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AN INSIGHT VIEW OF HAVEN DELIGHTS @ PENANG TIMES SQUARE

Posted by crizlai On April - 23 - 2009|

Note: This restaurant has ceased its operations at Penang Times Square and has moved to Gurney Plaza, Penang, under the name of Xiao Nan Guo Cuisine.

INTERIOR

When I mention about insight, please do bear with me on a long post with a detailed study into Haven Delights. Ever since my first visit to Haven Delights, I must admit that I just could not get enough of their various ranges of cuisine from Japan, Korea, Hong Kong and Shanghai. It was not the food alone that attracted my attention but the friendliness, smiling faces and wonderful services from every level of the restaurant management. It has also been quite awhile ever since I had encountered innovative chefs and management that were so receptive to feedbacks and their willingness to post mortem mistakes to serve their best to meet the demands and requests of their patrons. This is the true quality of how good a restaurant should be and the success story behind Penang Times Square’s latest restaurant, Haven Delights.

TEAPOTS

It was truly a privilege to be invited by the management of Haven Delights and also a wonderful experience working closely with the Chairman & Managing Director, Mr. Ng Boon Tong, Executive Chef, Mr. Edwin Teo, Sous Chef, Mr. Alex and staff to provide some of the Food Blogging Community members the opportunity to try out their fabulous cuisines last Saturday. The turnout was marvelous with 19 of us from Penang and KL. Without much ado, let’s hit the review items that were served to us.

MDCHEFS

COLD CUTS:

The Hotzzz Abalone (from the Buffet Menu) dish came as a real surprise for many of us as it was topped with the chef’s homemade spicy paste and eel sauce, then garnished with fried garlic and spring onions. This was the first time I had tasted abalone served in this method (the next closest would be the abalone salad I had at Sarkies Corner in E&O Hotel) where the chili paste was not too spicy and yet very appetizing. The Unagi Tofu (from the Buffet Menu) on the other hand was milder with a grilled eel slice being laid above a silky and smooth tofu with chopped fried garlic, spring onions and bonito flakes as garnishes. The accompanied sweet sauce combined well with each of the ingredients.

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MAIN DISHES:

The Chicken Ban Ban (RM10) which had fried chicken pieces, deep fried eggs and topped with the chef’s 3 types of special sauces and shredded nori was another great tasting dish. The only hiccup was that although the chicken pieces were juicy enough, it lacked a bit more of seasoning which would make the whole dish perfect. Moreover, the presentation for the night was kind of flat compared to the few times I had tasted out this dish. The kitchen had now reverted to the earlier style as shown in the comparison photos below. Try combining all the 3 sauces (mayo, wasabi mayo & sweet sauce) on the dish and you will feel the sensation of sweet, creamy and spiciness with each bite. With almost all the items being fried, there were hardly any signs of the dish being oily.

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The Red Dragon Prawn with Jammy Sauce (RM20) which was presented next was a colorful dish. It had giant battered prawns, ball-like white dragon fruit cooked with the chef special fruity sauce. The tangy and slightly spiced flavor from the dish was unique to many. Due to the existence of so many food critics in our group that night, I guessed the chef was a bit nervous and came out with a slightly overcooked dragon fruit ball. Most of us thought it was kiwi fruit instead. I hope the kitchen staff will take note that fruits are not meant to be overcooked or they would lose out on their Vitamin C nutrient. Overall, the dish was still great for many, especially when taken with the shredded radish side dish.

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Next on our review list was the Motoyaki Scallop (RM14 for 5pcs). Since I’m a heavier flavor and spicy rich eater, I have no problem with the scallops served that night, except that I found them to be potentially spicy for many people, especially children. Moreover, the tabasco pepper sauce-like spiciness and thousand island type of creaminess from the toppings had somehow overpowered the freshness taste of the scallops. I would recommend the kitchen to look into the possibility of coming out with a milder dish for those non-spicy food patrons, e.g. plain grilled scallops with some lighter flavored sauces.

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For those Korean food lovers, the next dish which was Korean Beef Kimchi (RM16) would be ideal. The homemade kimchi was good as it was just nice without the overpowering taste of chili and vinegar. The beef slices were tender and juicy. I won’t mind having this dish with a bowl of hot steaming rice.

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The Lamb Teriyaki (RM18 for 2 cuts) had a sweet and slightly grill-burned taste. It tasted nice except that the lamb cuts for that night was not as perfect as the ones I had earlier. It somehow lacked the little fatty portions that would be ideal for any grilled lamb cuts. That might be the reason why certain parts of the meat were not well flavored or tender enough for the consumptions of some of the floggers.

