Our final stop in Malaysia was George Town on the island of Penang. Founded in 1786 by Captain Francis Light of the British East India Company, Penang was the first British settlement in Southeast Asia and a hub for trade and commerce. With its colonial architecture, cultural fusion, and extensive street art, George Town earned its UNESCO World Heritage Site designation in 2008. The vibrant Malay, Chinese, and Indian communities cook up a diverse range of delicious dishes, making Penang famous for its food. After a 4-hour bus from the Cameron Highlands, we caught the ferry from Butterworth to George Town. We checked in to our guest house, then had iced coffee, noodle soup, fried rice, and an oyster omelet at Kedai Kopi Malabar, a Chinese restaurant with different carts cooking the various specialties. We spent the afternoon wandering George Town’s pastel colonial streets, stopping at Hong Kong Shoe Store, where Penang native Jimmy Choo learned his trade from the man who still runs the simple shop. The day ended at Red Garden Food Paradise, a food garden with delicious cuisine from all over Asia and live music performers who did their best renditions of American pop songs (with moderate success). We shared dumplings and garlic sautéed greens. We started the next day with another iced coffee (a strong brew mixed with a little condensed milk) at Malabar, then enjoyed dim sum at Tai Tong Restaurant. Our next two stops were touristy museums, one that explained some of Penang’s history and culture and another that was simply a glow-in-the-dark photo op. We rounded off the day with a weissbier and mac and cheese at Edelweiss, a Swiss-style tavern decorated with antique clocks. We slept in on our third and last day in George Town, so we headed directly to Hameediyah for a gut-busting Indian feast, including the best naan and tandoori chicken we’ve had. Although delicious and a good value at $11 for a tableful of dishes, Hameediyah was perhaps an unwise precursor to our next activity: a hike in Penang National Park. We caught the 101 local bus for the hour-long ride to the park featuring tropical trails overlooking clear blue waters and pristine beaches of the Strait of Malacca. We hiked to a beach, spotting enormous lizards scurrying in the brush and a about a dozen monkeys swinging in the trees. After another long ride back to George Town, we visited Line Clear, a 24-hour institution, for teh tarik (pulled tea), the national drink of Malaysia. Teh tarik is made by mixing hot black tea with condensed milk, then pouring the product back and forth to blend the flavors and cool the liquid to drinking temperature. Penang was a fascinating capstone to our time in Malaysia, and we strongly recommend it for great food, creative art, and diverse culture.
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September 2018
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