Eden Seafood (also in batu ferrenghi) is great if you like fish. There are large tanks as you walk in with all kinds of fish. You basically pick your own dinner! We tried a lot of the restaurants on the road (we used to walk the length of the night markets at night). Most of them were very nice but another one that comes to mind not to go to is called The Ship. It is basically a giant ship full of waiters and waitresses in sailor outfits. Its very strange and surreal - the food is not great and it seemed to be more expensive than a lot of the other ones we had tried -we came out feeling like we'd had a bad deal and a strange evening! That and the Big Wave were our only real disappointments though. Have heard that in Georgetown the Hot Wok Heritage Cafe is supposed to be very nice with lots of native dishes. We had a fantastic time in Penang -sure you will too. If I can help you with anything else just let me know and I will try!

We were in Penang from Dec 20-24 and stayed at the E&O. I thought the food there was quite awful, actually, and the service even worse.

Our best meals were at the hawker stands on Gurney Drive. Cheap, plentiful, flavorful and fresh! I had the best chili crab I've ever tasted!

We also had a very nice traditional lunch at Hitan Manis. And we enjoyed a good Steamboat dinner at Golden Gate.

The Eden is as I remember it. I have no idea of the name but almost directly opposite was a great Indian restaurant, you can't miss it as it is right on the other side of the road, very good if you like Indian food.

Gayle : I'm sorry to hear that you found the food at the E & O to be awful. That surprises me a little. We're booked there for 4 days next month. Were all meals bad ? Yikes! !

I seem to remember when I was at the E&O two years ago the breakfast grill was cooked to order - very tasty - and very rare these days.

Galiano, we only ate in Sarkie's Corner. The breakfast buffet is large and varied. I just found the food to be institutional and bland. They do have a short order cook who will make eggs any style or omelets for you. We had lunch there one day and it was cold and tasteless. The staff are nice but they forget things (like toast asked for three times, three days in a row), mix up orders and seemed rather abscent-minded.

The service in Farquhar's Bar was almost non-existent. We ususally had to go look for someone to serve us. Then inevitably by the time they took our order and got back to the bar they had forgotten what we ordered and returned to query. Empty glasses sat forever with no offer of additional drinks. Again, we had to gesticulate wildly to get anyone to come our way.

I think if you stick to breakfasts you'll be fine, but don't expect a whole lot.

dear jchong
thanks, I'll keep checking in.
Everyone else thanks for the restaurant tips, and most importantly what to avoid!
CM

Here are a few more places I got from my friend:

1. Eat laksa at Cafe88. It's near Sunshine Square in Bayan Baru.

2. Mee goreng at Mee Sultan, near Jalan Burma behind the Sheraton Hotel.

3. Char Koay Teow at a stall operated by 2 sisters on McAlister Road.

Anyway, I found a few more links for you:

http://www.penangresort.com/food/hawker.htm

http://pulaupinang.com/hawker/food.shtml (see the pull down menu for more details)

A few more links:

http://www.tourismpenang.gov.my/page.cfm?name=lc08

http://www.virtualtourist.com/vt/138ff4/2/

Hope these give you enough leads to chew on!

A review for this Swiss restaurant in Penang just appeared in a local paper today.

Online version:

http://thestar.com.my/lifestyle/stor...p;sec=features

Dear jchong youre the best!
Lots of lovely info for me to 'digest'.Keep em comin!
will certainly give you my reviews when I get back.
counting the days now
Regards
CM