For one, there appeared to be more high rise buildings compared to the past! Anyway, this was a five-day trip and departing from the norm, I shall not have the detailed postings on a day by day as there were still so many outstanding posts for Taiwan and Danang / Hoi An. Hyperlinks shall be updated in due course. :)
Day One
- The Eyes in the Sky at Penang
- St. Giles Wembley Penang Hotel
- DeHappy Seafood Restaurant
- New Lane Chinese Traditional Dessert
- Macalister Road Ah Chew Durian
Day Two
- OO White Coffee Carnarvon Plus
- Ipoh Famous Woong Kee Beancurd
- No. 5 Char Koay Teow
- Eng Seng Kuih Kapit
- Sia Boey Urban Archaeological Park
- Lee Jetty
- Bomba Street Art
- Umbrella Alley
Day Three
- Swatow Coffee Penang
- Yan Foo Chee Cheong Fun
- Noviss Cafe
- Hwa Ting Restaurant
- THAIZEN Wellness & Spa
- Fisherman's Wharf Food Corner Penang
- Karpal Singh Drive Promenade
- Hono Workshop Japanese Restaurant
Day Four
- Innland Bakery
- Kedai Kopi Cathay
- Him Heang
- Kraffmen Cafe
- Hin Bus Depot
- Jetty 35
- Rasa Rasa Restaurant
- Penang Hill at Night
- Sky Terrace Cafe
Day Five
- Xen Teck Cafe
- Toh Soon Cafe
- Deens Maju Nasi Kandar
- Penang International Airport
Day One (30 August 2024)
Given the short flight of one hour, it's just an egg-mayo wrap for us. Tasted pretty good although the wrap could have been less thick. I realized something recently; coke was a lot tastier in a plane!
After an hour, the skyline of Penang Island loomed in front of us. As you can see, there was land reclamation near Gurney Drive; god knows what new things will be built there. More photographs will be shared on "The Eyes in the Sky at Penang".
Landed!
One thing that caught me by surprise; there so many high-rise buildings near the airport! Isn't that unsafe? Aside from noise pollution for the residents, pilots would also have a harder timing taking off / landing the planes, especially under poor visibility.
Penang International Airport - 3rd busiest in Malaysia after Kuala Lumpur International Airport and Kota Kinabalu International Airport, it was built in 1935, expanded in 1979 and would be undergoing further expansion soon.
After a GRAB ride of about 40 minutes, we reached St. Giles Wembley Penang Hotel, where we secured a room on the 25th floor! Pity the view wasn't fantastic from our room.
Good thing about St. Giles Wembley Penang Hotel; KOMTAR and 1st Avenue Mall were just across the road. Even the heritage Georgetown was close by.
A night market alongside KOMTAR; nothing that particularly stood out.
Our first meal in Penang; DeHappy Seafood Restaurant! Ordering both the salted egg and chilli crabs, our verdict was that smaller crabs simply lacked the satisfaction; we did enjoy the boiled prawns; freshness max!
Chanced upon the busy New Lane Food Street! With so many food stalls, I was sad that I no longer had the stomach space to indulge in more food!
How to resist not ordering durians?! Penang has a thriving durian industry and being a durian lover means I wouldn't give this a miss! From Macalister Road Ah Chew Durian.
Walking back to St. Giles Wembley Penang Hotel where we can rely on the iconic KOMTAR building to be our directional landmark. Once we see KOMTAR, it means our hotel would be near.
Ending the night with drinks at DSRT Sky Room, Penang's highest hotel bar at St. Giles Wembley Penang Hotel! I got free drinks as I bumped into my elder sister's classmate! So coincidental!
Day Two (31 August 2024)
Breakfast time at OO White Coffee Carnarvon Plus!
Loving the traditional Nanyang coffee!
Beautiful ancestral temple for those surnamed Zhang. I am actually a Zhang even though I followed the dialect Teo on my identification card.
Another OO White Coffee that's so close by?! Turned out this was the original, non-air-conditioned branch, and prices would be cheaper here.
Exploring the streets of Georgetown; one thing to note was that many shophouses had their shutters down, and the streets appeared a lot less crowded than in 2016.
Street views for your reference.
The temporary archway at 1st Avenue Mall to celebrate the mid autumn festival. For a Saturday, the shopping centre did seem very quiet. Maybe next time I should at Gurney Drive area; said to be more happening.
