On to the third leg of my seemingly never-ending Asia trip! Yes, ladies and gents, we are now at Penang. I blog at the speed opposite of that of light. If you need a refresher course on the first and second legs, I don't blame you. Scroll to the bottom of this post and you shall find the delights of Taipei and Singapore.
Rasa Sayang was probably the nicest hotel I've ever stayed at. That statement will probably be true until I win the lottery (which is on my to-do list for 2009). I loved the hotel and staff. The food, I enjoyed quite a bit. But it pained me to pay so much for food when there were hawker markets abound. Nevertheless, laziness often trumped spendthrift-ness. So food, I ate. I shall spew out what we ate in random order for your enjoyment.
Our first meal in Malaysia was very unoriginal - mixed sate. I have to admit, I was not the biggest sate fan because whenever I order sate, more often than not, I'm rewarded with jerky on a stick. But these were awesome. The mixed sate plate came with lamb, chicken, beef, and some fresh cukes and onions.
All of the meats were grilled to buttery tenderness. The sauce had a nice heat and tasted like it was actually made from fresh peanuts. I became a believer of sate.
To wash down the spicy sate, we got the most ginormous cendol ever. I swear, the thing came in a punch bowl. Like a party punch bowl. For 40 people. It was big. The shaved ice, soaked in radioactive red syrup, firmly buried all the yummy accompaniments on the bottom - red bean, various jellies, and palm seeds. Then the whole thing was topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. A scoop for a giant that is. It would be a section of a life-sized snow man for the rest of us. It was fun, but very sticky, to try to unearth the stuff suffocating under the mountain of sugar. Needless to say, I loved it.
For lunch one day, I gobbled up my favorite of Malaysian food - the laksa. I. Love. Laksa. All types, I ain't picky when it comes to these noodles in hearty, spicy broths. This particular one was a specialty of Penang. It was delicious. The broth was made from a fish stock which contained shredded dried (and then rehydrated) fish. The thick rice noodles had an awesome chewiness that stood up to the rich aromatic broth. The whole thing was topped with lots and lots of fresh veggies, offering a crunchy contrast of texture.
J-me got some sort of chicken, prepared in an Indian style. The details are now hazy to me. But here are some pictures! I remember liking his dish, but I remember liking my laksa better.
It came with mango chutney and a bunch of papadums. mmmm.....
Penang to be continued! More deliciousness to come after the break.
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