Penang Features

Batu Ferringhi

Batu charm

With its pristine white sands, clear tropical waters and sun filled days, it is no wonder that many travellers fall in love with Penang and choose to come time and again. I am no different. Every Christmas, my family will travel north to the island, dubbed the Pearl of the Orient by locals. Come New Year, we usually head to Orchard Road in Singapore, but that's another story altogether. One of the beaches in particular - Batu Ferringhi - exudes a mystical charm that soothes my soul and revives my flagging spirits just in time for Christmas. Year after year, I cannot help but respond to the call of the beautiful waves, sand, breeze and pine trees in Batu Ferringhi.

Promotional packages

The entire area is so geared towards tourism that there are plenty of attractive promotional packages to be enjoyed - we have certainly never been at a loss for choice for our yearly excursion. Room rates in the 'posh' hotels such as the Shangri-La, Parkroyal or Golden Sands are competitive. Beach sports are usually provided free to all hotel guests, so when if you feel up to it, there's plenty of exciting activities to choose from. I have been known to indulge in a spot of para gliding along Batu Ferringhi or some sailing. When I prefer something less strenuous, the deck chairs placed all over the beach is perfect for some quiet reading and sunbathing.

Sunrise

If you wake up early enough, try to catch the sunrise along Batu Ferringhi's horizon. Although getting up at some ungodly hour to watch the sun (which shines all year round in Malaysia anyway) had not been part of my holiday schedule, a persistent sister eventually succeeded in persuading me to tag along to what turned out to be a pretty unique experience. The sun rose, silhouetting the fishermen pushing their boats out to the sea. Further away and in direct economic contrast was the site of the massive ships docked at the Butterworth port on the mainland.

Hungy?

For food lovers, large restaurants along Batu Ferringhi dishing out gourmet seafood will be hard to resist. Customers are invited to take their pick from the aquarium tanks placed outside the restaurants. A seafood dinner will cost from about US20 per person at a top class restaurant like Eden to US5 per person at a more modest establishment. For foodies who enjoy a more modest fare like myself, there are numerous hawker centres serving Fried Kueh Tiaw, Lobak and mouth-watering Assam Laksa (Penang's signature dish) at bargain prices. There is also heaps of tropical fruits like rambutan, mangoes and the ever-famous durian to quench the thirst after a satisfying meal.

Nighlife

At night, the young and old have their own diversions to pursue in Batu Ferringhi. Those who like to experience the Malaysian pasar malam (night market) can check out the more than 1000 souvenir stalls all along the Batu Ferringhi main road. A myriad of things festoon these stalls, from intricate handicrafts and hand-made jewelry to pseudo-designer goods - watches, leather bags and Nike sportswear - all going for a song. The young at heart can opt to party away at the many nightclubs and discotheques decorated with garish neon lights. Some of the more popular nightspots like Modesto and alfrenso cafes such as Coffee Bean and Baskin Robbins have moved to the Pulau Tikus, about ten minutes car ride from Batu Ferringhi. The rustic charm of Batu Ferringhi, with its clean beaches and sea, friendly hotel staff and traders, makes this a memorable holiday destination. You will look forward to another memorable Christmas on the island of Penang...

The Great Tradition

Drinking Tea

Ask a visitor to multi-cultural Penang what that single, quaint, most irrefutable thing is which sums up the essence of the city and its people, and you may hear some prattle about heritage buildings or colourful festivals. Perhaps even about trishaws. Or those corny t-shirts. But to really know of Rome, you must ask the Romans themselves. So were you to try your luck with a local 'kaki' - the true-blue native who hangs around the city - you may just be fortunate enough to hear, in hushed tones, the shrouded, much-coveted answer. Drinking tea.

Teh Tarek

The tea break is to Penangites what rice is to Asia. Whether under the blazing sun or in a monsoon flood, indoors or outdoors, morning, noon or night, Penangites need - and yearn - for their tea-breaks. It is the staple. The teh tarek is a simple Malaysian speciality and, literally translated from Malay, means "pulled tea". The hot drink is so called due to the effect of watching it poured from one cup to another across a full arm's length - without a single drop being spilled. Visitors often look on in amazement as vendors perform their routine acrobatic tea 'pulling'; but the real delight is in seeing the final splatter and the rich layer of fresh warm froth crowning the glass of tea.

