolls) 棒棒薄饼

2011-02-10T18:52:00.000-08:00

After watching Uncle Lim’s entertaining performance whipping the popiah dough onto the hotplate, I couldn't resist buying half a kilo of the thin Chinese crepe. Having a basic idea of what ingredients go inside a popiah, but having never cooked it before, I made the call.

"Mom, can you show me how to make popiah?"

"What, popiah? That's a lot of work. Aren't you busy with other things?"

This goes on for awhile. When she realizes my determination, she tries one last tactic, "I forgot how to make popiah. So many things. I...I don't remember."

The next day, I'm standing next to her in her kitchen, and she has all the ingredients ready and has already started cooking. Trained or not, chefs are a difficult bunch...

A Hokkien/ Teochew style fresh spring roll, popiah is about layers of texture and a mix of flavors. The juicy turnip filling, the faint sweetness of prawn and crab meat, refreshing Chinese lettuce, the combination of sweet sauce and spicy sambal and everything else in between. No wonder popiah is the all-time favorite snack in Penang. It’s our version of a tortilla wrap.

Here’s what we need to make some seriously delicious popiahs:

Ingredients

15 fresh popiah wrappers (or something similar - maybe a tortilla? Or make your own crepe?)

Fillings: 

1 large turnip, grated (also known as jicama or locally known as bangkuang)
 2 pieces of bean curd, diced into small pieces 
150g of small or medium shelled prawns (deveined and cut into small pieces)
100g of crab meat, shredded - (This is optional. My mom actually buys a whole crab from the market, and steams it. This of course will add quite a bit more time to the preparation, so probably best to buy crab meat, or the imitation crab meat, from the store.)
3 eggs  
5 cloves of garlic, chopped finely
 Fried shallots*
Fresh Chinese lettuce leaves, wash and drained dry (normal lettuce is fine too)

(Other vegetables such as french beans, bean sprouts or carrots can also be added to cook with the turnip filling.)

  Seasoning for turnip filling:
1 tsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp white pepper powder 
1/2 tsp sugar
1 cup water

Sauces:
1/2 cup Hoisin sauce or sweet sauce  
1/4 cup sambal* or chili sauce

*For fried shallots and sambal, Mom & I made them from scratch. To save time, you can get pre-made ones from the store.

Method

In a wok, heat oil on medium fire, and fry two cloves of chopped garlic until fragrant, and then add in grated turnip. Add soy sauce, sugar and pepper for seasoning. Stir fry for the first 5 minutes.
Add water and reduce heat to low, cover and leave the turnip to cook for another 30 - 40 minutes until soft. Add more soy sauce and sugar if needed. When cooked, strain the juice into a small pot and keep warm. The juice will be used as a gravy over the popiah. (Another optional step: To enhance the flavor, my mom also adds in boiled and shredded belly pork [3 layer pork] to cook with the turnip.)
While the turnip is cooking, heat oil in a separate wok, add one clove of chopped garlic and deep-fry the bean curd until lightly browned. Dish out and drain any liquid.
With the same wok, add more oil and heat. Throw in the rest of the chopped garlic, and once fried, add in the prawns. Add a dash of soy sauce, white pepper & oyster sauce. Stir fry the prawns until cooked. Dish out.
Beat the eggs and fry them omelette-style in the same wok. Then cut into thin shreds.
Set aside each filling in separate bowls or tiffin.

Here comes the fun part. Get everyone to wrap their own popiah!

Lay a piece of the popiah wrapper on a plate and spread one teaspoon of hoisin sauce and 1/2 teaspoon of sambal down the middle.
Place lettuce leaf over the sauces.
Spoon 2-3 tablespoons of the strained turnip filling onto the leaf.
In layers, top with fried bean curd, prawn, crab meat, sliced egg omelette and fried shallot crisps.
Fold the sides of the wrapper, tuck in firmly and roll up tight. Cut into three or four pieces.
Pour a tablespoon of the turnip juice over the popiah. Serve & DEVOUR immediately.

A harmonious blend of sweet, spicy and savoury flavours. Popiah is simply delicious!

A chat with 'Ms George Town" - Salma Khoo

2011-02-08T03:17:00.000-08:00

Salma in front of her shophouse, Dr Sun Yat Sen's Penang Base, during the Chinese New Year Cultural and Heritage Celebration.

“Were you always interested in history?” I ask.

Salma smiles. She’s always smiling, just like the photo of a younger her in the back of her first book, Streets of George Town. “No,” she laughs, probably thinking of how it all started.

