Things to do in Peninsular Malaysia – West Coast
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Cheng Hoon Teng Temple
Malaysia’s oldest traditional Chinese temple (dating from 1646) remains a central place of worship for the Buddhist community in Melaka. Notable for its carved woodwork, Cheng Hoon Teng Temple is dedicated to Guanyin, the Goddess of Mercy. All building materials for the temple were imported from China, along with the artisans involved in its construction. A robed effigy of Guanyin can be found within the main temple hall, itself an explosion of black, gold and red.
reviewed
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Masjid Kampung Hulu
The oldest functioning mosque in Malaysia, this was commissioned by the Dutch in 1728. The Portuguese had destroyed all non-Christian establishments during their occupation, but the Dutch had different colonisation tactics and decided to help the locals rebuild their places of worship instead. The resulting mosque is made up of predominantly Javanese architecture with a multitiered roof; at the time of construction, domes and minarets had not yet come into fashion.
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Penang Buddhist Association temple
Completed in 1931, this unusual Buddhist temple is about 1km west of town. Instead of the typical colourful design of most Chinese temples, this one shows Art Deco influences and looks like a frosted cake, all white and pastel. Interior Buddha figures are carved from Italian marble, and glass chandeliers hang above. Penang's Buddhist community gathers here on Wesak Day (April/May) to celebrate the triple holy-day of the Buddha's birthday, attainment of enlightenment and death.
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Spice & Rice
Southern Indian food is served with class on crisp white table clothes laden with wine glasses and candles. There's an OK (but good for Penang) wine list, cocktails are on offer and the service is excellent. Goanese fish curry, chicken tikka and, ahem, goat-brain masala are just some of the menu items. There's live jazz on Thursday and Friday nights; otherwise you'll have to suffer through the pseudo-soft rock and country and western music that's pumped through the stereo.
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Tho Yuen Restaurant
Our favourite place in town for dim sum. It's packed with newspaper-reading loners and chattering groups of locals all morning long, but you can usually squeeze in somewhere. Servers speak minimal English but do their best to explain the contents of their carts to the clueless round-eye. Do try the steamed sticky rice with mushrooms but remember not to take too much from the first cart that comes by, although you'll be tempted - save room because there's more to come.
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Hainan Temple
Probably the coolest feature of this temple is its impressive stone courtyard and the carved pillar work throughout said space, which is bedecked with more red paper lanterns than usual. This duochrome backdrop of slate and crimson looks like it should be the scene of the final fight in a kung fu movie or a Mortal Kombat video game. In fact, the Hainan Temple, completed in 1895, is dedicated to Mar Chor, China’s patron saint of seafarers.
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Mydin's Wholesale Emporium
Mydin's Wholesale Emporium is part of a nationwide chain that sells everything from toothpaste to watches and DVDs at rock-bottom, no-need-to-bargain prices. Penang is a fun place to shop with plenty of outlets for local crafts and antiques, as well as cameras and electronics at competitive prices (although Kuala Lumpur has a wider range). Bargaining is usually required, except in department stores like this. Jln Penang is the best shopping street in Georgetown.
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Sarkies Corner
Sarkies offers different themed dinner buffets every day of the week; the focus shifts from Asian to Western to fusion to the kitchen sink, and its uniformly good stuff (you’ll want to dress up). The lunch buffet is gorgeous – it plucks menu items from across the globe, and if you can’t find something you want, you’re a very picky eater. Finally, for the nascent colonialist deep in your soul, high tea (RM46) is served in the garden from noon to 3pm every Sunday.
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Green Hut
Any homesick Westerner should head straight here where the Australian expat owners do a great stand-in for mum and dad, as well as offering heaps of travel advice and comfort foods like shepherds pie. Coffees, pizzas, quiches and sandwiches are good but the desserts, such as the now Penang-renowned sticky date pudding, are what makes the place tick. The hut also has a small outlet selling only desserts at the Red Garden Food Paradise & Night Market.
reviewed
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New World Park
If you’re nervous about eating street food, this is the place to come. The famous hawker stalls of Swatow Lane have been moved into this flash pavilion, where gems of the Malaysian street are prepped in a sanitized, almost mall-like atmosphere. Laughing families and friends all line up (seriously line up) for curry mee (noodles in a curry-like soup), fishball soup and other specialties, served under indisputably clean and safe conditions.
reviewed
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Air Hangat Village
This village is towards the north of the island, not far from the turn-off to Tanjung Rhu, and is known for its hot springs. Apart from watching the water gush along artificial channels and buying souvenirs, there’s not much to do, although ‘cultural shows’ take place occasionally – contact the tourist office to see if anything is lined up. As with so many places on Langkawi, the springs are associated with an intriguing legend.
