On the hunt for the best food on mainland Penang
food aficionado Tee Jay Khoo (T.J.K.) suggested we go on a weekend food binge in Penang.
But the two of us are not looking for those famous Penang ‘fusion food’ like laksa, curry mee, fried koay teow and rojak, as we’ve been suffering from an overdose of them at the many Penang and not-so-Penang hawkers in the Klang Valley.
Serious Penang food aficionados, who have been brought up on the island side of the state, usually think that the tortoise-shaped territory is the centre of the universe as far as food is concerned.
They also think that other territories (read: Seberang Perai, or Province Wellesley in days of old) don’t measure up.
Call T.J.K. and me ‘katak di bawah tempurung’ (ignoramuses), but we’ve discovered that mainland Penang also has much to offer these days. And Sungai Udang, off Nibong Tebal, is the place to be, especially where seafood is concerned.
Before I delve into Sungai Udang, I must borak about nearby Nibong Tebal, or NT, as my classmates Oo Beng Hoe and N. Sargunaraj used to call it affectionately.
Sargunaraj, whose dad used to work in KTM, often regaled me with salacious stories about what usually happened at the town’s railway station when the train was about to leave.
They included some truly unbelievable tales of lovebirds going to the station to hug and kiss like there was no tomorrow. But the strange thing was that they would still be clinging on to each other like magnets after the train had pulled out of the station!
How I wished I had lived in a railway town!
I visited Sungai Udang for the first time in the middle of last year, courtesy of Uncle Google, after turning off at NT.
WITH perfectly toned arms and chiseled abs, the modern celebrity is often indistinguishable from a Greek god, or a professional athlete.
Of course, celebrities have more time and money – compared to us regular people – to develop the perfect on-screen physique.
Actors and actresses often hire personal chefs, nutritionists, and fitness trainers to help them get in shape. With all of these resources available to them, the end result is obvious.
Celebrities use the same elements as regular people to get the perfect body: proper diet and the right exercise.
Here are some of their methods that we can ‘steal’ to help us on our way.
Superhero strength Chris Evans plays Captain America in the Marvel cinematic universe, and it’s hard to picture anyone else playing this iconic comicbook character.
Standing six feet tall, Evans had to put on some serious muscle mass to play the StarSpangled Avenger but it was his arms, particularly his biceps, in Captain America: Civil War that stood out.
To build those bulging biceps, focus on curls. Bicep curls are one of the easiest exercises to do. There are dumbbell curls, preacher curls, and hammer curls,
I arrived at a coffee shop under the name of Lim Aik Chew along Jalan Tanjung Berembang, which has been in business for three generations. It serves big freshwater prawns caught from the nearby river.
When I first tasted its signature dish – freshwater prawns in curry – it brought tears to my eyes. Not because it was overwhelmingly hot, but it tasted like what my mum had
Matthew McConaughey ( left) went from just another ripped actor in Hollywood, to an Oscar winner. cooked with curry powder from a famous Bukit Mertajam curry powder mill! It was that good.
When I told T.J.K. about my Sg Udang eating adventure, he said I went to the wrong joint! He told me he would send me the correct coordinates the next time I went to Penang.
He was a man of his word, and I found myself travelling along Nibong Tebal Route
Nevash Nair is currently on his own fitness journey in Thailand. Follow him on Instagram @nevjitsu or contact him via email at lifestyle. nevashnair@thesundaily.com. P167 some months later.
His instructions were: “Go to the market at the jetty and buy a fish from one of the stalls. Take the fish up to the restaurant above and auntie will cook for you (as if it were his own aunt!).”
I got a fresh-looking red snapper for RM20 from a friendly stallholder after meeting an arrogant one earlier. Struggling up the steps, I stepped into the coffee shop-restaurant and surveyed around until I found a middle-aged woman frying away. That must be the auntie.
I also ordered a few other dishes like fried vegetables, blanched squids, and a bowl of curried prawns from a friendly elderly waiter. But when the curried prawns arrived, disappointment struck. They were one-third the size of those freshwater ones at Jalan Tanjung Berembang.
The elderly waiter claimed that the smallish saltwater prawns were well-liked by residents in the area. Big prawns were not so delicious, he insisted. One man’s meat, another man’s poison.
He said people there also don’t usually eat the kind of red snapper I had bought because it was raised in a cage.
They prefer free-range fish caught in the high seas, he added. That, for me, came as a definite shock.
And that’s why T.J.K. and I are going to find out – when we make our road trip – which is the better fish – caged or free-range – and which is the better prawn – freshwater or saltwater.
Despite it being the Year of the Cockerel, we won’t chicken out, rain or shine.
Jeff Yong, after making his mark in the twisty maze of mainstream journalism, has finally decided to enjoy what he does best – observing the unusual and recounting the gleeful. He can be contacted at lifestyle. borak@gmail.com.