Penang trip 2019

On 5th July 2019, we drove to Penang. It had been more than four years since we last visited the state.

We were anticipating a great durian feast there. We drove straight into G Hotel's car park, located at the hotel's basement.

As soon as we were freshen up, we got into the car and drove straight to Balik Pulau. Friends were telling us that we could find great durian at good price. After driving for 30 minutes, we stopped at a durian stall at the roadside. A Chinese family was busy handling a big crowd, mostly consisted of mainland Chinese. First impression was great. I asked the old lady what variety of durian was she selling. She mentioned that they were selling 'Ochee' (Black Thorn) at RM15/kg. Probably I heard wrongly.

We smelt, we shook, we carefully observed for any holes, and we smelt the durians again. We took two durians and they weighted slightly more than 4kg in total. We paid RM65 and eagerly anticipated the king of fruit.

The first bite was disappointing. I asked the lady why was it hard and odourless? She merely replied "It is like that lah. Some part ripe already. Some part unripe". My heart sunk.

I took another seed. The orangey flesh looked nice. The moment I took a taste, it was good. Sweet. Rich flavor filled my mouth. Lovely. In the end, I ate 12 seeds. I loved its creaminess.

We drove on towards the kampung area. We tried the D24 and durian kampung. Comparatively, these durian were more satisfying. Probably we set our expectation too high. After building such high hope, my anticipation suddenly evaporated. My last words for Penang durian. "Let's forget it. Let's go to Bentong instead!"

Day 2 started with breakfast in the hotel's restaurant called Taste Cafe. Jacob was very happy to have his first chocolate fondue experience. We went to Kek Lok Si Temple for see its tortoises.

The last time I went to the temple, I barely ten years old. Almost Darrien's age. We purchased the tram's tickets and walked around the tourist spot.

After taking two trams and a buggy car ride up the temple, we arrived at the Guan Yin statue.

We wandered around the vast area for ten minutes and started to descend the hill again.

It was almost lunch time when we were done. I wanted to try the infamous Air Itam asam laksa. RM5 a bowl. The boys tried it but Jacob kept shaking his head, not wanting more of the dish. Frankly, I was disappointed too.

The best part of the trip probably was the hotel's swimming pool. We had many hours waddling in the pool. The boys kept doing the forbidden act of diving despite my angry remarks.

Wife's only good memory for the trip was the sweet Apom Manis.

Time moved fast when we were relaxing. Thank you Penang for this holiday.