Kia Ora Sept Issue

Travel Penang
Eat
CHAR KUEY TEOW
A good char kuey teow bears the telltale
wok hei (breath of the wok), the
aroma and taste of the flames having
danced inside the wok. You won’t walk
more than a few minutes in George
Town without coming across a hawker
selling char kuey teow, or head to Cecil
Street Market or Gurney Drive Night
Market to sample a few versions.
PENANG LAKSA
Challenge your taste buds with Penang
laksa. Also known as asam laksa
(asam is tamarind), this soup is made
both thick and pungent with flaked
mackerel, chilli and a good dose of nice,
sour tamarind – hence the name. Our
group was divided on this dish. One
member had an endless craving for it,
I was a willing convert and Emett and
Caulton weren’t so enamoured.
NYONYA CUISINE
Eat in a Nyonya home. At Little
Kitchen@Nyonya, we dined in the
main living area of the proprietors’
home. Beneath us was a well-worn
Dutch-tiled floor and around us were
family photos; an elaborate carved
wood and marble opium bed; jars
housing fighting fish, with large
leaves placed in between to quell
tempers; herbs, spices and bird-nest
delicacies and colourful plaster
relief work depicting Chinese belief
systems (bats, for instance, which
represent prosperity and longevity).
Our host Baba Ji told us the story of
his Nyonya heritage, the family home
and how it became renowned for fine
food (it was his grandfather’s third wife
who made the kitchen here famous).
He served us a succession of dishes,
but the highlight was the wonderfully
fragrant and textural nasi ulam (herbed
rice salad) he made at the table,
slicing the large wad of fresh herbs 60
times as tradition dictates.
ROTI TISSUE
At Kayu Nasi Kandar the roti dough
is stretched out incredibly thin and
cooked through on the hot plate
before being doused with sweetened
condensed milk, ghee and honey. It’s
rolled into a cone more than a metre
tall and presented to the table, then
everyone digs in with their hands.
Absolutely delicious.
MALAY CUISINE
Feast Malay-style. We drove over
the bridge to Butterworth to eat at
Ikan Bakar Din, a popular open-air
restaurant full of feasting families.
Cooking revolves round the charcoal
grill and whole fish, huge prawns,
lamb and chicken come off the grill
smoky and succulent with flavours
from complex spice paste marinades.
Salads, rice and shellfish round out
the menu and you order with your
eyes (which are of course bigger than
your stomach). You pay for what you
take. It was utterly delicious; we ate
like kings for around $10 per person.
It was a halal eatery, so rather than
wash it all this down with beer we
sipped on wonderfully refreshing lime
juice spiked with salted prunes.
Getting there
Air New Zealand offers non-stop
flights from Auckland to Singapore,
with ongoing connections to
Penang.
Holiday Packages
0800 747 222
Holidays Travel Brokers
0800 737 767
airnewzealand.co.nz
Sleep
EASTERN & ORIENTAL HOTEL
Arriving at the grand entrance of the
Eastern & Oriental Hotel (eohotels.
com) at the end of a hard day’s eating
is a treat. Inside the Victory Annexe,
built in 2013, the suites are luxuriously
appointed yet reasonably priced, with
calming views of the Straits, especially
from the deck swimming pool. During
cocktail and nibbles hour in Planters
Lounge, you’ll find the most delicious
peanuts. visitpenang.gov.my
PHOTOGRAPHY DAZ CAULTON, GETTY
70 Kia Ora