Whatever the case, we were at 1st Avenue Mall simply to catch a movie; Alien: Romulus! The popcorn from TGV was amazing and I guess I would pay a visit to TGV's Johor branches soon!
There were some misgivings for Penang Char Kway Teow and I decided to try one that's said to be famous among the locals; No. 5 Char Koay Teow! Verdict: not bad with loads of bloody cockles but Singapore's sweeter version is better.
Eng Seng Kuih Kapit - literally our childhood love letters and made the traditional way using charcoal! There's an enhanced version where pork floss served as a filling. Note: they crushed easily and might not be suitable for a plane ride.
Such a gaudy looking car.
Ghee Hiang - a bakery that was founded in 1856! Serving traditional tambun biscuits like its competitor, Ban Heang, both were however said to be serving more the tourist market and no longer popular with locals.
For me, it's always about sampling and this wasn't provided at Ghee Hiang. Both my sisters actually prefer another brand called Him Heang so I am going to take their words for it.
Pricing for your reference.
Jalan Kek Chuan - hard not to miss it with the shophouses' bold colors and strings of red lanterns across the street. Since it's mainly a R&R trip for us, and I love to walk, let's pop by!
Back at DeHappy Seafood Restaurant for the boiled prawns!
Alex insisted on taking a nap and for a person like me who couldn't stand wasting time on sleeping when overseas; I decided to go out on my own! First stop; KKV at 1st Avenue Mall.
Penang isn't pedestrian friendly in my honest opinion. Frequently, I had to walk along the road instead of pavements that separate pedestrians from motor vehicles.
Lee Clan Jetty - one of the seven clan jetties in Penang and while not as famous as Chew Clan Jetty, this caught my attention for its clever use of captivating lighting.
Temple of Monkey God!
Excited primarily because I am born in the year of Monkey.
One of many street hawkers at night! It's a pity for me as I don't really enjoy eating too much at night, given the tendency of weight gain! :(
Bomba Street Art!
Why the word bomba?
Bomba actually refers to fire station and here's the heritage central fire station, built in 1908, that was located right next to Bomba Street Art!
Day Three (01 September 2024)
Kickstarting the morning with a traditional breakfast from Swatow Coffee Penang! While air-conditioned, I thought the pricing was expensive! My kopi itself cost RM 8.90!
Second breakfast - Yan Foo Chee Cheong Fun! It's common to have sweet sauce for chee cheong fun in Singapore but this stall also offered prawn paste, which was more the norm for rojak.
Let's enjoy the day with such nice weather!
Talented stall owner who was taking references from an existing painting from a book! This was something I wanted my dad to do now that he is in his 70s as drawing is said to energize the ageing brain cells.
Roasted chinese chestnuts stall; this was actually quite good and only one nut was bad. I wanted to buy a few bags for mom on the last morning in Penang but it was either closed or has yet to open.
Desserts at Noviss Cafe.
Drinks and cake aside, it was the entry of a feline that drew our attention! Guess it is a regular since the cafe staff immediately brought out some cat toys for further interaction.
Makan again; this time at Hwa Ting Restaurant, said to be known for their traditional tasting wanton mee! Noodles were coated with delicious lard oil!
Ghost Museum - glad to see that this interesting museum was still surviving after COVID-19. I remember it was fun back in 2016 and strongly recommend tourists to check it out.
Back to St. Giles Wembley Penang Hotel; it cut a rather imposing figure along the street and has over 400 rooms! There was a decent gym and even a pool; sadly, the latter was closed when I was there, due to installation of some signage.
Massage at THAIZEN Wellness & Spa!
After a short rest back at St. Giles Wembley Penang Hotel, we were out again; this time to The Top Penang theme park at KOMTAR! Unfortunately, it was closing in less than two hours and we might not have sufficient time to clear all the attractions.
Price list of The Top Penang Theme Park for your reference.
I actually didn't manage to return as the sprained ankle got more and more painful and although I have been back to Singapore for two weeks; the ankle has yet to make a full recovery.
Fisherman's Wharf Food Corner Penang, where I had a yummy grilled crab! Fisherman's Wharf was like our Singapore's hawker centre where there were many food stalls for you to choose from.
Got myself a Chagee milk tea!
Unlike Johor Bahru, there's no queue here!