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I loved the uniqueness in taste of the restaurant sous chef, Alex’s creation – Homemade Spicy Chicken (RM15). The fried chicken pieces, chopped fermented black beans, red chilies, garlic, spring onions, curry leaves and sesame seeds were cooked in thick, sweet and spicy gravy and these complimented each ingredients wonderfully. This would be another great item to be taken with hot steaming rice or mantou.

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The newly menu added Shanghai Honey Spare Ribs (RM18) served for the night was the most disappointed dish to be served for the night as most of us considered the dish to be over salty. Somehow the saltiness overpowered the sweetness of the honey. Moreover, the meat on the ribs was rather hardy to be taken in a chopsticks serving dining. I would suggest that spare ribs be braised prior to frying as it would loosen the meat more on the ribs. On top of the awareness on the correct combination of taste, a fattier choice of ribs would be more ideal in this type of dish. As for presentation wise, the rearrangement of the ribs by our own flogger, Jason, would be better as the dish would not look so flat.

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NOODLES:

Although the next dish Japanese Yaki Udon (RM12) was a common dish, the paper thin bonito flakes made it livelier as they were moving along with the heat from the dish. Most of us found the dish to be a bit too wet and the high heat frying (wok hei) was a bit overpowering. The revised version served later was drier and tasted better.

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CHEF’S SPECIAL SURPRISE:

The Tempura Cheese Maki served to us individually was the new creation of Edwin Teo, the executive chef of Haven Delights. The mildly burn tempura unagi roll topped with creamy Mozarella cheese was wonderful. I wished I could have more serving of this dish on that night.

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There were also another two unexpected food testing from the kitchen for the event. One was the beautifully blue fuel gel flamed and aluminum foil wrap baked Chicken Bomb. The presentation was good but the spicy and thyme enhanced flavor of the mashed salmon somehow did not match well with the fiber texture of the chicken meat. The whole combination did not meet our likings much. I personally felt that salmon should be taken in bigger chunks or in thin slices and should not be mashed up to taste like tuna. Maybe a milder herb usage or a non spicy version would be better for the dish. Let’s leave this to the chef to figure out.

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The other unexpected dish was the HK Style Wan Than Mee (RM22). Most of us considered the price to be a bit high even if the wonton were to be big and fully filled with prawns. The dish had four big wontons and a generous amount of young kalian (Chinese broccoli/kale) on top of the springy thick wonton noodles. The soup broth was thick and suited the noodles well but the wontons had some problems. The usage of some blended squid paste resulted in the prawns to be rather soft and powdery taste like as though they were not fresh. I would personally prefer either a bit of minced meat were to be used for the extra bite sensation or some chopped spring onions/Chinese celery to be added to the fresh prawns with a drop or two of sesame oil and light seasoning. Having some chopped jicama, carrots or water chestnuts would surely be an added bonus to the wontons. I also felt that plain fried garlic oil on top of the chopped spring onions served as garnishes would give would give the extra fragrance to the noodles compared to using fried shallots.

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HOMEMADE DESSERTS:

We also had the options to try out two of their special homemade desserts which were Macha Ice Cream and Kuru Goma Ice Cream. The Macha Ice Cream (RM8) had thick green tea extract blended into the ice cream, served with two mochi (glutinous rice balls) and topped with red bean paste. There were many disputes over this dessert as some prefer it not to be so strong in green tea flavor and to be sweeter in taste. Some prefer the red bean paste to be blended finer and even suggested the usage of kidney beans so that it would go smoother with each luxurious mouthful. There were also feedbacks on a less chewy mochi or had the mochi filled with red bean paste instead. To me, it would be each individual’s preferences as not everyone will have the same taste bud. I would think this dessert would be suitable for those who love to indulge in having dessert but are afraid of their blood sugar level. On the other hand, the mochi were indeed chewy hard but it has a great scientific explanation to that. Which item would not turn hard at freezing point? Even the Tempura Ice Cream which I had tried during my earlier visit had harder tempura bits compared to the actual room temperature ones I had tried before. Maybe the kitchen might want to consider having a nutty, chocolate or fruity version by considering the usage of roasted peanuts, pistachio, chocolate rice or even bananas. Simplicity might even be the better solution for this dessert.

