Visiting Kek Lok Si

December 3, 2019 by Leave a Comment

For the last of my recaps of my trip to Penang in October, I am going to take you along with me on visiting Kek Lok Si. Besides checking out a Peranakan Mansion (such as staying at the Blue Mansion or visiting Pinang Peranankan Mansion musuem) and checking out the George Town street art and Penang’s wide variety of food, I would recommend visiting Kek Lok Si Pagoda as one of the best things you can do while in Penang. What makes it unique is that among its millions of Buddhas it shows the blending of cultures that is so representative of Malaysia by including many stylistic representations of Buddha.
Visiting Kek Lok Si: What makes it unique is that among its millions of Buddhas it shows the blending of cultures that is so representative of Malaysia by including many stylistic representations of Buddha. Visiting Kek Lok Si: What makes it unique is that among its millions of Buddhas it shows the blending of cultures that is so representative of Malaysia by including many stylistic representations of Buddha. Visiting Kek Lok Si: What makes it unique is that among its millions of Buddhas it shows the blending of cultures that is so representative of Malaysia by including many stylistic representations of Buddha. Visiting Kek Lok Si: What makes it unique is that among its millions of Buddhas it shows the blending of cultures that is so representative of Malaysia by including many stylistic representations of Buddha.

Kek Lok Si is the largest Buddhist temple in Malaysia, and located on Penang Island about a 30 minute by car from George Town, to the west of the city in the hills. If you visit Komtar, Penang’s tallest building, for a view, you will definitely see it from the viewing deck. In the town Air Itam at the foot of the hills you’ll find lots of great street food and restaurants, so you can easily and happily make this a half day trip. Kek Lok Si itself is probably worth maybe 2 hours of visiting. Since you are already on this side, you may consider combining this trip with visiting Penang Hill.

The main attraction here is the Kek Lok Si pagoda, located at the center and which you have to pay a small and at the centre of the complex. The first photo you see below is not it – that’s just at the entrance. The second photo, with me in it – that’s the Kek Lok Si pagoda behind me with the gold Burmese crown at the top! The Buddha you see in the background of the photo in the left is housed with a green roof that you see directly behind me in the right photo.
Visiting Kek Lok Si: What makes it unique is that among its millions of Buddhas it shows the blending of cultures that is so representative of Malaysia by including many stylistic representations of Buddha. Visiting Kek Lok Si: What makes it unique is that among its millions of Buddhas it shows the blending of cultures that is so representative of Malaysia by including many stylistic representations of Buddha. Visiting Kek Lok Si: What makes it unique is that among its millions of Buddhas it shows the blending of cultures that is so representative of Malaysia by including many stylistic representations of Buddha.

Before you get to the pagoda, you will first pass through a couple garden courtyards and temple buildings – this part is free. You will not need to pay an entrance fee except to get to the area with the pagoda, and to take the tram to the Kuan Yin statue. This initial area on the way up has some very colorful and detailed wall carvings as part of a circular doorway, and the courtyard itself is lined with identical Buddha statues that make for interesting framing photo ops.
Visiting Kek Lok Si: What makes it unique is that among its millions of Buddhas it shows the blending of cultures that is so representative of Malaysia by including many stylistic representations of Buddha. Visiting Kek Lok Si: What makes it unique is that among its millions of Buddhas it shows the blending of cultures that is so representative of Malaysia by including many stylistic representations of Buddha. Visiting Kek Lok Si: What makes it unique is that among its millions of Buddhas it shows the blending of cultures that is so representative of Malaysia by including many stylistic representations of Buddha. Visiting Kek Lok Si: What makes it unique is that among its millions of Buddhas it shows the blending of cultures that is so representative of Malaysia by including many stylistic representations of Buddha. Visiting Kek Lok Si: What makes it unique is that among its millions of Buddhas it shows the blending of cultures that is so representative of Malaysia by including many stylistic representations of Buddha. Visiting Kek Lok Si: What makes it unique is that among its millions of Buddhas it shows the blending of cultures that is so representative of Malaysia by including many stylistic representations of Buddha.

