Penang Food Galore

Sunday Street Market At Upper Penang Road

2009-01-04T10:45:00.005+08:00

I came across the Sunday street market at Upper Penang Road by chance recently and it was certainly an eye opener...at least for me. Little did I know that there is actually a street market in our own backyard. Since its inception back in July 2006, the market has grown from strength to strength and is no surprise that the Upper Penang Road is transformed into a potpurri of activities every last Sunday of the month. Come that Sunday and you will find yourself immerse in a cultural and food extravaganza showcasing Penang's culture, creativity and last but not least, our passion for food.

The Upper Penang Road street market consists of several themes. There are sections for arts and craft, a gallery for displaying the works of emerging local artists, book reading area for budding writers to meet and exchange insights as well as showcase their talents, an exhibition area for the use of local NGOs, schools and institutes to highlight their work, a community works tent which promotes community based craft, an eco-friendly area that promotes eco-friendly products and finally, an area called the Space to showcase Penang's performing arts.

Being a ardent foodie, what really caught my attention was the section for food. It encompasses a wide selection ranging from healthy living like homemade bread to pastries, pies, cakes, local delights and finally desserts. The signage below caught my attention but I didn't manage to catch any glimpse of the elusive one. I take it that it big since it cost RM 9.

Some Hokkien dishes.

Freshly bake bread and pastries. Hmm. I wonder if they taste as good as those with preservatives.

Cinnamon bread..this I like. Cream caramel. Oh...me like this too.

Wow. I was standing at this spot for a while and I notice this lady bought a lot of stuff from this stall. The next time I came here again I probably need to check out her stall.

Some local desserts and delights. I'm afraid looks like no takers.

The wood craft section which showcases locally made handicraft made from wood. Check out the wooden toast tong on the left.

A remarkable collection of old postcards.

The Space. I managed to catch the performing arts team in action to celebrate Penang's recognition by Unesco as a world heritage site.

The crowd started to pick up only after 11 am.

If you would like to know more about the activities each month for Upper Penang Road, do visit Little Penang Street Market. Alternatively, you may call 016-4883632 or email littlepenang@gmail.com for more information. The opening time is 10 am to 5 pm every last Sunday on the month.

Improvised Green Chicken Curry (Recipes)

2008-12-06T12:42:00.008+08:00

Ever thought of making your own green curry? That thought came across my mind many times and I did actually put them into motion. Nonetheless I failed miserably because I just couldn't get the spices right. This whole idea of exploring with different spices, sauces and ingredients which sounded wonderful at that time spelt trouble in the kitchen. It was also hard work mind you; with the grinding, pestling of lemon grass, chillies, coriander etc. Finally, I decided instead of taking the road travelled by the few; instead of reinventing the wheel; why not try out some of the spices off the shelves? Why not end the misery now and move on? I did just that without any hesitation!

The game plan is dead simple. All you need is to go to your nearest hypermarket and purchase the green curry spices from One Fine Spice. I chose them because they marketed themselves as using natural ingredients and without any mono sodium glutamate or preservatives. Additionally,I bought some chicken and brinjal or egg plant to make the curry as authentic as possible but hey, it's parts like these where you need to improvise. If you feel like beef or lamb works for you, feel free to change. And may I remind you too that it doesn't take a rocket scientist to cook this especially you do not have to deal with the spices any more. Just add in the spices into a cooking pot and pour in some water and coconut milk to help thicken the gravy. Let it simmer away for 10 minutes and add in the brinjal and meat. Continue to stir for another 10 minutes and you are all set.

I finally triumph over my nemesis! It feels great!

Finally, a piece of advice. If you do have any intention of making your own green curry from scratch, think more than twice before you set out for the kitchen. The pay off may not reflect the amount of work invested and the results may not be desirable. Sometimes.... just sometimes, it does pay to stick to the path travelled most.

JL Steamboat Restaurant (Georgetown)

2008-11-22T13:01:00.008+08:00

One of our favourite restaurants for steamboat has to be JL Steamboat Restaurant. The food is great considering it's a buffet concept, the location is convenient as it's located at Nagore Road with plenty of car park at New World Park and more importantly, it's a all-you-can eat buffet at RM 19.90 nett per adult and RM 12.90 nett per kid /senior citizen. With such a bargain like this, it's no surprise that this place is quite pack especially during weekends.

For those of you who wants to get your bearing correct before making a trip here, JL Steamboat Restaurant is located next to Sugar Dynasty which itself is just opposite the well known Continental Bakery. Just to point out an interesting fact about JL Restaurant. As advertised on the bill board, the novelty of JL Steamboat is that you can customise the buffet to your own preference or personal taste. After all, it's a buffet and you can choose what to include in your pot.

Watch out for the grill section located outside the restaurant as this is the highlight of the dinning experience.

The restaurant itself isn't big and is broken into two sections. The first section has limited dining space as it includes the buffet area. The second portion on the other hand, offers a more comfortable sitting arrangement and quiet atmosphere since it's located at the far section of the restaurant.

So, how does the buffet concept works in JL Restaurant? Firstly, you need to order your steamboat soup or stock to cook your items. The steamboat stock comes in a few variety -chicken, fish, tom yam or herbal. You can request up to two choices of stock of your preference since the pot itself can be separated into half. Once you have done that, you are all set and the fun begins. The buffet itself offers a huge range of items from different types of meat, vegetables to a full range of seafood including oysters. For more novelty items like fish maw, mutton, sea cucumber, kwai fei abalone or Australian scallops, these can be requested as side orders.

Besides steamboat, JL Steamboat Restaurant also has a grill section which dish out an assorted grilled items from prawn mantis, pandan chicken and other types of meat and seafood. Unlike the buffet section which is self service, the grilled items need to be ordered at the grill section. Upon ready, they will be served to your table.

Other selections offered in the buffet may include appetisers like belacan chicken, fried rice or noodles and finally a section for desserts.

