Food Adventures in my Hometown

I could not resist the offer by the Indian vendor offering curry puffs from a banana leaf layered basket he was carrying. The potato and chicken concoction beneath the wholesome pastry, when bit into, suggested a succulence of orange-brown coloured spiciness, and when mixed with the unusual onion ring pickles, took me back to my childhood.

It was the morning before I flew to Singapore. Here I was in the heart of Georgetown, Penang, culminating my adventures of food unique to the island, a long established melting pot of various cuisines, local fusion and sea-faring delicacies. I was in the Kheng Pin coffee shop along Penang Road, which also offered Hainan steamed chicken rice with a class above and comparable to what Singapore outlets made at a higher asking price. A few days ago, across the street, I dunked crispy savoury roti pancakes into three types of curry, not as watery as in Sydney's Chinatown, but with a more solid flavour and aromatic arouser to the appetite. European back packers seemed to take an affinity to these pancakes, very easy to eat despite being under the higher humidity and stronger sun of the equatorial belt.

I have a preference for the provincial cuisine of Chiuchao in southern China, and when good friends took me to partake the Teochew-styled duck, a peppery creation doused with other blended flavours in lean cuts, I was in ecstasy! Other lunchers around us were tucking in steamboat, even during a hot afternoon outside, but I preferred the unique dishes accompanied with rice or noodles at this long running restaurant called Goh Huat Seng, another landmark restaurant in the old bustling quarter of Georgetown's so-called Chinatown district.

One thing I do not get at all in Australia's Chinatowns are the oyster omelettes inspired from Fujian province in China and which its chief city, Xiamen, readily offers. Many of the Penang Chinese have a Hokkien heritage tracing back to hundreds of years, and to be able to taste it, even if once a year, overcomes any concerns for sea pollution, high cholesterol and iodine excess.

Another evening, whilst catching up with Seng Fatt and Shirley and their two daughters, Samantha and Becky, I came across two stand-out dishes - fish curry and roast chicken - at Soon Lai, located amongst residential houses in the Green Lane area. I was more than happy to relax in a Perth-originated cafe chain outlet called Dome and liked its decor and the fact that their waiting staff had to don French styled caps as if they were beside the River Seine in Paris. As it was the Lunar New Year, I appreciated Mum's traditional insistence to have a fatt choy dish (made of braised black seaweed and other expensive but auspicious sounding named seafood) at the family dinner out. I have seen seaweed along the Wollongong coast but this was another dimension all together.

The morning after I arrived, I jumped for joy sampling the variety of food at the Campaki at Hotel Equatorial. Sea urchin, eels in marinade, California rolls and green tea ice cream came to my mind - and more. That same evening, I had my annual taste of pandan-flavoured chicken at a small, unassuming Thai cafe called Mama's in another suburban housing area. An elderly aunt always gets the family the multi-layered cake, reeking of cinnamon and vanilla,delicious but expensive. Another Lunar New Year practice is the partaking of the yee sang, an ingenious salad with salmon bits included into a heady mix of crispy and fresh thin slices of vegetable cuts, then finally stirred with various sauces, including vinegar, plum sauce and the like.

All these commercial outlets had to contend with home cooking. My sister-in-law turns out mouth watering pineapple tarts. Mum makes the most soul-stabilising kong tau yew bak ( pork in soy sauce) and sambal udang (prawn curry). My aunt Kuchai comes up with the best nasi lemak set, complete with the special curry with a kick that goes just perfect with the coconut cream flavoured rice. Then both women go neck to neck with their home-made lobak, chicken curry , fish curry and herbal soups. I actually put on an additional three kilograms in ten days. Enough said! And I have not even mentioned about the fresh garoupas from a farm off the coast in Province Wellesley, courtesy of a brother's godmother.