Khoo Salma Nasution, or ‘Ms. George Town’ as many of us in Penang playfully call her behind her back, is the current president of Penang Heritage Trust. But she is too modest, and too busy, to worry much about titles. For the past 20 years, she has struggled, but succeeded in conserving and revitalizing much of George Town’s heritage, culminating in the significant role she played in George Town’s listing as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2008.
“How did you get started in Penang’s heritage movement?”

Salma recounts leaving for Duke University, with her mother hoping for her to be a doctor or lawyer or engineer. Instead she completed a degree in art, focusing on her love of photography. She had met many other Malaysians studying in the US who shared her passion for the arts, and together they vowed to return to their home and change Malaysia. “But I was one of only a few who came back,” she laughs again.

“You came straight back to Penang?”

“Yes, but I still wasn’t certain if I wanted to stay in Malaysia or go somewhere else.” Her handphone rings, and she glances down through her glasses, but doesn’t pick it up. “When I came back, I just knew that I wanted to take photographs…and I wanted to write.”

That won’t come as a surprise to anyone familiar with Salma’s work. She is the author of countless books on Penang’s heritage, including Sun Yat Sen in Penang 孫中山槟城基地, Heritage Houses of Penang, and More Than Merchants. And she is a regular contributor to local and international periodicals.

She tells me her first job was the festival secretary for the Penang Festival - a now defunct art festival, but one that helped shape the current, and much larger, arts & heritage event called George Town Festival, held annually in July.

“In 1989, I started a new job at the Pulau Pinang Magazine. Have you seen it before? I think they’re on the shelf behind you.”

Salma points behind me. We’re sitting in the office of her publishing company, Areca Books, in a shophouse on Acheen Street. I grab the stack of a dozen or so magazines. I had never heard of Pulau Pinang Magazine before. I leaf through them, spotting dilapidated buildings that are now restored, and photos of locals in a much busier George Town setting before the Rent Control Act was repealed in 2000, forcing most residents to move out from the inner city.

“It was a small tourist info magazine when I started, but I wanted to do something more interesting. Looking around George Town, I thought this was such a magnificent city, or it used to be, so why is it that now people only build ugly buildings? Architecture was very good before, so there must be a reason. People must have been very rich, and had more culture and appreciation, and I started to research into the history. And in those days it was mainly interviews, because I didn’t know where to look for resources.”

She admits that to grow the magazine, she had to take on the roles of editor, photographer, researcher, writer, and layout designer. But most of all, she had to tune out other Penangites, “People would tell me, ‘That’s just an old house, why are you looking at that old house?’ People couldn’t understand why I was taking all these pictures.”

Image of George Town shortly after WWII, published in the Pulau Pinang magazine

Over a two year period, Salma completed 13 issues, focusing on Penang’s culture and way of life, and on the historical buildings that first drew her fascination. It became Penang’s first heritage magazine.

Pulau Pinang magazine - printed and published by Phoenix Press

“Was it a success?”

“Yes, you could say that. A critical success,” Salma glances at the pages of the magazine as I skim through, “but commercially difficult to sustain.”

She chuckles, “I’ve never been good at making money.”

Capturing Penang’s interview with Salma Khoo will continue in our next post…

(Last four photos courtesy of Pulau Pinang magazine)

Streets of George Town and Sun Yat Sen Penang Base (Part 2 of our chat with Salma Khoo)

2011-02-08T01:09:00.000-08:00

Statue of Dr Sun Yat Sen at 120 Armenian Street

(To Part 1 of interview)

“What happened after you left Pulau Pinang magazine?”

Salma recounts starting her own design company. It didn’t work out and after two years she gave it up. But during that time, her curiosity in Penang’s history spurred her to convince her mother to buy a shophouse at 120 Armenian Street, which she eventually restored with her own savings.

What Salma knew at that time, and what is unfortunately still unknown to many, is that the foundations of the 1911 Chinese Revolution, which resulted in the end to imperial rule in China and the beginning of a Republic, was strategized in Penang.

The unassuming shophouse at 120 Armenian Street was the Southeast Asian base of Dr Sun Yat Sen’s revolutionary movement and specifically the site of the 1910 Penang Conference to plan the Second Guangzhou Uprising. The Uprising led to the successful Wuchang Rebellion that saw the downfall of China’s last Emperor, and the election of China’s first president, Dr Sun Yat Sen 孫中山.

“If only people knew these stories, they would be as passionate as I am,” Salma added, discussing her initial feelings on why she wrote her first book, Streets of George Town.

“Who got you started on the book? Who funded it and published it?”

“I just did it from my own savings. I had to design, edit, and publish it myself.” Salma smiles in her modest manner, as if she did what anyone would have done in her place. If only we all had that same drive to tell the stories of our home!

