I’ve always enjoyed the ‘street food’ in Georgetown. There are hundreds of small restaurants and mobile food stalls in the old streets of town. A government hygiene campaign that was ongoing when I was here in 1990 has paid dividends. Somewhere I have a photograph from that time of a government poster advising hawkers to pay attention to cleanliness and reminding them of the dangers of food contamination. Underneath the poster a man was rinsing melamine dishes in a bowl of water only slightly less grey than his apron. He was squatting by a black walled lavatory, from which an unsavory trickle oozed. Such sights have gone, and yet the essential spirit of the place remains.
By late afternoon tables and chairs spill from the restaurants in the back streets of Georgetown and encroach onto the road. Food is served quickly and without ceremony, conversations are loud and the locals always seem to have so much food in front of them it is hard to believe they are not three hundred pound monsters. You have to select your seat with care; sitting with your back to the road can be a nerve wracking experience. There are so many cars in Penang today, and these streets were designed for horse drawn vehicles. An attempt at pedestrianisation has been made in some parts of town, the old cobbles recovered from their protective layer of tarmac. But, just as some of the locals haven’t quite got the hang of no-smoking zones, pedestrian only areas are going to take a while to catch on.
Hawker centres were a reaction to a population that was increasing in size and mobility during the 1970s and 80s. Food courts, fashioned from hideous grey concrete, or covered with synthetic tenting, became a feature of many Malaysian cities. They are still around but now seem dated. The food is still good, but they lack spirit; depressing places, designed by architects without talent, without sensitivity to light, smell and the flow of the senses. With the development of new shopping malls, their popularity here has waned, and some have already gone.
Taking the food court into the malls was an interesting idea; economically viable and a logical extension of the modern shopping experience that became so popular in South East Asia during the 1990s. The model for many was a cross between an outdoor hawker centre, with its individual food stalls, and McDonalds. They took the best of the local foods, provided hygienic kitchens and provided air conditioning. From McDonalds they took plastic tables, fixed plastic chairs on swivel bases and hideous uniforms.
Opened in 2001, Gurney Plaza in Penang offers something new and has sounded the death knell for many of the city’s establishments. It is a huge mall and a lot of effort seems to have been put in to creating a sense of quality in both layout and content. There are no shabby shops here, none of the clutter and junk that is so common in Malaysian shopping centres. The tendency remains, just around the fringes of the upper stories, but you get the impression that that a style patrol must go around from time to time slapping wrists and bringing retailers back into line. Large, interestingly laid out and with a bright, cheerful atmosphere, this mall has become the number one destination for locals wanting to spend a couple of hours walking about, being seen and window shopping. As a result, other malls in the area have become sidelined and are in decline.
Gurney Plaza is interesting because it suggests one of the new directions the Malaysian dining experience is taking. Around this part of town, there are quite a few up-market restaurants - and not only those that are to be found in the hotels, catering mainly to tourists. Government preservation orders on old Chinese mansions has led to to their repurposing. In size and style they make excellent venues for fashionable restaurants, their large gardens ideal for carparks. But this is the formal side of the food scene. Gurney Plaza provides something different, an alternative to the street food and the traditional hawker center, providing a venue that is varied, open and retains the social feel-good factor that was such a feature of those places, before the car and McDonalds destroyed everything.
This has been achieved through careful design, taking into account local tastes and traditions, showing sensitivity to the ambitions of a country that has a vision of itself as a modern, vibrant and wealthy state.
The mall’s basement has been made light and spacious, with great care taken to avoid that dark, depressing and claustrophobic atmosphere so common in such places. In the design and layout of the various restaurants I detect a Japanese influence in the architect’s plans; there is quality and style here. Coffee shops - large, comfortable and of the Starbucks generation are lined along the outside of the mall, offering a choice of comfortable air conditioning or fan cooled ‘street’ seating. They have become a popular place to hang out, replacing the traditional ‘kedai kopi’ whilst retaining the social aspect that made them popular.
On the fourth floor of Gurney Plaza there is something new, in my experience at least. FoodLoft takes its inspiration from the old style hawker centres and shopping mall food courts, in that they provide a huge choice of speciality cuisines. But that is where the similarity stops, for this is a modern, high quality restaruant, with elegant furniture, well considered lighting and silver service of sorts.
As you enter the restaurant you are politely greeted and seated by a smartly uniformed waiter who hands you a large ‘order card’. The tables are of a smooth, black lacquer and either haves wonderful view over the bay and the reclamation project that is going on at the moment, or are in one of two tastefully designed and atmospherically lit dining rooms, full of the sound of water. The food court itself is exceptional. Vietnamese, Italian, Japanese, Cantonese, Shanghaiese, Nyonya Malay and Western foods each have their own kitchen unit and staff. Stainless steel and marble, chefs and assistants in whites, waiters busy facilitating and guiding, and everywhere there is the smell of delicious food. You order at the ‘kitchen’ and hand over your card. This is swiped, recording your order electronically. You’re then free to order elsewhere or collect drinks before you go back to your table. All the food is prepared freshly as you order and is then brought to your table. It is a pleasant experience, combining some of the best aspects of eating in the old Penang with the comfort of a modern, stylish restaurant.
