Penang Peranakan food

I was chatting to my colleague just before our holiday to Penang and she kindly shared with me a few restaurants which she had been patronising on her own frequent visits to Penang.

Prawn Noodles at Malay Street

As a result, we ended up going to quite a few restaurants this visit to Penang!  Of course there is that seafood one which I wrote about in my last post.  But because of this, we ended up going to fewer hawker stalls (except for the Malay Street coffee shop which we went to THREE times to eat the famous Tiger Char Kway Teow and our favourite lor bak and prawn noodles, washed down with "ampala" juice - also known as "umbra" or "kedongdong").  I have to admit I have also stopped writing up on my Penang hawker experiences - it was getting a little repetitive but maybe next trip we will have to make an effort to revisit all the old favourites.

Food - from left to right: jiu hu char, inche kabin chicken,
assam fish head, rendang, hee peow soup, acar/otak/hae bee

Anyway, we are trying to work our way through the nonya restaurants in Penang and our first visit this trip was to Ivy’s Kitchen on Jalan Chow Thye.  This is a small family restaurant - Ivy’s the cook and her husband runs the front of house.  The restaurant is not that big so it might be good to make a reservation.

The food was excellent - we had the assam fish head, the jiu hu char (bangkwang or jicama fried with cuttlefish, and wrapped up in a lettuce leaf before eating); a beautiful creamy otak-otak, fried inche kabin chicken, achar, rendang (nice and tender) and hee peow (fish maw) soup. 

My favourites were definitely the otak - this was incredibly creamy and delicate, and the assam fish head - the gravy was so tasty and the dish was sprinkled liberally with bunga kantan (torch ginger). But everything was really very tasty and the portions were  generous (sized for our group of eight).  In summary, this is was authentic and yummy nonya food at reasonable prices.  We're coming back here.

Food (clockwise, from top right): Laksa,
Too-thor thng, assam fish, jiu hu char,
babi pongteh, fried mixed veg.

The next restaurant we went to was quite different - Richard Rivalee's, in M Mall.  Richard Rivalee is a well-known fashion designer in Penang but he learnt how to cook his grandmother's nonya recipes.  He started off with a small cafe beside his boutique but has now expanded to a larger restaurant in M Mall.  I didn't have time to visit the mall but from what I understand it is targeted at tourists and as such the shops mainly sell branded goods so I don't think I missed much! The restaurant itself is really very charmingly decorated, with lots of little Peranakan touches about the place such as the tiles on the walls, the kebaya clad mannequins and the Chinese couplets on either side of the doors. 

Food-wise, I have to say that the rempah/ gravy for all the dishes were really tasty and authentic.  But I was not too happy that a number of dishes were not available, for example the otak-otak, and the ikan purut (fish stomach), which I had been looking forward to!  Also, when I ordered the fish dishes, they were the same selar fish whether it was achar fish or assam fish (what I ended up ordering after finding out that the otak and ikan purut were both not available). 

Besides the two fish dishes, we had jiu hu char (again), babi pongteh (rather nice), and too-thor thng (peppery pig stomach soup).  We also had a rather interesting mixed vegetable dish - with four angle beans, petai beans, fried together with onions, sambal and prawns.

But what I really enjoyed was the assam laksa!  The gravy was rich yet piquant, and the helping was pretty generous too.  It's not quite a "pure" assam laksa as I think they added coconut milk, which would make this "laksa cham" or a cross between assam and lemak laksa.  Mmmm.... I could come back for this next year, too. 

Can't wait!

If you want to look at all my Penang food reviews, they are here.

Fresh Seafood in Tambun, Seberang Perai

Prawn Village, Tambun

My family has started making little trips to the Penang mainland on our annual trips and this year we decided to go to a seafood restaurant in Tambun.  Tambun is a little fishing village with just one major road running through it, and not much more.  But because it is on the river (Sungei Jawi), it gets a lot of seafood and therefore, seafood restaurants.

My Penang Uncle recommended Prawn Village, Tambun, and since he is the local we followed his advice.

The restaurant is not much to see from the roadside (see photo on the right).  But upon entering the restaurant, we were greeted by a wide expanse of water - the river runs just behind.  We were happy to have a table just by the river.

The river behind

Mantis prawns

True to its reputation, the restaurant wall is lined with tanks of water on the way in, each with its own inhabitants.  I didn’t go and examine them closely (I don’t want to know my dinner that well) but if you want to see some photos of the live seafood you can check them out here.

We ordered a range of dishes - prawns, fish (cooked steamboat style in a hot pot), mantis  prawns, clams, crab and the like.

I rather like the mantis prawns, which I have never noticed on menus in Singapore.  It’s not really a prawn per se, being more like a mini lobster/shellfish.  It gets its name from its larger pincers which apparently resemble those of the praying mantis insect.  As they are fast, and the pincers are sharp, these little shrimp are considered lethal predators, spearing or smashing their pray with the pincers before gobbling them up.

