Georgetown, Penang – a place for foodies, street art explorers & cat lovers

One of the best ways to explore the diverse culture of Georgetown is to use your taste buds. As you can imagine, the conflagration of multiple cultures with rich, delicious and unique cuisines has made it a destination for those who don’t shy away from trying different foods. From Chinese to Indian, Malay and Nyonya (a blend of Chinese and Malay) to Arab and even Filipino delicacies.

There is so much to try that it can become overwhelming. I have to say that I found this to be a downside of solo travelling – when you have at least one more person, you can order a couple of dishes, perhaps even three, to share and try. But when you’re by yourself, I often feared ordering something too much outside of my comfort zone (sometimes I didn’t even know what I was ordering). Thankfully in Georgetown, there are multiple food tours you can go for. I did hang out with a couple other travellers, which made my foodie experience a lot easier.

I discovered in Georgetown that I do like Indian food – my experience with curries had been only in the UK, and not a pleasant one. I also discovered that chicken is often boiled and served with its skin on, which I personally cannot stand. The yellow skin of the chicken gives me the ick, and I had to leave most of my food on the plate once because I hadn’t realised how common this was in Chinese and Tawainese cuisine. I was able to try Cendol through one of my fellow travellers and I definitely didn’t like it – it is a Filipino dessert, made of shaved ice, green jelly noodles, red kidney beans, fresh coconut milk, and brown sugar. It is intensely sweet, and a kind of sweetness I’m not used to.

I can’t remember the name of most places where I ate – and sometimes it was in the Hawker centres, where you can eat affordably by choosing from a multitude of different stalls. The one I ended up going to for dinner a few times was located in the New World Park. It is full of locals so you know it’s good! But when it comes to Indian food I will never forget Woodlands Vegetarian Restaurant, where I went twice – once on the tour and another with my new friends – the place that made me fall in love with Indian cuisine. I just wished I could remember the names of all the plates – besides the well-known Dosas.

My favourites on the Chinese side were the Oyster Omellete, Hokkien Mee and Char Koay Teow. The one thing I found to be a challenge for me with the Chinese cuisine (aside the skin on chicken) is that I don’t eat pork and that is often a key ingredient in their cuisine as well.

A little outside of the local and more traditional cuisine, there is a coffee shop that I must recommend – located in the outskirts of the Old Town, it is worth a visit. It’s called Yuu Cafe. I went there to find refuge from the heat and scorching sun, mostly planning on just having some iced coffee and read for a little while. But the waiter asked me if I’d like to try their speciality tiramisu and I couldn’t say no, as they just looked so delicious. I must say it was by far one the best, if not the best, I’ve ever had, and I’ve had pretty good ones. The interior is reminiscent of a meditative temple, decorated in Japanese style.

In my research, I had noted down a little Chinese pastry shop that wasn’t too far from where I was staying – Ming Xiang Tai Pastry Shop. I highly recommend – go in there, choose some pastries to try back in your hotel. That is what I did.

I had never done a food tour before Georgetown. I find these are usually quite pricey, but I understand why – with most food being included, they have to pay the restaurants, cafes and bars and something needs to be left for the guide. I did mine with Simply Enak. We were a small group – five in total, all Americans, one couple and two friends and I was the only solo and European traveller. It was funny that they were all there because they had gone to Singapore to see Taylor Swift, which I found incredible bearing in mind she did a whole tour in the US. They told me how the concerts were too expensive in the States (and sold out so quickly), that they decided to travel instead to Singapore, visiting Malaysia as well, all around the concert. The power of this woman is undeniable.

The artistic soul in Georgetown murals

Besides being a paradise for foodies, Georgetown is in itself an outdoor art gallery. This all started in 2012, when Lithuanian artist Ernest Zacharevic was commissioned to create a series of murals as part of the Georgetown Festival. This was when he created some of the most famous works – “Boy on a Bike” and “Little Children on a Bicycle”. What makes these works extra special is that they combine real objects, making it interactive and fantastic photography spots.

Following Zacharevic, other local and international artists began adding their own work to the walls of Georgetown. Some of them are reminiscent of older and simpler times, portraying the innocence of childhood, but most are evocative of Malays’ everyday life.

Sadly, a lot of these murals are fading. Being exposed to nature’s elements is the main cause, with Penang’s tropical weather accelerating its deterioration – intense sunlight, humidity and frequent rainfall. Penang is also an island, and Georgetown’s proximity to the sea means the concentration of salt in the air is higher. On top of that, the majority of these works were done on old walls with porous and uneven surfaces that don’t hold paint as well.

I do hope there will be some restoration efforts to ensure some of the most fantastic works don’t disappear, or at least that new ones are created on top of those that have faded, to keep this tradition alive.

There are two places I stepped upon where you can find newer murals. The Art Lane in Beach Street – where you can purchase really interesting and unique souvenirs and the Hin Bus Depot. Both places were mostly empty when I visited in the middle of the day on a week day, but I read that Hin Bus Depot has fantastic weekend markets. Sadly, I was no longer there for the weekend.

The cat obsession

As a wannabe cat lady myself, I immediately noticed Georgetown (like many port towns) is full of these little felines. Nothing in comparison to Istanbul or Dubrovnik, but still… and there is plenty of street art inspired by cats. I also came across a shop that was fully dedicated to cats. I first spotted the street art and then the lady came to the door calling me inside. “You like cats? Come, come, there are many more inside!”. She is a collector, and inside I found glass cases full of all kinds of cat miniatures, and walls covered in cat murals – including Michael Jackson as a cat and the Marvel Avengers as cats as well. Real cats were around as well, including one sleeping in a sink, probably taking advantage of the cooler porcelain.