Cats, cafes, and a little bit of work.
Today begins with MEOWSEUM, the second part of my stay in George Town, Penang.
A Morning in George Town — Heading to MEOWSEUM
When I woke up and looked outside, the sky was full of clouds and it looked like it might rain.
So I decided to head to MEOWSEUM, the place I couldn’t visit yesterday.
When I arrived at the entrance, I noticed something strange — the door had no handle.
For a moment I thought,
“Is it closed again today?”
But when I slid my fingers into the gap and pulled, the door opened.
To this day, I’m still not sure if that was the correct way to open it.
The entrance fee was around 17 ringgit.
Once inside, I was immediately told to take off my shoes.
Inside the museum were many pieces of cat-themed art.
While I was looking around, a sudden heavy rain started pouring outside.
So I stayed there for a while, looking at the art and waiting for the rain to pass.
In the back of the room, I noticed a white cat.
It had a calm, almost noble presence, slowly watching me from a distance.
When the rain finally began to ease, I left MEOWSEUM.
If you like art and cats, this place is definitely worth visiting.
Looking for a Mysterious Place Called “LUO MEOW MEOW”
After leaving MEOWSEUM, I checked Google Maps and noticed a place with a curious name:
LUO MEOW MEOW.
Naturally, I wanted to see it.
I called a Grab and headed there,
but when I arrived, it was clearly the wrong place.
Apparently the Google Maps pin was slightly off.
Since I was already there, I decided to walk around a bit and eventually stepped into a place called TUCK KEE, which had the atmosphere of a casual food court.
The staff were very friendly.
“It’s hot, sit here,” one of them said.
I ordered noodles that looked similar to Hokkien mee and a milk tea.
The total came to 21.15 ringgit, surprisingly inexpensive.
While eating, I also did a little bit of work.
Gurney Paragon Mall and a Park Cat
After that, I went to Gurney Paragon Mall.
It was surprisingly modern, and I found myself thinking,
“Penang has places like this too.”
In a park near the mall, I spotted a beautiful cat.
It looked at me for a moment and almost seemed to pose for the camera.
Later, I tried again to visit LUO MEOW MEOW with Grab.
The place looked like a cafe at first,
but it turned out to be more like a casual Chinese restaurant.
I had planned to do some work there.
But the staff were so friendly that we ended up chatting instead.
“Where are you from?”
“Why did you come here?”
They were curious about everything.
They recommended a mysterious drink, which I happily ordered.
Unfortunately, I completely forgot to take a photo and finished it before remembering.
Tan Jetty
After that, I walked toward the sea and headed to Tan Jetty.
It’s a place where wooden houses stand over the water, and there were quite a few tourists.
I tried taking photos from a spot with a nice view.
But I was carrying a fairly heavy backpack, and the wooden pier moved slightly under my feet.
Feeling a bit unsteady, I decided to turn back.
Ome by Spacebar Coffee
Next, I tried visiting a cafe that looked like a good place to work:
Ome by Spacebar Coffee.
But even though it was only around 5 PM,
a staff member told me,
“We’re already closing.”
Apparently this cafe closes quite early.
So I decided to return to the hotel and do some work there instead.
Dinner at Red Garden Food Paradise
For dinner, I went to Red Garden Food Paradise,
a large food court.
Right at the entrance, I spotted another cat.
This really is a city full of cats.
The place was lively, filled with tourists.
There was even live music playing on a stage.
That night I tried laksa for the first time.
The flavor was unfamiliar at first, but after a few bites I felt like it was the kind of taste that grows on you.
Armenian Street at Night
On the way back, I stopped again at Armenian Street to see the famous bicycle mural.
During the daytime it had been crowded with people.
But at night the street was quiet,
and I could finally take photos at my own pace.
With the lights glowing softly,
the mural seemed to look a little different.
A Small Afterword
By the way, when I checked Google in December 2025,
I found the following message about MEOWSEUM:
Meowseum is permanently closed because most of the locals prefer to play with cats than appreciate art.
Cat art museum is not the same as cat cafe.
All the international visitors love it though.
Maybe the museum is a bit ahead of its time in Malaysia, so it might reopen again in about… err… 30 years time. Sorry, I tried.
So it seems the museum has closed.
Maybe it will reopen again in 30 years.
That would be nice.
Update
After writing this article, MeowSnap was released on November 13, 2025.
It’s a small app that lets you quietly keep track of the cats you meet while traveling on a map.
