As a Penangnite, let see how I can help here...

Shopping:
Note: We are nowhere near the fancy KL, Klang Valley and Selangor.

All we have here is:
1) Queensbay Mall - about 75% the size of Midvalley (excluding Gardens). Not much people there unless it's weekends and public holiday. A lot of shops situated there and Penang Island one and only Jusco is there.

2) Gurney Plaza - This is our "in" place and Penang's flagship shopping complex. I can say it's our 1-U and with a new wing coming up this August, expect more stuff to 5) be coming in.

3) Prangin Mall - This is another "category" of shopping. Well, to make things easy, this is considered Penang's "Sg. Wang" to a lesser extent. Cheap, tacky and rare stuff are all there. This is the place to go if you want to see another face of Penang or buy IT Stuffs.

4) BJ Complex and Midlands - These are the two "fallen" complexes, much like Subang Parade a few years ago. I wouldn't expect them to be revitalize again unless somebody really rich comes in to buy over them. This is also another place to get IT Stuffs.

5) Komtar - I felt embarassed to say anything about this. This place is basically almost dead if it wasn't for the offices for the state government and authorities are still there. 20 years ago this is the de facto most happening place in Penang.

Food:
Ahh yes, this is our pride and joy. We have food everywhere and they are quite cheap compare to most other places.

1) Restaurant - I wouldn't recommend anything because I am lousy at this category. You can check out Victoria Station, the Ships, a number of chinese restaurants around.

2) Hawker food and centre - No matter where you go. They are everywhere. I don't where you want Hokkien Mee, Wan Tan Mee, Char Koay Teow, Chendul, Ais Kacang, or anything else, you can find it easily. My recommendation for now is the hawker centre opposite Penang Chinese Girl School (PCGHS) and the seafood porridge shop on the way to the airport.

Contrary to common belief, the hawher food near Gurney Drive is not as good as you think and almost ridiculously expensive.

3) Fast Food and Coffee Joints - We don't have a lot of Donuts shop, we don't have Burger King and drivethrough is not that common here. If it's late and you are hungry, Greenlane's McDonald is a good place to be. Also, I think I only saw once Gloria Jeans around.

Tourist Attraction:
Seriously, I really don't know where tourist will go when they come to Penang.
1) Beaches - we are no Gold Coast. The last time I visit Batu Ferringhi beach is when I was 10. People still saying it's a good place to be though.

2) Kek Lok Si - possibly the most famous tourist attraction here. Near Air Itam and there's a wet market at the bottom hill and a dam on top of the same mountain.

3) Penang Hill - still a good tourist attraction. Surprisingly there are renovation and upgrades made on top of the hill.

4) Bird Farm, Butterfly Farm, Reptile Farm - If you are really interested.

5) Gurney Drive and Esplanade - The "near the down" beach

I saw those documentaries in Penang and I can't believe that there are so many tourist attraction in Penang which I never been to. I guess you can use the Lonely Planet guides for more help then.

Hotels and Accommodation
One thing I have problem is that cheap accommodation here is "lousy" accommodation. I really wish we have more motels or budget hotels in the future. The Tune Hotel is coming in on December I think.

You can find a lot of hotels near Batu Ferringhi. Seriously, that place is like a very tone down version of Australia's Gold Coast. If you want to stay in the city, you can go to Sunway Hotel, Cititel, Hotel Malaysia, Vistana Hotel, Gurney Hotel, Everygreen Hotel, G Hotel and Northam. There are business suites near the FTZ such as the Krystal Point Suites and B-Suites.

Hope that helps.