All in all, it was a great dinning experience considering the fact that the price was reasonable and the food was good by buffet standards. If you have a huge appetite to fill up, the JL Steamboat Restaurant is worth paying a visit. For details for JL Restaurants, see below:

Name: JL Steamboat

Address: 25 & 27 Jalan Nagore, 10500 Penang

Tel: 04-2101122

Business hours: 5pm-11pm (Weekdays); 12pm-3pm & 5pm-11pm (Weekends)

Special promotion: Ladies Night Every Thursday - RM 17.90 nett per person

Soon Lai Seafood Restaurant (Greenlane)

2008-11-09T20:21:00.006+08:00

If you need to look for a good seafood restaurant in Greenlane, look no further! I recommend that you try Soon Lai Seafood Restaurant. It's located along Lebuhraya Gelugur just opposite the play ground. For those of you who are not too familiar with the area, the seafood restaurant is located not too far away from the Olympic College or the KFC outlet at Batu Lanchang. An immediate observation indicates that Soon Lai is as mytical as it's surrounding. It's layout does not portray a proper seafood restaurant but more of a chu char outlet. Additionally, if you are looking for the fish tanks to see where the fish comes from, don't bother. There aren't any on display. And the fact that it's located in a residential area doesn't help either since it does not give anyone the impression that this place serves good seafood.

An evening shot of Soon Lai Seafood Restaurant.

We come here regularly every week so we are accustom to the choices available. However, let me suggest this. If you are looking for a great meal, you definitely need to try the crab. Everyone comes here for the crab so you shouldn't miss this out. While you can order just steamed crabs, the black pepper or spicy chili gravy that goes with the crab are other good options to consider. Having said this, for those more cost conscious, the har kor or prawn mantis is a good alternative to the crabs or prawns. They are deep fried and then cooked with either sweet and sour or black pepper sauce.

Another recommendation would be to try the sting ray which is usually cooked a few ways. They can be grilled on banana leaves and marinated with curry spices or steamed and served with the special thick spicy black sauce. Either way, they are both worth trying.

Our other normal dish would be the belacan chicken which goes down well with the kids. They usually finish well ahead than the rest of the other dishes.

One of their speciality is also the stir fried brinjal. The one shown below comes cooked in curry spices, shallots, chillies and shrimps. On most occasions, the portion served were rather small. Nonetheless, the wonderful taste makes up for the earlier short comings.

I normally like to have soup to go with the other dishes. So if you are a soup person like me, go for the spinach soup that's complemented with century old egg and shrimps. It's one of the few places that serves as good a dish besides Teik Seng.

Other dishes that you might want to try include; spring rolls, fried egg with seafood or bean curd with mix vegetables and pork.

All in all, you won't be disappointed with what you order. Soon Lai Seafood Restaurant is definitely a well balance seafood restaurant which serves good food at reasonable price for the portion you get. For details of the restaurant, please see below:

Soon Lai Seafood Restaurant

15, Lintang Batu, Greenlane

11600, Penang

Tel: 04-6589799

Business hours: 6 pm -12 am (open daily)

For more details, call Lau Keng Soon at 016-441366 or Fong Mee Chiew at 012-4773063.

Wantan mee @ Kheng Pin Coffee Shop (Georgetown)

2008-05-30T18:20:00.024+08:00

I decided today to have brunch at one of my favorite eating place in Penang. Kheng Pin is located at the junction of Sri Bahari road which is smack in the heart of Georgetown. Like most coffee shops in Georgetown, it was built during the preware era.

I remember coming here a lot when I was back then in primary school specially for the loh bak and the wantan mee. It has been a while since I last frequent Kheng Pin and its no surprise why I have been dreaming of coming back here lately. I decided to suppress my appetite for the loh bak once and for all and make a trip down town.

I ordered a combo consisting of some loh bak and prawn fritters (heh cheh) for starters. Each piece cost RM1. Here is a snap shot of the combo that I took before I devoured them contently. The loh bak is famous because the uncle who runs the stall represented Penang in some gastronomy competition in Australia. That was many years back then. Nonetheless, the taste remains exquisite. Its very crispy and I somehow wonder the batter he uses is quite unique than the rest. Additionally, the pork he uses doesnt contain much fat unlike some other stalls. And it isnt too oily too. This is probably one of the best loh bak stall in Penang.

I also had the wantan mee. It used to be run by two brothers but now its operated by a husband and wife team. The noodles are quite delicate and the wantans are tasty as ever. The sesame oil isnt too overpowering hence one would be able to taste the intrinsic ingredients of the dumplings.

Notice that her stall spells wantan mee as wan thung mee. I have come across different names before like "wantan mee" and yes; "one ton mee" (could the true meaning be he's selling one tonne of mee?) but wan thung mee is something I have heard for the first time.

There are quite a number of other stalls here too selling porridge, satay, char koay teow and chicken rice. I notice the chicken rice is a hit with most of the patrons here too. I would definitely come back to this coffeee shop and try it the next time. If you have additional space in your stomach, do try the porridge. I had with everything in ie fish, chicken etc. Definitely a viable option for those who wants something light and less oily.

This coffee shop can be quite crowded during peak hours. I suggest the best time to come here would be before 11 am. The cafe closes on Monday.

Anyone Care For Some Sausage Rolls ? (Recipe)

2008-05-30T20:15:00.020+08:00

I decided to do something different this evening. Besides the usual routine of clocking hours in front of Astro and seriously trying to finish a book I meant to finish ages ago (still stuck on the same chapter), I decided to bake. Yes. Bake!

I have watched all the culinary maestros in action (Jamie Oliver, Gordon Ramsay, Jac Pepin etc) in Astro and its time to put all the theories into practice. It's really easy to get carried away in cooking (you just have to watch Jamie in action; his very lay back and casual style of cooking doesnt help either although I must say its entertaining) and I decided to embark on a less ambitous project.

After browsing through all the culinary books that my wife bought, I settled for what I thought would be a straight forward recipe to begin with. Sausage rolls. There is a complete instruction from the book so what can possibly go wrong. I ransacked the fridge just to make sure I have got the basic ingredients in place...i mean what would sausage roll be without sausage. I ended up with a pack of sausages from Farm's Best which my wife bought earlier from Tesco. As for pastry, I decided to cheat. My wife used the brand from Kawan (beats me why the brand is called Kawan, its got nothing to do with food. I bet its a marketing flaw) in which she made chicken pie last Sunday and it was GOOD. I played safe.

The pastry from Kawan is really easy to use. Just roll and flatten the pastry till its really thin, wrap and style it the way you want. It is better when it is really thin since the pastry will expand and form a crispy layer on the outside and soft yet crunchy inside. I added in cheese and some butter to provide some character and 'kick' to the sausage rolls.

