Category: Malaysia

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Penang Street Art: Murals and Sculptures

After a plate of Penang’s famous Char Kuey Teow and a bowl of Penang Road Famous Teochew Chendul; it’s time to burn them calories. 

Take a stroll along the streets of George Town and nearby streets, capture fun memories with murals and sculptures, and play a part in Penang’s heritage.

1. Boy on a Bike

Boy on a Bike can be found on 12, Lebuh Ah Quee. It is one of Ernest Zacharevic’s original and famous murals.

2. The Real Bruce Lee Would Never Do This

Just after Boy on a Bike and around the corner is this Bruce Lee and cats mural. This mural was painted by ASA, Artists for Stray Animals, for the 101 Lost Kittens project.

You can find more murals by them in this map here.

3. Ah Quee

The street is named after Kapitan Chung Keng Kwee who generously donated his house to the Municipality for vehicular access ensuring that his name lives on for posterity. Cheng Keng Kwee is also known as “Ah Quee”.

Ah Quee can be found at 10, Lebuh Ah Quee.

4. Nasi Kandar Seller

Nasi kandar originated from Tamil Muslim hawking home-cooked curry dishes and rice from containers slung on both ends of a kandar (a wooden stick).

This sculpture can be found at 50, Lebuh Ah Quee.

Inspirations Behind Penang’s Street Arts

In 2008, George Town was recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The following year, the Penang state government held a competition – Marking George Town – and Sculpture At Work won it. Across George Town, 52 cartoon steel-rod sculptures reflect the history and unique characteristics of selected streets in George Town.

Ah Quee and Nasi Kandar are examples of Sculpture At Work’s work. You can check out all 52 sculpture locations here.

In 2012, Ernest Zacharevic, a Lithuanian-born artist was commissioned to create large-scale street art murals for the George Town Festival. The project was called “Mirrors George Town”. Some of his most famous murals are Boy on a Bike, Children on Bicycle, Boy on Chair, and more.

In addition to Zacharevic’s murals, there are also several murals depicting cats and dogs by “Artists for Stray Animals”. You can explore an overview of the most famous and popular street art murals in George Town, Penang below.

Credits to:

https://zighunt.com/marking-george-town-location/
https://onceuponajrny.com/penang-street-art-map/#brucelee
https://www.expatolife.com/penang-street-art-georgetown-malaysia/
https://www.ourtravelhome.com/street-art-in-george-town-penang/
https://penangfoodie.com/top-10-street-arts-and-murals-in-penang/
https://nerdnomads.com/street-art-penang-malaysia

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Chocolate & Coffee Museum Penang

Here’s a throwback to the bitter-sweet museum of Chocolate and Coffee Museum in Penang. Checks on Google Map and the museum’s Facebook states that the museum has permanently closed it’s doors on 31.12.2020.

Nevertheless, sharing some snaps from the museum taken way back in 2010. The museum was once located along Leith Street in George Town, Penang. 

If you’ll like to visit other Chocolate museums in Malaysia, there are similar chocolate museums in Kota Damansara and Kuala Lumpur.

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Bukit Bendera, Penang Hill, and Flagstaff Hill

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Penang Hill, Bukit Bendera, or Flagstaff Hill is the most developed peak in Penang.

They are one and the same. Penang Hill is also known by the Malay name Bukit Bendera, which actually refers to Flagstaff Hill.

At 833 m (2,733 ft) above sea level and Georgetown at it’s peak, Penang Hill has an amazing panoramic view of the island and mainland. Penang Hill is also part of Penang Hill Biosphere Reserve, recognized by UNESCO as the third Biosphere Reserve in Malaysia listed in the World Network of Biosphere Reserve (WNBR).

How to Get to Penang Hill (See you at the top)

Penang Hills covers a number of hills. To get to the peak where the observation deck is, you’ve to ride the funicular train via the Penang Hill Railway from the foot of the hill at Hill Railway Station Road. 

The Penang Hill Funicular Train is the most popular and convenient way get to the top of the hill. The funicular’s tunnel track is also the steepest in the world and the longest track in Asia, adding to its uniqueness.

Love Lock

If you’re visiting Penang Hill with a significant other, pop by the lover’s promenade at the open-air observation deck. You can fasten a love lock 823 m (2,700 ft) above sea level on an 80-meter wide fence overlooking the city of Georgetown! Love locks are available for purchase on-site and you can decorate them individually and secure them along the fence. Though you can also bring your own if you’d like.

Feast 833 meters in the sky

Feeling hungry? Pop by the Cliff Cafe (also known as the Astaka Bukit Bendera), a three-storey food court where you can feast on a variety of local delights.

