Near the southeastern tip of Penang, you will find the Sam Poh Footprint Temple, dedicated to a giant footprint set in stone whose origins remain mysterious. Chinese locals believe the footprint belongs to Captain Zheng He (whose local name is Sam Poh), a legendary fifteenth-century explorer whose fleet of ships sailed far and wide across the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea.
Penang Indians, on the other hand, believe it was Hanuman, the Hindu monkey deity, who made the footprint when leaping over the Indian Ocean to save King Rama’s queen, Sita, as described in the Ramayana. Yet another story of the footprint is told by local Malays, who attribute the footprint to the terrible giant Gedembai, who once lived on the island hundreds of years ago. The temple itself may be unassuming, but the rich folklore surrounding its origins make this a special place to explore.
Venue name: Sam Poh Temple
Address: Jalan Batu Maung
Located near the southwestern point of Penang island, Gertak Sanggul feels like a world away from the bustling northern coastline of George Town and Batu Ferringhi. You can experience life at a slower pace at this sleepy coastal kampung, watching from the white sand beach as fishermen pull up to the rickety piers with their daily catches ready to be sold to nearby roadside restaurants, and local residents rest peacefully on the beach enjoying the sounds of the waves breaking against the shore. The peaceful atmosphere and the clean air coming down from the rugged hills just beyond the village make this a great spot for a picnic at nearly any time of the day.
Venue name: Gertak Sanggul
Location: Gertak Sanggul, Penang
3. Hammer Bay Ikan Bakar, Teluk Tempoyak
Enjoy a great view of the fishing boats parked near the shoreline while digging into the restaurant's signature dish, ikon bakar.
Situated on a little slice of coastline behind two giant condominiums in Bayan Lepas, Hammer Bay Restaurant is easy to miss if you’re not looking for it. However, it is hard not to notice the incredible smells of fried garlic and ginger wafting up with the ocean breeze towards the nearby street every evening. Here, you can enjoy a great view of the fishing boats parked near the shoreline while digging into the restaurant’s signature dish, ikan bakar: fish barbequed in a banana leaf, garnished with fresh herbs and lemon. This alfresco dining spot gets packed with locals during dinnertime, and it’s easy to see why – with glowing lights hung in the trees and around the tables, and Malay movies playing on a projector, the atmosphere is always cheerful.
Venue name: Hammer Bay Ikan Bakar
Opening Hours: 5pm onward
Location: Jalan Batu Maung, Bayan Lepas
4. Penang War Museum
Penang War Museum is located at Batu Maung Hill, south east of Penang Island. It was built in the 1930's by the British to protect the island from the invasion of enemies. This 20 acres site is located on a hill and you will be able to see the Straits of Melaka as well as the surrounding areas from here. The construction of this fortress was done by The British Royal Engineers and local labourers.
This complicated fort has all the features of a typical defence facilities with underground military tunnels and ammunition bunkers. The ammunition storage is located 9 metres underground with thick stonewall to enable it to withstand enemy's fire.
Canon firing bays, cook houses, well, logistic centre, hall, offices, sleeping quarters and medical infirmary are also preserved for your journey of discovery here. There are even underground tunnels that go all the way to the Straits of Melaka for access to submarines.
Venue name: Penang War Museum Opening Hours: 9am - 9pm (Everyday except holiday might be have different operating hour)
Note: Child is defined as children between 5 to 12 years old.
5. Hai Boey Restuarant
Located in the rural fishing village of Teluk Kumbar on Penang’s pristine south-central coastline, Khun Thai (or Simply Thai) Restaurant is one of the island’s hidden gems. Here, you can enjoy a wide array of Thai specialties right on the white sand beach with views of the sea. The open-air restaurant offers several different varieties of fresh seafood which are proudly displayed in large tanks; when ready to order, you can just point to which fish you’d like and specify how you’d like it prepared. Besides seafood, Khun Thai is also known for its fragrant, tenderly cooked pandan chicken, their perfectly spiced tom yam as well as their claypot glass noodles.
