Top 5 Things To Do In Penang, Malaysia

Penang 2014: Eat. Play. Repeat.

Visited Penang from 20-22 June over a weekend. We did many things, but here are my top five favourite things to do in Penang!

1. EAT ALL THE PENANG FOOD!

I think I can write one post just on the food itself! We ate and ate and ate so much, it's not funny! My favourite Penang Dish will have to be the Char Kuay Teow! Penang's Char Kuay Teow is different from the the one we have in Singapore. It is pale and they fry with purely Kuay Teow, unlike Singapore's version with black sauce and mixture of Kuay Teow and Yellow Mee. The best kuay teow we ate would probably be at Gurney Drive and during breakfast at E&O.

**Update**

I've dedicated a seperate post on all the Penang food here!

2. SEA SPORTS!

High up in the sky!

Yes! Penang is actually an island if you do not already know! The Kuta or Patong of Penang is Batu Ferringi - Just not as happening as you imagine either Kuta or Patong to be. Unlike the other famous beaches around South East Asia, Batu Ferringi is actually very quiet with just a few Sea Sport Companies. It is ideal for us, because we can make as much noise as we want and not worry about disturbing other people's peace. 

Banana Boating!

The taxi driver actually drove us straight to this sea sport company who were (in my best guess) trying to "con us" into taking up their sea sports package. Gilbert being the uncle he is, tried to negotiate a suitable price for all seven of us who wanted to play! They quoted us RM150-170 for para-sailing, 15 mins Jet ski & one round of banana boat. They dropped it to RM120 for a big round of para-sailing, 20mins jetski & two rounds of banana boat. 

We walked away.

Jetski!

After a while, some guy offered us RM100 for all three that we wanted. Of course we had the bargaining power! There were seven of us!

3. Cafe Hopping

Cafes are aplenty in Penang! Depending on your interests, there's a Cat Cafe, Art Cafes, Historic Cafes, Coffee Art Cafe, Cafe with everything made from cardboard (I'm Serious.)

We happened to pass by this cafe in the midst of our food hunt. Puurfect Cafe, along Muntri Street is just like your every other cafe, but with CUTE, FUZZY, MEOWS! We went in the early afternoon and there's actually a minimum spending of RM18 per person, we were hesitant initially, as we just eaten heavy breakfast (and other snacks along the way) and were not willing to order a cake and a drink each. The person attending to the cashier was really friendly though, and said that since there's not a lot of people upstairs, he will bend the rules and allow us up provided we ordered a drink each.

Purrfect Cat Cafe

I understand where the owners are coming from. With the space constraints upstairs, where the cats are housed, it will really be ridiculous to have a group of five, order one Latte and just lounge there for the next three hours. But I felt that RM18 each was a little too steep. The cashier said there was aircon upstairs, but it was so HOT. Yes, there are aircon units, but only one unit was on at that time and despite the two or three ceiling fans, we were really sweating it out. Needless to say, the cats too. If you notice, there's a grey cat just lounging by the cooler in the 'cat's room'.

China House

We also visited ChinaHouse at Beach Street/Victoria Street (depending on which entrance you are at), where they combined three shop-houses to form the "Longest Cafe in Penang". It actually comprises of 14 different spaces which houses a cafe, restaurant, bar, art gallery, performance space, etc. The main highlight of ChinaHouse would actually be the long table filled with cakes, puffs and all sorts of pastries on every inch of its surface. Friends tell me that the band is really good at the Bar section in the evening, however we missed it as we went in the afternoon.

Cafe 55!

There's also Cafe 55 at Lebuh Pantai where they specialize in making coffee art to a next level. This is no ordinary flower/leaf/heart nonsense that Tom, Dick or Harry can create. It's a freaking foam lion on top of your coffee! How do you drink that! Sadly, we didn't have time to visit Cafe 55 as we were short on time. We will visit the next time we're back in Penang for sure!

*Update* We just received news that Cafe 55 no longer does 3D Coffee Art! Friends walked all the way there only to be disappointed! 

B&W Cafe

We walked past B&W Coffee House along Jalan Muntri in the midst of makan searching. It was still closed when we went past (yes, we didn't get a chance to go in) and I was totally intrigued by the exterior facade of the cafe. The signage and a little table and stools outside was made entirely of cardboard. I went up to the glass door and peaked in, and to my surprise, the entire interior was made up of cardboard too! The tables, chairs, decorations, you name it. All cardboard! How environmentally friendly! Recycle everything!

4. Mural Findings

Children on Bicycles

If you're an art fanatic, you'd enjoy this walking tour around Georgetown. Everywhere you go, you have to keep your eyes open and peeled out for those art murals on the street walls around Penang. Ernest Zacharevic has been hand painting all those murals around Penang. You can visit the art mural e-brochure here. What I'd do (being a foodie like me), is that I'd plan what I can eat along that route!

5. Heritage/Photography Tours

Rustic Shophouse

Experience the unique charm of the streets of Penang. Explore and see how the Colonial past has shaped how Penang is today, also placing a spot on UNESCO's heritage site listing.

Colonial Building 

You can join a walking tour organized by Penang Heritage Trust to know every tale there is and understand Penang's colourful and rich history. The buildings are so beautiful, the architecture so magnificent, it'd be the focus of every photographer!

Don't you just love Penang?