We had a short 3D2N holiday visit to the Penang Island, located at north west of the Malaysia peninsular along the Straits of Malacca. Once part of the British colony along with Malacca and Singapore, today Penang Island still carries much of its colonial and pre-war architecture heritage, especially in its capital, George Town, which was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2008. In more recent years, new attractions such as the famous Penang street food and street art murals have attracted many tourists both Malaysians from other states and foreigners to the island.
I was travelling with my wife and our close friends, which we took the morning flight from Singapore to Penang International Airport. We have chartered a mini-bus with driver for the local travel for the next 3 days. As it was close to lunch time after we cleared the immigration, we went straight to have our lunch first in George Town.
I was travelling with my wife and our close friends, which we took the morning flight from Singapore to Penang International Airport. We have chartered a mini-bus with driver for the local travel for the next 3 days. As it was close to lunch time after we cleared the immigration, we went straight to have our lunch first in George Town.
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| Penang International Airport |
Hot Bowl White Curry Mee @ Jalan Rangoon
The journey from the airport to George Town took around 45 minutes. The traffic within the George Town city centre is congested and slow, as many of the streets between the pre-war era buildings are single lane. Our first stop of the day is the Hot Bowl White Curry Mee at Jalan Rangoon.
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| Hot Bowl White Curry Mee |
The shop itself is not very big, but still not too crowded when we arrived. The specialty here is of course the White Curry Mee, which the standard bowl comes with bean curd puff, cuttlefish, cockles and duck blood. However, they allow customization, which you can choose to opt out some of the standard items or add other ingredients such as prawns, fish ball, crab sticks and others. Depending on individual, you can further add the homemade chili paste to the soup, which makes the curry spicy and even more tasty.
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| Article about the White Curry Mee |
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| Original White Curry Mee |
We also ordered their deboned chicken, which is another popular dish. The chicken is tender and juicy, especially the light soy sauce which is very fragrant.
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| Deboned Chicken |
Overall, we were very satisfied with the meal. After lunch, our driver came back to pick us and we headed to our first attraction, The Blue Mansion.
The Blue Mansion
The Blue Mansion, also known as the Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion, was built during the late 19th century by Chinese merchant Cheong Fatt Tze (張弼士). It used to be the private residence of the merchant's descendants, until 1989 when a group of locals purchased the property and conducted massive restoration works to transform it to a boutique hotel cum museum as seen today. The restored heritage building has won a several awards, both locally and internationally, including from UNESCO.
We arrived at the mansion just in time for the next guided tour, which was conducted in English. We bought the entrance tickets and took some photographs in front of the building and the main hall before the commencement of the tour.
The guided tour is around 45 minutes long and covers only the central part of the building. The 2 ends of the building house the hotel guest rooms, which are not accessible as part of the tour. The guide tour touched on various subjects, such as the history and lifestyle of Cheong Fatt Tze and his family, the unique blend of Chinese and Western architecture of the building and its glamorous interior designs and furniture, and the daily accessories used by the family.
The Blue Mansion
The Blue Mansion, also known as the Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion, was built during the late 19th century by Chinese merchant Cheong Fatt Tze (張弼士). It used to be the private residence of the merchant's descendants, until 1989 when a group of locals purchased the property and conducted massive restoration works to transform it to a boutique hotel cum museum as seen today. The restored heritage building has won a several awards, both locally and internationally, including from UNESCO.
We arrived at the mansion just in time for the next guided tour, which was conducted in English. We bought the entrance tickets and took some photographs in front of the building and the main hall before the commencement of the tour.
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| The Blue Mansion |
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| Rickshaw Exhibits |
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| Entrance to the Blue Mansion |
The guided tour is around 45 minutes long and covers only the central part of the building. The 2 ends of the building house the hotel guest rooms, which are not accessible as part of the tour. The guide tour touched on various subjects, such as the history and lifestyle of Cheong Fatt Tze and his family, the unique blend of Chinese and Western architecture of the building and its glamorous interior designs and furniture, and the daily accessories used by the family.
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| Waiting area before commencement of the tour |
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| Overlooking the 2nd Level and Sky Well |
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| Overlooking the Ground Level from 2nd Level |
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| Guide explaining the history of the Mansion and its founder |
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| Wooden bed used by the family |
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| Dinning area opened to the hotel guests only |
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| The hotel room area not accessible to the tour |
After the tour, we departed to check-in to our Airbnb lodging, which is an apartment in a condominium near the Komtar Tower.
Joez Coconut Jelly @ Jalan Dato Keramat
Jelutong Night Market @ Jalan Van Praagh
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| Our Airbnb apartment |
Joez Coconut Jelly @ Jalan Dato Keramat
After we settled down in our Airbnb apartment, we had made arrangement for our driver to bring us to Penang Hill. But before that, we made a quick stopover at Joez Coconut Jelly to have some dessert first.
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| Joez Coconut Jelly |
It was a small simple shop with no fanciful decorations, and they focus simply on serving coconut juice and related desserts. We ordered their popular coconut jelly and coconut shake with pearls. The coconut jelly was refreshing and authentic, served cold in the coconut shell which comes with the coconut meat. The coconut shake on the other hand didn't fair that well. It was very sweet and the taste of the vanilla milk was too strong and over powers the coconut.
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| Storage of coconuts |
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| Coconut Jelly and Milk Shake |
After this, we continued our journey to Penang Hill.
Penang Hill
Penang Hill
Penang Hill, also known as Bukit Bendera, is 833m above sea level at its highest point. It used to serve as a retreat location for the British during the colonial period, but today, it is a very popular tourist destination in Penang Island among locals and foreigners. The cooler climate on top of the hill and the magnificent aerial views of the city the summit offers are the main attraction for the visitors.
