Penang is testament to the country’s multicultural citizenry and this year’s Merdeka theme of Where Love Grows, writes CK Lam
OVER the past 56 years, Penang has become synonymous with great food, a melting pot of cultures and their culinary history.
Despite the increasing number of modern cafes and fast food chains popping up in the city, there are still restaurant owners in Penang who are sticking with the age-old recipes.
For these people, the old ways will never wear thin and these methods keep their customers coming back for more. Here is a selection of popular outlets selling traditional Penang fare.
Sin Kheng Aun Restaurant
It is in Chulia Lane and is one of the prominent Hainanese restaurants on the island.
It serves Hainanese and other local Asian dishes. Popular among locals and tourists, the business was handed down to the current second-generation partners, Ong Chin Hong and Ong Lam Hock by their fathers who set up shop in 1941.
Both of them value originality and continue serving dishes using the same recipes.
The specialty includes gulai tumis tow tay (or pomfret in tamarind curry), Hainanese chicken chop, kerabu udang (prawn salad), kiam hoo Belanda (salted fish in chilli paste) and inchi kabin deep-fried chicken.
The kerabu udang is spicy with plenty of onion and cucumber. The spicy sambal and coarse chopped peanut add flavour and texture.
The unique Hainanese chicken chop is still among its bestsellers. It comes deep-fried with egg batter, and served with onion, peas and fried potatoes in a slightly thick gravy.
This old-fashioned restaurant still uses a manual metal lift to deliver food from the kitchen on the ground floor to the dining area on the first floor.
The owners are friendly and down-to-earth and remember their customers.
Selera Sri Tambang, Bukit Mertajam
This shop has been serving mee udang, or prawn noodles, for more than 20 years.
On the banks of Sungai Dua in Bukit Mertajam in Seberang Perai, it is now run by Azlina Safiee whose parents started the eatery in the mid-1980s. She still strictly adheres to her parents’ recipe.
A signboard by the counter has a list of seafood options — including huge prawns or flower crabs — to add to their noodles, which can be stir-fried or soup-based.
The soup noodle comes with a hearty spicy and sweet broth (boiled with heads of prawns and lots of tomatoes) with blanched noodles, prawns, bean sprouts and cabbage. Toppings include tomatoes, slices of hard-boiled egg, crispy shallots and a slice of lime.
The stir-fried noodle is sweet and spicy. Most have it with huge prawns.
The drink menu offers refreshing nutmeg and coconut water.
Restoran Minah
This is an old-time favourite for Malay cuisine. Third-generation owners are carrying on the 64-year tradition at this non-air conditioned restaurant in Gelugor.
It has a wide dining area in front and the food is displayed at the back, beside the kitchen.
One can find tempting savoury lauk (dishes) using homemade recipes. The grilled fish is a favourite, a perfect match with sambal belacan (prawn paste).
Other highlights are chilli paste petai (bitter bean) with prawn, gado-gado (mixed vegetables), fried mixed vegetables, deep-fried chicken and kerabu.
The kerabu, made of four-angle beans, beans sprouts, kerisik (toasted grated cocnut) and daun silom (water celery) is much sought-after.
The menu also offers many meat dishes and diners will find the beef rendang truly delicious.
Finally, don’t forget the ulam (kampung salad) with sambal belacan made of fresh chillies.
Nasi dalca
One favourite nasi dalca (lentil rice) stall of yesteryear is still in a short alley in Hutton Lane.
The nameless stall was started by M.M. Abdul Jaafar in 1957.
“It doesn’t have to have a name. Most Penangites will remember my stall behind the former Tong Aik Emporium which was very popular from the 1950s to 1970s,” says Abdul Jaafar.
The stall wows its customers with a simple menu and its signature nasi dalca. A serving of nasi dalca comes with rice boiled with dhal (lentils), cloves, cinnamon, star anise and mustard seeds.
Accompanying the fragrant rice is a dish of creamy dhal cooked with onions, potatoes, brinjal and curry leaves. Beef curry, fish curry and chicken curry prepared with a complex sweet and sour flavour are some of the side dishes.
The roti bakar kepala ikan (toasted bread with fish head curry) is a unique dish people keep coming back for. It is a scrumptious meal combined with crispy toasted bread eaten with black promfret curry.
For breakfast, charcoal-toasted Bengali bread done with crunchy charred crust, roti canai and half-boiled eggs are the mainstay. “Years ago, we even served apom manis (sweet pancake),” says Abdul Jaafar.
His son, Ahmad now runs the business, maintaining its charm and history. Abdul Jaafar still lends a hand there.