Six Specialty Coffee Shops To Try in George Town, Penang

Specialty coffee wasn't my main reason for visiting George Town on the Malaysian island of Penang, but I was delighted to visit six great coffee shops and roasteries during my short visit. I was there during the three-week-long Penang Coffee Festival, although the early stages of the festival were more dessert focused and it was based in a mall a few miles out of the city centre, so I wasn't able to stop by. Read on to find out more about my specialty coffee experiences in George Town; my favourite spots are marked in purple in the map below.

Five Specialty Coffee Shops To Visit in Kuala Lumpur

At the start of my two-week trip to Malaysia, I spent a couple of days in Kuala Lumpur. As there were a lot of things I wanted pack in, I didn't have a lot of time to explore the city's specialty coffee scene, but managed to visit several of the cafes and roasteries on my list, which I've outlined below. In my Google Map, I've also flagged two coffee shops I didn't manage to visit, as well as two roasteries whose beans I sampled elsewhere in Malaysia.

Two Days in Singapore: Things To Do, Places to Eat, Drink and Shop

When I was planning my trip to Australia and New Zealand in 2017, I thought I could include an eight-hour layover in Singapore. I spent some time researching what I would do during this time, but then it didn't work out with the flights, and I just spent a few hours at Changi Airport instead. I was sure to make time for a visit to Singapore at the end of my Malaysia holiday, however, and loved spending time in the green but high-tech and historic but multicultural city-state.

Four Days in Borneo: Turtle Island and the Borneo 'Big Five'

When I was at school, a number of my classmates raised money for a conservation trip to Borneo, combined with some jungle trekking and the climbing of Mount Kinabalu. I hadn’t yet got the adventurous-travel bug and didn’t go, but later came to regret that decision. Thus, I couldn’t spend two weeks in Malaysia without finally visiting the world’s third-largest island.

Three Days in George Town, Penang

If you're looking for my specialty coffee guide for George Town, Penang, please see this accompanying post.

I flew in to Penang Island, Malaysia’s fourth-largest island, from KL on a Thursday evening. From Penang Airport, it was about a 30-minute (and 23 RM) Grab ride to the centre of George Town, Penang’s state capital, and Malaysia’s second-largest city with a population of over 700,000. I spent about three days in George Town, which gave me a good taste of the city — quite literally, since the food was one of my main reasons for visiting!

In the Perhentian Islands, Finding Nemo and Losing Track of Time

When planning my trip to Malaysia, I drew on the advice of several friends who've visited the country over the past few years. The Perhentian Islands came up consistently as a must-visit destination. The two main islands, Perhentian Besar ('big island', though really 'bigger' as it's pretty small itself) and Perhentian Kecil ('small island), as well as several even tinier islands, are located some 10 miles off the northeast shore of Malaysia, close to the Thai border. The biggest draw is the warm, clear, turquoise waters with coral reefs just steps from the shore, although the lovely beaches are also highly appealing.

Two Days in KL: Things To Do, Places To Eat and Drink

If you're looking for my KL specialty coffee guide, you can find it here.

When researching potential places to visit for my main holiday this year, I initially ruled out Malaysia on account of it being the rainy season there during September, which, for various reasons, was the best month for me to go. I soon realised that the country has several more regional rainy seasons and in any case, rainy sometimes just means one relatively brief but very heavy downpour per day, if that.