The Wat Chayamangkalaram Temple is a Buddhist temple located at Lorong Burmah in the Malaysian state of Penang. The temple was established in 1845 by Phorthan Kuat, a Thai monk also known as the ‘Powerful Monk’, on a site donated by Queen Victoria to the Thai community in Penang. The temple’s main shrine and pagoda, designed in the Sino-Thai style, were completed in 1900 with a consecration ceremony held in 1910 to celebrate the laying of scared stones beneath small pagodas situated around the main structures. Housed within the temple is a 33-metre-long gold-plated statue of the Reclining Buddha, which is meant to represent the historical Buddha at his death. The interior of the temple is covered with murals depicting scenes from the Buddha’s life. Temple devotees continue to place bowls of Penang ‘laksa’, a noodle dish, at the shrine of Phorthan Kuat as it is believed that he was fond of the local delicacy.