I had eaten it before on our previous trip to Nibong Tebal, cooked in sambal.  This time round, they were lightly battered and fried.  I would liken the texture of the meat to being a little more like crayfish than prawn, tender and delicate, quite contrary to its "lethal predator" image.   Just glad I didn’t have to deal with the big pincers!

Of course I also had masses of their delectable crab cooked with sambal chili but not smothered in sauce (which is Singapore style).  They gave us huge wooden mallets to crack open the shell.  Photos of the crab, and of some of the other dishes are below:

Chili crab

Clams in Chili and garlic

Lovely fresh fish, steamed Teochew style

Prawns with garlic

Stuffed Yu Tiao and Tau Hu

And the price?  I can tell you, that for a group as big as ours, the price can only be considered extremely reasonable, especially by Singapore standards.  Not gourmet cooking but well-cooked, tasty, super-fresh seafood dinner.

We went back to our hotel, full and happy 

Durian Daze in Penang

King of Kings

Another year, another durian holiday in Penang!

As is our family tradition, my extended family whipped out our schedules (on our respective phones), whilst eating our Chinese New Year lunch, to figure out when we could make our way to the Pearl of the Orient to feast on the fabled fruit (and other goodies) for four days, three nights.

By now, we have our routines down pat: the setting up of a common $ pot, the hiring of a van and driver to take us all around, the identification of a few nice peranakan restaurants for dinner, and of course our durian routines, which I summarise here in a few simple rules:

1.  Go in the morning.  Mornings are critical because these are when the durians which fall in the night are harvested and brought to the collection centres.  Later in the day, the durians would be less fresh and more importantly, the good ones would have been eaten by the tourists who got there in the morning.

At the durian collection centre 

2. Go to the farms and collection centres.  Avoid the city centre.   That’s where durian prices are jacked up in order to fleece all the tourists.  No self-respecting local goes there.

3.Go with a knowledgeable local.  Which could be a friend, family member or your driver.

Having said all that, be flexible should things go wrong or the durians run out.  Our group was turning up in two batches - the main group on Thurs morning, then another two the next morning.  As such, we decided to have our first batch of durian the afternoon of our arrival (breaking rule 1 above) as we would otherwise have to wait one whole day more before sampling the fruit..

We went off  first to a durian collection centre in Balik Pulau recommended by a friend.  Unfortunately, by the time we got there, it was a little late as they had run out of durians after setting aside the majority of the day’s durians for a durian party at a local hospital (in other words they were probably quite a reputed supplier, just our bad luck to appear late in the day).  So we had to go to a roadside stall we had passed earlier on, called Durian Kaki.  Easy to find as there is a gigantic inflatable durian right outside.

Durian Kaki 

Here, we had a good time feasting on King of Kings (really creamy, slightly fermented taste - *yums*, lots of meat on the seed), a rather good XO durian (another one with that alcoholic note) and Black Gold (bittersweet flavour) and one last one which I can’t remember as it was not impressive.  The King of Kings was really good so we ordered a second one - of course it is the most expensive of the lot but well, this is what we came to Penang for.

The next day was not a big durian day since we were waiting to meet up with our fellow travellers, but on Saturday we went off to a durian collection centre in Balik Pulau, followed by a durian stall.  There were just three of us (everyone else had gone off to Ipoh for the day).   My uncle was our "durian tour host". The durian collection centre had been recommended by a friend, but the selection was a bit limited (were we there a little late?). Anyway, we had Cheh Puay (green skin) and Ang Hae (red prawn) - both rather good. We then went to a small roadside stall where we had Hor Lor (gourd-shaped) which I found rather hard.  We also had a kampong durian, which as everyone knows is hit or miss and in our case it was a miss.

Cheh Puay (Green Skin)

My uncle then drove off to a private house which was also serving as a durian collection centre.  Quite interesting as the house was in the middle of a housing estate! I could just imagine the neighbours complaining in Singapore. 

Unfortunately "the boss" was not around and only one of the "couriers" was there.  So we could not buy any durians.  The house itself had a number of fruit trees (nangka I think) and one batch of rambutans had just come in. 

We also went and bought more durian (mostly Ang hae ) to bring to the people who went off to Ipoh.  They would eat it later, as dessert after our seafood dinner.  (More on that later).

So that’s all the durians we ate during our little jaunt this year.  I was quite amused subsequently to learn that my colleague was in Penang around the same time, staying at a durian farm (in a tree house at that).  Maybe an idea to explore for another time :-)

Peacocking around in blue

Peacocking

How I love a new kebaya!

When I visited Penang last year, I paid a visit to the lady who made me my first kebaya all those years ago.  I didn't order anything then - my cousin was theoretically the one buying the kebaya and  we were in a hurry so I didn't have much time to shop on my own account.  But after leaving Penang, and a number of WhatsApps later, I had asked the proprietor to bring over a few blue kebayas when she next came to Singapore.