I preheat the oven at 180 degrees C and left it to bake for 20 minutes. And here are the fruits of my labour. Notice that I made a couple of variants; long and short.

It taste great as well as it looks. Soft, chewy, buttery and crunchy. All in one. Not bad for a first try. Boy..I am getting addicted to this.

Dim Sum at Max Gourmet (Bayan Lepas)

2008-06-01T09:37:00.042+08:00

After a great swimming session yesterday morning, I decided to head out to Max Gourmet for breadfast with my wife. As I was in desperate need to replenish lost calories, I floored the pedal of my old trusty four wheeler and sped there.

For those of you who are unfamilar with Max Gourmet, its located at one of the shop lots in front of Queens Bay Mall. Unlike most eateries, it comes with ample parking space but nonetheless, its good to be there early since the parking lot gets easily filled up with shoppers going to QBM. Be warn. Its RM 3 per entry.

The food here is base on Hong Kong cuisine. While dim sum is one of their main specialty, it also serves an assorted menu ranging from different types of noodles to rice of one's choice. We decided to order a mixture of dim sums as well as my usual fried rice. The fried rice is a must for those who wants to stretch the Ringgit since it comes in a generous portion loaded with char siu and prawns.

Here's what I had for brunch:

An assorted range of dim sum consisting of char siu sou, egg tart, sesame seed ball with lotus paste and butter bread. Hmmm...looks like I'm missing a couple of char siu sou even before I took this picture. Someone beat me to it!

The char siu so are really nice because the pastry melts in your mouth and you can also taste the sweetness of the char siu. The egg tarts are equally delicious. Its soft, delicate and not too sweet. No complains with the sesame seed ball. I didnt get the chance to savour the butter bread. It conveniently "dissappeared" while I was busy taking pictures. I will have to leave this to my imagination for the time being.

More dim sum in the form of dumplings. Yum yum. I have to comment that they really use prawns for the dumplings. I mean BIG, SOLID prawns that I can really bite into. I have been to most dim sum places and some times, you cant even taste the prawns since they mince it so finely.

A close up view of siu mai and an equally out of focus shot.

Fried wantans anyone? The fried wantans are different here. They have got a contrasting texture. While its really crispy outside, you could taste the softness, flavours and juices trapped inside the dumpling. Wow!

For the coup de grace, I had the fried rice. Its a well balance dish with lots of char siu, prawns and vegetables.

I had the teh peng or as what was written in the menu; milk tea.

Need I specify further?

All in all, the food here is good and the service is fast. I have never been dissapointed coming here. On week days, do come early for lunch since the crowd starts building up by 11am. Just so you know, they close on Mondays.

Roti Bakar at Toh Soon Cafe (Georgetown)

2008-06-04T10:26:00.012+08:00

I happened to discover a new place for good roti bakar recently. It was purely by chance. A few weeks back, I had to chaffeur my wife to look for locally designed T-shirts around Georgetown for her nieces and nephews. We stopped by at one of the shops at the entrance of Campbell Street which sold quite a variety of clothes. While waiting impatiently for her to select the designs of her choice, I noticed that not far from where I was, there was a crowd building up along one of the side lane. Upon closer inspection on what I thought was a dodgy alley, there's actually a shop inside the lane selling roti bakar. Its called Toh Soon Cafe.

From one glance, this place looks anything but dodgy. It triving and lively. There is a mix crowd of Ah Mahs, Ah Peks, Ah Bengs etc, sipping their tea and coffee away or reading the main headlines from their newspapers, all completely oblivious to their surrounding. I decided to join the crowd and ordered some roti bakar to blend in. They have got a few types of bread to order from. The bread selection consists of whole wheat, chocolate, coffee marble, Hainan, sandwich and even low calories bread for the health conscious folks.

I ordered the whole wheat and the chocolate bread. And of course, tea and coffee. The way the toasts are prepared is quite unique. Its toasted over charcoal fire. Now, that's not something you see everyday. These days not many coffee shops use this method anymore. They also serve half boiled eggs something which isnt too appealing to my taste.

I went for second round; this time the Hainan bread plus extra tea. The Hainan toast tasted the best among the three I ordered. The aroma which consisted of a blend of melted butter and grilled charcoal was just tantalising.

I recommend that if you are into roti bakar, do give Toh Soon Cafe a try. However, be prepared to wait as this place is popular and pack most of the time. Its no surprise that they sometimes miss out on your order so be warned. They forgot my change!

Maria's Wantan Mee (Georgetown)

2008-06-06T15:22:00.021+08:00

For those of you who are into wantan mee and mee goreng, I suggest that you try the coffee shop located by the side of the main entrance of New World Park. It's located along Burma Road just opposite Lai Lai supermarket. We were at New World Park one day , scouting for new places to eat and stumbled accidentally upon this coffee shop.

Here's a photo shot of Old Town and StarBucks at the main entrance of New World Park. This shot was taken from where I was standing at the coffee shop.

While the coffee shop consists of only two stalls; wan tan mee and mee goreng, business is very good. Most of the time its jam packed and you might have to wait in order to find a seat.

Here's the famous Maria's wantan mee stall. Try the siu kow or dumplings. Your meal wont feel complete without it.

We decided to have only mee goreng and mee rebus that night. I would normally order siu kow as well but I was saving extra space for dessert. Notice how I couldn't wait for the picture to be taken and started ahead with the mee rebus.

All in all, I was a satisfied camper although I did regret not having the siu kow. After all, its famous for its siu kow.

Wantan mee at Swee Kong Coffee Shop (Pulau Tikus)

2008-06-09T15:56:00.014+08:00

If I am ever around the Pulau Tikus area, I would normally stop by at Swee Kong coffee shop for chow. Its located at the junction of Solek Moulmein and just opposite the police station. You cant miss it!

Swee Kong coffee shop is famous for a couple of hawker stalls; primarily the hokkien mee or prawn mee , apong balik (pancakes) , the wantan mee, mee goreng and economy rice. This coffee shop serves one of the best hokkien mee in town. On normal days, they usually pack up before 10am. Do go early if you do not want to be dissapointed. Both the hokkien mee and apong balik stalls only serve till 10 am while the rest of the other stalls continue to operate till late afternoon. Swee Kong normally closes every Thursday so take note.

I was there last week just before lunch time. Here you can see some retirees enjoying their wantan noodles and teh peng. Its quite a hang out for retirees since they usually stop over at this coffee shop after performing their daily marketing activities at the Pulau Tikus market.

