Penang, the Food Haven

This was my fifth time to Penang and I am still not bored of it. The food, the place, the people are all so welcoming. We departed from KLIA2 and the flight lasted for around 45 min and soon we were on our way to the ferry  after taking a bus from the Airport to the Jetty. The bus ride was only Rm 2.70. You can either take the 401E or 401 bus from the Airport. However, the bus ride is nearly 1h20 min to the jetty if there is jam. We left the airport at around 5.40pm and it was quite jammed on the way. The ferry is worth taking, being able to see the Penang skyline and having some fresh air. I usually like going to the lower deck, closer to the water. The frequency of arrival at the jetty is 20 to 30 minutes.

As soon as we hit the mainland, we took a cab to Mei Lean’s wedding dinner, a colleague of mine, the main reason for us going down to Penang. We had chinese food and it was great.

Theta SP Girls

Theta SP Boys

After the wedding we went off to our Hotel, Flamingo which is on the northern part of the island. It was a good location as it enabled me to take a timelapse of the sunrise by the beach, at the same time witnessing the moonset.

Sunrise

After the hotel breakfast, we rested for a while before going on our Penang food spree. We started off at Pulau Tikus with Char Kwey Teow, Asam Laksa and found some oats and glutinous rice nearby. Oh one important thing, if you are going Penang especially for food, it would be advisable to get a local friend as he/she would know all the best places and can bring you around. Without a car, it is difficult to go around.

 

Asam Laksa

Char Kuey Teow

Oats

Glutinous Rice

 Of course, Penang would be incomplete without the famous Penang Road Chendul, typically made up of coconut milk and jelly.

The famous Chendol place

After over-satisfying our bellies, we drove off to the Penang National Park (Northern West part of the island) for a hike. The Penang National park is near to the escape park and it is an easy trekking path over to the Monkey beach or the Kerachut beach. We opted for the Kerachut walk and we found ourselves to the nice beach after walking for about 1h 20 min. At the beach you can also see the famous mysterious Meromictic lake where 2 layers of water do not mix.

Kerachut Beach

The Jetty

The boatride back

Some crocodile like structure

Sunset along the coast

If you want an escape and a quiet place to chill and relax, Kerachut beach is the place. It is really quiet and we literally had the beach only to ourselves. Lying down and listening to the water waves is just pure bliss. You can also swim there but the sea is quite deep. So if you cannot swim, it is advisable not to venture. You can also take great pictures at the jetty as there is no one there. Just go crazy and take their craziest shots you want. After hanging there for about one hour, we went back to our starting point by a boat ride. The boat ride cost RM 70 (per boat) after haggling. The boat can accommodate around 10 people. As such, the more people you have, the lesser you will pay per pax. However, you need to book the ticket at the entrance of the National Park itself.

Our next destination was then 888 Lebuh Pregrave Hokkien Mee where we had carrot cake, Loh Bak and Hokkien Mee.

 

Loh bak

Carrot Cake

Hokkien Mee

The Group

After freshening up for a while, we headed off super at Chi Chung Fan Kuan Ta Hall where we had Wan Tan Mee and Chi Chung Fan, followed by Taw Foo Fah at Gurney Hawker Centre.

Wan Tan Mee

Chi Chung Fan

Taw Foo Fah

Our Sunday breakfast (last meal) consisted Jawa Mee and Curry Mee but I forgot the location.

Curry Mee

Jawa Mee

Time to go back home, we returned by car which was around 6 hours drive which included a 1-hour stop @ Bidor. No regrets at all. Penang is really the place to go for food hunting. It is the place where I ate the most when compared to Melaka and Ipoh which are also famous for food. There are other places worth visiting as well: Straits Quay, Penang Hill, Temples, etc.. Could not cover everything in this trip. 

As videos speak more volumes than pictures and words, here is a Penang video I did about my trip: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYmPR8O4v6E&list=UUh196n3wicmyOOkuTXFc_JA

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