We woke up around
7.00a.m. to the sound of loudspeakers and crowd cheers mixed with the sound of
raindrops on our window. Crawling up to take a look I was surprised to see that
a huge group of uniformed people had gathered and were walking down Jalan Dato’
Keramat despite the rain. Upon checking Facebook that’s when I discovered that
the Penang Starwalk 2016 was underway that morning, 11 September 2016, with the
starting point at Penang Times Square until the end stretch of Jalan
Dato’Keramat.
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| Participants of the Penang Starwalk 2016 |
Road blocks had
been set up by the police and as the event lasted well into 8.30a.m. before the
road block in front of the hotel was removed, we tried to get some shut-eye
until then, but to not much avail. Sound-proofing the room was not a strong
point of this hotel, and hubby quipped that he could even hear the loud
motorbike noises late at night. I tried to boil water using their kettle but it
was really loud in a small quiet room, plus in the end, I think the water from
the water dispenser downstairs was cleaner so not really much use for the kettle
unless you really wanted to make yourself a hot cuppa.
We had originally
planned for 2 events that morning, the first being to visit the Lorong Kulit
Flea Market further down Jalan Dato’ Keramat to check out their antiques and
second hand goods on sale, followed by a visit to the Occupy Beach Street
festival along Lebuh Pantai, on top of trying to check out the local penang
food delicacies available.
However we had to
change our plans as the walkathon resulted in the road blocks lasting in
certain areas till well past 10.00 a.m., jamming up many one-way roads. In the
end, we opted to go straight for the Occupy Beach Street festival and left the
hotel at 9.20 a.m., after purchasing our parking ticket for the day, which
thankfully was just on time as a traffic policeman had just stopped his bike in
front of our car and was getting ready to write us a summons. Yikes, talk about
being efficient!
This event held
only on Sundays with the support of the local government aims to promote itself
as a local tourist attraction featuring local arts and crafts, cultural
heritages, and small scale F&B entrepreneurs. For this event most of Lebuh
Pantai will be blocked off and will only be accessible by bikes, bicycles and
pedestrians.
 |
| Red tents mark the event at the end of Beach Street a.k.a. Lebuh Pantai |
The tents/booths
are set up at the end of Lebuh Pantai after the Ambank building but road blocks
start out as far out in front as the pin location of google map on their
facebook page.
This is a crucial point to remember when planning your parking and walking to
the venue. And here we thought getting a parking along Gat Lebuh Melayu was a
decent enough distance. Were we in for a tiring surprise!
Reason being that
from there out there are “family-sized bicycles” for rent for you to cycle
around the area and towards the booths. Works well if you have any children or
elderly and want to save them the trouble of walking whilst taking a brisk
cycle along the street. We didn’t approach them to ask for a price as we didn’t
intend to rent one, but we noticed that they were all from differing companies.
 |
| Cycles for rent |
As we hadn’t had
breakfast yet out focus was more on the food booths present. There were mini
burgers, toasted sandwiches, peanut and cashewnut spreads, cold-pressed juices,
popcorn, coconut jelly and ice cream booths to name a few. Our choice pick to
get us going for that short boost was the BreakTime cold-pressed juices. Hubby
had The Green Hornet whilst I opted for the Grab & Go.
 |
| BreakTime's Grab & Go |
Our second stop (which
we wished we had actually purchased double of what we actually purchased after
bringing them back and letting our families try it) was Everlyn Popcorn. On
sale was their original flavour, caramel flavour, and seaweed wasabi flavour.
After tasting them, we purchased 1 tub of original, and 1 bucket each of
caramel and seaweed wasabi. Our families loved the original and seaweed wasabi,
and those with a sweeter tooth like me adored the caramel. Sadly her popcorn
sales can only be found in Penang, where she would set up booths 6 days a week
at night markets and every Sunday morning here at this event. A month later and
I’m missing it already.
 |
| Everlyn Popcorn. Seaweed wasabi - Bucket (Left) and Original - Tub (Right) |
Aside from the
food booths there were other booths set up selling handicraft jewellery and
accessories, hand-made soaps, clothes, a huge play tent for kids, and even a
small exhibit and gathering area for pet lovers, where dog treats and some pet
friendly cafes were introduced. Almost all pet dogs brought out for a walk were
very well trained and would sit at their owner’s command for photoshoots and
petting.
 |
| Cute well-trained pooches grouped together for photoshot |
 |
| Small exhibit of feathered friends |
 |
| Pigeons on display |
We stayed for
about 45 minutes in this area and whilst there were other activities planned
later around noon and 2pm, including from what we understand a get together
dance workout session, we decided to head back to get ready for our hotel
check-out at 12 noon.
PS: Little India
is located nearby so for those keen to grab their banana leaf breakfast/lunch,
it’s also within walking distances.
