Sheryl Teoh - Penang Monthly

Why I Still Cook When It Is So Easy Not To

11 min read

I often wonder why I subject myself to extensive labour when I could easily eat out. In Penang, food is everywhere—cheap, delicious, convenient, fast. Why spend hours chopping, stirring and cleaning when I could get a perfectly good meal for under RM10 outside?

by Sheryl Teoh

The Southern Chinese Flavours that Built Penang’s Palate

6 min read

As a child, I spent a lot of time in this aunt’s house, and most of that time, in her kitchen. While my other aunts and cousins played mahjong in the background, I would sit at the kitchen table, annoying her with requests to help her cook.

by Sheryl Teoh

Marking the End of Life: Rituals Across Malaysia

10 min read

Death may arrive suddenly, but it is never endured in isolation. What follows depends on your race, religion and family background.

by Sheryl Teoh & Teioh Nuan Ning

Threads of Change: Weaving Waste Into Art

7 min read

Kelsey Merreck Wagner was trained in printmaking and ceramics. Since the very beginning, her art has been deeply tied to environmental concerns close to her heart. It wasn’t until 2017 that she decided she wanted to weave.

by Sheryl Teoh

Taking Penang's Street Food Global

12 min read

The Michelin Guide started listing Penang food establishments in 2023. Since then, two Penang restaurants have been awarded one star, 32 are listed as Bib Gourmand Restaurants and another 35 as Michelin Selected.

by Sheryl Teoh

A Personal Journey to Imbibe Offal, One Organ at a Time

5 min read

If I were to locate the exact point in time when I became serious about food, it would have to be upon reading Anthony Bourdain’s essay in The New Yorker, “Don’t Eat Before Reading This” and his later book, Kitchen Confidential.

by Sheryl Teoh

Joachim Bergström: On Using Universal Values to Drive Diplomacy

12 min read

As his tenure comes to an end, Penang Monthly sits down with Joachim Bergström to talk about his team’s efforts in introducing these universal values to the country, and how these can strengthen the bilateral relationship between Sweden and Malaysia.

by Sheryl Teoh

Penang’s Operatic Past: A Legacy of Passion and Dedication

6 min read

For a man of his accomplishments and social stature, Konishi is relatively low-profile; but his private residence in Taman Jesselton, an exquisite Italian villa-styled mansion called Villa Primavera, is widely admired and talked about.

by Sheryl Teoh

Do Nothing and It Shall Be Done: Placemaking in Balik Pulau

6 min read

Jerry, the owner, co-founder and cook extraordinaire at Nada Natural Farming, believes in the dolce far niente—the sweetness of doing nothing. This philosophy has spilled over to the entire conception of Nada, from how it is run, to what it is meant to be.

by Sheryl Teoh

Ernest Zacharevic’s Decade of Art, Rubbish and Transformation

9 min read

At his studio in Lebuh Melayu, surrounded by his stunning works of art, some completed, others still in progress, we talk to Ernest about his journey as an artist and what art means to him.

by Sheryl Teoh

The Post-Covid Crisis: Rising Food Prices

10 min read

Cooking used to be a fun passion project, but with rising food costs, it’s now a careful act of budgeting. This piece explores how inflation is reshaping how Malaysians eat, shop and survive.

by Sheryl Teoh

Penang Monthly Has Fun With AI Art

3 min read

What better way is there to talk about generating art with AI than to just show you? Penang Monthly uses Gencraft, a platform that creates images and videos based on text descriptions for this month's photo essay.

by Sheryl Teoh