It was a tough choice, with dragonflies, floral patterns and ducks all fighting for my attention.  But my interest was first piqued by a turquoise blue kebaya with a brilliantly coloured pair of peacocks on the front in golden yellow and orange.  I wore it around Christmas, over pants.  And to the Peranakan mass on Chinese New Year eve over my most favourite green sarong skirt.  But somehow they didn't quite go...

My blue and red combination

 So this latest visit to Penang, I made another visit to the shop and came away with an order for a sarong to match my kebaya.  It's most CNY appropriate, all reds and oranges.  It is also very different from my rather staid and boring sarongs of the past, which were green or purple.

And fortunately enough, my aunt gave me a pair of shoes which her Mother-in-law gave her and which she didn't really feel went with her own clothing.  But it went very nicely with my peacocks and sarong skirt!

As many people have admired my kebaya, what has also been happening is that I have been giving the name of my kebaya contact to various friends and relatives, and even a few colleagues.  And because she comes down to Singapore quite frequently to "deliver" to her customers, you don't even need to visit Penang!  As such, a lot of them have ended up making purchases and so now I have now indeed acquired "most favoured customer" status.  Indeed she is quite well reputed, as her designs are quite unusual and different from the rather standard designs you get in the mass manufactured kebaya shops.  Of course, you pay a little more but I think it is well worth it.  You can find out more about County Fair Boutique on its Facebook page and also on Time Out.

I have to admit that my last visit, I didn't just buy a kebaya but also a chili hot cheongsam with beautiful embroidery below.  So maybe come Chinese New Year, there will be another photo update of my embroidered purchases.

Mum's Nyonya Cuisine, Penang

For a Peranakan haven like Penang, it can be surprisingly difficult to get good Peranakan food.  As my uncle said, "home food is best".
So Penang Peranakan families don't go out that much and it is not so easy to find a good Peranakan restaurant in Penang!  Last year, we visited this interesting restaurant near our hotel, in Nordin Street with its unique home environment, genial host and personal demonstration by his mother.  This time round, we were fortunate to have a good, authentic nyonya meal at Mum's Nyonya Cuisine which my relatives took us to.

This is my third food post out of the three posts on this Penang trip, and actually I could go on since I've not really completely covered my hawker food experience (aside from the "Balik Pulau" laksa mention). But then, I've a few earlier posts on this subject from previous visits too, and it is getting a little bit same-same.  I have however put up the shots on my Penang album on Flickr - so if you are interested, do hop over to take a look for what I ate at Jelutong Market, Kimberly Street and the eternal favourite,  New Lane Coffee Shop.

But since I haven't that many restaurant reviews, I'm pleased to devote this post all to Mum's Nyonya Restaurant.  Many Singaporeans are confused by Penang nyonya food because it has marked differences from the Singapore-Malacca brand of Peranakan cuisine.  For example, the use of "assam" flavours rather than "lemak" flavours (its a question of degree; of course Penang food has coconut as well just less so) and the more extensive variety of herbs used.  The influences are Thai, rather than Indonesian (so buah keluak lovers, I am afraid that your favourite dish is not so common here), although some all time favourites like beef rendang find their way everywhere!

Anyway, this is a good place to enjoy the Penang specialities, such as the acar fish (see the recipe here) which is a deep fried fish in a vinegary sauce (which pickles it, hence the name "acar"), and Ju Hu Cha (Cuttlefish strips fried with turnip/carrot/mushroom and rolled in a lettuce leaf) etc.  I also was introduced to a new dish, ikan purut or a fish belly dish cooked with lots of herbs and vegetables.  It is a Penang specialty, which is rather fiddly to cook so it is not surprising that many restaurants don't serve it.  ( See a recipe for ikan purut here.)  These are indeed unique dishes which are not really served in the Singapore Nonya restaurants here, so please do give them a try when in Penang.  After all, what's the point of going to Penang and then trying to look for all the Singapore-style dishes!

Ju Hu Cha

Achar Fish

Ikan Purut

But every dish was yummy and I truly enjoyed the meal.  The slight let down was dessert - not much choice and quite unmemorable (I don't remember what I had and didn't take a photo, which just goes to show how unmemorable I found it).

Better than the food was the company.  The Singapore delegation and our Penang relatives filled two large tables of the little restaurant.  One of my Penang uncles told us little stories about our family during the meal.  How our distant relative, who had been expelled from Indonesia during Confrontation and went back to China, managed to find his way to Penang and to our family home in Malay Street.  Although it had been so many years since his last visit, he remembered the name of the street in Hokkien (apparently, it is called "Thai Gu Hang") and once there, he recognised the house.  He waited outside for some time till my uncle returned and finally he was able to reunite with this branch of the family.  Since then, my Penang relatives hosted a family reunion in Penang and also visited their family members in China.  Because some used to live in Indonesia, they speak some Bahasa and still retain their Hokkien (in addition to Mandarin).  So they are able to communicate with my relatives (who don't speak Mandarin, only English, Bahasa and Hokkien!)  According to my uncle, they remember his great-grandfather (my great-grandfather) very fondly due to the assistance he had rendered them in their times of need.

