Tom On day 7 of our travels in Penang, we decided to rent a car to explore the less-trodden paths on the western side of Penang island! This morning for breakfast at Prestige Hotel Penang, we tried a few different items including the self-arranged “big breakfast”, oatmeal, char siew bao as well as ice cream!
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All of which were pretty delicious we must say. Especially the char siew bao, reminded us of dim sum from reputable Cantonese restaurants. After breakfast, we headed off to collect our car rental (161.50RM per day) from Hawk Rent A Car…
Our agent this morning was Fenando who was friendly and professional. When he handed over the car to us, he pointed out all the scratches, even those that we hadn’t seen as he was very familiar with the particular car. We headed first to Shell to top up 20RM – which turned out to be a wrong move because we eventually only used 10RM…
The 95 fuel that we pumped at Shell was 2.05RM/litre! 😲 We also topped up the cash card for 10RM but eventually only used 2RM for parking at the end of the day.
Our first stop was Balik Pulau and as we drove along the western part of Penang, it became more rural and reminded us of our self-drive holidays in Hawaii…
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Penang International Container Art Festival – Kampung Terang, Balik Pulau
Our first stop was at the Penang International Container Art Festival held in January 2020 right before COVID became an epidemic. Here, you’ll be able to see shipping containers stacked up vertically to become the “canvas” for artists. We enjoyed “The Joy of Harvest” by Jagung and Leonard Siow. If you look carefully, you can see the contrasting styles between the two artists…
The great thing about visiting this site is that next to it, you’ll be able to take beautiful pictures of the green, luscious rice fields…
The view was simply beautiful. We took in deep breaths of fresh air and enjoyed the greenery of the rice fields with the mountains as the backdrop. It felt unreal. Thank the Lord for His beautiful creations in nature!
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Kim Laksa Balik Pulau Penang
Soon it was time for lunch. This time, we headed to Kim Laksa at Balik Pulau to try out its Asam Laksa and Siam Laksa…
This time, we tried both Asam Laksa and Siam Laksa for 5.50RM each for the small portion. You can add a dollar more for the large portion. There wasn’t much ingredients in both laksas but the key is in the broth. The Asam Laksa had a distinct prawn paste and ginger flower aroma with slight tanginess from the pineapples. Siam Laksa on the other hand reminded us more of a green curry with lemon grass. Both were good while the noodles remained bouncy in texture. Slurpilicious.
Nutmeg juice with sour plum (2.5RM) rounded up our meal.
Nearby, you’ll also want to check out the wall murals…
Before our next activity at 2 Acres Cafe, we dropped by TF Value Mart to stock up on essentials. There, we enjoyed the lime and vanilla flavour ice cream for 1RM! 😲
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2 Acres Cafe Penang
At about 2:30pm, we arrived at 2 Acres Cafe. 2 Acres Cafe is opened by the same people who run the durian and fruit plantation in the vicinity. This time, we tried the Hojicha Berries (15RM) and White Coffee with Extra Shot (14RM). The Hojicha Berries was surprisingly refreshing although some guests had feedback that they were not used to the Hojicha taste. This prompted the staff to check in with us whether we were familiar with the Hojicha taste. Of course we were! Hojicha ice cream from McDonald’s is delish! Definitely a drink to order here at 2 Acres. The coffee was slightly acidic but with the milk, was still very aromatic.
While purchasing our drinks outdoors, we can’t help but notice some durians at the fruit stall at the entrance of 2 Acres. Kate then suggested that we should just try out the durian there…
The uncle at the durian stall presented the musang king in such a beautiful manner! He removed a row from the other half and placed it beautifully in the middle. As it was not the durian season, the durian was 87RM or 26SGD. Still, it was a value-for-money purchase because the MSW quality was so good! Rich creamy on the inside wrapped with the signature bright yellow outer layer – upon touch, turns slightly wrinkly. The taste was bitter and fragrant with small seeds and loads of flesh – just the way we like it. Uncle told us to return during the peak season for even better quality durians at a cheaper price.
After our durian adventure, we went around the gardens and sat on the swings that hung from the trees. An idyllic experience…
Check out our full review of 2 Acres Cafe Penang here!
