The Peranakans in Phuket Town

The Marriott Beach Scene

Kitchenette and dining area

My friend invited me to join her for a stay in Marriott's Phuket Beach Club, where she is a member.

We had a lovely 2-bedroom apartment, complete with a little kitchenette, dining and living area.  It was a cosy little place, and as there were only the two of us, we had our own rooms and our privacy.

The resort has a private beach, but as it is jellyfish season, no swimming was allowed.  In any case, the waves looked pretty rough to me.  But it was very pleasant to walk down the beach, looking at the horizon where the sea meets the sky. And to sit by the private pool, with the pool boys bringing around water and the occasional snack (like watermelon).

The resort runs shuttles to Phuket Town and Patong, so we visited both places.  Phuket Town is the civic centre in Phuket, where the government buildings are and where the early Chinese migrants settled. I have been to Phuket before, but never to Phuket Town and so this was the first time I actually learnt that Phuket was a major settlement for Chinese migrants to South East Asia.  According to this site, they were drawn by the burgeoning tin industry.  The Peranakan community prospered and apparently about 70% of Phuket's residents have Peranakan roots!   Hence, here in southern Thailand, we saw Peranakan architecture, clothing and food similar to that of Singapore, Malacca and most of all Penang.

Night Market, Phuket Town

But before exploring Phuket Town, we had to have a massage.  We went to Kim's, which has a number of establishments in Phuket Town and I have to admit it was excellent.  And much, much cheaper than the resort spa (of course).  The ambience is not so serene and restful, but the massage itself really released all the tension in my muscles and back.

We then proceeded to the little "Chinatown".  We had come deliberately on Saturday evening so as to be able to go for the Sunday Night Market in Phuket Town.  I could just imagine myself in Malacca - the Peranakan shophouses either side, the food and souvenir stalls and crowds bustling around.  Buskers sang and their music filled the air.  We walked around, taking in the atmosphere and feeling the buzz.

China Inn, Phuket Town

Later on, we had dinner at China Inn - a restaurant in another old shophouse.  The walls were decorated with old photos - I assume of the family who owned the restaurant - with the ladies all dressed in their Baju Panjang and the men in their western suits.

The food was not so much Nonya as Thai though - we had fish cakes, stuffed chicken wings (yummy), fried brinjal and green curry.  We also had a coconut each - the flesh was young and tender, easy to remove, and the coconut water was so refreshing.  We ended up having coconuts at practically every meal thereafter!

The next day we went off to Patong, famous for its beach and its sex show strip.  We spent enough time on the beach to take a few photos and walked straight through the sex show strip.  We were here for other reasons - like shopping and food!  I bought quite a few packets of Thai sauces (there's a wide range) and my friend introduced me to crispy pork skins (truly addictive). 

Fresh fish at 99 Seafood

But the main reason for our visit was to patronise my friend's favourite Thai seafood restaurant (99 Seafood)!  We ordered so much food I'm amazed that we managed to finish as much as we did - tom yum soup, squid, prawns, a veg dish and this wonderful steamed fish which was then gently poached in a lime/lemongrass flavoured stock.  All the food was very fresh and well cooked - I can see why she comes back here every year.

All too soon, it was time to go home.  I'll always look back fondly on this short, leisurely visit filled with days snoozing by the pool, walking on the beach and eating yummy Thai food.  And of course, discovering yet another little outpost of the Peranakans.

Little Nonya Mural, Phuket Town

More photos 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 :-)

Up in the Highlands of Malaysia

View from the top of the farm

My family didn’t go on holiday much when I was a child.  We’d been to Penang (and Penang Hill), and to Genting Highlands.  But, we had never gone to Cameron Highlands.   The British, of course, had built holiday chalets in the Cameron Highlands which remain the most developed of these highlands.  But thanks to continued development over the years, this area has grown rather congested and busy, especially during peak periods.

Fortunately, we would be in a much more secluded and peaceful part of the highlands - specifically the Sigar Highlands' Moon River Lodge.  Beside the lodge is the farm, which provides all the vegetables used in the meals provided in the lodge, using sustainable farming methods.  It was indeed an opportunity to spend some time out of busy Singapore, to breathe the cool fresh air and look out to the magnificent scenery, where the clouds roll down the mountainsides even as the sun still shines on the distant hills.  At night, the stars looked down on us and the sound of water flowing just beyond my room lulled me to sleep.

We woke bright and early the next morning, to  go for mass at the Chapel of Our Lady of Mt Carmel in the little town of Tanah Rata.  It's only an hour's drive away from the lodge!

