Nature surrounds us all. Near and far. No matter where your travel may take you, we are never too distant from the prehistoric gardens that stretch their roots deep within the earth. In traveling further west from George Town, we gradually started to see new scenery doused in deep green rain forest.
Art & Garden in Teluk Bahang invited us into a mystical art gallery with walls of deep, lush forest garden and the sky as our ceiling. This beautifully curated garden showcased the coexistence of nature and manmade artworks. It is designed to enable visitors to enjoy the pretty flowers and creative blossoms of art in one easy stroll. It was especially impressive that each artwork blended into the background of open nature and left an impression of having entered some world not so distant from one of Monet’s oil paintings.
In order to enjoy Art & Garden fully, it is recommended to take a moderate hike on the established trail that navigates visitors through the canopies of flowers and fish ponds accompanied by whimsical art pieces that venture from pure aesthetics to political theory. One of the most impressive pieces to see was a series of individual opaque glass works painted in delicate patterns of flowers. The garden is quite large and it does require some strength to reach the summit for breathtaking views of jungles below. After catching our breath at the viewpoint, we strolled down to the gift shop before making our way to the restaurant in Kampung Nelayan.
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We stopped at Tai Tong Seafood Restaurant in Kampung Nelayan and enjoyed lunch with our friend’s families. I was struck with unsettling waves of stomach ache throughout the day, and it was unfortunately not the best meal experience during our stay in Penang. Nonetheless, I had a good time exploring the tiny village that exhibited the lifestyle of the rural side of Penang. Kampung Nelayan had a sense of remoteness from the city that was fresh and interesting.
Returning to George Town, we decided to take things easy and relaxed at the apartment for the rest of the afternoon. In the evening, I went to Chulia Street Night Hawker Stalls to experience the last street food excursion in this UNESCO historic site. My final hunt for the hawker stall was a famous curry mee noodle soup that made Chulia Street known to the world of foodies.
Chulia Street comes alive at night.Penang’s famous Curry Mee — Malaysian noodle soup.
Curry mee is a signature Malaysian noodle soup consisting of a generous amount of seafood and curry broth. The curry mee stall on Chulia Street was extremely hectic and I was lucky to receive the last remaining bowl before the stall closed for the night. Chulia Street Night Hawker Stalls was clearly the top tourist destination in Penang, and it was chaotic with little to no foot space between passing people. Riding the wave of accelerating appetite, I joined another long queue to get my fill on Char Kaoy Teow!
Char kaoy teow stall on Chulia Street.
Char Kaoy Teow is a Malaysian stir fried noodle cooked with prawns and shellfish and perfected with a gentle coat of chicken and duck eggs. You can smell the irresistibly delicious sizzles of fried seafood from blocks away. The stall was set up on a long rectangular table with two workers, one person manning the wok and the other person handling the register and replenishing the kitchen supplies. It was quite entertaining to watch two workers vigorously fulfilling the long list of orders in harmonious tempo.
This was the final night in Penang. The following morning we were due to fly back to Singapore for one last day in Southeast Asia.
Thank you for following our stories. Please stay with us for the epilogue to this epic adventure!
Waking up with the sun became routine during my latest trip. Each morning, I wiggled my way out from a double king sized bed that faced the ocean and saw a glimpse of amber and crimson light ascending over the Penang skyline. It was a new day in paradise.
The first sight of the day in Penang. George Town bathed in morning light.
Each morning I would hurriedly throw on some clothes, grab my camera and head out the door – careful not to wake the peaceful dreams of my roommates. When I got to the elevator hall, I saw the spire of a golden pavilion beneath the high rise apartments and immediately decided to make it as the first destination. My first morning stroll around the neighborhood offered an introductory glimpse of the numerous buddhist temples situated throughout George Town.
A few steps from the apartment, I found myself exploring the little corners of Thai and Burmese buddhist temples shimmering in gold. It was still early in the morning and there was no one besides myself, a few monks sweeping the streets along and a few street vendors setting up their tents, getting ready for the day’s business. It was a peaceful and meditative experience to explore vacant buddhist temples and admire their quiet gardens.
When I returned to the apartment, Becca and Michelle were awake and sitting in the sunlit living room. We made cups of coffee and enjoyed the birdseye view of George Town expanding outside the windows. It seemed nearly impossible to escape from the comfort of lounge chairs and the gentle caress of sunshine in order to plan the day’s activity but, eventually, our friends Kea and David invited us to join for lunch at Nasi Kandar restaurant just a few blocks away from the apartment.
If I were only able to choose one dish to write home about it would be Nasi Kandar: a Penang originated Malaysian curry dish that we had at Restoran Mohammed Raffee Nasi Kandar. Nasi Kandar is like a distant cousin to Indian curry, somewhat familiar yet not formally acquainted. This delectable northern Malay dish was incredibly savory and full of intricate spice notes. None of the spices overpowered the other’s flavor and there was a perfect balance and harmony in the combinations of different curries; this made it a pristine culinary experience.
