Aug
21
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| Little India, Penang |
The Day Begins
I woke up on day three wondering if I could really keep up the pace, if the stamina that had gotten me through days one and two was going to help push me through this frenzy of eating and seeing and doing. I could feel all those previous meals sticking to my bones just where I didn't need them. My body wanted more sleep, needed time to process all those calories. A hangover from the beach bar the night before wasn't helping convince me to get moving but eventually I roused myself out of bed and made my way down to the lobby.
Day three began with rain, but it was a really nice relief. It cooled everything down for a while and made our morning really pleasant. We made our way to a Malay buffet for breakfast and I was so glad I got myself out of bed! It was my favorite meal of the entire trip (and with a final count of more than twenty meals, that's saying a lot!) It seemed a lot like Indian to me with the curries and the rice, but the flavor was definitely unique.
You get handed a big plate of rice, then make your way around the buffet picking out whatever meats, curries and vegetables look good (which for me was a little of almost everything). Then you walk over to a large bubbly woman in a dark headscarf. She looks over your plate, mostly to see how much meat you have, and charges what she thinks fair. You can go back and get more curry for free if you want, but if you get anything else you have to pay again. The taste was amazing. Deep and complex flavors soaked into the chicken and lamb braised in the curries. I will never forget it.
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| Malay Buffet |
Walking the City
After breakfast we started our walk around Georgetown. The rain was still coming down in a light drizzle, but as we moved through Little India I completely forgot. I've never been to India but I've always been infatuated with its culture - the beautiful saris, the amazing food, the intricate gods and goddesses - so this was a real treat for me. We walked into stores selling spices and bangles and down narrow streets where Hindi and Bollywood music blared. The dress shops with their beautiful bright fabrics captivated me.
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| A dress shop - Little India, Penang |
A fortune teller sat on the sidewalk helping two young men learn their fates. Spices lined the sidewalks in big burlap bags, spilling out onto the street in waves of smell and crunch. Stalls at the intersections sold an array of snacks - pumpkin filled samosas, fritters, and pakoras - and incense that blew all around scenting the air.
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| A Fortune Teller - Little India, Penang |
In 2008 UNESCO declared Georgetown, along with Melaka, a world heritage site. A lot of beautifying and preserving has taken place since, and we visited several of the buildings, including the Goddess of Mercy Temple, the Pinang Peranakan Mansion (yes the same Peranakans with the fantastic nyonya food from day two) and the Hindu Sri Mahamariamman Temple. The most amazing thing about these sites was the intricacy of all the buildings. The mansion was covered with detailed ivory and woodwork, the temples had tiny figurines and statues covering most surfaces. They all seemed lovingly taken care of (or at least lovingly refurbished).
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| Sri Mahamariamman Temple. This gateway is home to 38 Hindu deities - Penang. |
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| Pinang Peranakan Mansion - Penang |
The Food Frenzy Continues
All the walking made us hungry again of course, so it was off to find the second best meal of the trip, the Char Koay Teow I've mentioned in previous posts, made by this man - a true artist. In less than three minutes he'd made three plates and handed us one. Talk about fast food! We stood right on the street, trying not to fall into the deep gutter behind as traffic passed, and ate our hearts out. I'm still craving another plate of this stuff - it was street food at its finest.
Bad Monkeys!
We took a quick stroll through the Botanical Gardens after our snack. It was nice to get out and get a little exercise after all the eating we'd done. The park was beautiful - full of rare and interesting plants. A large population of very hungry monkeys ran all around trying to beg or steal food from visitors. These monkeys can turn vicious quickly, hissing and even biting if you don't give them food so I was surprised to see some tourists sitting with them, taking pictures, feeding them right out of their hands. It was a bad idea and we got out of there before we could witness the mob scene that would surely follow once the food was gone.
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| A minute after I took this picture the monkey rummaged through the front basket on this motorbike and found something he liked. He quickly lifted it and took it up a tree. |
Shopping
Afterward we headed back to the hotel for a break. My husband and I rested for a while and then decided to go to the night market just outside our hotel. The night market was different than the ones here in Taipei - a lot more like what you might find in Thailand. It's much more tourist oriented - tiny buddhas, pillow covers, obviously fake and cheaply made Louis Vuitton purses - that vacationers want to take back with them instead of the more utilitarian clothes and shoes that the Taiwanese buy. I guess it comes down to the fact that Taiwan is just not a tourist destination (yet).
Another Perfect Ending
The night ended with another fantastic meal - my third favorite of the trip. We went to another Indian place which was very different from the Nasi Kandar we had the first day.
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It's not about expecting newcomers adapt to our way of life while pretending that we're open to diversity because they get to keep their religion (as long as it doesn't look too threatening). It's not about having kids sit in mixed-race classrooms. It's not about saying we're diverse while kicking out people determined to speak their own language instead of quickly embracing English.
It's about taking in all the insanity and chaos that comes along with being truly diverse. It's about eating a cheeseburger alongside someone eating chicken feet and not being grossed out. It's about being comfortable on the beach with women in burkas and women in bikinis. It's about not only tolerating other languages, but trying to learn a little Chinese or Spanish or Malay ourselves. It's about tolerance of different opinions (although not necessarily acceptance). That's the kind of diversity I hope we can all embrace.
The Food Talley:
Meals Previously Eaten: 8
Meals Eaten on Day Three: 6
The Total So Far: 14
Meals not listed above: a stop for pakoras and samosas on the street in Little India, two meals at a hawker center where we tasted another noodle dish called Mee Goreng and Poh Piah - an eggroll of sorts with prawns
All Posts In This Series:
Penang: A Food Story - Day OneIf You'd Like to Know More
Books
Music
Hubs by
Great post. Brings back a lot of memories from my visit to Penang.
I loved those "Penang buffets". The food and the prices were unbeatable. Little India was fun, and I ate some great Indian food there as well.
Thanks Nancie! Yeah, it's hard to imagine a better deal than the tasty buffets. I wish I could find the same thing here in Taiwan. I'm really craving some great curry now.