I would certainly recommend the wantan mee since it's quite unique. Unlike most wantan mee, it is served together with thick lor or egg gravy which gives it a unique taste. It complements well with the rest of the other ingredients. Additionally, the wantans are somewhat different. Though its slightly hard but the fillings are a lot more tastier than other wantans I tasted. It reminds me of how my mother used to make her wantans. When I have the wantan mee in this coffee shop, I normally have it with extra wantans!

The mee goreng is another stall that you need to try. This chap likes to fry his mee goreng "fast and furious" and exceptionally loud. You can hear the clanking of the spatula on the wok each time he is in action. Its probably his marketing signature to get people to try out his mee goreng. It gets into your nerve after a while but if you want great mee goreng, you probably have to suck in all the frustration. I must say its worth it though.

Anyway he is one hell of an intense guy I've ever seen. On a good day, he fries a plate in 3 minutes or less. Nonetheless, he doesnt compromise on the quality of his food. It tasted a lot better than most mee goreng stalls I had. The mee goreng is just perfect to my liking; not too wet or too dry and well flavoured.

Sometimes I do come here for the economy rice. While the selection is limited, its tasty and reasonble. Do try the fish curry.

And yes.....I cant live without my locally brewed tea......

Mun Shang Lo Chinese Restaurant (Bayan Lepas)

2008-06-10T10:09:00.015+08:00

It has been a while since we last visited Mun Shang Lo restaurant at Bukit Jambul shopping mall. We were told that they had a new management team running the restaurant ergo we decided to give it a shot. It is located on the 5th floor of the shopping complex and just a few metres away from the Cathay ciniplex.

The ambience of the restaurant was nice and comfortable. However, we felt awkward since we were the only patrons in the restaurant. They must be thanking us since we occupied 2 tables. The overall service was prompt and delightful. All our needs were certainly taken care off that night!

We ordered a couple of dishes; pork ribs in special sauce, belacan fried chicken, minced chicken with bean curd, vegetable combo, sweet and sour pork and mango and sago dessert.

The food was simply awesome. Sheer cookery artistry! The pork ribs in special sauce was wonderful to eat. The pork ribs was tender and done to perfection. The sauce itself was unique. It must have been a combination of several sauces and we couldnt pinpoint what sauces were used. It also comes with fried man tou and the combination with the special sauce adds sheer utter delight to one's eating experience.

As for the sweet and sour pork, it's probably the best I have eaten. The pork with flour batter was fried earlier before being quickly mixed with the sweet and sour sauce. As such, you can really taste the crunchiness of the fried pork. The sauce was also done to perfection. This dish will certainly challenge your palette since its embroils contrasting texture, flavour and taste. A must have if you do come and dine in this restaurant.

The minced pork and bean curd or tofu is another surprise. The sauce which also consisted of sliced mushroom, minced pork, salted fish and peas was the main reason why this dish tasted great.

I thought the belacan fried chicken was just above average. However, the rest of my relatives thought otherwise. They enjoyed it and find the belacan flavour not too overpowering.

Another dish that you must try is the vegetable combo. I think the vegetable used was kai lan but I'm not sure. This dish is somewhat interesting and creative. It comes in two styles; one fried and one steam. The fried style is quite similar to what you would get in a Thai restaurant where as the latter is more of a typical chinese style with soy sauce. Again, a great dish with full of flavour and constrating texture.

Finally, we had the chilled mango sago dessert. This one would probably go into my top five best dessert list. The slurry mixture of blended ice, mango and sago was cooling yet refreshing. It had the right amount of sweetness to hit the right spot. I must had 3-4 servings! So did everyone else.

All in all, Mah Sing Lo provides a well balance dining experience for patrons who seek great chinese cuisine. The service is fast, the food excellent and the price is very reasonable. We paid about RM 110 for 6 dishes (including dessert) per table. For that price, what's there to complain?

Dim Sum at Zim Sum Tea Garden (Georgetown)

2008-06-10T15:02:00.019+08:00

Like any every Saturday morning, we normally go out for breadfast before hitting the mall. Last Saturday was no exception. We opted to have dim sum instead. There are a few places popular for dim sum especially within Georgetown.

One of the few places we usually go for dim sum is Zim Sum Tea Garden. Its located along Anson Road just directly opposite the KDU building. Its always crowded on weekends and extremely popular with students from the nearby KDU college on weekdays. They do serve quite a variety of dim sum and that's partly the reason why we almost always end up here for breadfast every Saturday.

Zim Sum Tea Garden serves a nice selection of dim sum; both fried and steamed.

What's dim sum without wantan mee? The wantan mee here is nice too.

This is what we ordered.......

.....char koay kak.....

.....fried wantans.....

.....prawn based steamed dumplings......

.....sui mai.....

.....chee chong fun.....

.....more fried dumplings.....

.....and for the finale.....you guess it....wantan mee.....the siu bak or roasted pork was just so tempting that I couldnt resist it.

.....and I couldn't resist taking a shot of it either.....

Wow..my day couldnt get any more perfect that this.

Homemade Fish In Puff Pastry (Recipe)

2008-06-11T08:55:00.013+08:00

It was raining the other day and we decided to have dinner at home. I wasn't sure what to cook until I realised that I still had some dory fish left in the freezer. I decided to make fish in puff pastry instead since we had plenty of ready made pastry. This was the first time I was trying out this recipe and I was hoping everything turned out well. You bet.....it was fingers crossed all the way!

Here's what I did. After cleaning the fish, I seasoned it with black pepper, salt and marinated it with ginger, garlic and thyme. I left it for about 1 hour to soak up the flavours.

Once the dory fish has been fully marinated, I sauteed it in butter for about 3-4 minutes. At this point, a mouth-watering aroma teased my nose and I knew I was on the right track. The fish was placed on top of the pastry which was thawed earlier and covered with parmesan cheese.

I just couldn't get my pastry right. It looked awkward and resembled something you would see from a sci-fi movie. That night I dreamt that my stomach had been ripped apart by aliens coming out of it. Hmmm...I wonder why?

Ridley would have been proud of me...no aliens here! Only fish and pastry....

The pastry is finally coated with egg yolk and left in the oven at 200 degrees C for 20 minutes. Finally, here are the fruits of my labour.

