Malaysia: Food in George Town and Ipoh

George Town in Malaysia is known as an eaters paradise. Allegedly it's among the best places in Asia due to the mix of Malay, Chinese and Indian dishes. This means something because Asia is already a foodie's heaven. 

One of the most memorable Bourdain shows was in George Town. I watched it over and over again and I simply loved it. So I was obviously thrilled with my trip there.

George Town, Penang

Unfortunately some areas in Georgetown are getting too westernized. Instead of food stalls serving local dishes, we found plenty of bagel and pizza restaurants along the main street. A quick search on Tripadvisor will introduce you to the top choices... Sushi, fries and French pastries. 

Besides the westernization, we didn't have much guidance or experience and we weren't very adventurous either. 

George Town, Penang

George Town, Penang

By chance we came across a very authentic food stall crowded with locals. We ordered the same noodle soup that everyone else was having and it was terrific. Only thing I regret is not having ordered two soups.

Food street in Ipoh

Food street in Ipoh

Our previous experience in Ipoh spoiled us. 

There is just one reason to go to Ipoh, food. 

After dropping off our bags in the first decent hotel we found, we explored the surroundings and we found a busy food stall. We decided to give it a try but the owner, a sweet lady, wasn't so convinced that these two foreigners would be able to appreciate her food. She even tried to send us away. But we are very persistent. 

We had a wonton soup and noodles with slices of pork meat. Both were delicious. The lady was so happy and relieved that we were enjoying. I guess she never served westerns before. 

Having breakfast in Ipoh

Food street in Ipoh

Breakfast is a big thing in Asia. And traditions are pretty much alive in Ipoh. At Nam Heong Coffee Shop we had noodles soup and white coffee (beans are roasted with palm oil and it's served with condensed milk). It was so crowded that we had to share a table with a local couple. It was a great experience. They were really nice and food was awesome.
If you are looking for something more authentic, I highly recommend a short stop in Ipoh. And if you are planning to go to George Town, you have to do some homework.

Foodie Guide to Puerto Rico

It's hard to have bad food in Puerto Rico. Unless you are going to the gringo (touristy) places. 

Puerto Rican's cuisine is mostly about juicy and fatty pork meat. 

Blood sausage

Coming from the airport, we were passing by an area that is known for suckling pig (lechon asado). This place reminds me of a town back in Portugal called Mealhada, that is also  famous for suckling pig.

Kitchen

We stopped at Lechonera Los Pinos. At 3pm it was still pretty crowded and food was running out fast. 

We had sucking pig, blood sausage, rice with peas and meat, a potato and a chickpeas stew with small slices of meat. Everything was terrific. Included the potato. At the very least you have to taste all these dishes. 

Suckling pig, blood sausage, chickpeas stew and rice

Rice with peas and meat

Blood sausage

Suckling pig

Chickpeas stew

After snorkeling and a boat trip to Culebra that departed and ended in Fajardo, nothing better than having a tasty meal to re-energize. We found this awesome restaurant nearby on Yelp, Don Esteban.

The fried fish you could have anywhere else, I mean not as good as this one but cooked the same way. But the trifongo with fish (grouper) is hard to beat. 

Trifongo is made with platanos maduros, platanos verdes and yuca. And it's delicious. 

Fried fish with tostones

Trifongo with fish

In our last day we were having troubles to find a good restaurant opened for lunch around El Yunque. First we tried the Luquillo beach food stalls but they all seemed pretty bad. We had some old sausage in one of the stalls. This is a place for the gringo tourist more interested in booze, not for foodies.

Avoid Luquillo beach food stalls unless you like old food

Not far from Luquillo beach, in Rio Grande, we found this place very popular among locals, El Verde BBQ. It's quite similar to the Lechonera Los Pinos but not as good. I mean, los Pinos was excellent and El Verde is just good.

We had suckling pig with their famous garlic mofongo. The pork meat was crispy and tasty. And the mofongo was delicious. 

Managua: Emptiness

Managua is a concrete jungle like many other main cities in Central America. And there is nothing interesting about it as well.
Most historic buildings were destroyed due to successive earthquakes. Downtown was never rebuilt. Only a few buildings remain. The cathedral stands in ruins. Around it there are some bizarre monuments. Most of the land is vacant which gives you a sense of emptiness and sadness. There is no downtown, everything is spread out.

Cathedral ruins

Hugo Chavez roundabout

Sidewalks are filled with manholes without covers and dirtiness. Many streets are closed to pedestrians with army and police checkpoints. 