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Food Highlights of Penang

November 26, 2019 by Leave a Comment

Next in my recap series from my trip to Penang in October, after sharing my stay at the Blue Mansion and details of my #1 must do recommendation of visiting the street art of George Town, it is time to talk food! During my visit I had a super long eating wish list, and was successful in eating some of it – means an excuse to return right to finish crossing everything off? Here are my food highlights of Penang for you to consider for your list when you visit.
Food Highlights of Penang: Satay - individually ordered sticks of prawn, beef, lamb, lamb black pepper, calamari, and chicken tandoori Food Highlights of Penang: Satay - individually ordered sticks of prawn, beef, lamb, lamb black pepper, calamari, and chicken tandoori
Satay – individually ordered sticks of prawn, beef, lamb, lamb black pepper, calamari, and chicken tandoori at a Satay Specialty shop

In Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur may be the national capital, but Penang is its food capital. Lonely Planet ranked Penang as the #1 Best Food Destination in 2014, CNN Travel named Penang as one of the 23 best food cities in the world last year, and The Culture Trip named Penang one of the best 15 cities in the world for food in 2016.

Street food is such a source of price that the tourism board offers Street Food maps with a list and description of an array of popular street food dishes, along with a handful of recommendations of where to get it, on a free street food map. There are also plenty of blogs by locals with their own lists of where are the top places to get a certain dish.

I divided the foods of my Penang food highlights into two main areas: one is street foods of Penang, which you can usually find at hawker centers or evening markets like Chulia Street, New Lane, Gurney Drive, Batu Lanchang, Air Itam, etc. In this case my intent is to help you recognize some of the food you may see. The other grouping is Peranakan food, which you will have to intentionally search to find where it is offered as it is not as common as the street food offerings.

You might also find some amusement in the WonderFood Museum. It’s mostly lots of plastic fake food, but I was impressed with the first floor in showing some special preparations of a various ethnic cuisines that contribute to Malaysia’s food culture in dioramas along with example visuals of dishes with a legend (like seen below). They also offered an overview of the vast many kind of dishes in Malaysia, even some suggestions on where to go to eat the local dish, and of course, so many silly photo ops. If you’re caught in a rainstorm like I was or just want a break from the sun I recommend an hour here.
Food Highlights of Penang: looking at different Malay flavors and food at a display at the Wonderfood Museum Food Highlights of Penang: food at a display at the Wonderfood Museum Food Highlights of Penang: food at a display at the Wonderfood Museum

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Tips on visiting George Town Street Art

November 19, 2019 by Leave a Comment

Before I get to my travel recap of my food during my Malaysia trip, I like to balance eating with activities that generally require a lot of walking. In Penang, my stay at the Blue Mansion Hotel that I just recapped put me very conveniently close to walking to all the trendy areas of George Town. It usually took me less then 10 minutes. So both days I did a lot of searching for and visiting street art. There is so much art in George Town in so many places, some listed some not, that made the art walk both like a quest but also that of surprise finds. I want to share my tips on visiting George Town street art and in general for visiting George Town.
Tips on visiting George Town Tips on visiting George Town
Views of George Town from Komtar Tower, The Top Penang, with a 360 view and Rainbow Skywalk and its see through floor

When it comes to visiting Penang, I highly recommend walking around George Town to look at street art as one of the most unique things you can do and one of the top 3 must dos. The street art are mostly murals and span so many different art styles and many show slices of life here to reflect the blending of peoples and cultures that is representative of history or current times here.
Tips on visiting George Town Street Art: The Indian Boatman painted by Russian famous street artist Julia Volchkova Tips on visiting George Town Street Art: Georgetown wall art Wo Ai Nee Chinese Malay Indian, or the Cultural Girls Georgetown wall painting is a tiny wall mural in Penang Armenian Street from 2013. The mural portrays three girls of three different races living in harmony in Georgetown: A Chinese, a Malay, and an Indian. and Wo Ai Nee Chinese Malay Indian, literally means ‘I love you Chinese, Malay and Indian‘ Tips on visiting George Town Street Art: The Traditional Rickshaw Vendor mural is also called Old Penang Roti Seller. It is one of the newest Penang murals and it stands in an alley off of the Armenian street. Tips on visiting George Town Street Art: Folklore by the Sea was painted on a wooden house at Chew Jetty in Weld Quay, Penang, to tell stories of life during the early days at the clan jetties
The Indian Boatman painted by Russian street artist Julia Volchkova / Wo Ai Nee Chinese Malay Indian / The Traditional Rickshaw Vendor mural off of Armenian Street / Folklore by the Sea located at Chew Jetty

