Gaining weight in Penang

Before leaving Tanah Rata, I took one last jungle waterfall hike which ended in me finding a large, red, egg-sized beetle plodding it's way across the trail.  I got closer to take a look, and it immediately popped out wings and flew right up into my face with a terrifying buzzing sound.  Pretty much the end of my walk.  I didn't scream, despite what the two girls a short way down the trail might tell you.

EE Beng

I got kind of a late start, and ended up taking a bus to Penang instead of hitching like I'd originally planned.  It was definitely a change from quiet little Tanah Rata, but I couldn't wait to eat my way through what might outdo Singapore as the food capital of the world.  Maybe Mexico City has to be in the running too...  Found a decent hotel, and started wandering the streets.  I'd planned to save it for later, but accidentally found my way to EE Beng Vegetarian Restaurant, which was recommended to me.  I stepped inside, filled up my plate from the trays of random, unlabled food, and took it over to an old woman who started mumbling to herself and turning my plate around and around.  She finally spit out 6 ringgit, which is a little under $2 for a heaping plate.  I was starving when I got there, so that might have something to do with it, but that could have been the best plate of food I ever had.  No clue what I ate, except that it wasn't meat.  Well done EE Beng!

Thanks Penang.  I'll be working this food off for a while.

I measured my time in Penang in terms of meals, not days.  I stayed for 12 meals, and tried as many restaurants and street stalls around the city as I could.  I had roti and sambal (the most perfectly cooked indian flatbread), grilled chicken with peanut sauce, classic Assam Laksa (a noodley soupy dish), chicken rice, fried noodles, fried rice, fruit juices of all kinds, a coconut milkshake, and a wide assortment of unknowns from the nasi kandar restaurants.  It was a bit difficult not speaking the language, and I think I got hustled at Line Clear nasi kandar restaurant.  You get a plate of rice, and then a nice indian man just starts heaping sauces, gravys, meats, and maybe a few vegetables on top.  He started out pointing to each item asking if I wanted it, and then just started giggling to himself and pouring everything on.  In the end, I brought the plate to a stern looking guy who eyeballed it for a minute, and finally said 15 ringgit.  It was still under $5, but probably twice what I should have paid.  Started to argue with him, but didn't really have much of a leg to stand on.  What's an extra $2!?

Line Clear restaurant.  Note the HUGE pots of curry.

I did my best to only eat one meal each day at EE Beng, and skipped the indian restaurant with the LED readerboard that said, "Please come in.  We try our best!"  I almost gave them the sympathy vote, but there were just too many other places to try.  To work some of the food off, I rented a bike and rode out to the nearby Kek Lok Si temple. My bike was comically undersized, the brakes were questionable, and I got a lot of locals pointing and laughing at me once I got out of the city.  Totally worth it, though.  As I pulled back into my hotel, a large group of Chinese bikers zipped past me.  They're all decked out in their spandex gear, and fancy helmets, and look totally out of place.  In the silence that followed this large group, an ancient Indian guy slowly rode past on a wobbly bike that squeaked loudly with every turn of the wheel.  It looked like he might fall asleep at any moment.  Typical SE Asian contrast.  I should have completed the moment by riding away on my tiny clown bike.

I found this store funny.  It's not clear what the heck they're selling, but somehow important that they are twin brothers.  Penang, and Malaysia in general, was littered with stores like this that I couldn't figure out what they sold.  Everything inside would be a greasy, oily black color.  The walls would be stacked with what looked like car parts, old typewriters, random electronic junk, and large jugs of some mystery liquid.  Invariably, there would be a woman sitting at a desk with 3 foot high stack of paper scribbling furiously.  This might explain why many people would just reply "oh...I am in business" when asked what their job was.

Well...so much for that plan!

Damnnnnn

Kek Lok Si temple