Thursday, August 06, 2009

Short Sojourn in Penang 4-6 Aug 2009

I came here for a meeting with our 3 3rd year students at MOX-Linde, Bayan Baru, Penang, and I still managed to have 2 lovely days here.

Upon arriving at a not so grand Berjaya Hotel at Jalan Burmah, Pulau Tikus, i had a quick rest before meeting an old friend, Ku-man who took me for a dinner at Chilli's , Gurney Plaza. It was our first ever meet since 2005. He got his Masters degree during that year and I was with a PhD degree from Imperial and we were friends since the end of 2004 when he began doing his Masters then.

Tuesday morning, from 9.00am to 12pm I was at MOX having discussions and presentations on visiting our students there. It was a pleasant meeting but I was tired nonetheless. Then I took a cab to Jalan Penang to shop for some pickles at Chowrasta Market. I thought of taking lunch too but the funny weather of hot-humid-rainy-hot-humid seemed to kill my appetite that I decided to just head back to the hotel for some afternoon siesta. That evening, I met more old friends at Queensbay Mall but the dinner was somewhere else. I was craving for Penang taste so I managed to coax Ku-man, the ever willing driver by the evening to go search for some awesome Char Koey Teow. So off we went near SunTech not far from bayan lepas and i ordered a small plate of Char Koey Teow. Definitely delicious! Thumbs up. Well, the dinner didnt stop there and our Jalan2 Cari Makan continued its journey to Restoran Hameediyah along Lebuh Campbell, off Jalan Penang for some biryani and some few dishes complementary to our taste bud. And what is biryani without raita salad eh? Though i didnt get to "down" mango lassi as it was already finished, it was still a fantastic meal. I got to taste turkey curry too for the 1st time ever. We ended our night by hanging out at Starbucks Cafe at Gurney Plaza before he sent me back to the hotel.

Thursday I checked out from the hotel and headed to Queensbay Mall by myself. It was a safe bet at it was the nearest mall to the bayan lepas airport. And I was also to meet Ubi, another blogger mate for the 1st time. For the 1st few hours, i went around the mall while tugging my lugagges around with me. Apparently that Mall didnt have the storage service. Oh well. I went to Borders just browsing the bookshelf and then i passed by a manicure spa. The prices were quite reasonable so i had some upper lips hair removal and pedicure - for the 1st time ever in my life!

Alrightie then, I am with Ubi at Coffee Bean over a nice warm Earl Grey tea and will then be heading to Bayan Lepas Airport.


6 comments:

Ku Man said...

Don't mention it.

Kuman

ManaL said...

Azman,

Thanks again, mate.

Mel Ija said...

Hi Manal..

It's been a while. I mean, to read your blog that is. Anyway, I LOVE Penang. And I do intend to go there again. I just love the food. The town. The last time I went there, which was a month ago I think, or slightly more than a month ago, I ate a LOT. Seafood by the sea, biryani claypot, nasi kandar, soup at Sup Hameed (I think that was it's name), and many more lah. I just love Penang.

ubisetela said...

Manal, do come again, can lepak at my place & hunt for REAL penang food.

ManaL said...

Ija,

Yeah we saw that Hameed resto too, and it has a few branches all over penang island itself.

The thing is i DO like towns where the sea is just along way drive...its romantic i think. But I do have preference over where i live to work and where i like to unwind for leisures. For eg, Loving penang doesnt mean i wanna work. But i am intoxicated with its ambience, so far...

ManaL said...

Ubi,

Yes Ubi, I will, inshallah. Its so cool meeting u in person!