1/6- Penang–Little India, lunch and Chinese association buildings

After exploring the Heritage area pretty fully, we change directions and move more toward the center of the city, passing the Hock Tiek Cheng Sin Temple, the headquarters of the Kehan Teik Tong during the Penang Riots. 

through Little India and the Sri Maha Mariamman Temple.

A quick stop in the temple, a beautiful example of Indian and Hindu culture, where photos are not allowed inside, but where we still enjoyed the spiritual atmosphere as we walked clockwise around the offerings to the Gods.  Continuing on through Little India, we hang a right on Pitt Street and  work our way back toward the Fort Cornwallis area near the ship. 

At this point in time, we are looking for restaurants, and there is only one that I have found in this area, the Sire Museum Restaurant, but the menu looked good and it had good reviews (I didn’t really look for food here, because quite frankly I never thought we’d get this far – I expected the street art and Heritage walk to take way more time – and distance – than it actually did).  Of course, the place is non-existent – nothing even resembling a museum or restaurant at the address.  Sigh, another food venue thwarted!  But, we have passed a couple of likely back up candidates on the way, so we just reverse course.  We end up at Caze, which is offering a set lunch for 18.90 MYR (that’s $4.37 USD).  That sounds too good to pass up. And it was!  The restaurant is cute and cozy, with very friendly servers.  We end up with the set lunch which includes a “mini” lime shot, soup or salad, one main, one soda or orange juice and dessert.  For $4?  Get out!  And it was really, really good on top of the cheap price!

Ed got the fried chicken with garlic fried rice,and I got the sweet and sour chicken with rice – and both were perfect.  If we are going to cheat on carbs and eat rice – this is the rice to eat.  I’m not even feeling guilty!

Now that we’ve had a chance to sit and relax (and catch up on the world with free wi-fi) we’re ready to head out again – back toward the Heritage area to visit the Pinang Peranakan Mansion, the largest privately owned mansion in the city – and to finish the street art tour and find the last 3 murals we’ve missed (yeah, it has become a little obsession at this point!).

As we make our way to the Mansion, we cross Church Street with this great sculpture…

…then pass through one of the Hokkien areas, where different Chinese association buildings are located.  With a temple on the corner, this one block street has some pretty interesting architecture and storefronts.  Some of the associations are still in residence, although most have given way to other retail venues at this point in time.

It’s a short walk from there to the mansion, where we arrive just in time for a tour.