Malaysian Food Fest PENANG – Introduction

This month’s Malaysian Food Fest brings us to Penang! To date, MFF has brought us on a virtual culinary tour to almost all the states in Malaysia. As we come almost to an end of this long journey, it is time for us to pay a long due visit to this beautiful island found on the northern tip of the Straits of Malacca.

“Modern” history of Penang stretches back almost half a millenium ago when it was part of the Kedah Sultanate that was ruled by the Siamese overlords who named the island Koh Maak to mean “Areca nut palm Island” in Thai. Admiral 郑和 Cheng Ho from the Ming Dynasty then pinned this place as 槟榔屿 on his maps, the Chinese equivalent of its Thai name, when his entourage passed through the Malay Peninsula as they set sail for the west. This formed the basis of its name in Malay “Pulau Pinang” which was later anglicised to become “Penang” as we know it today.
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June 1, 2013 | Categories: Food, Simple Eats | Tags: char koay teow, hokkien mee, inche kabin, jui hu char, kacang botol, kari kapitan, kerabu, kerabu tang hoon, laksa, lor bak, malaysia food fest, MFF, otak otak, Penang, perut ikan, tam bun pheah, 槟城 | 37 Comments