Acknowledgements:
A massive thank you to Maureen and Lawrence for letting us stay in their home as we explored Penang.
I suppose this is a bit of a return to form for the blog, for this is a long-overdue travel journal. At the time of writing, I would have been engaged to my lovely fiancé, Erin, for a little over a month; while we are currently long-distance, she came to Singapore to visit my family and me, and we took advantage of Singapore’s location to go on a trip. While I am a veteran of the region, Erin is completely new and provided an excellent excuse to revisit some old favorites, which in this case is the state of Penang in Malaysia. This will be Erin’s first time, but not mine; it is my first time returning to Penang this century.
Highlights:
It would be a sin to write a travel journal about Penang without mentioning the food and drink scene. When I first went to Penang all those years ago, I was not nearly as adventurous with food as I am today. These days, as long as the food fits my dietary preferences, I tend to go headfirst with little thought. There were numerous highlights, but the king would have to be the Assam-style laksa we got from one of the famous restaurants, the aptly named Penang Road Famous Laksa. Erin and I shared a bowl of Chaw Kuay Teow and Assam Laksa and after a morning of little food and little coffee, it hit the spot. Another highlight was the numerous vegetarian stalls we visited, which let us sample a wide variety of cuisines and dishes.
We also took the opportunity to participate in a cooking class. I cannot recommend Chef Samuel enough as he took us through the whole process of starting in the wet market and using only the ingredients purchased there to make the dishes we elected to make in the class. We started with classic Assam Laksa and learned about how the dish came to be, particularly the strong Chinese, Malay, and Indian influences in the region. We then moved on to the desserts Erin was excited about, and then the main event: kaya. Having consumed more than my body weight’s worth of kaya, it felt timely to actually try and make it. We made the variant of kaya that uses more pandan leaves, and the recipe is remarkably simple: sugar, coconut milk, egg, and pandan, but the process is fantastically laborious. It involves a lot of mixing, stirring, and steaming in a double boiler, but the result is worth it. The photos speak for themselves.
Another highlight was Penang's rich cocktail bar scene. Having gotten more into wines as of late, I had let cocktails slip my mind, but it felt good to venture back into that world. Erin and I found several gems during our time there thanks to dumb luck and friends who gave us great recommendations. These were the bars we went to: Biso, Round Bar, Archipelago, and Good Friends. All these bars had very different vibes and centered around a theme. Round Bar had a play on drinks based on the Knights of the Round Table. Biso focused heavily on local ingredients and flavors. Archipelago focused on tropical flavors and had a Godfather 2 vibe, with an interior that evoked Cuba. Good Friends took inspiration from a Family Mart convenience store and had by far the best bar snacks of all the bars.
The next highlight has to be the island’s nature. A distinct memory I had from childhood was taking the old funicular train up to the top of Penang Hill. I still remember the steep ride and the views it gave us when we reached the top, so you can imagine my excitement when I finally got to bring Erin here. Spoiler alert it thankfully did not disappoint. Here’s a little fun fact about this particular trip: this was initially going to be the location where I would propose to Erin. I ended up taking her to the very spot I had in mind, which was right in the middle of the highest point on the island. Lush green rainforest and views of the Straits of Malacca. We met some exotic wildlife, but thankfully that part of the trip had no mishaps.
The last highlight is having this escape to Penang in general. It provided a bit of a break from some harsh realities I know I will be facing this upcoming year. Going back to long-distance with Erin, the job hunt, and many more. It is going to be a slog but on the bright side, I am not alone.
