Well, there’s nothing much to show you on their actual food menu here but to prove to you that 55 Café & Restaurant can be quite a great place for private functions as the chefs sure have the experiences to pep up great finger food for just any occasion. You can check out my previous post on some of the dishes on their daily menu. What would be greater than having a wide spread of canapés to drown them down with free flow of mocktail, beer and wine? It’s a celebration that would be marked forever in my memories. Now you would know where to hold your private functions right? This post would mainly concentrate on food pictorials. Do enjoy the food porn~ LOL! More photos at my FaceBook photo album.

If you are driving along Lebuh Farquhar into Jalan Mesjid Kapitan Keling, keep a watch out for the Goddess of Mercy Temple on your right. Immediately after the temple, turn right in Lorong Stewart and make a zig zag turn and you will see the café on your left at the junction of Lorong Stewart/Lorong Chulia. Parking can be quite limited during peak hours. I would advise you to find whatever parking space you can and walk to the café.

Name: 55 CAFÉ & RESTAURANT @ COFFEE ATELIER
Address: 47-55, Lorong Stewart, 10300 Penang, Malaysia.
Contact: 604-261 2261, 016-469 8228 (Lorina Gehrig), 016-464 8118 (Stefan Gehrig)
Business Hours: 9.00am-5.00pm (Closed Monday)
GPS: 5.419143, 100.337772

All the beverages would come in two sizes – 500cc and 700cc. There would be options to top up these beverages with either Pearl, Aloe Vera, Grass Jelly (Leong Fun), Pudding, Ai-Yu Jelly, Coconut Jelly or Konjac (a colorful jelly having the al dente similar to that of Nato de Coco) at RM1.00nett. On top of that, you have the option to adjust the sugar level to your liking from 0% (no sugar), 30% (slight sugar), 50% (half sugar), 70% (less suagr) and 100% (normal sugar). Moreover, you can also request the ice to be 0% (no ice), 70% (less ice) and 100% (normal ice). You can click on the photo below to have a clearer view of the options.

Here are the 700cc of beverages provided to us by the management. It sure was a large and filling one at that size.

There were also some catered snacks for our appetite such as different flavors of Cheese Tarts, Chocolate Tarts, Fruit Tarts, Cream Puffs and some Chocolate Brownies. It was indeed a sweet over sweet temptation for those sweet toothed guests.

Here are some of the bloggers and friends who attended the grand opening.

Overall, I find that some of the beverages were a bit too sweet to my liking. Maybe I should have requested for one with lesser sweetness instead of having ordered the normal ones (100%). Well, it might take some tweaking before one would get the right taste for his/her preferences. As for the top-up ingredients, I somehow like the natural aloe vera, and ai-yu jelly due to the fact that they went well with the more fruity teas. It was a waste that the coconut jelly and pudding were out of stock before we could even try them.

The Tea Secret kiosk is located right next to the Lower Ground car park at the South Zone of Queensbay Mall. Alternatively, if you enter the Central Zone of the mall, just turn left and walk towards Dome Café. Use the escalator down to the lower ground and you will see the kiosk right under the escalator. It’s just next to Nippon Yataimura Japanese Restaurant and nearby Jusco Supermarket.

Name: TEA SECRET @ QUEENSBAY MALL PENANG
Address:
LG-K1, Queensbay Mall, Persiaran Bayan Indah, Sungai Nibong, 11900 Bayan Lepas, Malaysia.
Business Hours: 11.00am – 10.00pm
GPS: 5.332499, 100.306417

RATING:
Ambience: 7/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 classy)
Food Choices: 8/10 (1-4 limited, 5-7 average, 8-10 many choices)
Taste: 6.5/10 (1-4 tasteless, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)
Pricing: 7/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 expensive)
Service: 7/10 (1-4 bad, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)

Thanks to Ms. Melynda Soon and the Bora Bora staff for making our presences there so enjoyable and fun-filled. Almost everyone is aware of the existence of Bora Bora By Sunset by now and the ever friendly staff sure knows how to keep their patrons happy with great food, cool beverages, electrifying entertainment in a nice Balinese style setting by the beach.

The event started with a contest to test out the drinking power of both sexes. Finally, we did find out that certain ladies can drink faster than the other even though they have shapely figures. Amazing! There was also the men’s category. I don’t have to disclose which blogger was one of the winners right? It was so obvious~ LOL! Well, all of them must thank Carlsberg for giving them free beers. Haha!

The staff of Bora Bora By Sunset also did put on their best costumes to present us with a Hawaiian number. All the ladies were so sexily dressed. Oops… did I say all ladies? Well, it did take lots of courage for Wipeout Jacob to be cross dressed as a female dancer. Well done Jacob but I hope those “inspectors” did not harass you much at all. Haha!

Here’s the video of their performance:

Next in the program were the Best Dressed Women and Men in Pareo Contest. I guessed the men chickened out as they have nothing much to show in public. LOL! The women excelled better in pareo dressings as you can see them at all the corners of the bistro. Eventually, the winners went to a lady with the most creative way of dressing in pareo and a tourist with his “sarung” and Scottish cap. Haha! Each of the winners won a bottle of wine home, courtesy from the management of Bora Bora By Sunset.

Educators always say that it would not be too late to learn something new. Teacher “Ernest” sure has “her” way to teach the guys how to wear a pareo well. Of course, those “students” needed to be taught the right way, with wigs and hamburger buns stuffed in front to be more “feminine”. We all had a good laugh!

There was also the special fire show by Anita (nicknamed Nita by the locals) during the night. It was an energetic and superb performance under the dimly lighted surroundings.

Do catch part of her performances in the video below:

Eventually, the staff did a catwalk in their best pareos while dragging more of the patrons up onto the stage for a few dance numbers.

A display of fireworks presentation was set off to mark the bistro’s appreciation to the patrons for a wonderful night there.

The party went on until the wee hours of the morning.

If you love great food and beverages in a relaxing and breezy place, do head to Bora Bora By Sunset for your next great dining and entertainment experience. They do have fusion local and Western delights to please all taste buds. It might be a bit hard for foreigners to find this bistro as it would not be visible from the main road. But no worries as I’m going to show you some landmarks that would lead you directly to their door step. Just drive all the way up to Batu Ferringhi until you reach the traffic lights with Petronas petrol station at the junction. Further up would be Lone Pine Hotel on your right. Drive slowly and watch out for the tall Tarbush Lebanese Restaurant neon signboard on your right. Just before the restaurant is the Beach Corner Seafood Restaurant (Happy Mart Mini Market is just across the road). Park inside the car park (RM3 per entrance/RM5 on weekends) and you would see a green gate on the right. Walk through that gate, turn left and you would see the bistro there waiting to greet you with open arms.

Note: The entrance to Bora Bora By Sunset is actually opposite the Desire Reflexology Centre and Fish Spa (left side of Jalan Batu Ferringhi) but quite unnoticeable with a small signboard in yellow neon lights with a beach view background. As parking spaces would be very limited inside there, it would be a better idea to park your car next door (Beach Corner Seafood Restaurant) with ample parking spaces.

Name: BORA BORA BY SUNSET
Address: Lot 415, Jalan Batu Ferringhi, 11100 Penang, Malaysia.
Business Hours:
12.00noon-1.00am (Sunday to Thursday)
12.00noon until 3.00am (Friday, Saturday and Eve of Public Holiday)
4.00pm-7.00pm (Happy Hours)
Contact: 012-553 1313 (Ms. Melynda Soon)
GPS: 5.474476, 100.248114

Yesterday marked another great milestone in the journey of Dragon9ine (九龍餐廳) with its Grand Opening after being in operation for more than 5 months. It now proved a better menu, a better style and a more mature chef who had extensive experiences from overseas, Chef Pele Khor. There was a lion dance troupe presence during the opening to give them blessings for a successful business venture.

Dragon9ine is not too new in the scene of the F&B world in Malaysia as they are indirectly linked to other food & lifestyle outlets such as the BED Belissa Row, BED Autocity and BED E-Gate, RED Lounge & Karaoke, Sixty9ine Mansion (Batu Ferringhi) and MOIS. Dragon9ine has a unique ambience to suit the needs of different clientele. There are many dining areas with a touch of Chinese culture handy craftsmanship. It gives the al fresco feel but enclosed within the premises itself, suitable for any small gathering of friends and family. The upper level of the restaurant was built to suit more private dining, with the availability of a private room upon reservation. Rows of comfortable sofas with a much cooler and dimmer lighting, would suit those executives who would like to discuss some serious matters over some hot meals.

There were some food served during the grand opening day but let’s just not touch on those dishes as they were just as typical as what any opening function would provide. The dishes included steamed rice, stir fried yellow noodles, chicken curry, squid curry, fragrant butter prawns, stir fry mixed vegetables, fish in oyster sauce, spring rolls, potato samosa and pandan chicken wraps.

Instead of the ala carte dishes which consist of their cool & light snack delights, shark’s fins, prawns, fish, chicken, beef, pork & spare ribs, tofu, vegetables, double boiled soups, noodles, congee, rice, desserts, fresh juices and coffee, I would concentrate more on what they have to offer for their fine dining dinner experience. At RM69.90+ (10% service tax – min order 2 pax), you would be served with 11 items, ranging from entrée, main course, dessert to beverages. Please note that the items would be changed from time to time to suit the needs of the diners. The entrée consisted of 4 items served on an individual square plate.

The first item was the Golden Sand Soft Shelled Crab (金沙軟殼蟹). It had half a batter deep fried soft shelled crab garnished with a concoction of chili flakes, garlic flakes, five spice powder, salt and toasted sesame seed. It was simple but yet appetizing to my liking.

The next dish was the Fresh Oyster in Bloody Mary Cocktail. The name itself is self described. The dish had one big fresh oyster drowned in a shot glass filled with some Bloody Mary cocktail. The cocktail was actually a bit of fusion from the original with pure tomato juice, HP sauce, balsamic vinegar, Tabasco sauce and lemon juice with a dash or two of vodka. Although the oyster was fresh, not all of us could consume the acquired taste of the seafood. Moreover, the Bloody Mary recipe was more towards cocktail rather than as a sauce to complement the oyster. It was rather mild with the lack of distinctive spicy flavor from the Tabasco sauce and a bit of black pepper sprinkles. Overall, it was still fine for most of us.

There was also the Ginger & Spring Onions Fried with Chicken. The chef played a safe hand in having chicken slices in this serving rather than having beef slices as not many people here are acceptable to beef. Overall, the taste from the ginger slices and spring onion stalks matched well with the chicken slices too.

