Malaysia: Malacca's Perenakan (Nyonya) cuisine

Malacca also has it's share of Perenakan cuisine. So before I move on to a different topic, let's continue our discussion on Malaysian food. While we were in Malacca, we had lunch at a Nyonya restaurant called Seroni Nyonya Cuisine Restaurant.

We were served a really sumptuous selection of Nyonya cuisine that included chicken tempra, fish fillet with tamarind sauce, anchovies with cili garam, ginger venison (deer), fried kampung rice, lemak prawns and stir fried okra. For dessert, we were given yummy bowls of cendol.

While we did our walking tour around Jonker Street later in the afternoon, I also got to try out some of the goodies. There was a shop which sold pastries with pineapple filling as well as winter melon cakes (a.k.a. hopia). Along the street were a good number of hawker stalls which sold siomai, baked siew pau, radish and yam cakes, dried fish and squid, and other local stuff.

It's sad that the chicken rice balls restaurant was closed by the time we arrived. It's really in-demand so it gets sold out easily and they close shortly after lunch. In Malacca, Hainanese chicken rice was modified so that the chicken is served with rice balls rather than a bowl of rice.

Part 1: Melaka, Malaysia is a historic city of the Straits of Malacca

Related entries
More Straits Settlements history in Malacca
Exploring the Penang heritage trail on foot
Bus trip from Kuala Lumpur to Penang, Malaysia
Following the heritage trail in Penang

Seroni Nyonya Cuisine Restaurant
60 & 62 Taman Melaka Raja 1, Jalan Melaka Raya 24, Melaka
Telephone: +60 (6) 2814848

Malaysia: Traditional trades and food adventure in George Town, Penang

Intangible heritage, particularly traditional trades and local cuisine, is very much a part of the Penang cultural landscape.

I was quite pleased that some of these trades were identified in Penang maps. I got to see several of them while walking around old Penang such as the Chinese calligrapher and seal engraver who carves personal chops to order.

I also got to pass by the Nyonya beaded shoe maker who crafts women's shoes with beadwork faces. The designs are very colorful and intricate and I found out it takes several weeks just to complete a pair.

Near the Goddess of Mercy Temple is a joss stick maker who rolls incense and sandalwood sticks by hand. Also near the temple are several garland makers who create colorful flower garlands which Hindus adorn on statues of their deities.

Other trades worth seeing in Penang include the Indian goldsmith who hand tools gold jewelry in traditional Indian designs, the signboard engraver who carves and gilds Chinese calligraphic plaques, the songkok maker who sews Muslim headgear on an old fashioned sewing machine, and the tombstone engraver who chisels Chinese and Muslim gravestones by hand.

Penang is also a culinary delight. Another testament to its multicultural setting, you can get the best of Penang food from road-side hawker stalls. It's such a shame I missed trying out the Penang laksa, a spicy and sour tamarind-based fish soup with thick round rice noodles.

One of the more popular hawker areas is actually several kilometers outside old George Town in an area called Gurney Drive. The choices there are endless and it's a must visit for any serious foodie.

But inside George Town, you won't go wrong as well since hawkers set up shop, especially as day gives way to night. Anyway, while walking around George Town, I'd stop to taste something that looked interesting. Since I was on the go, I had cha shar pau and roti babi which I saw at Pitt Street Koay Teow Th'ng to satisfy my hunger.

The colorful Indian sweets got me really curious as well. But I would later realize they were like sweeter versions of our already sweet pastillas candies.

In the evening, I tried out the local satay as well as several noodle dishes such as wan tan mee and sui kau. I didn't want to eat too much. So I was content with walking around and observing all the hawkers cook their signature dishes.

Part 1: Bus trip from Kuala Lumpur to Penang, Malaysia
Part 2: Exploring the Penang heritage trail on foot

Related entries
Following the heritage trail in Penang
Melaka, Malaysia is a historic city of the Straits of Malacca
More Straits Settlements history in Malacca

Malaysia: George Town and Penang's British colonial heritage

The cities of the Straits Settlements represent various periods in Malaysia's history. Melaka covers the period from the 15th century Malay sultanate to the Portuguese and Dutch periods beginning in the early 16th century. George Town on the other hand is a testament to the British era from the end of the 18th century.

Near St. George's Church and the Church of the Assumption and close to the sea are an ensemble of structures that remind us that George Town was once a British city. In between the two churches is the Penang State Museum. Built in 1906, it was once the home of the Penang Free School and the Hutchings School. Across the street is the Supreme Court Building built in 1905.

My personal favorite is the magnificently-white City Hall Building, a neo-Palladian building completed in 1903 to serve as the seat of government of Penang. Right beside it is the Town Hall Building which was completed in 1880.

Right beside these buildings is the Penang War Memorial. This cenotaph to commemorate war dead is something I've seen in many British colonial cities.

Like many colonial cities, George Town also has fortifications. Fort Cornwallis was built by Sir Francis Light immediately after his landing on the island, with its present star-shaped structure completed in the early 19th century. Beside it is the Queen Victoria Diamond Jubilee Clocktower built in 1902.