The ordering system was quite simple. We queued and picked the main proteins and vegetables along with extra add-ons such as fish head and fried eggs. Then the chef poured large ladles full of curry gravies over the plate to complete the dish. I picked chicken and fish head as my main proteins and asked to garnish the plate with as many varieties of side vegetables as possible. Of course, I had to add a fish head and fried eggs as well. No holding back!
After we filled our stomachs with incredibly delicious nasi kandar (that I will dream about every single day from here on), we hailed some taxis to the art district of George Town where our friends’ uncle (i.e., an older friend) runs his workshop and a gallery. It was a quick few minutes drive to reach the main art street of Lebuh Armenian where we strolled down a narrow historical street. There were many iconic art installations including the works of Ernest Zacharevic.
Shop Howard was located in the center of the art district surrounded by many iconic street arts and quintessential Penang scenery complete with the pedicab stalls. We entered the shop and were greeted by Howard, who photographs and publishes photo collections highlighting everyday life in Penang. He guided us to a satellite gallery established inside an old Peranakan style house. Here are some shots from the excursion.
The art district in George Town showcases an interesting amalgamation of the old Penang lifestyle and a young creative energy. This neighborhood is surrounded by many buildings that are getting on in their years, one could say ancient, yet enlivened by inciting and inspirational street art and a feeling of true, uninhibited culture. It was very interesting to see modern cafes and boutique shops operating next to old storage and office spaces – like bright young children walking joyfully, hand-in-hand with their grandparents. The state of this amalgamation revealed the contrast of economic evolutions that Penang is going through today.
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China House was a fantastic stop for a coffee break and to treat ourselves with tasty cakes. This traditional compound, made of three heritage houses, has transformed into an international tea house for locals and travelers to rest their weary wings. In this long, narrow and busy cafe people gather for quality conversation over sweet treats and kopi (Malay for coffee). In the back of the cafe there is a quaint outdoor space where we found the perfect table to enjoy the passing time. We tried the cafe’s popular cheesecake, pound cake, and chocolate cake and washed them down with a few cups of latte. After the coffee break, we continued our adventure through the art district.
“Boy on Motorbike” by Ernest Zacharevic
We strolled down Lebuh Ah Quee and admired the multi-medium mural work by Ernest Zacharevic including his famous “Boy on Motorbike.” We made a turn to cut through the Little India of Penang and detoured back to Uncle Howard’s shop. Along the way, we had a quick glimpse of a day in the life of Penang.
George Town is also an exciting place for nightlife. There are some great options for regional fancy drinks. In the evening, Becca and I ventured out to meet our friends at Good Friends Club next to Hin Bus Depot, a famous art center for Sunday flea market and industrial art installations. We started the evening at Good Friends Club and eventually found our way through the backdoor to the speakeasy bar. Backdoor Bodega is Penang’s best kept secret (hopefully I won’t be banned from re-entry after sharing this). Whether by friend’s invitation or a pure happenstance, if you ever find your way, you will be pleased to find yourself there.
Good Friends Bar motto: “Good friends never bojio.” Bojio means not invite.Good Friends Bar stands next to Hin Bus Depot. You can wander outside the bar to see the murals on the industrial buildings.
Backdoor Bodega is a dimly lit cocktail bar in the back of an apparel store that serves many varieties of original Penang cocktails. One of the most unique flavors that I tasted was Lao Hao Peng made with a nutmeg cordial that was tangy, aromatic, and for lack of a better word: adventurous. The evening at Backdoor Bodega was a wonderful time spent with friends both old and new. The bar also had open access to the apparel store where we played foosball and had a good chat with newly made friends that are also regular customers of the bar.
Backdoor Bodega is a speakeasy bar in the back of apparel store.
Thank you for reading this blog post. Hope you enjoyed it!
In the next post, we will take our journey to the western region of Penang Island -flourishing with vegetation and an art gallery in nature. Please stay tuned.
Singapore, being an island nation that used to be part of Malaysia, it seems natural to think that there must be many intersections in the underlying cultures and to expect some similar experiences when traveling to these places. A short flight from Singapore to Penang revealed the dramatic differences between the two nations: Singapore in all of its well curated splendor and Malaysia as the more earthy and earnest sister of this corner of Southeast Asia.Penang is the spirit that runs like a current of electricity through Singapore.
