Penang Travelogue – Day 3

Day 1 and Day 2 at Penang led us on food trails, street art hunt and discovery of interesting places. On Day 3, the weather was rather unkind – rained almost the whole day with some drizzles in between for us to continue our scouting of wall murals and metal sculptures. We visited some of the new malls too and had dinner at an awesome place – highly recommended!

Day 3: Queensbay Mall – Song River Café – Gurney Plaza – Street Art/Wall Murals – Stone Bay Restaurant

Thanks to the weather, that meant we had to stay indoors most of the time. Tonny had to take another assignment today, so a replacement driver uncle took us around. The only thing was, he didn’t seem very familiar with recommendations like where the best foods were and interesting places to go. Was kinda disappointed since the weather wasn’t very uplifting already. Nonetheless, our first stop was to a mall, and basically Day 3 was more laidback with less shuffling around (but that meant lesser things to see and do too!).

Queensbay Mall is large and has plenty to offer shopaholics, foodies and parents. There is a cinema, arcade and karaoke too, so no worries about not having entertainment. LOL!  The 3 couples sought their own entertainment, and us being new parents, headed to Aeon to check out home stuff, visit kidswear stores and randomly look at clothes for ourselves.

Little one nursed on-the-go and duly fell asleep while mummy exercised by window shopping. When it was finally time for a coffee break at EspressoLab, she decides to join in too and got awoken when I tried to sit to rest my legs. Daddy was busy with work even on a holiday. #throwthatblackberryaway

We combed the whole area and looked to the sky (did a rain-check!) and hoped for clearer view. Seemed like it stopped pouring, and we decided to head outdoors for lunch after being stuck for at least 2hours. Driver uncle recommended Penang Bak Kut Teh, which sounded perfect for such weather!

Fortunately, it was a sheltered eatery and we quickly grabbed seats as the crowd was starting to come. It faces the seafront along Gurney Drive. While waiting for our food, the rain got heavier and strong winds helped directed sky juice at us. Canopy at the closed stall beside us could not be extended because “it doesn’t belong to us” as advised by one of the folks there.

Thanks to my sister, who recalled that the place was Song River Café, but I wouldn’t recommend those that we have tried though. There were other stalls too, some were closed though, probably only operated at night. Parents, do note that high chairs there are in poor condition i.e. dirty and damaged. Baby V sat in the stroller while she had skinless grapes that were bought the day before, and some rice. After hiding from the rain and downing a meal that did nothing to our moods, we trod back to the car to get shelter and discussed where to go next.

We decided to try our luck around Georgetown again, for the next leg of our street art trails. Guess we got lucky! The rain sizzled to a mini drizzle and we could get off the car to snap pics! And boy, it was crowded despite the weather! Many tourists and locals would gather around a particular point and you’d know there was something to snap. LOL.

 

 

 

We didn’t managed to cover all the wall paintings and metal sculptures but it was a pretty good trail so far! It started to pour again, so we decided to head back to our hotel for a bath (yucky wet feet!) and perhaps catch a few winks (it didn’t happen – not with a baby around LOL! I think we only managed to nurse while lying on the bed, but better than no rest for my tired body), before heading out for dinner in the evening.

We met up with the family at the lobby, and bumped into the chef from the hotel café where breakfast was served. So, we took the chance to ask him for recommendations on nice food that wasn’t too pricey. He shared that Stone Bay Restaurant serves up good Chinese food, including seafood. So, Stone Bay it was! We hailed a cab quite easily as there were cabs “waiting around” just outside our hotel. We had to split and take 2 cabs, and our cab driver was telling us not to order a certain fish that the crew would push for. I can’t recall what it was – King Fish? Golden Fish? Because it apparently doesn’t come with a price tag on the menu, but a heart attack is served up when you get the bill. Sounded like the place would fleece us… didn’t have a very good feeling about it. But nonetheless, point taken and we just had to be a little cautious.

So, what was the verdict? Let the peektures do the talking!

It was by far the BESTEST meal we had this trip! Portions were generous, and it wasn’t too pricey. We paid around RM$200ish for this meal, and for such a standard, it’s real value. There was a wedding dinner going on in one of the private rooms too, and the other diners came in groups of families. We were so belly full, the next best thing was to head back to sleep. Talk about getting fat. Oh well, nursing mums need all that fuel, right? :P

Except for the young couple who decided to check out Penang’s nightlife, the rest of us returned to the hotel. Good night’s rest with a happy meal! Gotta start packing our luggage; one last day in Penang the next day!

Stick around to find out what else we put into our bellies (Penang local delights! If we didn’t eat them, hubs won’t be leaving happy!) before we head to the airport on Day 4.