2019 - Penang

4 Days Penang Makan Trip

11 - 14 Mac 2019

I took a group of senior citizens from my KL church on a jolly makan trip to Penang from 11-14 Mac 2019. Total age in the group is about 600 years lol. We travelled by ETS, Penang Ferry, GrabCar, Rapid Penang, the free Penang CAT Bus and rented a van with driver for a round island excursion. Had a wonderful time eating and fellowshipping together.

Day 1 - 11 Mac 2019

 

Our journey began when 8 of us gathered at the Wangsa Maju LRT Station to take the LRT to KL Sentral to meet another church member there. After packing our lunch at McD we waited at the KL Sentral Medan Selera, which is an excellent place to wait or have a bite before you begin your train journey.

 

Waiting for our ETS train at KL Sentral Medan Selera

The ETS train departed at 11:25 sharp and arrived at Butterworth Station at 15:40 sharp. The journey was pleasant and we could view the country side scenery along the way.

 



The ETS coach seating is very comfortable but very cold

Upon arrival we have to descend a couple of stairs and walked to the ferry terminal to board the iconic Penang Ferry to Geowgetown.

 



The iconic Penang Ferry





View of Georgetown from the approaching ferry

Upon arrival at the Jetty terminal we booked two GrabCars to Berjaya Penang Hotel which I have made reservation under my Berjaya Vacation Club membership

 

Berjaya Penang Hotel where we stayed for 3 nights



After we have freshen up we took a leisure walk to the Pulau Tikus hawker centre for our first taste of Penang food. We tried the Lok Lok but avoided the meat. The sauces were good especially the Thai sauce. We didn't eat to the full as we plan to have supper at the Gurney Drive food courts

 

The Lok Lok were reasonably priced

 



Our first meal together in Penang

After dinner we walked to the Gurney Drive food courts which is about 15 minutes away. Being a weekday quite a number of the stalls were closed

 

 

We ordered  fruits rojak, fried oysters and the famous Penang Pasembur from three different stalls. We find the Pasembur so so only. Nothing to shout about.

 



At the Gurney Drive food courts

After our supper we walked back to our hotel which took us about 20 minutes. It was good exercise considering the amount of food we ate.

 

Day 2 - 12 Mac 2019



 

We walked from the hotel to one of the kopi tiam food court in Pulau Tikus for our breakfast. There are many food stalls here and we were spoilt for choice.



Breakfast variety

The Apam on the top right at RM4 for five pieces was tasty, soft and good fragrance

After breakfast we wanted to book GrabCar to go to the Georgetown to begin our heritage trail but somehow my phone keyboard cannot be activated. Finally we decided to take the Rapid Penang bus to the jetty terminal and walked to the Clan Jetties nearby to begin our walk in Georgetown. Our first stop is the Lim Jetty



 

At the Lim Jetty

From the Lim Jetty we walked to the Chew Jetty next door. The Chew Jetty is more organized with many souvenir stalls and some food stalls but some were closed.

 

At the Chew Jetty souvenir stalls

 

The big bowl noodle stall was closed for the day. You can share a big bowl of noodles with 5 persons! That will cost you close to RM80 for a big bowl.



At the end of the Chew Jetty

 

At the front of the Chew Jetty

From the Chew Jetty we walked across to Lebuh Armenian Street where most of the street arts are located. Somehow we missed some of them.

 

Brother and sister street art

 



Kids on bicycle street art

We continue our walk to the Georgetown World Heritage Incorporated for more information of the historical sites. We then visited the hotel opposite it for our toilet break and took some pictures on an old trishaw at the hotel lobby. 

 



We then continue our walk to Jalan Masjid Kapitan India and passed by the Chinese temple below.

The Yap Temple and Ciji Temple at the junction of Lebuh Armenian and Lebuh Cannon

It was lunch time and we decided to turn into Lebuh Chulia to look for a Chinese Restaurant for lunch. Unfortunately there is none and we settled for Hainanese Chicken Rice at the Kedai Kopi Goh Thew Chik.

 

We ordered half a fried chicken and half boiled chicken, some chicken gizzard and one plate of vegetables. The chicken and rice are just average only.

 

After lunch we walked to Penang Road for the famous Teo Chew Cendol. Thanks to the hot weather we have a strong craze for the cendol. We also ordered some fruits rojak to go along with it.

 

 

 

Business must be extremely good as the cendol stall has taken over not only the coffee shop next to it but also a few other old shops further inside the lane. 

 

After our cendol treat we walked to the nearby Chowrasta Market to shop for preserved nutmegs.

 

We then took the free Penang CAT bus and drop off somewhere to continue our heritage trail. But it was extremely hot and some of us were a bit tired of walking so we decided to take the CAT bus to the jetty terminal and switch to the Rapid Penang bus to go back to the hotel for a rest. While the rest were resting in the hotel my wife and I decided to go for the Thai foot reflexology at the shopping centre next door.

 

For dinner we decided to have it at the Chinese Restaurant that is next to the hotel. We had a Peking Duck and other dishes. After all the street food we feel we deserve a proper meal in an air-con restaurant.

 

After dinner we went to the shopping centre next door for some shopping where some of us bought pants, track suit, T-shirts and an amazing two-in-one evening dress, a dress that can be worn on either side!