The last dish on the entrée included the Mango Prawn Spring Roll. We were all impressed with how the chef could come out with this delicious combination. The tempura-like texture spring roll has the freshness from the well marinated pounded prawn paste plus the unique flavors from the mango. Perfect!

The Main Course also consisted of 4 items, served on individual plate. The first course was the Smoked Duck Breast Meat with Mongolian Sauce. The serving style was quite similar to that of the Peking Duck or Roasted Piglet. It has four pieces of thinly sliced smoked duck breast meat served with crepes, spring onions, sliced cucumber and served with their version of Mongolian sauce. All you need to do is to place everything onto the crepe, wrap it up and enjoy the nice flavors from the combination of ingredients. Everything was just fine, except that I would prefer the sauce to be a bit more concentrated with a stronger taste from the blended ginger. Moreover, spring onion bulbs should be used here for that extra flavor rather than sliced leaves from the spring onions.

The next course was the Fried Tofu and Minced Prawns in XO Sauce. I always could not resist the taste of XO sauce cook with just any dish. The spicy seafood sauce which originated from the Hong Kong Cantonese cuisine scene was something that could be rather addictive for spicy food lovers just like me. The fragrance from the dried scallops and dried shrimps soaked in Sake (as some do) prior to cooking, combined with the nice flavors from the sliced Chinese ham, shallots, garlic, oyster sauce, dried chilies, black pepper, brown sugar with a touch of salt, had the unique taste that would make just anyone yearning for more. With the extra flavor coming from some stir fried minced prawns, capsicum, snow peas and snap peas (I wished they would just get rid of the fiber for a smoother bite), this combination was almost perfect. If not for the deep fried tofu which I found to be lacking in some silky smooth beaten eggs, I could have just this dish over a few bowls of hot steaming rice.

More seafood dishes were served as the main course such as the Crispy Sea Bass with Butter Orange Sauce and Tempura Greens. The chef had marinated the sea bass fillet with some salt and herbs prior to pan grilling it to get that crispy sensation. Well, it was salty indeed, almost like the fillet has been salt-baked, but it went well with the chef’s special concocted butter orange sauce. This fish was served on a bed of fresh young corns, capsicum and asparagus, along with some salsa like condiment of chopped tomatoes, onions, lime juice and herbs. It was a nice dish, except that they should have got rid of the fibrous skins from the asparagus stems for a smoother bite.

The last main course was the Stir Fried Seafood “Yee Mee” Noodles with Grandma Sauce. The name of the dish had me in stitches which made me asked the chef why there was no Grandpa sauce. LOL! This dish had almost the same taste as Aglio Olio with a more significant flavor coming from some stir fried dried chilies. It had a mild spiciness and combined with the toasted sesame seeds, it was a palate of heavenly fried noodles. Although the flavorful noodles dish was perfect to sum up the meal, it would even be better if wanton noodles were being used here for a more al dente texture.

Sweet desserts are always the best dish to have towards the end of most oriental cuisine and Dragon9ine did not disappoint me by serving us with their Sweetened Red Beans served with Tang Yuan (glutinous rice ball). The blended azuki beans dessert had just the right sweetness to my liking. Moreover, the tang yuan was another bonus to us as it came with sweetened black sesame seeds filling. The combination was perfect.

The set dinner package also included two types of beverages such as the Provence Lavender Black Tea and a glass of Red Wine. These beverages would also be dependable on the availability. Instead of the “Herbs de Provence”, they might replace with another type of herbal tea. As for the wine, I would think that the management would be glad to replace it with other beverages for those not alcohol consuming diners.

Overall, the fine dining dinner menu was creative and up to par compared to my other visit here during their initial shop opening. I hope with a new and committed chef, this restaurant would be the next ideal place for diners to enjoy their food in a stress-free and comfortable environment. However, the service here is still a bit slow as per before. I hope the staff would be more service oriented and knowledgeable in the future.

It’s not hard to locate the double shoplots restaurant as it situated along Bellisa Row in Pulau Tikus, Penang. If you are coming from Jalan Burma towards Mt. Erskine, drive all the way pass the Jalan Burma/Jalan Cantoment traffic lights. About 300m away, you would see Bellisa Row just before the Church of The Immaculate Conception (Roman Catholic Church). Turn right into the service road and find a parking space. The restaurant is just along the row of shoplots just next to the RED Lounge & Karaoke.

Name: DRAGON9INE
Address: 368-1-5 & 6, Belissa Row, Pulau Tikus, 10350 Penang, Malaysia.
Contact: 604-229 4099
Business Hours: 11.00am-3.00am
GPS: 5.432788, 100.309939

RATING:
Ambience: 8/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 classy)
Food Choices: 8/10 (1-4 limited, 5-7 average, 8-10 many choices)
Taste: 7.5/10 (1-4 tasteless, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)
Pricing: 7.5/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 expensive)
Service: 6/10 (1-4 bad, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)

Classic Arabian music with mix of modern ones can be heard playing on the stage with acts by the band, fire jugglers, snake charmers and belly dancers, wooing the guests with their great performances. One of the main attractions would be the snake charming act. Would you be interested to kiss a king cobra live on stage? Well, I won’t but the snake charmer did. Catch some glimpses of his act here in the video below.

Classic Arabian music with mix of modern ones can be heard playing on the stage with acts by the band, fire jugglers, snake charmers and belly dancers, wooing the guests with their great performances. One of the main attractions would be the snake charming act. Would you be interested to kiss a king cobra live on stage? Well, I won’t but the snake charmer did. Catch some glimpses of his act here in the video below.

The belly dancers also did a great job in entertaining the guests. In one of the performances, you can practically see every part of the belly dancer moved energetically with hardly any pauses. Maybe I should learn some moves like hers to trim down my waistline. LOL! Anyway, let’s have a look on how she moved that body~

Varieties of exotic and modern food were served at many scattered stations in food market styles starting with dinner rolls with Lentil Soup. It tasted like a thick an Indian dhal-like curry with strong hints of thyme and bay leaves. The next few stations consisted of salads and mezze (a selection of small dishes served in the Mediterranean and Middle East as dinner or lunch). On one table was the MYO Caesar Salad station while the other had Lavash, Panzenella Salad, Marinated Olives, Marinated Feta, Marinated Mushrooms and Sundried Tomato. I loved the Lavash (commonly known as cracker bread), a crunchy flatbread topped with some poppy seeds. This went well with the rest of the condiments, especially with the lovely marinated feta in herbs and olive oil.

The next station consisted of Fattoush, Tabbouleh, Stuffed Vine Leaves, Falafel, Hummus, Baba Ghanoush and SBG Slovaski Pizza. The Fattoush was practically some Arabian salad with fresh greens, mixed with some lemon juice and olive oil. The Tabbouleh on the other hand looked like our local Nasi Ulam but the ingredients were very different. Instead of rice, it had bulgur, a wheat processed cereal-like food, combined with chopped parsley, tomatoes, onions, mint, etc, with lemon juice and olive oil. It had a very unique sour herby taste. The Lebanese Stuffed Vine Leaves somewhat had that overpowering sour and salty taste. The stuffing tasted almost similar to the Tabbouleh but with a stronger sourness. Next was the Falafel. To me, it tasted almost like our Indian street food, the Parippu Vada, with traces of cumin being used. This went well with the Hummus, a spread made from blending cooked chickpeas with grounded sesame paste (tahini), olive oil, lemon juice, salt and garlic. It had some cooked chickpeas and kalamata (black olives) as decoration. Another spread which went well with the pita bread was the classic, slightly pungent Middle Eastern Baba Ghanoush. This is a healthy spread with mashed roasted aubergine (eggplant) mixed in with some chopped garlic, parsley, cumin, tahini, lemon juice, olive oil and garnished with some chopped tomatoes and parsley.

At the main grill station, we had the Grilled Morrocan Prawns and Seafood Kebabs. The Seafood Kebabs was lovely as it had well marinated prawns, calamari, fish and capsicum skewed and grilled to perfection. The next station was the Pita Bread Pocket Station with Spit Roasted Lamb and Chicken Shawerma.

There were also the Chicken Briyani Rice, Eggplant Rice to go with Moussaka and Lamb Meat Balls. The casserole dish of Moussaka, made by layering eggplant with a spiced meat filling, topped with a creamy bechamel sauce with hints of Parmesan cheese and baked to golden brown was the perfect dish to go with the rice. The Lamb Meat Balls were also marvelous as it got me going for more. Next to this was the beverage station with free flow soft drinks, wine and beer for everyone.

The dessert section was places within the passageway near to the entrance with many delicacies such as Baklava, Muhalabia, Bassboussa, Rosewater Crème Brule, Warm Apple Crumble Vanilla Anglaise, Chocolate Brownie, Mini Fruit Tartlets, Baked Cheese, Lemon Delicious and Cream Caramel.

This beach party was one of the uniquely planned ones by SBG and of course it was a memorable one which I would remember for some time with the great taste and party moods. Chef John Brock, the Executive Sous Chef of SBG sure did a great job in pepping up great dishes for this party.

The restaurant is just located within the premises of Golden Sands Resort. Drive all the way up towards Batu Ferringhi. When you see the Rasa Sayang Resort & Spa on your right, slow down and watch out for the Golden Sands Resort entrance which is right after the Rasa Sayang Resort & Spa. Park your car at the ample car park there and walk into the main lobby of the resort. Head towards the beach area and you would see Sigi’s Bar & Grill on your right.

Name: SIGI’S BAR & GRILL ON THE BEACH @ GOLDEN SANDS RESORT
Address: Batu Ferringhi Beach, 11100 Penang, Malaysia.
Contact: 604-886 1852 (Direct Restaurant Line)
Business Hours:
11.00am-6.00pm, 6.30pm-10.30pm (Bar: 11.00am-11.45pm)
GPS: 5.477405, 100.251657

RATING:
Ambience: 9/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 classy)
Food Choices: 7.5/10 (1-4 limited, 5-7 average, 8-10 many choices)
Taste: 7.5/10 (1-4 tasteless, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)
Pricing: 8.5/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 expensive)
Service: 7.5/10 (1-4 bad, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)

Time Out Penang, The Insider’s Guide to Penang 2011/ 2012 is a 150 pages, A4 sized, glossy magazine-guide, presenting a typically comprehensive, honest and trustworthy account of Penang’s travel hotspots for the high-end tourists, business travelers, expatriates, and huge affluent local readership who enjoy and act upon what they were told by Time Out. This annual publication is distributed to relevant countries across the region and key international destinations around the world. This well-traveled audience is eager to explore more of the world and cannot wait to read and see more about the breathtaking sights and sounds of Penang, from the historic architecture and the unique street food culture to the world class hotels and resorts.

