Pulau Tikus or "Rat Island"
Penang "Upper Class" Neighborhoods

Pulau Tikus or 'Rat Island’ is said to be named after an actual Pulau Tikus isle - a small rocky island shaped like a mouse, located about 2km away from the north- eastern coast of Penang island. So... relax, it is not an island nor is the whole area infested with rats or mice. But... don't be fool by the weird name as the area is considered one of the most "upper class" and prominent neighborhoods in Penang. It has a fair share of mansions, bungalows and colonial buildings, high-rise condominiums (such as those in Gurney Drive) as well as many first class international hotels and resorts. It's no wonder that the late prime minister of Malaysia, Tunku Abdul Rahman chose to live his retirement years in Pulau Tikus.

Wat Chaiya Temple

Some of the places of attraction that be found along the vicinity apart from lovely home are the pre-war shop houses, 195-year-old (Catholic) Church, Buddhist and Taoist temples such as  Wat Chaiya Mangalaram (Reclining Buddha Temple) built in Burma Line in 1845,  the 203-year-old Dhammikarama Burmese Buddhist Temple just opposite and the Buppharam Buddhist Temple in Perak Road . A sharp contrast to the heritage buildings along the same road lays high end commercial buildings such as the Burmah House and Bellisa Row. Pulau Tikus has become a favorite hangout at night as the area come to 'live' with outlets like the dance club Bed Cafe & Lounge, bistro Segafredo Zanetti Espresso and café The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf taking over the once dull night. The most scenic part of Pulau Tikus is the east coast of Gurney Drive, a major tourist attraction famous for its long stretch of seafront promenade & hawkers fare. There are also numerous restaurants and coffee shops, pub and clubs, hotels and condominiums, and the popular Gurney Plaza shopping complex. Located further down at the Burmah road are Midlands Park Shopping Centre and the Bandar Baru Air Itam supermarket in the commercial Plaza Axis at Cantonment Road.

Gurney Drive Hawker Fare

Food enthusiast will be delighted to visit Pulau Tikus as there are many good foods to whet your demanding appetite. There is a fancy little restaurant located opposite Bellisa Row called Ice Ice Baby, which sells a variety of western food and deserts. From the outside, it looks like an ordinary shop which only specializes in Ice Cream Products but in actual fact, this place is famous for their Cheese & Chocolates Fondues. If you like Muslim food, why not proceed to Burmah Road and Bangkok Lane as there are many restaurant serving mee goreng (fried noodles), nasi kandar, roti canai and many more. Opposite Pulau Tikus at Kedai Kopi Sin Hwa, there is a famous shop selling delicious char koay teow. Another great place to eat the deep fried char koay teow is at Bee Hooi coffee shop. The uncle sells only at night and you can easily recognize him by seeing his interesting frying skill with the help of his wife which nags him all the time. Pulau Tikus market in the mornings sees regulars seeking a refreshing drink head to the Khaw family's stall selling soya bean milk and soya bean curd. Just outside the market, there is a stall selling Chinese pancake in the original plain style sprinkled with sugar and nuts.

Delicious Lok Lok - Raw food is cook in boiling water & it is eaten together with special peanut sauce. 100% home made!

Of course, many of Penang famous food can also be found at Gurney Drive as well as at Jalan Pasar hawker centre. There are many good food to choose from such as Lok Lok, Pasembur, Variety of Noodles, Rojak and many more. Just make sure that you control your food intake and not to end up like me who take 4 bowls of asam laksa in one go.

Map to Jalan Pasar Hawker Centre

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