Our 2024 trip to Penang sounds like a 4D3N holiday but in reality, on the first day, we arrived at our hotel in the evening, and the final day just saw us heading to the airport for our afternoon flight back to SG. So we basically had only 2 full days to explore Penang as best we could with a little one. XD So… first stop on “full day #1” was JOJA Bagels, which is also really close to Very Hotel. Since the hotel doesn’t provide breakfast, we made our own plans. Unfortunately, Melody wakes up very early every morning so we had to wait when we got to JOJA Bagels as they open only at 830am. HOWEVER, staff saw us standing outside and invited us to go in and grab a seat first! WOW. Thanks, guys!
Freshly prepared, the bagels were such a treat! A really good start to the day. As for drinks, he had Mocha while I ordered the Ice Shaken Lemonade.
They have baby chairs here too, so you can definitely bring your little ones here. AND the toilets are super clean.
After breakfast, we booked a Grab ride to the Penang Botanic Gardens. The lady driving us there was a local but had never been to their Botanic Gardens before. XD Similarly, we found out that Very Hotel staff didn’t know about Seafood Choo (just round the corner) and had never been to the Wonderfood Museum. Certainly makes one wonder why they’d not visit places that are pretty accessible.
I’d done my research *ahahaha* and knew that the chapatti w/sambal sardin at the Waterfall Cafe in front of the Botanic Gardens is worth a try. So my darling had that (requested for 1pc of chapatti instead of the usual 2) while I sipped on Lipton’s ice lemon tea (from a can) while trying not to melt from the heat. XD
We then took yet another Grab ride (yes, we travelled around Penang exclusively via Grab) to Gurney Plaza – KOI bubble tea (!!!), food and a spot of shopping. Then we hopped into another car and went to The Top.
At The Top, we visited the Penang Boutique Aquarium… which was much bigger than the term “boutique” suggests. I definitely recommend bringing kids (of any age) here. We got tickets via Klook, got them printed out at the ticketing booth one level up, then came back down, got them scanned at the entrance and had a lot of fun.
We also went to the Jungle Gym… where I really felt like I got a good workout (as the word “Gym” suggests). OMG. It’s built, obviously, for kids so when I have to accompany my kiddo, I’d often have to bend, crouch, squat, and eventually collapse in a heap at the ball pit right below. XD I was so tired, I didn’t take any photos. But I can tell you the ball pit’s pretty cool – there’s one of those interactive screens whereby you can throw balls at sea creatures and all and earn points. And they even have some kind of contraption whereby balls placed on top end up levitating. Very cool.
Jungle Gym Fees:
(Weekdays) RM25 Toddlers, RM48 Kids, RM10 Guardians
(Weekends) RM35 Toddlers, RM66 Kids, RM10 Guardians
*RM8.50 socks. Free entry for those below 12mo with a PAYING sibling.
Dinner was at Two Frenchies, a two-minute walk away from Very Hotel, according to Google Maps.
Bless the staff! They’re so astute and seem to be able to predict the future. Level 1 was almost filled with diners, so they asked us to go up to level 2 (and we had the whole floor to ourselves). There’s even a little cosy corner that looks like someone’s living room… and it was here Papa decided to tie Melody’s hair… awww just look at that:
The calm before the storm.
Shortly after the food was served… Melody got a tummyache and needed to poop. Sounds normal except that she was also having constipation, and toddlers straining while trying to poop sound like they’re being skinned alive.
Thankfully, we were on the second floor, and with the restroom door shut, I don’t think people downstairs heard much of it, if they did hear anything at all. So while they feasted on duck confit and sipped on (I’d imagine) good wine, I was helping Melody get her poop poop out. She screamed, strained, wailed….
I think it was at least a good 30 minutes? But felt like an eternity.
We ordered the RM16 Fish Crockets for Melody (so cute! Heart-shaped fish nuggets!), the RM42 Pork Marengo for me (I ate this when it’d gotten cold already so erm… I have to say I don’t remember it fondly?), and hubz had the RM43 Signature Burger. LOVE the fries here!
I didn’t really get to enjoy the food… my darling did though. XD It’s always better to be the father instead of the mother, I tell you. Because the little one always screams for Mama no matter what the issue is. (@_@)
And I thought that was the end of it. Except… the same thing happened during dinnertime the next day. O.M.G.
Working With Grace 
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