Sometimes it gets awkward when people ask me what good food and places are available around Penang. Believe me, I could only take you to places where they have good ratings on Tripadvisor. It is also hard for me to take you around the island to know good food that is hidden within the reach of tourists.
Why? I thought you are from Penang?
I did tell you I am from Penang, yes, but not the island itself. It is the mainland side that I am actually referring to. I have been staying in this town called Butterworth, a place that I truly call home instead of the little island that everyone’s talking about.
What’s Butterworth? Never heard of that.
Well, this is the best time for you to get to know this place.
In short, Butterworth is a place which is totally not tourist-worthy!
Dum. Dum. Dum.
I am not lying. There is nothing beautiful to see around here. There is no picturesque view of paddy fields like in Kepala Batas, or the beautiful sandy beach of Batu Ferringhi. All we have are the unkept paddy fields in Sungai Dua and the less mesmerizing look of Pantai Bersih. We do not have the grand Kek Lok Si Temple, but there is the Tow Moo Temple in Raja Uda Street that is only crowded during Chinese New Year season. There are no funky museums that show old toys or illusion art, or a butterfly park with colorful insects. However, there is a bird park in Seberang Jaya that not many people seem to notice. Gurney Plaza and Queensbay Mall, you might have heard about either one of these malls. What about Sunway Carnival Mall and Pacific? Have you ever even heard of them? The places around the Raja Tun Uda Ferry Terminal are hotshots that deserve to be Instagram-worthy; while the Sultan Abdul Halim Ferry Terminal has nothing much to venture around except for the Penang Sentral that just opened its gate last year. We would need to go to the island if we wished to go overseas, but the KTM train is always operating to send people to outer states or welcome them to Penang. I know the towering Komtar is an iconic building that rests in the heart of Georgetown. But, in Butterworth, we do not have a unique establishment for us to claim as our symbol.
The lack of cool amenities around Butterworth is the reason why we would drive to the island during the weekends. That is where we would find the best coffee shops to enjoy the aromatic latte and savor the best Western delights. That is where my Dad would join his climbing buddies to conquer the Penang Hill and have a barbeque session on the hilltop. That is where my Mom would visit her family and relax at the massage and facial spa treatments. That is where I used to attend extensive English classes and buy organic groceries from the supermarkets.
Technically, I was born in Adventist Hospital on the island almost twenty-one years ago. It was my parents’ decision to deliver me in a private hospital with better healthcare and services rather than any of the general hospitals available in the mainland. On the day I appeared to this world as a human being, my Dad had to drive across the Penang Bridge to meet me for the very first time. It was a pretty funny story, as he was about to go home because he was pretty impatient about my arrival, only to find out my mom had successfully brought me into the light when he was halfway across the Penang bridge. He had no other choice but to pay the toll in order to get through the bridge one more time.
Despite the wonders of Penang island, Butterworth is the town where the best and the worst memories of my life reside. There were days when I would follow my grandma to the wet and smelly Apollo Market where she’d get her ingredients for dinner. There were plenty of poultry, vegetables, fruits, cakes, snacks, fried noodles and clothes around the area, crowded with loud Chinese aunties who were either bargaining or chatting. Sometimes Grandma would sneak in a few popular monthly-edition children comic books inside her basket, which I managed to find in between the green vegetables and fresh fruits. There were days when my mom would drop me off at a tuition center on Jalan Ong Yi How which I low-key despised, spending two hours per lesson trying to improve my exam marks. There were days where I would cycle around Jalan Kampung Benggali to tapau a packet of nasi lemak with extra anchovies or a bag of ais kacang that had almost melted when I got back to my Dad’s office. I still remember observing the funeral parade of Ah Niu’s grandfather on the rooftop with my grandma. Both of us witnessed the guests going in and out of the old kampung street. We even laughed at some of the VIPs’ ridiculous outfits. Then, we would quickly go inside when a guest decided to do his personal business at the uncultivated land beside our building.
From primary to high school, I had completed my 11 years of compulsory education, in the same town. Growing up in a Chinese family and studying in a Chinese-oriented environment is the acceptable notion by most parents. It also meant I had to mingle with the people whom I had known for years. It could be boring as the lack of diversity made everything look uniformed and bland. Everyone seemed to be discussing the same thing: which K-Pop groups they like, who are their Taiwanese Idols, have they watched the latest K-Drama and what tuition center is the best. That was the time I felt like I was not in sync with this place and people; a foreigner which no one could understand my language. The feeling of hatred and disappointment within my heart grew as time went by, a desire of getting out of the town to meet people with similar interests.
After graduation, I left the little town to further my studies in Selangor. There were times I would ride on the LRT or MRT to shopping malls or highly recommended cafes around the capital with a sense of freedom that I had never experienced within my hometown. There were also times where I would miss Butterworth’s delicious food, which in Kuala Lumpur where authenticity in food courts is ingenuine and the dishes are overpriced.
Every time when I travel back by train, I would look out the window to see the shifting scenery from the tall concrete jungle in Kuala Lumpur, then the valleys in Perak state, to the suburbs of mainland Penang. As the train slowly made its arrival to the little town I recognised, the feeling of euphoria and anticipation had piled up like a stack of books.
The little town also made its changes in secret. It was a game of spotting the difference: I have to see which place has installments or eliminations during my period of absence. I spotted the long road divider in Jalan Raja Uda that has created a congestion in mid-way. The National Registration Department office that was once in Bagan Ajam has moved to Kepala Batas. Oh, there is a newly built Tesco in Jalan Bagan Ajam, where I could drive to get some snacks and last-minute groceries. The uncle who used to sell delicious Jawa Mee was long gone, and his daughter who replaced him could not replicate his recipe. Not to mention the boba tea stores that began to mushroom around the area as well, attracting the youth to swarm around the area, purchasing cups of sugary drinks.
Despite my mixed feelings of fondness and contempt, this little town of Butterworth is a home where I would always feel safe in its arms.
Notes:
**tapau: take away
**nasi lemak: a type of rice cooked with coconut milk
**ais kacang: shaved ice served with sweet corn, grass jelly, red bean
** Ah Niu: a local country singer and actor
**Jawa Mee: a traditional Javanese style noodle served with thick potato gravy
Finished by 30th Oct 2019
Edited on 10th Apr 2020
Published on University of Nottingham Literary Magazine Particle, Issue 14
Cover picture from http://penang.attractionsinmalaysia.com/Butterworth-Seberang-Jaya.php
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