By late afternoon tables and chairs spill from the restaurants in the back streets of Georgetown and encroach onto the road. Food is served quickly and without ceremony, conversations are loud and the locals always seem to have so much food in front of them it is hard to believe they are not three hundred pound monsters. You have to select your seat with care; sitting with your back to the road can be a nerve wracking experience. There are so many cars in Penang today, and these streets were designed for horse drawn vehicles. An attempt at pedestrianisation has been made in some parts of town, the old cobbles recovered from their protective layer of tarmac. But, just as some of the locals haven’t quite got the hang of no-smoking zones, pedestrian only areas are going to take a while to catch on.
Hawker centres were a reaction to a population that was increasing in size and mobility during the 1970s and 80s. Food courts, fashioned from hideous grey concrete, or covered with synthetic tenting, became a feature of many Malaysian cities. They are still around but now seem dated. The food is still good, but they lack spirit; depressing places, designed by architects without talent, without sensitivity to light, smell and the flow of the senses. With the development of new shopping malls, their popularity here has waned, and some have already gone.
Taking the food court into the malls was an interesting idea; economically viable and a logical extension of the modern shopping experience that became so popular in South East Asia during the 1990s. The model for many was a cross between an outdoor hawker centre, with its individual food stalls, and McDonalds. They took the best of the local foods, provided hygienic kitchens and provided air conditioning. From McDonalds they took plastic tables, fixed plastic chairs on swivel bases and hideous uniforms.
Opened in 2001, Gurney Plaza in Penang offers something new and has sounded the death knell for many of the city’s establishments. It is a huge mall and a lot of effort seems to have been put in to creating a sense of quality in both layout and content. There are no shabby shops here, none of the clutter and junk that is so common in Malaysian shopping centres. The tendency remains, just around the fringes of the upper stories, but you get the impression that that a style patrol must go around from time to time slapping wrists and bringing retailers back into line. Large, interestingly laid out and with a bright, cheerful atmosphere, this mall has become the number one destination for locals wanting to spend a couple of hours walking about, being seen and window shopping. As a result, other malls in the area have become sidelined and are in decline.
Gurney Plaza is interesting because it suggests one of the new directions the Malaysian dining experience is taking. Around this part of town, there are quite a few up-market restaurants - and not only those that are to be found in the hotels, catering mainly to tourists. Government preservation orders on old Chinese mansions has led to to their repurposing. In size and style they make excellent venues for fashionable restaurants, their large gardens ideal for carparks. But this is the formal side of the food scene. Gurney Plaza provides something different, an alternative to the street food and the traditional hawker center, providing a venue that is varied, open and retains the social feel-good factor that was such a feature of those places, before the car and McDonalds destroyed everything.
This has been achieved through careful design, taking into account local tastes and traditions, showing sensitivity to the ambitions of a country that has a vision of itself as a modern, vibrant and wealthy state.
The mall’s basement has been made light and spacious, with great care taken to avoid that dark, depressing and claustrophobic atmosphere so common in such places. In the design and layout of the various restaurants I detect a Japanese influence in the architect’s plans; there is quality and style here. Coffee shops - large, comfortable and of the Starbucks generation are lined along the outside of the mall, offering a choice of comfortable air conditioning or fan cooled ‘street’ seating. They have become a popular place to hang out, replacing the traditional ‘kedai kopi’ whilst retaining the social aspect that made them popular.
On the fourth floor of Gurney Plaza there is something new, in my experience at least. FoodLoft takes its inspiration from the old style hawker centres and shopping mall food courts, in that they provide a huge choice of speciality cuisines. But that is where the similarity stops, for this is a modern, high quality restaruant, with elegant furniture, well considered lighting and silver service of sorts.
As you enter the restaurant you are politely greeted and seated by a smartly uniformed waiter who hands you a large ‘order card’. The tables are of a smooth, black lacquer and either haves wonderful view over the bay and the reclamation project that is going on at the moment, or are in one of two tastefully designed and atmospherically lit dining rooms, full of the sound of water. The food court itself is exceptional. Vietnamese, Italian, Japanese, Cantonese, Shanghaiese, Nyonya Malay and Western foods each have their own kitchen unit and staff. Stainless steel and marble, chefs and assistants in whites, waiters busy facilitating and guiding, and everywhere there is the smell of delicious food. You order at the ‘kitchen’ and hand over your card. This is swiped, recording your order electronically. You’re then free to order elsewhere or collect drinks before you go back to your table. All the food is prepared freshly as you order and is then brought to your table. It is a pleasant experience, combining some of the best aspects of eating in the old Penang with the comfort of a modern, stylish restaurant.
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