Gastronomic Menu-Free Delights
Waking up a little late is my favourite thing about traveling, not because I’m out of the ‘rat race’ of being up for work early, not because it is a big physical statement about my shriking of responsibilities, but because, when we wake up late, I get to have lunch food for my breakfast.
Today we managed a swift 1 pm wake up. In fairness, going to Malaysia has put the clock forwards an hour so for us it was technically midday. We got ourselves together and went in search of some grub. The first place we went to we exited pretty quick sharp. There was a lot of Chinese Malays eating there, but the place had the overall demenour of a scene from a horror film. Like you could almost see the blood of the slaughtered animals on the concrete floor. the menu’s that the lady brought us over (after we had ascertained that it was a lady, some very hairy women in these parts,) were covered in, for want of a better word, shit.
At the end of the street, Lauren spotted a beacon of light, a very westernized looking place that promised sandwiches, which Lauren had 5 minutes previously professed to being her favourite food. The place was a bit too western for me though. *SMUG TRAVELER* *SMUG TRAVELER* *SMUG TRAVELER* so I left Lauren waiting for her roasted aubergeine and olive sandwich and went in search of something a little more authentic.
Straddling Chinatown is Little India. I love curry, really, truly love curry. How Kathy Bates feels about James Caan in Mysery is how I feel about curry. Little India is freaking curry heaven! I stopped by a little cafe that looked, well not too foreign, but not too western either and went in. There were plenty of local Muslim men chomping away and I timidly asked the lady in charge for a menu.
‘Menu?’ she said, and at first I thought she didn’t understand.
‘We don’t have them, come back into the kitchen and pick what you want,’ awed, I followed her into her kitchen where all sorts of gorgeous smells emanated. I opted for some tomato pilau rice with a chicken breast on top. It came to 4RM with a can of Sprite thrown in. That’s 75p to you and me.
Returning back to the restaurant with the sandwiches and Lauren was still waiting, when it did come, it did look very good. But I sat back, full to the brim of pilau, chicken curry and unmitigated smugness.
Tags: Malaysia, Penang, Travel
mikeloken
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