Although this is the first time I tried this recipe, it exceeded my expectations. It's simple enough and anyone would be able to do it. Best of luck!

Ee Thong Restaurant (Air Itam)

2008-06-11T10:30:00.015+08:00

Every Thursday we would meet up with all my wife's relatives and go makan together. They recently suggested Ee Thong restaurant which is at Zoo Road in Air Itam. I havent been there before therefore I really look forward to discovering this new eating place. The restaurant is quite hidden from the main road in Air Itam as it is located smack inside some residential area. I suggest that you get your bearings right before you head out here. Once you reach the restaurant, parking is not an issue as there are ample parking spaces. A promising start. Or that's what I thought.

While making our way to the dining area, I noticed that one of their specialty is the curry chicken with bread. I know there are some places in Penang (mainly mainland Penang) that serves this dish, it isn't too common on the island. Being adventurous as we were, we decided to give it a try!

The rest of the other dishes came. We had.....

Steamed fish in soya sauce.

Tofu with mixed vegetables.

Fried mantis shrimp.

Curry chicken with bread.

Roasted pork belly.

We were bitterly dissapointed with the food over here. It wasn't what it supposed to be. The fish wasn't fresh and fried mantis shrimp hard as rock. I noticed the elderly folks were struggling to chew them down; thank god the kids were there to finish the rest of the remnants - they got stronger teeth! Most of the food was blend and even the curry chicken with bread wasn't really that special. I have had better once before. Everything here was just below ordinary. We also ta pau fried rice back for my brother-in-law. He is one of the most simple guy you can imagine especially when it comes to food. Even then he didnt find the fried rice to his liking.

Pop quiz. Would I ever come back here again? Hehehe .....you guess la.

Hawker Food at Poly Cafe (Pulau Tikus)

2008-06-11T12:28:00.012+08:00

Since Monday was a replacement holiday, my wife and I drove to Georgetown for lunch. We decided on Poly Cafe at Pulau Tikus. It wasn't our first choice. We initially intended to have lunch at the New Cafe kopitiam but as usual, it was packed. Since Poly cafe is just a block away, we made our way there. It's situated centrally in the heart of Pulau Tikus, along the row of commercial outlets.

I have been here many times before since the hawker food here is generally good. There are quite a number of variety of stalls to choose from. I particularly like the stall that sells the Indian economy rice. Its called Subra Indian Food. I will need to remind him about the apostrophe s the next time I see him. Although he serves typical India food, it's prepared halal therefore you get a mix bunch of people frequenting his stall. It was rather a harmonious sight to look at.

The mutton kurma here is a must try. He got the combination right as the aroma of the mutton wasn't overpowering and it's cleverly masked by the spices. A lot of people I know dont like mutton because of the smell. However, it's not the case here. There is also an assorted variety of spiced and scented vegetables, different types of curries (fish, chicken and I belive gizzard too) and eggs (salted, fried, boiled) to choose from.

I chose four items which consists of a piece of chicken, fried egg with onions, vegetables and ikan bilis. Do expect a generous helping of the curries. As shown from the snap shot below, Mr.Subra literally flooded my rice. And the monsoon season hasn't even begun!

My wife also ordered the roti babi which was good. The pork stuffing was soft and well minced; and they held tighly together unlike other places we tried. Besides roti babi, the stall owner also came up with other creative stuffings like tuna, cheese, sambal, sardine etc. There is also a write up on this stall from The Star newspaper so that adds some credibility to the food from this stall.

As if the roti babi wasn't enough, my wife ordered a plate of Hainanese chicken rice. Wow. She can really eat. Oink! Oink! Anyway, according to her, the rice itself was blissfully tasty. I don't know what she meant here. I didn't bother trying since the spices from the curries masked my taste buds. I am sure it must have been great since the chicken rice stall was full with activity.

A snap shot of Mr. Seng happily chopping chickens away.

Another stall to patron is the one that proudly displays the one ton mee signage. I think we all know she meant wantan mee. Not bad at all.

There are also other stalls selling curry mee, hokkien mee, Taiwanese food and yong tau foo but it's just not possible to try all of them. I'm sure they are equally good but for now I think I'll stick to my Indian rice. Period.

Summer Cafe at I-Avenue (Bukit Jambul)

2008-06-12T07:56:00.010+08:00

Last evening we decided that we had enough of home cooked meal and agreed to eat out. We wanted to give the wok and oven a rest. We had a couple of choices but we ultimately settled on Summer Cafe. It's situated at I-Avenue shoplot which is close to the Bukit Jambul complex. The location is perfect for us since we did'nt want to drive all the way to town.

We were at the cafe before 6pm to beat the crowd and practically booked the whole cafe. You really cannot blame us for being this kiasu because this cafe can be quite crowded even on weekdays. It's located close to Bayan Lepas and a lot of factory folks do dine here. We decided we couldn't afford to any risks. I suggest you do the same if you do go there next time.

The menu offers an interesting selection of hand made noodles, salads and rice to choose from. The same goes for beverages and desserts.

A picture speaks a thousand words!

We had the garlic chicken rice and tomato egg chicken rice. Both were good.

.....and vegetable soup.....

Summer Cafe is great if you like simple food. There's absolutely nothing complex or fancy about the food here and it offers good selection too. However, do prepare to wait for your meals during peak hours. I suggest that you pack some biscuits with you when you come here. You will thank me for this!

Roasted Duck Rice at Veron Cafe (Greenlane)

2008-06-12T12:21:00.014+08:00

If you are ever in Greenlane and feel like having duck rice, I would suggest that you try Veron Cafe. It's located at Island Glades along the row of shop houses. It's close to the Delima cafe so you cannot miss it.

The coffee shop itself is small and only has two stalls. In the mornings, they are occupied by the lam mee and duck koay teow operators. The coffee shop owner also sells the usual toast bread / roti bakar with butter and kaya, semi boiled eggs and so on. Just directly outside this coffee shop, you can find makeshift stalls selling economy noodles, wantan mee and nasi lemak. After 10 am onwards, one of the stall is taken over by the roasted duck rice operator.

This is what I had for lunch today. A mix portion of roasted duck and pork. And to outdo everyone, I also had the kiam chye boay. This combination is to die for.

The roasted duck and pork are prepared very well. While the skin is crispy , the meat is actually tender and juicy. You dont even get the strong duck or pork ordour that you would typically expect. Additionally, the homemade chilli sauce that comes with it goes nicely with both meat.

