Penang Food | Singapore Travel Photo Blog @ travelerfolio.com

Penang “Rojak”

Travelling is not just about visiting sights, indulging in local cuisine, shopping, experiencing different cultures… blah blah… sometimes you get caught in massive jams while on the way to your next destination. And you begin to worry when you see thick smoke rising to the sky…

and then… a fire engine whizzes past and stops ahead and you see firemen quickly get to the water hose…

And the next thing you see: a blazing car.

Firemen trying to put out the fire.

The blazing car was parked at the side of the main road and not obstructing the traffic flow. So why the jam?? Just like any kind of road accident, it must have attracted many curious drivers to slow down and see what’s going on. That’s why!

In Singapore, it’s called Penang Laksa. In Penang, you can’t find Penang Laksa as it’s known as Asam Laksa. @_@ If you are at Balik Pulau, try this famous Asam Laksa stall which claims that it’s Best of the Best Balik Pulau Laksa. They serve three kind of Laksa – Asam Laksa, Siam Laksa (aka Lemak Laksa) and Mix Laksa (Asam + Siam!).

I ordered a bowl of Siam Laksa. If you have tried the original Asam Laksa before, Siam Laksa is sweeter and the soup base is thicker as it’s added with coconut milk. Something new for me and it’s just right for my taste buds.

The Asam Laksa is delectable as well! Those who prefer a lighter version can try this. Love the fish flakes!

Location of Balik Pulau Laksa: The coffee shop can be found directly at the Jalan Tun Sardon intersection into the main road. Shophouse no. 67.

Opening hours: 11 am – 4 pm. Closed on Wednesday.

At one glance, who would think that this coconut does not contain water but jelly? That’s coconut jelly. The coconut water is formed into jelly after food processing. The jelly just tastes like coconut water in jelly form. And there is still soft coconut flesh in the shell. It’s a very refreshing dessert!

On the label, it’s named “Tender Nut Jelly“. Maybe you can get some from: 240 Datuk Kramat 10150 Pulau Pinang.

We like to snack at Oldtown Cafe whenever we are in Penang. That day we ordered some slices of kaya butter toast. They looked good on the outside, though seemed abit too dry and crisp. I thought I didn’t taste any butter so I lifted up the top slice…

and saw two “fries”. So? Nothing. Just wondering why the butter was cut this way.

Word of the day:

Rojak – A fruit and vegetable salad dish commonly found in Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia. It is used as a colloquial expression for an eclectic mix, just like this post with random photos from Penang. \(-.-)/

I’m going Kota Kinabalu (KK), Sabah in two days’ time. Come back soon to check out my posts on KK!

Posted by eunice Posted in Malaysia, Penang Comments (12)

The Old Water Village

At one glance, I thought it was just another old residential area in Georgetown, a Unesco World Heritage Site in Penang, Malaysia. Little did I knew that the moment I stepped on the wooden platform, I was already over the water.

The Chew Jetty is the largest among the other seven waterfront settlements housing different clans in Georgetown built in the mid-19th century. The name of the jetty – “Chew”, is the surname of the clan living in the water village with wooden houses perched above the sea by stilts, a homeland for generations of the Chews whose forefathers came from Fujian Province in China and were mostly fishermen.

chew-jetty-map

Currently, I think there are left with only six clan jetties lining the sea front along Weld Quay, namely Yeoh jetty, Tan jetty, Lim jetty, Lee jetty and Chap Seo Keo jetty (literally means “mixed clans jetty”). Koay jetty and Peng Aun jetty were already demolished by the government for its development plans which have raised controversy questions.

The cluster of jetty houses standing firmly above the sea look just like any houses on land with modern amenities. As Chew jetty is also a favourite tourist spot, you can even find a souvenir shop in it, alongside with a grocery shop. Some of the Chew residents even offer home stay package!

The surviving cluster settlement seemingly locked itself in a time zone that disregards the urbanization taking place around it in Penang.

Walking further down the jetty, we could see a panoramic view of the Straits of Malacca and catch glimpses of the port activities.

Fishing boats parked along the planked walkways with a backdrop of highrise buildings, showing us that traditional lifestyle can juxtapose with modernisation.

These are cages to catch crabs. What do you call that? A crab catcher? A demonstration of how a crab can be trapped after crawling into the cage hole.

A fisherman preparing fishing baits?

This typical wooden house in Chew jetty seems to be vacant as it’s quite empty…

Just located at the entrance of Chew jetty is a small temple where the clan still continues to celebrate the annual worship of the temple Deity and the Jade Emperor (Tee Kong).

