Beach Picnic

When was the last time you had a picnic on the beach? It's something we islanders take for granted.

"Aiyah, the weather is so hot"

"Penang's beaches are so dirty"

"Lazy to prepare food"

Now that I'm leaving Penang for a substantial stretch of time, I want to spend quality time with friends and family, creating those unique memory keepsakes that are so rare nowadays. So when my close buddy S hatched the idea of a beach picnic, I stopped asking "why" and started asking "when".

My last beach picnic was at least 7 years ago at Pantai Kerachut with some Mahindarama BGX Youth. It was a full-blown affair, what with having to hike an hour to reach the northernmost point of Penang Island. This round we took the easy way out and set out our mats at Teluk Bahang, somewhere further out from the commercialized Batu Ferringhi beaches but still within a motorized vehicle's reach.

Our little picnic set up

We set out from my house at 7.30am and arrived at Teluk Bahang beach in the first half of 8 o'clock. The beach was almost deserted and we took our pick of spots to lay out our mats. As we haven't had our breakfast yet, we quickly dug in to our food. I made cheese & egg sandwiches and microwaved broccoli & carrots. S bought vegetarian chang (rice dumplings) while J supplied fruit drinks. W provided his sister's beach mat.

Cheese & egg sandwich is a simple yet delicious and filling combination. The key is in getting the egg part right. Mash hard-boiled eggs into small chunks (but don't blend it into a puree! That's just disgusting), sprinkle with black pepper flakes to give it a kick, and finally mix it with your choice of artery-choking dressing (I went with mayo). In between bread slices, place an even spread of egg mayo, slice of cheddar cheese, and butter/margarine. Delish.

I've also recently discovered the joys of cooking vegetables in the microwave instead of boiling them (nutrient leeching) or steaming them (too time/energy consuming). A whole bowl of cut broccoli can be done in 2-3 minutes. I rinse them with salt water and leave a small amount in the bowl before zapping them with microwave rays.

I also brought my portable speakers and preloaded my iPod with beach-friendly tunes such as California Gurls (Katy Perry), It's You That Matters (Reshmonu), and Mas Que Nada (Black Eyed Peas). A neighbouring picnic group did it the traditional way and had guitar sing-alongs! Let's just say I've modernized with the times.

We left at about 10am as the sun started getting unbearable. Although it was high tide we didn't have any cooling breeze to stave off the burning rays, so we packed up in 5 minutes (it took us 10 minutes to set it up - go figure) and high tailed it out of there. Our journey home was impeded by the Cycle For A Lane event. It was definitely scary to share the single lane road with endless cyclists. Yes, it's time for cyclists to have their own lane.

Pardon my camera phone's lacking capabilities