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Staying at the Cheong Fatt Tze Blue Mansion in Penang

November 12, 2019 by Leave a Comment

In mid-October, I went on a work trip to Penang. Since it was my first time to Malaysia, and to help make the time change difference a little gentler, I chose to arrive so that I would have the weekend both to adjust and to see Penang on my own time. As soon as I started doing initial research, one place stood out to me as my dream of where I wanted to stay one day – and then I realized, the one day could be today! Here’s my experience in staying at the Cheong Fatt Tze Blue Mansion in Penang.
Staying at the Cheong Fatt Tze Blue Mansion in Penang Staying at the Cheong Fatt Tze Blue Mansion in Penang Staying at the Cheong Fatt Tze Blue Mansion in Penang Staying at the Cheong Fatt Tze Blue Mansion in Penang Staying at the Cheong Fatt Tze Blue Mansion in Penang

If you have read my blog before, you know that I am in love with the style of Peranakan style shophouses and homes, which I first discovered on my trip to Singapore earlier this summer. The culmination of that was attending a really in-depth tour of the Baba House where I got to hear the stories of what it was like to live in that house for its original residents, from secret places to see and hear conversations (especially given the division of women to be hidden in the house and never past the reception room), the meaning behind the open atriums, symbolism in the decorative motifs, to compartments in the bed to hide your jewelry while you slept so no one could steal it without literally getting past you.

This mansion has its own stories as well. The Blue Mansion was one of many homes of Cheong Fatt Tze (1840-1916), who was also called “the Rockefeller of the East”. This was also the home of his favorite wife, the 7th wife (the only wife named in his will) – though to be fair other wives besides her resided there. He was 70 at the time – she was 17. Supposedly it was the only time of the eight times he married that he married for love. She bore him his last (and eighth) son 4 years later. You can see what they each looked like below. You can also see the first time I caught a glimpse of the “Blue Mansion house cat” who made an appearance during the tour and a few times later during my stay. Meow.
Staying at the Cheong Fatt Tze Blue Mansion in Penang Staying at the Cheong Fatt Tze Blue Mansion in Penang

Staying at the Cheong Fatt Tze Blue Mansion in Penang was the natural next step after touring and hearing the history of Peranakan museums. This would be the opportunity, if even for a couple nights, pretend to live and not just visit for a few hours in the details of the home, from the individually laid pieces of tiles of the floor from England, art nouveau stained glass windows, to the indigo-based limewash exterior with porcelain  pieces broken and cut into roof folk art.
Staying at the Cheong Fatt Tze Blue Mansion in Penang Staying at the Cheong Fatt Tze Blue Mansion in Penang Staying at the Cheong Fatt Tze Blue Mansion in Penang Staying at the Cheong Fatt Tze Blue Mansion in Penang Staying at the Cheong Fatt Tze Blue Mansion in Penang Staying at the Cheong Fatt Tze Blue Mansion in Penang Staying at the Cheong Fatt Tze Blue Mansion in Penang Staying at the Cheong Fatt Tze Blue Mansion in Penang

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Cully Central Beer Bar with Lao Food in PDX

November 1, 2019 by Leave a Comment

It’s been a little over a year now that Cully Central opened with its unique premise of a beer bar with Lao Food. Nothing fancy – there aren’t even real plates and silverware. But I’ve always adored Nam Khao, a fried rice dish that combines the flavors of fried rice with extra crispy portions of rice balls, all wrapped up in a lettuce like a taco you make yourself. You’ll find Nam Khao is the famous dish of the menu here.
Cully Central Beer Bar with Lao Food, such as Nam Khao, a crispy rice salad Cully Central Beer Bar with Lao Food, such as Nam Khao, a crispy rice salad

My secret though is that although I so like the Nam Khao, I like the housemade Lao sausages with sticky rice the most on the menu. The sausage is a pork sausage seasoned with herbs and spices then grilled and served with a Lao tomato sauce. This is the perfect food for beer my friends. I can eat multiple plates of these… and still want to take another order home for breakfast the next day too. Look at how moist and spiced these are once you cut inside.They serve the marinated grilled beef brisket with the same rice and tomato sauce accompaniments, but these sausage just fit that beer so much more perfectly. GET THESE.
Cully Central Beer Bar with Lao Food, such as Lao sausage with sticky rice Cully Central Beer Bar with Lao Food, such as Lao sausage with sticky rice

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