Why George Town Was a Pass for Us: An Honest Review

George Town, Penang, Malaysia 

We’ve really come to like Malaysia, especially if you can handle the hot, humid climate. So we thought we’d go explore outside of Kuala Lumpur. Everyone raved about Penang. To be honest, it’s not often that I don’t recommend a travel destination. The most recent disappointing travel destination for us was Phuket, Thailand. You can read all about it here. But the way people talked about and hyped up the city of George Town in Penang, Malaysia, to what we actually experienced for the week we stayed there, is so vastly different that I think it’s worth de-hyping Georgetown and Penang. 

Is it worth going to? Yes, sure if you have a few extra days on your holiday to spare. Will you be missing out if you skip it? Not at all. Read all the details below. 

Penang vs George Town, what’s the difference?

You’ll come to find out that many people use Penang and George Town synonymously. So what is the difference? Penang is a region located in northwestern Malaysia. It is an entire Malaysian state that comprises both an island and mainland. George Town is the capital city located on the northeast corner of Penang Island. Think of Penang as the state/region and George Town as its historical, urban center known for its UNESCO World Heritage site, street food, and heritage architecture. George Town was founded in 1786 by the British East India Company and it acted as a crucial free port and trading center. 

Also while George Town with the space refers to the whole city, it appears the old cultural downtown is referred to as Georgetown without the space. Not confusing at all.  

Is the food in George Town really that good?

Culturally George Town is known as the food capital of Malaysia. Many people in Kuala Lumpur told us that the food in Penang was so much better. Like light years better than the food in KL. This honestly was not true for us. Yes they have more independent, small restaurants rather than the bigger chains found in KL, but the smaller restaurants don’t always mean better quality food.  

The food thing to experience here is the hawker stalls. Hawker style stalls are open-air complexes or covered sites hosting numerous stalls selling affordable, diverse, and local foods, often associated with Malaysian, Chinese, and Indian cuisine. 

The food often seemed cheaper as the prices were lower than the big city of KL. But one thing we noticed right away is that the portion sizes are significantly smaller. We were always left either hungry or having to buy more food. I guess it’s a fun way to be able to try more foods, but it was disappointing to us. 

What we also noticed and was confirmed when we talked with a few locals is that the authenticity of these stalls came with the older generation who started them. They put their heart and soul into making the best dishes. 

But as these local chefs are all retiring and being replaced by younger, foreign workers, it appears the quality of the food is not what it used to be. Is it a bad thing that they are being replaced after retirement? No, but it does change the authenticity and flavor of the food. The food at most of the hawker stalls was good, but not outstanding like we were led to believe. 

Also a word of caution, a lot of the reviews on GoogleMaps are largely inflated. We went to a Nasi Lemak place for breakfast that had 4.9 stars and I was so excited to try it. It turned out to be mediocre food. Why did this happen? Well we saw signs all over the restaurant that said 10% discount for a 5 star review. So be careful when reading the reviews, they aren’t always trustworthy. 

So to sum it up on the food front, hawker stalls, cafes, and restaurants in George Town were just ok. But in our opinion, they were not “travel 4 hours from KL” good. 

But at least there are cute shops in George Town?

One thing to note is that the hours shops, restaurants, and stores are open seemed odd to us. Walking down a street, it often felt closed. Take for example, the old town area. The first day we walked around, it was kind of sad with lots of metal doors shut on all the store fronts. We thought, oh maybe we are here at the wrong time. But throughout the full week we were there, many of those stores never opened. We couldn’t tell if they were empty storefronts, businesses that just never opened, or what was going on. 

We also noticed that businesses weren’t open at the same time. For some reason stores/cafes were only open from 10am-7pm which made it hard if you want to grab breakfast before doing something or dinner after exploring. 

Finally, there are a few cute clothing shops and one or two local artist shops but overall it felt like trinkets, cheap goods. Not what we were looking for. 

But how is the Old City?

The old city in George Town isn’t really obvious on the map. It’s the northeast corner and on GoogleMaps it’s called Georgetown, without the space. This is where most of the history is located and it’s why a lot of people come here. 

There are tons of restaurants and cafes here. Like you could eat at a different place every day and still not eat everywhere. There are a few museums and small temples if you want to get to know the history more. We definitely recommend you book a tour of the Blue Mansion (Cheong Fatt Tze). It’s historically significant, beautiful and fun fact it was used as a filming location for the movie Crazy Rich Asians. Tickets sell out fast so go online to book a spot as there are only two tours a day. 

It’s definitely worth walking around the old town part of Georgetown because the vibe is funky. The old street art combined with heritage architecture and aging buildings, old signage from buildings and the crazy amazing tile floors (make sure to look down) are all worth checking out. So wander around, get lost in the alleys and just enjoy walking it. 

That being said, one of our biggest annoyances with the old town area is the lack of sidewalks. While there are some walking paths close to the entrance of buildings, they are often interrupted by motorbikes, doors, the drainage system, or blocked. So you have to walk in the road. This is wildly dangerous as cars are not friendly or courteous to walkers. Be careful!

