Penang, Malaysia travel guide and things to do: Tips from an expert expat

Explore art and eateries on George Town's Love Lane.Credit: Nicolas McComber

THE EXPAT

Cremorne, on Sydney's North Shore, was Narelle McMurtrie's last stop before she moved to Malaysia 36 years ago. She divides her time between the islands of Langkawi, where she runs BonTon resort (bontonresort.com) and an animal shelter and sanctuary (langkawilassie.org.my), and Penang, where she established the ChinaHouse cafe-gallery-bar compound (chinahouse.com.my) and has lived the past 12 years.

SEE

Lok-Lok steamboat stall at the Kimberly Street Food Market. Penang is well known for its local street food.Credit: Ermakova Elena

I never tire of Penang's exciting street scenes. The architecture of the typical Chinese shophouses, with their windows, doors and colours make it a photographer's dream. And the use of each building! I live in one of these shophouses, my neighbour is a recycling shop, another sells plastic buckets from his shophouse and the one two doors down opens its back door late at night for a tiny, secret bar…

DO

Bicycling and electric scooters have become the thing to do in the old heritage section of George Town where I live. George Town is a late-night town; when I walk back from ChinaHouse after we close at 1am, people are still out on the street enjoying food stalls, cycling and, of course, taking photos of the street art. For an out-of-George Town experience, it has to be The Habitat on Penang Hill, a beautifully presented, UNESCO-recognised rainforest experience with huge amounts spent on scientific research, thehabitat.my

EAT

Penang is well known for its local street food, and whatever you recommend, someone also has one better! But now we also have young chefs opening extremely good semi-fine dining restaurants. Au Jardin, Gen and Juju Lounge all have set menus featuring local ingredients that change at least monthly, so dining here is always a surprise (restaurant-aujardin.com, genpenang.com). For an evening catch-up with friends to enjoy a glass of wine, cheese platter and daily specials, I go to Two Frenchies (twofrenchiesrestaurant.com); it's always consistent and with good service. We also have some of the best croissants outside of Paris. Try La Vie En Rose Patisserie (instagram.com/lavieenrose.patisserie).

DRINK

I nip into tiny Archipelago for an after-work mojito made with the local bootleg liquor called Toddy. They also serve homemade tuak, another locally fermented alcoholic drink. Both these local specialities shouldn't be missed and have become very trendy the last few years, with many small homemade enterprises popping up. One of Penang's best bars, and well acknowledged with international awards, is Backdoor Bodega (backdoorbodega.com), with a changing menu of well-crafted cocktails with local ingredients. Mine's a George Town Gimlet; a gin-based sour with bunga kantan, lemongrass, galangal, daun kesum and a hint of belachan. Basically, a strong gin with laksa flavours. Yummy.

AVOID

Avoid staying on the beach area on a long weekend and thinking a trip to George Town will be easy...it'll be a traffic jam all the way. Look for a city hotel if you want to explore George Town's heritage areas, and this area is best done on foot, so bring good walking shoes.

THRIVE

Drink loads of water while exploring. Penang's tap water is perfect, so there's no need to buy expensive bottles of mineral water. And carry an umbrella – not only for the rain, but the searing midday sun.