Penang is World's Number One Destination for Foodies

Penang food is always good (3 February 2014)


This is my response to the news that Penang has been named the #1 destination for foodies in 2014, based on article in The Independent newspaper dated 2 February, 2014
(https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/where-are-the-foodies-going-in-2014-9094744.html). The article quoted edited extracts from "The Food Book" a Lonely Planet publication that will be released on 14 February of the same year.

Left, right, top and bottom, everybody in tourism and the state government is all puffed up with the news that Penang has been named by Lonely Planet as the world's number one destination for foodies. Why am I refusing to join the party?

First of all, I have always, always, always known Penang hawker food to be good. I know it and I don't need anybody to tell me.

Secondly, this is just one person's opinion. All of us in Penang have known that Penang hawker food is good. Okay, so he happens to be Robin Barton, an editor at Lonely Planet.

Thirdly, I refuse to have Penang food compared with that of other places, even if for now it is given top ranking. I have been to quite a number of places, and every place has good food, if you spend the time to look for it.

But it's good for tourism mah.

How does this #1 ranking benefit food enthusiasts? If as a result of this, foodies can expect even higher prices, popular hawkers who have become surly, foreign workers replacing the original hawkers to do the cooking, waiting time to become even longer, unapologetic forgetting of orders, then this is not the Penang that I want, and no, no, no, this number 1 ranking does not benefit us foodies at all.

My Conclusion

Penang food is good. But the food in other places is also food. I wish that quality can always be maintained but the truth is, even the best hawkers sometimes produce food below our expectation. And there is always the unsung Penang hawker whose wonderful food remains undiscovered. To find the best food that Penang has to offer, you need to go explore all the coffee shops in Penang. Ask the foodies at the Penang Hawker Food Facebook Group. Rather than relying on one person's opinion, seek the advise of Penangites who have known Penang food all their lives.

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