Penang Island, with its UNESCO World Heritage treasure trove of George Town, the gold sand beaches of Batu Ferringhi, and verdant mountain backdrop, has everything that gay and lesbian travelers love: exquisite food including Nyonya-Baba indigenous fusion cuisine; thousands of architectural treasures including the stupendous colonial mansions of Asia's formerly rich and famous tycoons; sun and fun on tropical beaches; shady hikes through botanical spice gardens and jungle forests; multi-ethnic neighborhoods that are safe and welcoming places to explore on foot, bike, or pedi-cab; fascinating shrines, temples and mosques built over generations by the port's prosperous merchants and fortune-seekers from as far away as Arabia and Armenia; shops, malls and museums filled with beautiful bargains; and more than a bit of gay scene and nightlife for holiday fun and frolic.

All this, yet Penang is so quiet, so cheap, so uncrowded, so easy to access, so friendly, and so rich in cultural treasures that you'll wonder why its not on every tourist's map of must-see cities in Asia.

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

Navigating the local gay scene is easy with our interactive Utopia Map of Gay & Lesbian Penang:

Click here for Penang hotels and accommodations.

Click here for Penang bars and clubs.

Click here for Penang fitness for men.

Click here for Penang massage and spas.

BUTTERWORTH
• Ampang Jajar Garden
  Near Permatang Pauh

  Noon-5pm. Young Malay and Chinese guys.
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• Park in Butterworth between the old British Fortress and city hall

  After 10pm. At your own risk. Beware hustlers and police decoys.
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• Swimming pool in Seberang Jaya, Butterworth

  On Sat and Sun, you can see lots of PLUs (all races) hunting in the facilities.
  Add your review, comment, or correction

  
  HISTORIC GEORGE TOWN / PENANG ISLAND

• Beaches:

  • Tanjung Bunga beach UTOPIAN VERIFIED NOV 2014

    Next to Infinity Condo, under the palm trees. Late afternoon/early evening. Between Paradise Hotel/International School and at the rocks at the end. Especially afternoons and early evenings. Walk down the beach past Flamingo Hotel and there are two more beaches. Action with the locals. Mix of young and older. Quite secluded, so ideal for a nice session. Most busy in the afternoon until early evening.
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• G Hotel UTOPIA VISITED AUG 2013
  Utopia Map

  Cruisy fitness center and swimming pool.
  Add your review, comment, or correction

• Penang Youth Park
  Facilities near the shop and area behind shops with tables to play checkers

  Afternoons from 2-5pm.
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• Shopping Malls:

  • 1st Avenue Mall UTOPIA VISITED AUG 2015
    Utopia Map

    Less popular as phone apps dominate the cruising scene.
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  • Gurney Plaza UTOPIA VISITED AUG 2014
    Utopia Map

    Starbucks.
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  • Prangin Shopping Mall facilities UTOPIA VISITED AUG 2014
    Utopia Map

    Add your review, comment, or correction

  • Queensbay Shopping Mall UTOPIA VERIFIED AUG 2013
    G/F and 2/F and up

    Add your review, comment, or correction

  • Sunshine Farlim UTOPIAN VERIFIED APR 2010
    Utopia Map

    Facilities in the evening.
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• 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).
  Add your review, comment, or correction

• Swimming Pools:

  • Permata swimming pool UTOPIAN VERIFIED JUN 2012
    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.
    Add your review, comment, or correction

  • 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.
    Add your review, comment, or correction

  Comments from Utopians:

  "Evergreen Laurel Hotel has a sauna/spa/massage area, which is popular with local gay guys. Cruisy and fun." -- Jay L, Dec 1, 2019

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, herbal and fruit 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.
  Add your review, comment, or correction

  HISTORIC GEORGE TOWN / PENANG ISLAND

• Aromas Cafe UTOPIA VERIFIED SEP 2016
  38A Lebuh Tye Sin, Utopia Map
  +60 16-410-9084, 4251-9979, email. gay-owned

  LGBT-friendly cafe in the heart of George Town. A safe space for LGBT individuals to express themselves and be as fabulous as they want. Run by local LGBT and HIV/AIDS activists. They plan to offer their upstairs space for LGBT groups to hold events and use their cafe as a resource center for information on being LGBT, safer sex, HIV/AIDS, etc.
  Utopia Member Benefit: 10% DISCOUNT off all food and beverages.
  Add your review, comment, or correction

