the journey has begun: Cuti-Cuti Malaysia: Penang (2-4 April 2010)

To commamorate their 30th Anniversary, my parents decided to bring us kids for a holiday. As the decision was made 2 weeks before the event, my sister in Malang, Indonesia could not join us. She needs at least 3 weeks notice for her to apply to the Indonesian Immigration Department.

We began our journey on Friday morning. Our first stop for breakfast was Yik Mun, Tanjung Malim. We had some of its famous pau and roti kahwin. Roti kahwin was marvelous! It melts in your mouth.. ooohhh... yummy... My brother tried the king prawn mee.. The sauce and prawn was perfect but maybe it was not hot enough so the Yee Mee was a bit hard..

We were supposed to have our lunch at Line Clear in Penang but we decided to go up north to Sungai Dua first to try the famous Mee Udang..

To feel like a tourist, we have to act like a tourist. So, we decided to take the ferry to Penang. My sister in law, Salina, Adam and me are all Penang Ferry virgin :) So we were so excited about the ferry ride. I did not expect the ferry to be so fast. I started to change Adam's diaper when we had just parked the car in the ferry. By the time I was done, we were already half way accross the sea. So we quickly ran to the rest of the gang and joined them enjoying the cool sea breeze.. It was quite a nice experience.. I enjoyed the scenery as well..

Once we reached Penang island, we headed straight to our villa at Ferringhi Villa. I was really glad to see the villa was actually quite nice and comfortable. It was a two and a half storey bungalow that could accomodate 14 people. There were 3 queen beds in 3 rooms, 1 room in the attic with 2 single beds, 1 queen size mattress and 2 queen size sofa beds. They provided Astro with basic channels only so you can bring your own Astro card to watch your favourite channels. The bungalow is in a guarded compound where only registered cars could enter. They also have a common swimming pool with kiddie pool as well. It was situated towards the end of Ferringhi and very near to Hard Rock.

After some rest and freshen up, we went to the beach which is in walking distance though you have to cross the main road. We opted to drive to the beach and found the beach quite nice. As it was quite far from other hotels, the beach was quite empty. There was a cafe where you can enjoy your tea while watching the sunset. You can also ride a horse, parasail and other beach activities like banana boat and jet ski. Hubby tried parasailing while Adam and me had a horse ride by the beach. The rest of the family just relax at the nearby cafe while enjoying the sunset..

That night we had a buffet at Park Royal Hotel. The spread was quite good. I love all the seafood they had. The char kuey teow was not that great though. We also surprised our parents with a cake we brought all the way from KL. When I asked my mom later that night whether she was surprised, she said she has expected it already because she found the cake in the cupboard while looking for prayer matress. As we were so excited about keeping the secret, we forgot to take a picture of the cake. I managed to steal a picture from the baker's website though.

After dinner, we planned to watch the live band at Hard Rock but the queue was so long! So we just went back to our Villa and the kids played poker.

The next morning, most of us woke up quite late. Hubby and my mom bought some breakfast from Teluk Bahang. The char kuey teow was quite good.

For lunch, we went all the way to have Kari Kepala Ikan at Pen Mutiara in Batu Maung. It was quite a journey from Ferringhi. Three of my father's friends joined us for lunch so I did not take the picture of the 2 big pots of Kari Kepala Ikan that we had. The fish were very fresh and blended well with curry. The curry was cooked Malay style so it was just right to my liking.

After lunch, my father's friend was kind enough to brought us to Pulau Jerejak for a tour. We took a boat there and the resort was huge. Initially, we thought of staying there but we decided otherwise because the trip was supposed to be about being together as a family so that's why we opted to stay in a villa. The man who was responsible to turn over the resort was there so he gave us a tour of the rooms and the facilities they have.

On our way to Balik Pulau, we stopped by at one of the rest area to see Balik Pulau from the hill. It was raining Balik Pulau so the vision was not that clear. They sold some durian there and hubby and I were excited to eat it but was told that they are not the local durian. The durian season will only begin in June or July.

If you are in Balik Pulau, you should try Laksa Janggus. It was the best Malay style laksa I ever tasted. We had the laksa with ABC and they made a great combination. If you happen to go there, do try its banana fritters as well. They are marvelous! We even tapau some fritters for later.

When we reached Ferringhi, it was already around Maghrib and most of us were still. When everybody started to feel hungry, we decided to go out for Nasi Kandar. I remembered passing by Nasi Kandar Subaidah on our way to the villa on the first day. So we decided to try it. There were not many lauk there so I decided to have Nan Tandoori instead. It was good. When I ordered for lime juice, the waiter asked me whether I want small, medium or large. As I was quite thirsty, I asked for large as I thought it would be just slightly bigger glass. I was surprised to see the size of the glass. It was humongous! Hubby bet I could not finish it but I did! This reminds me hubby still owes me RM5 :)

On our way back to Villa, we stopped by at Ferringhi Night Market. It was just like any other night market just that they also sell very cheap dvd.

When we passed Hard Rock Cafe, we saw the queue was even longer than the previous day. So, no live band again.

On the final morning, we left Ferringhi at about 10.30am. We stopped by at Chowrasta to buy some pickles for firends and family. I also bought some cendol and chestnut besides Chowrasta. I never knew Adam loves cendol so I bought just enough for the adults in the van. So, I had to share the cendol with Adam and I am sure he drank more than I did. Huh. Unfair. Adam also loves the chestnut. He kept asking for more each time he has finished the one in his hand.

Our final stop was at Changkat Jering for lunch. We tried the recommended mee udang. I liked this one better than the one in Sungai Dua but my parents prefer the one in Sungai Dua. The rest of the family had mee goreng special instead and they loved it! The place was quite hot though. Maybe next time we should go later in the evening so it won't be as hot.