Salma Khoo during her research for Streets of George Town

“How did you research the book?”

From across the street, the call of prayer begins at the Acheen Street Mosque, drowning out our voices. Salma speaks up, telling me how she sourced a few articles and books, but primarily had to record oral stories from the residents of George Town. “I was just oblivious to how everyone felt about a young woman walking around town taking photos. I was so naïve that I used to venture into all these, so called 'bad hat areas', houses that were still under rent control, and there would be four or five families staying in the house.”

“Five families in one shophouse?”

“Yes, usually one or two families downstairs and the rest upstairs. One family per room, so there was no privacy.”

“And you were welcomed into the houses?”

“No, not really, but when you walk in, everyone thinks you’re visiting somebody else. So I would just kind of walk in, ask a few questions, and take some pictures.”

Streets of George Town was not only Salma’s first book, but was also the first book on Penang’s history and culture that reached out to the masses. This was only in the early 90s, but it was a time before the UNESCO listing, before the term “Cultural Tourism”, when Penang was known only as a beach destination.


Former residence of Chung Keng Kwee. Now restored as the Peranakan Mansion

“What was the response when the book was released?”

“The book came out in 1994 and nothing happened.”

Salma goes on to say it finally received attention five years later. “People started to tell me that, ‘Oh, I’ve used the book and walked practically every street.’ But they were all foreigners. Hardly any locals did it – they would shop at Penang Road, Campbell Street, maybe Chulia Street, but they wouldn’t venture beyond that.”

Before the Rent Control Act was repealed in 2000, most of George Town was still occupied by residents, but the streets were divided along different groups of people. Locals could not understand, for example, going to Khoo Kongsi Temple if you weren’t a Hokkien Khoo.

It didn’t make sense until the idea of cultural tourism took hold in Penang. Salma points out, “Tourism helped to neutralize the area.” Penangites who had studied or lived abroad were the first 'locals' to return to the town as tourists and begin using Salma's book.

“Will you be updating Streets of George Town?”

Salma shakes her head.

“It’s too bad that many of the wonderful historical buildings you’ve captured in the book have been torn down.”

“Yes, so much has changed. Instead of updating Streets of George Town, I plan to write an entirely new book on George Town’s heritage.”

“Soon?”

She gives me a smirk that tells me she has too many other projects ahead to even think about another book. Between Penang Heritage Trust, Areca Books publishing company, Dr Sun Yat Sen's Penang Base, the endless heritage conferences and talks, the books she is working on now about Masjid Kapitan Keling and the Chulias, and not to mention her family responsibilities - I think I can wait patiently for her next George Town book.

The only Jewish cemetery in Malaysia, located at Yahudi Road (now Jalan Zainal Abidin) in Penang. The oldest grave dates back to 1805, in the early days of Penang's history. One of the many secluded sites revealed in Streets of George Town.

Thank you Salma for sitting down with us for a chat, and more importantly, for all the admirable work you do for Penang. Your curiosity and passion for Penang’s heritage is contagious, and was contagious over a year ago when we met you for the first time and made the decision to move back to the island.

(Last three images from Streets of George Town, courtesy of Areca Books Publishing)

Feel The Energy of Thaipusam

2011-01-15T07:29:00.000-08:00

Turn the volume up before you watch this!*

Feel the energy of Thaipusam? We didn't think photos would do this festival justice.

If you haven't experienced it yet, the final day of Thaipusam is Friday, January 21st, when the chariot leaves Nattukkottai Chettiar Temple on Jalan Waterfall at 6:30pm on its journey back to Little India in George Town.

Here is the route: Waterfall Road to Jalan Gottlieb, Jalan Tengku Abdul Rahman, Jalan Macalister, Anson Road, Burma Road, Transfer Road, Jalan Sri Bahari, Penang Road, Lebuh Campbell, Lebuh Buckingham, Jalan Mesjid Kapitan Keling, Queen Street, Market Street, China Street and Beach Street.

*The Tamil song is a remix of a Thaipusam Devotional (Murugan) song called Kundrathile Kumaranaku. You can find it at: http://mp3.tamilwire.com.

________________________________________________________________________________

Update

THANK YOU! A special thanks from Capturing Penang to all 1,256 of you who watched our Thaipusam video in the first week! You've convinced us to bring you many more videos of Penang in the future.

Reese & Mark

"Hand"-made Popiah Skin (Spring Roll Wrap) at Chowrasta Morning Market

2011-01-10T03:42:00.000-08:00

Between two quiet shophouses on Chowrasta Road, at No. 5, Uncle Lim paces back and forth in a rhythmic motion between two hotplates with a wheat-flour dough "glove" on his right hand. He whips the elastic dough ball like a yo-yo, slams it down on a hotplate and yanks it off, leaving a very thin pancake. Before it burns, his helper scraps off the popiah skin (spring roll wrapper) and stacks it on top of the pile.

