24 hours in Penang

by Veronica Matheson | 21 Nov 2013

A laid-back tropical island with a lively street scene, Penang is the perfect place to sample street hawkers' delicious cooking.

See

Start the day by wandering the crowded labyrinth of narrow lanes in the heart of UNESCO World-Heritage listed George Town, capital of the Malaysian state of Penang.

When finally footsore, hail a trishaw driver and explore the balmy tropical island’s rich tapestry of traditions, history, and colonial architecture.

Take in panoramic views from Penang Hill, some 821 metres above sea level, after a funicular ride up that passes airy villas designed to catch every cool breeze.

There’s no need to rush back down as there are cafes for cool drinks atop the hill. Head to the Clan Jetties Settlement by the main ferry terminal, where traders, fishermen and merchants have lived for centuries in wooden stilt houses that lean over the sea. The jetties are a priceless reminder that George Town was once one of South East Asia’s most important maritime ports.

Visit the striking indigo blue-walled Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion, originally home to a wealthy Chinese Mandarin and now a boutique hotel. There are daily tours of the mansion, described as “an heirloom within rooms”. It was a location for the Oscar-winning film Indochine.

Fort Cornwallis, overlooking the Straits of Malacca, is where Captain Francis Light of the East India Company first landed. The Captain made the island a central trading post between India, China and Malaysia, and legend has it he fi red silver coins from his ship’s cannons to encourage the Fort’s speedy construction.

Eat

George Town offers a melange of tastes, from Malaysian to Indian as well as Nonya dishes from Straits-born Chinese. Make a beeline to street hawker stalls for a bewildering array of mouth-watering dishes cooked fresh in a wok over a flaming charcoal fire. Sit amid locals at low pavement tables and salivate. Standards are so high that there is rarely need to frequent a restaurant.

Breakfast
Dim Sum is the traditional fare at Tai Tong Cafe on Lebuh Cintra, where metal trolleys move between tables with overwhelming choices including delicious har gow (shrimp dumplings). Leave room for a creamy egg custard tart and teh tarik (tea).

Coffee break
Kopi C Expresso has coffee with a real bean hit in China House’s row of heritage shop houses on Lebuh Armenia.

Lunch
Choose from the smorgasbord of dishes at New World Food Court on Jalan Burma, where favourites are beef and chicken satay, popiah (fresh spring rolls) and laksa cooked in a rich coconut milk sauce.

Mid-afternoon
Stop by George Town’s best-known hawker centre on Gurney Drive waterfront for deliciously different ice kacang – shaved ice topped with red beans, grass jelly, sweet corn and palm fruit.

Dinner
Watch a glorious sunset over Batu Feringgi beach where hotel dining areas face the sea. Local restaurants include Beach Corner Seafood for Malaysian spiced dishes.

Stay

The 1885-built Eastern & Oriental, once the best hotel East of Suez, has recently been refurbished.

While the new wing favours ultra-modern touches, the hotel does retain colonial features of its grand past, including claw-foot baths.

Sarkies Corner, a coffee shop in the heritage wing, and Sarkies, a buffet restaurant in the new section, are named after the four Armenian brothers who established this hotel, Raffles in Singapore and The Strand in Myanmar. The hotel, at the intersection of Farquhar and Penang Roads, has doormen in khaki uniforms with spiffy pith helmets.

Seven Terraces is in Stewart Lane, one of Penang’s most intact heritage streetscapes. The hotel is a conversion of nine shop houses from the 1900s, but seven is a lucky number in Malaysia, hence the name. The 18 guest rooms have striking red entrance doors and period antique furnishings. They are set around a gallery that looks down to a shady courtyard. Guests have an on-site restaurant plus a well-stocked bar. Next door to the hotel is the Goddess of Mercy Temple that dates back to 1810, with fierce stone dragons and lions on guard as devotees light joss sticks.