We spent the morning at the Jewel in Singapore’s Changi Airport (a report of that experience to be shared in a later post), and took a one hour and thirty minutes flight to Penang. Penang Airport, unlike Singapore’s magnificent piece of art, was modest in size and resembled many small city domestic airports in the United States. There was no intimidating excess of shopping and the airport’s arrival terminal was designed for travelers to quickly diverge their paths as soon as they hauled their luggage. Becca, Michelle, and I exited the airport smoothly and used the Grab app to hire a taxi to reach Gurney Drive where we had booked an Airbnb for our 3 nights stay in Penang.
Our taxi driver was very conversational and shared many good recommendations for food to eat in Penang. He also plugged in a few questions about the price of electronics in Malaysia and mentioned how he is a proud owner of the latest iPhone. Somehow it didn’t occur to me that Penang is one of the up-and-coming hubs for technology companies in Malaysia. There are many people working at startup companies full-time while also driving ride shares for extra income – much like back in California! I watched the buildings of tech companies, a scenic Jerejak Island floating in the distance and Penang Bridge extending to mainland Malaysia as we drove up the coastal highway to George Town.
Ocean view from our Airbnb on Gurney Drive.
Gurney Drive is a resort center in Penang that stretches along the expansive beach shoreline and offers incredible ocean views from almost every 2 storey+ building. We stayed on the 10th floor of an apartment building a few blocks away from the beach and basked in 360 degree views of the Pacific Ocean from the windows. DEspite the fact that the beach outside the apartment was still under maintenance from the aftermath of the tsunami a few years back, we fully enjoyed the changing view of Penang in day and night from our resort accommodation.
Twilight hour from our Airbnb.
Our first day in Penang was spent relaxing with takeout curry from the hawker stalls (thanks to Grab app delivery). In the evening, I ventured out to Gurney Drive Hawker Center to join the wedding party for the first contact with Penang delicacy.
Gurney Drive Hawker Center bustling at night.
My experience at Gurney Drive Hawker Center was quite different from the previous night spent at Newton Food Center in Singapore. The place was bustling with energy, and people were wandering shoulder to shoulder with little to no space between passing! I also noticed there were significantly more varieties of Malay cuisine that I had not seen at the other hawker centers we visited in Singapore. Kudos to my friends for securing a full size table amidst this madness!
Chicken satay from the hawker stall. Penang Rojak! a.k.a. Malaysian salad.Newlyweds!Chee cheong fun. A delightful rice cake with sweet and spicy soy paste.
Just like in Singapore, our table was filled with a bountiful rotation of regional flavors. I got really busy trying different types of noodle dishes and analyzing the flavor notes in each bite of exotic salad dishes. Street food culture in Penang was a poignant culinary expedition and I needed to use my taste buds as guidance to navigate through the intricate maze of flavors.
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Gurney Drive Hawker Center was a great introduction to the Penang culture. Not only did I have a chance to appreciate many incredible foods, but I was exposed to the authentic Muslim culture that exists in Malaysia. Rojak, which is one of the Muslim culinary experiences, was definitely one of the more shocking encounters I have had on my curious walks around the hawker centers. I had no preliminary knowledge about this Malaysian style salad, but one particular stall named “Disco Pasembur Rojak” lured me into the depth of this mysterious delicacy. Like a moth to flame, I joined the winding queue of the festive stall that blared awesome 90s dance jams (somehow it was not disco music). Immediately, I saw many people smiling and enjoying picking from the selection of toppings for the salad.
I was a total noob and had no idea how a rojak stall works. I just followed the queue and did what everyone else was doing: took a green plate and used the tongs to pick up what appears to be fried fish cakes and tofu, all the while bass heavy music was bumping from the overhead speakers. At the very end of the line, a gentleman with a big knife collected my plate and chopped the fried items into tiny bite size pieces. Once the pieces were reasonably diced down, he added bean sprouts, fresh green vegetables, and finally poured a heavy dollop of mysterious red sauce.
Rojak!
Unfortunately, I do not have a good comment to provide for rojak as far as flavor is concerned. It was strangely sweet and dense! I can say this would be a perfect meal to eat after only having a bowl of cereal for breakfast in the morning as it will definitely fill you up. It was by no means a substitute for a fantastic bowl of laksa, which I followed up with to cleanse my taste palette.
Penang-style laksa was quite different from Singaporean-style. Penang laksa I got from the hawker stall was tangy, acidic, and fishy. It had a very strong flavor. This dish is definitely not for everyone, but I liked it a lot!
Evening seemed to calm down as the dinner crowds started to part ways with their respective happy bellies. I took a taxi back to the apartment with takeout chicken satay and Penang-style laksa. After settling down for a few minutes at the apartment, I took the elevator to find a fancy cocktail bar with a view on the top floor of the apartment. Here’s some shimmering views of George Town at night from the sky room:
Thank you for reading my blog post! Next we will explore the art districts of George Town and some reports on hidden gems of nightlife. Please stay tuned!
