What made my short stay in Penang so worth it is that I didn’t taste anything that wasn’t to my liking. Meaning, everything was delicious to my curious tastebuds. I didn’t even eat in a restaurant labelled as “fine dining.” Because to have an inkling of Penang cuisine, you’d have to be there on the streets, where the cooking mamas chop onions as fast as those chefs on TV in their little stalls and serve food on makeshift tables. Outsiders would have the impression that whipping up good hawker food was a way of life there, and the practice was passed on through generations. This is what comprises the legend that is Penang food.

The first real meal I had upon arriving was this colorful wan tan mee, priced at $1 or forty plus pesos. This was egg noodles in black soya sauce with slices of roast pork, dumplings, green veggies, chilies and other bits. Simply superb!
(more…)