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Credits to:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penang_Hill
https://www.penanghill.gov.my/index.php/en/faq 
https://www.klook.com/en-MY/blog/penang-hill-malaysia-things-to-do/#n-38bc0ead 

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Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion (Blue Mansion) in Penang

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From a green-hued mansion, let’s visit another colourful mansion in Penang – the Blue Mansion. The Blue Mansion is given it’s colourful, distinctive name because of it’s external decorations and indigo-blue outer walls.

The Blue Mansion is Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion. 

Where is Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion

The Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion is a government gazetted heritage building located on Leith Street in George Town, Penang, Malaysia.

Photos taken in 2010

History

Named after it’s owner, it was built by the merchant Cheong Fatt Tze at the end of the 19th century. The mansion has 38 rooms, 5 granite-paved courtyards, 7 staircases and 220 vernacular timber louvre windows. It served as Cheong’s private residence as well as the seat of his business activities in Penang.

Like the Pinang Peranakan Mansion, Cheong Fatt Tze’s architectural style and interior was inspired by a combination of East meets West. Features of the house include Gothic louvred windows, Chinese cut and paste porcelain work, Stoke-on-Trent floor tiles made of encaustic clay in geometric pieces all shaped to fit to a perfect square, Glasgow cast iron works by MacFarlane’s & Co. and Art Nouveau stained glass windows.

“The Blue Mansion is the perfect epitome of the grandeur and achievements of Cheong Fatt Tze, which today stands as a landmark in the fabric of George Town Penang’s vibrant heritage as a boutique hotel and historical attraction”

Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion

Today, Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion is a landmark heritage building in the UNESCO World Heritage city of George Town in Penang. It has received multiple architectural awards, including UNESCO’s Most Excellent Heritage Conservation Award in the Year 2000.

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Credis to:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheong_Fatt_Tze_Mansion
http://mtc.com.my/resources-Projects-CheongFattTzeMansion.php
https://theculturetrip.com/asia/indonesia/articles/9-things-you-should-know-about-penangs-blue-mansion/
https://www.cheongfatttzemansion.com/about-the-mansion/architecture/ 

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World of Cameras in the Camera Museum

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As the name – Camera Museum – goes, it is a world of cameras throughout history. 

Making you understand the history and advancement of Photography

Asia Camera Museum

The Camera Museum opened it’s doors in Penang to the world on 15 January 2014. It’s the first camera museum in South East Asia. The museum displays up to 1,000 vintage cameras and accessories.

Where is the Camera Museum

The Camera Museum is located in the heart of the heritage area in Georgetown, Penang. The museum is housed in a 2-storey shop house on Lebuh Muntri.

There are 3 rooms to explore: Dark Room, Obscura Room, and the Pinhole Room. In the Dark Room, explore and learn how films are developed. Obscura Room showcases the idea of the first invented camera in the world. In the Pinhole Room, you will have the experience of being “inside” a camera. 

Follow Asia Camera Museum on social media below.

Credits to:

https://www.asiacameramuseum.com/
http://www.penang-discovery.com/attraction/the_camera_museum/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camera_Museum
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Fort Cornwallis Penang

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A stroll along the waterfront Esplanade in Penang features historical landmarks. Not to be missed is Fort Cornwallis.

Fort Cornwallis holds much historical significance. It is a bastion fort in Georgetown, Penang and the largest standing fort in Malaysia.

Where is Fort Cornwallis

Fort Cornwallis is bounded by Light Street to its south, Jalan Tun Syed Sheh Barakbah to the east and to the north, and The Esplanade to the west.

History

Captain Francis Light, took possession of Penang Island from the Sultan of Kedah in 1786. Where Light first landed on Penang Island in 1786 was the spot where Fort Cornwallis was originally built. 

The fort’s purpose back then, was to protect Penang from pirates and Kedah. 

If Captain Francis Light originally built the fort; how did it come to be known as Fort Cornwallis? The fort was named in honour of Charles Marquis Cornwallis, the then Governor-General of Bengal who had lost to George Washington in the 1781 Battle of Yorktown during the American Revolutionary War.

The fort was originally built using nibong (a Malay term meaning ‘palm trunk’) stockade with no permanent structures. In 1789, three years after the simple stockade was completed, Light began rebuilding the fort using bricks. The new design, which features a star-shaped fort, was similar with other British forts in India. Indian convict labourers were brought in for the construction of the brick fort. It was completed in 1793 at a cost of $67,000 (Spanish dollar).