Time Out is an international, multimedia publisher of cultural experiences that provides inspiration to city dwellers around the world. Currently operating regular magazines in 40 cities around the world and guidebooks in several more, the Time Out brand is instantly recognized and trusted by residents from the world’s top cities. “Time Out Penang is no exception as it derives deep into Penang and presents the best that this beautiful state has to offer, as recommended by insiders who know the best,” said Graham Paling, Group Managing Director of Mongoose Publishing. We are glad to have CK Lam, one of the best food writers around Penang to be part of the Time Out Penang team.

The invited guests were served with some refreshments during the Time Out Penang 2011/2012 launch by Aseana Café & Bar, Straits Quay, Penang at their sophisticated yet cozy restaurant. Some of their finger food could be quite impressive in terms of presentation and taste.

On top of that, there were numerous ongoing programs that kept the Straits Quay visitors occupied. Amongst them were the weekend flea market and promotional booths that had interesting items up for sales, ranging from natural soap, herbs and spices, cakes, magazines and books, toys, costume jewelries, hotel promotions, tea & wine and more.

Many fun-filled activities were held throughout the day such as dance performance by the Burlesque troupe from SuperStar Libra, traditional Nyonya dance, fashion show by the Bran et Daguet boutique, Straits Quay, which specializes in elegantly cut couture and ready-to-wear cocktail dresses and occasion wear with international appeal and local bands.

I guessed the highlight from the one-day event would be the belly dancing from the SuperStar Libra’s Burlesque troupe that caught most of the ladies there putting on their best pair of binoculars to stare at the handsome and hunky European dancers. On top of that, the guys were not excluded as I saw some jaws dropping with eyes fixed on the belly dancer from Ukraine. Well, here’s the video on the dance performance in case you missed it~ LOL!

If you would love to get your hand on a copy of the newly launched Time Out Penang 2011/2012 or the soon to release Time Out Malaysia 2011/2012, do check out your nearest newsstands or any leading bookstores. Each book would cost you RM38. You could also buy direct and get a 10% discount if you purchase online through their website. Those who would like to enquire more about their coming issues, whether it’s Time Out KL, Time Out Malaysia, Esquire, Expatriate Lifestyle, Gold Vacations, RSGC’s The Circular, Al Musafir, Essential Education or the newly launched Time Out Penang, can do so by filling up their contact form or call up +603-2166 6650.

It was amazing how the owner knew how to differentiate the dozens species of native durians here. One thing for sure, they chose the ideal one to name it after Chef Chen Hong. The dark yellow colored flesh of this durian has that smooth custard creamy sweetness with a hint of fermented wine after taste. The fruit was almost all meaty with small seed. The quality can be compared to the second hottest selling durian, Hor Lor (Calabash/葫蘆), just right after the hottest selling Ang Hae (Red Prawn/紅蝦). What an honor for Chef Chen Hong to have that fruit under his name. This durian would surely do well if exported to Taiwan.

An expert in his culinary skills as always, Chef Chen Hong opened up a durian with ease. He charmingly remarked that the durians should be sold overseas not as a fruit but something exotic and unique that can be created in many forms of delicacies. He had even thought up of a few recipes which durian would be the main ingredient impromptu. They don’t address him as the Culinary Prince (美食王子) in Taiwan for no reasons, right?

Chef Park (from Korea) and Chef Billy Ng (runner-up of 8TV’s Hot Chef Season One) also had their try outs in opening durians. I wonder if the owner was serious enough to name their two durians as “Korea” and “Billy Boy”. Chef Park who was not a lover for durians eventually took to a liking for them.

The up the hill durian orchard was still untarnished with man-made pollution. The stream was so clean that you can still drink from it. Many fishes and prawns were sighted swimming about happily without the intrusion of human kind. The atmosphere was fresh and clean with abundant flora and fauna blossoming everywhere. Even a rare species of butterfly flew over and landed on my hand. What a beautiful sight that was. The orchard which spanned from Teluk Kumbar to Tanjung Asam (“chui cheang” where angling trips to the nearby Pulau Kendi was often planned) had many other famous branded durians such as the Ang Hae (Red Prawn/紅蝦), Hor Lor (Calabash/葫蘆), XO, Kapili Susu, Lipan, D2, D24, 604, Ooi Keong Ong (Turmeric King/Kunyit King/黄姜王), Xiao Hong (Small Red/小紅), Ganja (Cannabis), Chneh Poay Kia (Green Skin Boy/青皮仔), Bakuli (Marbles), Phua Cincu (Half Pearl) and many more. Other local fruits such as rambutans, mangosteens, cempedak, etc are also available here.

The evening event was also attended by the entourage of Chef Chen Hong, Chef Park, Chef Billy Ng, Food Digest crew members, FoodTok, family members and friends of the owner, food bloggers and reporters. It was indeed a fun-filled outing for everyone after some hectic weeks of planning, organizing and food hunting for the best food in Penang.

If you are coming from the Bayan Lepas FTZ area along Jalan Bayan Lepas towards the Penang International Airport, drive over the overhead bridge towards Teluk Kumbar. Drive on for around 6-7km and watch out for a big “Hai Boey Seafood” direction signboard on your left at a junction. Turn left into the junction which would also lead you towards Gertak Sanggul. Drive on until you see the “Hai Boey Seafood” signboard on your left. Slow down. Drive on for another 400m and watch out for a small slope on your right (GPS: 5.283556, 100.209471). Drive up the slope and you would see a small temple on your right. Just follow the sign boards available and you would reach your destination within 5 minutes.

Name: SONG HAI’S DURIAN ORCHARD
Address: Teluk Kumbar until Tanjung Asam, 11910, Bayan Lepas, Penang, Malaysia.
Business Hours: To call up
Contact: 016-467 5233 (Mr. Tang Song Hai)
GPS: 5.292088, 100.211914
Sales Office: 26 Lintang Merak, Sg. Dua, 11700 Gelugor, Penang, Malaysia. (Opp. Tesco Extra)
FaceBook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Song-Hais-Durian/129590123727593

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

At the press conference held at G Spot, G Hotel today which was graced by Penang State EXCO for Tourism Development and Culture, YB Danny Law and Food Digest Managing Editor, Tracy Lau, Chef Chen Hong was officially appointed as the ‘Penang Food Ambassador to Taiwan’. It was an honor for Penang to have such a seasoned Taiwanese Celebrity Chef to spread the words on all the unique blends of tastes, ranging from Nyonya cuisine to authentic street food to the world.

During the press conference, specially brought to you by Food Digest Magazine, Malaysia’s No. 1 food and lifestyle magazine, Chef Chen Hong stated that Penangites are the best food critics due to their sharp tongues in deciding whether the food is good or bad. He jokingly stated that you would only need to understand a few phrases in the local Hokkien dialect… “Eh Jiak”, “Bay Jiak” or “Ho Jiak” (can eat, cannot eat or very good food), when seeking food in Penang.

Together with Penang food portal, FoodTok and GG, the Food Digest Team would be bringing Chef Chen Hong on an adventure to some of the recommended food spots in Penang, while playing judge to some of the most famous hawkers and restaurants throughout the little food paradise island of Asia. Try catching his whereabouts on his journey to find great food between 10 June 2011 and 12 June 2011 from as far as Batu Ferringhi, Gurney Drive, Pulau Tikus until the heart of George Town, through the Food Digest official site www.twitter.com/myfooddigest.

Also in attendance are renowned Chef Park Tae Yeong (from Korea) and Chef Billy Ng Yih Lee (runner-up of 8TV’s Hot Chef Season One).

Chef Park took the bold step by leaving that corporate world’s comfort zone of 10 years in Seoul, Korea to pursue his culinary dream. A French graduate from Academie de Toulouse (The Baccalaureat Professionnel Restauration De Cuisine); the chef is a living proof that one is never too old to pursue their dreams. Brilliant in French and fusion style cuisine, he’ll be spending the coming year working on his first ever cookbook, travelling and opening a world of culinary experiences. I love his style of recording all his new creations in pictorial form and in colors too.

Chef Billy was the runner-up in the inaugural 8TV’s Hot Chef (Season One). He specializes in Western cuisine. Originated from Klang, Selangor, he can converse well in English, Cantonese and Hokkien. He would be the next generation of chef that would follow the footsteps of his mentor, Chef Chen Hong. Currently, he’s an instructor with Berjaya University College of Hospitality.

There are many awards up for grab by the hotels, associations, organizations, institutions or competitors such as the most prestigious Penang Governor’s Challenge Trophy, Nestle Overall Best Chef Award, Most Outstanding Patissier, Most Outstanding Apprentice and more.

There were all together 3 sites for the competition participants to show off their culinary skills. There were over hundreds of dishes prepared on the first day and I would share with you some of those rather nicely presented ones here.

As for the exhibition sections, there were many categories to be challenged. Firstly, there were sections on Bread Showpiece, Dummy Wedding Cake, Chocolate Work, Butter Sculpture, Roselle Supreme Dress The Cake (2-tier) as well as Fruit & Vegetable Carving (Theme: Fairy Tale). Let’s have a peep at those attractive ones here.

