o-la-la! penang’s 2nd top asian holiday destination…

.. as voted by readers of the new york times under ‘the top 44 places to go’. it is in spot no. 22 among the 44, while phuket is in spot 12. well since only penang and phuket were the only 2 asia destinations listed, penang is consider as 2nd top asian holiday destination!

read about this in the star paper yesterday but i understand a few bloggers had already blog about it before that.

whoa! as a penangite who was born, bred and live all my life in penang, i’m sure very proud to learn of this (though it is only view of new your time readers). you notice that if you click on the penang spot picture, there is a short write up… and all they wrote on was about nothing but food, food, food! yeah! penang is a food paradise! also, if you click on filter to food, you will see penang showing up – among only six others. it is also filter under ‘frugal’ so i guess that’s the reason many of those ‘mat salleh’ tourists can afford to come to penang.

here is the news from the star:

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Sunday January 18, 2009
NY Times readers choose Penang as No 2 must-visit destination for 2009
By CHRISTINA CHIN

GEORGE TOWN: Readers of The New York Times have chosen Penang as the second best destination among “44 Places To Go in 2009”.

In top spot in the recommendations found on the paper’s website (http://www.nytimes.com) was Beirut.

The only other South-East Asian destination in the ranking is Phuket, which is in 15th place.
Tuck shop: A group of foreigners enjoying dim sum and noodles at an outdoor cafe in Penang.

Other places include Washington (fourth), Rome (fifth) and Metz in France (sixth). The newspaper ranked Penang in the 22nd spot while Phuket was placed 12th.

Besides the second spot in the overall readers’ ranking, Penang is also in the top 12 places in the frugal and food categories (both readers’ and the paper’s recommendations).

The New York Times said adventurous foodies are now turning to Penang, the culinary capital of Malaysia, where they are eating their way through one of South-East Asia’s liveliest street-food scenes.

It said there are city-run hawker stands everywhere and even refined dishes like char koay teow rarely cost more than US$2 (about RM7.20)

State Tourism Development, Culture, Arts and Heritage committee chairman Danny Law Heng Kiang said Penang was chosen by the readers because of its good food.

“The ranking is a boost for the state as a tourist destination.

“Penang food is so famous that I know of Singaporeans who fly here just to eat,” he said.

He was speaking to reporters after launching the New World Park Chinese New Year programme at the food and beverage centre here yesterday.

A series of musical, art and dance performances are being held at the hawker-cum-cultural centre until Feb 9.