As for the kiam chye boay, the combination of sourness and sweetness will certainly titillate your taste buds. All flavours came in together nicely like a well orchestrated symphony with no one flavour overpowering the other.

While it may be quite unfair to place this on the same scale as the roasted duck rice in Lunas, it does however, save one from driving a long distance especially with the fuel increase.

Nasi Kandar at Hans Coffee Shop (Greenlane)

2008-06-16T08:57:00.014+08:00

The government has been urging the public to change our life style due to the recent fuel price hike. No one is spared from the rising cost of living. I have decided that I would go on a personal crusade to discover new eating places that offer cheap and good food. In the long run, I would imagine I would save loads of money. One of the places that I recently discovered that offers good value from money is a coffee shop located along Batu Lanchang road in Greenlane. Hans coffee shop is situated along the same stretch as the RHB bank and slightly opposite from the Lam Wah Ee hospital.

The coffee shop itself consists of a variety of hawker stalls offering food ranging from yong tau foo, duck & pork rice, wantan mee, porridge, mee jawa & mee goreng, nasi kandar, western food and economy rice. Most of the food here are reasonably priced. Do pay the nasi kandar stall of Syein Shah a visit as you wont regret it.

I usually stay clear from nasi kandar outlets mainly the fact they practise price discrimination and are relatively unclean. I had the unpleasant experience of being overcharged at one of the nasi kandar stalls in Penang road. You can hear them muttering and counting something in Hindi along the lines of ek, do,teen, chaar, paanch, saath and before you know it...wha la...its RM 8-10 for something you know should cost less. Talk about lost in translation! Who says you need to be in Japan to be lost in translation? It's right at our own backyard.

Syein Shah's nasi kandar stall isn't your typical nasi kandar seller. I observed that he charges his clients fairly and each time I order the same items, the price is always consistent. More importantly, the price is extremely reasonable. I recently ordered the following items: rice plus tofu / bean curd, vegetable, fried egg with onions and ikan bilis. This cost me RM 3.20. If I were to substitute the tofu with chicken (they are huge, probably chicken on steroids?), the final tally would be RM 4.60. In some cases, this would be cheaper than having Chinese economy rice.

His dishes are well spiced and flavoured and I really enjoy the honey chicken. It's got a good combination of sweetness and spice which gets all your senses in your tongue working overtime. There are a good selection of curries to choose from including mutton, chicken, fish, and sotong. I thought I saw gonads being served too but I wasn't too sure. I will definitely be on a look out for it the next time...not that I need any aphrodesiac to increase my sexual drive. ...just curious only la. Lastly, the food is fresh as the turnover rate is high.

Mr.Pot Cafe Along Gurney Drive (Georgetown)

2008-06-16T14:38:00.020+08:00

I have heard from a friend that there is a new cafe in town. He recommended that I try it since he's been there and enjoyed the food. He was actually refering to Mr. Pot cafe which is located along Persiaran Gurney. Last Saturday morning, we crammed ourselves into two cars and made our way there. It was such a relief when we reached Mr.Pot since the kids were all restless and blabbing non stop in the car. Tranquility at last! The food will keep them distracted for a while.

While waiting for our food, I decided to take a look at the menu again. A great selection of sandwiches and toasted bread. They even got boiled eggs too.

Hey, they have got catchy menus. Perhaps this one is appropriate for our PM. If I were in his shoes, I'll be really depressed too!

We are concerned with your intake of fatty oil. I don't think so. I also see belacan chicken in this menu......

This one is suitable for those partying the whole night. Light and refreshing.

Who says that if you are fat you can't enjoy food? I'm already salivating over the burger.

They also serve an assorted variety of cocktails and hard liquors.

Finally, our toasted bread and sandwiches arrived. I managed to take a few shots before they quickly disappeared.

Toasted bread with kaya.

Toasted bread with cheese.

Toasted bread with tuna.

Tuna sandwiches.

Chicken with cheese sandwiches.

French toast with kaya spread.

I had the ice coffee. Strong and kau (thick).

Mr.Pot is an equivalent to an upscale trendy cafe. Be prepared to pay more than your ordinary cafe. Having said this, it's comfortable and the ambience is great since it's located by the beach front. While the food we ordered were quite ordinary, it made this up by providing a nice spread of choices. An excellent place to chill out after work or during the weekends.

Tu Kar Chor (Pig's Trotter Vineger) at Teik Seng Coffee Shop

2008-07-01T11:07:00.002+08:00

Every time when I look at my sister's in-laws son, it reminds me of pig's trotter. He's about one year old and chubby all over especially the legs and hands. Perhaps his lower torso does resembles tu kar ( pig's leg in Hokkien). I don't have a good photo of him showing his lower torso but this picture should give you a fair idea of him. Sometimes, I just call him tu kar chor just for kicks.

If you do occasionally have this craving for tu ka chor (pig's trotter cooked in vinegar and black sauce), I recommend that you try Teik Seng coffee shop at Georgetown. It's located at Carnarvon Lane off Chulia Street. If you are coming from Chulia Street, it's the lane on the right just opposite to Love Lane. For those of you coming from Campbell Street, it's the turning of the left just immediately after the market. You could also come from Carnarvon Street. Just drive straight on till you reach the market. Do not turn right. The road ahead of you is Carnarvon Lane. Easy peasy.

While the coffee shop is quite hidden, it's extremely popular with office workers during lunch time. I suggest coming here during the weekends as parking is a real problem during weekdays. Alternatively, you can park at the end of Campbell Street near the Kapitan Keling mosque and walk.

I was at Teik Seng with my father last Friday so the food items which we are allowed to order is somewhat limited. With his age, he prefers to watch his diet. And so he ordered spinach soup, stir fried bean curd and out of no where...tu kar chor. I thought I heard wrongly. However, the owner's daughter repeated the order. After a moments silence which was followed by an exchange of glances, my dad abashedly muttered to the young lady "Not so fat..can ah?

Tu kar chor in vinegar and light black sauce making a grand entrance. However, the pork was stripped of it's "glory" and we ended up with just lean pork.

Spinach soup with anchovies and century eggs. Simple yet delicious.

Bean curd with prawns and pork.

