Leave it to the skillful hands of the resident pastry chef, Chef Tan Kwee Lian (陳桂蓮), a Johorian, to introduce to you her exquisite presentations of various chocolates cookies, chocolate fountains, hot chocolate dishes, chocolate cakes, chocolate desserts and pralines.

The Chocolate Dessert Buffet at G Hotel has the same concept as any other buffets, starting with sections for appetizers, hot dishes, desserts, ice cream and hot beverages (DIY teabags and coffee). Each diner would receive a complimentary cup of Hot Coco Chocolate upon seated. The beverage which had hot boiling milk folded into melted chocolate was thick and rich with creaminess. In fact, it had the mild sweetness, thickness and richness that I like.

Starting from the Appetizer Station, we had all the bite size pralines, all skillfully crafted by Chef Tan. On the display were Arancia Praline, Coconuts Praline, Dark Chocolate Praline, Caramel Fleur De Sel, Mascarpone Stracciatella Praline, Pistachio Praline and assorted pralines.

The Arancia Praline is a combination of fine dark chocolate (65% cocoa) with a touch of orange essence. It was very impressively crafted. However, I found the orange flavored filling to a bit on the sweet side.

The Coconut Praline consisted of pure white chocolate with some coconut flavored milky filling and cocoa nibs. It looked impressive but it had that strong milky flavor with a strong oily coconut flavor as such from desiccated coconut. Since we are in an Asian country, it would be best if freshly dried ones being used here.

The Dark Chocolate Praline was one of my favorites here as it was not too sweet. The dark chocolate outer crust blended in real well with the creamy melted chocolate cream. In my opinion, it was a perfect praline.

On the other hand, the Caramel Fleur De Sel was a bomb in the sense that it was a high calorie one filled with oozing caramel. The outer crust was with chocolate milk. The caramel with was not as buttery flavored as butter scotch as fleur de sel (sea salt) was used instead. Somehow, it was a bit sweet to my liking.

Another of the chef’s signature items was the Mascarpone Stracciatella Praline. The dark chocolate item had that shell-like feature with brushed edible gold dust. It was filled with a mixture of cocoa nib and creamy mascarpone cheese. It was not bad at all.

Most of us like the next item which was the Pistachio Praline. The dark chocolate used went well with the nutty flavored within. However, it would great if there were some pistachio chunks inside instead of being blended so finely.

The next dish contained Assorted Pralines. It had chocolate milk crust with different type of fillings. It would be up to your luck to choose your preferred flavors.

At the Hot Dishes Station, we had the Chocolate Pudding, Chocolate Strudel, Chocolate Fruit Pizza, Chocolate Bread Butter Pudding, Chocolate Banana Puff and Chocolate Jackfruit Pie.

I love the Chocolate Pudding as it was slightly moist within while having a bit of crisp on the surface. According to the chef, the pudding was half baked on the inside to create the moisture in this hot dish. Awesome!

On the other hand, the Chocolate Strudel was made with a dense of chocolate, roasted almonds, rolled up with filo pastry, brushed with a bit of egg yolk and sprinkled with some sesame seeds. I love that puffiness on the strudel with a mildly sweetened chocolate sauce and some nice crunches from the roasted almonds.

I could not believe my eyes when I saw the label on the next hot item – Chocolate Fruit Pizza. Is there such a dish? The only pizza that I had tried with fruits on it is the savory version of the Hawaiian Chicken Pizza with pineapples on it. How would this pizza taste then? Well, it was unique. The taste reminded me of my childhood days when I had spread some Nutella (Italian chocolate hazelnut spread) on my bread with some cut bananas. It was cool! The pizza had a chocolate powder flavored based, topped with cut strawberries, kiwis, grapes, some sweetened orange peels and a generous amount of chocolate sauce. Mummy~ Can I have another?

The next item was the Chocolate Bread Butter Pudding, topped with lots of almond flakes. It was simple and yet not too sweet.

We were also served with Chocolate Banana Puff. It has a similar bite as the Chocolate Strudel but with a nice natural sweetness from the baked bananas with. Not bad!

Somehow the Chocolate Jackfruit Pie did not have the smooth bite that I had expected in a hot pie dish. I personally felt that the texture did not suit such dessert as it was rather chewy. It could be due to the usage of banana in the earlier dish that the chef had decided to switch to another fruit. Banana is still the best fruit because it has that soft, smooth and creamy texture that would match well with any chocolate. Anyway, the top 3 fruits to go with chocolate as voted by consumers are bananas, apples and strawberries.