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Next of the dessert option was the Kuru Goma Ice Cream (RM8) which had a ratio of 3:7 of grinded black sesame seeds to the ice cream, topped with crushed peanuts. Most of the floggers loved this flavor as this dessert was sweeter compared to the Macha Ice Cream but there were still some who prefer to have more black sesame flavor in the ice cream. Moreover, some had also considered the presentation to be a bit too plain and lack in colors. I would think sprinkling some roasted black sesame seeds and garnish with a leaf or two of mint leaves would be the solution.

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The above items were the food specially arranged for us to review. There are still many hundreds more of new items available in the Ala Carte and Buffet menus. Buffet lunch and dinner would be priced at RM49.90+ per person (Children 50% off). You can order as many items as you like in their over 90 dishes buffet menu list within the allocated two hours duration from as early as 10.30am until 11.00pm daily. Do take note that wastage above 100gms would be charged accordingly. Here are some of the side dishes they may serve on the buffet line on top of those orders you can make from the buffet menu.

BUFFETSIDEDISHES

There were also some great dishes that I had tasted from this restaurant during my other visits other than the ones I had reviewed last month and I would like to share with you here. If you like to have a lighter meal, you can try out the Karapachio Salad (RM10). It would come with a variety of greens, some fish cake slices and served with their specially prepared sashimi raw fish mix sauce. It was indeed refreshing and unique.

KARAPACHIOSALAD

If you are keen on trying out cold noodles, you should try the Tenzaru Soba (RM14). It would come with a rack of noodles on ice cubes, served with tempura prawns and vegetables, a thick broth for dipping and some condiments for you to adjust your level of flavor. I loved every items served in this dish.

TENZARUSOBA

Even the Silky Lau Mee (RM12), almost similar to the taste of the tested HK Style Wan Than Mee except for the wonton, tasted great with broiled young kalian, crab stick strips and boiled chicken slices. The taste of the broth blended well with the springy thick wonton noodles.

SILKYLAUMEE

Another quite similar to the Tempura Cheese Maki dish was the Aburi Ebi Cheese Maki (RM18). This was a marvelous dish indeed. It has 6 pieces of lovely Mozarella cheese enriched rolls (maki) and 2 pieces of tempura prawn rolls. There were also a lot of tobiko (flying fish roes) sprinkled on them. It was simply yummylicious!!

ABURIEBICHEESEMAKI

Just to prove to you that the restaurant would do anything to accommodate to the request of its customers, I had presented them with a task of coming out with a dish with a packet of mixed flavored beans and seaweed as rice garnishes I had received from Japan. The result was amazing… A well presented plate of triangular shaped Traditional Onigiri (三角形日式飯糰), a cooked Japanese white rice finger food wrapped in nori (edible seaweed). Thanks to Mr. Melvin Loo, the sushi assistant, for coming out with this wonderful out-of-the-menu item. You have indeed proven your worthiness to be amongst the top in sushi making.

ONIGIRI

Last but not least, I would like to thank the management and staff of Haven Delights for giving us, the Food Blogging Community, the opportunity to try out the food and in trusting us in our feedbacks for further improvement to the quality of food in Penang.

MANAGEMENT

I would also like to thank the following attendees for making this review gathering an enjoyable one with constructive feedbacks to the management of Haven Delights. Thank you guys and ladies… you were great!

Rebecca Saw
Steven Goh
Nicholas Chan
Jason & Gill
Cariso
CK Lam
Mary
Allie
Bee
Allen Ooi
Lingzie
Ken Chan
Sidney, Sunny & Alex
Albert Yap
Huat Koay

The best way to reach the shop would be by using Jalan Magazine (Traders Hotel). Drive into Jalan Dato Kramat (2nd junction at the right of Gama Supermarket) until you have reached Penang Times Square on your left. Find a parking space along the road or within the allocated parking bay. Just walk into the mall and go to Level 1. The restaurant which is facing the main road of Jalan Dato Keramat is very prominently located either by mode of escalator or elevator.

HAVENDELIGHTSMAP

Name: HAVEN DELIGHTS
Address: 77-L1-34, Jalan Dato Kramat, 10150 Penang, Malaysia.
Contact: 604-210 8855, 210 8856, 016-492 1658 (Ms. Angie Ng)
Opening Hours: 10.30am-11.00pm
Buffet Hours: 10.30pm-11.00pm (2 hours duration per person)
GPS: 5.414701, 100.331871

RATING:
Ambience: 8/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 classy)
Food Choices: 9/10 (1-4 limited, 5-7 average, 8-10 many choices)
Taste: 9/10 (1-4 tasteless, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)
Pricing: 7.5/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 expensive)
Service: 9/10 (1-4 bad, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)

20 Responses to “AN INSIGHT VIEW OF HAVEN DELIGHTS @ PENANG TIMES SQUARE”

  1. wah, you were re-reviewing the heaven delight again? thought you don’t want to review again dee. Some more got family photo 🙂 how come you are not inside the picture ah?

