Making Merit

K normally makes the tea in the morning and so has already familiarised herself with the kitchen of our accommodation. Being up before her this morning, I bumbled about opening cupboards and trying to assemble the items required to make tea. Our host,  Steven, scratched his head in bewilderment at how I could be so clueless at such a simple task. It is astonishing how easily one can be rendered completely inept, but on the other hand how quickly one adapts to new situations. I finally located the tea bags, secured two mugs and wrangled hot water out of the machine. The first time is the hardest.

The problem is that when travelling in unfamiliar places, there are lots of 'first times'. People helpfully give advice on things they do every day, which is laden with tacit knowledge. This morning we mooned around in the vast underground cavern of shop units below the Komtar tower trying to drop off our laundry. After this challenge, we set about trying to find the bus stop for a bus out to Air Itam.

All hail Komtar!

Komtar tower is the tallest thing around in the centre of historic George Town, gazing over everything and everyone like a panopticon. It has some competition out in the urban sprawl, as heritage buildings give way to highrise blocks of flats. The sprawl ends abruptly as Penang hill rises abruptly out of the ground.

Kek Lok Si temple complex

Kek Lok Si temple complex in Air Itam sprawls similarly up the side of the hill, as new towers and halls are built or upgraded as donations from affluent Chinese roll in. This generosity to the temple is bound up with the Buddhist-Hindu concept of 'merit making'. Merit is the accumulation of one's good deeds and thoughts that is believed to lead to an individual's spiritual liberation. It is believed by Hindus and Buddhists that merit can be gained through giving, being virtuous, and developing oneself mentally.

Five pink Buddhas

Monks may do this through practising mindfulness, meditation and chanting, but lay people may also gain merit by offering service to others, honouring others, following teachings, and giving alms. Through giving (dāna), without seeking anything in return, the giver may be reborn into happier states and (ironically) greater material wealth. This notion presumably leads to businessmen believing that generous donations to and sponsorship of the Buddhist temple will lead to greater commercial success.

As if to underline this logic, the ascending path to Kek Lok Si, as well as each hall, are lined with stands and stalls selling both Buddhist and secular items. The interplay of money, commerce, and faith is plain for all to see.

Each Buddha given by a donor

The temple buildings themselves are a combination of beautifully carved wooden reliefs, gilded Bodhisattva, and a magnificent tower that demonstrates in one construct the collaboration between followers of a common faith, with a design that is Chinese at the base, Burmese at the top, and Thai in the middle.

Chinese New Year decorations

This (to my eye) aesthetically pleasing decoration is in contrast to the gaudy plastic lanterns, obviously fake trees and flowers, and flashing lights surrounding religious icons. As with the hawkers alongside a place of peaceful contemplation, the contrast between natural and plastic does not seem relevant to local worshippers. Nothing demonstrates this more than a pond teeming with koi carp, on the surface of which bob fake plastic ducks.

Goddess of Mercy

We took the slanted funicular farther up the hill to visit the enormous statue of Kuan Yin, the Goddess of Mercy, shown pouring the 'water of life' from a vase to release all devotees from suffering. As she is a symbol of compassion, Kuan Yin is also associated with vegetarianism.

Kek Lok Si houses a Buddhist vegetarian (actually vegan) restaurant. We took lunch there and were surrounded by monks enjoying the same food, as well as a less welcome pervading smell of durian (even though the fruit's season is still some months away).

Buddhist set

To ease the pain of choice, we selected the set and enjoyed ma po doufu (silken tofu and faux minced pork in a black bean sauce with a pleasant but not overwhelming chilli heat), fried sweet and sour fish (gratifyingly not cloyingly syrupy), pak choi, and a clear soup of carrot and daikon radish that was hot with white pepper.

Arriving by air-conditioned bus - public transport after months of taxis is bizarrely luxurious - back into the humidity of central George Town, we sought something cooling.

Cendol refers to green worm-like jelly made from rice flour and is served as a dessert with shaved ice. We had been told of a 'famous cendol vendor' on the corner of Jalan Penang and Lebuh Keng Kwee by our previous host in Langkawi. "Go to the one on the right, not the left. He is a copy cat", he said.

Famous cendol vendor

Indeed, as we arrived, there were two carts opposing one another in the tiny alley, one doing a roaring trade while his rival sat disconsolately without custom. The carts and their contents looked identical, even down to their "Penang Famous Chendul" banners. We went with the crowd and ordered up two bowls of cendol - a sweet milky soup of shaved ice, sweetened red beans, green jelly vermicelli, and a syrupy sauce. I wondered whether the successful seller had been more diligent in making merit.

Famous cendol vendor's famous cendol

The seller whipped up the concoction using swift, practised motions, presenting us with two bowls and inviting us to sit outside his house a few doors away. The soup was sweet but not overly so, and cooling.

George Town throws around the word 'heritage' as London bandies about 'craft'. Sadly, there are no craft beer outlets in Penang, but if there were, they would be in Nagore Square.

Nagore Square: BrewDog George Town coming soon

While not even being situated in the official UNESCO heritage zone (a boon to its indie credentials), Jalan Nagore and neighbouring Jalan Bawasah boast rows of stunning colonial-era terraced shop houses. These are occupied by galleries, boutiques, stylishly bijou eateries with pavement dining, and, naturally, a "micro coffee roastery". If ever the hipster scene takes off in Penang, this will be its hub. There are even empty garages in which night market stalls set up, but which would be perfect for a series of micro-breweries, Bermondsey Mile-style.

On the hunt for 'baba nyonya' cuisine - the fusion of Chinese and Malay from early immigrants - I have scoured many a menu of authentic restaurants and found an emphasis on seafood, chicken and pork that is incompatible with a vegetarian diet.

Zen Xin is a vegetarian restaurant set up next to Nyonya Baba Cuisine. While the latter's menu is sadly prohibitive for vegetarians, the former offers meat-free versions of nyonya fare, presumably influenced by its neighbour.

Nyonya baked fish

We chose nyonya baked fish, which was foil-wrapped slices of delicate tofu in a well-judged spicy sauce, and sambal king - a mix of purple aubergine, petai (stink beans!), and okra, which offered three contrasting textures soft, crunchy, and a nice bite.

Sambal 'king'

Taiwan-style monkey head mushrooms was a departure from the nyonya theme, but were new to me. They had a meaty but slightly fluffy texture, and a sweet spicy sauce with licorice Thai basil. While the food was not at Fat Mum standards, it was probably the best vegetarian restaurant we have tried so far in Penang.

Monkey head mushrooms

The waiter lamented that a recent pair of German tourists complained of too much chilli, and so was heartened to see we lapped up the spicy food. We have had similar observations from several other people about our love of spicy food (and similar incredulity at our ignorance of football). Are we that anomalous?

To complete the nyonya experience, we stopped by Nyonya Bean's for some nyonya beancurd. This was similar to the tau fu fa we had tried in Langkawi - a very soft chilled silken tofu in green tea and black sesame flavours, only without the gula malaka syrup.