Fort Cornwallis was repaired and rebuilt between 1804 and 1810. Fort Cornwallis was completed in 1810 at a cost of $80,000 (Penang dollar) – an enormous amount at the time.

Even though the fort was originally built for the British military, its function, historically, was more administrative than defensive. For example, the judge of the Supreme Court of Penang, Sir Edmond Stanley, an Anglo-Irish barrister, was first housed at Fort Cornwallis when the court opened on 31 May 1808. During the 1920s Sikh police of the Straits Settlements occupied the fort. During World War 2, the Japanese used the fort as a detention centre, as well as a site for military workshops and storehouses.

The fort was gazetted on 8 September 1977, under the Antiquities Act 168/1976, as an Ancient Monument and Historic site. In 1991, the management of Fort Cornwallis was privatised by the Penang state government in an effort to enhance its appeal as a prime tourist destination. Today, it has become one of Penang’s prime tourist attractions.

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Credits to


https://penang.fandom.com/wiki/Fort_Cornwallis 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Cornwallis 

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Penang’s Pinang Peranakan Museum

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A trip to Penang will not be complete without a tour of some of it’s history. Especially historical sites which still play an active role in our lifetime. One such is the Pinang Peranakan Museum has stood the test time and also featured in TVs and movies, notably The Little Nyonya, The Amazing Race, and Crazy Rich Asians, recently.

Where is the Pinang Peranakan Museum

The Pinang Peranakan Mansion is in a distinctive green-hue colour at Church Street in George Town, Penang, Malaysia. As it’s name says, it is a museum dedicated to Penang’s Peranakan heritage. The museum showcases thousands of Peranakan artifacts, antiques, collectibles, interior design, and customs.

Pinang Peranakan Museum’s History

Before becoming a museum in modern times, in the past, it was a residential mansion. The mansion was built by Chung Kee Quee, the Kapitan China of Perak and one of the richest men in Penang in the late 19th century. He named the mansion: Hai Kee Chan (Sea Remembrance Hall in Penang Hokkien). 

Inspired by a combination of Chinese and English architecture and designs of the time; the mansion has English floor tiles, Scottish ironworks, and Chineese carved-wood panels. 

Though not a Baba himself, the Chinese courtyard house was much like a typical large Peranakan home. The Peranakans, otherwise known as the Straits Chinese, are the Babas and Nyonyas. They were a prominent Chinese community in Penang and this part of the world. Babas refer to Peranakan males, and Nyonyas refer to Peranakan women and young girls.

Exploring the Peranakan Museum

The courtyard on the ground floor is open air to allow natural lighting and ventilation to flow freely through the mansion. The English floor tiles, Chinese artworks, and Scottish columns brings in the feels.

Here is a vast dining hall where guests would dine. It is an interesting combination of China plates and cups, and English deco. 

Richly decorated with European-styled teak furniture, Victorian ceramic figures and glass epergnes, affluent Baba households even have a separate western-styled dining room meant for entertaining peers and European guests. The dinner service includes porcelain, glass and silverware, all imported from Europe.

Pinang Peranakan Mansion

Upstairs are different rooms with various artifacts and antiques from East to West. 

Back downstairs at the kitchen.

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Japanese Tokyo Ramen @ Lot 10, Kuala Lumpur

We’re back with another Japanese restaurant in Lot 10 at Bukit Bintang, Kuala Lumpur. In a previous post, I shared about my tonkatsu cravings from Malaysia to Japan.

Tokyo Ramen

Tokyo Ramen is on the 4th floor in Lot 10. The 4th floor – J’s Gate Dining – is commonly and famously known as the Japanese food floor. As for Tokyo Ramen itself, it is in the private dining area – Isetan Kuala Lumpur.

Grounded by warmth and humility through service and hospitality, values inherently associated with the Japanese tradition of Omotenashi, The Tokyo Ramen inherits the ambience The Tokyo Restaurant has to offer.

An epicentre that connects family, friends, and acquaintances, underneath the blush of coral tapestry and amber incandescence. Elegant booth seats and leather-grain furniture further cosset you away from the strains of the world beyond.

“A bowl of happiness from Japan, served fresh for Malaysia”

Sink your teeth into the umami-rich ramen option from THE TOKYO RAMEN! Made with authentic Malaysian free range chicken, The Tokyo Ramen incorporates The Tokyo Restaurant’s rich flavours and is the perfect gathering spot for ramen lovers of all races and religion. Celebrate the deliciousness of true Japanese ramen, and fill your heart and bellies with joy and satisfaction! Strictly no pork used.