All the hot dishes would go well with some Vanilla Sauce.

The Dessert Station was plentiful starting with all the cookies, biscuits, dried and fresh fruits to go with your Dark and White Chocolate Fountains. On the spread were Assorted Biscuits/Cookies (Chocolate Almond Cookies, Chocolate Chips Cookies, Cream Crackers, Finger Biscuits & Chocolate Cream Oreo Cookies) & Dried Fruits (Prunes & Apricot), Strawberries, Dragon Fruit, Grapes, Longan, Red Watermelon, Honey Dew, Pineapple, Jambu Air, Pisang Mas and Golden Pear.

Note: It’s advisable to let those dipped items cool a bit prior to putting them on your plate. As these are thick and quality melted chocolates, they tend to harden on the plate real fast. You won’t to eat those stuck dips with the plate right? LOL!

On top of that, you would have quite a classy variety of cakes and mousses for your palate of heavenly goodies. Available for the day were Chocolate Mud Cake, Chocolate Marquise Cake, Chocolate Cup Cake (Chocolate Chips), Chocolate Cup Cake (Rainbow Candy Rice), Chocolate Muffin, Chocolate Chiffon Cake, Macadamia Nut Brownies, Chocolate Cherry Mousse Torte, Flourless Chocolate Cake, White Chocolate Mango Rosemary Entremets, Chocolate Cream Cheese Cake, Chocolate Macaroon, Chocolate Crème Brulee, Pistachio Mousse with Passion Fruit Pudding, Chocolate Panna Cotta, Black & White Chocolate Mousse in Glass and Chocolate Soul.

The Chocolate Mud Cake was a simple yet fulfilling piece of recipe for just any occasion. It was moist, not too sweet and had that rich dark chocolate taste, obviously from another of their imported chocolate brands.

On the other hand, the Chocolate Marquise Cake tasted somewhat different compared to the rest. It had some chocolate cake base, topped with a lemon flavored mousse like layer. It tasted bittersweet, maybe due to the top layer of dark chocolate topping with a bit of coffee powder? Somehow, I felt that something was missing there. No usage of whiskey or brandy in the recipe for that extra punch? Perhaps. Moreover, the cake was not chilled enough and I preferred to have a bit of whipped cream to go with it.

Personally, I felt that the Chocolate Cup Cake (Chocolate Chips), Chocolate Cup Cake (Rainbow Candy Rice) and Chocolate Muffin had the same taste. Except being moist with different styles of decoration, there was nothing extraordinary about them.

There was nothing so special about the Chocolate Chiffon Cake. It had the same sponginess just like any other flavors of chiffon cakes. Maybe the chef should consider combining other flavors such as screwpine (pandan), coffee or even orange for a better presentation?

The Macadamia Nut Brownies was awesome. It has some chunky bits of macadamia nuts brownie at the base with some chocolate mousse and a thin layer of creamy chocolate. It was a nice combination.

I loved the Chocolate Cherry Mousse Torte too as it was a twist from the norm since we indeed had too much of chocolate for the night. However, the cake still lacked the chill I would personally prefer. With a humid weather such as in Malaysia, I guessed the kitchen has to think of a way to have those mousse-like cakes well chilled.

Although the theme was Chocolate, I still think that there should be a twist in all the chocolate based cakes. The Flourless Chocolate Cake was no different. It still tasted like the rest. Maybe some fresh fruits with fresh cream or even some fruity jams such as black forest, strawberries and more would do more justice to the cake. Frankly speaking, I would have removed this cake since there were too many repetition of almost the same flavor and replaced it with some crepe-like items.

At least the next cake which was the White Chocolate Mango Rosemary Entremets stood out amongst the rest. It was the unique one with the usage of white chocolate. The cake had an exotic flavor with the mild use of rosemary. It was made with multi layers of mousse-based cake with mango compote, chocolate and a touch of rosemary to enhance the taste altogether. No wonder this is one of the signature cakes of the chef. Well done!

I’m always fond of cheese cakes and the Chocolate Cream Cheese Cake was good. The skillfully coagulated chocolate cream cheese with a cake base with chopped hazelnuts complemented each other well. It was a superb combination!

The Chocolate Macaroons were as chewy and sweet as they should be with some chocolate sauce in between. Unfortunately, I’m not a fan of macaroons anyway as I found them to be too sweet to my liking.

