Georgetown Heritage Zone

When property blogger and photographer Raymond Chong needs some inspiration, he heads off to Georgetown’s heritage quarter, taking in the old shophouses, quirky cafes and the clan jetties . He normally ends his walkabout at one of his favourite French patisseries, La Petit Four at Beach Road or La Vie at Lebuh Melayu for an almond croissant.

Many of Raymond’s favourite eateries are located at Bishop Street.

“I love the Nyonya food at Aunty Gaik Lean’s, a Penang institution housed in a former jewellery shop, that is still going strong after 10 years. And also the Two Frenchies Bistro across the road for its value for money set lunches.

The Beach Street area is great for shopping at boutique lifestyle shops like Mano Plus. On the ground floor Mano Plus has a Japanese cafe, Fuku (famous for its smiling blue cat mascot, matcha shaved ice balls and paper ceiling lanterns) .

After a hard day's work, Raymond thinks the Planters Bar at E&O is the perfect place to unwind over cocktails. Or have a German lager and cocktails at the spectacular hand carved mirrored bar at Edeweiss Cafe in the heart of touristy Armenian Street. You can also chill out at the tallest bar at the Top View on the 68F of KOMTAR, the tallest building in Georgetown.

For a business lunch or romantic dinner, Raymond recommends the fine dining restaurant Indigo ( at the Blue Mansion) .

“The service is attentive, the food excellent and the sumptuous interiors reminds me of the ballrooms in Art Deco mansions in The Great Gatsby. “

Alternatively, Suffolk House Restaurant at a restored Georgian mansion offers affordable fine dining set lunches and is worth visiting.

When in Rome, do as the Romans.

So in Malaysia, why not try refined Malay cuisine at Irama at Penang Road-possibly the best Malay fine dining restaurant in Penang or the fusion Nyonya cuisine at boutique hotel Seven Terraces’ award winning Kebaya restaurant.

But if you hanker for Italian cuisine, Raymond recommends Il Bacaro at the Campbell House hotel, Via Pre at Penang Road and Bottega at Muntri Street .

For unhurried traditional English high teas Raymond suggests the E&O’s Palm Court restaurant.

On weekends Raymond likes to head out for Yumcha at one of Penang’s Dimsum restaurants like Yong Pin and Tho Yuen before visiting the arts hub at Hin Bus Depot where there is usually a free music performance, and to browse the many food and arts and crafts stalls. Besides artisanal cakes and coffee from a food truck, freshly shucked oysters and wine by the glass is available. Another popular arts venue is 35 Jetty housed in former godowns at Chulia Street where there are quirky cafes and usually an art exhibition or two at one of the galleries.

Char Kuay Teow (CKT)

CKT is a humble dish of wok fried noodles with egg, slivers of Chinese sausage, chives, bean sprouts, and blood cockles and soy sauce that is Penang’s quintessential dish, eaten by the rich and poor. Many locals are prepared to wait 30 minutes in sweltering heat for their plate of CKT to be fried to order at their favourite stall. Recommended CKT stalls (no air conditioning) Lorong Selamat CKT, Ping Hooi CKT, Chew Jetty Cafe CKT and Kampung Malabar CKT..

Melting Pot Cuisine

Nyonya and Baba cuisine is a colloquial term to describe a unique melange of Chinese and Malay cooking styles. The politically correct term for the descendants of Chinese men (Nyonyas =female and Babas=male) who married local girls though is Peranakan China. In Penang there is also a rich Peranakan Jawi culture from Indian Muslim traders who migrated to Penang and married local girls.

Nyonya cuisine in Penang has a lot of Thai influences. The locals claim the use of herbs like basil and torch ginger and a lighter use of spices characterise the refined Penang Nyonya style of cooking.

In contrast Nyonya cuisine found in Malacca and Singapore tends to have predominantly Malay than Chinese influences. The use of santan (coconut milk) and rempah (spices) result in a more robust version of Penang Nyonya cooking style.

Raymond’s recommended Nyonya restaurants in Penang: Richard Rivalee at Macalister Lane, Mulan Nyonya at Pulau Tikus, and Baba Phang at Sri Bhahari Road

Nasi Lemak

Nasi Lemak is Malaysia's favourite breakfast. It's also the country's favourite lunch, dinner and supper. The #1 or most expensive Nasi Lemak in Penang - is at Pang Hainan Coffee , Tanjung Bungah. The open air stall at the front of Sri Weld food court at Beach Street is I think #2.

Penang Street Food

With an amazing kaleidoscope of street food - Chinese, Malay, Indian, Western, Penang is Malaysia's street food paradise.

A main part of the enjoyment of dining alfresco is people watching. And of course counting the near misses as scooters and cars speed by your roadside table with inches to spare.

Raymond's top 5 street food recommendations:

Corner Carnavon & Chulia evening hawker roadside stalls. The standouts are the Wan Tan Mee and Oyster Omelette stalls
Presgrave Street evening hawker stalls has Ah Shen Duck Egg Charcoal CKT, one of the best Wok Hei (breath of the wok) char kuay Teow in town, infused with smoky flavours from cooking on a wok fired by charcoal embers.
Seri Tanjung satay roadside stall -operates in the evenings (closed Sun-Mon) Opposite Island Plaza, Tanjung Tokong. It has the best satay in Penang.
OO White Coffee at Carnavon Street has probably the best version of Oyster Omelette (Oh Chian) in Penang. Unlike the oily lard heavy omelettes in other stalls, the oyster omelette here has a crispy base and a very good chili dipping sauce.
Chew Jetty Cafe food court - a small cafe with less than 20 stalls but it has the best Char Hor Fun and Belachan Chicken in Penang. The charcoal fired CKT at Chew Jetty Cafe is also good.

Mural art in the heritage quarter

Popular with tourists and locals, Penang's murals painted on buildings in the heritage zone at Armenian Street and Chulia Street are worth a visit.