Penang 2011 - Tropical Spice Garden
Tropical Spice Garden is a relatively new attraction in Penang. A garden created from an abandoned rubber plantation, it is located at the Eastern end of Batu Feringghi. A taxi ride will take about 30min from George Town in good traffic.The Spice Garden is a privately developed landscaped garden open to the public with a small entry fee - RM 14 for adults and RM 8 for kids.
The site is on on the foothill in Teluk Bahang. Most of the natural flora and terrain has been retained. To that the landscape designers have added herbs, spices and ornamental plants. If you want to be educated on the plants - you can take a guided tour which costs a bit more. Otherwise it is really fun to just wonder around on your own through this tropical paradise.
The garden is actually not that big, but clever planning make it look much bigger then it actually is.
After wondering around for a couple of hours at the garden, we were quite hungry as it was almost lunch time. Luckily there is a nice cafe at the Spice Garden - The Tree Monkey Cafe perched at one of the highest points in the garden. It has a large terrace overlooking the sea, so we decided to settle down there.
The menu is mostly Thai. Even the waitresses were Thai, so were the chefs. There were quite a lot of selections of the menu, but this being lunch we settled on lighter fare as I was with the kids. Ordered a Pineapple Fried Rice, Chicken Satays and Green Papaya Salad. The food was very good - authentic Thai tastes prepared with fresh ingredients.
The Tree Monkey Cafe is definitely recommended if you are in Penang. The place has great ambiance, the cafe decoration nice, and the food very authentic. Be warned though
The site is on on the foothill in Teluk Bahang. Most of the natural flora and terrain has been retained. To that the landscape designers have added herbs, spices and ornamental plants. If you want to be educated on the plants - you can take a guided tour which costs a bit more. Otherwise it is really fun to just wonder around on your own through this tropical paradise.
The garden is actually not that big, but clever planning make it look much bigger then it actually is.
After wondering around for a couple of hours at the garden, we were quite hungry as it was almost lunch time. Luckily there is a nice cafe at the Spice Garden - The Tree Monkey Cafe perched at one of the highest points in the garden. It has a large terrace overlooking the sea, so we decided to settle down there.
The menu is mostly Thai. Even the waitresses were Thai, so were the chefs. There were quite a lot of selections of the menu, but this being lunch we settled on lighter fare as I was with the kids. Ordered a Pineapple Fried Rice, Chicken Satays and Green Papaya Salad. The food was very good - authentic Thai tastes prepared with fresh ingredients.
The Tree Monkey Cafe is definitely recommended if you are in Penang. The place has great ambiance, the cafe decoration nice, and the food very authentic. Be warned though
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