Penang free and easy travel with private driver (Food, Temple and Street Art Murals)

Day 2

The following morning after we washed up, it was time for another eventful day. We made the arrangement with our driver to pick us for breakfast first.


Chok Kee Porridge Cafe (粥記咖啡店) @ Lebuh Kimberley

We paid a visit to this famous porridge shop, Chok Kee Porridge Cafe (粥記咖啡店), for our breakfast.

Chok Kee Porridge Cafe

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This place is certainly popular as we could see constant stream of local patronage either eat-in or take away. The shop sells only porridge, and to be exact only 3 types of porridge, Pork Intestine Porridge, Century Egg Porridge and Peanut Porridge. We ordered all 3 types of porridge and coffee and tea as the beverage.

Pork Intestine Porridge

Century Egg Porridge

Peanut Porridge

The Pork Intestine Porridge is their specialty here, which is served with char siew, pork stomach and 2 types of pork intestine, the normally cooked type and the fried type. The crispy and crunchy fried pork intestine adds on a different taste to the silky porridge. For those who are not a fan of pig innards, the more typical Century Egg and Peanut Porridge would be the alternative. We also added you tiao (fried dough stick) to the porridge, which are separately chargeable. After the breakfast, we departed for Kek Lok Si Temple (極樂寺) at Air Itam.

Kek Lok Si Temple (極樂寺)

Kek Lok Si (極樂寺) is a Buddhist temple built more than 100 years ago, and is located along the Air Itam hillside. It is currently the most well-known and visited temple in Penang. The temple contains several halls, housing statues of Guanyin (Goddess of Mercy), Buddha and many other Chinese gods. Architecturally, the seven storey high Pagoda of Rama VI and the 30 metres tall bronze statue of Guanyin are the most striking attraction of Kek Lok Si Temple (極樂寺).

We arrived the carpark after winding through the hill. From there, we walked past a few shops before reaching an open space. There's a few Buddha statues and one could also see the Pagoda of Rama VI on top of the hill, making it a good backdrop for photo taking for many of the visitors. The Pagoda of Rama VI stands out architecturally, with its unique blend of Chinese, Thai and Burmese architectural styles.

Kek Lok Si Temple

We followed the pathway uphill and passed by several prayer halls. Surrounding the area are many more Buddha statues and gardens with colourful flowers. One could really feel the peacefulness and tranquillity when walking around the area.

View of the towering Pagoda of Rama VI at the background

Flower bed in front of the row of Buddha statues

We followed the signage towards the Guanyin bronze statue, which led us to a big souvenir shop. This is where we bought the tickets to board the inclined elevator, which would bring us to a higher level where the statue is located.

Inclined elevator to see the giant Guanyin statue

Upon reaching the top, we could see the majestic 30 metres tall Guanyin statue sheltered under a pavilion. There's a tent in front of the statue, where some souvenirs were sold. Visitors could also pay a small sum to buy the wishing ribbon to pray for their wishes.

The giant Guanyin statue

Wishing Ribbon for purchase

Within the vicinity, there's also a park and a large square, where it offers a great view of Air Itam and George Town.

Pavilion at the park

Unobstructed view of Air Itam and George Town

We took the inclined elevator back to the souvenir shop and decided to leave the temple after some souvenir shopping.


Pasar Air Itam Laksa (亚依淡巴刹叻沙) @ Jalan Pasar

It was close to lunch time after the temple visit. Since we were already in Air Itam, we could not miss the opportunity to eat the famous Pasar Air Itam Laksa (亚依淡巴刹叻沙). The stall is located not far away from Kek Lok Si Temple (極樂寺), along the road towards its entrance.

The famous Pasar Air Itam Laksa stall

Our driver dropped us directly in front of the stall. The place was full of lunch time crowd and we could not find any empty seats for our large group. One of the Laksa stall employee managed to find us a table at the small hawker centre located opposite across the road.

Small hawker centre opposite the Laksa stall

We ordered 2 bowls of Laksa, and other food from nearby stalls, such as Lor Bak (also known as Ngoh Hiang), fried spring rolls and Koay Teow Soup.

Lor Bak and Fried Spring Rolls

Koay Teow Soup

All the food we had ordered taste good, but the Asam Laksa was still the highlight.

Pasar Air Itam Laksa

The Laksa soup is sweet, sour and spicy, served with rice vermicelli and other ingredients like onion, mint leaves, chili, and most importantly, the small chunks of mackerel fish. When everything is mixed together, the overall taste is delicious and flavourful. After the meal, we walked around other shops located near the road junction while we waited for our driver to pick us up.