Venue name: Hai Boey Restuarant
Opening Hours: 11am - 12am
Address:1052 Pasir Belanda, Jalan Kampung Gemuruh, Bayan Lepas
6. Khun Thai Restuarant
Located in the rural fishing village of Teluk Kumbar on Penang’s pristine south-central coastline, Khun Thai (or Simply Thai) Restaurant is one of the island’s hidden gems. Here, you can enjoy a wide array of Thai specialties right on the white sand beach with views of the sea. The open-air restaurant offers several different varieties of fresh seafood which are proudly displayed in large tanks; when ready to order, you can just point to which fish you’d like and specify how you’d like it prepared. Besides seafood, Khun Thai is also known for its fragrant, tenderly cooked pandan chicken, their perfectly spiced tom yam as well as their claypot glass noodles.
Venue name: Khun Thai Restuarant
Opening Hours: 11am - 12am
Address:1052 Pasir Belanda, Jalan Kampung Gemuruh, Bayan Lepas
7. Queensway Mall
Queensbay Mall is the largest shopping centre in Penang. Minutes away from the Penang Bridge, it is a waterfront complex in Bayan Lepas near the airport. The mall is home to mid-level restaurants, branded clothing stores, electronics shops and even a large Golden Screen Cinemas complex. Spanning 73 acres, the 2.5 million-sqft complex sports the tagline ‘It’s all happening here!’ and indeed it is one of the island’s most popular shopping centres. Opened in 2006, it is one of the country’s largest malls and is similar to Gurney Plaza, although this retail complex is newer and there are more stores. Opening Hours: 10:30 – 22:30 Location: Next to Eastin Hotel Address: 100 Persiaran Bayan Indah, 11900 Bayan Lepas, Pulau Pinang.
8. Vino Vino Bar and Restuarant
Swing by Vino Vino for exceptional wine promotions and a huge variety of tasty fare cooked up by experiences chefs.
With its classy dimly lit interiors, its exceptional wine promotions and its attentive wait staff, Vino Vino Wine Bar in Bayan Lepas is one of the south island’s most exceptional fine dining establishments. The restaurant offers a huge variety of tasty fare cooked up by experienced chefs – who you can watch working behind a clear glass window separating the dining room from the kitchen – including daily selections of fresh sashimi, perfectly rolled sushi and piping hot bowls of soba noodle soup. Vino Vino specialises in yakitori, perfectly seasoned meats and vegetables delicately grilled on bamboo skewers over a charcoal grill. Their grilled chicken wings, pork-wrapped asparagus as well as the tenderly cooked lamb will keep you coming back for more.
Venue name: Vino Vino Bar and Restuarant
Opening Hours: Mon - Thu 12pm - 12am;
Fri - Sat 12pm - 1am;
Sun 4pm - 12am
Address:H-10-1 Bay Avenue, Lorong Bayan Indah 2, Bayan Lepas
9. Super Tanker Hawker Food Court
Super Tanker Hawker Food Court in Sungai Nibong offers locals and visitors of Penang a refreshing change of scenery from the island’s famous hawker food courts in the north. Its milieu reflects its lesser-known status: The pace here is laidback, as food sellers take a bit more time perfecting the pork garnishes on a plate of fried noodles or a dash of shallots on a rich bowl of laksa. The food itself is just as phenomenal as other stalls around the island, and cheaper by a ringgit or two. Specialties include the chee cheong fun, the lam mee and the stellar Aki Pancake: a crispy cake-like pancake filled with sweet or savory flavorings, including coconut, chocolate, cheese or egg.
Venue name: Super Tanker Hawker Food Court
Address:Lengkok Nipah 2, 11600 Penang
10. Penang Snake Temple
Penang’s Snake Temple in Bayan Lepas is rich with local folklore. The temple was built in 1850 in honor of a venerated Buddhist monk and healer known as Chor Soo Kong, recognised for his supernatural ability to bring rain to the various places he wandered, saving one city from a terrible drought. Legend has it that soon after the temple was erected, pit vipers began to take shelter in its various nooks and crannies.
