BY CK Lam

China House is one of the busiest dining and lifestyle outlets within the Unesco heritage zone of George Town. Occupying three refurbished colonial shop houses with facades facing Beach Street and Victoria Street, China House offers a great dining experience. There are five different dining areas besides a wine store, art spaces and a venue for live shows.

The cafe serves all-day breakfasts, lunches and dinners. Diners can whet their appetite at the casual cafe Kopi C, formal dining room of  BTB Restaurant, an outdoor courtyard, the Canteen & Bar and a private dining room.

At Kopi C, there are many dishes to savour alongside an array of rich cakes and pastries displayed on a long table at its bakery. The place has since received many comments on being the haven for cakes.

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Tags: Art Spaces, Astounding Array, Australian Style, Beach Street, Beef Lasagne, Breakfast Dishes, Breakfast Time, BTB, Cakes And Pastries, Canteen & Bar, Caramel Cheesecake, Cauliflower Puree, Cheese Cake, China House, Citrus Peel, Coconut Cake, Creamy Caramel, Dinner Dishes, Duck Confit, Dukkah, Formal Dining Room, Fruit Cake, Kopi C, Lamb Shank, Lime Curd, Mezze Plate, Moist Texture, Nearby Bakery, New Straits Times (Life & Times), Onion Chutney, Outdoor Courtyard, Pear Brandy, Private Dining Room, Salad Sandwiches, Seared Sea Bass, Shop Houses, Soft Sheets, Theatre, Tomato Basil, Unesco Heritage, Victoria Street

Penang is abuzz, especially in the heritage and cultures scene with the newly opened Hotel Penaga. The beautifully restored boutique hotel is conveniently located in the heart of Georgetown, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Situated along Hutton Lane intersecting Clarke Street and Transfer Road, the hotel is within walking distance to many eating outlets and attractive historical places.

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Tags: Angela Hijjas, Architect Hijjas Kasturi, Attractive Locations, Boutique Hotel, Charming Rooms, Chinese Porcelain, Clarke Street, Clarke Terraces, Dominic Johns, George Fishman, Glenn Romanis, Helen Bodycomb, Heritage Hotel, Hijjas Kasturi, Hotel Heritage, Hotel Penaga, Hotel Penang, Hutton Lane, Hutton Rooms, International Architect, Library Restaurant, Mozaic Artwork, Penaga, Penaga Spa, Penang Heritage, Penang Heritage Boutique Hotel, Penang Hotel, Rainwater Harvesting, Rimbun Dahan, Salon Spa, Serene Garden, Shop Houses, Small Library, Spa Pool, Tanglung Bar, The Cinnamon, Transfer Suites, Unesco World Heritage, Unesco World Heritage Site, War Shop, Wife Angela, World Heritage Site

 **Updated  July 2011** – The place has since closed down!

BY CK Lam

In the past few years many old heritage buildings in Penang has been restored new leases of life while maintaining the old world charm. One such project is the Straits Collection in the core zone of the UNESCO Heritage Georgetown.

The restored shop houses in George Town’s heritage enclave along Stewart Lane and Armenian Street was bought back to life with a mixture of retail, cafe, public reading, film space and short and long term residences.

The restored Straits Collection

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Tags: Armenian Street, Bon Ton, Chinese Shop, Core Zone, Eclectic Style, Film Space, Goddess Of Mercy Temple, Heritage Buildings, Heritage Properties, Heritage Resorts, International Awards, Kopi Cine, Masjid Kapitan Keling, New Leases, New Straits Times (Life & Times), Old Charm, Penang Heritage Hotel, Press Articles, Public Reading, Reading Film, Restaurant Kapitan, Shing Kheang Aun, Shop Houses, Sri Mahamariamman Temple, St George Church, Stewart Lane, Straits Collection, Temple Tree, True Style, Unesco Heritage, World Charm

Terubong Seafood is one ‘chu char’ that is tucked away in a row of shop houses facing the very busy Jalan Paya Terubong. This place specializes in seafood and is popular among the neighborhood!

Straight to the good stuff! They commonly serve this small prawns deep fried as prawns fritters. It tasted good dipping it in chili sauce.

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Tags: Air Itam, Array, Assam, Chili Sauce, Chinese Tea, Chinese Wine, Claypot, Coffee Latte, Coffee Shop, Crullers, Dips, Fish And Seafood, Fish Ball, Fishball, Fishballs, Fried Prawns, Fritters, Gps Coordinates, Grilled Fish, Kangkung, Lady Fingers, Lintang, Paya, Penang Food, Pork Dishes, Prawns, Red Blood, Red Snapper, Rm3, Rm6, Rough Texture, Sambal, Shop Houses, Signboard, Soft Texture, Spicy Chili, Sweet And Sour Sauce, Tamarind Sauce, Terubong Seafood, Tiao, Traffic Lights, Two Different Ways, White Rice

The day started with a “yum cha” session at the old eatery, Aik Hoe Restaurant located in Carnavon Street. This restaurant which occupied two shop houses still managed to retain its old nostalgic charm after fifty over years. The fixtures of old ceiling fans with flooring of small squares of blue and white tiles still remain there after all these years, making this place a real heritage in its own way.

Nothing much have changed and the restaurant still has the very ‘Chinese old school look’, even still with its signature metal chairs. The shop’s name has been embedded into the metal chair itself; a real rare find nowadays.

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Tags: Aik, Array, Bamboo Basket, Black Fungus, Carnavon, Char Siew, Char Siew Pau, Chinese Chestnut, Chinese Tea, Chinese Water Chestnut, Dim Sum, Dumpling, Feature Writer, Fish Egg, Glutinous Rice, Guang Ming, Har, Hk Version, Hot Tea, Interview Session, Kow, Kuen, Lean Meat, Metal Chair, Nostalgic Charm, Old Charm, Penang Food, Penang Restaurant, Pork Roll, Push Carts, Roast Meat, Shop Houses, Signature Dishes, Thin Layer, Thin Skin, Ti Kuan Yin, Varieties Of Tea, Water Chestnut, Waterchestnut, Yum Cha

Medan Selera Mutiara is another popular hawker center in Tanjung Bunga, Penang with many tasty hawker food. The stalls are managed by various races of hawkers, each renowned for its specialty. The food court is surrounded by a row of shop houses where Ingolf German Restaurant and Vintage Bulgaria Restaurant is located.

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Tags: Array, Chinese Food, Chinese Version, Delightful Twist, Food Court, Food Satay, Fried Rice, Fruit Cocktail, Fruit Ice Cream, German Restaurant, Hawker Center, Hawkers, Medan Selera Mutiara, Nasi Ayam, Penang Hawker Food, Popular Hawker Centre, Prawns, Pungent Smell, Rm4, Selera, Sg Kelian, Shop Houses, Shophouses, Tanjung Bunga, Tanjung Bungah, Three Young Men, Tom Yum, Western Cuisine, White Rice