After dinner, we went back to the family house.  My sister and brother-in-law had never visited before so for them, it was indeed a special experience.  My uncle showed us the improvements he had made since his last visit (he is a self-taught home restorer) and it is indeed impressive to see the progress he makes each time we visit.  Indeed it is the chance to reconnect with our Penang relatives which make each visit back so special.

Not such a slow durian season

As was the case last year, our visit to Penang was timed to coincide with what we hoped would be the peak of the durian season.  Unfortunately, as related my previous post, the lack of rainfall had caused a late and small durian harvest. This had prevented us from feasting on Orh Chi or "Black Thorn" durians when we visited Nibong Tebal.  Does this mean however that we were totally deprived of durians?  The answer, fortunately, is no.

It was a slow start.  We found a roadside stall on our way back from Nibong Tebal which sold "kampong" durian and a small selection of other durian varieties, which we brought back to my uncle's place for a light snack. The "kampong" durian is really from one of those wild roadside durian trees which people then pick up to sell.   They were not the creamiest nor richest in flavour.  But nonetheless we dug in enthusiastically and within minutes the durians were all gone amongst our large group.

We also had the chance to savour other yummy goodies as well, including the fermented rice snack called tapeh.  It's not easy to get in Singapore (unless you go to the Katong Antique House on East Coast Road which sometimes sells this on a Sunday morning) and is also not that common in Malaysia these days.  But of course my relatives know where to find it in Penang.  I have to say it is an acquired taste, but since my Father has been buying it off and on for years, we have somehow acquired it.  (My sister remembers him feeding it to her as a little girl!).

I also did not mention earlier that the other motivation behind our trip to Balik Pulau was of course to eat durians!  The hills behind the town apparently provide a conducive environment and geography for durians - the right amount of sunshine, drainage, etc.  Here, we could forget all about the late and small harvest.  The durian trees grow in the wild on either side of the road, as it wound through the hills.  My aunts kept telling me that there were durians all around but obviously you need to develop an eye since I only saw the very obvious ones where they were clearly visible against the sky behind.

The durian plantations on the hill typically have their own little stalls on the roadside where customers can sit and eat.  This is what we did last year.  This year, we ended up in the Bao Shang Wang durian plantation stall because my uncle's cousin's Friend owns it. We drove down this really steep road to get to the sheltered terrace where we would eat our durians.  Wow!  It was the first time I've ever eaten durians with such a gorgeous view in front of me!

View from Bao Sheng

Khun Po durian

What was truly very different, however, was the clientele.   Here, in the hills on the other side of Penang, a long car journey from the nearest town, was a bunch of skinny, tanned, Ang Moh Lang dressed like hippies!  Helping sort and clean durians, eating the durians, helping clear away the durian skins and seeds!   Apparently the Bao Sheng durian folk also do some homestay and somehow these chaps found out about it and come to stay.  It was a strange, somewhat surreal experience as I would never have expected to see so many non-Asians so far away from the main tourist spots and eating durians to boot!  It certainly bust the stereotype of the Ang Moh who can't abide the sight nor smell of durian.

Besides human beings, there were a number of dogs wandering around the place.  One or two were the "house dogs"; collared, sleek, plump. Others were strays; skinny, dirty.  Somehow they seemed fairly tame too.

So what did we eat?  We ate (in order of ascending sweetness) : D604; Xiao Hong (a rather orangey colour rather than red); and Khun Po (named after the gentleman who first cultivated it).  The folks who didn't eat durian (yes there were some in our party) were given watermelon and bananas.  We washed down everything with tea.

More durian sampling

And that was not all.  Apparently my uncle's cousin went somewhat overboard and arranged for us to visit a second plantation.  Ummm.... instead we got him to deliver the durians back to my uncle's place and he took them to our family home in Georgetown.  Where we ate them the next day!  Washed down with Chinese tea, to cleanse and refresh the palate, to better savour the next different durian variety.  Alongside, for the non-durian eaters were chiku, pomelo, and other tropical fruits.  Plus another unusual Penang kueh-kueh called "Ee yah kueh".   

So small harvest aside, we still managed to have a most satisfying durian holiday.

The Other Side of Penang

Early this month, my extended family went back again to Penang for our annual visit.  This year, we had our largest group yet - my Dad, my uncle and two aunties, and five of us from the next generation (including two spouses)!  We met up with my Dad's Penang cousins, and went for our normal, extended foodie experience.

The family house

This year, however, we did things a little differently.  i.e., not just the Penang hawker food binge.  For the first time, we went to "the mainland".  For the uninitiated, the State of Penang is not just one island (Pulau Pinang) but extends also to a small region on the mainland, historically known as "Province Wellesley" in the days of the British and now called Seberang Perai.

It turned out to be quite an interesting drive.  We took the new second link to the mainland - an impressive causeway which is much longer than the first link, and with much less traffic too.  It's always nice to get a feel of the place, driving through the country and seeing what there is to see - not just the normal palm oil plantations but also factories, reminding me that Penang is one of Malaysia's manufacturing hubs.