• Cecil Street Market (lunchtime hawker stalls) UTOPIA VISITED AUG 2015
  Lebuh Cecil (also known as 7th Ave by locals) at Lebuh McNair, Utopia Map

  This traditional open air wet market has, at its Lebuh McNair side, several dozen lunchtime hawker stalls selling traditional foods, drinks, baked goods and sweets. Cheap and easy to try a wide variety of Penang specialties.
  Add your review, comment, or correction

• Eastern and Oriental Hotel UTOPIA VISITED AUG 2013
  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, and sweets. Losing some of it's shine: as of 2013, no more free flow of tea treats, no more fig jam, and the authentic clotted cream has been wrong-headedly replaced with plain, old whipped cream. Bring your guidebook to Penang (and your iPod stocked with songs by onetime guest Noel Coward) and spend an afternoon at leisure.
  Add your review, comment, or correction

• Kedai Makanan Song River (Song River Café) (hawker center) UTOPIA VISITED AUG 2014
  In the middle of Gurney Drive, Utopia Map

  This humble 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.
  Add your review, comment, or correction

• Kheng Pin (local food and drinks) UTOPIA VISITED AUG 2015
  Jln Penang, on the corner opposite White House Hotel, one block away from Cititel Hotel, Utopia Map

  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 (see pic below) - chewy rice noodles with seafood. Try also the won ton noodles, kuay teow th'ng, iced white coffee or a frosty lime juice.
  Add your review, comment, or correction

  

• kissA Koyotei (Japanese) UTOPIA VISITED AUG 2014
  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!
  Add your review, comment, or correction

• Little Kitchen at Birds Nests Heaven (Peranakan cuisine) UTOPIA VISITED AUG 2015
  179 Lebuh Noordin, Utopia Map
  261-6731

  If you feel like you're dining in someone's front parlor it's because you are! Dad takes your order, Mom and two Grandmas prepare in the kitchen, and Grandpa serves and refills your drinks. Homemade Nyonya-Baba dishes. Small portions so you can try a lot of different things. Very reasonable prices. Colorful sweets and pickles come as starters. The walls are lined with examples of many varieties of bird nests (for knowledge, not eating). This is why we love Penang so much.
  Add your review, comment, or correction

• Mews Kafe (local specialties and international) UTOPIA VISITED AUG 2015
  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.
  Add your review, comment, or correction

• Ming Xiang Tai (bakery) UTOPIA VISITED AUG 2014
  133 Jln Burma, Utopia Map
  227-9880

  Delicious local baked specialties like egg custard tarts, coconut puffs, pork-less barbecue crispy buns, and traditional local baked treats and drinks.
  Add your review, comment, or correction

• Nyonya Baba Cuisine (Peranakan cuisine) UTOPIA VISITED AUG 2014
  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.
  Add your review, comment, or correction

• Perut Rumah (Peranakan cuisine) UTOPIAN VERIFIED AUG 2014
  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.
  Add your review, comment, or correction

• Roasted duck kopitiam (duck, pork, and chicken on rice) UTOPIA VISITED AUG 2013
  Corner of Lebuh Carnarvon and Jln Cheong Fatt Tse, Utopia Map

  Foodie alert! Lunch time only. Go around 1:30pm, after lunch rush, or you may have to wait up to an hour at this famous food stall in an old fashioned open air kopitiam (coffee shop). The Uncle who carves the roasted duck, pork or chicken works non-stop for 3 hours with his giant cleaver, creating heaping plates of succulent meat that you dip in sweet or spicy sauce and eat with rice. Incredibly, for Asia, everything on the plate is edible (hardly a single bone) and nothing goes to waste - the bottom of the plate is filled with even the tiniest morsels of unctuousness. Enjoy with an icey cold mug of their wonderful herbal iced drink, almond susu (milk), or nutmeg juice.
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• Suffolk House UTOPIAN VERIFIED AUG 2014
  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.
  Add your review, comment, or correction

Click here for Penang saunas.