The temple’s founder, also a Buddhist monk, permitted them to stay. Nowadays, it is believed that the fragrant smells of incense burning around the temple renders the snakes harmless; don’t worry – the freely roaming pit vipers have had their venom removed just in case. Combined with the continually burning incense, the snakes, coiled in corners and around small trees set up within the premises, lend a devotional feel to this unique temple.
Venue name: Penang Snake Temple
Opening Hours: Daily, 6am-7pm
Address:Jalan Sultan Azlan Shah, 11600, Penang
11. Tuanku Fauziah Museum and Art Gallery
Located in a beautiful, centuries-old colonial mansion at the top of a hill on Universiti Sains Malaysia’s campus, the Tuanku Fauziah Museum and Gallery is one of the earliest university museums in Malaysia, and one of the most impressive collections of art and science in Penang. The gallery houses works from several of Malaysia’s great artists, including Latiff Mohidin and Chuah Thean Te
ng, as well as newer artists beginning to make waves in Malaysia’s creative scene, such as Sabri Idrus. Besides taking in the great artworks, you can explore the museum’s interactive exhibitions and programmes or its extensive collection of Islamic artefacts. Many of the temporary exhibitions, which feature works from artists all over the Asean region, are free to the public.
Venue name: Tuanku Fauziah Museum and Art Gallery
Opening Hours: Daily, 9.30am-4.30pm; closed on first Sat of the month
Location:Universiti Sains Malaysia, 11900 Gelugor
12. Talk Talk Wine Bar & Lounge
Opened in early 2014, this chic lounge opened its doors 11 days before the new year kicks in. Perfect time, we think, to see to any teething problems before joining in the New Year’s celebrations. Tucked in an unlikely neighbourhood and within an unassuming building at Pekaka Square in Sungai Dua, Talk Talk is really a surprise find. A good one, at that!
The word ‘rustic’ may pop in one’s mind after a glance at its exterior of raw wooden planks but a closer look at its interior will reveal a most deliberate and clever design that gives off a trendy, cool and youthful ambience.
To begin with, half of its cavernous space within had been split into two floors, lowering the ceiling significantly for both levels. Yet, the claustrophobic feeling when a space is condensed is curiously absent. Raw cement and brick walls, exposed wooden beams and industrial-like pipes make up most of its interior design but the terracotta-coloured tiles on the floor lend warmth to the overall effect.
On the upper floor, there are pockets of spaces dotted with comfy couches for lengthy tete-a-tete or robust conversations with larger groups. While the ground floor houses tables, chairs and bar stools for either a casual get together or a meal of their reasonably priced Thai fare from RM8.90++.
Adjacent to Talk Talk is their eatery called Tok Tok that echo similar interior style and offers a simple menu of Thai food and a few cakes. On weekdays, their kitchen closes between lunch and dinner hours but is open throughout on weekends.
Venue name: Talk Talk Wine Bar & Lounge
Opening Hours: Daily, 11am-2am
Address:2-G-3 & 2-G-4, Pekaka Square, Bangunan Lip Sin, Lebuh Pekaka 1, 11900 Gelugor
13.Stepping Stone Center
A small arts and crafts workshop and store employing Penangites living disabilities who may not be able to find adequate employment elsewhere.
Stepping Stone Centre, a subsidiary of the non-profit organization Asia Community Service, is a small arts and crafts workshop and store employing Penangites living with disabilities who may not be able to find adequate employment elsewhere. All of the store’s items have been hand-crafted by these employees, including clothing, soaps, baked goods, pottery and printed batik. Proceeds go directly towards these in-need members of the community, making this a great place to pick up souvenirs or gifts. If you are looking for a more in-depth experience, Stepping Stone is always on the lookout for volunteers to help lend a hand and provide support.
Venue name: Stepping Stone Center
Address:53 Jalan Baru MK1, Pulau Betong, Bayan Lepas
Other than the south area, if you want to explore the whole penang in short time, here are a few guides for you:
Best of Penang in Two Days according to Timothy Tye
If you want to know more about other details which is not stated or get some advices on your own internary, you may also contact me at whatsapp +012-497 9978
