Hello. Apa Khabar.
If you haven’t read my other posts about this trip please click here, here, here and here
As I mentioned in my previous post, my friend Amina and her Dad went back to their hometown after our adventure-filled day. This meant that henceforth I was going to be doing all the touristy things as well as exploring Penang by myself. Luckily my Hotel was strategically placed at a location not too far from a lot of the tourist landmarks and UNESCO heritage sites. I decided to check out some recommended places from brochures that were within walking distance, one of which was the Chocolate and Coffee Museum.
This boutique store which also doubled up as a museum is located on Leith Street in George Town. It was about 5 mins walking distance for me and it had a scenic route along the way. I have this thing of old buildings that can tell a story of a different time and that was one of the best part of Penang for me. There was always the old amidst the new that left you feeling like you are discovering new tales with every step.
When I got to the museum, the front room was some sort of gift shop with all sorts of chocolates from the dark to the whites with different themes and a range of price tags. You could sample some of them as well to decide what your tastebuds like and there was a range of coffees as well. I was more interested in the museum and for some reason I was hoping that I was walking into some Charlie and the Chocolate factory situation, but alas, that wasn’t to be!
The room I walked into to had infographics on the walls with tid bits about how coffee and chocolate were discovered and the largest producers of Cocoa, the main ingredient. I was happy to see Nigeria listed as one of the major producers, but kinda sad that we didn’t manufacture these finished products on such a scale. Ministry of trade and investment as well as Ministry of Agriculture, please take note! Whilst where at it, huge tourism opportunity 🙂
There were also some old machineries exhibited that showed how cocoa went from point of harvesting to finished product, sort of like a production line. I walked to the next room and I found this hanging fruits exhibition with various paintings on the wall with products and farmers harvesting. The environment was serene and I just wanted to sit and relax for a bit and I guess so did many people because……
sure enough, there was seating available! But my itinerary for the day was full so until next time..
It was a short but very tasty visit to the museum and I have added it to list of things I want to do again in Penang! I learnt that there are around sixty varieties of chocolate and I will like to sample every single one 🙂
I noticed this writeup across the street from the museum and I remember seeing a lot of them scattered around town with fun facts about the town given information about its location. Upon a closer inspection, It read that the Famous Jimmy Choo did his first apprenticeship in the building. Just imagine many days ago, a young Jimmy walking down these very same road not knowing he will grow up to become a world sensation!
Not far from the museum, the Famous Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion AKA Blue Mansion was sitting pretty, and I really wanted to check it out. But there was still time left before I could get my tickets, So I decided to explore the street for a bit but it started raining. Luckily the concierge at my hotel insisted I take an Umbrella from the reception.
Stay tuned for more #Malaysia Adventures in #Penang and #KualaLumpur <3
Chocolate & Coffee Museum
22 Leith Street
10200 George Town, Penang
Phone: +60 4 250 2488
Leave a Reply