Must-Buy Souvenirs

Flaky, individually-wrapped pastries filled with sweet or savory ground mung bean paste — Ghee Hiang, one of George Town's oldest biscuit houses, is the name locals point to first when asked what edible souvenir to bring home.

Penang's own nutmeg, sliced and steeped in a sweet-tangy brine — nutmeg trees have grown on the island since the British planted them in the 1800s, and the pickled fruit (alongside nutmeg juice and candy) is one of Penang's most distinctive edible souvenirs.

A length of cotton batik, hand-waxed and dyed in traditional floral or geometric motifs, wearable as a sarong, beach wrap, or wall hanging — Batek-Lah Collection has been a fixture of Penang's batik trade for over 40 years.

Postcards, magnets, and tote bags printed with George Town's famous murals — Ernest Zacharevic's 'Children on a Bicycle' chief among them — sold by the small souvenir shops clustered along Armenian and Cintra Streets.

Slippers hand-beaded, thousands of tiny glass beads at a time, in the floral patterns of Peranakan (Baba Nyonya) craft — a single pair can take days to weeks of work, and George Town still has a handful of artisans keeping the tradition alive.