Along the Ave. Peatonal Gnrl. Augusto C Sandino there is some info displayed about Nicaraguan history. It's all about  political propaganda. Sandino and Ortega are the heroes. Unfortunately, we couldn't walk the whole ave.

Parque Nacional Loma de Tiscapa

Palacio de la cultura

Granada: La Gran Sultana

We said goodbye to Ometepe and we went to Granada next. 

I heard and read good things about its rich colonial heritage. It's among the oldest Nicaraguan cities. Granada is also known as the Gran Sultana, a reference to its opulent style.  

Granada's historic structure and architecture is very well preserved. And its full of bright colors. 

Granada's cathedral 

San Francisco Convent

We didn't have a hotel reservation and it was hard to find a room available. After many tries we ended up in the Tripadvisor's #1, Hotel Con Corazon. Luckily they had a last minute cancellation and they were able to accommodate us but just for one night. 

I found out later that this is not an ordinary hotel with an extraordinary and consistent good rate. It's run by a Dutch foundation that invests the profits in educational programs in the local community. Namely they provide scholarships and tutors. And they also encourage their staff to go back to school by increasing their salaries. 

The hotel key holders are made by disable people with reusable materials.  

It's a great place to stay, the staff is very welcoming and they serve a delicious breakfast.  

Hotel Con Corazon

The main activity in Granada is walking in the narrow streets to enjoy the architecture and the vibe. And visit as many churches as you can. The structure is the most interesting thing about it, usually the interiors are modern reconstructions and they are ugly.

The Casa de Los Tres Mundos is a foundation that supports and promotes cultural projects. There you may enjoy the architecture while you see the work of local artists. 

Narrow streets and colonial construction

La Merced church

Granada was recently featured in NYT for its gastronomy. We had great a great local food experience there, check my post about it here.

Lonely Planet also recommends to try some street food in one of the kiosks in the central park. The food quality was so-so. Make sure that you go way before sunset. After that, hundreds of birds go crazy. I felt like I was in one of those Angry birds video-games avoiding the birds poop. 

Angry birds (turn sound on)

Staying in Granada is also convenient if you are planning to explore the villages around.
I highly recommend San Juan de Oriente for pottery and ceramics. This market is more authentic and cheaper than the one in Masaya. Here you find more locals than tourists shopping.
In Masatepe you can try the local delicacy mondongo's soup (more info about it here).

Pottery in San Juan de Oriente

Top 5 Activities in Ometepe in 2 Days

Ometepe is a beautiful island that was designated as a UNESCO biosphere reserve in 2010. It's composed by a unique elfin forest, a type of cloud forest, which means that it's home to several animal and plant species, many of them not even known to science yet.
But this paradise is getting threatened by the construction of the Nicaraguan canal, that is expected to be bigger than Panama canal. In order for the canal to be deep enough for the giant cargo ships that will navigate around Ometepe, the authorities have to prepare the bedrock of Lake Cocibolca by dynamiting the entire length of  the canal through the lake. This will kill the aquatic life in the lake and it will have an huge impact in the fauna and flora in the island as well.
If you have plans to go there anytime soon, it's better to go now.

View over Cocepcion volcano

We tried to book a cabin in one finca but they were all fully booked, except La Omaja which I do not recommend.
We ended up having a wonderful stay in Xalli at Playa Santo Domingo. The restaurant doesn't serve Nica food but it was really good. Check my other post about foodie experiences in Nicaragua if you are looking for food suggestions in Ometepe.

Xalli Hotel and Restaurant in Playa Santo Domingo

2 days and 5 Top activities to do while in Ometepe:

1. Cascada San Ramon
Lonely Planet says "the uphill slog to Cascada San Ramon, more a walk than a hike". What you should expect, a rocky and very tough uphill trail. We walked from the entrance gate till the waterfalls. You can skip some of the uphill hike if you leave your car next to the beginning of the trail but the road is unpaved and it's in really bad shape.
The waterfalls are beautiful but the lagoon area is smaller and less deep than I pictured.

Cascada San Ramon

2. Sendero Pena Inculta

It starts next to Playa Santo Domingo. The entrance is hard to find, it's behind a bus stop. I felt like Alice in Wonderland, when she fell through the rabbit-hole (no, I'm not on drugs). When you step in the scenario changes dramatically. A rocky path led you around a dense tropical forest full of huge and old trees with birds singing and monkeys shrieking. 

Pena Inculta trail ("don't disturb the bats)

3. Charco Verde

This is one of the most popular attractions in Ometepe. 

We got a cab from our hotel there (Playa Santo Domingo - Charco Verde round trip $30). 