    There’s nothing wrong about reviewing again right Steven? 😛 Certain dishes still needed our feedbacks on the tastes and presentations. Surely I can’t be in the photos. Who’s going to shoot them then? Those were also impromptu shots since everyone had limited time to spare. Most of the time they would be busy managing in the kitchen.

  2. ck lam says:

    You did a very nice review.
    Thank you again for inviting me…really had a great and enjoyable outing 🙂

    Thanks CK. I hope to have more of this type of review again to share with more floggers… the more the merrier hopefully since not all had the golden opportunity to attend such an event. 🙂

  3. SimpleGirl says:

    seems like modern fusion cooking ya! curious to know whether is my cup of tea haha…anyway, the ice cream looks tempted.

    Yup… the food is kind of fusion. As I had found out, the modern generation of foodies prefer this type of food. You should go and try out yourself. 🙂

  4. bennystar99 says:

    wOW…!!!Criz,u damn lucky chap.U r ravishing in the food there n i have only xiou long bau here for company.Indeed a really wonderful review n a job well done!!!Cheers…………….

    Awww… poor Benny. When are you coming back? Thanks anyway for the compliment. 🙂

  5. Selba says:

    Seriously this is the best review so far that I read!!! 🙂

    Good job, Criz!!!

    Thanks Selby 🙂

  6. Criz .. thk u really, for bein such a generous “host”, all that detailed plannin n coordination.
    luvv the company, and it does feel gd to be back among frens (genuine ones that it)

    It’s nice to have you back here too Rebecca. I hope we can have more of this type of events regularly.

  7. Christy says:

    Wow!! You really love this place!! I must visit it one day…soon 🙂
    Great review and sharing, thanks for all the review and re-reviews *winks*

    You are welcome Christy. Do give them a try. 🙂

  8. email2me says:

    Thanks man for the invitation …. really enjoy ourselves that night and very very full! Cannot take a bite more even though so much good food in front. Burp! Excuse me …. XD

    Haha… If you say full Ken, then everyone else would have had more than enough too. It’s nice to have you back from KL for the event.

  9. I try to leave comment this morning, but not sure why I can’t too bad….. anyway…. you have a nice review and also thank you for inviting me. ^o^

    No problem Mary. Let’s hope we have more soon. 🙂

  10. gill gill says:

    review + revisited ! You indeed spent a lot of time and effort on this. Thanks for organizing the review session.

    Yup… I won’t want to disappoint anyone right? Thanks for joining.

  11. buzzingbee says:

    great review.
    Thanks for the invitation and your effort in organizing the review session.

    It was an enjoyable night of good food and good company!! 🙂

    You are welcome Bee. I’m glad you enjoyed yourself. 🙂

  12. cariso says:

    Thanks for organizing. I may try out The Tenzaru Soba next time. 🙂

    It would be suitable for you since you love food that are not having too much oil.

  13. […] CRIZ BON APPETITE put an intriguing blog post on AN INSIGHT VIEW OF HAVEN DELIGHTS @ PENANG TIMES SQUAREHere’s a quick excerptWhen I mention about insight, please do bear with me on a long post with a detailed study into Haven Delights. Ever since my first visit to Haven Delights , I must admit that I just could not get enough of their various ranges of cuisine from Japan, Korea, Hong Kong and Shanghai. It was not the food alone that attracted my attention but the friendliness, smiling faces and wonderful services from every level of the restaurant management. It has also been quite awhile ever since I had encountered […]

  14. […] bookmarks tagged red fish grill AN INSIGHT VIEW OF HAVEN DELIGHTS @ PENANG TIMES S… saved by 4 others     ndb3dgj bookmarked on 04/27/09 | […]

  15. Jian says:

    The food resembles a lot of Tao Japanese Buffet. Even the price almost the same haha.

    From the source maybe? LOL! Of course here they serve bigger portions. 🙂

  16. my review comin up soon. its 430am and i’m stil uploading pics! urughgh..

    I did check the post but it was empty… LOL!

