ASIAN ADVENTURE part 10 - The Blue Mansion

I appear to be allergic to food. But that doesn't stop me from eating it and suffering the consequences. This morning's breakfast was Char quay toew. Fried noodles with egg, chinese sausage and prawn.

Then a wonderful meeting with with Aunt (only a few years older and therefore, hard to think of her as my aunt). We are connected thus: my grandmother and her mother were half sisters. She took me through some of the family history and I hope to uncover more of it. I'm grateful she and her husband drove 2.5 hours (each way) from their home in Ipoh to Penang to connect with me.

Claudia and I then met up and headed towards The Blue Mansion, passing a temple and more doorways and memories of a past Singapore. Decorations on doorways and small altars to Chinese gods, I remember Katong and many others areas full of these homages to ancestors and gods.

The Blue Mansion is also known as the Peranakan house (Peranakan is a mixture of people from China and native Malay). Cheong Fatt Tze was a Chinese businessman who is reputed to have had 8 wives and 14 children. He owned the house that is now a hotel, bar and restaurant, but also a museum. The choice was visiting with a guided tour during the day or enter as a guest at happy hour. We went for cocktails. Stunning building and worth the margarita or two we consumed.

Dinner had to be at the Red Garden Food Paradise right next door to the Blue Mansion, where the choice of hawker stalls from all over aimed to please everyone. We decided upon Satay.

And I also wanted Malay Rojak. I did ask them to lower the normal sugar content of this. So delicious with pineapple, cucumber, Chinese apple, Chinese doughnut, candied ginger bud and sesame seeds and peanuts.

Who can resist the crushing baby crabs - deep fried. We had 3 plates of these, far too many but we accidentally ordered so many.