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Penang is considered the food capital of Malaysia and has a diverse palate, influenced by Thai, Indian, Chinese and Malay cultures. One of the best ways to get to know a country is through its food - and Penang is the perfect place to get an introduction to Malaysia.
You might ask, what was the highlight of your Southeast Asia cruise? That would be a hard question to answer, as there were so many highlights, including our visit to Penang, Malaysia.
Our ship arrived at 3 PM, which meant we would be able to spend the afternoon and evening ashore exploring this picturesque destination with its delectable cuisine. As one of the moderators for the weekly Twitter chat, #FoodTravelChat, the thought of devoting an entire excursion to food travel, made excursion selection quite easy. If you haven't guessed by now, we selected Princess Cruises Taste of Penang shore excursion.
Penang Cocoa Boutique
After a short motorcoach ride, we arrived at the Chocolate Boutique. One of the staff members greeted our group and gave us a brief introduction into chocolate production. From there, we browsed the various rooms - each with a different theme, such as "fruits," "panned chocolate" and "Malaysian Collection". There were over 300 product varieties of different types of chocolate which we could sample. The choices included specialty products made with fresh Malaysian fruits, as well as unusual items, such as chocolate potato chips and chilies. The boutique also sells a range of coffee products, including an aromatic espresso coffee made with roasted beans covered in chocolate. Our favorites included the various Mango and Strawberry selections, so we purchased several items to bring back home.
Note: They accepted U.S. dollars and gave us change in Malaysian ringgits (which was exactly what we wanted - so we would have local currency for the food market).
Just a short walk away from the Chocolate Boutique was the opportunity to sample Penang's White Coffee at the Coffee Tree. We were amazed at all of the different varieties of coffee available from banana, hazelnut, tiramisu and even durian. Our favorite was the Coconut White Coffee, so we purchased a bag to take home along with Strawberry Tea. Once again we paid in U.S. dollars so that we could get more Malaysian currency (RM) for our final stop.
Penang Hawker Food
We saved some of our appetite and ringgits for the next stop, the Penang foodie's corner, where we could purchase and enjoy a variety of Penang's local foods. Street food is very popular in Penang, and watching it being made in front of your eyes is almost as much fun as eating it! You'll find a wide variety of flavors here, so be prepared to sample something new in addition to your favorites.
There are different sections to the hawker tents. The first section featured Muslim recipes. There were so many choices, we spent the first twenty minutes or so just walking through all of the area taking some pictures and trying to decide what to try. Prices are very reasonable. The two of us ate for 20 RM or so which, at the current exchange rate was about $6. The food was very tasty and filling. We could have spent hours there sampling all the food, but we only had a couple hours.
When we were done eating, we headed back towards our meeting point. We still had about 30 minutes before our bus was going to leave for our return to the ship, so we decided to walk down the street to the mall. We wouldn't have much time to explore, but we could at least stop at the restroom and take a quick look around. On our way there, we met our tour guide, so he knew we were heading over to the mall.
There were several tables setup in the main walkway with gorgeous orchids and other gifts for the approaching Chinese New Year. We took a few pictures and then went to the restroom, which had both Asian style and American style facilities. Our motorcoach departed for the ship shortly after we got onboard. We drove through the streets of Penang and were back at the ship around 7:30 PM.
What a great excursion, especially for a foodie. We highly recommend trying some local cuisine while in Penang. This tour was a great way to experience Malaysia the way locals do.
Related Album:
Chocolate Boutique
Coffee Tree
Penang Hawkers
Plaza Gurney
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