Jalan Kek Chuan, Penang: 17th most beautiful street in the world

For an Instagram-worthy burst of colour in George Town, head to Jalan Kek Chuan, which has been awarded 17th place for the most beautiful street in the world according to housebeautiful.com (a home inspiration magazine from the United States). Forty streets were selected and only one other street in Southeast Asia (in Phuket) made the list.

If you’re fans of the BBC series Race Across The World, you may remember some of the contestants took a detour during the race to try and locate the street, with limited success. Keep reading to see what they missed out on, if it deserves the accolades and if it’s worth making your own detour.

George Town, the capital of the Malaysian island Penang, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site with lively street art and even more famed street food. If it’s architectural eye candy you’re after, head to Jalan Kek Chuan to peruse the ornately detailed shops that blend Eastern and Western designs.

housebeautiful.com

Where to find Jalan Kek Chuan

Click here for location

Jalan Kek Chuan is on the edge of the George Town World Heritage Site, tucked away from the traditional tourist area and you won’t find it on the George Town walking tour.

Several Penang buses (including the 101, 102 and 103) can drop you off on Jalan Macalister, near to the Penang State Museum. Otherwise, jump in a Grab taxi and get dropped off at the junction of Jalan Macalister and Jalan Kek Chuan, next to the Masjid Pakistan (the mosque).

What to expect at Jalan Kek Chuan

The only problem with being voted the 17th most beautiful street in the world is that the bar is set very high. As the taxi or bus approaches the street, your eyes are ready and waiting for a world-class moment. In all honestly, you might be slightly disappointed.

It’s really just a normal Penang street, with some (admittedly) extremely pretty archways to wander through and explore. The street is only 30m long with cars, wheelie-bins and normal day-to-day life spilling out onto it. There are a few cafes and shops to browse, but the road isn’t pedestrianised.

This isn’t necessarily a criticism; there’s nothing wrong with a street having a local, working vibe. Western-style cafes, bars and other concessions for tourists aren’t a pre-requisite for a beautiful street. In fact, often the opposite is true. It’s just that, aside from the brightly painted archways, there’s not much else here to occupy you. Streets like this aren’t unusual in Penang. It’s perhaps the paint colour that has won the adjudicator over.

At either end of Jalan Kek Chuan, you’ll find a mechanic, food court and a derelict patch of land, so it’s best to focus your time on the short stretch bounded by the archways.

Is is worthy of its title?

No, not really.

The archways are pretty and do make for a good photograph if you get the angles right. But we can think of a few other streets in Penang that are more worthy of this title.

What is there to do at Jalan Kek Chuan

After you’ve dodged the traffic and taken your photograph of the archways and facades, there’s not a huge amount else to do on the street itself, other than venture into one of the cafes (although they don’t seem to open early in the morning).

There’s a nice little food court at the Jalan Macalister junction, similar to the many other food courts in George Town.

Across the road from the food court is Masjid Pakistan and the adjoining Pakistan House, which are both interesting buildings to view from the outside. Pakistan House in particular has a strong ‘faded-glory’ energy. Further along Jalan Macalister is the Penang State Museum, with the KOMTAR building visible in the near distance.

Final thoughts on Jalan Kek Chuan

The brightly coloured archways and facades are certainly striking to look at and they do elevate Jalan Kek Chuan into the ‘pretty street’ category. If it didn’t have its exaggerated title, you might stumble across it, take a few photos and remember it fondly.

We’d suggest approaching it in that mindset; a pretty street that’s well-worth a visit if you’re in the area, but its place on the ‘Most Beautiful Streets in the World’ list is really only about one magazine’s opinion. Perhaps take a visit yourself to decide if Jalan Kek Chuan should be on the list, or it more style over substance?

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