TRAVEL & INDTJLGENCE

Take it spice and slowin Penang

A delightful wander around one of the world's most fragrant gardens
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Trail, which follows an elevated pathway through ferns, wild
orchids and otherjungle species. There are also themed

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outdoor "rooms", including a watergarden, a cycad garden and abamboogarden. Those wanting to take the experiencefurther can sign up for a half-day class at the garden's cooking school, under the guidance of professional chef
Pearly Kee. Here, guests are

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DID you know you could die from eating too much nutmeg? Or that the banana tree is not a tree at all, but a herb?
I leanlthis and more on avisit to the Tropical Spice Garden in Georgetown on theisland of Penang offMalaysia's west coast. In the 1800s, Penang was a spice paradise, with several large-scale British growers cultivating and exporting exotic spices across

taught to prepare traditional Malaysian meals with herbs and spices they've harvested themselves from the completely organicgrounds.

Anotherway to get up close and personal with the fruit of the land is a visit to the on-site Tree Monkey Restaurant, set amid giantrain trees and overlooking the ocean. Werefresh ourselvei
on the restaurant's al fresco wooden deck with lemongrass, ginger, honey and limetea, the fresh gingerrootheld in atwisted sprig of lemongrass. For lunch it's pandan chicken - tender morsels of meatmarinated in a sweet chilli sauce then steamed in aromatic pandan leaves. The flavours are heavenly. Also worth trying is the chefs special spiceroll, with wildbetel nut leaves, ginger, lime, shallots, chilli,peanuts and dried shrimps. Thosewanting a lasting souvenir of their visit can pick up any number of fragrant gifts and treats at the onsite gift shop. But
a

Half-day classes are offered at the onsite cooking school

the world.
Today this award-winning garden, established on an abandoned rubber plantation, is about all that's left of that oncebooming trade, and it's the perfect place for an introducion to the range of spices that made southeast Asia rich and famous from pepper, vanilla, ginger and cardamom to chilli, cloves andnutmeg. This enchanting gem, fucked into lush, green hillside, is home to more than500 species of exotictropical flora, spices and herbs, growing over3.2 ha; I am hit by the sensory overload almostas soon as I enterthe grounds as a spice-ladenbreeze wafts overme. Later, duringa walking tour of the property, the English-speaking guide draws our attention to the plants responsible for producing each spice,letting us pluck a leaf here, rub a seed pod there, to release the fragrant aromas. There are three garden trails to be explored a Spice Trail, feafuring more than 100 varieties

waming-goeasyonthe
as

nu@eg. As little

two whole

rawseeds can cause

hallucinations and. in some

cases, death,

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informed. Just another of the weird and wonderful facts Ite

picked up at this fragrant tropical paradise.

Claecklist
The Tropical Spice Garden is on the northwest end of the island of Penang. Admission is RM22 ($7), and cooking classes for a

of spices andherbs;an

Ornamental Trail, showcasing exotic fl ora, including palms, fems and gingers;and alungle

maximum of l0 cost RM200, including admission and a guided tour. More:

tropicalspicegarden.com.