Food Discovery : Gurney Drive, Penang

Food is a many-splendored thing. There's just so many ways it can be cooked and enjoyed. Traveling gives us a small glimpse of what's out there. You don't have to go far to realise that there's no end to it.

I went on a local food adventure recently and if you were to ask whether I've cooked any of these, in all honesty, I would answer no. I have not even attempted to 'char' (fry) kway teow although I have regularly fried pasta and rice vermicelli!

Gurney Drive is a well known food haven. Stalls open in the evening. We were one of the few who arrived early and enjoyed the peace of surveying the area before finally deciding what to eat.

Gurney Drive, Penang

We placed our order on four yummy dishes. Too much? You could say we gleefully stuffed ourselves full. The multitude of flavours made it a joy to dig in.

A little about the dishes. Fried kway teow is wok stir-fried on high heat with prawns, cockles, lap cheong (Chinese sausage), bean sprouts and spring onions. It is a soy sauce based dish.

The ever popular Char Kway Teow

Oh Chien is the simple omelette, cooked with small oysters. It is eaten with a lime based chili sauce which gives it oomph to stand out from regular breakfast omelettes.

Asam Laksa , on the other hand, is a sour and spicy fish noodle soup. Tamarind gives the soup that sour tang. The soup is cooked with fish and laden with fresh ingredients, chiefly, julienned cucumber, lettuce, onion, red chili, mint leaves and pineapple. Crunchily rich!

Oh Chien (Fried Oyster Omelette) and Asam Laksa (Spicy Sour Noodle Fish Soup)

We settled on Pasembur to complete the day's food adventure. This typically consists of boiled egg and various batter-fried seafood which is served with vegetables like cucumber, potatoes and chinese turnips. Beancurd and crispy crackers are also key ingredients. The salad is then topped with a generous helping of spicy sweet potato and chopped peanut sauce. 

Pasembur (Salad of fried seafood and vegetables served with a sweet, spicy sauce)

The place was packed with people within the hour of opening. It was nice timing on our part to drop in just a little earlier.

The crowd comes in!

I hope you have been as enlightened as me on this food journey. I leave you with one of my favourite quotes.

Secrets, especially with cooking, are best shared so that the cuisine lives on.
~ Bo Songvisava