Penang – our next port of call – My home town.
We arrived at the KL airport to board our flight to Penang – the place where I spent the first 20 years of my life.
Penang is an island, located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia by the Strait of Malacca. It used to be known as the Pearl of the Orient. I have been away from my home town more than half my life, so it is a good time to reconnect to the land where I was born and a place where my families and friends live.
We were met at the airport by my Mum and Dad, still going strong at 76 and 80 respectively. There was a home cooked meal waiting for us.
The fun began all over again the next morning. We hit the markets very early in the morning with my Mum (Dad has never been an early riser), and sampled all the hawkers food our stomach could hold early in the morning.
It was so great to see the market coming to live before the sun rises… it hasn’t really changed from what I could remember.
This is my absolute favourite – Prawn noodle soup and “the tarik” (you can get the tea in Mamak restaurant). It was the same stall and in the same coffee shop those many years ago…
This couple (above) have been selling “chee cheong fun” (rice noodle rolls) for over 40 years. I could still remember sitting in front of their stall when I was 4 or 5 years old and the noodle roll tasted just as good all those years ago.
After that we visited the Tau Sah Pniah (green bean biscuit) shop, one of the very few shops that still make the biscuits by hand. We ordered a few boxes to take to our next port of destination – Perak – my husband’s home town.
There are many places of interest in Penang, and every foot path, building, food and places brought back wonderful memories.
I took the opportunity to meet up with many of school friends and endless relatives. It was a very busy few days, but most memorable. The chats combined with food… what can be better than that?
Tanjung Bungah
One of the famous tourist seaside resorts in Penang is Tanjung Bungah. That was where we spent many hours during my childhood roaming the shore there, having a picnic with the family, fishing, swimming or searching for “siput” – a type of shellfish.
Siput
We spent a few days this trip at Tanjung Bungah, relaxing, spending quality time with family and friends, walking on the beach and searching for “siput”. I was hoping to have more relatives to join us at Tanjung Bungah at the beach. But the truth is Penang people (Penangites) just love food, so we ended up eating together and eating more than we should, but still enjoying every single minute of it.
We have enjoyed reconnecting with our hometown, families and friends and food… and our next port of call – Kuala Kurau, Perak – My husband’s hometown.
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