The population of Penang is over 1.5 million (that's about 60,000 Utopians).

Penang Gay Scene Updates message forum

Men in Penang message forum

• Beach Blanket Babylon (mixed)
  Thirty Two at the Mansion, 32 Jln Sultan Ahmad Shah. Same owner as Bagan. Late hang-out place after most bars close. Some gays.
• Boom Boom (mixed)
  Off Old Penang Rd (next to Segafredo). Sat nights gays gather upstairs. Young, Chinese crowd.
• Nine Krub Café
  34 Jln Nagore, 014-345-3994, email. Gay-owned local pub and karaoke. They have occasional dance shows and performances.

  Comments from Utopians:

  "Nine Krub Café, Jln Nagor, Georgetown, is a bar with karaoke and occasional gogo dancers. Located in a renovated row of beautiful heritage townhouses. Friendly gay crowd of mixed ages. Karaoke a bit loud for easy conversation though!" -- donmcke, Nov 14, 2011

• That Little Wine Bar
  54 Jln Chow Thye, 226-8182, email. A gay and lesbian-friendly neighbourhood European wine bar and restaurant with a warm and welcoming ambience.

  Comments from Utopians:

  "Bagan Lounge has now closed down. The owners say they will open a new similar bar soon in a venue expected to be in Jln McAllister, Georgetown." -- donmcke, Nov 14, 2011

  "Try 69 Mansion Club located at Batu Ferringhi, close to Holiday Inn. The busy days are Thu-Sat. You will see some transgenders and gay guys. Some tourists also visit there and locals as well." -- freddieian16, Apr 26, 2011

  "Fri and Sat night saw lots of guys hanging out in mostly straight open air bars on Upper Penang. Hook up seemed possible if desired. Went to Beach Blanket Babylon on Fri and Sat nights. Not a single gay person around other than maybe one or two shy bartenders. Fri was quite crowded but mostly large groups of straight people. Also, drinks were pretty bad. I think Bagan may be the only gay club. At least its the only one we found." -- hotlanta2, Feb 5, 2011

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BUKIT MERTAJAM
• The garden on the hill inside Taman Bukit Indah (beside St. Annes). A nice place to meet at night.
• Gurney Plaza
  G/F facilities can be crowded on weekends.
• Taman Hwa Seng (just opposite Wonderful Mini Market beside Jln Rozhan, around the Alma, Bukit Mertajam area). There is a river beside a playground. You can find the Taman signboard beside the road. Go to the playground to look for the same species, mostly after 8pm. You may find young PLU sitting alone. If you click, just walk down to the quiet river bank.

  
  BUTTERWORTH

• Ampang Jajar Garden near Permatang Pauh, noon-5pm. Young Malay and Chinese guys.
• Park in Butterworth between the old British Fortress and city hall. After 10pm. At your own risk. Beware hustlers and police decoys.
• Swimming pool in Seberang Jaya, Butterworth. On Sat and Sun, you can see lots of PLUs (all races) hunting in the facilities.

  
  HISTORIC GEORGE TOWN / PENANG ISLAND

• Beaches:
  • Batu Feringhi beach area near the international hotels. The beach at the back of Ship restaurant is very cruisy after 4pm most days. Always good looking guys there. Lots of caucasians.
  • Tanjung Bunga beach, between Paradise Hotel/International School and at the rocks at the end. Especially afternoons and early evenings.

    Comments from Utopians:

    "I have been several times at the beach at Teluk Bahang (in front of the closed hotel) and a few PLUs are there, too, at the very quiet beach!" -- luxpaul, Mar 12, 2011

• Penang Youth Park
  Facilities near the shop and area behind shops with tables to play checkers. Afternoons from 2-5pm.
• Shopping Malls:
  • Gurney Plaza
    Utopia Map. Starbucks.
  • Komtar Shopping Mall, 2/F and up facilities.
  • Midlands Park shopping center (formerly called, and still known as, One-Stop), including G/F and 2/F facilities. Sit outside at KFC to catch passersby.

    Comments from Utopians:

    "1/F and 3/F facilities are packed with action, especially on Sat!" -- gstar, Sep 14, 2011

  • Queensbay Shopping Mall
    G/F and 2/F and up.
  • Sunshine Farlim
    Utopia Map. Facilities in the evening.
• The small trail off the road, just past the Moon Gate as you head towards the Botanical Gardens. Popular with joggers in the daytime. You'll need to walk thru the bushes to discover this place with lot of activity, especially weekends (early morning 6-7am to late night past 11pm) and weekdays (after 5pm till midnight). Lots of joggers and hikers. Beware of decoys. At your own risk (take along a local friend if you can).
• Swimming Pools:
  • Permata swimming pool at Farlim, Air Hitam. A nice place to meet others, 4pm onwards, especially on Wed and Thu evenings after 7:30pm. Some of the good looking and fit guys don't mind showing off in the shower room.
  • Seberang Jaya swimming pool after working hours. There are a number of PLUs in the pool and facilities. Staff who are gay like to check out the scene, too.