Isetan KL – The Tokyo Ramen

Menu

Let’s dive into their menu. Hungry for lunch, we ordered the Asakusa Sho-Yu Ramen (signature ramen), Bara – Chirashi, and Tori Chashu Don.

“Halal Authentic Ramen, Produced by Japanese Muslim Chef”.

The Asakusa Sho-Yu Ramen (RM30)

The “Yukiri” process in the cooking of Japanese noodles like ramen, udon, and soba involves pulling the noodles out of hot water and shaking them free of liquid in a colander so that they retain their delicious springy and perfect texture.

This method ensures that the liquid in the noodles does not dilute the soup, leaving you with textural perfection as well as an intensity of flavours that soothe the soul. All expert noodle-makers are well-versed in this art; but you, too, can be your own expert by properly draining your ramen noodles at home!

Bara – Chirashi : Assorted Sashimi Sushi Rice Bowl
Tori Chashu Don : Chicken Chashu Rice Bowl

You can follow Tokyo Ramen on their instagram below or click “Menu” above to explore their menu online.

Credits to:

https://www.isetankl.com.my/the-tokyo-ramen/

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Hakka Food from Michele’s Kitchen in Damansara Jaya

Looking for traditional, home-cooked Chinese food – Hakka cuisine – to warm your heart and tummy? You don’t want to pass Michele’s Kitchen in Damansara Jaya, Petaling Jaya.

How to Get to Michele’s Kitchen

Michele’s Kitchen is along Jalan SS22/23, just opposite the eastern entrance of Atria Shopping Gallery. It is not hard to miss with it’s purple signage significantly distinguishing itself from the other shops.

The side parking along Jalan SS22/23 is easily filled from day to night. Parking is aplenty in Atria and around the block with more street parking available.

Michele’s Kitchen

Michele’s Kitchen is a 2-storey restaurant. Hence, during peak hours, there’s still tables available for dine-ins. Instead, we did a take-out and picked-up our food after ordering online.

You can order on Grab or online through their website. Ordering online on their website was a smooth experience, as you’re given the option to pay with credit/debit card or via Paypal. After payment is made, you’ll receive an email and SMS to confirm your order and pick-up time.

Click Image to visit their online menu and to order

Michele’s Kitchen top sellers are the Crispy Pork Belly, Nyonya Garoupa Fillet, Bentong Tau Fu Pok, Hakka Yong Tau Fu, and Signature Tau Fu.

For a simple dinner and a small family, we ordered their Nyonya Chicken Series, Sheng Melon Tau Fu, Bittergourd Fried with Salted Egg, and Baby Spinach.

Nyonya Chicken Series (RM24.60)
Sheng Melon Tau Fu (RM20.20)
Bittergourd Fried with Salted Egg (RM17.90)
Baby Spinach (RM11.20)

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Shugatori Dessert Cafe

Damansara Uptown is no stranger as the place to hang out, eat, and have desserts. If after a plate of Damansara Uptown Hokkien Mee or a meal, and some jalan-jalan in Starling Mall; why not have dessert at Shugatori. Aptly named as SHUGATORI: THE DESSERT CAFE.

How to Get to Shugatori

Shugatori is located along Jalan SS 21/1a in Damansara Utama. It is not hard to miss as it is facing the main road – Jalan SS21/1. If you’re turning in from the SPRINT highway, it is on your right.

Parking may be a challenge during the day and night, as the parking spots tend to be filled with cars by office workers and people who frequent there.

Due to the limited street parking, you can park at Starling Mall or at Uptown 7 (elevated parking). Then walk across to Shugatori.

Shugatori Dessert Cafe

Waffles, croffles, desserts, coffee, macarons, or all? Browse their menu below.

We ate their Biscoff Waffle, Peanut Butter & Jelly, and Razuberi Yoguruto. It was an experience indulging in 3 different types of pastries and desserts together: waffle, croissant, and cake.

Biscoff Waffle (RM23)

Classic waffle with biscoff crumbs, white chocolate, topped with vanilla ice cream dizzled in biscoff sauce.

Peanut Butter & Jelly (RM18)

Buttery croissant served with mascarpone whipped cream, raspberry compote, chocolate chips and two scoops of vanilla ice cream.

Razuberi Yoguruto (RM23)

Charcoal honey castella plated with mascarpone whipped cream, mixed berries compote and a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Maxis Deal

If you’re a Maxis user, there is a “RM10 OFF total bill with minimum spend of RM38 & above.”

Open the Maxis app on your smartphone and click Deals at the bottom tab (if you’re iphone user). Type Shugatori or search under Food & Beverage for “Shugatori”. Then “Download Deal” and show it to cashier upon payment.

Shugatori Social

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