Apart from the tu kar chor, Teik Seng makes some kick ass fish curry (promfret with lady's fingers), siu bak (roasted pork) in thick black soy sauce, steamed egg, butter prawns and many more which I haven't tried. Pay Teik Seng a visit if you like chu char. Besides the food, you will find Teik Seng coffee shop quite interesting. I wont tell you but check out what's on the wall.

Yummy durians from Lorong Susu (Georgetown)

2008-07-07T12:05:00.010+08:00

While durians are considered king of all fruits, my wife is considered the queen of durians. Hierarchically speaking, she's at the top of the food chain. You see, no durians messes with her. When ever it's the durian season, she would wallop a lot of durians. And I mean lot's of it and in any form. If you recall Bubba from Forrest Gump where he talked about shrimp this, shrimp that and what not. That's exactly like my wife. She would whack durian cakes, durian ice creams, durian desserts and anything made of durians.

If order to appease her seasonal craving, I told her I would take her and have caviar. Asian caviar. She didn't get it. As soon as I mentioned Lorong Susu, her eyes instantly lit up like a Christmas tree. One would have seen her from miles away! We drove to the famous Mr. Teik's durian stall at Lorong Susu and ordered a few from his brother.

Mr. Teik's stall at Lorong Susu.

Other assorted fruits (langsat and jack fruit) being displayed at Mr. Teik's stall.

Strangely enough, for someone supposing to be so passionate in durians, my wife has no clue what this all means. We found out that these are different grades and types of durians. We normally hear of D2, D24 but this stall have durians with many unusual names. For instance, Durian Boss (reminds me of Bruce Lee in the Big Boss except this one is a lot nicer to look at and eat), Frog, Prawn King and many more.

My wife likes her durians bitter. I tried a few and gave up.

Here's what I like - durians that taste sweet. I'm not sure what durian grades we had. We were all loss in our own thoughts and indulgences. I remember it was a peaceful 15 minutes before silence was finally broken. So for those of you who want some peace, take your family for a durian outing. You will be killing two birds with one stone.

More yummy durians!

For those durian lovers, here the address of Mr.Teik's stall. I suggest calling first to make sure they are open before you make a trip there. The prices are reasonable too. We paid an average RM 15 per durian and they were all way above expectations. Again, it's good practise you ask the price before they open the durians to avoid any potential grievances - if you know what I mean. I heard of some guy paying above RM 200 per durian in some stall in Penang. So wise up!

Penang Pasembur Along Persiaran Gurney (Gurney Drive)

2008-07-14T08:30:00.006+08:00

As you drive along Persiaran Gurney, some of you might notice that there is a small food court along the beach front. I have been to the food court many times for the mee goreng and it's only fair that I pay it another visit. There isn't any specific name given to the food court and I usually refer it to the Persiaran Gurney food court. Just so you know where it's located, it's situated quite close to Mr.Pot cafe. There's nothing interesting about the food court except that there are only three stalls operating there. There's the mee goreng /rebus stall, the pasembur and the kopi stall. It's well known for the mee goreng and pasembur as the stall operators used to sell along Edgecumbe road. For most Penangnites, the Edgecumbe road mee goreng is highly reputable and it's made it's name way back during my father's era.

Here's a snap shot of the mee goreng stall. It's quite unique the way the stall owner prepares his food. He cooks all his ingredients separately and place them in trays. At first glance, you would probably think it's a nasi kandar stall. On the contrary, these are the ingredients which he uses when cooking the mee goreng.

I ordered the mee rebus instead as I haven't had it in a while. It was different as no sugar was added unlike other stalls. The gravy was strong, thick and slightly too spicy for my liking. It would have been perfect with less chilly. A plate of mee rebus would set you back by RM 3.50. For those with a bigger appetite, you can add additional sotong and what not to increase your pleasurable sensations.

This is the famous pasembur stall which used to sell along Edgecumbe road. All you need to do is to select what you want and place it onto the plate. Besides the items that you choose, it comes together with an assorted array of vegetables. I normally tell them to leave out the vegs.

Now. Who would come here and not have the pasembur? You won't be doing any justice to yourself. I had a mixture of the keropok udang, keropok kacang and tua kua and they come together with thick peanut sauce. I must say the pasembur does provide one with a bizarre eating experience. While the keropok udang and kacang are crunchy at the beginning, they will become mushy and soggy quickly if you do not keep working on them. Fortunately for me, I enjoy both contrasting textures.

Make sure you check the prices before you order your items. It's easy to get carried away dumping those stuff onto the plate. Before you know it, you probably blown a huge hole in your wallet like what I did.

While I was eating, I had this monkey to entertain me with somersaults and acrobatic stunts. Apparently, it belongs to the kopi stall owner. He uses the monkey to pluck coconuts to supply to his stall. Hmm. I take back my word about this place not being interesting. It looks like the monkey had the last laugh.

Taiwanese Food at Taiwan Fast Food Restaurant (Pulau Tikus)

2008-07-20T10:10:00.009+08:00

As my job entails me to travel frequently regionally, I have travelled to Taiwan many times before. For whatever reason after all these years, I still don't enjoy Taiwanese food very much. I have to admit there are places in Taiwan that serve extremely good food but they are usually high end restaurants and beyond the reach of the masses. In general, I just can't find any connection with Taiwanese food. My general perception is that they are blend and uninteresting.

However, I am willing to make an exception to this rule. My wife and I love this Taiwanese restaurant located on the 1st floor of Midlands shopping complex. It's run by a Taiwanese expatriate who has now made Penang her home. We always get so much satisfaction from the food she dishes out partly because they have been localised to our taste buds. For directions, just watch for this sign that says Taiwanese Fast Food. Take the staircase which leads you to the 1st floor. While it's quite hidden, the restaurant has survived since its inception in the early part of the millennium through the support of many regular patrons...including your truly. :)

As you enter the restaurant, you will quickly notice that the interior design of the restaurant is simple, comfortable and inviting. While the restaurant itself is relatively small, the effect of the lighting makes you perceive otherwise. Groovy.

While this restaurant serves both ala cartes and set orders, I would recommend that you opt for the latter. They are reasonably priced and range from RM 10-20 per set. Additional, each set comes in a tray consisting of a drink, soup, rice, vegetables, dessert and the main dish of your selection. The main dish consists of a wide selection to choose from ranging from pork chop, pig's tongue, shabu shabu to a variety of noodles. Wicked!

