What to do in Penang – Malaysian island ideal for a short break full of culture and cuisine
Penang Island offers serious bang for its buck, with superb street food, heritage architecture and its very own fashion week just a short haul from Hong Kong
Penang Fashion Week: it doesn’t quite have the pizazz of, say, the Shanghai edition, but what’s usually abbreviated to PGFW does put a new and kinda exciting face on one of Malaysia’s best-known islands.
Of course, for travellers who class “mode” as a four-letter word, it would be hard not to view Penang’s admirable amalgam of international cuisines, heritage architecture and various other singular attractions without a modicum of relish.
Where to stay
Penang’s more senior heritage mob – E&O, Bellevue et al – are being given a run for their money by a new wave of storied boutiques. Some fall into the dreaded Hello Kitty school of interior decor but others nail the design/ambience/stuff-you-actually-need combo perfectly. Take one shophouse, polish up the tile and teak floors, add Wi-fi, antique furniture and a splash pool; job done. US$75 a night is a pretty reasonable rate for such accommodation. In a similar vein, it’s hard to go wrong with a hotel named 23 Love Lane. Give each of the rooms (from US$112) a different tale to tell – names like Anglo Indian Bungalow and Straits Eclectic should speak for themselves – add a library lounge (guests only) and put a steak-frites resto next door, and cue punters clamouring at the door.
Where to shop
Throw a rock in Penang and you’ll hit a shopping mall as distinctive and unique and inspiring as most of its kind. The Most Niche Market Award goes to Owl Shop, on Lebuh Cannon – no live birds for sale, but just about everything else in their image.
What to eat
By the time somewhere has been labelled a “foodie capital”, it usually means it’s too late – success will have gone to restaurateurs’ heads and in the rush to expand they’ll be skimping on ingredients and putting the tables closer together. Happily, Penang bucks the trend. The choice is fabulous: the island’s ethnic make-up is pleasantly mirrored in the eateries serving Malay, Chinese and Indian dishes, and Asian and international menus get a look-in too. Secondly, the right hand column on the menu is generally kept within sensible limits: it’s very decent food at very decent prices.
Even establishments with names like Penang Road Famous Teochew Chendul and Penang Road Famous Laksa – normally a warning to steer well clear – have maintained quality while resisting whatever blandishments the accounts department may have advanced. When it comes to ambience, hawker centres win hands (and tums) down. Like food courts – stalls selling various cuisines, usually with slightly rough and ready seating, possibly open air but shaded, reasonably priced, packed with Malaysians who like their grub. New Lane, Presgrave Street and Long Beach are Penang’s main hawker hubs.
Getting around
Both Cathays and Malaysia Airlines steer southwest from Chek Lap Kok and don’t stop till they land in Penang three and three quarter hours later. Reckon on paying US$330 return.
Around the island, nobody has yet come up with a better ride-hailing app than Grab, which works out at about two ringgit (US$0.50) per kilometre.
In Georgetown, the eco-friendly, photogenic, mobile spa treatment that is the trishaw rates as one of Asia’s most endearing transports. The job description for drivers presumably stipulates fluency in pidgin and being well over retirement age. Around US$10 for an hour’s tour is 10 bucks well invested.
Car hire – not necessary for the island, but well-nigh essential for exploring further afield – is about US$20 a day. The ferry across to Butterworth is way more romantic than the bridge.
Plus
The Penang Heritage Trusts runs occasional and very well informed walking tours. But anyone with a soupcon of nous can take to the streets of George Town themselves. Most obvious pick: Cheong Fatt Tze – named after its highly pecunious 19th-century Hakka owner (“The Rockefeller of the East”) and better known as The Blue Mansion – is gloriously ‘grammable. Education? Huh! Mr Cheong started out herding cows in his native village in eastern Guangdong. Just shows what can be achieved with hard work and a bit of ambition.
