Week 2 has been as good as Week 1.

1. Eating and drinking. Highlights this week: an avocado, parsley, cocoa, and milk smoothy from Carrot Fish (the grown-up version of the jus alpukat that I love in Indonesia); Teochew food (brown beans; braised duck; and tofu with leeks and prawns) from Goh Swee Kee; the full set-lunch Monty (pumpkin soup; Vadouvan spice-stuffed chicken, with pumpkin, coconut, greens, and peas; and panna cotta with fresh fruit) in the august surroundings of Suffolk House; a fantastic kopi tobruk from the delightful SiTigun, which also offers a soothing decor and gentle, old-fashioned music; more food from Lao Hakka (sour/spicy lady fingers, and steamed salted chicken with a nice, faintly tangy stock); a great version of homely kuay teow soup from the New World Park foodcourt (a garlicky broth, and generous amounts of chicken, fish balls, and tofu); and -- amazingly -- some fabulous Russian food from Vkusno Dom (solyanka, a wonderfully tasty smoky soup, with sausage, chicken ham, olives, preserved lemons, tomatoes, and chilli; Georgian khachapuri, which is cheese-stuffed bread with an egg on top; and fresh-and-fruity kompot with soda -- I hope this will all be auspicious for our Russia plans in the next few years).

















2. Viewing the sea.











3. Continuing the Yap (or Yeap) trail (after last week's visit to the Yap Kongsi). First, the House of Yeap Chor Ee, a rags-to-riches immigrant who donated the land for the Yap Kongsi.







Then, the Goddess of Mercy Temple (as frequented by Yeap).









Then (from the outside), Yeap Chor Ee's mansion, called Homestead, which is now part of Wawasan University. This stretch of road (now Jalan Sultan Ahmad Shah) used to be known as Millionaires' Row, and still retains some wonderful buildings. And down on Weld Quay, you can see Wisma Yeap Chor Ee, another of his former properties.









4. Visiting more of Penang's historic places. First up, P.Ramlee's birthplace, for another of our occasional Ramlee expeditions.







And second, the Sun Yat Sen Museum, at 120 Armenian Street. This house was the base for the Penang Philomatic Union, a cover for Sun's revolutionary party, which In 1910 moved its headquarters from Singapore to Penang. According to the history section of the web site: "Dr. Sun gave a famous speech at 120 Armenian Street to launch his fundraising campaign and raised $8,000 Straits Dollars on the spot. The Kwong Wah Jit Poh, one of the worlds oldest Chinese newspapers, was launched by Dr. Sun and his Penang supporters at these premises a few weeks later." Aside from its historical connotations, the house, built around 1880, is highly atmospheric. There are a few other SYS sites in George Town that are worth a look, too.













5. Going to see Kaala, starring Tamil icon Rajinikanth. I could have done with fewer fight scenes, but very much enjoyed the story, the music, the characters, and the impeccable cinematography.



AND I finished one article, and started the next... Loving George Town.