Penang Market Tour

In my cooking class, I incorporate a Penang market tour as part of the experience. For most visitors, the sight, smell and sound of the wet markets are quite an eye-opener. Here, you can mingle with the locals and see how day-to-day activities are carried out, minus any "staged" performance that might be organized by other tour operators.

Before I started this tour, I got many requests from my existing students. Most of them would ask me questions like. "Where to get the best ingredients?" or "Where to shop for local cooking utensils?".

At the local wet markets, quipped my late grandmother, "You can buy almost everything, except your own mother". Thus, this special Penang Market Tour was born since November 2010 together with my cooking class in George Town.

vegetables seller as seen during Penang Market tour this man makes spring roll skins by hand!
Left: Busy shoppers choosing the freshest vegetables
Right: The one and only manual spring roll skin maker.

We start the tour with a local breakfast, either Chinese or Indian cuisine. We would sit at local coffee shops or simply eat at the alley, like the locals do. Sip your cooling "teh tarik" or hot local coffee, accompanied by roti canai, spring rolls or curry mee or whatever you fancy.

Then, we would cover several markets in the city center, including the one at Campbell Street, Chow Rasta and other temporary vendors that line the street between them. We could easily spend two and a half hours walking the streets alone!

While we walk, you can ask me questions and I will also explain to you local quirks typical to Penang. As I am also an amateur historian, we can discuss topics such as shop houses in Penang or other heritage buildings here. History, gossips, rules and regulations, things like that.

soybean seller with his goodies
A soybean milk vendor who also sells other sweet delights.

Some vendors would be happy to let you try out their wares. Or, explain excitedly about their products. For example, the person who sold me my solid wood chopping board, would tell me how to season it well so that it would last longer. I doubt you would get the same advise if you were to buy the same item at a hypermarket.

bream One thing interesting about these markets is, items on sale would differ over the months. There are many festivals here, we would see specialty cakes and cookies during Chinese New Year, moon cakes and lanterns during the Autumn festival and also praying paraphernalia during Hungry Ghost Festival.

I can tell you, I never get tired of walking these streets in the morning. There are always new things to see. So, I would like to invite you to join my Penang market tour. It would be one of the highlights of your holiday!

Book your spot for the Cooking Class and Penang Market tour

Penang Market tour in George Town
You would be spoilt for choice,
provided you turn up early enough!