"Your hands must be used to the heat?" I ask him, assuming 50 years of making popiah over a scalding hotplate would have calloused his hands and numbed his nerves.

"It still burns," he laughs.

He's been at it for 50 years...if he made about a hundred popiah wrappers an hour, five hours a day, six days a week, for 50 years, that's 7,800,000 popiah wrappers! I'm getting hungry just thinking about it.

If you visit Penang, you will see popiah stalls all over the island. The standard popiah will usually be stuffed with turnip (bangkuang), bean sprouts, lettuce, prawns, shredded omelet, chopped peanuts, fried shallots, and tofu. It will also come with a sweet or spicy sauce. (Click here for my mom's popiah recipe)

Popiah from New World Park in George Town

After strolling through the Chowrasta morning market, head over to No. 5 Chowrasta Road to watch Uncle Lim and his yo-yo dough glove in action. He's a jovial old man, perfect for practicing your Hokkien with!

Outside of No. 5 Chowrasta Road - Uncle Lim's Shophouse

Carnavon Street Musical 青青沓田仔街‏

2010-12-14T20:48:00.000-08:00

From nature's stage at Penang Botanic Gardens, the "Ombak Muda" children's group will shift to the city, performing amidst the history of George Town's UNESCO World Heritage site. The 20-minute program will feature music and dance performances that present a story of Carnavon Street's past and present, in conjunction with the George Town Official Green Project.

Meet us this time at Lebuh Carnavon (Street)
Date: Saturday, January 29, 2011
Time: 9am & 10.15am
Venue: Intersection of Acheen Street & Carnavon Street, near World Heritage Incorporated Office

Carnavon Street 沓田仔街
Known originally as Lam-Chan-Na to the Chinese, which means swamp field, Carnavon Street is the street of undertakers, coffin-makers, Chinese bookshops, art materials, and funerary paper artifacts. Once a bustling street in George Town, you can find some of the oldest shophouses here.

Join us for this musical & dance performance to rediscover Carnavon Street!

Update: Performance covered in The Star Newspaper.

On Nature's Stage

2010-12-05T17:58:00.000-08:00

Ombak-Ombak ARTStudio, a local performing arts group, is known not only for its exploration of community productions, but also for its exploration of space. While many of their prior performances have focused on urban areas, primarily in and around the UNESCO World Heritage zone in George Town, this past weekend found the group utilizing the green spaces of the 125 year-old Penang Botanic Gardens.

Using boria*, rap, gamelan** and everyday objects as percussion, young musicians & dancers told stories about the garden and the need to conserve our environment. The sounds, movements, and ideas of the performance were based on the personal observations of the children during their journey through the gardens.

“This is the first musical performance we’ve held in the gardens, about the gardens.” said Rashidah, a representative from the Friends of Botanic Gardens.

After the kid's performance, three teenage boys led the audience to an open grass area for a youthful, energetic & playful dance interpretation on the source of our water. Unfortunately, but appropriately, heavy rain fell the moment the music started. The boys were not deterred however, and gave it their best in the muddy puddles in the grass to an appreciative audience.

Umbrellas in hand, the audience was then led by frog-impersonating performers along the stream to a grassy area overlooking the natural "stage" - a steep slope above the flowing water. With the rain continuing and the occasional monkey running by, the last piece, a contemporary work by four adult performers - Hil, Izzard, Edward and me, was an exploration of movement based on the surroundings & haunting past of the gardens.

Together with the rest of the team, we hope the audience took with them a lasting impression of the site and ultimately, a greater appreciation for the gardens.

For those of you who missed the performance, here is a short clip.

I dedicate this post to Aida (dance director), Sooi Beng & Lai Chee (music directors), my dance teammates, the wonderful production team and the all the talented kids who worked so hard over the past month to make the performance a success.

*Boria is a traditional music and dance sketch, with its origin from India. In Malaysia, it can be found mainly in Penang.
**Gamelan is a musical ensemble, featuring an assortment of instruments such as xylophones, metallophones, bamboo flutes, drums and gongs.