We had a clear mission for our visit to the mainland.  First, to see if we could visit the family home of my great grandmother (father's mother's mother) in the little town of Nibong Tebal.  At the same time, to eat durians - the elusive "Orh Chih" or "Black Thorn", which apparently was first grown in Nibong Tebal and where therefore the best of this variety is found.  Lastly, we were going to eat yummy seafood in one of the well known seafood restaurants in the area.

Well, at least we managed one out of three!  This year's durian season is a little late.  There was not enough rain and so the harvest is also small.  So there was no "Black Thorn" available.  As for the family home, it turns out that it is hidden behind a row of shophouses.  Access is through a gap in the shophouses but it has now been blocked by one of those shuttered grilles across the entrance.  As we had not called ahead or attempted to contact the residents earlier, we could only peek at it from between the grilles.  Fortunately, the house looked quite well preserved (at least from the outside).

So we were left with lunch.  Fortunately this did not let us down.  Law Cheang Kee is well known for its excellent seafood and as we were early (due to the lack of durian and lack of access to the house), had no problem getting a table.  The restaurant filled up whilst we were there and people were waiting.  This is really a small town so the patrons must have driven from the surrounding areas to get here on their lunch hour.  Our pomfret was beautifully fresh, steamed to perfection and the other seafood dishes were really tasty and flavourful.  Everything was well cooked and I have to say that it was worth the lengthy drive.

Removing the peanut skins

Neither did we walk away empty-handed.  Nibong Tebal is well known, it appears, for its traditional Teochew biscuit shop Chop Chuan Guan, where biscuits are still made by hand every day.     It is like a factory, with a row of biscuit makers sitting in a row in the main shop.  In the shop next door, a girl was removing the peanut skins from the roasted peanuts.  It was quite fascinating, watching her skilfully and efficiently toss the peanuts on a large flat basket, till the skins separated from the peanuts.

The shop is famous for its unique and rare "duck neck" biscuit, or "ark-am"!  This biscuit has a crunchy peanut core, with a soft outer layer, and covered with a layer of peanuts.  It is rolled up into a thin roll and cut into long pieces, hence the name.  Certainly, no ducks were harmed in the making of this biscuit :-)  It is really quite yummy so I can understand the brisk business - visitors were coming in whilst we were looking around it, just to get a package of their favourite tau sar piah or ark-am.   Which is what I did, too.  I should have bought another packet!  Ah well, hopefully there will be a next time.

The next day, we went to Balik Pulau.  Balik Pulau literally means "back of the island" or "go back to the island".  It's literally on the opposite side of the island from Georgetown and there's a totally different, laid back atmosphere here.  But things are changing, as new developments are encroaching on this little town.  There's even an international school, the "Prince of Wales Island International School" which boards students whose families are presumably working in the region.

"Laksa cham"

We came here to eat the famed Balik Pulau laksa at Kim Seng Kopitiam.  But I have to admit that I did not eat the traditional laksa.  Instead, I had Penang Assam Laksa mixed with the lemak curry laksa (which we get in Singapore).  Here, they call it "laksa cham" and you can ask for it in stalls which sell both laksa varieties.  I really like the way the lemak gravy is livened up by the tangy assam gravy.

I was expecting to eat in one of those small street stalls but it was in a rather modern coffee shop.  We went for another bowl at a nearby hawker centre, where we also drank ampala and ate pasembur (the Indian rojak of Penang).  It was similar to our Singapore hawker centres.  Not so "balik" after all!

Overall, I enjoyed our visits to Nibong Tebal and Balik Pulau.  It took us to a very different side of Penang, outside Georgetown and away from the beaches where the tourists congregate.  A sense of what Singapore used to be like, and indeed what the bigger cities in Malaysia used to be like.  Hopefully, even as Penang continues to grow and develop, these little towns will continue to retain some of their charm and unique little gems like Law Cheang Kee and Chop Chuan Guan.  Looking forward to going back to Nibong Tebal for more food treats and of course, to see my great-grandmother's home in all its glory...

More photos (including food shots) on my Penang album on Flickr.

Tea on the Hill

Penang from Above

The last time I went up Penang Hill, I was around eight or nine years old.  My family is not big on holidays but we were on a week-long visit to Penang.  I remember us being taken around by our relatives, visiting the Snake temple and looking at the turtles at another temple. My brother was given a pair of terrapins by my grandaunt and somehow he managed to smuggle them back to Singapore, carrying them up the plane without being detected.  (We would have successive pairs of terrapins in the house for years, with the last one dying a few months ago aged about 20 years old).

The Funicular over the years

But one of the highlights of our stay had to be our visit to Penang Hill. For my brother and I, it was a real adventure to sit the little funicular railroad, chugging its way up the hill, as we watched the ground fall away beneath us as we moved ever higher and higher.  We stayed overnight in the little hotel there and I remember waking up and walking (and running) around on a misty morning - it was so strange and exciting for two children from sunny and humid Singapore. We never realised it could be so cold even without air-con!!  