It was also a privilege to be invited by Mr. Thomas See, PR Manager/Exhibition Booth Liaison, BOTC 2011, to be one of the judges for their Modern Western Cuisine Restaurant (3 chefs, 1 waiter & 1 bartender) Competition. There were 4 tables and each table was handled by a different hotel/institution. I had the opportunity to try out the Renaissance Melaka Hotel’s fine Western course dinner by judging them on presentation, taste, ingenuity and innovation. We were first served with Malacca Moon Rise, a mocktail with a concoction of orange juice, pineapple juice and grenadine, blended with ice cubes and served with cincau (herbal jelly), There was not much of a distinctive flavor here as the beverage tasted just like a normal glass of mixed fruit juice. It lacked that little touch of sourness to boost up the appetite on any meal. The starter was the Cold Medley, with Tuna on Cauliflower Mousse, Beetroot with Roasted Pumpkin Salad and Duck Broccoli Stack. This dish was rather unique as the cauliflower mousse was wonderfully prepared and the broccoli stack was just right with some mild seasoning. Unfortunately, the beetroot lacked in flavor although the combination was truly special. The Ocean Consomme was just right without the overpowering fishy taste. It had a crispy deep fried prawn with saffron with a hint of mild turmeric being used in the broth. The Chicken Roulade which had spinach and goat cheese (feta cheese) stuffed within a chicken fillet, actually blended in real well with the fruity persimmon reduction. Somehow, the chef did not provide the moist within the dish and a bit too much of herbs were used on the outer later. I wondered if they are aware that a bit of pumpkin paste added in would solve the problem of dryness. The next dish had lots of praises as the Rosemary Lamb served with garlic lemon vegetables was almost perfect if not for the slightly undercooked vegetables. The baby lamb racks had the texture, tenderness and taste just right for everyone. The Classic Chocolate Fondant with Crème Anglaise tasted great. If not for the malfunction of the oven, the chocolate fondant would be in a better shape rather than in a big clump. The crème anglaise would blend in better if it was not as concentrated as served. Overall, it was a pleasant dinner for all of us judges. Due to the problem with the Chicken Roulade, the hotel only secured a Diploma. The rest of the 3 competitors, namely Thailand Culinary Academy (Table 1), Sandy Bay Beach Resort (Table 2) and Eastin Hotel (Table 4) all secured Silver medals.

There would be many stalls, scattered at the Straits Quay entrance, on the lower level as well as within the inside and outside of the conference hall for you to patronize. Some of them would be selling items while others would be given out free food samples.

For your information, those who had not heard of Foodsion, a bilingual food and lifestyle magazine, you can now get a set of 5 recent issues, 5 mini recipe books, Heritage Coffee 10% discount cards, Raiya toothpaste, Penang White Coffee and Nyonya fish curry paste, all in a recycle bag for just RM25. Normal price is RM12 per book.

ACE Program syllabus consist of both off-site and classroom training that will equip Carlsberg Malaysia’s trade partners with a better understanding of the brands under Carlsberg Malaysia as well as day-to-day bar operation skills and customer service excellence. In addition to that, participants will also be able to experience exclusive training with World Class Brewers.

Carlsberg Malaysia will reward the best performing participant of this ACE Program with a fully paid 14-day trip cum practical training to the Jacobsen Brewery and Visitor’s Centre in Copenhagen, Denmark in the year 2012. This winning participant will get the chance to gain exclusive experiences at the Carlsberg headquarters that brewed the first ever Carlsberg beer.

As for the lst and 2nd runner up, both will also be rewarded with a fully paid trip to one of the Luen Heng F&B top vineyards in Victoria, Australia. Luen Heng F&B Sdn. Bhd. is the leading supplier in the distribution of premium consumer Beer, Wine and Spirits throughout East and West Malaysia.

“Carlsberg is a brand that strongly believes in ‘Doing The Right Thing`. With that in mind, our partnership with Taylor’s University in this ACE Program aims to provide a rewarding and beneficial experience to our valued trade partners,” says Soren Ravn, Managing Director of Carlsberg Malaysia.

All of these training are made at no cost to the trade partners as Carlsberg Malaysia would like to ensure that this training will benefit the trade partners’ business. This is to showcase that Carlsberg Malaysia is 100% behind its trade partners that made Carlsberg Malaysia the preferred beer brand among its trade partners in Malaysia. “It is a privilege for Taylor’s to be a part of Carlsberg Malaysia’s ACE Program. We are positive that this collaboration will bring about favorable outcomes for all participants,” says Mr. Haresh Singh Gill, Associate Dean of Enterprise, School of Hospitality, Tourism and Culinary Arts, Taylor’s University.

Off-site Training
Carlsberg Malaysia hosted an off-site training, which consist of a series of practical and contemporary training modules conducted by World Class Brewmasters and expert partners. This training session will be conducted in 3 regions i.e. Penang, Johor Bahru and Kuala Lumpur to allow exposure to various participants from different geographic regions. All these sessions include concise brand knowledge; technical and practical training that is aimed at providing a better understanding of the brands that their outlets represent.

The sessions are:
• Carlsberg Beer Portfolio bg Ms. Teh Chui Hoon, Marketing Manager of Carlsberg Brands
• Kronenbourg 1664, Corona Extra, Danish Royal Stout and Skol by Mr. Edwin Yeo, Marketing Manager of Portfolio Brands
• Art of Brewing by Mr. Gunnar Hepp, Brewmaster of Carlsberg Malaysia
• Imported Beer Segment (Hoegaarden, Stella Artois, Budweiser & Leffe) by Mr. George Frank Reisch, Brewmaster for A-B InBev
• Wine segment by Mr. Sean Soh, Commercial Manager of Luen Heng F&B Sdn. Bhd.
• Jagermeister, Germany by Mr. Eduardo G. Manas, Jr., Area Manager of Jagermeister Mast
• Carlsberg Green Label Draught Excellence by Mr. Alvin Yap, Draught Beer Services Manager of Carlsberg Malaysia

Classroom Training
Carlsberg Malaysia aims to offer value-added knowledge to its trade partners via its collaboration with Taylor`s University. The recognized Bar & Beverage Management course by Taylor’s University is a 3-day course that will kick off in Penang on the 4th of July 2011 at the Equatorial Hotel, Penang.

Apart from that, there will also be a half day session on customer service excellence. This module will provide participants the techniques to improve service standards in their outlets. The ultimate objective is to uplift service standards that will result in customer loyalty, increased outlet traffic and enhance business profitability.

ACE Program Activities

Among the activities that will be implemented in line with this ACE Program are:

• Mystery Shopper Program — Carlsberg Malaysia will deploy a group of mystery shoppers to rove into participating outlets and evaluate the implementation of trainings provided. If the bar staff meets the pre-set standards, RM50 cash will be rewarded on the spot. This is to motivate participating bar staff to deliver constant good performance in their daily work life.

• Outlet Evaluation — Carlsberg Malaysia will deploy a special taskforce to go around participating outlets and collect feedback from consumers on their preferred bar team /bar outlet. These feedbacks will be translated into an inter-outlet challenge whereby the top preferred outlet will walk away with a RM30000 event sponsorship. In addition to that, this special taskforce will educate consumers on the appreciation of the perfect Carlsberg draught beer and promote upcoming Carlsberg promotions.

• Digital Activation — A dedicated Facebook application that allows Carlsberg Malaysia trade partners to constantly monitor their outlets preferential ratings by consumers on real time basis. On top of that, this application will assist outlets to understand their customers better and facilitate improvements.

Carlsberg Malaysia brand new ACE program will end its semester in August 2011 and all participating trade partners will be rewarded with a fun-filled outdoor celebration cum graduation party.

The media were also briefed by Mr. George Frank Reisch (Brewmaster for A-B InBev such as Hoegaarden, Stella Artois, Budweiser & Leffe) on the ingredients used to make all the alcoholic drinks in the world. Basically, those ingredients consist of chocolate malt, black malt, wheat malt, rice, hops, caramel malt and pale malt. Most of the beers around would use wheat malt or pale malt. Mr. Eduardo G. Manas, Jr. (Area Manager of Jagermeister Mast) briefed that there were actually many secret ingredients used in the preparation of Jagermeister from Germany but he could only disclose some of the common ones such as ginger, cinnamon, star anise, cardamom and orange peel. Resulting from the consumers’ preferences, Jagermeister had recently overtaken famous brand such as the Bailey’s.

When there’s an event by any of the F&B companies, there would surely be beautiful models to represent the brand. Two of our food representatives, Sam Ong and Jacgy Chan, took the opportunity to have some shots with them.

Lunch was served after the briefing and the buffet spread at Hard Rock Hotel was rather enjoyable as some of the dishes were uniquely prepared. We had different salads at the appetizer section, some South Western minestrone soup with dinner rolls, entrees such as seasonal vegetables, sautéed potatoes, slow cooked beef with smoked onion & thyme, risotto of roasted pepper & garlic, crab cakes with mango & green tomato salsa, cornmeal crusted fish with green tomato chutney and jerk chicken with pineapple mole sauce. The last two dishes were rather uniquely prepared. The fish fillet blended in real well with the mild sweet and sour chutney. The jerk chicken was full of spice enhanced flavors just by itself but with the chocolate mole (pronounced as mo-lay) sauce and the sweetness from some canned pineapples, it was totally a different taste with the richness from the dark chocolate and some hints of herbs and spices. On the dessert spread, there were the New York style cheese cake (my favorite), apple pie, devil’s food cake, mini lemon meringue pie, savarin with citrus syrup, strawberry short cake, chocolate mud cake and fresh fruit cuts.

Overall, the experience was a great one as it’s the beginning of a new frontier where a product company, such as Carlsberg Malaysia has taken the initiative to ensure that their trade partners get the best out of their products while maintaining the quality of the products. I do hope that more product companies would come forward with such a great program in the near future.

Yesterday marked another great gathering for the Penang floggers as we had our 5th Penang Floggers Gathering. This time, it was Japanese cuisine at Jurin Express aka Jurin Japanese Restaurant located within the notable mall, Gurney Plaza. At a specially arranged RM50 nett per pax deal, we had more than we had bargained for with everyone going home feeling contented.

We had free flow of Hot or Cold Honey Green Tea. The beverages were thicker than the normal ones as they were specially prepared for us with loose green tea leaves instead of those in sachets.

The meal started with 3 types of appetizers. The first was Tempura Kani. The dish had crabstick (kani kama) sushi rolls coated with tempura and deep fried until golden brown, topped with sweet soy sauce and garnished with some herbs and chili flakes.

Next was the Sushi Combo with a colorful array of sushi rolls. It was simple but very filling.

The last of the appetizers was the Sushi Fried Maki. This version was a bit different as it had nori rolled sushi in vinegar rice. These were then topped with some mayo and ebiko (shrimp roes).

The specially arranged main meal consisted of 4 options.

Set A: Ginmutsu Teriyaki (Deep fried cod fish in sweet sauce), Chicken Ban Ban (Boneless fried chicken chunks served with Japanese sauce and mayo), Ebi Tempura (Deep fried shrimps in batter), Yaki Tamago (Sweet omelette), Garlic Fried Rice and Miso Soup.

Set B: Salmon and Tuna Sashimi, Unagi (BBQ Japanese eel), Tamago Kikurage (Black fungus with chilies), Yaki Tamago (Sweet omelette), Garlic Fried Rice and Miso Soup.

Set C: Salmon and Tuna Sashimi, Spicy Salmon (deep fried and topped with spicy sauce), Kakiage (Deep fried shrimps, squid and vegetables in batter), Yaki Tamago (Sweet omelette), Garlic Fried Rice and Miso Soup.

