Penang is a culinary wonderland – it’s widely recognized to as the food capital of Malaysia and has some of the best street food on the entire continent. We got here just in time to celebrate xmas which of course means a big festival with all the dishes they are famous for. It was lots of fun – tons of people, live music and even the PM was there. Also, origami. Okay quick tangent – have you ever actually tried making origami? It’s not just folding paper, that shit is hard. We must have burned 45 minutes trying to make a goddamn christmas tree. I eventually gave up with an exasperated “Man, Asians are just smarter than the rest of us!” BUT it was a lot of fun and I wouldn’t mind making it an Xmas tradition in the whatever-our-last-name-is household for future holidays to come. It’s not like we’re following the script anyway, why not add something new? We actually extended our stay for two days to see more of the city and because my stomach is my true leader. There was lots of cool street art all over town and we trekked hard to find it all. Some of it was wrought iron caricatures depicting or explaining something from the city’s history, others were Banksy-esque murals and paintings using physical objects around them. All of them were awesome, and Shef deserves special recognition for keeping us on our feet and moving instead of just taking the easy way out. You can see the culture of food is a strong part of the city’s identity, especially at night when banks of hawker stalls and street carts lining the sidewalk are rapidly serving scores of people. One place called Line Clear is practically world-famous – they even have a picture from when Anthony Bourdain visited on the wall. When you go there be sure to ask them about it, they’ll beam with pride as soon as you drop his name. The dish they are famous for is Nasi Kandar, and it is rice with a mixture of curries (prawn, mutton, chicken) and a big ol’ piece of either curried or fried chicken. It’s honestly one of the ten best things I’ve ever eaten in my life. I know the food is a highlight wherever we go, but here especially it really stood out. I kind of got in the habit of eating three dinners in a row every night. Pay attention to the pictures, I have extra chins now. Shocking, I know.
[1] Pictures of Penang
[2] Penang Street Art