Penang Malay Food

The term "Malay" can be a hotch-potch of several influences and cultures in South-east Asia and its definition can vary, depending on context, purpose and academic intent. It can encompass Javanese backgrounds from the days of the Majapahit Empire, the Bugis from Sulawesi, the Minangkabaus from Sumatra, Siamese connotations, Arab trading connections and the intermarriages with Indians and Chinese during the days of the Malacca Sultanate. These groups of people living in south-east Asia were largely Hinduised or had animistic beliefs before the advent of Islam on the sea routes across the Indian Ocean and on to the Straits of Malacca. Such a rich background has also resulted perhaps in one of the world's strongest blends of fusion food, which in contemporary times has been categorised as Malay food. Above image, the crunchy deep fried squid.

Eggs, whether as fried omelettes or as hard boiled wholes, are popularly immersed in a light chili based curry to accompany with steamed rice. (image above) The most popular dish in this range is the telor Belada, which can be kept for eating for a few days.

There are key elements of Malay cuisine, ranging from the hot to sour and savoury. The belacan (picture above) is a primary condiment to accompany any other dish - be it a salad, curry, main dish or entree - at the dining table. Made up of pound chillies and shrimp paste, and given a dressing of kaffir lime juice, it sets the tone for the palate. Essential ingredients in this cuisine are lemongrass; a wild ginger called the bunga kantan; coconut milk; tamarind paste and juice; cumin (jintan putih); fennel (jintan manis); wet tumeric (kunyit); daun kesum ( or laksa leaf); and freshly grated coconut known as the kerasik. Such a variety of ingredients are mixed and pound by mortar and pastel traditionally in to a concoction called the rempah, which is required to be made ready before actually cooking. You may note the Thai, Indian and Portuguese influences in the choice of ingredients mentioned.

The ayam masak merah, or red sauced cooked chicken ( above), can e made at home utilising the following recipe, taken from Ivan Cho's CintaDapur:

Ingredients:

3 pieces chicken leg (cut into bite size chunks)

2 tbs turmeric powder1 onion (half cut into strips, the other half cut fine)

3-4 dried chili (crushed)

2 birds eye chili (sliced fine)

1 x thumbsized ginger,

sliced fine4 X chopped tomatoes

2 tbs tomato paste

2 tbs tomato sauce

3 tbs sweet soya sauce (also known as kecap manis)

1 tbs sugar

Vegetable oil

Method:

Marinade chicken in turmeric powder for half hour

In a mortar, make a paste by griding half an onion, dried chili, birds eye chili and ginger into a paste.

Alternatively, place them all into a blender with 1 tbs of vegetable oil

Heat up a pot with 4 tbs of oil then shallow fry the chicken till brown and crispy; well yellow and crispy in this instance (chicken does not need to be complete cooked at this stage) – If your pot is not big enough, consider frying the chicken in batches.

Remove the chicken and let it rest on paper towels

With the remaining oil, add in the spice paste and allow to fry for 1-2 minutes

Add in the tomato paste, tomato sauce, chopped tomatoes, sweet soya sauce and sugar and give it a good stir

Add in half cup of water and allow the mixture to simmer until it thickens into a gravy like texture

Add in chicken and allow to cook thoroughly.

Serve with steamed rice

Favourite dishes fro me when growing up in Malaysia include the nasi lemak; belacan kangkong; ikan bakar or deep fried fish (picture above), with a stuffing of selected rempah and garlic fries as dressing; mutton soup; nasi kerabu; beef or chicken satay in skewers; beef rendang and sambal prawns. The taste obtained for such dishes can change from region to region within Peninsular Malaysia, and Penang versions can be so different from those in Johor or Pahang or Kelantan. Impressions on non-Malaysians of this cuisine can be described in two significant words - tangy and pungent.

