We have seen, done, and eaten a lot of things since arriving in Georgetown on Pulau Penang, Malaysia. We even picked up another travel buddy, Kiara,who is just as enthusiastic about food as we are and who we know from her time in Mexico with Lisl. The following are some of the highlights so far:

We took a 5 hour ride on a psychedelic bus to get from Kuala Lumpur to Penang…

We stopped at a roadside eatery for some noodles fried in the local style…

We took a break from a hot walk by sampling coconut shakes and chendol—a Malay dessert of shaved ice, palm sugar, coconut milk, kidney beans, and green jelly strands…

After dessert we got caught in a downpour with one very small umbrella…

On the walk back to our hotel we stopped by a street with food stalls for some satay, these men were serving up chicken and rice…

The next morning we found a delicious bakery serving up charcoal bamboo and cream cheese buns, pandan and coconut pastry, and green tea and red bean buns…

We enjoyed these baked delicacies, and some refreshing coconut water, in the shade…

After our refreshments, we learned about (and reenacted) some colonial history at Fort Cornwallis…

We toured a traditional Chinese (known locally as Nyonya) mansion of the merchant class…

While at the mansion we also saw the former inhabitants’ ancestor temple…

We stopped for a filling Indian lunch of various vegetarian curries served on a banana leaf and tested our eating-by-hand skills…

The next morning we visited the Cheong Fatt Tze mansion and delighted in the brilliant blue…

We tracked down a typical lunch dish called Assam Laksa, a fish curry soup made with mackerel, rice noodle, greens, lemongrass, ginger, chili paste, shrimp paste, and garnished with pineapple and raw onion…

After a short rest at the hotel we walked to an area with street food hawkers…

Some carts were selling squid…

Some carts were selling assorted meat on sticks…

We opted for a local favorite, Nasi Lemak, which is coconut rice served with hardboiled egg, peanuts, dried fish, cucumbers, and chili sauce with a side of fried chicken…

We ended the night with a beautiful walk back to our hotel.

Don't worry, there is much more to come. We spent today at the Tropical Spice Garden learning about botany and taking a class on tandoori cooking. Love from Penang!