It may looked beautiful in a glass with a macha leaf-shaped white chocolate and a bit of edible gold flake, I found the combination of peach mousse on Chocolate Crème Brulee to be a bit weird. Both did not blend well as the chocolate crème brulee was slightly on the hard side without much creaminess.

The Pistachio Mousse with Passion Fruit Pudding was another of the chef’s pride. I would say it was one of its kinds. Nice! There were some chunky pistachio bits in the mousse, giving it that slight buttery yet nutty flavor. The passion fruit pudding has that clear yet mild fruity flavor. There were some chocolate crumbles in between. The dessert was rather sweet if taken layer by layer. According to the chef, the best way to consume would be by having all the layers in one scoop. My advice would be to leave the orange colored gooseberry to the last as it would somehow pacify the sweetness in the mouth prior to your next dessert.

The Chocolate Panna Cotta was somehow not as firm as the one I had tried at Chez Weng recently. But the overall taste with a touch of cream and the freshness from the strawberry was still great for my consumption.

The Black & White Chocolate Mousse in Glass was normal as it just had some dark chocolate and white chocolate mousse decorated in a plastic glass with a beautifully crafted white chocolate flower bud.

It was love at first sight for the Chocolate Soul. From the look, it sure did involved lots of work with something that took me seconds to consume all. The combination of some different flavored chocolate creams between layers of chocolate flakes and cake was awesome.

There was also the Baskin Robbins Ice Cream Station. Four options of ice cream were served such as the Mint Chocolate Chips Ice Cream, Chocolate Ice Cream, Cookies ‘n Cream Ice Cream & Chocolate Mousse Royale Ice Cream.

Other than the brewed coffee at the DIY Coffee and Tea Station, you have the Lipton brand of tea bags to choose from such as the Morning Breakfast, Earl Grey, Mint, Darjeeling, Jasmine and so on. There are also some alcoholic drinks that you can side order to go with your chocolate meal but these would be charged based on the stated price on the menu. As for me, water would be the best to drown the thickness from the dishes.

Overall, I would say that the dishes served are of great quality. Luckily, the chef did provide a balanced sweetness for everything served or it would be disastrous to my blood glucose level. At RM45++ (RM52.20nett inclusive 16% tax), it can be considered a bit high for having just desserts, but weighing on the quality of the imported ingredients used and the handcrafting skills of the chef, the Chocolate Buffet is actually reasonably priced. Although I’m a more savory dishes type of person, the sugar content on most of the items were still within my acceptance level. I did throw to them a question on what if I needed something savory in their spread and I found none at all on that night. I did suggest to them on the usage of the Mexican Spanish originated mole (pronounced as mo-lay) sauce which has a tad of spiciness, nuttiness, fruitiness and chocolate flavor such as the Jerk Chicken with Pineapple Mole Sauce dish which I had during a function at Hard Rock Hotel. Other than that, they could have some chocolate bread slices or even some puff pastries with savory fillings such as ham, egg, crabstick, turkey, etc. At least, with a mix and match of sweet and savory items, it would attract more diners from all ages. But you do not have to worry at all if no savory items were available at the Chocolate Dessert Buffet. Special arrangements could be made for you to have some Chinese ala carte savory dishes prepared from Soy or Sesame (last order is at 10.00pm).

Another thing the place lacked was some soft in-house music such as classic ballads, jazz or bossa nova to boost up the atmosphere. A live band performance would indeed be great. Chocolate is supposed to relax the body and mind against stresses and won’t you think that with some relaxing music it could be more romantic as well?

On the health part, chocolate has always been considered as just another confectionery product that would be bad for health and make you put on weight. Well, there may be some truths in that statement only if you endlessly have those filled with caramel, nougat or something sugar and milk based. The fruit extracted chocolate actually contained many of the health benefits of dark vegetables. One of these benefits would be from flavonoids, in which act as antioxidants. Having 100% cocoa would be quite impossible as it would be extremely bitter. There are some available brands with 86% or 65% cocoa which would be great for your consumption. If you still feel that it tasted rather bitter, go for those more organic ones with fruits or nuts instead. Some published analyses had indicated that cocoa and dark chocolate have some compounds within to diminish diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. Since you know that dark chocolate is heart-healthy, you can now safely consume your daily intake of chocolates without any worries at all.

Do click on the Chocolate Buffet flyer below to have a clearer view of the information:

The Soy Restaurant is located at the first floor of G Hotel. If you walk in through the front entrance along Persiaran Gurney, just head for the stairways on your left, just right before the reception. Walk up and you will see the restaurant entrance.

