10 Things I Ate in Penang

Food in Penang is cheap. Hawker stalls and carts are everywhere selling plates, bundles, and bags of edibles. Penang has been dubbed the Food Capital of Malaysia. With the conglomeration of Chinese, Malay, Muslim, colonial British, and Indian cultures in this part of the world, the food options in Penang are abundant to the verge of overwhelming. And did I mention cheap? 

Let me share with you 10 things I ate and drank during our visit.

Nasi Ayam AKA Chicken Rice

Popular in Singapore and Malaysia, chicken rice is a staple dish in food courts and hawker stalls. The chicken has been steeped in just below boiling point pork and chicken bone stock with loads of ginger. The same type of broth is used to cook the rice the chicken is served with though it's not necessarily the broth that the chicken meat has been cooked in. To me, this is comfort food. It reminds me of my mom's chicken soup (tinibuok nga manok). This is more readily available and affordable. This meal from The Chicken Rice Shop at the mall was under US$4.

Curry Puffs

Curry puff stall just outside the wet market

Stuffed with thick curry chicken and potatoes, this popular Malaysian snack is very similar to empanadas. The vendor we got curry puffs from was set up just outside the wet market referred to as the "rich wives' market." Crispy, flaky, and a bit spicy, curry puffs are the perfect on-the-go snack. Personally, give me 3 of these things, and I will call it a meal.

Deep-fried Seabass

Since we were on an island, I have been wanting to eat fish. When I saw this on the menu at Monkey Tree, the Tropical Spice Garden's Restaurant, I could not pass up the opportunity. The fish was perfectly fried -- crispy on the outside and juicy flesh on the inside. It was then topped with some crispy veggies and garlic and served with a sauce consisting of lime, onions, a TON of garlic, and chilis. This was only US$8. And I ate it all of it ... except for the head.

Cinnamon Rolls

My sweet-tooth husband wanted to eat it all in one big bite.

Located in beautiful Nagore Square, Continental Bakery makes and serves these cinnamon rolls warm and still stuck to each other if you order multiples. We ordered 4 and pulled them apart ourselves, which I think is part of the fun. I love how these cinnamon rolls are not bathed in cream cheese frosting. Doughy, cinnamony, and all around yummy, I can certainly see why my mother-in-law feels the need to impose a one per month limit on these treats.

Cendol

Don't be alarmed. What you're seeing here is a delicious dessert made with shaved ice, sweet red beans, coconut milk, and jelly noodles. The noodles are made of rice flour and pandan, which gives it its green color. We popped into Guan Seang Cafe located right across one of the more popular murals in Georgetown. I just spent a good 15 minutes outside waiting in line for my photo op with the mural, so I was melting. I could feel drops of sweat running down my back. Costing only four and a half ringgits (US$1.02), this refreshing treat was probably one of the best bang for my buck (literally). 

Nutmeg Drinks

Nutmeg juice, nutmeg juice + pineapple juice, and nutmeg soda

While I do know that this part of the world was the center of the spice trade, I didn't realize that nutmeg is such a big thing around here as a drink. I had nutmeg soda, nutmeg juice mixed with pineapple juice, and just straight-up iced (though sweetened) nutmeg juice. All of these I enjoyed very much. It's SO good, and refreshing. I have always associated nutmeg with baking, but now, I am all about it as a drink.

Lamb Bamieh

Lamb and okra stew

The origins of this dish can be traced as far back as the ancient Assyrians. This lamb and okra stew is also a popular dish among the Persians. I had this dish at a place called Jawi House, which prides itself as an establishment that serves Peranakan food. This explanation from the restaurants website sums it up all so well: 

Peranakan is a Malay word which means 'locally born' or 'indigenous' and refers to the offspring of Indian, Arab, Turkish and Persian migrants who married local Malay women. Jawi is a term used by Arabs to mean "Muslims of Southeast Asia", in particular Malays who used the Jawi Arabised script, since the 11th to the present century.

The lamb in this dish was tender and didn't have that game-y smell. I'm particular about my lamb. It was served with 4 giant slices of crusty Benggali bread. And all this for only 18 Malaysian Ringgits, which is about US$4.07 with the current exchange rate.  Cheap!

Nasi Lemak

Another one considered a national dish of Malaysia, nasi lemak's literal translation is fatty rice. When I unwrapped this pyramid like package that my mother-in-law got for me for breakfast, I was not entirely sure what I was going to find. After I freed it from its banana leaf wrapping, I dug into it with gusto. While I've never had nasi lemak before, I was able to identify everything that was in it: rice, fried little anchovies, peanuts, sambal paste, and a fried egg. I like all of these things on their own, so I knew I wouldn't mind eating them all mixed together. It was salty, greasy, and loaded with sodium, but I would eat it again. 

Teh Tarik AKA Pulled Tea 

In Bahasa, the word tarik means pull. You see this word a lot on door handles. This milk tea beverage got its name from the "pulling" process that creates the froth. The mixture is poured back and forth between two vessels from a height. The stall where we got this yummy drink was located in Little India. The guy preparing the tea noticed me taking pics, so he actually clued me in as to when to take the photo as he started doing the pulling process. We got our drink to take-away. This was the first time I had a hot drink served in a plastic bag with a draw string to wrap it around your wrist. They think of everything! It tasted a lot like the Thai iced teas we get at Thai restaurants back home except this was hot.

KFC for Breakfast  

Wait, what?! You're probably wondering why Kentucky Fried Chicken is even on here. Well, friends, when you're at the airport at 6:30 in the morning, your decision making capacity is not quite all up to snuff. This was the first joint we saw after we checked in for our flight to Krabi. Did I regret it? Not even slightly. KFC does not serve breakfast where we live, so this was a unique experience in itself. My friends know how much I love fried chicken, so an opportunity to eat fried chicken with rice, topped with a fried egg, with a side of sambal for breakfast is all too good to pass. Also this KFC doesn't give you the choice of crispy or original. Instead, the choices are spicy or not spicy. I got spicy, of course. I wish this was available in the US, but on second thought, it's probably better for my health. This only set us back 10 ringgits or $2.26.

That wraps up my Penang food roundup. I hope you enjoyed it. Don't worry. I am aware that I will have to attend more yoga classes a week just to prevent my arteries from clogging when I get back.

XOXO