GEORGE TOWN, March 25 — To many travellers, this small town on the outskirts of mainland Penang is not a must-visit destination like George Town on the island. But Bukit Mertajam is steeped in age-old traditions and culture.
The old town grew from a small market place and till today, the market continues to be an important hub for the town where traders go about their daily activities.
The market place was started by Huis from the Huizhou region of the Guangdong province in China more than 130 years ago.
They were plantation and quarry workers working the nearby sugar cane and spice plantations and marble quarries. They started trading their goods at a small market place and soon, they built the Hock Teik Temple right in the middle of it all.
A five-clan committee was set up and that marked the start of a pseudo-government for the community where the committee played important roles in the community's welfare, town planning and later on, education.
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Till today, the Hock Teik Temple committee, made up of all five main clans — Hokkien, Teochew, Cantonese, Hainan and Hakka — continues to play an important role within the mostly ethnic Chinese community in the town.
Therefore, a visit to Bukit Mertajam must begin with a stopover at the market place and temple. Despite rapid development — there are shopping malls being built outside the old town area — the place has remained mostly unchanged, as if stuck in a time warp.
Devotees continue to crowd the small ancient temple which the locals know as tua pek kong temple, while traders and hawkers continue to sell their wares from morning till late at night.
The hawker stalls and traders are arranged in such a way, flanking both sides of the temple, that it feels like they are acting like a barricade.
The area is perpetually busy with morning market-goers in the early morning to locals converging there in the evenings for a meal of simple hawker fare.
Bukit Mertajam's hawker food
Like Penang island, the mainland side of the island state has its own delicious hawker fare worth trying out. Here are some that are worth getting a bite of:
The Pek Kong Cheng Wan Tan Mee
7am-2pm
It is a stall located right next to the temple, thus its interesting nickname pek kong cheng which literally means in front of pek kong temple. It is probably the only wan tan mee stall in Penang to offer handmade noodles.
The stall owner makes his own egg noodles that are smooth, supple and has a nice clean bite. The noodles are perfectly complemented by his light and flavourful soup and if you order the dry wan tan mee, instead of dousing it full of soya sauce and dark soya sauce, the noodles are clear and seasoned with a dash of his soup and the slightest splash of sauce. It may look pale, earning the stall another nickname “white wan tan mee,” but it is definitely big on flavours and texture.
Roast duck porridge
Li Yuan Coffee Shop,
Jalan Usahajaya
11am-5pm
It may sound strange to go for a meal of roast duck near the industrial area of Bukit Minyak but this is one roast duck meal you must try. The roast duck has a flavourful crispy skin and soft, tender meat that falls off its bones. It doesn't even have the strong gamey flavour that most duck meat has so you may even think you are eating chicken and not duck. Though they serve this with rice, it pairs perfectly with their thick, flavourful porridge.
BM Yam Rice
Jalan Murthy
9am-3pm
Bukit Mertajam is rather well-known for its yam rice which is served with a steaming bowl of salted vegetable pork soup. The yam rice at this coffee shop is fluffy and flavourful while the soup really whets one's appetite. It is sour and salty. It is porky and yet light. The contrasts in flavours paired with the fluffy fragrant yam rice means you can be assured of a satisfying meal.
Haji Mohd Tokun Mee Kuah Ketam
Jalan Kulim
11am-5pm
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No visit to Bukit Mertajam is complete without stopping by at this roadside stall for a plate of mee kuah ketam, noodles in a thick crab gravy. This stall is rather well-known for its flavourful mee ketam, either in gravy or fried, and you can also quench your thirst with coconut water from the stall next to it. Unlike the other three ethnic Chinese hawker fare mentioned, the mee ketam is a burst of strong spicy, sour and sweet flavours.
Places of Interest
There are several other places of interest in Bukit Mertajam that also contributed to and shaped the small town. One of these is the St Anne's Church that attracts hundreds of thousands of Catholics from all over the country every year during St Anne's Feast.
The church was built in 1888 and though a newer church was built later, the old church on higher ground still remains. It is an architectural beauty and the founding priest's tombstone circa 1907 is located smack in the middle of the church.
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There is also an ancient artefact here in Bukit Mertajam, called the Batu Bersurat Cherok Tok Kun. Though the inscription stone was discovered by Colonel James Low back in 1845, it was left unprotected for many years. The Sanskrit inscription is believed to have been carved centuries ago but you can hardly see it now due to years of neglect and graffiti.
While at Cherok Tok Kun, check out the Cherok Tok Kun forest reserve where locals go to jog, hike and have picnics. It is a great place to enjoy Nature.
Finally, the Nandaka Vihara Meditation centre is the perfect place for a retreat to get away from the hustle and bustle of city life. The privately owned retreat, located on a small hill, has wooden chalets and a main meditation hall for visiting monks and visitors to use for meditation.