Music & Dance Tribute to the Botanic Gardens at the Penang Floral Festival

2010-12-05T01:55:00.000-08:00

A musical and dance journey through the Penang Botanic Gardens

SHOW 1 - Saturday, 11 Dec 2010
9.00am at main entrance (Opening ceremony of Penang Floral Festival)
Cerita Kebun Bunga
(special rap, boria, gamelan, percussion & dance performed by Ombak Muda, children aged 8 to 19)

10.30am at band stand area
Begin to Hope & Indah ke water kita
(adults' dance performances)

SHOW 2 - Sunday, 12 Dec 2010
8.00am & 9.00am at band stand
Cerita Kebun Bunga

10.30am at band stand area
Begin to Hope & Indah ke water kita

Come join Nirvaan, me & other performers at the Penang Botanic Gardens this weekend!

This performance is presented by Ombak-ombak ARTStudio. Music by Prof Tan Sooi Beng & dance led by Aida Redza.

Spicy Relish for Ikan Bakar (Grilled Fish)

2010-12-03T00:02:00.000-08:00

My mom cooked Ikan Bakar last week, otherwise known as Malaysian style grilled fish. You basically take a whole fish, smother it with spices, place it on a banana leaf, and grill it over a charcoal fire. Instead of starting a camp fire on the kitchen counter, Mom placed the fish on a banana leaf and fried it in a wok. She flavored the fish with a generous portion of turmeric powder, threw in some ground ginger & lemon grass, and finally topped it off with a bit of other spices for seasoning.

But the secret to this dish isn't on the main plate. As with many Malaysian delicacies, the secret sits inconspicuously in the tiny dish on the side. No, this isn't ketchup. It's a homemade, spicy, Malaysian relish! This spicy relish can take as much work to prepare as the main dish, but that extra kick is worth the effort.

Let's start with what you'll need to make the relish for your grilled fish:

A bunch of baby green and/or red chili (the spicy ones!), which we call “chili padi” in Malaysia. The name also refers to women with a small physique and a feisty personality. I know a few I won't name...

Bunga Kantan, or Torch Ginger Flower. A beautiful pink flower with a wonderful aroma and flavour - the simple, but essential ingredient used to make Penang Laksa.

And these:

4 - 6 shallots
1 teaspoon of brown sugar
1 tablespoon of tamarind paste/ juice
1/3 cup of warm water
1 1/2 teaspoons of belacan*
2 cloves of chopped garlic
1 squeeze of fresh lime juice (or as much as you like)

The amount used for the ingredients are adjustable according to your taste. If you can't handle the fiery spice of baby green or red chili, you can replace it with the big red ones for a milder version.

If you can find those ingredients, or most of them, here's how you do it:

1. Toast the belacan for about 3 to 4 minutes in a hot pan or a toaster oven . Let it cool.
2. Mix the tamarind paste with 1/3 cup of warm water, strain and discard seeds.
3. Slice the green chili, shallots & bunga kantan into small pieces.
4. Add all the ingredients together and squeeze in some fresh lime juice for the final touch.

Having grilled fish for your next barbecue? Try this Malaysian-style relish to zest it up.

*Belacan is a fermented, ground shrimp paste. You might want to hold your nose if this is the first time you are using it, but don't fret, the smell mellows out after cooking and leaves behind an indescribable layer of richness to the mixture. It is a crucial element in most spicy, homemade Malaysian dips.

Drowning in Books at the Chowrasta Market

2010-11-30T04:25:00.000-08:00

Some treasures in Penang are so concealed, and in such odd locations, that it seems as if they never want to be found. One such place is the Chowrasta Second-Hand Bookshop.

Amidst the hustle and bustle on the street of the Chowrasta Market*, a rundown building stands on one city block, housing the open-air meat market on the ground floor. Yes, it's foul, wet, noisy, and unwelcoming. Up until the early 80's, the first floor was also a wet market with fresh fish, live chickens, buckets of prawns, and whatever else you can imagine. But as the market declined, the first floor was "cleaned up" and transformed from a meat market into a clothing market. If you can hold your nose and avoid walking in the puddles on the ground floor, you will be welcomed on the first floor by dozens of clothing stalls that force you to duck under shirts hanging in the hallway. If you make your way to the back, because you are not scared of the dark, you will find yourself surrounded by books.

Thousands upon thousands of books of anything and everything. Stacked from floor to ceiling, and one breath away from toppling over onto you. When you dig yourself through one pile, you will find another pile waiting behind it. There are a few second-hand bookshops hidden here, but the last one in the back, run by a man named Iskandar, is the largest...and messiest.

Iskandar is a one man show, who seems to have a photographic memory. Without any sort of organizational system, he is your only reference to finding a book. It might be difficult to believe his memory, but if you move one book secretly, he will walk by a few minutes later and move it back.

What makes this shop so fascinating are the treasures that you can find. Before moving to its current location, this bookshop was located in a shophouse on Macalister Road, where the business opened during the British colonial era. It is impossible to know how long they have held certain books, but one can imagine, blowing the dust off some of them, that Iskandar never bothered to have a sale to clear his inventory.