It is a pleasant little church, bright and cheery (it has been newly rebuilt).  I was amazed when the mass was celebrated by Fr Philip Heng, a Camerons native who of course is now the Rector of the Cathedral of the Good Shepherd in Singapore!  Just goes to show how many and how close the ties are between Malaysia and Singapore.  ubsequently tried to drive around the area a little more but unfortunately the traffic was starting to build up and we ended up just going for a steamboat lunch with lots of fresh vegetables, fish and meat.

The Rafflesia

The next day, we went on the "Rafflesia Trek", to search for the elusive Rafflesia flower (another milestone to mark our Big 50 year).  One would have thought the largest flower in the world is not that difficult to spot.  But, you have to walk through the cloud forests first!  And for that, you definitely need a guide familiar with the forest, who knows where the flowers are likely to be found.  Fortunately, our guide had managed to find the flower (probably he had marked out its position some time beforehand on previous trips to the forested area) and after an hour's walk or so, slipping and sliding on the slippery trail (trying to stay clear of pesky leeches), we found the Rafflesia flower!

Some say that this is supposed to be a smelly flower - but I didn't really think so.  Yes, there was a smell but I had to go quite close up to detect it.  I did see a few insects trapped in the liquid which had collected within the flower though - this reminded me that the Rafflesia is a carnivorous plant, relying on the foul stench to attract insects to it.

Rafflesia and bud (left, beneath some leaves)

I was glad to see a few more buds of various sizes near the flower, so presumably the flower will continue blooming away in this area.  The flower blooms for about a week, and ours was apparently about 3-4 days old, so it was probably starting to wilt.  Subsequently, we also spotted a wilting Rafflesia. 

Of course, the trek was not over.  1+ hours in, and 1+ hours out!  As is often the case, the way back seems faster than the way in, as we spotted landmarks and other familiar spots along the way.

The sad thing is that there is much development going on in the Highlands.  Farms are expanding, many growing flowers and fruit for export.  I hope that there will still be sufficient forest to sustain this majestic flower for many more years to come.

After the trek (and after showering off all our mud) we drove off to Ipoh, where we would be spending our last night in Malaysia before going back to Singapore.  But it was indeed a happy and memorable interlude out of our busy lives.  Good friends, good food, happy memories.  What could be better.

All photos of the trip here.

Big Food Night in Ipoh

We spent one night in Ipoh, just before going back to Singapore.  Of course it was a big foodie night, where we had a huge dinner followed by supper.

For dinner we went to Restaurant Mun Choong (or Mun Zhong) at 57-65, Jalan Horley, Kampung Jawa.  It's also apparently known as Pusing Public Restaurant (or under this group).  It's one of the most popular Chinese restaurants in Ipoh, as attested on various websites including this one here.

Indeed, it was very busy on the Monday night we were there, so we were grateful that we had gone early.  We ordered a sumptious meal, befitting our last night on the road:

Shark's Fin (evil I know but just this once) - really flavourful

Roast Suckling Pig (pork fat is good fat!)

Qing Long (青龙) Vegetables (unusual, we hadn't tried it before)

Fried Prawns - big and fresh!  

Red Bean Soup - with that hint of orange zest

We also had some noodles to complement the dishes.  All in all, a truly excellent meal.  Indeed, Malaysia has so many good Chinese restaurants to visit!

For supper of course it was taugay chicken accompanied by oh-so-smooth-and-slippery hor fan!  There are many famous spots for Taugay Chicken in Ipoh but we went to Onn Kee.  As we were slurping down the hor fan and chomping away on the crunchy sprouts, one of my friends (a native Perak boy) suddenly exclaimed that one of the opposition candidates was walking towards us!  (Don't forget that this was during GE2018 in Malaysia).  Well, he greeted the candidate as though they were good friends, and introduced the rest of us as his friends.  We on our part nodded politely and the candidate walked on, probably guessing (correctly) that our lukewarm reception was because we were tourists.

Supper at Onn Kee

(After eating at Onn Kee, go over to Lam Fong Biscuit Shop around the corner, for traditional Malaysian Teochew biscuits.  I found the ark-am or duck's neck biscuit which I bought in Penang last year.  I really like the texture of the crunchy peanuts against the soft paste of the biscuit.  )

P.S.  For those interested, we stayed at another of those hip new hotels in Ipoh - M Roof Hotel  Residences.  Recommended. The hotel coffeeshop is run by Old Town, which means you get a great coffee for breakfast.  We went back to Singapore the next am, with stops at Bidoh and Seremban for our second breakfast and lunch respectively.

