A CULINARY MEMOIR

The kueh ‘uncle’ who continues to adhere to the traditional ways.

he stopped coming.”

But it was an eventuality that was inevitable as hawkers began to settle into permanent locations. “Over time, street by street, the ‘tok tok’ calling cards of the wonton noodle vendors grew fainter, until one day they fell silent and vanished from the island,” writes Tan, in the book’s poignant prologue.

Tok Tok Mee, a loving homage to the author’s hometown, serves as a portrait of Penang’s vibrant dining culture; one that has inculcated Tan’s love and appreciation for food from a young age.

The book, says the proud Peranakan, invites everyone to discover and rediscover the myriad flavours that Penangites take pride in. “But most of all, it’s a personal homage to the street who have fed generations of my family and friends, and become an inseparable part of our lives.” Sad as it may be but the days of the old guards are becoming numbered, laments Tan, who left Penang for the US as a teenager and has spent more than half of his life abroad, working as culinary legacy. a journalist at NBC, Tome to Penang’s

Al Jazeera and CNN, and stationed in places like Doha, Washington and even Kuala Lumpur.

However, he makes frequent trips home (his parents are here) and without fail, makes those pilgrimages to the food stalls he grew up frequenting “... paying a visit to the ‘uncles’ and ‘aunties’ who used to serve him coconut milk crepes, soyabathed vermicelli and heady prawn stews since infancy...”

Adding, Tan, who started his career as a political journalist before becoming a food journalist (he presented Al Jazeera’s AJ Eats), points out that some of these custovendors