A Day in Penang

Everyone got up earlier on the Saturday after having a nice rest at the hotel the night before. We were up in plenty of time for breakfast before joining my Mum and Aunt again at her place. Then came the plan to head to Penang Island to visit more relatives. My Aunt tagged along as well.

We arrived at my other Aunt's place well before lunch - there was hardly any traffic getting there. We decided to have lunch at one of the nasi kandar shop near my Aunt's apartment and it was a delight. Irfan especially felt sleepy after the curry and ended up on the sofa while we were waiting for Zohor prayers.

Irfan contemplating what to try next ...Then came the sotong kangkung ...Making acquaintance with the local wildlife ...Next stop .... Padang Kota. As per custom, we would order pasembor, laksa, sotong bakar, sotong kangkung and ais kacang; not necessarily in that order. It was gorgeous although the laksa could have been better - it didn't come with shrimp paste.

We just sat at the esplanade after the meal with the boys playing with bubbles and running around the place.

Nah! We stick to the bubbles ...That's Butterworth at the far end ...Let's start ...

Next stop was at another Aunt's place in Kepala Batas. They had recently moved there from Butterworth and this was the first time I came over to visit them at their new place. More food and by this time, the boys were already getting grumpy. When we finally dropped my Mum and Aunt, it was already past sunset. Another early for the long journey tomorrow ...

Padang Kota

A trip to Penang for me won't be complete without a stop at Padang Kota for laksa, sotong kangkung (squid and spinach) or sotong bakar (grilled squid). But most of the time it would be all three - like today.

After an afternoon nap, we set off for a ten minutes drive up the street to Padang Kota. Still early, we managed to get a spot to park without much hassle. Sat down, ordered the stuff and enjoyed the food. The boys only stared at us at the beginning although later Irfan joined us for laksa.

We tended to order from the same stall every time we came here. It was located at a corner, away from the sea front where most of the customers usually sat. It was good again today, although the squid was rather overcooked. The laksa was still the bomb though.

Sotong kangkungSome proper laksaOf course, some sotong bakarNext came the walk along the beach front. There were many vendors selling toys, and my boys went for the bubble guns. Before long, it was mayhem!

It was still an overcast day, with not much wind, making the weather rather muggy. A strong breeze would have been better. Once the bubbles dried up, we took a drive towards Batu Feringghi. It was almost Maghrib when we reached there, and Anita decided against getting off. There was a night market near the main intersection and the traffic was already starting to build up.

Time to head back to the hotel then ...

The Feast

It was more like a feast and a half. We left Sungai Petani just after Asar prayers, and stopped at my Uncle's place in Kepala Batas before returning to the hotel in Georgetown. My boys were confused as to the number of time we crossed the Penang Bridge. It was certainly more convenient than taking the ferries, but a lot less fun.

As we got back to Penang after Maghrib, we bought dinner back to the hotel - all that we fancied, laksa, tandoori, sotong kangkung - as tomorrow we would be easing home.

So, we ate and dined. Now we were all sleepy, settling in for an early night. We planned am early start tomorrow, likely heading to Chowrasta Market before making one last stop at Grandmother's on the way home. My mother-in-law had put some order in for food to take back down to KL. Therefore we were more than likely to leave for home after 3. Let's hope that there were still space in the boot ....

Return to Padang Kota

After Carnivall, Julia decided to travel to Penang to visit our Grandmother, and we brought the whole troupe round. We reached there just before the traffic jam and had a quick stop at Pahang Road. Before Maghrib, we went to Padang Kota for a spot of laksa.

For some reason, the laksa was rather poor that evening. Maybe we ordered at the wrong stall. Even the pasembor was a bit off. But with all their cousins around, my boys were rather occupied with playing and never complained. A lot have changed at Padang Kota. It used to be a more open and happening place with food stalls lining up the streets. With Penang status as a Unicef Heritage City, there had to ‘clean their act’ so to speak and off went the hawkers. Instead, they were placed in purpose-built eatery, with the non-halal stalls occupying the front and prime end. A few years back, there were pickets going on, but it was quickly squashed by the politicians. The Malay politicians were busy filling up their own coffers I’m afraid rather than looking after the locals. Sad to say in it? I guess it was down to the pressure of getting more tourists in. The Mat Salleh of course like their drink.

However, the place has been much cleaner than I remembered although a lot more could have been done. A new pavement, more parking slots, cleaner toilets for a start I supposed. The boys spent the time at the playground until they were tired. It was not bad going considering they had been at the water park all day earlier.

Padang Kota

Puan Anita enjoying her lee chee kangI remembered when I was young, I looked forward to have laksa at Padang Kota Lama every time I visit Penang. Laksa, followed by ais kacang. The ais kacang must have a scoop of ice-cream on top! Sometimes we also had some kerang (cockle) or cuttlefish with spinach. A real local delicacy. A must have. Over the years, the beachfront stalls were moved into a more organised food bazaar and to a certain extend, the charm was lost.

Kerang .....For instance, take laksa. The moment you reach the stalls, there will be throng of vendors coming towards you asking what you want. A quick look, you will see at east 4 laksa stalls. You will never know where your order will come from, or more importantly, will in come from the best stall on offer. It can be really intimidating if you were unfamiliar with the place. The second issue was the number of child beggars around. I was sure they were organised in syndicate. The problem was, they kept on coming and pretended that they did not know each other. After giving money to a couple of children, we soon got fed up and ignored the rest. The sad thing was, none of the vendors minded them, much to the annoyance of the visitors.

What to choose?And more ....The squid and cuttlefish I had was really nice, but shame about the laksa. The ais kacang was OK.I guess if I were to go there again, I should bring one of my uncles to take me around. He should know where to order from. Dropping by just like that may not be a good idea after all. If you really wanted to sample good food, get a local fella to come along!

Suffice to say that Idlan did not enjoy the visit since as soon as he arrived, he was swamped by the vendors, and the beggars. We had to finish up fast before the boys kick up an even bigger fuss. After a quick walk along the esplanade, we headed home. The main Padang Kota was transformed into a giant football hall. There was a massive screen beaming the World Cup game live later in the evening, filled with locals. There were also a small fanfare there. Unfortunately, lingering around was a bit too much for the boys.