If you tell Iskandar that you like old books, he will open the grubbiest stall you have ever seen where you are free to trip over heaps of hundred year old books covered in cobwebs, dust, and the occasional mosquito waiting to bite you. All the old books go for about US$1 or $2 each, but I'm sure the value on the market is much more. When people in Penang clear attics from shophouses, colonial mansions, and school storerooms, all the books land up in this obscure shop. If you're willing to dig, get your hands dirty, you never know what you will find.

Part of the fun in reading old books is finding interesting stamps, signatures, and scribbles within the pages

The Chowrasta Second-Hand Bookshops are located on the first floor of the meat-market building on Lebuh Tamil (Street), off Jalan Penang (Road). Iskandar's shop is open every day from 11:30am-5:00pm.

*The Chowrasta market is one of the oldest, and most famous morning wet markets in Penang. Located in the center of George Town, it is a fascinating, must-see place for visitors to the island. We will feature the market in a future post.

Sri Mahamariamman Temple: 200 years of Worship

2010-11-25T20:50:00.000-08:00

Established by the early Indian settlers in Penang, the animated Sri Mahamariamman Temple is dedicated to Sri Muthu Mariamman, a mother goddess of power and mercy who protects and guides her devotees in time of trials and tribulations.

Inner court: lifelike sculptures of Nadaraja and Sivakami in the cosmic dance

Gopuram (tower) of gods & deities. A harmonious blend of colors & shapes.

Sri Mahamariamman Temple is located in Little India on Lebuh Queen (Street)

You Char Koay (Crispy Dough Fritters) - "Oil-Fried Ghosts"

2010-11-22T17:31:00.000-08:00

Walking from point A to point B in George Town is a struggle. There are distractions everywhere that have you reaching for your camera and your growling stomach.

On our way to a morning meeting, passing through Cintra Street, our brisk walk came to a halt at the smell of bread sizzling in oil. You Char Koay (crispy dough fritters) was my favorite snack when I was a kid. My dad would buy it, along with fresh soya milk that I would dip the bread into - a Malaysian style breakfast cereal.

Before we ordered, we stared at the hypnotic boiling pot, as members of the Chew family worked together to cut the dough, stretch it, combine it into pairs, and finally, dunk it in the oil to soak up all that goodness. The family did not exchange a word - concentrating solely on the routine they have carried through the generations for 80 years.

According to Chinese folklore, You Char Koay, which means “oil-fried ghost”, was created by the Chinese people as an act of protest against a despicable official named Qin Hui from the Song Dynasty. Qin Hui and his wife, Lady Wang, were responsible for the execution of General Yue Fei, an icon of patriotism in Chinese history.

The pair of bread sticks represent the couple, and symbolize punishment as Chinese fry and eat them. Basically, the Chinese version of voodoo dolls.

Unknown to many Penangites, they continue the torture of the legendary couple as they first dunk them head-first into scalding hot Kopi-O (local black coffee), then bite their heads off (or is it their feet?).

Statues of Lady Wang and Qin Hui in Hangzhou

To munch on a couple of Chinese voodoo dolls, while doing your part to honor General Yue Fei, visit the Chew family's shop at:

Cintra Street You Char Koay 日本街
76, Cintra Street, Penang
Business hours: 12pm to 7pm daily

Veenai Odeon Cinema

2010-11-18T19:09:00.000-08:00

We walk by the Odeon Cinema almost everyday because it is at one of the busiest intersections in George Town. And if you visit Penang, you will no doubt pass this grubby theater at least once, and like most tourists, walk right by.

Mark was lured in today by the fact that it is the last historic theater in George Town still standing and open for business. That's what he said, but I think the poster of the most beautiful woman in the world, Aishwarya Rai, probably had something to do with it.

50 years ago...Odeon Theater in 1960

2010...Now called Veenai Odeon

When I was younger, I actually went to the Odeon to catch the latest Hollywood movies, but as shiny mall theaters opened, the old cinema lost its appeal to the public, and finally closed down in 2001. It followed the closing of other historic cinemas in George Town like Majestic, Rex, Cathay, Paramount, Capitol, and Federal. Fortunately in early 2002, the Odeon was rescued due to the rising popularity of Bollywood (Hindi) and Kollywood (Tamil) films. It was renamed Veenai Odeon and now only screens Indian movies.

