MALAYSIA
PENINSULAR MALAYSIA – WEST COAST •• Pulau Penang lonelyplanet.comMalay & Nonya
Lg Baru, just off Jln Macalister, has a row
of food stalls whipping up satay; however,
things don’t start sizzling until nightfall.
New World Park (102 Jln Burma; meals RM3-6
hlunch & dinner) Laughing families and friends
all line up for curry mee (noodles in a curry-
like soup), fishball soup and other speciali-
ties, served under indisputably clean and
safe conditions.
Esplanade Food Centre (Jln Tun Syed Sheh Barakbah;
meals RM3-6; hdinner) A great hawker centre for
delightful sea breezes and Malay stalls serving
laksa asam, rojak and radioactive-coloured
bowls of ABC and cendol. The restaurant-like
Chinese section features seafood and icy-cold
cheap beer.
Hot Wok (%227 3368; 124 Jln Burma; mains from
RM9; hlunch & dinner Wed-Mon) Located in a
grand Nonya mansion, this restaurant feels
slightly upscale but is pretty reasonably
priced. Try the otak-otak (fish wrapped
in banana leaves) and sambal sotong
(chilli squid).Indian
Little India is replete with cheap eating places,
especially along Lebuh Pasar and Lebuh
Penang, serving up curries, roti, tandoori
and biryani.
Restoran Kapitan (%264 1191; 93 Lebuh Chulia;
mains from RM3; hbreakfast, lunch & dinner) A very
busy restaurant that specialises in tandoori
chicken and biryani, along with fish and
mutton curries. It does an excellent masala
tea, too.
Madras New Woodlands Restaurant (% 263
9764; 60 Lebuh Penang; mains from RM3; hbreakfast,
lunch & dinner) One of the best bets for veg-
etarians offers tasty banana-leaf meals and
North Indian specialities, including lots of
traditional sweets.
Khaleel Restaurant (%885 1469; 48 Jln Penang; mains
from RM4; h24hr) When you’ve hit the sauce too
hard, there’s always Khaleel, a 24-hour curry
house that is consistently packed with masti-
cating, happy Tamil customers. The chow is
just as good sober as sloshed.DRINKING
Most of the backpacker hostels serve beer,
but it’s not cheap and places tend to shut
by 11pm. We found Blue Diamond to be the
exception: it seemed to close whenever the
last person passed out.Pitt Street Corner (94 Lebuh Pitt) Sit back with
a beer to the sounds of Bollywood at this
very friendly Wild West–style saloon in
Little India.
Soho Free House (50A Jln Penang) This place
starts rocking out early (’80s music anyone?)
with a mostly Chinese clientele who nosh
bangers and mash (RM14) and swill pints
like good Brits.
B@92 (92 Lebuh Gereja) Hip bar that features
some live acts and hosts a large expat and
well-to-do locals crowd.
Coco’s (%263 8003; cnr Lebuh Farquhar & Jln Penang)
This popular expat beer garden is open till
late. There are dance shows on Wednesday
and live acts other times.
Glo (%261 1066; the Garage, 2 Jln Penang) If you’ve
been longing for superclubs/meat markets
while travelling in Malaysia, here’s a taste
of what you’ve been missing. There’s ear-
splitting bass, lots of smoke, guys with slicked
back hair and ladies in little dresses.GETTING THERE & AWAY
See p461 for information about reach-
ing Pulau Penang from the mainland, and
for long- distance train and bus travel from
the mainland.Air
Airlines with services to Pulau Penang:
Air Asia (code AK; %261 5642; http://www.airasia.com)
Cathay Pacific Airways (code CX; %226 0411; www
.cathaypacific.com)
Firefly (%250 2000; http://www.fireflyz.com.my)
Malaysia Airlines (code MH; %217 6321/3/6; www
.malaysiaairlines.com)
Singapore Airlines (code SQ; %226 3201; www
.singaporeair.com)
Thai Airways International (code TG; %226 6000;
http://www.thaiairways.com)Boat
All the offices for the ferry service between
Pulau Langkawi or Belawan (Sumatra,
Indonesia) and Penang are clustered together
on Pesara King Edward, and all put you on
the same boats.
For info on ferries to Belawan, see oppo-
site. There are daily ferries from Georgetown
to Langkawi (one way/return RM60/115, 2½
hours). Boats leave at 8.30am (direct) and
8.45am (one stop at Pulau Payar), returning
from Langkawi at 2.30pm and 5.30pm. Check
the times the day before, as schedules vary.466