The breakfast buffet at the Crowne had the range of options you would expect from a worldwide hub connecting Europe to Asia (and us as well) But there were some standouts to mention – crispy bacon (probably our last for a couple of weeks). The breakfast spread selection included Kaya jam, Marmalade, Marmite and Vegemite (because the last two are definitely not the same. And the standout – instead of a pancake or omelette station, there was a guy make fresh roti and they were awesome. I couldn’t come at curry for breakfast, but these were great. (I did have a chicken dumpling and a kaya custard bun though. And some fresh fruit. I rediscovered that rambutans probably aren’t worth the effort. The only drawback – nespresso machine coffee.

After breakfast we grabbed our bags, checked out and caught the Skytrain to Terminal 2 (through the Jewel complex past the waterfall). Immigration clearance out was as smooth as in. The security checking is at the gate though, so you have to be there for boarding an hour before.  We headed to the SATS lounge – I presume operated on behalf of a range of airlines. It was pretty rudimentary – comfortable but annoyingly there were just two toilets which were closed for cleaning for the entire time we were there.  On our way to the gate we found the Holy Grail. While eggslut may have exited the Singapore market a couple of years ago, our other US fave – Garrett’s Popcorn has arrived in T1,2 and 3 at Changi Airport. We bought a small bag of the fabulous Chicago Mix (cheese and caramel) in case we couldn’t get it into Malaysia. I have always resisted bringing it home from the states in case it gets taken at Quarantine clearance desk

Security screening leaving Singapore into Malaysia is more laborious than at home – You have to take your electronics – laptop and phone – out of your bag at the screening point at the gate. Then your passport is checked to enter the gate. There is a filtered water station inside but that is all. (Really regretting the decision not to bring my water bottle as there was also a filtered water tap in the hotel as well). The next two legs of our journey were on Malaysia Airlines flights (and no, the flight numbers didn’t start with a 3). We boarded the plane in Group 1 but alas we were still in economy. We had two flights – short one-hour hops – Singapore to Kuala Lumpur and the KL to Penang – the service on both flights was a bit like the Canberra to Sydney flight – chuck some water and snacks at you – no time for much else but the snacks – salted roasted peanuts and mini choc chip cookies were pretty good. KL International airport is a bit confusing – the domestic terminal is on the lower level so there is a small immigration clearance desk on level two that lets you back airside if you go down the right escalator. After a couple of laps, we asked someone and found it. No smart gate – questions on entry (for Dan not me) and a passport stamp (yay). The security screening was even more rigorous – again all electronics out – including cameras, of which I had two – my underwater camera was buried deep in my carry on. In Malaysia they don’t open the gate until half an hour before the flight, but we shouldn’t be bothered trying to find the lounge for 10 minutes, so we waited. It was Sunday afternoon and it was a full flight from KL to Penang. On arrival we collected our bags (yep, they were both there safely – I really do need to get an Apple Air Tag for next trip) and headed to the rideshare pickup spot. Very organised but you do need to be quick off the mark. There are three lanes of incoming ride share vehicles. Grab is so popular here that they have a lounge inside the terminal where you can register to use the service (presumably it has Wi-Fi access). Dan had already done this, so we ordered a Grab and then went out to find it. The $A25 ride felt like it was longer than the ride from Melbourne Airport to the city which is closer to $A100).

The airport is on Penang Island rather than the mainland and the first thing that strikes you is the huge number of high-rise residential buildings. I am no Malaysia expert – this is our first trip and to be honest when we originally decided on Malaysia it was to go somewhere in Asia a bit less predictable than Thailand or Bali (and hopefully with less Australian bogans). But when I think of Penang, I think of Georgetown which presents as a village full of colonial architecture with a history built on immigration from India and China to serve the resident British aristocracy. And a reputation for food that originated from the influence of those two cultures mixed with the local Malay cuisine (not British obviously).  It never occurred to me that the heritage area of George Town was so surrounded by modern multi storey apartment complexes. (That was how I have always pictured KL). None of the pics you see of Georgetown show just how close development is encroaching.