Facing the port in Pengkalan Weld (Weld Quay) are the Boustead and German merchant houses that were built between 1890 to 1910. The Customs Building with clocktower, built in 1907, once housed the F.M.S. Railways. Near Convent Light Street is the Eastern & Oriental Hotel, a grand colonial hotel established in 1885 by Armenian hoteliers. Check out the 1920s echo dome and Otis cage elevator. It's now a luxury all-suites heritage hotel.

Finally, a Christian Cemetery that dates back to 1790 still exists. It has both Protestant and Catholic sections and is the final resting place of many of Penang's governors, administrators and other pioneers.

Part 1: Bus trip from Kuala Lumpur to Penang, Malaysia
Part 2: Exploring the Penang heritage trail on foot

Related entries
Following the heritage trail in Penang
Melaka, Malaysia is a historic city of the Straits of Malacca
More Straits Settlements history in Malacca

Malaysia: Penang's ancestral temples, clan associations & mansions

Penang has a large ensemble of ancestral temples, clan associations or halls called kongsi, and grand mansions.

Kongsi are organizations among overseas Chinese communities for individuals with the same surname. Khoo, Cheah, Yeoh, Lim and Tan Kongsi were known as the Five Big Clans (or Goh Tai Seh) that formed the backbone of the Hokkien community of Penang. There are several more clan halls in Penang. But those worth visiting are the Khoo, Cheah and Yap Kongsi.

Khoo Kongsi is the most popular of Penang's Hokkien clan houses perpetuating Confucian practices and one of the most ornate clan halls outside mainland China. Established in 1835, the present temple was built from 1894 to 1906.

Cheah Kongsi is a Hokkien clan hall founded in 1820 and built in 1858. While Yap Kongsi was built in 1924 in the Straits Ecclectic style. It's Ciji Temple is a Taoist temple dedicated to Nan'an patron deity.

There are also ancstral temples such as the Han Jiang Ancestral Temple (or the Teochew Temple) which was built in 1870. The temple won the prestigious UNESCO Asia-Pacific Heritage Award in 2006 for outstanding restoration. Along King Street (Lebuh King) are temples which represent the diversity of the Chinese communities in Penang such as the Cantonese and the Hakka.

The Hock Teik Cheng Sin Temple is a temple to Tua Pek Kong (a Malaysian Chinese god) and was used in the mid-19th century as a Hokkien secret society headquarters.

Penang also has a great number of mansions in various architectural styles. The Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion is an example of the fusion between Oriental and Western architecture. It won the UNESCO Asia-Pacific Heritage Award in 2000. Also check out the residence of Ku Din Ku Meh and Syed Alatas Mansion (now the Islamic Museum).

The Pinang Perenakan Mansion is one of the most ornate private homes in Penang. Once the home of Kapitan Chung Keng Kwee, it now houses a museum of antiques from the Perenakan (Baba-Nyonya) community.

Along the historic neighborhood of Lebuh Armenia, although not a mansion, is Dr. Sun Yat Sen's Penang base.

Part 1: Bus trip from Kuala Lumpur to Penang, Malaysia
Part 2: Exploring the Penang heritage trail on foot

Related entries
Following the heritage trail in Penang
Melaka, Malaysia is a historic city of the Straits of Malacca
More Straits Settlements history in Malacca

Malaysia: Exploring the Penang heritage trail on foot

George Town in Penang is a living testament to the multicultural heritage of Asia as well as European colonial influences. As I stood in front of the Buddhist Goddess of Mercy Temple, I noticed a small Hindu shrine and stalls of garland makers. Just a few meters away was a joss stick maker. Down the same street as the temple is the Anglican St. George's Church. As I walked towards the church, a call to prayer echoed from the minaret of a centuries-old mosque.

There are several ways to experience old Penang. I’ve tried out the trishaw with the driver serving as your guide. But to me, the best way to explore and appreciate the rich cultural heritage of Penang is on foot.

As soon as I found a place to stay for the night and dropped my bags, I was off. Before you start, make sure you have a street map of George Town. There is a really good free map published by Areca Books which not only marks important architectural landmarks, but also some recommended food outlets, local crafts and trades, and places to shop for things that are uniquely Penang.

I tried to cover as much ground as I could given that I only had a day in Penang. But what is very obvious and commendable is that Penang's heritage has undergone a lot of restoration especially after its inscription in the UNESCO World Heritage List last year.

Among the sites I got to visit were religious structures of various faiths. There's the Goddess of Mercy Temple (Buddhist & Taoist) which is Penang's foremost Chinese temple established in 1800; and the Sri Maha Mariamman Temple (Hindu) consecrated in 1833.

St. George's Church built in 1818 is Southeast Asia's first Anglican church. While the Church of the Assumption (Catholic) dates back to 1787. The current structure was built in 1860 and was elevated to a Cathedral in 1955.

Nagore Shrine is a Tamil Muslim shrine to the Saint of Nagore. While the Kapitan Keling Mosque (also Tamil Muslim) was founded in 1801. The Malay Mosque in Lebuh Aceh was founded in 1808.

Part 1: Bus trip from Kuala Lumpur to Penang, Malaysia

Related entries
Following the heritage trail in Penang
Melaka, Malaysia is a historic city of the Straits of Malacca
More Straits Settlements history in Malacca

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