Penang gals

I haven't been to Penang since 2002 - when I had popped into the gran E&O Hotel on the way to Bangkok in the super-luxe E&O train. I briefly remembered it as a child when granny, uncle, aunt, mom and us the kids visited it during a whirlwind Malaysian vancanza (very typical in the 80s). So it was appropriate that I bought air tickets for my fav gals - granny, mom and sista - to Penang so we can spend some quality girly time together. Plus gran was up for it and this was her first holiday since her stroke more than 1 year ago. We had a fab time eating and exploring the streets of Penang which incidentally also shared the UNESCO heritage site as Malacca in 2007.

One cannot go hungry in PG. We ate our way through the famous Penang laksa, char kway teow, old skool wanton mee, rojak, lor mee, chee cheong fun, popiah, hokkien prawn mee, seafood porridge, sarsi-flavoured ice kachang, etc and burnt off the calories walking a fair bit. Penang laksa was the shiokest - silky flour noodles in a fragrant assam-scented broth, singing the notes of chillies, ginger flower, pineapple, cucumber, mint, flaky sardines and generous lashings of hay gor (fermented prawn paste - a local pride).

It was a close tie between the mother and son stall at 99D Lorong Selamat and the family-run stall at Air Itam pasar. Both businesses have been passed down from generations so you can taste the pride and passion in each bowl. When prodded, Mr Loh who runs the L. Selamat stall with his mom said that his dad started the business 40 years ago and he has helped his parents since he was 5. I last met them at the Penang hawker buffet at York Hotel in Singapore in Oct (which they ve been participating for years). Mr Loh used a generous amount of fresh sardines in PG - a glorious bowl just for MR$4 (in Spore the slab of sardine was missing).

At the Air Itam pasar roadside stall, the hawker gamely posed for me as he busied himself with unrelenting orders from passerbys and motorists. He told me that it is a 3rd generation business since 50 years ago. Here, it's MR$2.70 for a small bowl; the taste is more robust compared to Mr Loh's lighter and sprightier version but nonetheless packs a punch. If variety is your game, the popular Gurney Drive open-air food centre starts to pack them in at sunset.

Some locals insist it's too touristy and overpriced (like Newton Circus in Spore) and they avoid it and patronise hawkers tucked away at smaller street corners or coffeeshops. Still, I guess it is worth a visit to see the span of hawker delights. Everyone has their favourites and the best advice came from the friendly taxi drivers. (Tip for travelling: always ask the locals for their favourite eat-outs). One chatty uncle gave us a tour of his food hide-outs, including his wife's fav wanton stall next to the Padang (along Anson Rd) and the row of roadside hawkers along New Lane at Sunway Lagoon Hotel.

He even showed us the new outlet of Penang Road Famous Teochew Chendol located at Komtar Walk and we invited him to join us for desserts. The best chendol is still at Malacca but it's not too shabby here. What surprised us was the ice kachang with its mix of fresh red beans, atap seeds, corn, grass jelly, sago, peanuts and a lovely tinge of Sarsi (instead of artificial coloured syrups). He also said that PG has changed a lot over the last 40 years but it still remains very laidback and makes a great place for retirement.

What I like about PG is also a sense of history, particularly the rows of gorgeous seafront colonial mansions at Georgetown. You can imagine the hi-society parties, the horse-drawn carriages, the ballgowns and tuxes, the heady Champagne and the light breeze caressing the balmy coconut trees.

There are many places celebrating PG's rich history from these beautifully restored mansions and monuments to places of worship. We managed to visit Kek Lok Si temple with its 120-feet bronze Guan Yin statue visible from afar and the intriguing blue mansion Cheong Fatt Tze circa 1890. For a bit of nature, we popped into the tranquil Spice Garden and lapped up its serene vibes before lunching on some really tasty beef and chicken rendang at its hilltop cafe. Here, a cooking class was underway under the shady trees and the Nonya instructor spoke to us briefly and asked if I liked to cook. Of course I do!

We loved the magical Butterfly Farm not far away from the Spice Garden. The lush garden enclosure is home to an eye-popping variety of colourful butterflies, some I have never seen before and some as big as my palms. My favourite are the black and white polk-dotted ones which contrast so well with the greenery. At times, these celestials creatures landed on my head and even on my outstretched arm, and I feel very connected to them (I swear they are fairies in disguise!). On the whole, we had a great time at Georgetown (although traffic was terrible with the out-of-town visitors clogging the many one-way roads).

Batu Ferringhi, 20mins away, was more like a beach resort town with many seafronting properties such as Hard Rock and Shangri-La. In the evening, the roadside stalls came to life and it felt like a mini Phuket (without the go-go bars). Here is also the playground for many Middle-eastern tourists - judging from the slew of Arabic and Lebanese restaurants. Afterall, here is one of the few places in Asia where they can be guaranteed of a good halal meal. I guess that's the beauty of PG - everyone gets to eat well.