Our driver dropped us at the Lower Station of the Penang Hill Funicular Railway at Air Itam. After buying the tickets, we queued for another 20min before we managed to board the railway. The ride uphill to the Upper Station took around 10min, with stops at a few intermediate stations.
Our driver dropped us at the Lower Station of the Penang Hill Funicular Railway at Air Itam. After buying the tickets, we queued for another 20min before we managed to board the railway. The ride uphill to the Upper Station took around 10min, with stops at a few intermediate stations.
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| Penang Hill Lower Station |
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| Inside the Funicular Train |
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| Penang Hill Upper Station |
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| Funicular Train arriving the Upper Station |
After alighting the railway, we went to the Sky Walk located just next to the Upper Station. This is the place that offers unobstructed aerial view of the surroundings. Looking to the east, we could see the entire George Town, with the Komtar Tower (tallest building in Penang) being the most striking landmark. We could also clearly see the city of Butterworth across the Selatan Strait. On the south and south-east view, we could see the famous Kek Lok Si Temple (極樂寺) and the first and second Penang Bridge respectively.
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| View of George Town |
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| View of First Penang Bridge |
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| Southern view which Kek Lok Si Temple can be clearly seen |
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| One of the many bungalows on Penang Hill |
After the photo taking session, we walked past the Viewing Deck area, where there were many little push carts selling accessories, food and drinks. We continued further down, which we could see many sculptures around, as well as an exhibit of the old generation of the Funicular Rail Carriage. Not far away is The Owl Museum, which focus on 3D Illusions Art, and the Love Lock. The Love Lock is an area where couples could buy a lock and write their love vow on it, which symbolise locking their love together eternally.
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| Map of Penang Hill |
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| Sculpture of a pearl in the shell |
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| Love Lock |
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| Numerous locks on the side railing |
We walked further uphill towards an area where we can find a mosque, Hindu temple, children playground and a replica of an old cannon. Near the Hindu temple, we could also see the aerial view of north western side of the island, which there is still mainly covered with vegetation.
After this, we made our way back to the Upper Station and took the Funicular Railway to the Lower Station. By this time, it was already dinner time, which we arranged our driver to bring us to Jelutong Night Market. |
| Hindu Temple |
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| Figurines of Hindu Gods and Goddess |
Jelutong Night Market @ Jalan Van Praagh
Jelutong Night Market is located within the residential suburb, to be exact, stretching along Jalan Van Praagh, Jalan Ooi Thiam Siew and Jalan Tapah. It is only opened on every Friday night, starting from the evening time. The night market is mainly made up of temporary stalls selling mainly snacks, food and drinks. Many of the food stalls make use the back of the lorry to cook and prepare their food. Other than the traditional local delights, there were also several stalls selling Taiwanese and Japanese food concepts.
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| Food stalls by the roadside |
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| Cheese Potato stall |
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| Cheese Tart stall |
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| Stall selling cakes |
We first visited the Char Koay Teow stall, which is one of the few stalls with their own tables and seats. While waiting for the dish to be cooked, some of us went to buy other snacks, such as Japanese cheese tart, cheese potato with sausages, grilled squid, grilled chicken and pork sticks and sugar cane juice.
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| Char Koay Teow stall |
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| Char Koay Teow with chili |
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| Cheese Potato with sausages and egg |
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| Grilled Squid with sweet and chili sauce |
After this, we decided to further walk down to explore the streets. Frankly speaking the first round of food wasn't enough to fill our stomachs. But looking at the big crowd and little available seats and table for our group at the night market, we had decided to take-away the food back to our Airbnb apartment. We went in different directions to buy more food, such as Char Koay Kak (also known as fried carrot cake), Penang Laksa, Muah Chee, pan cakes, rojak and soya beancurd.
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| Char Koay Kak stall |
After the frenzy shopping, our driver picked us back to the apartment. We dropped off at a supermarket near our apartment to purchase some bottled drinks, fruits and potato chips. I could see that everyone really enjoyed the street food that we had bought and they were relatively cheap.
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| Penang Laksa |
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| More Char Koay Teow |
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| Rojak |
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| Muah Chee with fried onion shallots |
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| Pancakes |
After the late supper, we continued to talk through the night before we decided to go to bed and call it a day.
Follow the links below to the other days of my Penang tour:
Day 1: Hot Bowl White Curry Mee, The Blue Mansion, Joez Coconut Jelly, Penang Hill, Jelutong Night Market
Day 2: Chok Kee Porridge Cafe, Kek Lok Si Temple, Pasar Air Itam Laksa, Ah Leng Char Koay Teow, Penang Road Famous Teochew Chendul, Penang Street Art Murals, Mugshot Cafe, Gurney Drive Hawker Centre
Day 3: Jalan Transfer Roti Canai, Chew Jetty, Pinang Peranakan Museum, Perut Rumah Nyonya Cuisine
Follow the links below to the other days of my Penang tour:
Day 1: Hot Bowl White Curry Mee, The Blue Mansion, Joez Coconut Jelly, Penang Hill, Jelutong Night Market
Day 2: Chok Kee Porridge Cafe, Kek Lok Si Temple, Pasar Air Itam Laksa, Ah Leng Char Koay Teow, Penang Road Famous Teochew Chendul, Penang Street Art Murals, Mugshot Cafe, Gurney Drive Hawker Centre
Day 3: Jalan Transfer Roti Canai, Chew Jetty, Pinang Peranakan Museum, Perut Rumah Nyonya Cuisine