Dome Coffee Cafe, Penang

Living on the eastern seaboard of Australia, I have never visited a Dome Coffee cafe on this continental island, and the fact that Perth, home to Dome Coffee, is as far away from me as New York is to L.A., does not help. However , I have never been disappointed in any of my limited forays into one of their cafes, whether in Kuala Lumpur or Singapore. Recently, whilst waiting for mates to arrive, I could not resist checking out the DomeCoffee cafe in Queensbay Mall, Penang island. I ordered the afternoon tea set (picture bove) which cost me less than AUD7. Clockwise, from nine o'clock in the image, are curry puffs, Australian styled scones, with the accompanying raspberry preserves and cream, with a slice of brownie cookie in the centre. The scones were perfect, not hard, but breaks up so nicely when you bite into them.

The Queensbay Mall outlet of Dome Coffee (picture above) has laminated marble top tables for guests, is spaciously laid out and evokes of a colonial atmosphere. Dome also operates in Dubai; Abu Dhabi; Metro Manila and Makati in the Phillipines; in Bahrain's Manama; and at the Male International Airport on arrival in the Maldives.

The latte (above) I had matched up to Australian standards, and the bite sized curry puff (below) stood up to the expectations of this ex-Penangite. The menu is extensive, including pizzas, cookies, muffins, waffles, milkshakes, burgers and teas. Head office is in Maylands in WA, and naturally the bulk of the Australian operations are in that state, with only a single outlet in George Street, Brisbane and two in Hobart, Tasmania.

The Sun Yat Sen Memorial, Georgetown, Penang

Dr Sun Yat Sen was the man ascribed to have founded a modern day republic for China in 1911, following a number of rebellions, massive fund raising efforts from private citizens and the sacrifice of various individuals. Dr Sun's connections with Penang is encapsulated in his visit to the Sio Lang Teng, a club for ethnic Chinese merchants, where he first met with his ultimately fervent supporters in Malaya for the Revolutionary cause - Goh Say Eng and Ooi Kim Kheng. Many a common folk led an oppressive life under the yoke of the Qing Dynasty - and the Qing Dynasty itself was faced with the challenges of internal rebellions, colonisation in various parts of coastal China by several Western powers and a reluctance to meet effectively with the opportunities of modernism.

Goh Say Eng was my maternal grand uncle, and he is depicted (above ) in front of the Sun Yat Sen Memorial in Georgetown, Penang, as one of three statues in united and coordinated effort to fight for the end of feudal rule in China. The Memorial is located in a building housing the Penang Philomatic Union, which is a reading club started by the political Chinese Revolutionay Alliance or Tung Meng Hooi. This Alliance began in Tokyo in 1905 to begin efforts to achieve the implementation of a Chinese republic, finally proclaimed on 11 October 1911. Goh Say Eng founded the Penang chapter of this Alliance under the rule of the colonial British administration.

On the Chinese mainland, examples of the injustice, debauchery and economic hardships under Qing Dynasty rule are illustrated in the Penang Memorial by a series of detailed and interesting miniature vistas. Above picture shows typical bullying by local militia in Chinese towns and below, opium smoking and playing with prostitutes were rife by officials of the Qing Dynasty in China.

The tin mines of Perak (depicted above) were a huge economic drawcard for immigrants from various southern Chinese provinces, from the middle of the 19th century, to come settle in what was then Malaya (today's peninsular Malaysia). The political and civil turmoil in China in the last hundred years of the Qing Dynasty also created incentives for mass-scale migration out of China to various parts of the world, including Australia, the USA, Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines. Below, a quiet afternoon in the Penang base of the Sun Yat Sen Memorial Hall, which was officially opened in 2010.

Dr Sun had the privilege of being accommodated in various addresses in Georgetown, Penang whilst he was visiting to secure funding from and meeting up with overseas Chinese based in South-east Asia. Above picture depicts the various mansions and town houses that were involved, some of which still exist today. Penang offered such significant support, politically, financially and physically in the serious efforts to overthrow the last feudal dynasty in China that even the headquarters of Dr Sun's overseas coordinated efforts was moved from Singapore. Below is a depiction of the two headed snake, a term implied to Qing Dynasty officials who played a dangerous game of pleasing two opposing sides.

