Weekend In Penang

So, after three long years, the folks at Alt Media went for a brainstorming retreat this past weekend in Penang. Woohoo!
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And the venue of choice was the Flamingo at the Beach Hotel in Tanjung Bungah. A pretty nice place that exceeded at least my own expectations.

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It didn't kick off on a right note though as a 6.10pm flight from KL meant we arrived right smack during rush hour, and boy, can Penang really rival KL, no, Bangkok, in the heavy traffic department.

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We finally arrived at the hotel close to 9pm, took a quick dinner and were off to the brainstorming bits.

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I won't get in the details of the brainstorming (trade secrets mah), but I will just say that it was a great session with a fine balance of work and ample time for everyone to chill, mingle and go wild where appropriate :)

And it was a pretty relaxing getaway for me personally. I mean, look at the view from my room...

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...Didn't do much of anything else but eat (they serve some good food really for a hotel), and catching up on sleep. Yup, 10-hour sleep-ins are a rarity for me, so again, woohoo!

Apart from that, did the obligatory walk by the beach to soak up some island sun.
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And it was great to see the rest enjoying themselves...

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And what about my Jalan Jalan Cari Makan adventure? I had in fact asked MHI viewers to share some must-try Penang makan places and I got more than 160 comments and suggestions. But without my own transport, it was a challenge for me to track down these places.

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Lucky for me, we had some time before leaving for KL yesterday and the bus took us to Penang Road where the famed Nasi Kandar Line Clear's located. Jackpot!

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And despite a full tummy, thanks to a scrumptious lunch of mee mamak, laksa, chicken wings and kuey teow at the hotel, I wasn't about to let slip the chance of experiencing a classic Penang kandar meal.
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The place itself has been around for over 80 years (!), and is still maintaining its alley location (don't think it's for the lack of moolah to move into a proper restaurant).

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We ordered nasi, sotong, telur ikan, ayam, sayur and the centrepiece was this awesome fish head curry...

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Pity we had to rush it, so we couldn't really dig in and savour the stuff on our table. But overall, I'd give it a 4/5.

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And then it was time to head to the airport and bid Penang goodbye. But I'm pretty sure I'll be returning pretty soon. After all, I still have over 150 other suggested makan adventure to work on...