Penang: holiday, food, and friends

DESTINATION : Penang

Travel period : 240715-270715

eating around de clock basically summarised everything. all you need is a car, a bottomless stomach, and some friends who enjoy eating and WIFI. 

PENANG HAWKER FOOD
1) BB Café (BB 飲食中心) | Bayan Baru.

from top and clockwise:
#1   Char Kuey Teow ---highly recommended
#2   Lor Bak
#3   Assam Laksa ---recommended

CKT is cooked using only de thin type flat rice noodle, which is also my favourite. it has decent ingredients, neither too wet nor soggy and most importantly de waiting time is less than 10 minutes. Assam Laksa didn't come with thick fish broth like de one in Air Itam but it is considerably yummy too. Lor Bak on de other hand, was just so-so because de prawn fritters were not crispy. Wanton mee that most people claimed famous, to me was a bad choice I think finding a good wanton mee in Penang is a challenge.

2) Siam Road Charcoal Char Kuey Teow | Georgetown.

this was perhaps de only CKT under de Penang must-try list we have had throughout de journey. we have waited for almost an hour for a takeaway (dinning tables were fully occupied). CKT was a lil wet and considerably cheap at RM5.50 with de usual ingredients and generous portion no big prawns. however, it has oozed out too much oil probably due to takeaway. is it worth de wait? seriously, I'll only do it once. getting your stomach to wait is a great torture unless you have too much time. you already smell like  a CKT after an hour.

3) Kuan Nan Coffee Shop (冠南茶餐室) | Perai.

from left to right:

#1 White curry (soup) ---recommended

#2 Dry white curry

de curry noodle is served with cubes of pigs' blood which is something common in Penang. I didn't like it because it kinda mimic a peculiar jelly. de curry noodle comes in 'white' (hence white curry) but turns red after mixing with de chilli paste that is usually served alongside de dish. taste wise, it has a strong curry aroma but not as spicy as it looks. 

Lor Bak.

love de crispy yam but de dipping sauce was mehhh.

4) Wah Sifu Prawn Noodles (撶師父面食专门店) | Bukit Mertajam.

Dry Hokkien Mee (Hokkien Tar) ---highly recommended

claimed to be de BM famous hokkien tar well known by de locals. remember to add pork ribs and chicken feet to complete de perfect bowl. recommended noodle types are mee and kuey teow mix. I'm a meehoon person and I know what you're looking at.

5) BM Whiteman Rojak (大山脚白人囖吔咖啡店) | Bukit Mertajam.

Rojak- fruit and vegetables mix.
love de variety covered in Hae Ko (shrimp paste) because it was thick enough. nearby there are also other rojak stalls with interesting names: blackman rojak, and black-white man rojak these men fight.

6) Penang Road Famous Teochew Chendul (Tan) | Georgetown.

he can served a bowl of chendul in less than 5sec.

I still find this chendul average.

7) Joo Hooi Cafe (愉园餐室) | Jalan Penang, Georgetown.

from top and clockwise:

#1 Rojak

#2 Char Keuy Teow

#3 Assam Laksa ---recommended

Assam Laksa soup was considerably thicker at Joo Hooi Cafe and it was probably de best thing to order after having a bowl of chendul (they don't allow outside drinks). CKT wasn't generous with de amount of chives. for rojak, it came with very small chunky you tiao which didn't really satisfy.

8) Kuih Nyonya Moh Teng Pheow | Jalan Masjid, Georgetown.

assorted Nyonya Kuih. 

each piece was priced at RM0.50, with size considerably slightly smaller than de usual. we have tried most of them and would recommend Seri Muka, Pulut Tai-tai, and Kuih Bengka-ubi (anything with glutinous rice looks good!). don't be deceived by de entrance as it may seem a lil run down, just walk straight until you see de crowds. beware of dogs.

9) Hokkien Mee (三條路888福建面) | Georgetown.

Hokkien mee with add-on pork ribs.

either it fits de theory of I am not a hokkien / prawn mee person, or I'm already stuffed in my stomach or I think we didn't have enough add-ons.

10) Toh Soon Cafe (多春茶座) | Campbell Street, Georgetown.

"it must be good because there are a lot of youngsters", says a passerby. true enough, I would say all were good except de non-attentive service. de staffs didn't really acknowledge you (be it taking orders and even payment!). all of a sudden I thought I'm back in HK. 

their Hainan kopi was good in term of taste with a slight smokey aroma. food such as kaya butter toast, and old school nasi lemak were recommended. 

11) Hai Boay Seafood (海尾海鮮) | Teluk Kumbar, Bayan Lepas.

from upper left and clockwise:

#1 Guinness stout prawn

#2 Pumpkin crab ---recommended

#3 Spicy fragrant clams

#4 Baby chinese cabbage

de guinness stout prawn tasted somewhat similar to dark soy sauce which was rather disappointing. although de pumpkin baby crab was slightly overcooked, but de sauce which has a hint of curry and salted egg (pumpkin?) was inevitably addictive. not exactly very fantastic seafood they have, but you get to play on de swing at beach because it is a seaside restaurant.

CAFEHOPPING

1) The Alley | 5 Stewart Lane, Georgetown.

ahhhh I hate to find out their churros were not as good as before- a bit too mushy inside. it shouldn't end this way =(

2) Macallum Connoisseurs | Gat Lebuh Macallum, Georgetown.

brewtiful coffee but somehow lacks de kick. #milkproblem

de cafe look like it has been converted from a warehouse, very spacious, simple, and has a lot of youngsters (haha). we have tried a few cakes and enjoyed every mouthful. a recommended place for quick meet up.

3) The Mugshot Cafe | Georgetown.

from left and clockwise:
#1 Brown sugar & jackfruit yogurt ---highly recommended
#2 Bagel muffin- bacon & egg 
#3 Cappuccino
#4 Bagel muffin- cream cheese & smoked salmon 
average coffee tasted pretty much like a machine coffee but in a larger cup size. de jackfruit yogurt was something unexpected. I wasn't really impressed with de bagel as it was a bit too hard and not crunchy. if to choose one, maybe bacon and egg?


TOURIST ATTRACTIONS

1) Penang Hill (Bukit Bendera).

my last visit to Penang Hill was more than 10 years ago. again, I must confess de tram ride was packed even though it is a weekday. avoid this place especially during peak season.


de tram ride wasn't a delightful journey probably due to de hot climate. there were nothing much to see except greenery and you wouldn't be enjoying as much because of several reasons: talking people, crying babies, and nobody has a deodorant. from de top of Penang Hill you can see de view of Georgetown and Penang bridge. de view was more to a panoramic rural view if compared to HK Victoria Peak. Kek Lok Si temple might be a better choice if you could only survive in one sardines' ride. 

typical wefie with no background view.

Love Lock Penang Hill.

probably another thing worth coming up am I serious? but a lock can cost as expensive as RM40+. I suggest you to bring your own lock.

2) Gertak Sanggul Seaside | Bayan Lepas.

this is de place if you're looking for a seaside without crowds. 

and we found antman and want to squish him XD

3) Monkey Beach (Teluk Duyung) | Teluk Bahang.

you can either get into de national park (for free) and do de hike for about 1.5hr or take a 5 minute speedboat ride to reach Monkey Beach. 

4) Batu Ferringhi Beach.

you can get your caffeine dose conveniently because Starbucks is located just next to de beach. it was a crowded place hence parking could be somehow difficult.

obviously we have had not enough caffeine.

when is de next meet up again? (=

• click here for Penang updates 2017

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