Malaysia Road Trip - Caves of Gua Tempurung

The Caves of Gua Tempurung

When you reach a milestone in your life's journey, you want to commemorate it.  My friends and I decided to celebrate our Big 50 by going on a road trip to Malaysia together.  If ever you want to pretend you’re 18 again, there is no better company than the people you were 18 with in the first place.  It was an adventure like no other, a chance to remember the years we have spent on the journey of our lives together, as we climbed through the highlands of Malaysia and into the limestone caves at their centre.

We departed from Singapore in two groups - one by car and the other by air, to meet in Kuala Lumpur where we would spend the night before our trip proper began.  Our plan was to spend two nights in the highlands, before moving to Ipoh for the night, then making our way back to Singapore.  Food, fun and friendship were all on the agenda.

But first, we drove off to Gopeng, the launch point for the caves of Gua Tempurung.  There's a pretty good write-up on the caves and their origins here, so I'm not going into all that detail.  Suffice it to say that these limestone caves were created many thousands of years ago, discovered by man and used to mine tin, hide during wars and during the Malayan Emergency period, before becoming one of the major tourism draws in the state.

Indeed, the caverns are magnificent.  Soaring caverns, stalagtites and stalagmites can be seen in this cave and I can confidently say I’ve been to the top and bottom of the caves.  There are four alternative treks, ranging from the easy one to toughest.  We were on the third option, considered "Exciting and Challenging". The first part was the “easy” part, where we walked into the huge cavern, bigger than any cathedral.   Stairs - lots of them - take us up to the top of the cavern, so near we could *almost* touch the ceiling.  Water drips slowly, and we see where stalactites/stalagmites are forming slowly, over millions of years and slowly meet, thicken and become massive pillars.

Then we walked down all the stairs to reach the bottom of the cave.  Here we squeezed through little tunnels, to where the underground river flows through the "caverns measureless to man".  We had to crawl through in places, on elbows and knees through the water-filled tunnels to reach the larger caves beyond.  And then we came to a point where we had to slide down the side of the cavern.  Shall we say that I was exceedingly grateful that the guide was there to catch me at the bottom.  We finally got through the last tunnel, to emerge back into the huge cavern from which we emerged back into the main campsite of the caves - wet, dirty, scraped and bruised, but with a pleasing sense of accomplishment.

We’d gone with Radak Adventures, and the guide took us back to their campsite near the caves to clean up before we went back to Gopeng.  The campsite is by a large river, where we rested and waded (and had a snack).  If you ever think of going to Gua Tempurung, some practical stuff to remember - bring a torch, wear old clothes, preferably a long-sleeved top and pants which cover the knees (I wore leggings) and shoes you don't mind getting totally soaked (and which dry fast).  I wore my Crocs sneakers and they were perfect.  If you want to bring a camera, make sure you have a waterproof bag.  I left my cameraphone behind - hence the lack of photos in this post; the one above was taken by a friend of mine.

More photos of our KL hotel, and of the caves here.

Teochew Food in Malacca - Teo Soon Loong

When you have a group of two, it's harder to have a good variety of food when eating at Chinese restaurants.  So with our group of four, it was a good time to go try out the food at Teo Soon Loong, a well-known Teochew restaurant in Malacca.  It used to be in a tiny coffee shop on Jalan Hang Kasturi, just round the corner from Jalan Hang Jebat, but has shifted out of the Old Town to a newer, much larger restaurant in a newer part of the city (on the reclaimed land area).

Our hotel got us a car via Grab - a modest RM6 only.  We drove well out of the old town, through undeveloped plots to a small cluster of buildings.  I was not really expecting a large crowd but when we got there, the restaurant was packed!  Good thing that we had a reservation (via our kaki in the jewellery shop).  We had to wait for our table to be ready (we were a little early) and so had ample time to review the menu.

We chose a mixture of recommended dishes (off the internet) - the pork ribs with bittergourd (really tender, highly recommend), the braised Teochew duck (it was good but not as good as the pork), cai por hor fun (good wok hei but not enough cai por for me), braised noodles with oysters (I know, two carbs but we couldn't resist) and sweet potato leaves cooked with ginger (to be honest this was a revelation - I really enjoyed the freshness of the vegetables and somehow the gingery flavour complemented it well).  Indeed a suitable dinner for our last night in Malaccca.

Buying Manek Potong Shoes

Every time we visit Malacca, we end up visiting this little Kasut Manek (Nonya beaded shoes) shop down Temple Street called Lim's Trading.

Down Temple Street

But it was always an exercise in window shopping.  For myself, I was determined not to buy another pair until I had finished making my own.  And that took years!  As for my dear friend, she makes her own shoes most of the time!