Road junction by the Pasar Air Itam

Street of Air Itam with Penang Hill at the background

Ah Leng Char Koay Teow (亞龍炒粿條) @ Jalan Dato Keramat

Well, as we were a large group, the previous meals were not sufficient to keep us full. We went on the food hunt again, which we got the driver to bring us to eat the Ah Leng Char Koay Teow (亞龍炒粿條), one of the popular Char Koay Teow stall in Penang. The stall is located in front of Restoran Tong Hooi, which is visible from the main road.

Ah Leng Char Koay Teow

The coffee shop sells other food too, but I could see most people were eating the Char Koay Teow. We ordered 2 plates of Char Koay Teow, one with mantis shrimp added and the other without. We also requested duck egg (instead of the normal chicken egg) for both the plates. The serving was quite small, but the prawns they provided were big and fresh. The chili and the duck egg was good and gave the overall dish an additional flavourful taste.

Char Koay Teow with duck egg and mantis shrimp

It did not take us too long to finish the 2 plates of Char Koay Teow. After the meal, our driver picked us up to the next destination for dessert.


Penang Road Famous Teochew Chendul (槟城律驰名潮州煎蕊) @ Lebuh Keng Kwee

We went to Lebuh Keng Kwee next to have the Penang Road Famous Teochew Chendul (槟城律驰名潮州煎蕊). This place is indeed popular, as there was a very very long queue in front of the stall when we were there.

Penang Road Famous Teochew Chendul

Staff busy making Chendol

There was also no place to sit in their shops, but luckily, we found an empty table sheltered under a tent located at the open space opposite the Chendol stall. A few of us joined in the queue to buy the Chendol, while we also ordered Orh Luak (oyster omelette) from a nearby stall. Despite the long queue, the turnaround time was still decent and we soon got our Chendol. The Chendol comes with a generous serving of green jelly and red beans, with the icy cold coconut milk with black sugar a good way to relieve the heat in the hot afternoon.

Chendol

The Orh Luak, despite not the highlight here, also tasted good. There's a lot of small oysters in the serving and they were fresh.

Orh Luak (Oyster Omelette)

We were really full after a succession of food and dessert. We moved on to the next activity that would help our digestion, the famous Penang Street Art Murals Walking Trail.


Penang Street Art Murals

In 2012, Lithuanian artist, Ernest Zacharevic, was invited to Penang in conjunction with the George Town Festival to create the murals on the walls of the old buildings located at different parts of the city centre. After this, many other local artists also joined in to add on numerous murals and steel rods sculptures now scattered at many different locations and streets. Some of the murals are already faded and fast disappearing under the weather, thus it is advisable for visitors to visit them soon before they are gone. For us, it wasn't the intention to cover all the murals, as it would require a lot time and leg power to do so. We had a "Mural Map" (compiled by online bloggers) with us, which we downloaded from the Internet, and tried to cover the more popular murals within our means.

Our driver dropped us at the junction of Lebuh Armenian and Jalan Masjid Kapitan Keling, which we could already see quite a number of tourists around. We walked down Lebuh Armenian, which many of the shop houses are converted to backpacker hostels, cafes, souvenir and boutique shops.

A steel rod sculpture along Lebuh Armenian

The first mural we encountered was the "Magician", which is drawn on the shutters of a bicycle rental shop, depicting a magician and a frightened girl.

"Magician" mural on the right shutter

Just a couple of steps further down, we could find 3 more murals ("Lion Dance", "Three Chinese Dolls" and "Kah Lu Kong Hokkien") on the walls of a purple colour building.

A group of visitors in front of the mural "Lion Dance"

"Three Chinese Dolls"

"Kah Lu Kong Hokkien"

Further down the street, we could find this mural "I Can Help Catch Rats" hidden at the entrance towards a small alley. This mural is actually part of the local 101 Lost Kittens Project to raise public awareness about stray animals.

"I Can Help Catch Rats"

As we approached the end of the street, we saw many tourists gathered around the area. This is the location of the most famous and photographed mural, "Little Children on a Bicycle", which was painted by Ernest Zacharevic. This mural shows a little girl and boy riding a "real" bicycle. Most visitors would pose behind the boy, as if the three are riding on the bicycle.

"Little Children on a Bicycle"

After this, we turned left along Beach Street and within the compound of Cheah Kongsi, we saw another mural known as "Cats in Procession". It shows many cats in a religious ceremonial procession.

"Cats In Procession"

After this, we turned into the neighbouring street, Lebuh Ah Quee. The first encounter was the mural "Only You Can Stop Air Pollution". There are several cigarette butts stinking out of the wall and a person wearing a gas mask. The message has been partially painted over by someone.

"Only You Can Stop Air Pollution"

Just a few more steps away is another 3 murals. The first one is the "Boy on a Motorcycle" painted by Ernest Zacharevic. It is similar to the "Little Children on a Bicycle", where a boy is shown on a "real" motorcycle.

