Penang Day 3: Char Kuey Teow stalls and Hotel Chulia Heritage

Back from Kok Lok Temple.  The well known char kuey teow (fried noodle) stall at Lorong Selamat was finally opened for business. I decided to try it even though I was pretty full from the laksa earlier.

If you have known from some other sources, the stall was managed by a lady who wore a red hat, and apparently she has a strong character.  And that's the reason I did not dare to take a photo of her.

Taste wise, it was tasty and fragrant and worth the RM8 price tag.

Down the road, there was another char kuey teow stall that I tried on day 2.   If you like your noodle with a little burnt smell, this stall is for you.  I however prefered the other stall.

The stalls selling ngoh hiang (something like meat pate) and ice kacang (shaved ice) were good.

 Note: opposite this stall is the Midland Cafe where dim sum is served in the morning.











Walked past Red Rock Hotel and saw a lot of people gathering outside.  I thought that there was a fire, not knowing that an earthquake just hit Penang.

The taxi driver took a while to locate Hotel Chulia Heritage in the old town.   It seemed that the hotel is a new outfit and the owner was still renovating the place.

The hotel was located in the old town.

The lobby area was nicely done and the ground floor rooms looked nice.  I stayed at the upper floor where toilets were shared and they did not stock up on toilet paper.  The floor also squeaked when you walked, so it may affect occupants downstairs.  Hopefully all these matters could be resolved soon.

On the plus side, the staff were courteous and helpful.

Penang Day 3: Kok Lok Shi & Air Itam Laksa

From Komtar, took bus 201 (RM2) to Kok Lok Shi, of the most famous temple and most visited in Penang.  It was a rather long climb to the temple but still manageable.

Penang Day 3: Midland Cafe & Spring Chamber @The Sun

This morning, dim sum at Midland Cafe (Lorong Selamat, off MacAlister Road).  Good meal, the stall also sold chi char (fried) noddles early in the morning.  After that, no visiting, just checking emails and checked out from the hotel.

Decided to have a western meal at Spring Chamber @ The Sun.  This restaurant was located at the Dr Sun Yat Sen Memorial Centre (see my earlier post).   It was good once in a while to dine in a restaurant with nice decoration and with air conditioning.

Penang Day 2: Joez Coconut (Coconut Jelly)

After returning from Penang Hill, popped into Penang Times Square.  It was not fully operational yet so there was not much to see or shop.  Decided to walk down Jalan Dato Keramat to look for the coconut jelly shop.  You are on the right track if you see this sign.  Continue walking down the road....

till you see this shop front.

Ordered the coconut jelly.  It was soft and delicious!

The coconut juice, on the other hand, was just ordinary. (still prefer the Thai variety).

And apparently, you can now have it in KL.

Blog entries on Malaysia

Penang Day 2: Monkey Cup Garden, Penang Hill

An interesting attraction at Penang Hill would be the Monkey Cup Garden, 15 minutes walk from the tram station..  It is opened daily from 9 am to 6 pm.  Entrance fee is RM10.

Monkey Cup (猪笼草) got its name as it was observed that wild monkeys drink water from these plants.   The Chinese name (猪笼草) however has a "pig" name in it.  It is also called Nepenthes or Pitcher Plants.  The fascinating thing about Monkey Cup is that its pitchers or cups can lure and trap insects and small animals.

The garden has more than 100 varieties of pitcher plants, set in a welcoming garden. The carnivorous plants is exclusively found in South East Asia and some other areas such as Madagascar, Seychelles, North Australia and South China.

On the day of visit, many monkey cup plants had started to wither. Thankfully, some were still good condition:

Overall, this is an interesting place to visit.  My only complaint was that the garden was a 15 minutes walk from the tram station.  Hopefully, there would be transport arrangements between the cable car tower and the garden in the near future.


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Penang Day 2: Enjoying the tram ride up the Penang Hill

I was waiting quite a while for bus 204 at Komtar bus station to Penang Hill.  A bus map at the station provides a good reference on what bus to take.  A one way ticket costs RM2 to Penang Hill and you alight at the last stop.

Entrance to Tram Station

The tram ride costs RM30 return.  I was informed the current tram system was recently being replaced.

The joy of visiting Penang Hill would be the tram ride up the hill.  This time was no exception.

I last visited Penang Hill probably over 25 years ago, so I was excited to visit again.  I did not have much memory of the place.  The sky was still bright when I arrived at the top of the hill.

There was a lot of construction going on.  It seemed that the authority would be planning several recreational facilities there.

I have no recollection there was an Indian temple and a Mosque during my last trip here.

This is the former Craig Hotel that shared the same owners as Raffles Hotel.   There was not much to see inside the building.

There is a Monkeycup Garden nearby which I visited.  (see separate blog entry)

The sky was getting darker and it was time to descend the hill.

It was still a pleasant trip to Penang Hill, after a lapse of many years.  Hopefully the next visit would see more attractions on the hill.

Penang Day 2: Dr Sun Yat Sen Memorial Centre

After breakfast, I was strolling along MacAlister Road and hit upon the Dr Sun Yat Sen Memorial Centre.    I intended to visit this place the following day but since I was already at the door, I decided to go in.

                                                                                           

This was the place where Dr Sun stayed where he first visited Penang in 1905.     The text in the photo explained in detail.  All in, Dr Sun visited Penang 5 times.

Penang Day 2: Having noodles for breakfast at Ah Lim Birthday Noodle 亚林生日面

I had Lin noodle 淋面 for breakfast.  It looked like a blend of dry and soup noodles, with prawns, mushrooms and vegetables.  It tasted good and non-oily. 

Penang, Malaysia: Day 1

I boarded the 3:20 pm Jetstar flight to Penang.  It was not a full flight and thus I was able to get an aisle seat.  The Malaysian immigration ran out of “white” visitor arrival card so we entered Penang without any documentation requirements.  There was a long queue at the taxi stand as people were coming back from the Easter Holiday.   Public bus took an hour (RM 2.70) to reach Komtar (the central bus area, see picture left). 

Arts events held in Singapore: What I liked, Jan - Mar 2012

Attended slightly more than 10 arts events in the first quarter.  I would say there are more misses than hits.  Here are the 4 that appealed to me in one way or another:

I caught  her first performance in Singapore in the 90s.  I remembered Ah Mei being an energetic performer and could wow the crowd.  In 2012, the magic is still there, though she took a while to do it.  Her voice is still amazing.    A great way to start the new year for the arts.

I was curious to hear a solo sheng performance.  And this performance, by virtuoso Mr Er Chiang Song and his students, did not disappoint.   According to Er, the aim of the concert was to showcase the traditional sheng instrument.  Enjoyable concert, pity that Er played only 2 solo pieces.

Oh, just a fun fact.  This concert was held on the day of Taiwan Presidential Election.  A lot of audience was talking about the results when they strolled out of the DBS Auditorium.