ChinaHouse:  A Must-Go-To Place in Penang

This story is part of our Travel Writing and Reflection series.

If you’re travelling to Penang, the beautiful island off the north-west cost of Malaysia, you’ll almost certainly find yourself hanging out in the very charming former-British colonial enclave of Georgetown.

When you’re there, make sure you spend some time in ChinaHouse, the sprawling, bohemian café-bakery-restaurant-gallery-library-craftshop-live-music-bar, so big that it forms its own laneway between two streets, with entrances at both ends.

Enter from Victoria Street and you’ll be met with a buzzing café, serving coffee and the choice of dozens of fancy cakes, mainly western, baked by ChinaHouse’s 10 on-site bakers.

Tracking through the 14 different spaces (following the helpful internal maps, like a department store), you’ll first come across a fancy restaurant called The Blue Room’ then a laid-back library and reading room followed by a cute wine bar called Vine and Single. (Yes, for singles.)

The walls are full of bohemian, arresting artwork: ChinaHouse was founded by Narelle McMurtrie, a maverick Australian hotelier who is well known in Malaysia for her unique and artsy hotel renovations. (McMurtrie is also known for advocacy for animal welfare – she started LASSie, Langkawi’s only animal shelter which houses hundreds of stray dogs and cats.)

I met one of ChinaHouse’s longtime staff, Dutchman Matthias, who was on the team when McMurtrie opened ChinaHouse in 2011. He explained that ChinaHouse had been at the vanguard of the café culture in Penang.

“We were the pioneer, it was a bit crazy at the time,” he said.

“There was not really a coffee and cake culture, we were one of the first cafes to do this range of cakes.”

Moving onwards through the open-air courtyard (featuring an appealing pond and a menagerie of rescued cats and dogs), you’ll eventually discover the final room, Canteen, a live music bar, with a decent range of drinks, including cocktails, at reasonable prices.

On the night that my friends and I were there, a charming local music duo – singer Hara and guitarist Daniel – were expertly covering dozens of songs from Otis Reading to Taylor Swift. All this on Monday night with no cover charge.

“I’ve been playing here since 2019,” said Hara, “I love it here.”

ChinaHouse is less a café than a stand-alone cultural ecosystem jammed into a street block of its own – a hidden gem, and well worth a visit.

And if you want to go to Penang from Kuala Lumpur, you should really consider taking the bus. Find out why HERE.