Here's a selection of drinks to choose from for your set menu. There's the bubble tea which I really enjoy. They come with the soft, chewy tapioca balls. As a matter of fact, they are even better than those I had in Taiwan. Other beverages to choose from are the green tea with tapioca balls, special fruit juice, ice mocha and a number of tea and coffee selections.

Grilled chicken set. My wife and I love this. The chicken is grilled with sweet sauce and tasted like char siu bak except that this one is a lot tender.

Chicken chop set. This set order is an all time favorite at this restaurant. It comes in a generous portion too which is why its popular.

Another dish that is popular with the patrons is the meat floss with rice set.

The owner is always exploring new recipes to include in her menu. She recently added the chicken with special spices to her menu.

Entrails in spicy soup. This dish is an acquired taste but the soup is nice though.

Pork chop set.

For side dish, I recommend the Taiwanese milk toast. They come in thick soft slices dabbled in milk. There's even a green tea toast as an option.

This is just some of the many noodles this restaurant serves - beef ball noodles.

For directions to the restaurant, the address is as follows:

488-D, 01-02, Midlands Center (Shopping Mall)

Burma Road, 10350

Penang

Tel:04-2295922

Just note that they are close on every Wednesdays. For the regular patrons, please note that they have just opened a new outlet at the basement of Gurney Plaza just beside Seoul Garden. See you there!

Homemade Katsu Kare and Chicken Karaage (Recipe)

2008-07-22T14:11:00.016+08:00

We decided to do something different last Sunday. Instead of going to the mall like we normally do every Sunday, we decided to stay home for lunch. The whole idea was to expand our culinary range by trying out something we haven't cook before. We agreed to do something Japaneses since my wife is an avid lover of Japanese cuisine. After having narrowed down the choice to katsu kare and chicken karaage, it came down to who should cook. Since both my wife and I love to cook, it took more than just a session of paper, scissors or stone to decide the outcome. Eventually, I relented as should I continue to persevere on the matter, we wont get lunch done. She ruled the kitchen; at least for that moment while I contemplated ways not having to do the washing up later on.

Here are the list of items required for the kastsu kare:

Vermont curry mix - You can purchase the curry mix from Cold Storage or from Jaya Jusco. They in bar like form like what you get in chocolates.
3 chicken breasts, diced and pounded till 2 cm thick. Kastsu kare as the name suggests is usually made of pork but we decided to substitute with chicken.
2 small carrots
4 potatoes
4 onions

To cook, here are the instructions:

Cut the meat (chicken, pork or beef according to your preference), onions, potatoes and carrots into bite size. Saute in the sauce pan till lightly browned.
Add about 6 cups of water and bring to boil. Cook over low to medium heat for about 20 minutes till tender.
Remove from heat. Break curry sauce mix into pieces (we used about 4 bars) and mix into sauce pan.
Cook over low heat for another 20 minutes or until the curry thickens.

Here's the curry sauce mix that we used. It's easy to use, extremely yummy and more importantly, you can use it for 4-5 meals.

A snap shot of the ingredients that were used.

As for the recipe for the chicken karaage, here are the items that were used:

2 boneless chicken - all cut in bite size.
bread crumbs (as shown on the picture below)
egg
2-3 tbs of soy sauce for marinating
2-3 tbs of mirin for marinating
garlic for marinating
grated ginger juice for marinating

To cook, here are the instructions:

Combine all the marinate ingredients in a bowl and add the chicken to marinate for 10-15 minutes.
Dip the chicken into the egg and coat with flour.
Deep fry at 180 C for about 3-5 minutes until golden brown.

The bread crumbs that was used to coat the chicken. Not sure what the brand is since everything was written in Japanese. If you manage to figure it out, let me know.

The end result - crispy, golden brown chicken.

The combination of the kastu kare and chicken karaage with rice. Very delicious. You would think that you were in a Japanese restaurant having a meal. The kare sauce is what made this dish special.

Both recipes are really simple so give it a try. It would also save you quite a bit than having to go to restaurants. In fact, they were so good that I decided to volunteer to do the washing up. As the saying goes, the way to a man's heart is through his stomach. Right on!

Indian Breakfast at Arati Vilas (Tanjung Bungah)

2008-07-24T10:22:00.003+08:00

When ever my wife thinks of Indian food, one place comes straight to her mind. She was thinking that if you haven't been to Arati Vilas, you should make a trip there one day. Most people aren't aware of this place but if you run a search in the Internet, you find a lot of hits in the local food directories and forums. For directions, Arati Vilas is situated in one of the residential areas in Tanjung Bungah. As you pass the Penang Chinese Swimming Club and come to a set of traffic lights in front of the Tanjung Bungah Beach hotel, take the left hand turning and you should see Arati Vilas among the row of shop houses. The food is great, cheap and the environment is very relaxing. More importantly, it's a great place for anyone to chill out as it's located on a hilly area and the place is extremely airy.

You will know when you reach Arati Vilas. You cant miss it with the big sign. And if you see a lot of regulars sipping their cup of cha and chit chatting, you know it's the right place. I equate this place as the Malaysian version of Cheers where everybody knows everyone. You will see the same faces all the time after a while.

While they do serve the normal Indian delights like chappati, tossai, naan, iddili and other types of roti, they do serve an array of curries to go with rice. They use to serve the rice on banana leaf but that's not the case anymore. Arati Villas also caters for those who are vegetarians hence there are quite a good selection of vegetarian dishes to choose from. One of the key uniqueness of Arati Vilas is that it's popular with expats especially those under the Malaysia My Second Home programme. Some of them have built a strong bond with the owners that they are even consigning food to this cafe. Hence besides Indian food, you do get other assorted delicacies like apple pies, chicken pies and what not. Do note that they are only available after 11 am. We were there for breakfast and that's when they started dishing out hot dishes straight from the kitchen. They don't make huge portions for most items sold here so the food tend to finish a lot early.

What my wife like about this place is that they serve good puris. Try it when it's straight from the kitchen and make sure you have the thick potato curry to go with it. Anything less wont do. We also like the taukua and it goes well with everything.

They use to make their own nasi lemak but these days they are all on consignment. They are equally good and usually get sold by the early part of the morning.

Arati Vilas opens from 6.30 am till 12 pm except for Mondays. The full address of Arati is shown below:

Arati Vilas
9 Tanjung Bungah Park
Tel:04-8991379