Malik Watkins's Bloglines

If you love to eat…then Asia is your place!! These folks EAT!!  Personally, I don’t know how people this skinny and little can eat so much!! But, I also guess, it is what you eat!!

So, as usual my evening jaunts in Asia have been to walk, look around and EAT!!  And so, if you are in Penang, then you must spend some time at the Red Garden.  Anthony Bourdain mentioned this place on his show “No Reservations” and, since he is my new Super Hero…well, must check it out!!

During the day, it just looks like another open air warehouse…but, at night it transforms into an open air food nirvana…leave your personal hangups about eating at the door…and fly/eat free…there was so much food, I lost count..there could be 50 food stations…there could be a hundred…I don’t know..there is just so much…and so much variety…this is a place where you where your old organic clothes..not the one’s designed to impress…this is where you come to eat…you will see Natives…Australians…and a bunch of folks that you can’t tell what they are…in fact..here and around Penang…it might remind you of Berkley in the 60’s…nobody cares..just throw on what you got…and eat… 🙂

I’ve come across so much food in these travels through Asia, that I will have a separate post at the end just to show you the variety…like I said… “this isn’t your mama’s Chinese/Asian food joints….this is the real DEAL!! 🙂

One interesting point that stands out though, is that many of my Asian friends told me how much they love Karaoke in Asia.  Of course…I just envisioned the U.S. style…go out with friends…get drinks…get ripped enough to stand in front of a bunch of people and show them why you don’t sing for a living :)))))  But, this was something else…Karaoke here is performed by, I would say, quasi-professional Karaoke singers.  Now the first night…it seemed corny and goofy…even cheesy…but, by the next night…I was feeling it…hundreds of people sitting around at the Red Garden, eating all kinds of food and enjoying the Karaoke…you could even see that the singers were regulars who came to sing every night….So I got my Thai food for the evening and a front row seat…

Amazing…give yourself and others a chance, leave the judgement at the door…and you just might enjoy yourself…I DID…in fact…kinda missing these folks 🙂 Loving the cultural experience and personal expansion…let’s do it!! 🙂