Penang is one of Asia's culinary treasure troves. Chinese, Muslim, Indian, Malay, European, Thai, Indonesian, Burmese, Japanese, Armenian, and Filipino immigrants have all pitched their recipes and ingredients into Penang's melting pot. Nyonya Baba (the Straits Chinese) fused some of the city's earliest flavors into their own unique style that spread up and down peninsular Asia from Phuket to Singapore. Corner coffee shops are still a haven for community life and an oasis of fresh plate meals, local libations and a rainbow of sweets. Street hawkers spread the wealth to hungry passersby. Below please find a sampling from the huge variety of sit-down eateries available, but be sure to graze your way across the city during your daytime explorations!

BUTTERWORTH

• Penang Nyonya Delights (Peranakan cuisine)
  22 Jln Perai Jaya 2, Bandar Penas, Butterworth (behind Pacific Megamall, near Penang Bridge and not far from Unique 2 sauna), Utopia Map, 399-3668. Gay-owned.

  HISTORIC GEORGE TOWN / PENANG ISLAND

• Eastern and Oriental Hotel
  10 Farquhar St, Utopia Map. Enjoy a classic high tea on Sun afternoon at one of Asia's grandest colonial-era hotels. Perfect finger sandwiches (salmon, beef and cucumber), proper scones with clotted cream and fig jam, cakes and tarts. Would you care for more, sir? No skimping here. Bring your guidebook to Penang (and your iPod stocked with songs by onetime guest Noel Coward) and spend an afternoon at leisure.

  Mews Kafe (local specialties and international) 77 Muntri St, Utopia Map, 263-5125, email. Gay and lesbian-friendly Mews Kafe is generally busy with in-the-know locals who appreciate the freshly homemade faire, including daily specials (when we visited they had a Nyonya Baba bento box with exquisite Peranakan specialties and spiced Sri Lankan soft shell crab on linguini). A smile-inducing selection of Asian inspired desserts, such as the famous sago gula melaka (tapioca pearls, coconut cream and palm sugar sauce) or a woven basket from which a variety of fresh nyonya kuih (chewy rice and coconut puddings in a rainbow of textures and colors) may be sampled. Their cappucino, served in a broad, Chinese blue and white porcelain bowl, is the best we've EVER had. Specialty teas include icy tropical fruit infusions or pots of steeping lemongrass or ginger.

• Kedai Makanan Song River (Song River Café)
  In the middle of Gurney Drive. This seaside hawker center is crowded with diners in the evening - always a good sign. Here you will find a dozen kiosks under one roof, dishing up excellent local food including char koay teow, otak-otak, fried oysters and satay sticks.
• Kheng Pin (local food and drinks)
  Jln Penang, on the corner opposite White House Hotel, one block away from Cititel Hotel. Foodie Alert! This unpretentious open-air eatery serves up local specialties for breakfast and dinner, including perhaps the perfect version of Penang's most famous street food dish - char kuay teow (chewy rice noodles with seafood). Try also the won ton noodles, kuay teow th'ng, iced white coffee or a frosty lime juice.
• kissA Koyotei
  148 Jln Hutton, Utopia Map, 226-6272. The aliens from Planet Japan have landed in Penang. Orange Christmas trees and "gothic-loli" (gothic Lolita) waitresses in OTT lacey French maid outfits. Now serving Penangites a Hello Kitti combo of "Japanese cuisine, espresso, liquor, and sweets." Yaranaika?
• Northam Beach Café
  Near Gurney Dr. Reported to have gay customers week nights after 7pm. Good food, clean facilities.
• Nyonya Baba Cuisine (Peranakan cuisine)
  44 Nagore Rd, Utopia Map, 227-8035. Foodie alert! Famous locally for its authentic nyonya baba ethnic dishes. The owner cooks with the freshest ingredients at hand and her Auntie helps with service to the four big round tables in the front room of this classic old Penang home. They'll be happy to recommend favorites from the menu, but be sure to try the "Capitan chicken curry" with its surprising crunchy texture from fried shallots and otak-otak banana-leaf steamed savory seafood soufflé.
• Perut Rumah (Peranakan cuisine)
  17 Jln Kelawei, Utopia Map, 227-9917. Foodie Alert! Gay-owned and specializing in nyonya baba specialties, all prepared the old fashioned way and served in a restored, 100-year-old Art Deco-styled mansion. Items do run out as nothing is made in mass quatitities. Some dishes are begun the night before while others take several days to complete. 70 dishes to select from including Kari Kapitan (chicken curry), otak-otak (seafood soufflé), perut ikan (fish maw stewed in tamarind juice), roti baba (fried pork sandwich) and bee koh moy (black glutinous rice with coconut milk). Open 11am-10:30pm.
• Suffolk House
  250 Jln Air Itam, Utopia Map, 228-1109. Tea, lunch or dinner at this restored, historic colonial mansion is a must. Great for a lazy afternoon of conversation. Waiters are gay-friendly.

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