A representation of a regally seated Dr Sun (above) follows traditions in Chinese culture for respected and honoured national figures. This is reminiscent of the primary and national memorial in Nanjing in central China. Below is a representation of life in downtown Singapore in the early years of the 20th century, with a trishaw ride in downtown Chinatown.

Yeng Keng Hotel, Georgetown, Penang

With Georgetown, Penang and Malacca in Peninsular Malaysia added to the list of UNESCO heritage sites, there has been some activity in urban renewal from the freed up funding to support investment in rebuilding, renovating and renewal. I recently had lunch at one such redevelopment along Chulia Street in Georgetown - the Yeng Keng Hotel was once a family mansion, then a backpackers' hostel and now a refurbished heritage experience hotel. Much effort had gone into revitalising the motifs, foliage and ambiance in this location. The experience, as you walk through its cool passages, corridors and rooms, can be eclectic and multi-cultural but mostly Straits Chinese.

Yeng Keng is one of several sights worth stopping by as you take the Georgetown heritage walk, covering four main ethnic groups within a maximum two hour stroll. The retro hotel sits in the centre of a precinct that has Little India, Chinatown, Arab Quarter and Colonial Penang all within inspection within a kilometre. Thrown in are food stalls reflecting the variety available in south and south-east Asia, a relaxed pace and many sights and sounds to take in. Above, an indoor plant sits within a much loved and used container that reminds me of pickled rambutan fruit and water jars. Below a wall motif representing the local and tropical hibiscus utilises Arab and Indonesian influences in art.

The penchant for iconic Chinese themes - like the phoenix (below), mountain and ocean scenery and blossoming leafy flora (pictures above) - permeates Yeng Keng. The hotel has retained its imposing gateway but added a small wade pool at the back.

Above image captures the coffee corner at the front of Yeng Keng Hotel. It also has a dedicated bar and dining room apart from the main hotel building. Georgetown was founded by Captain Francis Light in the late 18th century - Light came to this part of the world based on the support of the British East India Company, after the Brits had lost the American colonies to independence. Light saw the potential of Penang Island as a middleman, broker and political controller of the rewarding trade route at the northern end of the Straits of Malacca. He negotiated the purchase and use of Penang Island from the then Sultan of nearby Kedah State on the mainland. The rest, as they say, is history - and Light's own son, William, went on to found Adelaide in South Australia.

Some of the original features of the Yeng Keng hotel building have been retained. Above, a window configuration up close and below, a cupboard displaying some of the interesting excavated items from the recent renovation of the site. Guest rooms in the new Yeng Keng have high ceilings - and the suites have furniture imported from the Czech Republic as well.

Colonial Singapore

Singapore has been touted as a melting pot of various ethnic migrants, a meeting point across trade routes and a strategic location for anchoring oneself before fanning out across the Asia Pacific region. It can be seen as soaking up good ideas, quality talent and fusion food. Walking around the Singapore River one Friday evening, I was reminded of the two great cultural, political and economic powers that have significantly shaped this island - Britain and China. Above - the lion head , one out of two, guarding the flagship branch of the Bank of China.

The fan palm (above) is symbolic of the equatorial flora of South-east Asia, and it is a favourite of the Singapore Government in the selection of plants and trees used to make the nation green. Although also found in northern Australia, Mexico and California, the plant originated from India and can be spectacular, growing to heights of six metres.

Cavenagh Bridge (below and above) is now a pedestrian bridge, but has a glorious history and tradition. It was designed by John Turnbull Thompson and built by P & W Maclellan of Glasgow, Scotland. The name of the bridge was made in honour of the last India-appointed Governor of the Straits Settlements, Major-General William Orfeur Cavenagh. It also played a pivotal role during the Japanese occupation of Singapore, when the island was renamed Syonan.

The Cavenagh Bridage, above, has more steel suspension struts than most of its peers built in the late 19th century. When completed, it was said to have been built to withstand more than four times its expected load as an open bridge for vehicular traffic. Is only drawback is its low draught. Today it plays a role in bridging the cultural and commercial precincts of downtown Singapore, and can be easily located beside the nearby Fullerton Hotel and the Asian Civilisations Museum.