  17. […] our bodies. The noodle was springy and blended nicely with the soup but somehow I still prefer the Tenzaru Soba I had at Penang Times Square as the soup was more […]

  18. the review is totally awesome….great job!
    will give it a try soon~~

    Thanks… you should try them out whenever you can. 🙂

  19. alexisroland says:

    the food in haven delight from scale 1 to 10 would probbaly reach only 4 bcoz of the food in the buffet is sucksssss…stir fry dishes suck as it taste too salty….any dishes wit sweet n sour on its juz taste like u r got to have diabetic dining on it steam fish even worse look like left over pieces as it is a slice of talapia plus dorry n sum unknown meat eel toufu taste like unagi plus toufu even even a kid like me cook better than them salmon sasa salad first order is serve wit raw salmon it actually taste good second serving was cooked salmon did the feed us wit leftover………………………..i wonder lamb teriyaki it was juz plainly over salty n tooo much sugar….choice of desert 2 longan milk boiled sago….n white fungus desert lame miso soup over powered by salty ness u do not taste the miso bt only like salt water lame like shit the dunno propotion within water and miso janjang mian taste hell of shit use yellow noodles sauce like overflowing did nt they noe that jajangmiam sauce is fry nt soupy n wet…..service like dammm shit as i ask 4 tea refill from 4 waiter n waitress only 1 responses wtf experience 4 me to dine in after reading ur blog sashimi order nt arrive……..mussel no1 no arrive f them i hope they cn improve as i would nt even visit it again even even if they kneel at my doorstep pls do be a food critique wit a heart report wats real….

    Hi Alexis,

    From what you had described, You really had a bad time there. I’m sorry to hear about that. When a group of us had the review there, it was during their initial stage where most of the items on the menu was great. Subsequently, I think they were too adventurous to revamp their menu with fusions of all kinds thus making everything so eclectically chaotic mix (rojak) until there were practically not many dishes left that’s worth the recommendation. I would think they have lost track in their branding direction. That was when I started to hear complaints not only from you but from dozens of other patrons. I did personally contact the management on the feedback but has yet to receive any responses from them. I thought they would have bucked up with my initiative to ensure that the Penang food industry would not deteriorate any further but I guessed it went to deaf ears. I did secretly paid them a visit not long ago as I was curious too on all the complaints and I was surprised with the given treatments. You were right about that as the service was damn bad and I did not see any actions being taken to rectify that at all.

    The kitchen looked chaotic with barely few cooks (mostly apprentice) multi-tasking. Most of the initial lobby staff had quitted, leaving those new and inexperience ones. Moreover, they are under staffed to cater to the needs of the ever unpredictable volume of the buffet diners. Sometimes there were more diners and sometimes there were almost none. I guessed the management was trying to cut off some manpower which I personally do not think was a wise move. It’s a risk every restaurant had to make and it’s better than always getting negative feedback from patrons that would tarnish its name. I don’t own the restaurant so I can’t comment much on their business strategies but I hope they would take some quick actions before they ended being barred by the diners community.

    As from I can see while surveying the visitors at Penang Times Square, the mall was still as dead as ever with hardly many shops opened within. What happened to the rumored full occupancy and opening in July/August 2009? Thus, that would be one of the factors that discouraged many visitors. Without a steady flow of visitors, I would say not many businesses would survive there for long, what’s more Haven Delights which was the pioneer restaurant there? Let’s hope that things would be more smoothly for them in time to come after facing such a test from the feedback of the public. Anyway, just write in directly as I would also hope that they would realize how bad a position they are in right now, provided they are willing to open up for some constructive criticisms from the public. 🙂

  20. shanghaibund says:

    Whoo0!! Certain criticisms r constructive but criticisms must be justifiable.,n not a means of venging anger n hatred.It will not serve any purpose.I had dined many times n yet very recent at Haven Delights n find that the food is not as bad as what Alexis had described. Its more of a personal vendetta or a vengeance,sounds like it. I’m been fair as i only comment what i eat n i find that the food is certainly better than still quite a many places.I noticed that the top chefs r still there but not as many kitchen staff as before that is maybe they r goin thru a restructuring according to their needs but main thing is the top chefs must be there. Anyway hoping that Times Square can pick up as it makes a lot of difference for the business succeed.Heard that Sunshine coming in on November 25.,maybe it can make a difference to a near empty mall.In short i love the food there.

    It’s good to see you back here. 🙂 Let’s pray hard that Penang Times Square would generate the required crowd to fill up such an empty complex with the opening of Sunshine. I wondered what the management has been doing dragging such a long time in the official opening. So many restaurants in PTS had closed down/relocated elsewhere. I would see worst scenario when 1-Avenue next to Prangin Mall opens up for business soon as my source told me that most tenants had already confirmed the bookings. Let’s pray for the best!

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