Penang – Street Art, Food and Jetties

Walking around the old historic part of Georgetown, Penang, you see street art everywhere. The history of the town and, the art that captures it has earned a UNESCO Heritage designation. 

A street mural of playful cats curiously watching tourists
Cam pats a cat in Georgetown
Young children getting a helping start – the bike is real and fused into the wall with the characters painted to bring the whole image to life.
There are many wrought iron works of art that depict Penang’s history. Here, the rickshaw is shown.
Meg holds onto the young driver as she gets a lift on a scooter in Georgetown

The Clan Jetties – a glimpse of history, but now touristy today

In addition to the street art, there are “Clan Jetties”. These five jetties were where people from Chinese clans would go upon arrival to Georgetown from China. The original occupants were unable to buy land for a home, so they built houses on stilts and fished from there. As they acquired boats, they tied their boats up at their houses and would start and end their day there. 

The view from one Clan Jetty to another. There are five in total.
Today, the Clan Jetties are mostly an overhyped tourist trap, although people still live here.
The jetty looking in towards town from the ocean
There are even murals around the Clan Jetties

Street Food in Penang – simply delicious.

Street markets abound in S.E. Asia and Penang is rumoured to be the street food capital of Malaysia. Different markets cater to different clients. The CoCo Island Hawker Stall, catered to tourists. There are a number of large hotel chains within walking distance such as the Marriott, Evergreen, Ascott, etc. The lighting, ambiance and environs were a bit nicer than some of the other markets. Of course, the prices were a bit higher. Unfortunately, some of the food was disappointing compared to more “local” stalls.

Our favourite was the New World market, which had almost the same food types CoCo Island had. At New World, prices were lower and quality was better.

The tropical lights of CoCo Island food market
Char Kuay Teow. This is Malaysia’s version of Pad Thai and is made of fried rice noodles, shrimps, Chinese sausage, bean sprouts, chives, and egg. Irresistible!
Nasi Champur – a traditional Indonesian dish. It’s made with white rice and small dishes, all lumped onto one plate. You choose your meat, vegetables, peanuts, eggs, etc.

This post was really about the art, historical clan jetties and food. I know some of the pictures have been on Instagram, however I do know some folks do not have Instagram.

Thanks for reading. Feel free to leave any comments or suggestions.

Cam and Meg