The Ecstatic Food Experience of Penang

I only had one plan in Penang, Malaysia: eat.

The island is known as the food paradise of Southeast Asia, full of street food stands and ethnic delicacies from the large Chinese and Indian communities. The city of George Town would be the map of my scavenger hunt.

Upon arrival, I found out that I hadn’t picked the best time for this foodie exploration. I was in Penang during the days leading up to Chinese New Year, so many of the food stands and small restaurants were closed. But having no basis of comparison, I was perfectly content with what I found: there was no way to tell how many less stands there were. I wandered from street to street, stand to stand, in a happy haze.

My first food experience in Penang was with assam laksa, a tamarind and fish- flavored spicy soup with rice noodles. After mostly low-spice Turkish food, it was a revelation– I’d forgotten how spicy food can create such a great RUSH. My sinuses cleared and I turned over the flavors on my tongue, trying to articulate the new sensations. I paired the assam laksa with a cold glass of fresh watermelon juice.

And then I discovered chendol.

This cold icy sweet quickly became my Malaysia addiction. Shaved ice is topped with cane sugar syrup, coconut milk, green rice noodles and red adzuki beans; it melts as you’re eating it into a cold, sweet soup. I perched around the food stand with the rest of the chendol addicts, slurping up the weird textures and sweet sensations in my bowl before all the ice melted. On steamy hot Malaysia days, it’s better than ice cream. (Being an ice cream fanatic, this is not a comparison I make lightly.)

I became obsessed with food stands. Streets that were hot and deserted by day hosted lively tables and busy cooks by night. One very hungry evening, I ordered some curry mee at one of these night spots, another spicy soup with curry and turmeric and unidentified meat (mostly fish, I think) and a perfect punch of spice. It was, simply, amazing. My mind was blown over and over again. The flavors and textures of the curry mee exploded in my mouth, leaving me gasping afterwards with wonder. It was that good. I was buzzing!

Every day brought a different ecstatic experience. Some nights I ate two dinners, just to taste a new-found wonder. I ate fresh-grilled bread in alley coffee shops, ripe coconuts on the shoulder of curving roads, passion fruit juice carted around in a plastic bag.

My explorations weren’t limited to food stands. I went to an excellent dim sum restaurant and tried egg custard tarts. I ate fresh-made roti and so many spicy curries straight off a banana leaf at Veloo Villas in Little India. I had a cooked duck in a hole-in-the-wall under a hotel. It never mattered if I got what I intended to order– everything I ate was transcendent.

Food in Penang was a high. There are lots of sights and activities on this island, but the food tops all of it. When I remember those exquisite dishes, my brain starts buzzing again.