Curry Mee, Teochew Porridge & Crying Tiger Meat in Penang
Having had a great night’s rest and a delicious warm-up of eating in two hawker centers the night before, we were ready to take on the “gauntlet,” an actual full day of eating around Penang!
I was not intimidated, as I was not alone. Our eating group, blogger Chichi Tullao of Happy Tummy Travels, chef Mitchie Sison, videographer Deej Robles, Air Asia’s Noelle Salvan, and local guide Junie, set out at 9 a.m. with growling tummies in search of food.
The search did not take long. We walked into the open market locals refer to as the “Indian Market,” a couple of blocks away from Penang Road, and the smell of delicious food immediately hit us. Now, this area was familiar to me, as I shot some scenes for my TV show here two years ago, so while the others were busy taking photos and videos, I was looking for a particular someone.
I saw him. I never got his name, but this old man serving Teochew-style porridge was such an entertaining and dynamic force that we shot a feature on his porridge stall even if it wasn’t in the original script. Now, two years later, I see him and he has not changed a bit. He is still hard at work making the one thing no one else can seem to make on this island. His porridge is cooked in a rich and flavorful broth, mixed with boiled tripe, pig’s blood, char siu and liver and topped with chopped chicharon bulaklak (fried intestines). The first time I had it, I thought it was absolute magic. I began to excitedly describe to my companions how rich, fulfilling and flavorful this porridge was, and as soon as they tasted it, they agreed I wasn’t exaggerating.
The vibrant colors but even more vibrant and bright flavors of the Nyonya table
Of course, Junie wouldn’t allow us to have just one thing. Soon, our breakfast table had curry mee, char kueh kak and fried yeo teow. The yeo teow, which we call bicho-bicho here, was fried and flavored with five-spice and sugar, an interesting combination on its own. Much to Junie’s surprise, I dunked the yeo teow in the curry mee broth and the result was delicious. Yes, you can copy my technique when you go to Penang. You’re welcome in advance.
We then did a walking tour of Georgetown and enjoyed a visual feast of street art and heritage houses, which was an experience that rivaled our breakfast experience. While Penang has a humid heat that some find difficult, it is worth walking around the streets to look for the different pieces of street art. Plus, it was a great way to build up the appetite for more eating that was sure to come.
True enough, Penang Tourism’s Yang shows up and leads us to our next eating destination, Auntie Gaik Lean’s Old School Eatery. One of Penang’s more unique cuisines is Nyonya cuisine. When the Chinese immigrants began to make a life for themselves in Malaysia, they married the locals and soon created a new cuisine called Nyonya. A total of eight dishes (plus two desserts) were prepared for us and I have to say, I was proud that we devoured almost all of it. Each of the dishes carried the Nyonya signature of strong, bright and zesty flavors, but I did have some favorites. One of them was a dish of fried egg doused in a tamarind sauce. It’s a flavor combination I never would have thought of, but it tasted amazing. If I didn’t have companions I liked so much, I would’ve gotten that dish and never shared. The other thing I wouldn’t have shared was the dessert, sago Gula Melaka. It’s a simple dessert of sago, coconut milk, palm sugar syrup and crushed ice. After walking under the Penang sun all morning, this was the ultimate cool-down dish.
The afternoon’s set of activities was a nice mix of old school and new. We first toured the Peranakan Mansion to take a look at how traditional Penang mansions looked like and functioned. I loved the mansion interiors, particularly the kitchen and the traditional Chinese medicine cabinets.
After that, we then headed to Penang’s highest building to visit The Top. Unbeknownst to me (mostly because I wasn’t paying attention earlier), we would be walking on the Rainbow Sky Walk. Located on the 68th floor, the walk was a semicircle-shaped walkway where the floor was made of glass. That meant you could see all the way down to the street as you crossed it! I’m telling you, no matter how stable the floor was (and it really is perfectly safe), it still took my breath away as I took my first step. Soon, fear gave way to excitement and I couldn’t resist taking a few souvenir photos.
The Rainbow Sky Walk has you 68 floors up on a glass floor.
Then, it was the main event. We made our way into the first day of the Penang International Food Festival (PIFF). Turns out, the PIFF, a project of the Penang tourism office, managed to bring in 120 of the best stalls around the island, so actually trying all of them would be physically impossible, even for a hungry group like ours. It’s a good thing then that our guides Yang and Junie made a list of must-try stalls for us, so we could maximize the two days we would be in the PIFF. During this first day, we tried out a number of delicious stalls, including another Char Koay Teow, Kambing Golek, chicken tandoori and naan, Otak Otak, grilled dried squid (yeah, we ate a lot) and Asam Laksa.
The total surprise of the night though, was the one stall I had no intention of visiting. I had no idea what the Daging Harimaw Menangis stall was selling, but Yang was so insistent that we just had to buy a plate. The name of the dish translates to “Crying Tiger Meat,” and as Yang saw the look of confusion on my face, he quickly explained that it’s not tiger meat. It was named so because the beef was so good that the tiger supposedly cried after eating it. Curious, I ate a piece and was immediately a convert. The beef, most probably hanging tender, was grilled perfectly medium and it was salty, sweet and tremendously flavorful. I did not shed any tears while eating it, but I was darn close.
As we headed home to rest, I considered how impossible it would be to top this day in terms of eating experiences. Yang seemed to read my mind when he promised, “Tomorrow we’ll have even more food.”
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Follow Sharwin’s food adventures on Instagram@chefsharwin and for questions, reactions, recipe and column suggestions, you can contact him on www.sharwintee.com.
