As George Town Festival returns in August, we highlight seven spots that are local favourites.
Beyond the typical tourist checklist, these under-the-radar stops offer a window into how the historic island city lives, eats, creates and continually reinvents itself.
Every Penang neighbourhood has a market that reveals how its residents live, and Pulau Tikus Market, the only market in Penang that opens during the day and night, is among the most rewarding to explore.
Smaller and easier to navigate than Chowrasta or Cecil Street, Pulau Tikus Market serves the surrounding community rather than tour groups. Fishmongers, vegetable sellers, coffee shops and provision stores are packed into a compact grid.
The neighbourhood itself reflects the island's layered history, shaped by generations of Peranakan, Eurasian, Burmese and Thai communities whose influence still lingers in the temples, churches and restaurants nearby.
Come in the morning to watch the day's shopping unfold. Return after dark and the same streets become an open-air hawker centre where curry mee, satay and apom balik stalls replace baskets of vegetables.
Pulau Tikus Market, Jalan Pasar, Pulau Tikus, 10350 George Town
Morning market opens at 6am. Night hawker centre opens at 5pm
Long before Penang became awash with artisanal bakeries, self-taught baker Nely Koon had already built a loyal following with home-made cakes featuring Malaysian fruit.
The former corporate executive founded Nely's Passion Heart 20 years ago around seasonal local ingredients rather than imported flavours. Her durian mud pie, fresh cream durian, cempedak crumble and Russian cheesecake have inspired countless imitators, a quiet measure of just how profoundly she has shaped Penang's dessert scene.
Nely’s Passion Heart, 23, Jalan A.S. Mansoor, 10050 George Town
The name Da Shu Xia Seafood House—"under the big tree"—is a reminder of where it all began. First established beneath a sprawling rain tree opposite the Weld Quay ferry terminal, the restaurant built its reputation serving honest Cantonese dai chow to dock workers, office staff and families before relocating to larger premises.
With at least three decades in the business, the menu has grown from simple home-style cooking to more than 100 dishes, but the philosophy hasn't changed: choose live seafood, order generously for the table and eat communally. Seafood-stuffed yau char kwai, mantis shrimp and baked crab remain among the house favourites.
Da Shu Xia Weld Quay Seafood House, 177C, Lebuh Victoria, 10300 George Town
Head to neighbourhood gem Hock Lok Siew for tau sar pneah (mung bean biscuits), beh teh saw (flaky sesame pastries), gong zai peng (doll biscuits) and other traditional Chinese pastries.
Penang's heritage biscuits have become sought-after souvenirs, and this family-run bakery is one of the originals, with over 50 years of history.
Come August, ask for the fresh coconut mooncakes, made just once a year for the Mid-Autumn Festival (they rarely stay on the shelves for long). You'll also find local favourites such as pat poh peng, a herbal cordial unique to Penang, plus Chinese muruku and cooking pastes.
Hock Lok Siew Biscuit Trading, 20, Lebuh Noordin, 10300 George Town
If you enjoyed Cheung Fatt Sze Mansion, pay a visit to the lesser-known Pinang Peranakan Mansion, one of Southeast Asia's finest collections of Peranakan antiques.
Dress in traditional Baba Nyonya attire for a fun photo opp, then settle in for a Nyonya meal at Nyonya Palazzo.
Since 2021, the restaurant has partnered with the museum—where parts of the Singaporean television drama The Little Nyonya 2 were filmed—to create one of Penang's most immersive Peranakan experiences. You can even shop for edible souvenirs to take home.
Nyonya Palazzo/Pinang Peranakan Mansion, 29 Church Street, 10200 George Town
Hin Bus Depot hardly needs an introduction, as a major hub for the local arts scene for the last decade, but it’s worth highlighting for exactly that reason.
Converted from an abandoned bus depot, the 60,000 square foot site dates back to 1947, but took on a new chapter as an exhibition space in 2014, thanks to local entrepreneur Tan Shih Thoe.
Today, you could easily spend half a day here, exploring exhibitions, COEX (a former workshop reimagined for creative events), two of Malaysia's best cocktail bars and Penang's first Michelin-starred restaurant. At the weekend market, there are over 150 independent vendors.
Hin Bus Depot, 31A, Jalan Gurdwara, 10300 George Town
If Hin Bus Depot reflects Penang's creative revival, Cultprint points to where it is heading.
Founded in 2020 by Lithuanian artist Ernest Zacharevic (of street art fame) and his partner, artist and model Sheena Liam, it began as an artist-run print studio before evolving into a multidisciplinary space for exhibitions, residencies and cross-border collaborations.
Go with an open mind; here, the emphasis is as much on experimentation as exhibition, giving artists room to develop ideas rather than simply display finished work.
Visit between 1 August and 4 October, and you'll step into The Natural History Museum of Yeahnahnesia by Yok & Sheryo, an imagined museum where paintings, sculpture and installations introduce the rituals, history and endemic species of a fictional island nation.
Cultprint, 35, Lebuh Melayu, 10100 George Town
Alexandra Wong is the author of Made in Malaysia: Stories of Hometown Heroes and Hidden Gems, and a journalist with a longstanding interest in Penang's food, history and culture.
Esquire Malaysia
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