China House

Top choice in George Town


You can't really say you've been out in George Town until you've stepped inside China House. This block-wide amalgamation of shophouses is packed with hip places to eat, drink, shop and chill out. By day, order coffees, smoothies and adventurous fusion meals at Kopi C, and extremely good three-inch thick cakes at Beach Street Bakery, then come back after dark for guest ales and live music at Canteen.

Other top options include the upstairs crafts boutique, fine dining (modern European meets Malaysian) at BTB, and sleek cocktails in moody surroundings at Vine & Single.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby George Town attractions

1. Cheah Kongsi

0.03 MILES

Looking splendid after a major restoration, Cheah Kongsi is home to the oldest Straits Chinese clan association in Penang. Topped by a tiled pagoda roof,…

2. Art Lane

0.03 MILES

This 2018 addition to George Town's ever-growing collection of public artworks is a gallery crafted from two vacant pre-WWII shophouses. Artworks run the…

3. Lim Kongsi

0.03 MILES

Set up in 1860, this Clanhouse is also known as Kew Leong Tong, which means Hall of Nine Dragons. The association is open to anyone with the surname Lim,…

4. Kids on a Bicycle Mural

0.05 MILES

This 2012 work by Ernest Zacharevic is the most famous of George Town's street-art pieces. It features a real bicycle attached to a wall, on which the two…

5. Lebuh Armenian

0.06 MILES

Although this street is named for Penang's Armenian population (such as the famous Sarkies, who established the Eastern & Oriental Hotel), there's no…

6. Batik Painting Museum Penang

0.08 MILES

Penang artist Chuah Thean Teng is credited with applying the age-old local craft of batik (a dye-resist process) to making works of art. Several of his…

7. Khoo Kongsi

0.12 MILES

The most spectacular clanhouse in George Town, Khoo Kongsi is an explosion of colour. Intricate ceramic mosaics of immortals, carp and dragons dance…

8. Hock Teik Cheng Sin Temple

0.12 MILES

This 1850 temple is dedicated to its patron deity, the Taoist God of Prosperity. Resplendent in red, gold and polished black columns, it has quite a few…