Penang Island, Malaysia has always had a special place in my heart. As a child, I spend a lot of my time in Penang as my grandparents used to live there. Having strong family roots at the island, I always looked forward to my regular weekend trips to this beautiful island especially to eat lots of delicious food.
My fond memory of this island is picking sea shells by the beach situated just behind a prestigious 5 star hotel with my sister and mother. We also made it a point to visit the local ‘kuih’ stall at Penang Plaza and always bought the specially blended yoghurt drink at the yoghurt vending machine at the plaza.
Although we always made regular trips to Penang, we never did any touristy stuff while we were there as we always went to the local hotspots with my Auntie who used to live there. One fine day, my sister, my then-boyfriend (now husband) and I decided to go there, this time as tourists.
These are the places we visited:-
Penang Hill
We were privileged to sit the old train going up to Penang Hill before it was demolished. The train ride was fabulous, with us being able to get ourselves so close to nature as we travel alongside the tropical forest towards our destination. Once we reached the top of the hill, we enjoyed the refreshing cool air and tranquillity that Penang Hill has to offer. We decided to chill out in style at the hill by savouring some delicious English scones and fruit cake at a classy English restaurant called David Brown’s Restaurant.
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The old train to Penang Hill |
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English scones and fruitcake |
Fort Cornwallis
We also decided to indulge in a bit of history by visiting Fort Cornwallis. Fort Cornwallis is an interesting historical landmark in Georgetown, Penang. The fort was built over a century ago and it includes a chapel, prison cells, ammunitions storage area, a harbour light house and several old bronze cannons.
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Bronze cannons at Fort Cornwallis |
Tambun Biscuit Factory
As we love hunting for good food, we took the opportunity to buy some Tambun biscuits straight from the Him Heang biscuit factory at Burma Road, Penang. Tambun biscuit is a famous traditional Chinese biscuit in Penang. Although there are many places where you can buy Tambun biscuits in Penang, it is worth a drive to get your biscuits from Him Heang as their biscuits are exceptionally good. When you buy it straight from the factory, the Tambun biscuits are even more aromatic, fresh and delicious.
Food
If you have ever wondered why people often tell you that Penang food is good, stop wondering and try them for yourself! I guarantee you that you will find Penang food really, really good! If you like to eat Malaysian food, I would recommend you to try their Penang Nyonya food. If you like Western food, why not try some of the Western food made by the Penangites (Penang locals) and discover their fusion twist to everyday Western food.
During our trip to Penang, we ate ‘Loh Mee’. Loh Mee or Lor Mee is a Chinese egg noodle dish served with thick starchy gravy. The noodles are served with fish cakes, boiled eggs and pork. We went to an old coffee shop at Jalan Masjid Kapitan Keling called Hai Beng Coffee Shop. The ‘Loh Mee’ there is absolutely delicious!
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The traditional shops in Penang |
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Loh Mee or Lor Mee |
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Hai Beng Coffee Shop at Jalan Masjid Kapitan Keling |
That pretty much summarises my trip to Penang Island, Malaysia. Hope you enjoy what I have just shared with you.
Cheers,
Caroline Poh