Set D: Karubi Beef (Stir fried beef with onions), Nama Ika Teriyaki (Grilled cuttlefish in teriyaki sauce), Karaage (Deep fried soft shell crabs), Yaki Tamago (Sweet omelette), Garlic Fried Rice and Miso Soup.

A scoop of Green Tea Ice Cream with Red Beans was served as dessert. The ice cream was not as smooth as I had expected and with a mild green tea flavor. On top of that, I would also prefer to have blended red beans instead of the whole ones for that extra smoothness.

We ended the gathering with everyone bring some sponsored gifts home. We had the Vouch Magazine, a bottle of each of Chili Bao and Chili Red, sponsored by Bao Bao Restaurant from Puchong, Selangor, Stuffed You Tiao vouchers sponsored by Te Chang You Tiao Wang from Paya Terubong, Penang and Fried Fish Tom Yam Noodles vouchers by Siong Ho Fish Head Tom Yam Noodles & Porridge, Weld Quay, Penang.

We had a small photography session after the gathering had ended. In presence were Daisy Lee (boss) & hubby, Alan Choong & Amanda Teoh, Eunice, SY, Kelvin Tan, CW Chan, Criz Lai, JK Beh, Cheryl Wee & hubby, Kok Ann, Lay Min, Sam Ong, Gill & Jason and Steven Goh. (Not in photo – Carrie & partner, Lilian Chan & son).

Overall, I found the dishes served here were just average. The restaurant could have served a better quality of fresh seafood, thus less deep fried items for seafood related dishes. Fish cuts were a bit too thin for the value of money paid. The fried garlic rice was normal and lack of wok hei (high heat fragrant) as I believed that it was prepared much earlier before our arrival. However, these few hiccups did not spoil our moods in mingling around with old and new found friends. A special thanks to Jason & Gill for organizing this gathering.

I don’t think I would need to describe the way to Jurin Express as most people would know how to get to Gurney Plaza. Just walk towards the new wing of the mall and go to level 2. You would see the restaurant just next to Sushi King.

Name: JURIN JAPANESE RESTAURANT
Address:
170-02-59/60, 2nd Floor, Gurney Plaza (New Wing),
Persiaran Gurney, 10250 Penang, West Malaysia.
Contact: 604-227 7112
Business Hours: 11.30am-10.00pm
GPS: 5.437696, 100.309592

RATING:
Ambience: 7.5/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 classy)
Food Choices: 7.5/10 (1-4 limited, 5-7 average, 8-10 many choices)
Taste: 7/10 (1-4 tasteless, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)
Pricing: 8.5/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 expensive)
Service: 8/10 (1-4 bad, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)

The amazing part of brewing this stock would be that it’s concentrated. You could easily store in small containers and deep freeze it for your future cooking. The stock would be almost gelatin like with no preservative or seasoning. All you need to do is to add half a container of water to a container of stock and put in some pepper and salt to taste. It’s just as simple as that. Let me show you how you could create this HERBAL STOCK for your favorite hot pot. It’s mild anyway for the consumption of all ages.

INGREDIENTS:

Stock:
2kg pork bones (big bones/tua kut)
3 whole chicken bones
50gms ginseng roots (人參鬚/Panax schinseng roots)
20 sweetened dates
10 liter water

Serving:
Dried Chinese wolfberry (枸杞/kay chee/gouci/goji berry)
Pepper
Salt

PREPARATION:
1. Bring to boil 12 liters of water in a 20L pot.
2. Wash all the bones clean with salt and slowly put all of them into the big pot of boiling water. Add in the ginseng roots and dates. Lower the fire, close the pot partly with a lid and let it simmer for about 6-8 hours. Filter out all the bones and you would get about 6-7 liters of stock left.
3. Scoop the required amount of stock for your hot pot into a new pot. Add in half that amount of hot water (2:1). Add in some dried Chinese wolfberry (about less than 1 tablespoon will do as too much will make the soup turn sour). Bring to boil and sprinkle some pepper and salt to taste. NOTE: Try to be lighter in salt usage as some of the hot pot ingredients such as the meatballs and fish balls have salt in them. Thus the longer the hot pot boils, the saltier it will get. Anyway, I will be sharing the dipping sauce recipe next to allow you to adjust to your taste bud.

Recommended Vegetables for Hot Pot:
Crown daisy chrysanthemum leaves (tang oh/茼蒿) and other vegetables such as Chinese Cabbage (菜心/choy sum), cabbage, spring onions (tied up), young corn, mushrooms, etc. Please take note that the usage of too much Enoki mushrooms might cause the soup base to be sour.

Recommended Add-in for Hot Pot:
All types of meat and fish balls which would be available at your location, either fresh or frozen, chicken fillet slices and seafood of any kind such as crab, clam, mussel, squid, cuttlefish, prawn or fish.

Simple Alternative Soup with the stock:
- Chicken fillet slices, white fungus and ginkgo nuts.
- Chicken fillet slices, lotus seed and lily bulb (百合/bai he/ pak hup).
- Chicken with chopped water chestnut balls, cabbage and rice vermicelli.
- Pork dumpling (sui kow/水餃), Chinese cabbage (菜心/choy sum) and wonton noodles.

(Serves: 10 and above)

YOU CAN CHECK HERE FOR MORE RECIPES.

This year was one of the rarest celebration moments in my family as it so happen that the Chinese New Year which fell on 14 February 2010 coincided with Valentine’s Day. It’s a FIVE-IN-ONE CELEBRATION for the Lai Family! The celebration included the reunion dinner to usher in the Tiger year, my brother’s birthday on the eve, Valentine’s Day, my brother’s lunar birthday as well as his wedding anniversary which fell on Valentine’s Day. It was indeed a fun-filled celebration.

This year’s reunion dinner dishes were somewhat unique compared to the previous ones. In fact, other than the purchases of different types of meat and fish balls, the steamboat stock was another new creation for the family. It was ginseng roots based herbal stock for the first time in our steamboat reunion dinner history. Simple as it may look but it took more than 8 hours of low fire simmering and tedious filtering just to cook this up. Our steamboat side dishes this year was rather simple as we had other extra dishes as well. They included lots of crown daisy chrysanthemum leaves (tang oh/茼蒿), cabbages, wolfberry, prawns, silver pomfret (tao tay fish), chicken drumstick fillet, hair moss fish balls, vegetable fish balls, squid balls, large meatballs, 3 different types of wolf herring (sai to/ikan parang/西刀) fish balls, prawn & pork dumpling (sui kow/水餃), seafood tofu, Fuzhou fish balls (福州魚丸/Hock Chew fish ball – stuffed with minced meat), fish dumplings (魚餃/hoo keow/thin fish batter skin stuffed with minced meat) and fried chopped garlic as garnishing. The whole experience was rejuvenating after so many days of tiring preparations.

What would be new to most families would be our unique dipping sauce. It’s definitely not any hoisin sauce, chopped garlic with bird’s eyes chilies in soy sauce or bottled chili sauce but a concoction of red sweet sauce (甜醬), ginger and chicken fat. The fragrant gingery sauce with each bite of meat, seafood or balls would surely make you yearn for more.

As it was rare to have my brother’s birthday on such an auspicious gathering, we totally ignored on the fat and cholesterol intakes. LOL! I ordered one of my favorite Korean food – Jokbal (족발 – RM77), glazed pig feet meat slices. I believed that Sa Rang Chae Korean Restaurant is the sole restaurant in Penang to have this wonderfully cooked dish. It caught my brother’s attention immediately as I saw him applying nonstop the accompanied sweet and/or salty sauces onto the accompanied lettuce endlessly. Cool! At least he’s happy. Err… what happened to your diet plan bro?

Now comes the interesting part of the suspense since my last post on reserving some of my home cooked Hokkien Mee stock and chili paste for this new recipe. What would a birthday be without any birthday noodles? Let me introduce you to my latest fusion recipe – Fried Hokkien Prawn Noodles! The delicious dish had yellow noodles carefully stir fried in thick prawn stock, dried shrimps, meat, prawns, fish cake and flowering Chinese cabbage (chye sim/chai sim/菜心) with deep fried crab stick strips and fried shallots as garnishing. You can adjust your level of spiciness by adding more of the chili paste. Everybody, inclusive my two teenage nieces could not stop having this dish as it had a unique seafood fragrant. The more you take this, the more you want it for every meal!

I will not touch on the recipes here but I will share the recipes in the next few posts. Wishing everyone one a happy and prosperous Chinese New Year! Do drive carefully if you are traveling! Check out for more update here soon.

We started out by gathering at the newly constructed Swettenham Pier check-in building and by 8.30am, we were already on our way, leaving behind the scenic view of the Penang island. Some of us did recharge our energy during the journey by having some siesta to get the best out of the package. We finally arrived at Langkawi Coral Reef Platform (100m from the shore of Pulau Payar) about 2 hours later.

Pulau Payar, being the largest and 3 other smaller islands, namely Pulau Kaca (northeast of Pulau Payar), Pulau Lembu (northeast of Pulau Payar and just next to Pulau Kaca) and Pulau Segantang (southwest of Pulau Payar) and have been collectively gazetted as the Pulau Payar Marine Park. These islands are the sanctuary for extensive range of marine organisms and fishes. Stretching 1.75km x 500m with an area of 31.2 hectres, Pulau Payar is rich in flora and fauna on top of the magnificent coral reefs. The island has small stretches of white sandy beaches for those who love sunbathing and casual strolling. Don’t forget to bring more sun-block lotion if you intend to do so, unless you are those who would want to be as tan as the Africans… LOL! If you are lucky, you might even catch some live actions of creatures on the shore during daylight.

There are also a few trekking trails for those nature shutterbugs. You can expect to see endemic flying fox, monitor lizards, shore pit viper, white-bellied sea eagle, crested serpent eagle, imperial pigeon and many other feathered friends. You would also see some amenities which would include picnic tables, barbecue pits, gazebos and restrooms at strategic locations for your personal needs. Picnics and camping are allowed but cutting of trees and open burning would be strictly prohibited. How I wished I had more time to explore the other side of the island for more nature shots.

What impressed visitors most would be the availability of Langkawi Coral, Malaysia’s first and only reef platform located at the Pulau Payar Marine Park. The 49m x 15m well equipped floating platform (with numerous changing/wash rooms, snack bar and dining area) would facilitate activities such as snorkeling, scuba diving, sunbathing, fish feeding to panoramic viewing of the marine kingdom. If that alone could not captivate your attention, glass bottom boat rides or diving can be arranged to various coral gardens to amaze you further.