Ambience:
4.3/5.0
Security
and Staff Friendliness: 4.4/5.0
Location:
3.5/5.0
Variety
& Activity: 3.5/5.0
Value
for Money: 3.8/5.0
Overall
Review:
4.0/5.0
Ghee Hiang (Beach Street Retail Boutique)
Another point of
interest on our way back to the car was this famous non-halal outlet located
along Lebuh Pantai. Originally I had planned to visit the one along Jalan
McAlister as it was closer to our hotel but since they had an outlet here, why
not?
Famous for their
pastries, cookies and sesame oils, we decided quickly what we wanted and made
our purchase. The lady clerk guided us on the type of sesame oils they had for
sale: The original pure roasted sesame oil (red label) was light and perfect for
my confinement, the blended sesame oil which was a mix of sesame and palm oil
(blue label) was good for cooking, and the pure sesame oil (black label) which
had a much heavier texture was recommended for dishes that required a heavier
sesame presence.
In the end, we
purchased 1 unit each of their famous Tau Sar Pneah, Oriental Almond Cookies,
Sesame Crisps, Matcha Crisps, Blended Sesame Oil (680ml) and Pure Premium
Sesame Oil (700ml) before making our way back to our parked car.
Ambience:
4.0/5.0
Staff
Friendliness and Efficiency: 4.5/5.0
Location:
4.0/5.0
Old
Penang Hotel (Day 2)
Upon arriving back
at our hotel, it took us about 10 minutes to get a parking nearby as Jalan
Dato’ Keramat was experiencing heavy traffic and traffic was at a standstill
for a while. Luckily we found a spot not too far away and once back at the
hotel room, we took a quick shower and started packing our stuff for checkout.
At the reception
counter, the staff service was ok and our 1 night stay reservation made through
Booking.com amounted to RM132.00, inclusive of 6% GST and hotel service
charges. Our deposit of RM50.00 was refunded and we then bid adieu to our
accommodation.
From my experience
on Day 1 and subsequent reviews above, I have surmised our stay here for a 2-3 star hotel as
follows:
Location:
3.5/5.0. Easy
to locate and find a nearby parking, but gets quiet and there aren’t any surrounding
shops or attractions after 10pm. If given the choice staying at the
accommodations closer to the UNESCO heritage sites in town would have been
cheaper and nearer to more foodie and tourist attractions.
Value
for money: 3.0/5.0. Worth
it for a quick 1 nights budget stay. But anything more than 2 nights might not
be worth it.
Comfort/Ambience:
2.5/5.0. Sound
proofing is poor, there was a crack on the wall and air-con makes the air dry.
Water pressure in the shower was strong though. No slippers or robes provided
and toiletry was very limited.
Staff
Service: 3.5/5.0. Helpful,
and somewhat friendly. You’ll have to initiate all conversations first though.
Cleanliness:
3.5/5.0. Bedsheets
and pillowcases feel abit old from excessive usage & washing. Towels were
fresh, crisp and clean though.
Jalan Kimberly
Next stop was to
find our brunch. Not really having an idea which specific shop to go to, we
headed over to Jalan Kimberly to check out which local food shops were still
open. Unfortunately by lunchtime, most of them closed down or were starting to
clean up for closing. After walking around for a bit, we decided to stop for….
Wen Chang Hainanese Chicken Rice
Located along
Lebuh Cintra, I was surprised to find a Food Advisor sticker stuck on its stall
along with quite a number of newspaper articles on the success of this
brothers-owned shop. Specialising in roasted chicken, hubby and I ordered a
servings each and were pleased with its serving portion and taste.
Although roasted,
the chicken meat had a soft juicy texture to it and did not feel dry, and their
complimentary vegetable soup was a clear simple chicken broth without the taste
of MSG. Best of all, 1 normal but rather filling serving only costs RM5.00, or
RM6.00 if mixed with Char Siew. As were too hungry at that point in time, we
chowed it all down pretty fast and apologies, did not take any photos of the
dish.
Using Google map
will assist you to locate the shop easily, and roadside parking is available,
but limited. Wouldn’t mind going back there for a second helping next time
we’re in town.
 |
| Visible road signage |
 |
| Front entrance of shop |
Location:
4.0/5.0
Value
for money: 4.5/5.0
Comfort/Ambience:
3.8/5.0
Staff
Service: 4.0/5.0
Cleanliness:
3.8/5.0
Ng
Kee Cake Shop
Located right next to Wen Chang is this traditional cake shop that has been in operations for
around 60 years now. This was an unexpected gem that we stumbled upon as I was
fascinated by the variety of mooncakes sold there. Whilst dining at Wen Chang I
noticed that a constant steady flow of customers would go in and walk out with
at least 2 bags of mooncakes in tow. This definitely piqued my interest, and
hubby was wondering why during our whole “makan” session I kept looking outside
the shop.
