Jalan Sri Bahari, George Town

Sri Bahari Road (19 June 2017)

Jalan Sri Bahari, formerly Sri Bahari Road, is a street in George Town, Penang. It was named after the Sri Kunj Bihari Temple nearby, and shows that the British administrators are not very good and transcribing phonetics - after all, shouldn't it be Sri Bihari Road? The road is today a one-way street, with traffic flowing from Transfer Road to Penang Road.

The area from Jalan Sri Bahari right up to the Sri Kunj Bihari Temple was a settlement of North Indians from the Indian states of Bihar and present-day West Bengal. It intersects with the Malabari settlement of South Indians at the Dato Koyah Road junction.

Jalan Sri Bahari is popular among the local Penangites for Kafe Kheng Pin, the coffeeshop at its junction with Penang Road which serves excellent Char Koay Teow. Having tried it, I say it is good but a bit pricey.

Jalan Sri Bahari has a row of handsome double storey terrace houses on its north side. The first and last house in the row has the same façade with a pediment. The houses are in relatively well preserved state.

The houses on the south side of the road are in the Art Deco / early Modern style. Many of these have been converted for commercial use. In early 2017, a row of these shophouses were restored and readapted for commercial use. The row is given the name Bahari Parade.