Humble stalls in Penang, Malaysia, serve delicious food items that represent the best of Asian food. Using traditional cooking methods and centuries old recipes, the street food vendors create foods the world raves about.
- By John Jacobs
Which sounds better: Quiet dining in an elegant restaurant with white tablecloths and fine china or a street side table where boisterous life passes by like a private theater production? If the latter is your choice, then book a flight to Penang, one of 13 states in Malaysia and considered Malaysia's food capital.
Teeming with food stalls tucked in between shops or situated in one of the famous hawker centers, locals prepare delicacies that are cooked in traditional ways and served to people walking or riding bicycles up to the stalls, or sitting at small tables.
Eating the interesting food, served from pop-up stalls or stalls on the back of tricycles, is a foray into cultural culinary masterpieces composed of amazing recipes, bustling streets, and an opportunity to experience a way of life for Malaysians and the millions of travelers who are fortunate enough to spend some time in Penang.
Retaining Authenticity
The first thing that has to happen is getting rid of preconceived notions of foods served from small stalls on street, if those notions assume the conditions are unsanitary or the food too risky to eat. Thinking that way, common for Westerners, will end up getting you deprived of a wonderful experience. The Health Ministry sanitation requirements are stringent, which contributes to the thriving tourist industry that includes backpacker students to high society business people and jetsetters.
The street vendors set up their stalls throughout very urbanized Penang, or dish up favorites at numerous hawker centers, which are large areas with many vendors selling their specialties. Some hawker centers are free-standing, while others are located in shop house cafes, similar to a mall interior food court.
There are too many hawker centers to list here, but some of the most notable are LgBaru (New Lane), PaluaTikus, Gurney Drive, LarongBaru (closed to traffic at 4 p.m. every day), Jalan Macalister, LarongSelamat, Jalan Penang and JalanChulia. Guests of the country should try different settings in various areas of Penang. All the hawker centers are informal, inexpensive and culturally enticing.
There has been a concerted effort to retain authentic recipes and cooking methods. Breads are baked over charcoal fires, a seemingly impossible task; anchovies are made by hand; and soy sauce is made in barrels with the sun doing the fermenting. Many of the food stalls are operated by families who have been selling street food for generations. The favorite foods are an exquisite mix of traditional Malay, Indian and Chinese recipes that use regional ingredients.
Noodles and Rice Rule! in Penang
When it is time to eat, the first challenge is choosing the foods from among dozens of recipes that are all equally delicious. Fortunately, the servings are small so you can eat a greater variety of foods.
Some consider congee their favorite breakfast food. It is a Chinese rice porridge that is eaten plain or cooked with meat or vegetables.
Wan Tan Mee is a noodle dish with Cantonese and Hakka roots. There are numerous variations, but in essence the noodles are served in sesame oil and soy sauce, and a vegetable and barbequed pork are added on top.
Penang's Assam Laksa is also popular street food. It is a hot and spicy noodle dish in a fish soup and makes a tasty meal. Ingredients include chili paste, lemon grass, turmeric, shrimp paste, tamarin, soy sauce and more.
People stand in line to get good Nasi Tomato (tomato rice) which is made with tomato sauce, garlic, ginger, onions and a variety of spices. Char KoayKak is a fried rice cake that is served with ingredients like crunchy pickled vegetables, bean sprouts and fried egg bits. Char KwayTeow is another fried noodle dish, but this one is made with prawns, bean sprouts, cockles, egg, Chinese chives, chili and belachan (shrimp paste).
HokkienHaeMee is a soupy noodle dish made with prawns, chicken slices, fish cake, squid and water spinach.
A savory rice dish is NasiLemak, a national dish. Rice is cooked in coconut cream and placed in the center of the plate, and the rice is surrounded with a variety of items like anchovies, ikanselar (fried fish), sliced cucumbers, hard-boiled egg and toasted peanuts.
Everything about Penang food is unique. Pasembur, a Malaysian-Indian salad is made with bean curd, cucumber, fried octopus, potatoes, turnip, fried crab, prawn fritters and bean sprouts. Topping everything on this healthy dish is a spicy-nutty sauce.
There are plenty of desserts, too, like Cendol made with coconut milk, and rice flour or green bean flour made into worm-shaped jelly and colored green with pandan leaf, palm sugar and shaved ice.
Dishing Up Culture
The hawker centers may have various hours. Some are open all day, while others may not open until lunch or dinner time. There are stalls on street curbs where you can sit and watch people go by and stalls that are off the street in shops and courtyards.
Never expect anything fancy no matter which hawker center or vendor is chosen. Patrons from all walks of life and from all over the world rub elbows while dining on plastic tables and sitting in plastic chairs. It is just part of the street food scene's charm.
Ask anyone who loves Penang street food what their favorite foods are and the list will be quite long. What the lists have in common are exquisite recipes that reflect a vibrant Penang culture. It is amazing that such delicious food is cooked in small stalls on portable equipment.
A walk through a hawker center is an experience of the senses, as the sizzling foods send out aromas that urge each passerby to stop and enjoy, and stall cooks greet guests with big smiles.
Penang is a state that is in love with its street food and wants you to be, too.