When we were leaving Taiping, Lukasz, the Polish chef in Malay restaurant who’ve we met through CS told us as goodbye “don’t expect Penang food to be the best, the best food in Malaysia is in here, Taiping”. So we had little hope for the Georgetown eateries to amaze us with their chefs’s craft. We only wanted to rest for a few days in a decent guesthouse room while waiting for our train to KL. Somewhere on the road we got fever and we felt like backpacks are killing us slowly, with great efficiency. No time for saving money or speeding up the trip. 3 days of sleeping, watching DVD in the lounge (Spirited Away in the monsoonish rainy day, magic) and reading. And 3 days of world famous food. Penang island is mentioned as one of 10 things to do before you die by NY Times and recommended by many others with Lonely Planet as the lead.
I could spend time complaining over the fast-foodish, pathetic joke of a meal we get each time in Georgetown, I could find many invectives for the rude waiters and dirty, smelly glasses. Finally I could go on and on over the ridiculously high prices. I will pass. Just save your time and money for a better place. The lovely architecture of colonial town is worth an afternoon or evening walk, if you have no other choice while waiting for your train in the depressingly ugly train station in Butterworth.
But it’s for sure not the best food Malaysia has to offer. I know that. As Malaysia offered us loads of delicious meals – in Taiping, KL and last but not least in Aseania on Pulau Besar.
