Penang's Night Markets

After two days of relaxing in the cool highlands, it's back on the road and to the humidity. I jumped on an early bus to Georgetown, Penang for 30rm ($9.25). Georgetown is a UNESCO World Heritage City because of it's delicious food, so I planned to make this my longest stop in Malaysia. It's also conveniently located about three hours away from the Thai boarder.   However, given the recent military coup and exodus of Thai intellectuals to places like Cambodia and Laos, I might spend longer than expected in Malaysia waiting and watching what happens. If anyone has any thoughts, please email me.

Arriving in Penang was a shock. It was 104'F (37.6'C) with 96% humidity. Luckily, though, the scorching temperature did give me an advantage: I was able to find a guesthouse with a non-AC room for about 6rm ($2.00) a night. Nobody wanted a room without AC, so desperate hotel owners filled them at a discount. When you're living and traveling on the cheap, sometimes you can bear with even what seems to be the unbearable.

There is also another upside to not having an AC room - it forces you out of your hotel and to into the city. So, after wandering in Georgetown, I think I've finally figured out how Malays deal with the oppressive heat: they become nocturnal.

Everything in Penang is pretty quiet during the day. Most shops are deserted and, it seems, at any given time half of them are closed. But, at about eight or nine o'clock at night, lights start turning on around the city, illuminating the city. The lights are from Penang's night markets. And these night markets are unlike anything you have seen before. They are loaded with food stalls, each with maybe a dozen tables in front of it. The result is an endless sea of plastic tables and and an endless supply of Tom Yum, Mee Goreng, Hokkien Chicken. If you've got these foods paired with the constant river of malt liquor, you're bound to have a good time.

At these markets, there are also dozens of dancers and singers performing on blindingly bright neon stages. These performers seem to be mostly Chinese ladyboys. But unlike the neighbor to the north they're rather conservatively dressed and actually quiet entertaining. Somehow, even with the occasional crude dance by their patrons, the markets remain relatively calm and collected. They don't carry with them the in-your-face reputation of more seedier Southeast Asian entertainment establishments. Instead, they hold dear the best qualities of what many expecting vacation when you want a night out - something fun that's not too aggressive. Many Malaysian couples were arriving at midnight with young children!

Now, let me reemphasize something I had mentioned before: the food. Malaysia as a whole is a mishmash of Chinese, Indians, and indigenous Malays. Each of these has varying degrees of European blood - most notedly of these seem to be Dutch and Portuguese. And somehow, all of these people live together peacefully under the government's extensive 'One Malaysia' policy.

This multiculturalism has the obvious  consequence of food that's insanely creative and intensely flavorful. A particularly notable star at these markets is Penang Curry. This curry is an electric mix of Indian chilies, Thai lemongrass, and Malaysian kefir lime leaves. These spices are ground into a paste and then fried. The mixture is added to beef that has been slow-cooked in coconut cream and palm sugar for hours. What results is perhaps the most mouthwatering delicious curry on the face of the planet. It's loaded with all sorts of spicy flavors that balance perfectly with the meat's mellow coconut background.

The other major player at these markets is the ridiculously addictive concoction called 'Chili Crab'. This stuff is made by taking a deep-fried soft-shell crab and slathering it in a chili sauce that's both insanely hot and incredibly sweet. The way you eat Chili Crab is generally with your hands and, like American BBQ, it's a messy affair. I promise, after a bite or two the burning sensation fades and sweet hints of molasses reign over your taste buds.

Whatever the case, if you're in Georgetown, Penang, you're bound to have a dining affair to remember.