Indian, Chinese, English

Have your tea boiled with grated ginger and you have the popular teh halia - sweet, compacted tea packed with the tangy floating taste of ginger. Or have lime squeezed into a mixture of concentrated tea and hot water, sugar added, and the whole concoction stirred vigorously with rhythmic clinking, and you have a teh limau. Served hot, it packs a fine punch against any cold or sore throat. And there are others such as the Indian masala tea simmered with spices and cardamoms, various Chinese herbal tea, cinamon tea, and, of course, the ubiquitous Earl Grey or plain Lipton.

Down to business

But however great the variety, the true charm of tea breaks here is in simply 'doing it' ¨C hanging out, relaxing, gossiping over a cup, or just sipping away while watching the world pass by. It's done at every corner of the city; at the roadside, on the five-foot way, in the terrace shophouses, the modern cafes and hotel lounges. Salesfellows, brokers, labourers, technopreneurs all partake and things happen - business deals are closed, properties sold and marketing strategies made. Even the unwitting tourist is drawn into it. The Tho Yuen restaurant on Campbell Street gives a typical picture of folks getting together. Every morning, throngs of people sit around marble-top tables sipping Chinese tea served steaming hot in ceramic pots.

Mother Komtar

But back to tea. The mother of tea of all has to be the teh Komtar, a jumbo size glass named after Penang's famous 65-storey building. The skyscraper, built during the mid-eighties in the historic inner city may stick out like a sore thumb; a concrete monolith towering above a sea of modest red clay-tiled roofs. But Komtar can at least be credited for giving rise to a super-value drink unique only to Penang. At only 80 sen (21 cents US) a glass, the teh Komtar has become a veritable emblem, the unspoken pride of a city's tradition. A tradition steeped in the simple, Asian pleasure of drinking tea.

Good to Be Hungry

Food and Beaches

There are two things Penang is best known for. To put it simply - it's food and its beaches. Located just off the western coast of peninsular Malaysia, this island of 1.2 million was once the premier tourist destination in Malaysia. Its glory days have somewhat faded but the island still draws in the visitors, including the faithful who return year after year - adopted 'Penang-ites' if you wish. Penang's northern coast is where one finds its beaches but let's be frank ¨C sun and sand lovers looking for that wonderful tropical beach holiday (you know the scene; the golden sand, sparkling blue waters and bikini clad beauties) would probably be more satisfied with the likes of neighbouring Langkawi or Thailand's Phuket and Samui.

Variety makes the spice of life

But the local food scene on Penang - affectionately labelled the Pearl of the Orient - is hard to beat. The island's population comprises a varied mix of ethnicities, from Malays and Chinese to Indians and Eurasians. It is this cultural diversity which is one of the primary ingredients in the island's food scene, the different flavours and recipes reflecting the racial mix of Penang-ites.

And dish for this evening is the........

Don't arrive on Penang looking for the nearest fine dining restaurant - on this island the fine dining is found on the streets. Hawker stalls are where the real food is served and where the choice of dishes is¡­ well, it's a big choice. Chinese dim sums, mee goreng (Indian fried noodles), tua pui mee (fatty noodles), chicken rice, roti, laksa (noodles in sour fish soup), fish head soup, curries, duck mee sua (thin rice noodles with duck) and rojak (mixed vegetable and fruit salad in shrimp paste)¡­ the list goes on. And eating at hawker stalls doesn't cost a dime and a leg. The meals are cheap (usually a couple of ringgit per dish), the open air atmosphere is noisy, bustling and real. You buy your food, you find a table and you sit and eat, as Penang bustles by around you.

Gastronomic hotspots

Anyone embarking on a hawker food mission will need to know where the hotspots are. Gurney Drive is as good a place as any to indulge in some fine hawker cuisine. The stalls on this beachside road serve up a choice of dishes, including rojak, laksa and chee cheong fun (flat rice rolls in shrimp paste). In Penang's commercial centre of Georgetown, the Esplanade is where to eat nasi padang, nasi lemak and other Malay, Chinese and Indian dishes. Mandarin Cafe food centre, opposite the main Penang University, is the place for mee goreng and tua pui mee. Eating is virtually an around the clock pastime on Penang. No such thing as a dinner curfew. Hawker stalls are typically open well into the early hours of the morning - perfect for those midnight munchies or after party cravings for noodles, rice or soup.