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"A historic one-stop for home cooks and chefs, this market hums in the morning as I weave past piles of wet fish heads, paper-thin popiah skins, and jars of pickled fruit. Food historian Peter Yeoh calls it a concentration of multiethnic vendors unmatched anywhere else in Malaysia, and it feels that way: the smells of tamarind, fish sauce, and sesame oil wrap around you while stalls hawk favorites from Penang’s diverse cultures, just as they have since the 19th century. Many vendors shutter by lunch to escape the heat, and despite the bustle there’s a relaxed air you won’t find in Bangkok or Hong Kong." - Arati Menon