How to go to Chew Jetty? You can walk for about 250m south along Pengkalan Weld from Weld Quay Bus Terminal and you will see a signboard that displays “Chew Jetty” on your left.

So what to eat in Georgetown? There are plenty of nice food but I will start with this stall for a quick yet delicious snack. Cross over the road opposite Chew Jetty and walk further down till you see a stall shown below in the picture with a signboard that reads “Prawn Fritters”. The prawn fritters look like little round sinful doughs (deep-fried greasy!) with small prawns and some veggies in them. They are quite crisp on the outside and at one bite, the dough melts in your mouth, releasing the irresistible aroma of prawns. The stall opens everyday but from Monday to Friday, the opening hours are from 8am to 12pm only; on Sat, Sun and holiday, the operating hours are from 8am to 6pm.

I didn’t try the longish ones… Anyway, if you can’t find the stall, try asking the friendly locals around Chew Jetty, I guess they will know the direction to it.

Posted by eunice Posted in Malaysia, Penang Comments (14)

Yummy Dim Sum

Restoran Zim Sum is a very big non-aircon dim sum restaurant. It was already filled up with customers when we reached there at 9plus in the morning. We had to wait for seats. (@Penang-Malaysia)

Dim Sum is a undoubtedly popular for breakfast in Malaysia. The dishes are usually wheeled around on a trolley by servers. At this dim sum restaurant, we can pick and choose our favourite dim sum dishes at the counter.

I want this… I want that!

Dim sum dishes stack on top of one another. You pick and choose the dishes and return to your seat. Read More »

Posted by eunice Posted in Malaysia, Penang Comments (27)

Ramly Burger

You heard of fish burger, double cheeseburger, ham burger, chicken burger…how about Ramly burger? Malaysians and most Singaporeans surely heard of it and even tasted it. Fellow Malaysians, if you never heard of Ramly burger before, don’t tell me you are a Malaysian. XD

I was in Penang and bought a “Ramly Burger Special” from this popular Ramly Burger stall known as Din Corner. A customer saw me taking photos at the stall and jokingly commented that I was from The Star (newspaper). XD

Steps on how to make a “Ramly Burger Special”. The patty is first wrapped in a thin layer of egg before stacking other ingredients like onions, margarine, cabbage, mayonnaise within the buns.

Din Corner is a neat and decent-looking stall located along the roadside, dunno which road but I know it is in Penang. =P

Speak so much of Ramly Burger and yet nearly forgot to take a pic of it to show how the end result looks like. Ignore the teeth impressions on the half-eaten burger! This burger tastes better than burgers from KFC, Mac and Burger King! Sedap!

Many Singaporeans like Ramly burgers but strangely, we could hardly see a Ramly stall in Singapore, except in pasar malams. I just read from Wikipedia that the import of Ramly Burger to Singapore is prohibited. Only frozen Ramly Burger patties are approved for sale, and yes, I see that in supermarkets in Singapore, and tempted to buy some. =D

Read Kimberley Street Hawker Food | Penang Botanic Gardens | Food Court At Bukit Jambul | Penang Bridge | Bad Weather in Penang

Posted by eunice Posted in Malaysia, Penang Comments (42)

Kimberley Street Hawker Food

Kimberley street has lot of good food! However, just like many famous stalls in Malaysia, those hawkers only start business at night. So, forget about dieting in Penang. It’s supper time!

It was drizzling, but that did not deter our eating mood to try out those authentic Penang hawker food.

The popular stall selling Duck Kuay Chap. “Kuay Chap” (粿汁) means flat noodles with broth. U can call it Kway Chap or Koay Chap as long as it sounds right!

Very tasty duck noodles with slices of duck meat and wonder why it also comes with two fishballs. @_@

For those who have never tried Char Kway Teow (fried flat noodles with cockles, scrambled egg & bean sprouts), and if you are in Penang, try it from this stall at Kimberly Street. The man was frying Kway Teow. Read More »

Posted by eunice Posted in Malaysia, Penang Comments (13)

Penang food court at Bukit Jambul

This is my 200th post since I started blogging Travelerfolio in April 08! Most of my older posts contain scenic photos and I didn’t expect that my 200th post is all about FOOD!! XD

Penang has many good hawker food too, just like Ipoh food paradise. It’s really a torture for me to blog about food but can’t eat them now!!

On our first night in Penang, we went to a food centre in Bayan Lepas area, near Bukit Jambul complex. Now, get ready to drool!

I think the stall selling this bowl of Tom Yam is very popular. Many people ordered from it. By the time my Tom Yam arrived, everyone had finished their food! But frankly speaking, I found it nothing special; I thought I was eating Tom Yam instant noodles.