KEN HUNTS FOOD • Chinese, Indian and Malaysian Food • George Town • MALAYSIA
Channel: Oxlaey
Date: 2015-09-15

It's the cultural mix that makes life in Penang so spicy. Just ask the food blogger Ken who has easily eaten over 1000 restaurants in and around Penang

"Today we’re going to try 5 different dishes which represent the different cultural mix you’ll find here in Penang. 
We start at Macalister Road and we’re going to eat a very nice hokkien mee. It's more like a breakfast food or brunch. "Hokkien" refers to the cultural group of the Chinese and "mee" means noodles. 

"How long have you been in business?" "We’ve been here since 1980.

A typical bowl of Hokkien Mee consists of yellow noodles, lightly blanched, and assembled with hard boiled eggs, pork ribs, shrimps, and completed with a spoon full of chili paste. 

"Our soup is different. Our ingredients are different.” “What makes it different?” "We use mantis shrimp, and our sauce is thicker so its tastier." 

Next up is Ravi Devi and his wife who have been cooking Indian Apom since 1974. 

"At 7:30 we start out fire here." "I prepare the fire." "From 7:30 until about 12:30 we cook here non-stop. Eggs. Sugar. All mixed together. It started with the clay pot. That was the original one, but now the clay pot doesn't last like in those days. So this is a pan from India. Non-stick pan from Bombay - especially for Apom. You must make it crispy, so when you eat it you can feel the crunchiness and fluffy in the middle." 

Having tasted authentic Indian food in George Town, we're heading to Balik Pulau for some Assam Laksa. This particular stall is special because they make their own noodles which are springier and bouncier compared to other places in Penang. So they are assembling a bowl of Assam Laksa. Its got mint leaves, cucumbers, lettuce and pineapple in it. It's believed that Assam Laksa originated from Peranakan cuisine - the intermarriage of Malay and Chinese. We have one bowl of Assam Laksa here with homemade rice noodles so it has a chewier texture as compared with other places. 

A short ferry ride over the mainland is a hidden gem filled with the flavor of Malaysia. At Sungai Dua you can try the famous mee udang at Aur Gading. Mee udang is a type of prawn noodles served with a very rich and thick seafood broth. You can also add all of the seafood you see into your mee udang. The recipe has been passed down for generations. It has a light taste of peanut and the flavors are fully accentuated from the seafood. 

Last stop is Hameediyah, famous for serving nasi kandar for over 100 years. A typical plate of nasi kandar will consist of boiled egg, fried chicken and veggies drenched in plenty of curry sauce. 
"We don't buy commercial sauces - we make our own."