The Penang Food Festival will be in full swing tomorrow. And already , I am seeing a lot of instagram ready babes roaming the streets of the island .
While you certainly won't be seeing me jostling with the mad crowds , today I had my own pre festival treat , from a very Penang hawker , in a quiet and quaint little corner , I don't want to reveal , as I want to retain the sanctity of the few quiet places we local folks can find refuge and respite in without having to elbow tourists out of the way .
She served us krill fritters straight from her wok and I have to tell you I was so humbled as she wouldn't take a cent for them .
Too bad I have no pictures to show as I was so taken in by her gesture , how could I ?
Thus , the following pictures below have been fished out of Google , and hopefully the owners don't mind as I have given credit to the images itself .
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photo credit : dapurkaknorexpres.blogspot.my |
There is krill off the shores of the island , if you know where to look and hubs tells me there was a time where he used to dip into the ocean , just open his mouth and the krill would just enter his mouth and that was his sweet feast . He makes me so jealous as he also relates how he used to be able to shuck fresh oysters off rocks and eat them on the spot .
But for a certified city girl like me , his krill tales got me so fascinated seeing how the waters are so polluted today , I sometimes worry about even dipping my toe in , let alone want to wade around the seashore .
The krill here is so fine ( yes I've caught some before ) and almost transparent and quite plentiful that if you dip a net into the water , it is that easy to catch . Sometimes you can buy some from the wetmarkets but you have to be fast as it is extremely popular among the local Chinese , Malays and Thai communities , before you know it , the whole lot is gone .
Visible but almost plankton like , the tiny creature is the main ingredient that goes into cincaluk and belacan .
However , in Penang , the locals love to eat it fresh just like that , cooked in a few styles as it is quite mouthwatering once you acquire the taste for it .
Anyway ,I kinda regret not taking a picture of the fritters because now I have to describe to you , that it was a combination of the 3 following pics .
This was the outside texture , which was very "kapur " like with an extremely fine egg weave around it
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photo credit : asianfoodandrecipes.blogspot.my |
...while the colour was like below...
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Photo credit : bilaudamenulis.blogspot.my |
...with the filling inside , resembling this one , but tasting more like finely mashed fish paste with spring onions that were still green .
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Photo credit : hungerhunger.blogspot.com |
How did I find it ?
You know , when something so humble , uncommercial and simple , is served to me personally , of course I feel very privileged to be taken back in time , more so since this is indeed a rare treat , which once upon a time used to be doled up in Penang homes .
For hubs , it brought back a flood of memories although he mentioned that his mom used to fry it thinner and crispy .
After this experience , I will never look at krill the same way again .
Now that IS special !
Location : Penang
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