Penang Hill today is very different.  There has been two changes in the funicular system since I last went there (this old poster really made me feel old).  No more chugging - its a smooth fast ride to the top.  The area is also a lot more developed, with an impressive viewing platform and far more little shops and stalls.  

English afternoon tea

It was a busy day, with everyone wanting a day on the hill that Saturday afternoon, so we queued for quite some time to make our way to the funicular.  But the journey up was worth it for the panoramic view of Penang.  And the beautiful flowering plants, which flourish in the cooler air.

Of course, my greedy family members were more interested in food than botany. David Brown's Terrace at Strawberry Hill for our tea. David Brown's is an old colonial bungalow, where presumably the British stayed whenever they couldn't stand the heat of the tropics any longer.  The area was formerly used for growing strawberries, hence the former name of Strawberry Hill.  We had ourselves an English afternoon tea of scones, sandwiches and dainty little pastries, eaten sitting by the "infinity pond" and the butterflies flying around us. Ah, the British influences are still alive and well in this corner at the top of Penang.

We walked around the hilltop a little before going down.  It was nice to see a mosque and a Hindu temple here, side by side, looking down on the city below.  But we had our driver waiting for us below and soon we found ourselves back in our funicular railway.  I stood in the front of the car and believe me, it's a lot more exciting than going up. 

Check out my other photos of Penang Hill here.

A Penang Nonya Meal

Little Kitchen@Noordin Street

Surprising as it may seem, I have never had a meal at a good Nonya restaurant in Penang.  One reason is because of our insistence of chasing down every single lead we have on yummy hawker food.  Another reason is that my Penang relatives keep on talking about how "home cooking" beats all the restaurants hollow.  So they don't really have good suggestions for us.  Lastly, there are other good Chinese restaurants in Penang (eg the time I had a simple, tasty Hainanese meal).

So this time round we made special efforts to find a good Nonya restaurant to host dinner for our relatives.  After consultations/online research etc etc we finally found "Little Kitchen@Nyonya" which was located just behind our hotel.  The sheer convenience sold it for us.  

Lucky Bat

Having said that, there are a good number of reviews of the Little Kitchen online, such as this one. Set in a residential area, the restaurant is a family-run business and they run it from their own home.  All the restaurant "staff" are family members, with the host/owner Mr Loh taking the orders, his mother, wife and other family members doing the cooking and serving of the food.

The restaurant is actually the front reception room of the family home.  The family used to run a bird's nest business and there are samples of the nests on the walls and in big jars standing on the tops of the cabinets in the home.  Evidently the business did well, as this is a beautiful home - large, ornately decorated in the Peranakan style.  Cast-iron grilles adorn the windows and doors, and the rooms are decorated with beautiful plaster mouldings and with lucky symbols such as the bat (which represents the five fortunes of good health, wealth, longevity, virtuousness and a peaceful death) on the pillars. The furniture looks mostly antique - from the old carved cabinets, the massive dark wooden chairs, the wood-and-marble day bed, etc etc.  It looks and feels like what it is - a traditional family home.

Family dining table, also used when the diners overflow
restaurant area

An ornate screen separates the restaurant area from the family area. Whilst the restaurant is meant to be confined in the front reception room, on busy nights, it overflows into the family dining area behind.  The kitchen is traditionally located at the back of a peranakan house but in this case, they moved it to the adjacent garage/driveway to be nearer to the dining area.  Not many households would have had a car in those days, so you can tell that this was indeed a well-off family!

There is a set dinner of about 8 dishes (a soup, vegetables, chicken, prawns, fish, curry, meat, rice) for RM128 per person.  There's a 5 dish set as well, and a more expensive set but this is the one we chose.  Food is traditional Penang nonya, cooked by the women of the family.  According to the owner, Mr Loh, they decided to start up the restaurant because his mother was lonely and bored after her Husband died and she had no one to cook for.  She's now in her eighties and still going strong!

Mrs Loh senior preparing Nasi Ulam

The food also comes with free flow of drinks - nutmeg (hot and cold), longan tea and green tea.  Prepared in advance, you can help yourself from the large thermos flasks on the sideboard.  There's kueh kueh to start off with, and dessert to end up with.  After our kueh kueh, dinner proper started off a traditional nasi ulam, the mixture of rice and finely chopped herbs and dried prawns which I've written about in an earlier post.  This is indeed the highlight of the meal, where Mrs Loh senior slices and dices the herbs finely whilst we watch and admire her knife skills.  Mr Loh explains the dish and presents the herbs which are used in the dish.  He even gives a little quiz and hands out a prize to my aunt, who gave the right answer.  Together, they give a polished performance.  Mr Loh admits that his mother still won't let him wield the knife as she says his knife skills just aren't good enough.  Light, fresh and tasty, the nasi ulam doesn't last long as we eat it with gusto.

