Kia Ora Sept Issue

Travel Penang
——
Nyonya cuisine isn’t merely
a meeting of Chinese and
Malay traditions, but a
more nuanced hybrid. Every
Nyonya household puts its
own stamp on its food.
——
This page, from top: A street stall in George
Town’s Love Lane; Kek Lok Si Temple.
Opposite page: a char kway teow street stall.
best examples of classic dishes. We tasted
them all over town – and across the bridge on
the mainland. We tasted versions made in
street carts, at night markets, in coffee shops,
in restaurants and in homes.
Penang’s cultural makeup is composed of
a majority Chinese population, followed by
Malay and Indian, as well as a significant
Nyonya presence. Nyonya (also referred to as
Peranakan) refers to the offspring of Malay
and Chinese settlers and the culture dates
back centuries. There’s also the influence
of Portuguese, Dutch and British traders
and colonists.
The food scene in Penang follows suit.
There’s a prevalence of Chinese culinary
traditions from settlers’ home regions.
You’ll see it in dishes such as Hainanese
chicken rice, Teochew ais kaching, Hokkien
noodles or Cantonese roast pork.
Most of the Indian population traces its
roots to the south, so there is roti and
chapati, spicy curries and ghee-rich sweets.
Indigenous Malay cooking features
spice-laden pastes and sambals, belacan
(fermented shrimp paste), local seafood
(fresh and bountiful on this island) and rice.
And Nyonya cuisine isn’t merely a meeting
of Chinese and Malay traditions, but more
a nuanced hybrid. Every Nyonya household
puts its own stamp on its food.
It’s hard to get a handle on Malaysian
cuisine until you’ve visited the country. But
four days of exploring Penang with the
group – and their seemingly bottomless
hunger for novel and defining experiences
– had me feeling I’d gained a decent
knowledge of the island’s food offerings.
I’d also developed a strong desire to
return for a second helping.
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