If you do not intend to get yourself wet, there’s a tunnel-like Underwater Observation Chamber at the bottom of the platform (about 10 feet below sea level) to catch glimpses of the beautiful seabed filled with various seashells, shellfishes and slugs. With an average visibility of 9 to 15 meters of crystal clear blue water, I’m sure you would be impressed easily.

Do watch out for colorful soft corals and hard corals such as the deer antler like Staghorn, Boulder and Brain as well as fishes of all stripes, dots, spots and rainbow colors. It was a bonus in here for me as I caught shots of two main pelagic predators out there. One of them was the around 1m long Barracuda (locally known as alu-alu) which I would expect to be around 10kg or so, hiding under the platform awaiting its prey. The next was the Black Tipped Reef Shark of almost the same length as the Barracuda. Both were wonderful sights indeed.

While snorkeling deep in the crystal clear water, I managed to see some beautiful colored fishes such as the rock fish, yellow fin goatfish, schooling bannerfish, yellow boxfish (related to the pufferfish family), blue dot grouper, goldband fusiliers, horse-eyed jacks, tiera batfish, lawnmower blenny, sea goldie, raccoon/blackbacked butterflyfish, orange striped cardinalfish, percula clownfish (which did not have the lighter orange color as my favorite “Nemo”), yellowfin clownfish (of course I still missed my “Nemo”.. where did it hide itself this time? LOL!), tangaroan goby, yellow clown goby, arc eye hawkfish, large sized parrotfish, moon wrasse, juvenile trevally, black snapper, remora (suckerfish), mirror fish, needlefish and many more that I had lost track of their names. The more common ones that would invade the platform would be the four striped damselfish (sometimes known as sergeant major by some anglers), streaked spinefoot and queenfish (ikan talang/sampan thiao). There were quite a lot of sea urchins (locally known as sea rambutans) too on the seabed but be careful not to get poke or step on them as the only temporary cure to soothe the pain would be urine.

I was praying hard that I could get glimpses of some of the more unique sea creatures as those shown on National Geographic Channel such as the moray eel, giant grouper (long tan 龍旦), ghost pipe fish, lionfish, nurse shark, giant trevally (kam koay) or even lobsters but they were so hard to detect in such a vast area within the few hours we had. Moreover, I was not in any diving gears nor having any underwater camera. What a waste! Anybody want to sponsor me an underwater camera? LOL! Anyway, here are some of the underwater shots taken by Chan with his water-proofed Lumix camera:

There was to be a shark feeding session in the package but it had been cancelled until further notice by the management. I guessed this could be due to too many of their staff been bitten while feeding those aggressive predators. Maybe those sharks had gotten larger than before and thus one day they would be as large as those in the “Jaws” movie. Well, at least I was lucky to capture the shot of one earlier. Don’t be despair as you would still have the opportunity to feed other smaller fishes that would not bite. Errr… unless they are real hungry as I got my butts pinched quite a few times while feeding them in the water. How careless! Haha!

Buffet lines featuring international and local food would also be provided in this package deal. There was more than 25 items on the buffet spread which included appetizers such as over fresh buns, butter and cabbage & carrot soup, salads such as capsicums, onions, cucumber, tomatoes, Cameron lettuce with a choice of thousand island or spicy Italian dressings, mixed fruit salad, coleslaw, chicken sausage with corn salad and tuna with French bean salad, tempting entrée such as five spice chicken rolls, vegetable spring rolls, spicy potato wedges, fish fillet, Western, Malaysian & Oriental cuisine such as beef slices stew, sweet & sour prawns, braised mushroom with mixed vegetable, fried turmeric chicken, spaghetti bolognese, fried seafood vermicelli, oriental fried rice. Desserts included fruits such as watermelon, pineapple and oranges, pudding and jellies such as or raspberry mixed fruit jelly, orange mixed fruit jelly, mango pudding and honeydew pudding, local delicacies such as brown sugar steamed cake (malai ko) and kuih lompang pandan. Tea, coffee and cold water are free flow too. Overall, the food was reasonable enough to fill the tummy after the many hours of sea activities.

One of the main highlights of our trip was the photo shooting of our current Miss Malaysia World 2009 1st runner-up, Stefanie Chua. All eyes, especially from those male foreigners, were glued to her almost at all times. Stefanie Chua, who was no stranger to many beauty pageants, also held the Miss Schwarzenbach Beach Beauty during the recent competition and also countless of titles from other pageants. The photography was shot by none other than our Heritage Wedding Photography 2009 winner and founder of Studio Moonspell, Mr. Patrick Soon. Here are some glimpses of the photography session.

Let’s hope Stefanie recovered fast from a little mishap that happened during the photography session. We won’t want this expression in her photos right? Here’s a complimentary photo by Patrick Soon. Boy! If I were to be younger, I would surely get him to shoot my autobiography. What a beautiful shot… minus that candid expression of course. Haha!

Here’s a short video on my experience there in Pulau Payar. Let’s hope I can share many more of such trips with you in the near future. Do enjoy watching.

Hey! Why are you still gazing the photos and videos in here? By now you should have booked the package deals for your coming holiday. All you need to bring along would be yourself, a large towel, your swim wear and some cash for some extra hired excitements at Langkawi Coral Reef Platform. Our package deal included return boat fares, taxes, PA Insurance coverage, buffet lunch and fun-packed activities. There’s always something to do for everyone in Pulau Payar and getting bored would be the last thing you would hear. Please book early to avoid any disappointments. Have a nice holiday!

Important Not-To Do Note:
1. Pulau Payar Marine Park is a protected marine ecosystem area and no angling of any sort would be allowed under the Malaysian Fisheries Act 1991.
2. Collection of any coral and aquatic life would be prohibited.
3. Never vandalize or stand on any coral reef as it took thousands of years for them to form.
4. No shampoo or soap is allowed.
5. Do not litter. Pick up your rubbish when you leave the island.

Other Useful Information:
1. Do check out the Marine Park Centre, operated by the Fisheries Department for further information by means of brochures, maps and videos. Make sure you get more information on the do’s and don’ts while visiting the island.
2. There are no accommodation facilities on the island and camping permit would be required to stay on. Permit applications can be obtained at Pulau Langkawi’s Kuah Fisheries Office (604-966 6464), Kuala Kedah Fisheries Office (604-7621 6700), Kedah/Perlis State Fisheries Office (604-734 2137), Penang State Fisheries Office (604-626 1002), Department of Fisheries Malaysia (Ministry of Agriculture) in Kuala Lumpur (603-298 2011). Get enough of drinking water and food if you intend to stay back for more days.

It’s rather hard to show you how to get there as the islands are so small that even Google Map would not show up. Luckily, Chan brought had a GPS around. Here’s how’s the islands would look like if we were to blow up the scale.

Name:
LANGKAWI CORAL REEF PLATFORM
c/o Langkawi Saga Travel & Tours Sdn Bhd
16 Jalan Tanjung Bungah, Georgetown, 11200 Penang, Malaysia
Tel: 604-899 8822
Fax: 604-890 6068
Email: sales@langkawicoral.com
Website: http://www.langkawicoral.com
GPS: 6.0654, 100.0433

RATING:
Ambience: 9/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 classy)
Food Choices: 8.5/10 (1-4 limited, 5-7 average, 8-10 many choices)
Taste: 7/10 (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)

On holiday:
Criz Lai, Steven Goh, Kim Peng, Stefanie Chua, Patrick Soon, Tiffany Thor, David Khoo, Nana Khor, Lay Min, Kok Ann, Chan Chee Wah and Shirley See.

Well, don’t thank me for that. I’m only the postman. If not for the wonderful sponsors who wished to share out the best there are in Penang/Butterworth, you won’t have the privilege to try out their wonderful culinary skills. Let’s officially thank them for promoting Penang’s best to the dining community. They are Fun Tea Garden Dim Sum, Ki Xiang Klang Bak Kut Teh, Village Café Tom Yam Fish Head Noodles, I Mum Mum Pan Mee, Ivy’s Kitchen Nyonya Cuisine, Kowloon Hainan Chicken Rice and Magazine Road Tang Yuan. Let’s hope there would be more sponsors around next year since there were some late requests during the end of the project. I sincerely hope that those who had received their free vouchers had a great dining experience.

Last Friday night was the ending of the giveaways and saw a memorable anniversary celebration for close friends and floggers at Fun Tea Garden for the “eat-until-you-drop” dim sum and noodles party. Everyone was indeed stuffed until the brim by trying out almost everything from the restaurant. Well, that’s another few inches to the waistline. LOL! In fact, the whole atmosphere was filled with the laughs of the wackiest floggers and shutterbugs around town. Jokes can be heard at every table while ghost stories at another. I hope Steven Goh did not have bad dreams that night for the story telling. Haha! It was indeed a fun filling event for many including our new flogger-to-be in town, Lay Min and friend, Kok Ann, who drove all the way from Butterworth to attend this function. You would be surprised that the oldies and the newbies can click really well that night. Won’t it be great if we were to have more of such happy moments? Gals and guys… plan more in 2010! Hehe!

Since I was the host for the night, shooting great shots was quite impossible. Why not let the rest of the attendees show you how great the food was that night? Here’s a glimpse of some of the food we had.

The celebration ended with a large anniversary Marble Cheese Cake from Jenni Homemade Cakes, courtesy of Carrie, Mary and CW Chan. It was a bonus for all of us and also a few more pounds gained. Haha!

Here’s the group photo of the attendees with the boss of Fun Tea Garden, Mr. Danny, courtesy of CW Chan who has also bought a new RM3.1K Lumix camera on that night to provide better shots for his readers in the future. Thanks for de“virgin”ized your camera for that night. LOL!

Not in photo: NKOTB & hubby

ATTENDEES:
Criz Lai
Alan & Amanda
NKOTB & hubby
Little Inbox & hubby
Eunice, Siew Ying & Kelvin
Lay Min & Kok Ann
Jason & Gill
CW Chan
Steven Goh
Mary Teo
Carrie Soon
Jian Ming

Anyway, let us go right into food now as when there are floggers around food would be the main news. Hehe! Although there was a minor hiccup by the management of the restaurant in the serving of the dishes, it did not spoil the moods of the occasion. We had Braised Shark’s Fin Soup with Dried Scallops & Crab Meat served first. It was just a normal wedding banquet type of serving but what caught my attention was the usage of “glass noodle texture-like” shark’s fin and surimi (crab sticks). I guessed many sharks and decapod crustaceans were spared in this eco-friendly dish. LOL!

