December 28/29, 2025
Often referred to as the “Crown Jewel of Malaysia,” Penang earned its reputation long before it became a foodie pilgrimage. Founded in 1786 by the British East India Company, Penang quickly emerged as one of the most valuable trading ports in the region making it one of the busiest maritime routes in the world.
At the center is George Town which is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Over time, Penang’s wealth shifted from trade to culture most famously its food! When we realized we were making a stop here we decided that we needed to do a food tour.
We booked one with the ship – and our first stop was the Wonder Food Museum, which was a real hoot. They had created a ton of interactive photo opportunities throughout – and a lot of their national dishes on display. Our tour guide let us know to take pictures of ones that looked interesting for the market we were going to later, so we knew to look for them while we were there.
Beatriz, our guide took a liking to us. Probably because she saw me quickly put on a chef jacket and pull out two frying pans and pose for a picture for Andy. She basically led the two of us from display to display while we were in the museum because I think she knew we would be excited to take pictures in the exhibits. (Pictures below as proof).
After the museum we went to a few different shops where we were able to buy different Malaysian goods. Malaysia is most known for the Batik, which features vibrant floral and geometric patterns with bold colors (pinks, blues, purples) from its wax-resist dyeing tradition. The store that we stopped by had a large selection for men, women, and kids. Plus, a ton of accessories that had a wide variety of different patterns. Basically, they would draw in the fabric in wax, then dye the fabric, then boil the fabric so the wax melts off- they dye doesn’t change the color under the wax, so it leaves a cool effect!
Next door, we walked into a store that “white coffee” and tea. They were both delicious, but when they call it white it means it’s instant and packed full of sugar. The teas were similar for the most part – loaded with sugar! The ones that didn’t have sugar were really expensive, but we took pictures in hopes to find something similar when we get home because they are known for their natural remedies.
After our shopping was done, we finally made our way to the market. This was a foodie heaven. Beatriz told us to grab a table and memorize the number. She explained that we could go to a booth: order, pay for the food, and wait there OR tell them our table number and they could bring it over. But she said it’s happened to her in the past where she’d forgotten she ordered something and she wandered off and when she remembered the food wasn’t there (likely because someone else had already taken it).
The market was super busy – so we ended up sharing a table with a couple that didn’t speak any English. They made great table mates! We ordered a LOT of food – it was all very affordable. Fried rice, fried noodles, dumplings, soup dumplings, meat skewers, and a large Skol beer. It was all super tasty and we left super full!
Our bus dropped us off at the cruise port, but Andy and I wanted to see if the local Starbucks had a Malaysia mug. We made our way over only to find out that they were out of stock, disappointing considering how muggy it was outside! On our walk we did get to walk by a very cool fort, which we learned had never been fired upon so never saw any military action.
That evening our Cruise Director had coordinated to have a local dance company to come on board to perform a traditional Malaysian dance for us. We really enjoyed it!
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We had two days in Penang, so we woke up in Penang. We lounged around the ship taking advantage of a quieter day on board. We decided to make another attempt at a different Starbucks for a mug (a bit over a mile away). We walked in and out of traffic for about 30 minutes to a super large mall. We couldn’t find a directory to help us find it, so we just started wandering.
That’s when we quickly realized how big this mall was. Eventually we finally asked a man who told us we needed to take a sky bridge to an entirely different section of the mall which was on a different block, the place was massive, and that is coming from people that grew up around the Mall of America. Once we made our way over there, we found a directory.
We were still lost, but this time we had more hope. I finally found a picture on Google maps and saw that it looked like it had exterior windows. Success! We found it! AND it had mugs!
We started our grueling 30 minute walk back in the humidity, but took a different route this time. This street was more interesting. There were more shops and restaurants. It was very cute, but we just wanted to get back to AC at this point.
We really enjoyed our time in Penang – it was a very cute city! We wish we would have had more time to explore, but grateful for the time we did have there.
Up Next: Langkawi
Scribbles and Snapshots 