Penang Makan Makan: Day 2

This is part 2 of my foodie trip report to Penang, Malaysia. Part 1 can be found here.

The next day is a Sunday. We woke up early to go into Georgetown for dim sum breakfast. Dim sum, called 点心 in Chinese, is a style of Cantonese food prepared to small, bite sized portion and typically served in small plates or steamer baskets.

The dim sum restaurant we went to is called Prosperous Dim Sum restaurant (福星茶楼), located along the right hand side of Lorong Abu Siti. It is a one way street, so it's very difficult to miss the restaurant. There are ample car parks along the road and around the area, so parking is also not a problem.

Location of Prosperous Dim Sum restaurant along Lorong Abu Siti

We reached the place at around 9am, and it's already packed with people standing around waiting empty tables (Note: the above photo was taken on Monday morning. yes, it's so good that we went back for round 2 the next day). Nevertheless, we managed to find a table big enough for 11 people. Normally, for a dim sum eatery, if you're not there early, most of the popular dishes will have already run out, but thankfully, this doesn't seem to be the case here. At 9am, there are still plenty of food to choose from, and more are coming out from the kitchen.

The first round of orders

The second round of order

Juicy char siew bao with generous fillings

We ended up spending RM 273 for 11 people, which works out to less than RM25 (or around S$10) per person, and more importantly leaving fully satisfied.

After brunch, we head up to Kek Lok Si Temple for sightseeing and offer prayers to Guan Yin (观音, Goddess of Mercy).

The temple complex itself is built on a hill side and is huge, so there are a couple of ways to reach the giant statue of Guan Yin. Most visitors will arrive at the bottom of the hill and can slowly walk up the different levels to a tram station where an inclined tram will take them right to the top. Alternatively, one can drive right up to where the giant statue is, which is what we did.

If you're driving, take the second entrance (the first one is the one immediately after the sharp turn on the road in the map above) and drive all the way in. There is only one way to where the giant statue is, so it's next to impossible to get lost.

View of Georgetown from the temple

Giant statue of Guan Yin

After visiting the temple, we went to find a cafe in Georgetown and just cool off in the blistering heat. Our objective is to find a place where all 11 of us can sit down comfortably, a very hard task since it's a Sunday, and both locals and tourists will be out in full force.

Finally, we found a quite cafe along Jalan Muntri called Passion Hearts. The owner of the cafe did very minimal renovations to the place, so it still retains the ambience of a early 1900s shophouse in Malaysia.

The interior of the shophouse still retains the original style

All the desserts in this cafe is homemade, and taste rightly so.

We spent almost 2 hours relaxing at the cafe before heading to our next food destination. The night market at Lorong Baru (New Lane in English).

Every evening - well, not all, since the market is closed for a day a week, problem is, I forgot which weekday it is, but the odds are still 6/7 days which are open - the end of the road nearer to Jalan Macalister are lined with street hawkers selling many yummy Penang street food ranging from grilled/fried chicken to noodles and satay (chicken skewers).

When driving, enter from Jalan Dato Keramat as entering from Jalan Macalister will be impossible. If you're lucky, one of the few parallel parking lots along Lorong Baru will be empty, otherwise, just park at the big open air carpark opposite Sunway Hotel which costs RM2 per entry.

View of the stalls just about to start the night's business

Loh Bak

Prawn noodles

Chicken and pork satay

So make sure to bring your appetite. And better to come in big group so that you can order more and taste a little of everything.

Coming up next: Day 3. Cheap and good traditional massage, and more Penang cafes.