Setting sun illuminating the clouds, resulting in bright, vibrant splashes of orange across the sky! On second thought, I should have gone up to DSRT Sky Room, where there will be unblocked views of the sunset.
Back at Sia Boey Urban Archaeological Park as I told Alex there was a night market which he might be interested in! The relaxing atmosphere was further enhanced with a live band belting out nice music.
Day Four (02 September 2024)
The day before, I walked past a shop that sold amazing looking, fist-sized polo buns, and I decided to check it out for breakfast. Name of the shop: Innland Bakery.
Pretty large baking supplies shop; pity I am not as obsessed about baking nowadays, given how much time was drained. Speaking of which, maybe I should bake some cinnamon buns soon.
Street view of the heritage Georgetown; frankly, it reminded me of Singapore's chinatown a few decades ago when it wasn't as touristy and as crowded.
Many buildings appeared to be in a state of dereliction although such conditions lend charm to the buildings, and might not necessarily be a bad thing.
Our feet walked a long distance and we retreated to a coffee shop, Kedai Kopi Cathay, for some much wanted coffee. Alex wanted more though, and opted for the soup based hokkien mee!
Destination for the long walk; Him Heang! Both my sisters insisted the tambun biscuits were the best and I can forget about Ghee Hiang and Ban Heang. I am an obedient brother.
I saved this cafe in my Google Maps; Kraffmen Cafe and since it's just a short distance from Him Heang, let's pop by and have some snacks! Discipline wasn't in my brain that day as I eventually requested for a squid ink spaghetti!
Before leaving for our hotel, let's also go over to Eng Seng Kuih Kapit for their handmade, charcoal grilled love letters, where we had pre-order on day two of our trip. Recommended to pre-order as they sell out very fast.
Hin Bus Depot; a community space comprising of "F&B, art & craft retailers, artist workshops, and studios", from a disused bus depot. We went on a Monday; big mistake as the place was quiet! Do go on a Saturday when there would be a market.
Jetty 35 - a living art space near the clan jetties. Those interested in artisanal jewelry, craftworks, antiques etc would likely enjoy browsing through.
What stood out for me was Rasa Rasa Restaurant; a Michelin Bib Gourmand awardee that had a mean tasting nasi lemak that I crave for even till now.
Revisiting Chew Jetty (姓周桥); still the same even though there appeared to be a lot more commercial entities selling souvenirs and trinkets to tourists.
More photographs once again as we browsed the streets. Eventually, tiredness hit us and we took GRAB instead. One thing when travelling with Alex, he doesn't quite like to walk. To be fair, not many enjoy walking as much as I do.
Found a table at Sky Terrace Cafe where I can setup my DJI OSMO Pocket for a time-lapsed video. For such a touristy area, I must admit that their fried calamaris and truffle fries were addictive!
One surprise finding in Penang Hill; the chanced encounter with dusky leaf monkeys and there were no less than five of them. I initially thought they were the raffles banded langurs but both were not of the same species!
Breathtaking night view of Penang from Penang Hill.
Day Five (03 September 2024)
Last morning in Penang and we happily GRAB over to a coffee shop in front of Chew Jetty (姓周桥), said to serve great tasting hokkien mee and char kway teow; sadly, it was not open for business and we had to make do with Xen Teck Cafe! Loving the toast with margarine and kaya!
Toh Soon Cafe; despite its uninspiring facade, this shop drew long queue even before the pandemic! Since there were no queue when we walked past; I shall assume it's god's will that I should check it out!
Checking out Ban Heang that had a back door leading to Toh Soon Cafe! There were loads of sampling and I would strongly recommend the cheese biscuit.
This was another snack I chanced upon from another shop; it's actually a crisp form of peanut Min Chiang Kueh and got me so hooked! You can get them from Ding Tai Yuan 鼎泰源 along Jalan Penang.
At 1st Avenue Mall again for last minute shopping before our flight.
Alex having a nice chat with the GRAB uncle.
Arrival at Penang International Airport with about three hours to go before departure. I actually intended to arrive later but there's always a risk of jams.
Preparing for takeoff!
Cheesy margherita pizza on the plane.
Half expecting a beautiful sunset on the plane but it wasn't meant to be. Strange though since I was sitting on the right side, facing the west.
Flew past Pulau Ubin!
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