Next was the Deluxe Hot & Cold Dish Combination which consisted of hot steaming crystal skin “money bag” dumplings, stir fried prawns with cashew nuts and bell peppers, Minced pork and waxed sausage rolls and minced pork cutlet in plum sauce which tasted somewhat like our local “bak kua” minus the red rose wine flavor and coloring. It was an interesting combination.

Braised Chicken with Chest Nuts wrapped in Aluminum Foil followed. Although the roasted chicken was a bit bland in taste due to over steaming, the tender meat went well with the stuffing of chest nuts, mushrooms, waxed sausages and carrots with some mild seasonings. The best part lied in the gravy where it had a rich and flavorful chicken essence.

When it came to giving fresh and succulent large prawns, the restaurant had its best. The Deep Fried Prawns coated with Oats & Crispy Minced Egg was perfect. Some of us were caught savoring the delicious condiments instead.

We were then served with Stewed Assorted Mushroom with Broccoli in Oyster Sauce. Other than broccoli, straw mushrooms and Chinese mushrooms, there were another thinly sliced abalone-like texture ingredient. We were not too sure what that was but to me it tasted more like an edible sea snail meat.

As for the Steamed Grouper Fish “Teow Chew” Style, it was just a normal serving due to the mass production. Somehow ours was sort of “handicapped” (from the sign of the tilted head) and overcooked. The fish lost the firmness in texture. Moreover, a touch of more pickled sour plums and Shao Xing wine would make the dish more tasteful.

Steamed Lotus Leaf Rice with Waxed Sausage was served next. Simple as it may look, each grain of rice was well flavored with the taste from the lotus leaves.

The last course was of course dessert. We were served with Sweetened Honeydew Melon Cream with Sago. I suspected the cream came in powder form as the coloring was somewhat artificial. I surely preferred something more natural like blended honeydew instead.

Other than the free flowing wine, beer and cordial, we were each presented some gift by the couple – a piece of fruit cake and a silky pouch filled with a pair of heart-shape lollipops. From my observation, this memento pleased many of the guests. The elderly were happy with a little something to keep their coins, whereas the younger ones were happy with something to share with their friends and partner-to-be. After all, wedding is all about sharing the love together for eternity.

To Steven & Janice…
Your happiness begins
With your wonderful wedding day.
You’ll share everything together;
Through it all, your love will stay.
Congratulations to you,
As you begin your happy life.
May all good things be yours,
As new husband and new wife.

For those who had missed the memorable event, here’s a short video of the couple walking down the aisle.

The Forum Chinese Cuisine is located at Level 3 within Island Plaza, Penang. It won’t be hard to find the way as it’s just along Jalan Tanjung Tokong on your right.

Name: THE FORUM CHINESE CUISINE @ ISLAND PLAZA
Address: 803-01, 3rd Floor, Island Plaza, 118 Jalan Tokong, 10470 Penang.
Business Hours:
11.30am-3.00pm, 6.30pm-10.00pm (Monday-Saturday)
9.30am-3.00pm, 6.30pm-10.00pm (Sunday & Public Holiday)
Contact: 604-899 0088
GPS: 5.450371, 100.305946

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

ATTENDEES:
Criz Lai
CK Lam
Alan & Amanda
NKOTB & hubby
CW Chan
Eunice & Siew Ying

Let’s start by introducing the basic cookies that you would get on top of the mooncakes. We call them the Moon Biscuits/Cookies (Mid Autumn Cookies/Gong Zai Peng/Ang Kong Na Pia/公仔餅). Traditionally, these biscuits would come with plain flour mixed with some golden syrup, bicarbonate soda, corn oil, alkaline water and so on before being baked until golden brown. Today, the method has evolved with many manufacturers having them with nuts and fillings. There are 7 versions I found at HLS (see photo below – top left clockwise) namely Melon Seed Moon Biscuit (RM7.00/500gms), Plain Moon Biscuit (RM5.00/500gms), Black Sesame with Pumpkin Seeds Moon Biscuits (RM5.00/pack), Red Bean Paste Moon Biscuit (RM4.00/10pcs), Lotus Seed Paste Moon Biscuit (RM4.00/10pcs), Durian Paste Moon Biscuit (RM5.00/10pcs) and Coconut Silk Moon Biscuit (RM4.00/10pcs).

Basically, some of these biscuits come without any surface designs but you can always find some around with designs such as the ones Steven’s mum baked – fish and minis. You would have to ask him if his mum sells those. You can even find some mini ones at HLS at RM4.00 for a pack of fours.

As for moon cakes, the traditionally prepared ones would be either with plain pastry skins or snow skins (glutinous rice flour). Sorry to say, you won’t get the snow skin versions from HLS as they are solely into biscuit manufacturing but I had made the effort to get one from TYR just for the photo shot. (Clockwise from top left) You can see the Single Yolk Red Bean Paste Snow Skin Moon Cake (RM7.70 – TYR), Lotus Seed Paste Moon Cake (RM6.50 – HLS), Single Yolk Coconut Silk Moon Cake (RM5.00 – HLS), Mixed Nuts Moon Cake (RM6.50 – HLS) and Durian Moon Cake (RM6.50 – HLS). You can visit them for more flavors (RM7.00/RM8.00) such as the Red Dates, Pandan Lotus Seed, Green Tea and Mixed Nuts with Ham.

Hock Lok Siew Biscuit Manufacturing: 120 Lebuh Noordin, 10300 Penang. Tel: 604-262 2162
Tho Yuen Restaurant: 92 Lebuh Campbell, 10100 Penang. Tel: 604-261 4672

Isn’t the spread of moon cakes stated above great? Yes it is but it did not stop there with the creativity of mankind. Thus, came in companies such as TBC with other fusion flavors. (Clockwise from top left) You can see the latest product from them namely the Precious Black (RM11.90 – pure charcoal powder butter pastry skin/white lotus seed paste with chunky dried longan meat and wolfberry lotus seed paste “yolk”), Rich Chocolate Peanut Praline (RM11.90 – pure chocolate butter pastry skin/dark chocolate lotus seed paste and peanut praline “yolk”), Pearl of Prosperity (RM11.80 – pandan lotus paste/yellow mung bean paste and egg yolk), Chestnut Japanese Jingsa (RM11.90 – chestnut lotus seed paste and Japanese Jingsa with seaweed flake “yolk”) and Blueberry Blackcurrant Cheese (RM11.90 – fruity blueberry lotus seed paste with dried blackcurrant chunks and cheesy “yolk”). Do check out some of the TBC counters at shopping malls for some discounts. For more information, visit the TBC website.

Well, that’s not all the moon cake you would find. There’s the Single Yolk Shanghai Moon Cake (RM11 – TYR). The filling would normally be lotus seed paste but you might find some with red bean paste as well. The differences lie within the skin pastry. This version has a flaky skin.

You thought the creativity of the bakers stopped there? No, it did not. Let’s looked at what YWW had come out with – the fruity snow skin version. My best recommendation would be the Snow Skin Strawberry Moon Cake (RM13.90 – YWW). It has the fruity strawberry paste minus the extreme sweetness compared to other moon cakes and it has a fresh strawberry as the “yolk”. I would think it’s a bit pricey but it’s one product that would suit the taste buds of different generations. Don’t you think this would be the ideal “courting” product for this season? LOL!

Check out the flyer below for more flavors:

YWW is also the producer of Crystal Moon Cake. This is actually the jelly version but YWW has moved one step ahead of others by inserting pure bird nest since they are also one of the bird nest distributors in Malaysia. Let’s look at some of the moon cakes they have to offer – Mango Crystal Moon Cake (RM12.90 – pure mango jelly skin, mango milk jelly and carrot “yolk”), Red Bean Bird Nest Crystal Moon Cake (RM16.90 – soy bean skin, bird nest, red bean jelly and carrot “yolk”) and Honey Dew Bird Nest Crystal Moon Cake (RM16.90 – plain skin, bird nest, honey dew milk jelly and carrot “yolk”).

There are also many other flavors such as cappuccino, dragon fruit, mixed fruit, kiwi available and they come in a beautifully design box of 2’s and 6’s.

Check out the flyer below for more flavors and also visit some of their counters at Gurney Plaza basement, Pacific Megamall basement, Sunway Carnival Mall basement or I Mum Mum Restaurant, the Pan Mee Specialist at Lebuh Macallum.

Overall, this is just an informative post to enlighten my readers on what to expect out there during this Mid Autumn Festival celebration (3 October 2009). I would like to take this opportunity to wish my readers a Happy Mid Autumn Festival 2009. Happy reunion with your loved ones! To my Muslim readers who would be celebrating the Hari Raya this coming Monday – Salam Aidil Fitri!

The dinner started with a choice between two soups. The Mushroom Soup with Vintage Garlic Bread was freshly prepared with a mixture of different types of mushrooms, accompanied by a slice of creamy garlic bread. The soup had the earthly taste that I love a lot and the garlic bread was marvelously prepared with lots of cheese topping.

The Seafood Soup on the other hand had a totally different taste. It has the freshness of the seafood ingredients somewhat like seafood chowder but a bit spicier. There were hints of crabsticks, fish cubes, crab meat and herbs that made the whole taste a unique experience.

There were 5 options for the main meal and we shared amongst our table of 6 persons so that everyone would have a taste of the food. The first that arrived was the Bulgarian Pork Djolan, a traditional roasted pork knuckle. Sometimes also known as ham hock or hough, the meat has been well marinated with hints of light wine, salt, honey, herbs and spices. This was then roasted until perfection with slightly crispy skin and tender yet juicy meat. The dish alone had enough of flavor without applying the accompanied BBQ sauce.

The next dish was the Chicken Stroganov which consists of boneless chicken drumstick cut into stripes and cooked with mushroom, wine, cream, herbs and spices. This again was well received by many of us although the portion was not as remarkably large as the former dish.

The Bulgarian Platter was served next. The dish had a mixed grill trio of kebapche (front row in sausage shape), kyufte (back row in oval shape) and karnatche (center row with sausage like texture). The differences between kebapche and kyufte are in shapes and the additional usage of chopped onions in the later. Both are actually made out of minced meat (pork, beef or mixed) with some signs of cumin, salt and grounded black pepper. Karnatche is actually the Bulgarian style of stuffing sausages with pure meat patty and then grill to perfection. Taste wise for everything was fine, except that they could be a bit salty for the local consumption.