We didn't know what to expect based on the shabby exterior, but we had to see the biggest Indian movie of all time, Enthiran (Robot), on the big screen. The cinema was surprisingly comfortable, so we settled in to our seats on the ground floor (there is also an upper-deck) and spent three hours watching a typical, outrageously fun Indian movie that somehow squeezes in a robot story that takes place in India, with music and dance numbers in a desert in Brazil and on the mountains of Machu Picchu in Peru. Huh? Anything is possible when you bring Bollywood and Kollywood together!

You can catch Enthiran at Veenai Odeon until the end of November, showing nightly at 6pm.

Where: Intersection of Lebuh Chulia (Street) and Jalan Penang (Road)
When: Open everyday, screening various Bollywood and Kollywood films at 12pm, 3pm, 6pm, and 9pm
Phone: 04-261-8964

P.S. Anyone know when the Odeon was built in Penang?

100th Post on Capturing Penang!

2010-11-15T09:28:00.000-08:00

I was driving my Porsche down the five foot walkway along Siam Road in George Town the other day in search of an idea for the 100th post on Capturing Penang. Can you believe it, 100 already? We would not have reached this milestone without all your fanstastic comments and emails. Thank you!

Looking in the sideview mirror at myself, I realized something - I needed a haircut. No, well yes, but I also realized that this is a journey together through Penang.

If you're here, reading this, I want to hear from you. What do you want to see on Capturing Penang? Something new, or maybe something more on a previous post? What was your favorite? Do you prefer videos or photos or stories?

I'd love to know a little about you. Are you a Penangite living overseas? Or a frequent visitor to Penang? Maybe a first-timer to the island?

Mark and I created Capturing Penang because we wanted to help promote my home, Penang, to visitors like you, and to all those nostalgic Penangites, like me during the previous six years, living far away thinking of the good old days, driving your own sports car down the five foot walkway.

We don't want to continue this journey without you.

I'm Reese.

<--------- He's Mark

It's very nice to meet you.

Please click on the "Post a Comment" link below and introduce yourself (feel free to add your blog or website address too). If you prefer an anonymous comment, that's fine too.

I can't wait to hear from you!

Night Market Addiction: Jelutong Pasar Malam

2010-11-12T08:40:00.000-08:00

The dizzying rush of Jelutong night market every Friday night on Jalan Van Praagh (Road)

After a few trips to Farlim night market (pasar malam) on Wednesday nights, we thought to ourselves, why can't we do this every night?

The obvious answer being we would keel over from gluttony.

Sugar cane juice, grilled sweet corn, asam laksa, yong tau foo (soup with fish balls and stuffed bean curd), ang dao th'ng (red bean dessert), lok lok (meats and veggies on a stick), char koay kak (fried rice flour), chocolate bananas, pickled fruits, dim sum, pizza, nutmeg juice, satay, Bangkok coconut pancake, Japanese crepe, muar chee (sticky rice balls), bak chang (glutinous rice with lots of ingredients), cakes and muffins, bubble tea, sushi, Taiwanese style pepper chicken, corn dogs, Chinese sweet desserts, popcorn, herbal teas, prawn/yam/sweet potato crackers, soya bean with grass jelly, Malay style fried nuggets, keropok lekor (fish crackers), hokkien mee, char hor fun (fried flat noodle), chicken wings, fresh jackfruit, piles of tropical fruits, dau fu fa (beancurd jelly with brown sugar), Japanese squid balls, Taiwanese jelly, rojak (fruit and vegetable salad), spicy fried squid rings, coconut jelly, takoyaki and gyoza (Japanese snacks), Char Siew Soh (roasted pork pillow pastry), oyster mee sua (oyster noodles), and fried belacan chicken - fried everything!

And yes, the list could go on.

Unfortunately, that didn't stop us from asking ourselves the question again - why can't we do this every night?

Okay, that question was a bit greedy. How about three nights a week? Sure! Monday nights in Macallum, Wednesday nights in Farlim, and Friday nights in Jelutong. Probably best to have a day off between...to recover from the food coma.

All smiles at the Jelutong night market, serving ang dao th'ng (red bean dessert with orange zest)

When: around 6.30pm-11pm

Where: Jalan Van Praagh (Road) in Jelutong (see map below)

How to get there: take bus #11 from the Jetty Terminal or Komtar, and ask the driver to let you know when to get off for the night market (should be about a 15-20 minute ride). Please note that the bus is not frequent after 9pm, so you may need to wait 30-45 minutes coming back (or take a taxi back).

The night market moves to Farlim on Wednesday nights, and Macallum on Monday nights.

View Jelutong Night Market (Pasar Malam) in a larger map

The Biggest Night Market in Penang - Farlim Pasar Malam

2010-11-12T05:24:00.000-08:00

Have you been to the biggest “pasar malam” (night market) in Penang? No, I’m not talking about the one in Batu Ferringi that was setup for tourists.