After about a 45-minute drive, we arrived at our hotel. Hotels are relatively cheap in Malaysia for Australians so knowing we would likely be staying in 3-star hotels on our forthcoming tour, I booked Cheong Fat Tze – The Qing Suites, a 5-star annexe to the Blue Mansion across the road. The hotel check in was seated and as our room wasn’t quite ready when we arrived, they conducted a tea ceremony with us in the beautiful front room of the hotel. There was a family – mum, Dad and adult daughter, who joined us. The girl told us that her Dad would make the tea properly for us – Rather than the tea infuser the girl from the hotel had used, he put the tea in a small round bowl with a lip like a pouring jug and used the lid of this piece of pottery to soften and muddle the team in the clay pot before waiting for it to infuse before he poured it in small pottery cups without handles. He chose Oolong tea which was delicious. Even Dan drank it. While he was preparing the tea we chatted with his daughter who told us they were from Shenzhen in China (originally from Hong Kong and she lived and worked in Singapore. Her boyfriend is studying in Australia (they are both in Finance). She had been to Australia a bunch of times, mostly to wine regions in Victoria and New South Wales and is very fond of our animals – she knew Canberra was the capital – we are actually finding for perhaps the first time in our travels, the majority of people here know that.  After about 10 minutes, we were shown to our room – like any fancy hotel they brought our bags up later. We went in an elevator that was really a platform which went up and down inside a glass and metal shaft. We were on the second floor – the building looked like shop houses – two stories with shutters – a balconied walkway around a central leafy courtyard with the rooms coming off it. Each had a name – ours was chao Shan – the electronic key was attached to a small brass bell. The room itself had a luxe Japanese feel to it – huge bathroom with a freestanding modern soaking tub (and herbs/salts to put in) and a wet room shower with a rainfall shower head and a handheld with an option to have both on. Water is less of a problem in Malaysia. The toilet and vanity were separated with glass panels either side of the wet room. The room itself was huge with a massive king size bed – wooden furniture a vet loungey couch and a padded bench window seat long and wide enough to lie on. The mini bar had a bunch of different Malaysian soft drinks, a really nice Chua snack mix (not spicy) lollies and biscuits as well as luxe tea and a coffee pod machine. Tired from our travel we chilled out for an hour or so before heading out for a bit of a walk to find dinner. [Bulls on Parade – Rage Against the Machine – Like everyone else the loud and angry politics of Mr Dela Rocha was a soundtrack I found at once mesmerising and inspiring, but my most poignant memory of this band is being in a crush in the moshpit when they played at the big bay out. My bag broke in the crush and in the effort to save it and all my cash, I found myself at the bottom of a pile of people and I could barely breathe – still not sure of it was the panic or the weight of the six people on top of me. Someone pulled us all up one by one and I headed dazed and confused to the back of the crowd. These days when I got to shows I wear clothes with a zipped pocket that will hold my phone credit card and ID. Lesson learned]

On our way to dinner, I managed to convince Dan that we should leave the hawker centre food until the following day and head to the air-conditioned comfort of Michelin starred Nonya restaurant Auntie Gaik Lean’s Old School Eatery. There was a bit of queue when we arrived at about 6:30pm and we put our name down. Initially the hostess told us it may be an hour and a half wait. Dan nearly gave up but as they weren’t open on Mondays I convinced him to wait. As we were a twosome it was quite a bit sorter – probably around 30-40 minutes. The Chinese family from the hotel were also waiting when we got there and got in after is because there were three of them.

The restaurant was decorated in a tasteful nod to the Nonya culture – the culture where largely Malay, Indian and Chinese cultures merged through marriage in the lates 1800s and early 1900s – Now more of the remaining Nonya Baba community, in Penang anyway, seems ethnically more Chinese, the food created by this mix of cultures has remained. We decided on a mixed starter which included a sample of everything, two meat dishes and a rice dish as well as a side of rice. The quality was outstanding, as you would expect, and while some of the chosen dishes were things we had experienced elsewhere, the flavours here were delicately balanced – there was heat bug it didn’t overtake the complex layered flavour profiles of each dish. On the Baba Delight starter plate my favourite were the top hats (pie tee) – little crispy. cups that look like they are made from spring roll wrapping with a mix of noodles and vegetables – and in this version chicken – they had a very subtle sweet vinegary flavour. The lot bak a deep fried 5 spice chicken roll was also really tasty. The cucur udang, deep fried prawn and vege fritters served with a sweet chilli sauce were like tempura the scar awak were excellent pickled vegetables – subtly pickled. The steamed fish paste, which was a bonus addition to the tasting plate was much more subtle than I was expecting but wasn’t really for me. 

Where the meal really came into its own was the main course. The Curry Kapitan chicken made with galangal, lemongrass, candle nuts and kaffir lime leaves was exquisitely subtle and you can taste the layered flavours. The beef rendang made with Australian Black Angus beef that was cooked to perfection, so the fat was melting rather than gristly, was the best I have ever eaten. You could taste the complex flavours of the rendang without it being overpowered by the heat. The nasi glam, rice tossed with 10 herbs and salted kurau fish, was also impressive but the powerful combination of the herbs was a bit too much. We ordered beers – Dan a Tiger crystal and me a Heineken and toasted to a great meal to start our trip. I finished with the Sago Gula Melaka, a brown sugar and coconut sago pudding.