The other dishes come quick and fast - pig's trotted soup, chincalok pork, prawn and pineapple curry, my favourite four-angled beans and lady's fingers with sambal, kari kapitan (chicken curry),  and the tangy achar fish.  We finished off with pulot hitam, the black glutinous rice porridge served with coconut milk.  The food won't win any prizes for presentation ("plating" is certainly not a concept known in the Peranakan kitchen), but for good, hearty traditional home-cooked nyonya food - this is a winner.  

More photos on Flickr.

We're all going on a durian holiday

Durians in my uncle's house in Georgetown

Durians, durians!   For a number of years now, the ambition was to go on a family holiday to Penang to eat durians.  Finally (after some shoving from my cousin) we fixed the dates at Christmas, bought tickets in February and made it down at end July.  As always, it was our opportunity to catch up with family members and also find new places to eat.

But first, our main target: the durians.  My cousin was all for pre-planning, identifying the best durian stalls/farm.  Which we did, somewhat.  But at the end it was not really necessary.  My Penang Uncle said that the stalls in town were "not good value", his code phrase for "too expensive" and bought our first batch of durians for us on Day 1 (a friend of a friend brought them in from the farm).

Durian cultivars, Malay names

On Day 2, our MPV driver (we hired an MPV) drove us to a roadside stall somewhere near Balik Pulau where we ate durians fresh off the farm.  Don't ask me where - I have no idea.  One road in the hills looks much like another. 

What's the big deal about durians in Penang, the uninitiated might ask.  First, obviously it is the freshness of the durians - just off the farm.  Second, the sheer range and variety of durians available.  And I'm not talking about the standard D24 or Mao Shan Wang (although these are definitely available).  Penang durian farmers take pride in cultivating new and unique durians, with names such as  "Ang Hae", "Cheh Pui", "Or Chih", "Capri" and many others (the first two are Hokkien phrases meaning "red prawn", "green skin" and "black thorn"). The names are also translated into Malay (literal translations).  See more information here and here.

Our roadside stall

A true connoisseur would probably have a good time sampling each durian as though it were a rare wine and recording tasting notes to better recall the distinctive texture, flavour and colour of each cultivar.  Alas, my family members are clearly not true connoisseurs as our only instinct was to eat as fast as we could in order to get our (un)fair share of durians before the flies got on them and the other members of our greedy group got to them.  Nonetheless, it was indeed a truly memorable gastronomic experience up there in the cool hilltops of Penang, enjoying the rich flavours and yummy goodness of the King of Fruit.

Sadly, there was no Day 3 feasting as we were due to return to Singapore.  We'll have to wait till durian season comes around next year.

Penang Roots

I had the pleasure recently of returning to Penang together with my extended family, to visit relativees there.  I had  earlier written about my previous visit to Penang.  This time around, our extended family trip made it easier for my cousin and I to get in touch with our Penang relatives.

My great-great grandparents
and my great-grandfather (on the right)

It was also a good opportunity for me to find out more about my paternal  grandmother and her family. According to family lore, it was my great-great-great grandfather who came to Penang.  His portrait hangs in the family home, dressed in the robes of a Mandarin.  His son, my great-great-grandfather, had a few children.  How many, I am not sure - but this photo (on the left) shows my great-great-grandparents with two of their sons - one of whom was my great-grandfather.  His  daughter would become my grandmother.  (Incidentally, the photo in the picture is actually a replica of the original - why it is relatively unfaded still.  The original, much  faded, is displayed opposite to this replica.) My great-great grandparents also had (at least) one daughter.  She would become my paternal grandfather's mother - as mentioned previously, my paternal grandparents were first cousins.

Front door

My great-grandfather married a KL girl.  She had three children, one boy and two girls.  But sadly, he died young, leaving his wife to bring up the children.  Two of them would stay in Penang, but my grandmother moved down to Singapore after her marriage to my grandfather.  But whilst she may have left physically, she would retain her Penang nonya upbringing all her life - always wearing her sarong kebaya.  And of course, according to her children, she was an excellent cook!

It was thus a nostalgic journey back to Penang, to revisit our family home, with its portraits on the wall of my ancestors.  It is not a magnificent mansion like the Pinang Peranakan mansion, just the home of a more humble Baba merchant and his family.  It is a traditional home, with the carved wooden doors opening into the reception room, containing the family altar, and ornate peranakan furniture, some of which are still there today.  (Supplemented by the desktop computer and printer in one corner of course).

Behind the reception room, the house opens up into the family areas, lit up by the airwell which lit up the interior of the home.  The plants and water feature bring the outdoors indoors, a quiet oasis in busy Georgetown.

My great-grandmother's pillow

My Penang uncle has spent quite a lot of time and effort restoring his home and also in supplementing his collection of antiques and curios - many displayed in his cabinets and on his shelves.  Some have sentimental value - in particular this little leather pillow, which was used by my great-grandmother for many years.  Hmmm... I must say give me my nice soft fluffy pillow anytime!  Note also the little pair of slippers on the right.

