30 May 2009

Today, mom and I decided to check out the food that friend and websites had recommended. We started off with a simple chicken rice and fish ball soup to get us going. We ended up taking a trip down to New World Park which apparently had some duck egg Char Kway Teow, but I ended up detouring for some caffeine at Starbucks, as well as some dessert. I just can't resist something soooooo chocolatey.

After that short break, we continued on our CKT search and found it right at the corner of the food court. Bought one packet then we walked on towards Siam Road for a really famous CKT that was fried over a charcoal fire by a really old man. Walking towards Siam Road, we passed by Fatty Loh Chicken Rice, and I decided to get a pack of there Chicken Rice to try. So much things to eat… so little time!

We continued strolling down the road and saw a scene right out the short animation "For The Birds" and just couldn't help laughing and stopping to take a picture or two. The finally we spot the street sign we've been looking for, hear the clanking of the wok and smell something yummy close by. Turning round the corner to Siam street, you see him behind his little cart just frying away, not caring who or what buzzes around him. Amazingly he controls his heat with the assistance of the fan in his left hand. Watching him frying is already a treat.

For The Birds?

Making Use Of Ample Parking Space

Once we got our packs of CKT from Siam Road, we continued walking down the busy road to check out what lay ahead and ended up at a wet market and hawker centre. The place was just starting to get ready for the night's business when we reached and didn't have much for us to choose from. However, we did get to try another item Penang was famous for, and that was it's Cendol. Although it wasn't on the list, it was still a refreshing break from the hot sun we were walking under.

It was then mom had enough walking and decided to get a few more things to accompany the food we bought earlier. Then it was a comfy ride back to the hotel for our some rest before we had a feast. But before we headed back to our room, mom decided to check out the hotel pool as well as the little bit of beach we could access from the hotel.

Are Curries THAT Strange?

29 May 2009

We called Mr Zainal for his taxi services today as we wanted to hit a few touristy spots around Penang and also get some good food spots out of a local taxi driver. So first we hit the Tropical Spice Garden, which was a bus ride down from the hotel. However, it was rather hidden and if we had tried taking the bus, I think we'd end up going up and down the same road a few times before we figured it out. 

Anyway, this is one place I would recommend anyone to visit as it smells nice, is relaxing, can be a good workout, has a bit of history, and has a nice cafe with lovely cookies. Mom had fun with all the old kitchen equipment but had a bit of trouble with the climb up to the cafe, but she did find the swing, hammock and "bus top" to take breaks at. Once up there, the air is nice and fresh with a slight salty hint of the waters around Penang. 

 

 

 

  

 

 

After this was a trip to the fruit orchard for a very enjoyable learning experience about the fruits that could be grown in the local climate. Sadly all my photo seem to be overexposed as the sun was really harsh, but I'd say go up to the orchards for a lesson, and possibly learn to live off your garden if you can. After the lesson, you'd be brought to a fruit buffet with the option of getting durians. Might as well just act like tourist and get a Penang durian to try. We also got some other fruits, one of which was a cocoa pod, as souvenirs. It might be a bit weird, but they would last the flight back, and there'd be people back home who  would enjoy them. 

Mr Zainal then brought us round the island a bit to tell us more about a damming project to help with the island's water supply. Visited a nutmeg farm which smelled really nice, but it had closed for the day. He then helped us with our hunt for some good barbecued seafood and that was the end of our touristy day.