Penang Food Series, Part 1
FOOD. Must have it. Can’t live without it. “Give us this day our daily bread.” But who knew after leaving India (and, yes, we shall return to India in a couple months) that we would land smack dab in the middle of the epicurean universe? The island of Penang, just off the west coast of peninsular Malaysia situated in the Strait of Malacca, is just that: “Where All The World’s Foods Meet in One Place”. How did we not know this? Where were we lacking in both our world view and education growing up in the United States? We continue to realize that the sum total of what we don’t know about life on this planet is logarithmically skewed to immeasurable heights.
Penang Island, particularly the UNESCO World Heritage city of George Town, surely must be the world’s “Foodie Paradise Central”. The countless expressions of cuisine here in George Town are indeed a huge factor for the city’s designation as a UNESCO treasure. To understand the “why” behind the delightful delectables of Penang, one must delve into a wee bit of history. (The operative term here for this post is “wee bit”.)
Pulling out a map is a must. Enter “Penang Island” in Google Maps and zoom in, out, and around. The Strait of Malacca sees over 100,000 ships carrying well beyond 25% of the world’s total cargo pass through its waters each and every year. This is nothing new. Serious hard-core trading between the numerous fiefdoms along the edge of the South China Sea (i.e. China and Vietnam) and the sultanates and ‘divine’ kingdoms along the Gulf of Thailand, Andaman Sea, Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea via the Malacca Strait have been going on as far back as the 6th century CE.
Along with thousands upon thousands of international ‘Trader Joes’ making stops along both sides of the Malacca Strait over the last 1,400 years, thousands of multinational pirates have likewise plied these waters, disrupting any sense of status quo for what might be considered “standard fare” on the plate. Or bowl. Or banana leaf.
And then there were those big takeovers of the past: Portuguese and Dutch invasions: the British colonial takeover followed by the Imperial Japanese takeover that sent the British running; the return of the Brits at the end of World War II, followed by Malaysia’s independence movement that led to the permanent end of British rule by 1957. (Yes, 1957. Two years before Duane was born. No, that was NOT a long, long time ago.)
And then there’s geography to consider: As Penang Island sits closer to where the Strait of Malacca opens toward the west, it leverages a distinct advantage over its more glamorous food competitor, Singapore, at the bottom of the Strait.
THE REALITY: Here in Penang, you will encounter a kaleidoscope of culinary comestibles with mouth-watering food roots springing from ancient Arabia, Persia, India, Siam (i.e. Thailand), Sriwijaya and Brawijaya (Sumatra and Java) and China, - as well as more not-so-ancient influences from the West (particularly England and Holland) and the Far East, especially the Korean peninsula and Japan. ‘Late-comer’ food influencers from France, Spain, Italy, Greece, Turkey, Lebanon, Syria, and Australia all continue to make a big splash here as well.
Yum!!
(Stay tuned for Part Two in our Penang Food Series: How It Works. Coming soon!)