Day 3 - 13 Mac 2019

We pre-booked a van that comes with a driver for our round island excursion today. The price is RM300 for 10 hours, which is cheap. We began our journey at 8am from the hotel and should end by 6pm at the hotel. Since we have done so much shopping during the day the driver was kind enough to drop us at the hotel around 6pm for us to unload our goods before sending us to the Nyonya cuisine restaurant which he recommended.   

Our first stop for the day is the Ayer Hitam market where we intended to try the curry laksa by the two elderly sisters. but unfortunately it was closed. We then have our breakfast at the nearby coffee shop which have a number of food stalls selling a variety of food for breakfast. 

Ayer Hitam market street

After breakfast we proceeded to the Kek Lok Si temple. The van driver stopped us mid-way and we took the incline lift to the top. This save us some strenuous walking. The incline lift ride cost RM6 to and fro.

 

Relaxing at the fish pond

View from the top, overlooking the monastery below and Georgetown in the distance

Inside the incline lift

Colorful lanterns decorating the ceiling of the temple

Gardens surrounding the temple

After Kek Lok Si we went to a few well known shops in Penang for our shopping spree. First is the Him Heang biscuit factory where we bought Tau Sar biscuit and other biscuits. Next is Ghee Hiang where we bought the famous sesame oil and more biscuits. Our last stop for biscuits is Hock Lok Siew Biscuit Trading where we bought more Tau Sar biscuit and some other biscuits.

Him Heang Tau Sar biscuit

Ghee Hiang famous sesame oil



The Ghee Hiang outlet where you need to place your order at the counter



Hock Lok Siew biscuit outlet

After Kek Lok Si we actually wanted to eat the famous Asam Laksa at the Ayer Hitam market area. But the van driver told us he will take us to another place where the Asam Laksa is better. The stall is at Taman Emas coffee shop, opposite the Penang Chinese Girls School, along Jalan Gottlieb. However, the laksa is not to our liking. Some of us try the curry noodle from another stall in the coffee shop which is also not so good.

 The laksa is reddish in colour and lack the usual oomph of Penang laksa

 

After our lunch we continued with our round island tour and stopped by the Hard Rock Hotel in Batu Ferringhi, It has nice beaches but the weather was too hot for us to stay any longer under the sun

Our next stop is the batik factory in Telok Bahang. Here we were taken on a tour of the factory where we learned the intricate art of batik painting. There is also a showroom selling batik material and clothing but the price is a bit pricey. 

The Batik Showroom

Next we stopped at the tropical fruit farm where we sipped fresh coconut water while enjoying the cool breeze at the hill top.

Our next stop is the Ghee Hup nutmeg factory in Balik Pulau. Here we learned from the elderly owner how the dried seeds of the nutmeg can be used to cook some dishes like stew pork.

 



 



The elderly owner explaining the uses of dried nutmeg seeds

Dried nutmeg seeds



Our last stop of the round island trip is the famous Penang laksa stall in Balik Pulau. Here we tried the traditional laksa and the Siam laksa. Both are equally good. though some of us prefer the Siam laksa. We also tried the fried kway teow from the shop next door but it was not good.



The traditional Penang Laksa is on the top left and the Siam Laksa is on the top right.



After the delicious laksa we head straight back to the hotel to drop off the things we bought throughout the day before going to the restaurant recommended by the van driver named Mum's for our dinner. The restaurant specializes mainly in Nyonya Cuisine



The Nyonya dishes that we ordered

 

Day 4 - 14 Mac 2019

This morning we walked to the Pulau Tikus market for our breakfast in one of the coffee shops there followed by a round of soya bean drink and soya bean curd at one of the stalls in the market. We then did some shopping for tea pot, thermal flask and some household items at one of the shops. Prices for these goods here are cheaper than KL. On the way back to the hotel we bought some bread and pastry in case we feel hungry in the train during our journey back to KL. 

 

We rested in the hotel until our extended check out time at 1pm. We stored our luggage at the Hotel Concierge before going to the nearby Chinese restaurant for Dim Sum and noodles lunch.

 



Later we booked two GrabCars to take us to the Jetty terminal to board the ferry to Butterworth train station.

 

The Penang Cruise terminal is just next to the jetty terminal. Today we saw two big cruise ships park side by side, the Dream Cruise and the Queen Mary 2. Penang has become a favorite destination for cruise ships in recent years.

On the passenger deck of the ferry on the way to Butterworth jetty terminal



Our ETS train departed at 16:23 sharp and arrived at KL Sentral at 20:50. We had our late dinner at the Medan Selera before taking the LRT to Wangsa Maju and Ampang Park for one of our member.

Overall it was a fun trip and we certainly look forward to more trips together in the future. How much did we spend on this trip? Beside own personal shopping expenses, each senior citizen paid RM408. This includes ETS train fare, three nights stay in a nice hotel, van rental for one day, GrabCar fare, ferry fare, local bus fare and all the food and drinks we filled our stomachs with throughout the trip.

Jalan jalan cari makan in our own country by public transport is not a bad idea. It removes the stress of driving and looking for car parks, beside the costs associated with driving.