Itโs Day Two of ex-UK Chowhoundsโ chowdown in Penang. This morning, our food safari took us to:
- The popular ๐ฆ๐ผ๐ผ๐ป ๐ฌ๐๐ฒ๐ป traditional coffeeshop behind the century-old Chowrasta Market.
Our breakfast options:
Cantonese ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฆ ๐ค๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐จ ๐ค๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ฌ - pigโs intestines congee. Perhaps the tastiest bowl of rice porridge in the world: the rice has been cooked to a thick, smooth gruel, utterly flavorsome from the use of pork stock. Liberal servings of well-cooked pigโs intestines, pigโs liver, spleen, stomach and pigโs blood pudding have been added, topped with crisp, aromatic roasted pigโs intestines. Chopped scallions, a drop of light soy sauce, another of sesame oil, and a dash of white pepper complete the masterpiece.
๐๐ฐ๐ข๐บ ๐ต๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ธ ๐ต๐ฉโ๐ฏ๐จ - the popular Teochew rice noodle in soup dish. It is the forerunner of Vietnamโs pho, which is also of Teochew origins, albeit with beef broth instead of the popular pork or duck versions amongst the Teochew Chinese.
Koay teow thโng consists of flat rice noodles steeped in a flavoursome, clear broth. There are three main variants of koay teow thโng in Penang: a duck version, a pork version, and a chicken one, or a mix of 2 or even 3 of the meats for a more complex-tasting broth.
The version here combines chicken and pork. The garnishing includes slivers of chicken white meat, pigโs liver, pig intestines, and Teochew-style fish-balls.
๐๐ฐ๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ช๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฆ. The Penang take on Fujianese summer/prawn noodles. In Fujian, the same dish is known as prawn noodles or summer noodles, as the peak season for prawn-fishing falls during the summer. The trademark red-hued broth is obtained from boiling prawn shells and prawn heads, and is regarded as a suitable dish for the hot summer months. In Penang, the local version of the dish is much more intense in flavour, and spicy to boot, as ground red chillies are added to the broth to give it the signature reddish hue.
- ๐๐ผ๐ผ ๐๐ผ๐ผ๐ถ for the Penang Road Famous Teochew ๐ค๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ถ๐ญ. This popular dessert of pandan-scented rice noodles with lashings of fresh coconut milk and smokey-sweet palm sugar syrup dates back 1,000 years to the Kediri kingdom of East Java. Of course, nowadays, itโs served with shaved ice and is a much-loved cold dessert, with perpetual queues in front of this 9 decade-old stall.
- ๐๐๐ฎ๐น๐ฎ ๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ด๐๐ฎ๐ฟ ๐ฅ๐ผ๐ฎ๐ฑ for Martin Lourdesโ Indian ๐ข๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ฎ ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฏ๐ช๐ด. South Indian sweet appams trace their origins back to the 1st century AD. In Kerala, its creation has been attributed to the early Jewish emigrants to the Malabar coast. The first Jews ostensibly arrived on the Malabar coast as traders around 2,500 years ago, with some tracing their arrival back to the time of King Solomon (970โ931 BC). A second wave of Jewish settlers arrived in 70 AD following the destruction of the Second Temple - settling around Kochi (Cochin).
The Penang version of sweet appams is distinguished by the inclusion of eggs in its batter, which imparts an intoxicatingly rich, sweet eggy aroma.
Uncle Limโs Hokkien ๐ฃ๐ข๐ฏ ๐ค๐ฉ๐ข๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฌ๐ถ๐ฆ๐ฉ. Legend has it that this style of pancake was invented by General Tso Tsung-tang (1812-1885), the same Qing dynasty viceroy who was commemorated in General Tsoโs Chicken, a popular dish in American-Chinese restaurants. General Tso Tsung-tang started his military career during the Taiping Rebellion in the 1850s. During a military expedition in Fujian, where sugarcane and peanuts were found in abundance, heโd asked the army chefs to fill pancakes with sugar and peanuts in order to feed the Qing troops.
Traditionally, Hokkien ban chang kuehs are large - cooked in a large pan, and measures about a foot-and-a-half in diameter. Itโs cut into slices before serving. But in Malaysia & Singapore, the Hokkien sellers adapted the small South Indian pans to make individual-sized, crisp-edged crepes - another case of cross-cultural culinary influences in this part of the world.
We traipsed around the Chinatown area - too many places to eat, too little time!
- ๐๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ฎ๐ณ๐ฒ on the corner of Anson Road and Siam Road for two of the very best street food options in George Town: Mr Lee Seng Sengโs ๐ค๐ฉ๐ข๐ณ ๐ฌ๐ฐ๐ข๐บ ๐ต๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ธ, and Raymond Y S Teh aka ๐๐ต ๐ฆ๐ฒ๐ป๐ดโs ๐ง๐ถ๐ฌ๐ถ๐ช ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฆ.
- Dinner was at 1-Michelin-star Auntie Gaik Leanโs Old School Eatery. Absolutely fabulous meal and brought back memories of our old Chowdowns in London.
Kueh pai tee.
Jiu hu char.
Lor bak.
Stir-fried wing beans with garlic.
Sambal aubergines
Stingray gulai tumis.
Chicken curry Kapitan.
Assam prawns.
Eggs Belanda.
Inchi kabin.
Bitter gourd with bean paste.
Otak-otak.
Desserts
Bee koe moy (pulut hitam).
Sago Gula Melaka.
Pengat.
More on Peranakan or Nyonya cuisine:
https://guide.michelin.com/my/en/article/features/the-different-types-of-peranakans-and-their-cuisines