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Acheen Street Mosque
If you’re entranced by the call to prayer wafting over the short walk from Khoo Kongsi, the Malay Acheen Street Mosque is unusual for its Egyptian-style minaret (most Malay mosques have Moorish minarets). Built in 1808 by a wealthy Arab trader, the mosque was the focal point for the Malay and Arab traders in this quarter – the oldest Malay kampung (village) in Georgetown. Only Muslims can enter the mosque.
reviewed
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Laman Padi
At the northern end opposite Casa del Mar hotel is Laman Padi, an ‘ecotourism’ complex with picturesque rice paddies populated by water buffaloes and ducks. There’s also a museum dedicated to rice cultivation, some restaurants, a post office and Nawa Sari Spa, where you can contently watch rice paddies sway under the breeze while you’re pummelled and oiled by Thai masseurs (massages RM45 to RM100).
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Champor-Champor
Serves up imaginative regional cuisine such as pan-fried bamakoise (a local fish) with banana, tofu satay and coconut-crusted calamari. The menu descriptions are particularly intriguing – such as the Thai green curry ‘with an exotic taste that makes you kinky’ – and the tranquil, open-air garden filled with sweet incense and surrounded with plants and native carvings provides a romantic setting to while away a tropical evening.
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Esplanade Food Centre
You can't beat the seaside setting of this food centre that's nestled right in the heart of Penang's colonial district. One side is called 'Islam' and serves halal Malay food and the other is called 'Cina' and serves Chinese and Malay specialities including delicious rojak (a fruit-and-vegetable salad) and fresh fruit-juices. If you're sitting on the heathen's side you can also enjoy some of the cheapest beer in town.
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Jit Seng Duck Rice
This hawker stall on Lebuh Carnarvon (Jln Cheong Fatt Tze) has an enviable reputation as one of the best providers of duck-rice in town. For the record, duck-rice is exactly what it sounds like: lovingly seasoned and roasted duck with a crisp, sweet skin, concealing firm, juicy flesh below, served with rice softened by a rich gravy and, often enough, a clean, clear soup. The roast pork is great too. Located by the Star Hotel.
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Villa Sentosa
While not an official museum, the 1920s Malay kampung house Villa Sentosa, on the Melaka River in Kampung Morten, is well worth a visit. A member of the family will show you around the house. There’s a varied collection of objects, including Ming dynasty ceramics and a 100-year-old copy of the Quran, but most of all it’s an opportunity to wander through a genuine kampung house.
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Penang Gelugpa Buddhist Association
This small Buddhist Temple, next to Loo Pun Hong, isn’t particularly impressive compared to Penang’s other religious buildings. But it is unique for being the major representative structure of the Gelugpa (Yellow Hat) school of Buddhism. The Yellow Hats are a Tibetan order, and as such there are some beautiful Tibetan wall hangings in this temple that you’d be hard-pressed to find outside of a museum.
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Perak Tong
Founded in 1926 by a Buddhist priest, Perak Tong temple complex extends back into an impressive complex of caverns and grottoes with amazing murals on the interior walls, including some interesting juxtapositions of Theravada Buddhas from Southeast Asia and Chinese Buddhas and Buddhist saints. A staircase and a security guard were crushed by a rockfall here in 2009, but the temple has since reopened.
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Municipal Park
The well-maintained, landscaped Municipal Park, formerly known as Youth Park, has good playgrounds, some splash pools, basketball courts, walking trails, biking and roller-blading trails and, generally, lots of room to run around. For older kids there are chess tables and an internet station, and there's a cafeteria where you can get basic fare. It's near the Botanical gardens, and signposted as Taman Perbandaran.
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New World Park Food Court
Every stall serves something different (as opposed to the centre having a particular speciality) at this ultramodern, covered food court with mist-blowing fans and shiny industrial décor. It's new, spotlessly clean and garnering a good reputation among Penangites. The ais kacang (shaved-ice dessert with syrup, jellies, beans and, sometimes, even corn on top) here gets particularly good reviews.
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Pitt Street Corner
Pitt Street Corner feels like the offspring of a hipster bar crossed with a sports pub plunked in Tamil Nadu. It’s not a dive but it sure isn’t posh, either. Basically, it’s a friendly spot for Tamil guys to get together, sink some beer, watch some football and Bollywood and sink a few rounds of pool. While we imagine women would be treated fine here, we never saw any inside the bar on any of our visits.
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Low Yong Mow
Famous Malaysia-wide for its large and delectably well-stuffed pao (steamed pork buns), this place is Chinatown’s biggest breakfast treat. With high ceilings, plenty of fans running and a view of Masjid Kampung Kling, the atmosphere oozes all the charms of Chinatown. Take your pick from the endless variety of dumplings, sticky rice dishes and mysterious treats that are wheeled to your table.
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Gurney Plaza
The most chic mall, with international chain stores like The Body Shop and Esprit. Mac users will find an Apple store here, and there's a massive music store, bookstore and several electronics outlets. The state's biggest cineplex, Golden Screen Cinemas is here, as well as a mini theme park, fitness centre and a health spa. Shop all day, then dine at the colourful hawker centre in the evening.
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Wave Runner Watersport
Wave Runner Watersport operates from the Waverunner Beach Chalet. Among the activities on offer are jet-skiing (30 min), water-skiing (15 min) and parasailing (15 min). You can also book a deep-sea fishing trip. There are a few companies offering watersport activities on the beach and all hotels and guesthouses will be more than happy to set you up with their affiliated tour companies as well.
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