Most capital cities make good hunting grounds for food lovers, and Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia is no exception. Travel a little further, though, and you’ll find the city of Penang – a laid-back island with a strong food heritage and Unesco World Heritage status. Visit here and you’ll get to try char kway teow (a fiery wok-fried rice noodle dish with Chinese sausage and prawns), assam laksa (thick rice noodles in a fragrant tamarind-based gravy with local mackerel) and hokkien mee, which is rice vermicelli and yellow egg noodles in a prawn and pork broth with hard-boiled egg.
Stay at Cheong Fatt Tze, a boutique hotel known as the Blue Mansion, in George Town, and book into Indigo restaurant, for a swankier meal. Then you gotta hit that beach. Two hours away by coach is Pangkor, home to little fishing villages, deserted beaches and some top seafood. Stay at the boutique Tiger Rock for cool jungle vibes, or book a few nights at the private island Pangkor Laut Resort, for an over-water on-stilts suite, natural spa treatments and more epic feasting. HOW: Trailfinders offers nightly rates at Pangkor Lant Resort from £72pp per night. They’ll help extend trips to include Penang, and book flights from £500 return.
