572842 Sun Nov 16 20:52:00 -0800 2008 1 48 Greater Asia 0 4178964 I visited the old quarter of Georgetown in food haven Penang over the weekend & chanced upon this 60-year-old eatery on Magazine Road (opposite Traders' Hotel). It serves a paraphernalia of Teochew/Chiuchow dishes: braised pork, soy-flavored tofu, pickled mustard, salted ducks' eggs, omelettes filled with chopped salted radishes, sweet-sour fish fillets - all served with Chinese rice porridge/congee. But what caught my eye was the seating arrangements upfront of the serving counter: long benches, topped with tiny stools. Apparently, these type of eateries were common in Southern China (where Penang-Chinese immigrants originally came from centuries ago) in the old days - the diners back in the 19th-century (many of whom were coolies or rickshaw-pullers) liked to squat atop the benches while seated on the tiny stools. Amazing to see such "traditional" seating arrangements still exist in Penang! Sun Nov 16 20:52:00 -0800 2008 143097 klyeoh 1 4181780 I am not sure if this was the old Hokkien way, but my late uncle also like to "squat" when eat. Well, at least one leg would be on the bench. People make fund of Ah-Ben but food taste good when eaten Ah-Ben style ... :-) Mon Nov 17 19:32:28 -0800 2008 4178964 167877 shengtang