Also everyone raves about the funky street art in Georgetown. It seems to be that back in the day, mural art was highly encouraged and it fits so well with the style of the old town. However with age and we assume weather, a lot of the murals are degrading or gone. Yes you can still find murals but not at the vibrancy we were told about.

Are the Jetties in George Town worth it?

Dating back to the 19th century, when Chinese immigrants first arrived in Penang, the jetties were originally arranged by clan or family. Despite facing threats of demolition and redevelopment over the years, these historic waterfront communities have endured. Today, they still serve as living neighborhoods where generations of families continue to reside and carry on their daily lives in the heart of George Town.

We don’t know why we expected more for the jetties. Probably because everyone again raved about them, but we thought it felt weird walking through the private housing of people. It’s basically a long dock to walk through with their front porches just centimeters from you. 

There was a lot of trash on the exposed sea floor because it was low tide when we walked through. We realize the trash is not their responsibility to clean up as it’s washed in from the water but it made us feel sad. 

You can walk through housing only ones that are very quiet like Lee Jetty and Tan Jetty. But if you want shops and restaurants, go to the Chew Jetty for the commercial approach which is all trinket shops now. 

Where to Stay in George Town?

There are many cute small independently owned boutique hotels in the Georgetown area. There are also many shady, cheap places so make sure to do your research to get a place that fits your needs. The old charm comes with crumbling buildings and insects, but a few hotels have been able to keep the renovations up to date. 

While the old town holds a lot of history, if you are in the mood for nicer, cleaner hotels, restaurants, and malls, head over to the Gurney Drive area. If you choose this area, just know that you are stuck taking taxis/Grab everywhere if you want to experience the old town as it’s not a walkable distance. 

Our Favorite things about George Town 

We did have a few things that we really liked in George Town. 

The Hin Bus Depot offers a weekend market every Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Make sure to come during the day as it closes early like 5pm. This old bus depot has been turned into cute cafes and shops during the week and the courtyard area is used for a craft fair/farmers market/independent vendor fair complete with amazing live music. It’s really unique and we hadn’t experienced such a cute fair in a while so it was a real treat. 

Penang Hill is on everyone’s list for good reason. It’s a really cool, almost mountain close to the city. There are two ways to the top: either buy a ticket on the tram that takes you to the top. Do know that lines can be long so come early to beat the crowds and heat. Or the second way is to hike the steps. Honestly that looks like a lot of fun but it’s much longer than you expect and most people who did it, looked just wiped out when we saw them at the top. 

At the top, there are a few restaurants and one road to walk along. There are many viewpoints to see the island and take pictures. Our favorite thing we did was to buy a ticket to The Habitat. It’s an ecopark at the top of Penang Hill that is keeping the natural beauty alive. It’s so serene and beautiful with cooler temperatures due to the elevation. We came early and basically had the park to ourselves. The quiet allows you to soak in the sounds of nature. There is only one entrance to this eco park. It’s a little pricey but totally worth it. They have a path you can walk and check out their hanging bridge, tall tree top walkway, and learn about the animals. At the end, you can leave through their cafe. 

Finally, our last favorite thing in George Town… I know this is going to sound crazy but we love a good chiropractor. We were in need of an adjustment and we found Nix at Gud Healthcare. She is a small shop, independently owned. She is an osteopath who focused so much on the root causes of our issues and fixed us. She also gave us some training exercises to do to maintain better health going forward. I cannot recommend her more if you are in pain on your trip and need help. She only takes cash or QR code. 

What about the Temples in George Town?

As with a lot of Southeast Asia, there are a lot of temples from different religions. Here are a few recommendations to check out. 

Kek Lok Si Temple is located within walking distance of Penang Hill. It’s a three story complex. It’s free to enter and you can either pay to take the cable car to each level or have a fun adventure wandering through all the unique gardens, side paths, and temples. It’s really quite extensive so don’t spend too much time in one place. However if you walk it, to get to the top level with the giant statue you do have to pay to take the final cable car (it’s worth it) as the other option is go back down and walk the actual road up. This is not recommended as there is no sidewalk. Just pay the 3 ringgit to see the top, trust us. We spent a few hours just wandering around the grounds and admiring the beautiful temples. 

Over by Gurney Drive, there are two temples literally across the street from each other. Dhammikarama Burmese Temple and Chaiya Mangalaram Thai Buddhist Temple are brilliantly colored and well maintained. Free to enter. You can see the Burmese and Thai cultural influences on the structures and you can compare the differences and similarities. Walking through both takes less than an hour. 

Beaches in Penang 

It should be noted that a lot of people come to Penang Island for the beaches. We weren’t able to spend time at the beach this trip, but many people get hotels right on the beach and enjoy the water their whole vacation. If beaches are your vibe, consider checking out the island of Langkawi just a quick flight north in Malaysia.  

Should you go to George Town or Skip Penang?

Is it worth going to? Yes sure if you have a few extra days on your holiday to spare. The historic buildings are unique. The combination of the history with the new murals is fun to explore, and the island vibe is definitely different from the big city of Kuala Lumpur. 

Will you be missing out if you skip it? Not at all. I don’t think the food is significantly better like many people said because the quality seems to be going down. Also if you are looking for a cute town, spend your time in Ipoh!