Gurney Drive – Penang, Malaysia

 

        Last May 2013, I went to Penang Island in Malaysia for a medical checkup. I had been having runny nose and allergy called sinusitis. Since I had no idea which doctor in Jakarta was good enough to treat my disease, I decided to fly to Penang. Though it is a small island, it is most searched for its local street foods and hospital services. Sick people from various countries go to Penang to have medical treatment. It was my second visit to the island for I have visited it before 10 years ago when my cousin was still living there. On Thursday evening we flew to Penang from Jakarta and traveled light for we only planned to stay three nights there. Our time was limited because we had to work and do our business on weekdays. 

        Penang island or known as Pulau Pinang in Malay language is located in the northern region of Malaysia and often referred to the Pearl of the Orient. It indulges visitors with beaches, quaint architecture and a vast array of mouth-watering delicacies. The island basically consists of two major parts, the Penang Island and mainland province called Seberang Perai, which are connected by the Penang bridge, the longest bridge in Asia. The island stretches over an area of 1,046 square kilometers and is a home to 1.6 million multi-racial people, thus making it become a multi-cultural state just like the rest of the country.

        We stayed in a modest motel in the area called Gurney Drive or known as Persiaran Gurney. At first I did not know that the place was so famous for its hawker foods until we discovered it by ourselves. The rent of the motel was quite cheap too, only about 50 MYR per night. The owner of the house also gave us some discount, so it became much cheaper. What God’s grace it was!!!

 

 

        Gurney Drive is a famous seafront promenade in the northern end of Georgetown, Penang Island. The promenade is named after Sir Henry Gurney, a Malaysian High Commissioner who was murdered by the guerrillas of the Malaysian Communist Party during the Malaysian Emergency in the early 1950s. According to his wife’s testimony, Sir Gurney sacrificed himself in order to save the lives of his wife and the driver. Gurney Drive lies on a reclaimed land of Teluk Ayer Rajah, the bay between Georgetown and Tanjung Tokong. Initially, the promenade was created to provide a coastal road in the extension project of the North Beach which reached its completion in 1934. At that time the place was called the New Coast Road or the North Beach until 1952 when it was given its present name.

        Strategically located close by the sea, Gurney Drive comprises of some of Penang’s most modern skyscrapers, old houses belonging to wealthy men in the past, the second largest shopping mall in Penang, the Gurney Plaza, and most importantly the food center, the Gurney Drive Hawker Center. Not much different from other malls in Jakarta, the Gurney Plaza is a quite prestigious mall in the island with a range of shops selling branded materials. However, I think malls in Jakarta far outdo this mall and it is one point I can be proud of my country. Hahaha…

        Gurney Drive is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Penang especially for food lovers. It is most well-known for its Gurney Drive Hawker Center or Pusat Penjaja Anjung Gurney that serves Penang’s best street foods. There you will find unending strips of food stalls selling local street foods such as asam laksa, hokkien mee, rojak, fried oyster, char keoy teow and many others. Since the site is located next to the glamorous Gurney Plaza and it offers visitors a unique dining experience in a breezy open court facing the sea, the price of the foods here are a bit more pricey compared to the other parts of the city. However, the experience is worth it!!! The center has been operating since the early 1970s and has been relocated a few times before its current location. Open daily from 6 pm until 1 am, it consists of halal and non-halal sections. The halal section is located at the far end of the center separated from the rest of the stalls.

 

 Gurney Drive is indeed a beautiful seafront promenade. Seeing the sea before going to the doctor gave me some refreshment. 

 

Some of the modern skyscrapers in Gurney Drive 

 

 I enjoyed walking along the promenade in the late afternoon

 

 The Gurney Plaza, the second largest shopping mall in Penang 

 

 

 Outside the shopping center is a courtyard with a number of alfresco cafes and eateries

 

The traffic condition at Gurney Drive 

 

The Gurney Drive Hawker Center offers a special dining experience. It is most crowded at night when food lovers start their food hunting. We ordered char keoy teow and rojak. Since the place is so packed with people, you must book your table first before ordering your food.  

 

Visitors sit in communal tables and some section of the tables are claimed by certain drink vendors. Last time we were asked to move from our table because we did not order drink from that certain drink vendor. So make sure you purchase a drink from the nearest drink vendor before enjoying your meal. Otherwise, someone might come over and kick you out.

 

 

        Almost every night we went to the hawker center to have our meal. We tried quite many local dishes but of course not all of them. Next time if I have the chance to go there again, I want to have my favorite rojak and try other foods too.

 

Sources:

Personal experience and additional information from other online articles