Stepping inside the
first thing that caught my attention was the huge mooncake the diameter size of
a 1kg cake at the front of the shop on display. Accordingly to the lady boss,
the special mooncake was made to order by a customer for a special birthday
occasion and contained 7 salted egg yolks inside. Still, you don’t just get to
see this everyday.
 |
| Special made-to-order mooncakes |
Unfortunately,
their egg tarts were sold out by the time we went in. The mooncakes however
were selling like hot cakes with numerous varieties present, from the usual red
bean, lotus paste and black sesame, to the more unique ones like coconut and
durian to name a few. Honestly we were so spoilt for choice, thank goodness the
lady boss was kind and patient enough to wait for us to decide. Prices were
reasonable too, with the small egg yolkless mooncakes going for an average of
RM5.00 each, whilst those with egg yolks would range between RM14.80 –
RMRM25.00 each. Mooncake biscuits were sold in packs of 16, ranging from plain
ones (RM13.00 per pack) to ones with red bean and coconut (RM16.00 per pack).
The plain biscuits
were just fresh baked from the oven and smelt oh sooooo good. The lady boss
helped us get a fresh batch and advised us to open the bag and expose the
biscuits to allow the natural oils inside the biscuits to seep out and flavour
them. In the end, we got 1 pack of plain mooncake biscuits, 1 pack of coconut
filled mooncake biscuits, 1 plain durian mooncake, and 2 coconut filled single
yolk mooncakes.
The highlight of
this purchase was the coconut filled mooncakes and biscuits as both our
families were very surprised to find such a soft, succulent fresh coconut taste
in the mooncakes when we brought them home for sharing. Although the staff
advised us to finish off the coconut mooncakes and biscuits within 2 weeks, both
our families finished their share each within a week. Yummy!
 |
| Front entrance of shop |
 |
| Visible Road signage |
Location:
4.0/5.0
Value
for money: 4.5/5.0
Comfort/Ambience:
3.8/5.0
Staff
Service: 4.5/5.0
Cleanliness:
3.8/5.0
Unfortunately upon
returning to our car we noticed that it had been clamped as we had not parked
within the designated yellow parking lot. Bummer. We had been circling the area
which was experiencing a heavy traffic flow and were getting pretty hungry and
worried about the closing shops so hubby and parked the car where there was
some space available. Upon calling the number on our windscreen, the traffic
police showed up in a van within a matter of minutes and for a fee of RM50.00,
unclamped our car.
Straits Quay
Marina Mall (Part 1)
After all that
shopping and rushing and the ending surprise, we decided to head over to the
Straits Quay Marina Mall to relax in the hot afternoon. From online searches I
found that they had a weekend arts & crafts market there as well, and that
very weekend they were having a Pokemon Go event and children’s mooncake making
workshop.
 |
| View of the bay from the mall |
Traffic and
parking was easy, but sad to say the mall was pretty quiet throughout our time
there. The weekend market was indoors and quite a number of jewellery works
caught my eye, but thankfully not my purse. Walking around, we spotted a coffee
specialty café and decided to head on in.
 |
| Coffee Accessories on display at entrance of shop |
 |
| Menu |
The shop displayed
various coffee bags and utensils to create a very cozy coffee shop atmosphere.
The staffs were helpful and knowledgeable about their coffee beans and brewing
method. I ordered a pot of apple tea (with chia seeds) and a slice of their
Pecan Butterscotch crepe. Hubby had 2 servings of pour over coffee using different
bean varieties, as he was pretty pleased with its taste.
 |
| Apple Tea + Chia Seeds |
 |
| Pecan Butterscotch Crepe |
We relaxed there
for over 45 minutes, which gave me ample time to catch quite a number of
pokemons with the 2 Pokestops nearby, before walking around to check out the
nearby grocer.
Ambience:
3.8/5.0
Price:
3.5/5.0
Coffee:
3.9/5.0
Staff
Service: 3.8/5.0
Straits Quay
Marina Mall (Part 2)
After our coffee
break though there wasn’t much to see/ do left in the area. The nearby grocery
was well stocked, but pretty much everything is similar to what we have in KL
as well. The mooncake workshop for kids was just starting up and we were
approached by a few secondary students selling their handmade piggy mooncakes
for charity at RM10.00 each. After taking 1 box, we decided it was time to take
a slow drive back home.
Overall
Mall Review: 3.0/5.0
Traffic was really
smooth that day when we left Penang around 3.00p.m. using the old bridge to
cross back to the mainland. We took a leisurely drive and managed to reach home
that night by 8.20p.m. for dinner. From the amount of tourists and traffic
congestion entering town and present in town these 2 days, it would seem that
we weren’t the only ones who intended to enjoy this long weekend holiday out of
town.
 |
| Smooth traffic on the Old Penang bridge |
All in all it was
quite the experience for me as it was honestly my first time taking a road trip
to Penang. Although we missed out on the local hawker foods and it was kind of
rushed, it was a fun babymoon side-trip and I am thankful hubby went to such
lengths to give me such an experience whilst trying to ensure my comfort during
this stage of my pregnancy.
 |
| Our goodies from this trip. Yummy! |
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