Have you been to Farlim on Wednesday nights? Every week, an open field is filled with hundreds of stalls hawking jewelry, toys, clothing, shoes, DVDs…everything the usual night market sells, but multiplied by 10.

And of course FOOD! A father and son competing with each other to cook Char Koay Kak (fried rice cake or 炒粿角), an older couple baking fresh bread and Malaysian style cinnamon rolls from the back of their van, young entrepreneurs whipping up all the new delicious fads from Japan, Korea, and Taiwan. The field is packed with Penangites stuffing their faces with snacks, instead of dinner. The atmosphere is addicting…every long line begs you to queue.

A thousand people throng the narrow paths and Mark was the only “jakun” (awe struck) foreigner. Will we see you there next time?

Cook-off between father & son team - frying up "Char Koay Kak" (or rice cake) in thick black soy sauce, eggs, bean sprouts, and more. Do you want yours spicy?

Japanese crepe in Penang - Night Market style!

Banana & chocolate filled crepe - I know, it's hard to resist this one

Giant cinnamon rolls - twice the size of the usual ones..

Lok-lok 樂樂 - So here are your favorite meats, seafood, vegetables, and dumplings on a stick. You pick one up, then you dunk the stick into hot boiling soup. Once it's cooked, you dip the stick into your favorite sauce & enjoy. But don't get too excited and forget to wait in line...

There's almost double meaning to the name "Lok-lok" - the sound of the dipping action and happiness in Chinese.

Muar Chee - steamed sticky glutinuous rice balls mixed with grounded, roasted peanuts.

When: around 6.30pm-11pm

Where: In a field off Medan Angsana road in Farlim (see map below)

How to get there: Take Bus 202 or 203. The journey takes about 30 minutes. Ask the bus driver to let you know when he/she reaches the “Bandar Baru Supermarket in Farlim”. The night market is in the field behind the supermarket (but ask anyone on the street and they will point you in the right direction).

The night market moves to Jelutong on Friday nights, and Macallum on Monday nights.

View Farlim Night Market (Pasar Malam) in Penang in a larger map

A familiar smile

2010-11-09T04:58:00.000-08:00

Some faces you never forget.

20 years ago were erased in an instant when I heard a bicycle bell and the call, “Kuih ....ku..ih!" To my astonishment, on the other side of the road stood the old Indian uncle who sold kuih in the George Town neighborhood where I grew up. I walked over and smiled. He grinned back and nodded to the many types of kuih (Malaysian style snacks made from glutinous rice) in the basket on his bicycle cart.

He didn't remember me. I was just another kid who would dash out of her house in the middle of the day with a few coins, scrambling to get a sweet & savory afternoon snack. One of the many people he has sold kuih to over the past 50 years. He proudly announced, "I'm 78!" He didn't look a day younger, but his heart was young, still enjoying the smiles he receives from his happy customers.

As Penang rapidly changes, it's good to see some things have not.

Ready to Eat in Penang?! (George Town - Part 2)

2010-11-08T07:05:00.000-08:00

The feast continues...

Nasi Lemak (coconut rice) for breakfast at Sri Weld Food Court on Lebuh Pantai (Beach Street)
Lunch at Tree Shade Seafood Restaurant on Pengkalan Weld (Weld Quay) - across from the Ferry Terminal.
Fried Snacks at the Pisang Goreng stall at the Tan Clan Jetty along Pengkalan Weld.
Roti Canai & Charcoal Roasted Chapati for dinner at Restoran Sultania at 57 Lebuh Queen (Street).
Late supper of Wonton Mee at Lebuh Chulia (Street) hawkers.

For more information on these restaurants/stalls, please see our "Ready to Eat in George Town?!" list.

Continue to Part 3...

Beware of flying coconuts!

2010-11-07T08:11:00.000-08:00

There's something about slurping a coconut while sitting in a hole in the wall shophouse, with a pile of green and thai coconuts to your left, and your exit blocked by a guy with a machete chopping head-shaped fruits in half.

Welcome to Joez Coconut.

Once you’re done with the fresh coconut water, lob the fruit back at the worker and he will catch it in the air with his machete (get his attention first or you may knock him out). He'll split it for you and cut out a slab of husk so you can devour the sweet coconut flesh with the organic "spoon".

Not enough? Joez Coconut is home to the original "Penang Coconut Jelly", which is a must try.

Where: 201 Jalan Dato Keramat, 10150 Penang
Hours: 7am to 7pm every day
Website: http://joezcoconut.com.my/

For more information on street snacks in Penang, check out our "Ready to Eat in George Town?!" list.