I touched down in Penang feeling as excited as a durian at a fruit buffet. My first stop was New World Center food court, a mekka for all things laksa. I went straight for the laksa asam and laksa Nyonya—two cousins of the same family but with very different personalities. The asam laksa punched me awake with its tangy tamarind bro as if saying, “Wake up, sleepyhead,” while the Nyonya laksa wrapped me in a warm hug of coconut milk and spices. Both sedap, really 好吃, and enough to convince me that breakfast can, in fact, be life-changing.
After all that soupy goodness I needed something crunchy to clear my palate. Enter pasembur, Penang’s pride and joy of shredded veggies, seafood, and tofu dunked in a sweet-spicy peanut sauce. I swear the pasembur vendor could see my eyes light up the moment he drizzled that sauce. It was like fireworks in my mouth—nobody tells you that vegetables can throw a party like this lah.
Fuelled by carbs and sauce, I wandered to China House, a café that’s part art gallery, part dessert wonderland. Their coffee and cakes were both champions—one sip of the kopi O felt like a gentle slap that said, “You’re in Penang now, my friend.” The cakes were fluffy enough to float me into a sugar dream state. A few doors down, I found Reggae Café, with reggae beats floating through the air and lattes that could make your taste buds sway. The vibe was so chill I half expected a Rastafarian cat to stroll by and join the jam session.
No Penang trip is complete without heritage street art. I ambled through Armenian Street, snapping photos of murals that transformed crumbling walls into epic tales. There was the “Kids on Bicycle” mural that made me nostalgic for my childhood and another of a little girl fishing off a windowsill that looked so real I almost told her, “Catch me some ikan bilis, okay?”
When the sun dipped low I checked into Le Embassy Hotel. Its central location meant I could practically stumble from the hotel lobby straight into a hawker stall. The room was clean, the bed was fluffy enough to deserve its own Instagram account, and the air-conditioning was a sweet relief from Penang’s humidity. All in all, Le Embassy felt like home—just with better room service and a guarantee that my morning laksa run would never be more than a 10-minute walk away.
Penang, thank you for the laksa, the pasembur, the caffeine highs, and the street art surprises. Until next time, I’ll be dreaming of that tangy broth and planning my return—because once you’ve tasted Penang, your taste buds never quite forget.
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