The views from the uphills and the volcanic beaches are spectacular.

View from a lookout point

There are many colorful butterflies

Great egret

4. Playa Santo Domingo

Reserve the early evening to walk along the beach and enjoy the beautiful views. 

Playa Santo Domingo with a view over Concepcion volcano

5. Scenic volcanic beaches

The beaches are gorgeous due to the views and nature colors. My fave was one in Merida, next to Caballitos del Mar. I found it very photogenic.

Beach in Merida

Although Ojos de Agua is very famous, we skipped it because it sounded too touristic and overcrowded. Later on, while in Ometepe, we discussed it with some other tourists that went there. None of them recommended it.

We heard great things about kayaking and we would love to do it but we didn't have enough time. 

Foodie Guide to Nicaragua

I found Nica food better than Tica. 

Both cuisines share some of the ingredients and dishes but the Nica seemed a bit more authentic, creative and diverse. 

Although our first experience in Nicaragua was terrible. At El Castillo, we ordered a steamed fish that supposedly is a local specialty. It was so overcooked that melted. But the next ones were incredible. 

San Carlos

Before we get an 11 hours boat to Ometepe, we had lunch in this famous restaurant just across the port. 

I was planning to try the river shrimp soup (it seems quite similar to lobster) but they run out. So I decided to try the other local delicacy, fish soup. It was delightful. The broth was very rich. And on the side it had some tostones. 

Fish soup

Ometepe

In Ometepe I could have fish almost every meal (if I could I would have fish for breakfast too). We found an awesome restaurant in the beach, owned by 2 nice southern Europeans, called Caballitos Del Mar.
The views over Concepcion volcano are great but the grilled fish is even better. Fresh and cooked to perfection. It came with rice, salad and tostones. I could easily eat there every day.

Scenic view over Concepcion volcano

Side dishes: rice, salad and tostones

Grilled fish

Close to our hotel, Xalli (I highly recommend it), there was another beach restaurant called Comedor Jackeling. I was looking forward to have more grilled fish but they only had fried pieces. We heard about their specialty, the wine sauce and we ordered it.  

Fish cooked in red wine, with onions and tomato

Granada

In Granada we could explore more the Nica traditional cuisine. 

We had two classic Nica dishes, in a restaurant close to the main plaza, indio viejo and pig with yucca.

Indio viejo is very typical. And it has a story behind. Once a group of Indians were preparing this recipe when a group of Spaniards approached them and inquired about the food. And the legend says that they told the Spaniards that they had just prepared an old Indian that recently died. It's not hard to believe because this dish has an odd look and texture, a brown orange mass. The Spaniards walked away terrorized. 

The ingredients used are a fatty piece of cattle meat and pig fat mixed with onion, chitolma and garlic. Tortillas, rice, white cheese and tostones are served on the side. It's really good. 

Indio viejo

Indio viejo side dishes, rice, white cheese and tostones

Indio viejo exquisite texture

The cerdo con yucca (pork with yucca) is similar to vigoron. the only difference that I noticed is that on vigoron the meat is crispy, they use fried pig rinds (chicharones). The cerdo con yucca is made with roasted pork with cooked yucca. They use the same salad on fritanga and vigoron, cabbage and tomato salad with vinegar, on top. The mix of flavors and textures is to die for.

Pig with yucca, cabbage, tomato and vinegar

Unfortunately we didn't have enough meals or room to have the vigoron again during our trip. The one we tried was already good but I'm sure that we could get much better. As you can see there are not many differences between the cerdo con yucca and the vigoron. I loved the fried pig rinds with the freshness of the salad and the bitterness of the vinegar. I wish I can try it again. 

Vigoron

Masatepe

There are several small local eateries serving mondongo soup in the same area. Our guide book recommended Vera Cruz that it was very busy at that time which is always a good sign. We ordered just one to share which was the right amount. The bowl was huge. 

Mondongo soup is a slow cooked soup made with pig diced trip and carrots, cabbage, tomatoes and yucca. The broth is very rich and intense flavor. It's a must try.

Mondongo soup

Pork diced tripe

In Masatepe we stayed in a colonial house managed by an aristocratic Spaniard descendant family. They take traditions very seriously and on every Sundays they serve the typical Nicaraguan breakfast, nacatamal. It is a dough made of corn and filled with small pieces of tomato, potato, onion, garlic, pig loin, chicken and beef. And it's wrapped in banana leaves. These ones were homemade style and they were great. We tried it before in Granada and it wasn't as good as this one.

Nacatamal

Nacatamal filled with meat and veggies