I venture to think, that if my great-grandfather were to come back today, he would still feel that he was in familiar surroundings.  A homecoming indeed.

More photos together with others of my Penang visit(s) here.

Penang Food Trails - Five Years on

My extended family decided to make a group visit to Penang - to meet up with relatives there, and of course to fill up on gorgeous hawker food!  Since the last time I went down was some five years ago, thought it was high time for me to join in.  Indeed, there have been changes in Penang since my last visit.  New shopping malls (First Avenue), nice new pavements down Penang Road, that sort of thing.  But thankfully, the variety and quality of the street food is as memorable as ever.

The good thing about meeting up with Penang natives is that they always know where the best food is and can take you there. I had a really good time during my last visit to Penang but most of the eateries were near or off Penang Road, with one trip down to Guerney Drive (see my previous post).  This time round, we really were able to explore more parts of the island...  Read on for the yummy details:

1.  New Lane coffee shop, off MacAlister Street

Batu Maung Satay
- no peanut sauce required

Our first stop, after we got out of the hotel.  We had a real feast, with traditional favourites like Penang Kway Teow, Poh Piah, Dumpling soup etc. And more familiar dishes, but with a twist only seen in Penang - like Batu Maung Satay (the meat has been really steeped in a tangy marinade and beautifully grillled so that it retains the moisture  and flavour inside) and Char Kuay Kak (Chai Tow Kuay with prawns and squid).  I also had a nourishing bowlful  of itek mee sua - duck meat in a herbal soup and mee sua.  For the first time, I also had a ambola or kedongdong drink with a little sim boay floating in it.  The sharp sour flavour really complemented the savoury food well. 

2. Lorong Kucing coffee shop

Sinful goodness - Roti Babi

My cousin, after her last family trip to Penang, came back raving about the Roti Babi here.  For the uninitiated, Roti Babi is indeed a mouthful of sinful (cholesterol and fat-laden) goodness.  But heck, it's once every few years!  Take two thick pieces of bread, stuff the minced pork filling in between, cover in breadcrumbs and deep fry.  Since we had about 10 people, we ordered something like 5 plates of the roti babi and much more besides, including appom telor, curry mee, more char kway teow and poh piah, wan tan mee etc etc.  We probably over-ordered and over-ate.  But again, who is counting the calories! 

3. Batu Lancang Hawker Centre

Pasembur

We made another stop at Batu Lancang Hawker centre, near my aunties' home.  Here, the dish to try is the pasembur,  an Indian rojak prepared Chinese-style.  Confusing?  It's just Asian fusion food.  Crispy crackers, potatoes, fritters, tau kwa and cucumber, topped with a sauce made of sweet potato and strips of cuttle fish. This large hawker centre is also apparently where another cousin's favourite Penang Kway Teow is (he eats three plates at one sitting).  And yes, I did have a plateful of this tasty dish.  Whilst it's not durian season, we also bought a few trays' worth from the nearby market.

4. Malay Street Coffee Shop 

Mee Sua Kor

This coffee shop, at the corner of Malay Street and Carnavaron Road has a whole range of yummy goodies. For the first time, I tried mee sua kor, mee sua in a thick gravy with strips of crab meat and other meats.  I'd never heard of it before but I really hope to be able to find its like in Singapore.  It was here also that I had my first serving of prawn mee soup on this trip - somehow, a good prawn mee is harder to find than the ubiquitous Penang Kway Teow.  Lots of Oommph.  My Penang uncle said that there was a better prawn mee down the street.  But I really was not complaining.  We slurped it down in double-quick time. Another great dish to try here is the Ngor Hiang/Lor Bak - succulent, flavourful meats.

5.  Penang Road (again)

Keng Pin's Ngor Hiang 

Well, back to Penang Road.  Old favourites such as the Penang Laksa and chendol at Lebuh Keng Kwee, and the Ngor Hiang and prawn fritters (my personal fave) at Keng Pin coffee shop up the street were still there.  My family savoured a pig organ soup in Ho Ping coffee shop too.  It's not for nothing that our hotel was on this street!

What was my total food tally?  Bear in mind that this list covers only what I personally ate/sampled (over the course of about three days), and figures in brackets refer to the stalls I went to:

Penang Kway teow (4)

Roti Babi (1)

Pasembur(1)

Itek with mee sua (1)

Chendol (2)

Durian (1)

Pohpiah(2)

Lor bak/ngor hiang(3)

Appom(1)

Yam/split green bean fritters (1); 

Dumpling soup (1)

Kuen kosui (1)

Mee Sua Kor (1)

Satay - Normal (1)

Satay - Batu Maung (1)

Offal Soup (1)

Porridge (offal) (1)

Zi char veggies (1)

Assam laksa (1) 

Prawn Mee (1)

Char Kuay Kak (1)

Smoked Chicken Waffle (1)

Nasi lemak (1) - at airport!

Will put up more photos on Flickr page when ready.  In the meantime, drool away...

(Update: Photos up here!)