"Boy on a Motorcycle"

The second one is the "Little Boy with Pet Dinosaur", also painted by Ernest Zacharevic. It shows a little boy pulling his pet dinosaur.

"Little Boy with Pet Dinosaur"

The third is the "Man in Malaysian Flag Shirt". It shows a man wearing a shirt bearing the Malaysian flag.

"Man in Malaysian Flag Shirt"

Next, we turned into a small alley to the backyard area of the shop houses. Over here, we could see a few more murals, such as the "Real Bruce Lee Would Never Do This". It shows Bruce Lee with kungfu kick on a cat.

"Real Bruce Lee Would Never Do This"

The others are the "Feed the Stray", which shows a piece of meat to be fed to the dog, and the "Pipe Elephant", which a real pipe is being depicted as the trunk of the elephant.

"Feed the Stray"

"Pipe Elephant"

We exited to Lorong Pit and continued towards Lebuh King. We had ventured into the "Little India" of Penang, where the rows of shop houses are occupied by shops selling Indian apparels, spices, jewelry and CD shops. Over this area, there are no murals, but we could still see many steel rod sculptures along the way. These are collections of caricatures commissioned by the company, Sculpture At Work, which they depict the history and characteristics of George Town. We then turned left into Lebuh China and continued towards Lorong Stewart. The street of Lorong Stewart is much more quiet, where there are many cafes, restaurants and backpacker hostels. Near to the entrance of Lebuh Klang is another mural known as the "Indian Boatman".

"Indian Boatman"

We then turned into Love Lane and ended the walking trail at Mugshot Cafe located along Lebuh Chulia.

A Steel Rod Sculpture along Love Lane

An interesting Steel Rod Sculpture near the building window, along Love Lane

Mugshot Cafe @ Lebuh Chulia

Mugshot Cafe is popular for its bagel muffins, along with the homemade yogurt that comes with various flavours. The cafe is modern, but still maintain its rustic looking, especially with the wooden furniture, tables and chairs.

Mugshot Cafe (Source: Photo from Trip101.com)

It wasn't too crowded when we were there and we got a large empty table near the backyard, where there's an optometrist shop to our surprise. We did not order any food, just beverage like smoothies, coffee, tea and the yogurt. The shop also sells some wooden puzzles, which we played with some of the samples while enjoying the beverages. After the great fun with the puzzles and the long rest, we decided to leave for dinner.

Gurney Drive Hawker Centre

Gurney Drive Hawker Centre is located just beside Gurney Plaza and by the seaside. Along the way there, we also passed by many restaurants, shopping malls and several large hotels, such as G Hotel Gurney, and G Hotel Kelawai. Our driver dropped us directly in front of the hawker centre. It is an open-air space occupied with many tables, with the hawker stalls lined the sides. This place is definitely more touristy than the Jelutong Night Market we visited the previous night, with the food pricier and more crowded with many foreign tourists.

Gurney Drive Hawker Centre

We found an empty table somewhere in the middle of the hawker centre and most of us went separate ways to buy various food from different stalls. Eventually, we got a large spread of food to be shared among us, such as Wanton Mee, Satay, BBQ Sting Ray, Prawn Mee, Curry Mee and Lor Bak etc.

Lor Bak, Prawn Mee and Wanton Mee

Curry Mee

Satay and BBQ Sting Ray

Overall, I personally still felt that the food we had Jelutong Night Market taste better, although over here it provided more comfort to the visitors as we had a decent place to sit down to enjoy our meal. After the dinner, we just walked around in the Gurney Plaza before our driver picked us back to our apartment.


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

Penang free and easy travel with private driver (Blue Mansion and Penang Hill)

Day 1

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.

Penang International Airport

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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.

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.

Article about the White Curry Mee

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.

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 Blue Mansion

Rickshaw Exhibits

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.

Waiting area before commencement of the tour

Overlooking the 2nd Level and Sky Well

Overlooking the Ground Level from 2nd Level

Guide explaining the history of the Mansion and its founder

Wooden bed used by the family

Dinning area opened to the hotel guests only

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.

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.

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.

Storage of coconuts

Coconut Jelly and Milk Shake

After this, we continued our journey to 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.

Penang Hill Lower Station

Inside the Funicular Train

Penang Hill Upper Station

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.

View of George Town

View of First Penang Bridge

Southern view which Kek Lok Si Temple can be clearly seen

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.

Map of Penang Hill

Sculpture of a pearl in the shell

Love Lock

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.

Hindu Temple

Figurines of Hindu Gods and Goddess

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.

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.

Food stalls by the roadside

Cheese Potato stall

Cheese Tart stall

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.

Char Koay Teow stall

Char Koay Teow with chili

Cheese Potato with sausages and egg

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.

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.

Penang Laksa

More Char Koay Teow

Rojak

Muah Chee with fried onion shallots

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