For those ribs lover, the Plovdiv Ribs might be a good choice. It came with a few choice pieces of pork ribs, marinated with the chef’s secret recipe and roasted until tender. The ribs were meaty enough too. To me, there were no uniqueness in this dish compared to any regular BBQ ribs and it was a bit sweet to my liking.

With all the meaty stuff, it was great to see a seafood dish. Baked Cod Fish Fillet served with chopped mushroom in creamy mushroom sauce was next. The thick cut cod fish fillet was slightly bake to maintain the gel like freshness within blended in real well with the slightly cheesy taste like sauce.

Even before our desserts were served, we were given sweet treats courtesy of Winter Butterfly Homemade Cakes and gelatos from Gelatisimo. Here are the Oreo Cheese Cake, Chocolate Brownies and Cream Cheese Mousse Cake.

The sample tryout by Gelatisimo was indeed different. The different flavored gelato itself was smooth, creamy, flavorful and not overly sweet – the healthy way that I love. We had flavors such as green tea, mango, chocolate, rum & raisins, etc. There are around 50 more flavors in their outlets.

After all the treats, we had more desserts from the restaurant. The first dessert was the Chocolate Soup with Vanilla Ice Cream. It indeed reminded me of how I used to take my ice cream when I was in my earlier years – mildly sweetened chocolate beverage with a scoop or two of vanilla ice cream. The only difference here was the sprinkles of some chocolate rice. In fact, I still do make this dessert quite often but with milky coffee instead. I personally felt that the aroma and slight bitterness of the coffee combine well with vanilla ice cream.

The next dessert was the Chocolate Crème Brulee. It was indeed another great dessert which was not as sweet as it looked. The crème was perfectly whipped and to take a spoonful with some caramelized sugar on the surface was like heaven. The creamy substance oozing down your throat while your teeth slowly munching the crunchy caramelized sugar, was simply refreshing. This dessert came with some fresh fruit cuts.

It might be quite hard to locate the restaurant for those from outstation but it would be worth your effort to try out their wonderful food. Vintage Bulgaria Restaurant is actually situated just behind Mutiara Selera Food Court at the base of Pearl Hill. To go to this restaurant, just drive towards Batu Ferringhi from town. When you reach the Penang Swimming Club on your right, drive ahead until you see Caltex petrol kiosk on your left. It’s just a short distance before reach another traffic light (Mutiara Selera Food Court). Turn left before the food court and you would see a Y junction. You can either turn left and find a parking space somewhere near the 7-ELEVEN outlet as the restaurant is right in the middle or the same row of shop houses or turn right until you see another Y junction then turn left into Jalan Sungai Kelian. Turn left again into the sloppy service road. You would see the restaurant on your right. There’s a mini car park opposite the restaurant but it’s up to your luck to find a parking space as normally it would be full during dining hours.

Name: VINTAGE BULGARIA RESTAURANT & BAR
Address: 1E, Jalan Sungai Kelian, Tanjung Bungah, 11200 Penang, Malaysia.
Contact: 604-898 1890
Business Hours: 12.00noon-12.00am (Last order at 10.00pm)
GPS: 5.464654, 100.292526

RATING:
Ambience: 9/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 classy)
Food Choices: 8/10 (1-4 limited, 5-7 average, 8-10 many choices)
Taste: 8/10 (1-4 tasteless, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)
Pricing: 8.5/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 expensive)
Service: 8/10 (1-4 bad, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)

Attended Floggers:
Alan Choong
Allen Ooi
Allie Sun
Anna
Bee
Carrie Soon
Celine
Chan Chee Wah
Cheryl Wee
CK Lam
Criz Lai
Desmond Ch’ng
Gill Giam
Huat Koay
Jason Wong
Jessica Tan
Jian
Kathleen Tan
Ken Chan
Leong Mei Yi
Lingzie
Mary Teo
NKOTB
Rebecca Saw
SP Moi
Steven Goh
Wong, Zi Yi
Yong Shi Hui

A few of us were invited to the official opening of one of Penang’s newest restaurants named Palm Village Cafe located in the upcoming Lembah Permai business area of Tanjung Bungah this morning. The whole concept behind the restaurant would be that of a homely cooked food with a casual dining experience surrounded with paintings of the various lifestyles through time.

Who do you think would qualify to show beautiful paintings to get the right feel of those nostalgic moments? It’s none other than that of our own local artist, Choh Kiat Siong? Mr. Choh, voted as the top 15 most outstanding youth in Kedah, is a seasoned watercolor artist who had spent all his life time painting the past and present of our local scenes. He had received many awards and recognition locally and was much loved in the republic of China for his uniqueness to bring out the lifestyles of the Malaysians in paintings. I would think the restaurant had the greatest privilege to get his signature signed live on the scene.

Are you curious to find out the type of food you would get from this restaurant? It is basically a place to hang out for families, friends, workers and students from the surrounding area. They have food ranging from simple and light breakfast meals such as toasts and soup, ala carte poultry, seafood and vegetable dishes to go with rice for groups, rice and noodles, finger food, ice cream and cakes to pamper your craving for some delicious homemade tea time snacks. On top of these wonderful meals at an economical price for everyone, there are also some combo meals available. There are also family combo meals from as low as RM10. The best part would be by adding an extra RM2.80, you could get an additional drink and a dessert per each combo meal ordered.

Some of the unique and recommended food here would be their Palm Village Curry Chicken, Fried Fermented Bean Curd Chicken, Asam Pedas Rice/Noodles, Curry Chicken Wan Than Mee, Chinese Cruller Salad, Tiramisu Cake and many more. I would try them out another day in full review and elaborate more on the food details as well as to provide photographs at a later date.

If you know where the Penang TAR College is, if would be easier to find the restaurant. If not, try finding your way from Jalan Burma and drive all the way up using Jalan Mount Erskine until you see a Hindu temple on your left. It’s almost near to the Jalan Fettes traffic light. Drive straight on and you would see a Y junction. The right lane would lead you to Pepper Estate. Keep to your left and use the winding road up towards Vale of Tempe. Towards the end of the winding road, you would see houses on both sides of the road. Drive on until you see the first junction on your left (Lebuh Lembah Permai 1). Turn left and drive all the way up until your see some shop houses on your right. Turn right into the service road (Lebuh Lembah Permai 4) and drive to the other side of the shop houses and you would see the restaurant located prominently on your right. Blue Reef Restaurant and Annabelle’s Place are just a few shop houses away from the restaurant.

Name: PALM VILLAGE CAFE
Branch Address: 28, Lebuh Lembah Permai 4, 11200 Penang, Malaysia.
Contact: 604-890 0320
Opening Hours: 11.00am-10.00pm
GPS: 5.454192, 100.290298

Basically this is not a food post but just an awareness post that there is a new outlet in Penang, Malaysia, that would cater for all your basic business and personal needs. Located near Queensbay Mall and within the newly constructed BayAvenue, there existed a little corner café like shop by the name of Steven’s Hotspot. It was a privilege for a few of us to be invited by the marketing team of STG Resources Sdn. Bhd. to witness the soft launching of the latest hotspot outlet and a briefing on the history of the company by the Marketing Director, Mr. Michael Ng. Thanks Mr. Edward Tan for the special arrangement.

Initially started as a mamak stall by the name of Steven’s Corner in OUG Garden in the late 70’s, the business has now expanded with the opening of another two outlets in Pandah Indah and Setapak in Kuala Lumpur. To provide Malaysians with the experience of dining freshly concocted ingredients imported directly from India in a more comfortable environment, Steven’s Tea Garden was formed with the state-of-the-art ambience in major shopping complexes, namely Sunway Pyramid, MidValley, Bukit Bintang, AEON Ampang, AEON Bukit Tinggi and Semenyih TESCO.

To provide further services to the community, Steven’s Hotspot was formed with the first outlet being officiated in Kuala Lumpur, followed by Penang on 9 May 2009. Ipoh and Johor Bahru hotspots would follow suit within the next few months. The concept behind Steven’s Hotspot is totally different compared to Steven’s Corner and Steven’s Tea Garden. The setting up of the hotspots in strategically located prime townships within Malaysia is to ease the community in their daily running of errands. It’s a one-stop centre for business appointments with the facilities of having WIFI services, printing, photocopying and faxing of documents. Moreover, it also served as a utility, telecommunication bill payment and purchasing of prepaid outlet for your personal need.

In case you might want to grab something a drink while waiting for the arrival of your clients, you could always try out their 1997 & 1999 Malaysian Tourism Board, Mix FM and The Sun ‘Best Teh Tarik Award’ winning beverage, the Teh Tarik (Malaysian style pulled tea with milk – RM2.50).

There are other options too such as canned drinks and flavored tea.

There are also light meals and snacks supplied by quality Halal certified local food vendors available here. You could always try out their local delicacies such as Nasi Lemak and kuih-muih or cakes and pastries from the counter.

We had tried out their Tuna and Seafood Croissants (RM8/set), Blueberry Cheese Pie (RM6), Lychee and Tiramisu Cakes (RM8.50/pc). There were nothing to shout about on the taste and quality as their main concentration was based on providing convenient services as a business centre.

The mission and vision of Steven’s restaurant chain of restaurants is to expand the business with the expectation of 100 outlets in Malaysia within the next few years as well as to expand aboard. This can only be made possible with their Customer Loyalty Program managed by STG Resources Sdn. Bhd. There are four types of memberships available such as the Classic, Silver, Gold and Platinum memberships. If you are interested in any of their memberships and want to know the benefits available, you can check them out. There is also opportunity for you to own your franchise restaurant through their partnership program.

It would be easier to reach Steven’s Hotspot if use the Jelutong/Bayan Lepas Expressway. Just follow the direction towards Queensbay Mall. Drive on until you see an overhead pass when nearing the mall. Watch out for a signboard leading to Pulau Jererak Resort & Spa. Turn left into the road and drive until the T-junction. Turn right and drive on until the roundabout. On the way, you would see JJ café on your left. Drive 12 o’clock after the roundabout until you see a junction on your right where Shanghai Ding – House of Dumpling is located. OXO Café would be at the next building. Opposite the café (on your right) would be the newly construction BayAvenue business centre. Drive through the parking meter, drive straight and make a left turn at the first junction and you would see Steven’s Hotspot at a corner shoplot.

Name: STEVEN’S HOTSPOT
Address: B-16-1, Lorong Bayan Indah 3, 11900 Bayan Lepas, Penang, Malaysia.
Business Hours: 11.00am-11.00pm
GPS: 5.337456, 100.307114

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