But this year I was determined that I would buy a pair of "Manek Potong" shoes.  For the uninitiated, "Manek Potong" represents the utmost pinnacle of beaded shoe craftsmanship.  The beads are smaller than the standard machine made beads, and even the better quality Japanese Beads.  Apparently they are made somewhere in the former Czechoslovakia, cut by hand such that the facets of the beads are less regular and reflect the light differently as a result.  Because the beads are smaller, the patterns on the shoes are more intricate as a result.  The beads are also difficult to get, because the Czech factory which made them has discontinued the line... ... at least that's what we are told but somehow there are rumours that there is a new source ...

Anyway, Mr Lim is well known in Malacca/Malaysia for his beaded shoes, as this New Straits Times article can testify.  (The article also gives a little more background on beaded shoes, which I'm not going into here as I've done so on a number of times on this blog already).  In 2012, he received the Unesco Seals of Excellence for Handicrafts in recognition of his work.  What is so unique is that rather than just use the "traditional" patterns, he designs his own beautiful designs, of goldfish swimming with water and seaweed rippling around them, of birds and flowers amidst the foliage.  You can choose yourself a pattern, and he will sew it up for you, get the cobbler to make up the shoe and post it to you.  I have to say that I was tempted to do that but fortunately I found the perfect shoe in terms of fit, design and style so I bought it on the spot (for a pretty penny, I should add). Here it is:

Birds and flowers - my Manek Potong shoes

In my humble opinion, they go nicely with my new turquoise kebaya and orange sarong :-)

Malacca Bunga Raya

It's the Year of the Dog!

For someone who goes so often to Malacca, is there anything left to write about?  Indeed, I am quite embarrassed sometimes that I seem to be going to the same old places year in, year out.  But this year was slightly different.  First, we were going with a group of four instead of a small little group of two, with their own added set of interests and priorities.  It was nice taking them to our favourite spots but equally, it was great to find new areas we had not been to.  Before this, we were getting into a "Malacca-shaped rut".  Second, it was just before the Chinese New Year and so the shopping opportunities opened up were quite different!  New Year goodies galore (as though Malacca wasn't filled with foodstuffs for greedy Singaporeans to buy already)!

So this year, our new discovery was Jalan Bunga Raya, just north of the Malacca river and near all the Kampong Jawa cooking equipment shops we discovered on a previous trip.  Bunga Raya was the old shopping street of Malacca, but the tourists deserted it for Jonker Street's charms and the locals were drawn to the newer malls with all the supermarkets and chain stores.  So today there is a sort of quietness about the place, where the shops seem to hark back to yesterday and their proprietors slowly greying together with it.  There is some rejuvenation, however, with new businesses starting up even as the main Jonker area gets more crowded and the benefits from the UNESCO status spill over out of the old town into the surrounding areas.  So there are newer restaurants and hotels starting up here.  We will see how it goes.  

Lanterns along Jalan Bunga Raya

We were, however, here in search of New Year lanterns and other decorations, which my friend wanted to deck her home with for CNY.  A local (I think it was either our hotel concierge, or our jeweller) recommended Jln Bunga Raya and so we walked over.  It was evening, the street was dark and many shops were closed or closing. But as we proceeded, suddenly a few brightly lit shops appeared, all the better to show off the beautiful lanterns, of silk, paper or a felt-like material (made out of recycled cloth).  

We wandered in and out of a few shops.  Most sold fabric and other haberdashery or craft items, but during the CNY period, pushed all these day-to-day goods to the back of the shop and instead stocked up on the decor for CNY.  Not just lanterns, but banners, tassels, paper cut pictures, and (since it is the year of the dog) lots of little stuffed dogs too.  Business was reasonably good for the few shops which remained open; I suppose either locals or well-informed tourists made their way here to get their CNY decor.

Down the Malacca River

Bunga Raya isn't exactly a short walk from our hotel in Heeren Street, so I didn't really expect to walk back the next day in the hot sun for lunch.  But that is what we did.  We were going to Manis J, the restaurant owned by the proprietor of the shoe shop, J Manik (of course at her suggestion).  It was a pleasant stroll by the river, lined by the old buildings (and some new extensions), which were decorated to catch the eye - some with brightly coloured murals, and others with fun/gimmicky items such as this one which featured old cars - Minis and Beetles.

Lunch itself was really quite good.  We had all our old nyonya favourites - Ngoh Hiang, Ayam Buah Keluak, Chap Chye, Hee Peow soup etc.  And for the hypercritical Singaporeans we are, there were no complaints.  Everyone ate happily.  And I don't think it was the long walk.

Lunch at J Manis

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.