GEORGE TOWN: Penang is planting its flag on the world’s food map before anyone else stakes its claim.
The state government will gazette 10 dishes and six cultural practices, including food culture, as unique facets of Penang’s intangible cultural heritage.
Roti benggali, for one, first emerged from an Indian-Muslim bakery in George Town in the 1920s.
Dense yet fluffy, this white bread in the shape of a tall, crusty loaf was originally called roti panggali, which in Tamil means “partner” or “shareholder”.
But back then, people had mispronounced the word as “benggali”, although the bread recipe had no connection with Bengal.
Mee sotong is a calorie bomb made with yellow noodles bathed in a deep-red gravy prepared with preserved cuttlefish.
Besides its spiciness, it delivers an intense umami punch, too.
Foodies who scour rustic corners like Balik Pulau or kampung areas in Seberang Perai will have tasted Penang’s Malay mee udang, which refers to noodles in mildly sweet-spicy gravy, using sea prawns fresh off the boat, dried shrimp and chilli paste.
Other dishes to be gazetted are kerabu bihun, Hokkien mee, pasembor, char kue kak (fried radish cake), Penang oh chien (fried oyster omelette) and mee Jawa.
In addition, six intangible cultural heritage items will be sealed in the gazette.
They are the “nasi kandar culture”, “kopitiam culture”, Thaipusam and Chingay processions, St Anne’s Feast in Bukit Mertajam and the Tanjong Penang Malay dialect.
On the food list, Penang Chefs Association president Audee Cheah said: “This is the best way to ensure that our food pride will not be ‘hijacked’, like kaya toast or nasi lemak.”
He was referring to kaya toast in Singapore becoming the 42nd best bread in the Top 100 Breads in the World list in 2024.
This had led to a social media “food fight” between Malaysia and Singapore, largely due to the similarity in the kaya toast of both countries.
Nasi lemak was commercially marketed in Singapore as its “national food” in 2017, triggering a social media food debate between the closely linked populations of the two countries.
In yet another example, Singapore’s hawker culture was inscribed into the Unesco Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2020, raising eyebrows among Malaysian hawkers.
Cheah hailed the 10 food items as “truly Penang”.
“I am impressed that kerabu bihun will be gazetted. This is a Penang Baba-Nyonya creation and it is good that the Penang government will lock it in,” he said.
Cheah described kerabu bihun as a tangy cold salad uniquely using bihun (rice vermicelli) tossed with herbs, chilli paste and lime juice, sometimes with shrimp and eggs thrown in.
As for char kue kak, he said, while fried radish cakes could be found in many parts of the country, the Penang iteration was distinctly different, with a greater degree of char, a heavier flavour and with seafood to boot.
However, Cheah expressed surprise that assam laksa and char koay teow were excluded.
In announcing the 10 Penang foods with intangible heritage culture, Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow had explained that those two dishes were already protected under the national heritage list.
He said after detailed screening and exhaustive evaluation, Penang’s intangible cultural heritage (sociocultural) expert committee recognised these 10 dishes, further endorsed by the state heritage council.
“This initiative is not only about preservation and conservation, but also about promoting our heritage to the wider community, both within and beyond Penang, in line with the Penang2030 vision and Malaysia Madani aspirations,” Chow said.
He said that the food list was a work-in-progress and as more dishes were researched, those with definite Penang roots would be added.
