Meanderings: Pulau Tikus - Morning Market Buzz

Pulau Tikus, 'Rat Island', got its name from a small mouse-shaped island 2 km away from north-east Penang. A 10 minute drive away from Georgetown, it is a thriving residential, commercial and shopping area.

High-end luxury condos and hotels abound in Gurney Drive. Beautiful mansions nestle in the leafy part of this prominent enclave. For higher-end shopping, Gurney Plaza is a stop for many shopaholics. The Reclining Buddha temple in Burma Road is a popular tourist spot. At night, Gurney Drive comes alive with a wide variety of hawker food in one spot.

To see how the locals in the area live, the Pulau Tikus market in Jln Pasar is a buzzing hub of activity in the morning. A visit to the wet market is an unforgettable experience for those who are used to buying their meat in clingwrap in the sanitised confines of the modern supermarket. Many of the stalls in and around the market are known for good food. At night, the market place converts into an open air hawker food centre. V loves the cheap mee hoon at one pushcart. The 'bubur' desserts there are popular. The steam boat 'lok-lok' in Pulau Tikus is one of our favourites. Skewers of fresh vegetables, meat, fish, shellfish are cooked in a boiling pot of water fitted into each table.

For a feel of life of yesteryears, walk around Burma Rd near the market. For less than RM10, you can get a haircut and a shave the good-old-fashioned way in the barber shop. Many of the shops have the feel of the 70s. Seemed like a step back in time to when I was a child buying things from the mom- and-pop provision shop.