Weekend Getaway Series (Penang, Malaysia)

Penang at a Glance

I absolutely love Penang because of their amazing and affordable local food options!! One of my favourite cities in Malaysia which I can definitely go regularly with cheap return flights (~$100) from Singapore. The focus of your trip should be food, but there are also nice viewpoints and insta-worthy murals for you to walk and burn off the sumptuous meals you had in Penang!!

Month Visited: September

Recommended Duration: 4D3N

Getting There: Penang is well connected from Singapore, with many non-stop flights including full fledged airlines like Singapore Airlines, as well as budget airlines like Scoot, AirAsia, Jetstar as well as Firefly. We managed to snag an SQ return promo fare at only $168 return, but you can get sub $100 flights on budget airlines a lot of the time!

Cost (Out of/$$$$$): $. The weakening of the ringgit, S$1 to 3.50 Ringgit, means your dollar can really go quite far there! Definitely worth going there for the food, which can cost less than 10 ringgit for an amazing plate of Char Kway Teow!

Currency used: Malaysian Ringgit (MYR).

Weather: HOT. Being nearby to Singapore, this means the typical humid and hot weather you are used to here in Singapore.

Accommodation: We stayed at the Doubletree at Penang, Hilton, due to my status, but even though the place was nice, highly do not recommend staying here as it is quite far from the Georgetown area, where most of the food/attractions are at! Highly recommend finding either an Airbnb/Hotel in the Georgetown central.

Places to visit:

• Georgetown - Where majority of the good food places are, and shopping all in this town.

• Penang Hill - Place to get a good view of Penang, with cooler temperatures. You can choose to take the funicular up (which i recommend), or to trek up.

• Kek Lok Si Temple - Can do with a trip to Penang Hill, a beautiful hilltop temple which you can take rides up to the top for an alternative view of Penang.

• Penang Street Art - Very nice area to walk around, get lost within and take pictures of the street murals.

• The Top // Rainbow Skywalk - A skywalk area with views of the entire Penang on top of the Komtar building.

• Clan Jetties - Mix of old residential stilt houses along the coast, but quite small. Can buy souvenirs and to learn more about the history as well.

Recommended Hawkers/Restaurants/Cafes:

Hawker Centres/Local Food:

• Gurney Drive Hawker Centre - One of the largest hawker centres, but some locals have said it has lost some of its quality. I highly recommend the CKT but it has pretty long queue

• Kimberley Street Food Night Market - Eat everything here!

• Chulia Street Hawker Food - A collection of local food options! Did not manage to make a trip here though!

• Penang Road Famous Chendol

• Kheng Pin Cafe - Yummy Char Kuay Teow and other local delicacies like wanton mee and fried Lo Bak!

• New World Park Food Centre - Massive food centre with a lot of different food options, but more commercialised

• Pitt Street Koay Teow Th'ng (Eel Fish Ball Noodle) - Did not try it, but on a lot of highly recommended food places for Fish ball Kuay Teow!

• Apom Egg Waffles - My grandpa's favourite!!

Most of the popular street food can be found in the night markets and hawker centres mentioned above, and I highly recommend having the following:

• Char Kway Teow

• Hokkien Prawn Noodles - Soup one

• Assam Laksa

• Kway Teow Soup

• Nasi Lemak

• Penang Chendol

• Wanton Mee

I'm salivating just thinking about it, its not known as having the best food in Malaysia for no reason!

Restaurants:

• Bao Teck Tea House - Very very good dim sum on offer, much pricier than others in Penang, but still value for money, especially after converting to SGD.

Cafes:

• Komichi Tea House - Cute cafe selling very nice matcha tea and cakes/mochi

• Emily Darling Cafe - Very cosy cafe with many plants and flowers, that serves pastries and homemade kombuchas

• Macallum Coffee Roastery - Huge roastery with food options as well, coffee wasn't as amazing though

Others:

• Him Heang Snd Bhd - One of the famous places to buy local specialities like Tambun Biscuits, highly recommend ordering online and collecting on the last day before you depart. You can do it here!

Getting Around:

You can take Grab from the Airport for a fixed fee to Georgetown and around, prices are actually higher than i remembered. Still the best option to get to Georgetown though. But within Georgetown, you can get a 15 minute ride for 7-10 ringgit.

AirAsia ride is a cheaper option, but what I found was that because it was significantly cheaper, it was harder to get rides, so we just decided to use Grab. Usually could be around 3-5 ringgit cheaper than Grab.

Don't recommend public transport there since it is not as reliable, no trains run between airport and the main town. Some key tips:

1. Data

Sim Cards can be bought on Shopee from ICC here. 2. Apps to Use

• Grab (To get around, or for Grabfood options)

• AirAsia Super App (Transport, food delivery)

3. Visa/Entry Requirements

NIL for Singaporeans

General Itinerary: I don't have a specific itinerary as it really depends on your stomach and ability to eat!! But I would do one day for Georgetown and one day for Penang Hill/Kek Lok Si since they are situated in slightly different areas! Most of the food is located in Georgetown itself, so you can plan it around the food options there!

Conclusion

I really really love Penang, and you will not be disappointed by the food options available there!!! Can't wait to head back there again soon!

Safe travels everyone!

-Daryl, Oct'23