Enroute to Hard Rock Hotel Penang for our massage spa package, we stopped by the Telok Bahang Dam for some shots…
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Indulge Massage Package at Hard Rock Hotel Penang Rock Spa
While searching through the massage and spa options in Penang, we chanced upon an incredible Indulge Massage Package from Hard Rock Hotel Penang’s Rock Spa. Having visited Hard Rock Penang and its Rock Spa previously, we knew that the quality of massages here was excellent.
The “Massage and Feast” package from Hard Rock Hotel Rock Spa is incredible because it is 199RM nett per person or just $60SGD per person. It includes a 1 hr massage as well as a full 3 course meal at the Hard Rock Cafe.
As we were a little early, the indoor option was not available but we were able to enjoy the outdoor pavilion with sounds of the ocean in the background. Definitely a relaxing experience. As expected, the massage was excellent and we drifted in and out of sleep as the waves created a lullaby during the treatment. After the relaxing experience, Rock Spa called up Hard Rock Cafe and made reservations for us before we headed over…
At first we thought that the meal was probably something simple but we were so wrong. It was a full dinner! The meal includes a virgin mojito (which was excellent by the way), a soup, mains (choice of BBQ Chicken and Cheeseburger) as well as a dessert…
The package costs $60SGD and if we value the meal at $20SGD, the massage would only be $40SGD at Rock Spa, Hard Rock Penang – a steal! Moreover, we sneaked a peak at the menu and found that the cheeseburger costs 61RM, adding more value to the package. Overall, the dinner was good and the cheeseburger was legit. Chicken breast was a little dry but the BBQ sauce supplemented it. Virgin mojito had loads of mint, which was refreshing and the dessert was a brownie with ice cream. Brownie was surprisingly good – chewy and rich. Can’t emphasise enough that the package is REALLY legit. Check it out if you’re stay in the vicinity of Hard Rock Hotel Penang!
After dinner, we drove to Gurney Plaza and found the shopping mall to be so huge and spacious. Impression wise, definitely felt alot bigger than when we last visited in 2013. Looked like that was a revamp of the venue. Even the Little Nonya that we dined at during our last visit looks new. This time, we parked at G Hotel side for 2RM per hour – at the basement level, it is connected to Gurney Plaza. For supper, we settled on Squid Boy which was nicely battered and fried like the Taiwan XL chicken. There were also flavours to be seasoned with salt/pepper, wasabi, seaweed etc to choose from.
After we returned to Prestige Hotel Penang, we were able to drop off the key at our reception. Hawk Rent A Car has existing arrangement with the hotel and it was really convenient for us to just park the car at the hotel instead of driving back to Hawk’s.
To round up the evening, we watched “The Father”, a movie about dementia. It was actually a very confusing movie, even for the viewers. Goes to show the state of confusion the patient must be in when suffering from dementia.
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On our last day at Prestige Hotel Penang, we found a nice combination for breakfast. Soya milk and espresso. Self-concocted soy latte! Fill half a cup with soya milk and press espresso on the machine and it comes up to one cup perfectly. This was also the day that we tried the char siew bao. It had more of the braised taste than the conventional char siew taste…
We returned back to our room after breakfast and watched Dune, the movie. The story is interesting but the development of the plot is a little draggy at times. Thankful to have gotten the late check-out at 2pm. We then headed to the Glasshouse to claim our “Welcome Drinks” which is now our “Departure Drinks”…
Welcome drinks actually included alcoholic options such as wines and beers. Incidentally, we found that our drinks at the roof top swimming pool to be 23RM (Heineken) and 22RM (white wine) respectively. Just before we left, we tried out the afternoon tea at Prestige Hotel Penang…
Although in the taste department, the afternoon tea was forgettable, they did present the set beautifully. Gold lined cups and tiered presentation with matching green colour.
Check out the full review of the afternoon tea at Prestige Hotel Penang here.
Upon arrival at T4 Singapore, we were not able to visit Blossom Lounge as the arrival doesn’t connect to the departure unlike at the main terminals.
We hope you have enjoyed our full trip itinerary of our 7 days of travels in Penang!
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