Name: SESAME + SOY @ G HOTEL
Address: 168-A Persiaran Gurney, 10250 Penang, Malaysia.
Contact: 604-238 0000
Business Hours: 8.00pm-12.00am (Saturday only)
GPS: 5.437637, 100.310567

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: 8/10 (1-4 tasteless, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)
Pricing: 8/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 expensive)
Service: 8/10 (1-4 bad, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)

Set lunch (RM38++ to RM58++) and set dinner (RM48++ to RM88++) would also be available daily. Both meals would have either a salad or a soup, a main course of your preference, a dessert and coffee or tea. As for the Ala Carte menu, you can start off with cold or hot appetizers, soups, salads, pastas, pizzas, mains, steaks (with an option for 2 side dishes and a sauce of your choice), kid’s menu and desserts. Beverages would range from coffees, teas, juices, a few brands of mineral water, beers and wines.

We started the meal with Fresh Bread and Dukkah (RM16++). The fresh bread looked quite similar to that of the pita flat bread but was herbs induced. It was served with a mini bowls of Extra Virgin Olive Oil and Dukkah, a Middle Eastern nuts and spice blend. We had a fun time peeling the bread, dipping into the olive oil and then into the Dukkah for a new nutty experience. It was indeed nice but my preference would still be bread with Hummus like the one I had during Sigi’s Arabian Night 2011. At least, this combination would be more smooth flowing to the mouth and suitable for those elderly diners.

We also had some appetizers such as the Serrano Hams (RM22++). The paper thin sliced Spanish pride pork ham which has been cured for at least a year was served with thinly sliced fresh pear, manchego cheese, young watercress leaves and with a dash of black pepper. To me, the ham slices was a bit dry and combined with the sheep’s milk made Spanish manchego cheese, it had that waxy after taste. I would surely prefer some goat’s milk made feta cheese soaked in olive oil for this combination.

The next appetizer was the Prosciutto (RM22++). The Italian version of dry cured ham slices, Prosciutto or sometimes known as Parma Ham were saltier and had more moisture than the former. It came with rock melon slices, parmesan cheese, rocket salad, a dash of extra virgin olive oil and black pepper. This combination surely fair better in my opinion compared to the former appetizer.

We also had some pizzas made from all the freshest ingredients available on homemade pizza dough. The first that came out was the Portobello Mushroom, Garlic Confit, Truffle Oil Pizza (RM35++). The earthly flavors from the mushroom, combined with a tad of saltiness from the sliced garlic confit, generous sprinkles of fresh herbs and grated parmesan cheese was pizza perfect. Even the homemade tomato puree spread complemented each ingredient well. I would say this was one of my favorites.

The next pizza was the Pepperoni & Cheese Pizza (RM35++). You can never go wrong with beef pepperoni and cheese. It was simple and yet fulfilling.

We also had the Tomato, Basil & Mozarella Cheese Pizza (RM35++). If you love more sweetness from tomatoes, this would definitely be one pizza to look out for. Since cherry tomatoes were in season, and to have these cute little fruits on the pizza was awesome. Each bite truly gave me a squirt and juicy sensation in the mouth. I love this pizza a lot too.

Last but not least, the Prosciutto, Pear, Rocket Salad and Parmesan Cheese Pizza (RM35++) was presented to us. The saltiness for the Prosciutto hams, the fruity flavor from the sliced pears, the freshness from the garnished rocket Salad and the cheesiness for the parmesan cheese blended in real well, except that I would surely prefer my fruit toppings to be a bit juicier.

We had quite some great options for main course. We started off with Duck Confit (RM38++). The chef did a great job in roasting the duck drumstick to perfection. Not only was the golden brown crisp on the skin beautifully done, the meat itself was tender and juicy with some mild seasonings. The smoked sausage was also delicious. The meat was served on some mashed potatoes and some blanched broccoli. The combination of the remaining duck juices and orange juice gave that unique tanginess to the overall flavors. The only setback was that the mashed potatoes was done too fine compared to the more coarsely done ones I preferred.

The Atlantic Salmon (RM38++) was presented quite uniquely too. The salmon fillet was well pan grilled to maintain the freshness and moist within. The fillet was then topped on a mixture of mashed potatoes with chives and garnished with some stir fried spinach. These were served with beurre blanc or white butter which had some twists of lemon juice and white wine. At some point, the combination of taste had some “laksa” aftertaste. It was a totally different experience for all.

Pork Belly (RM38++) was served next. This dish got me curious as I was quite amazed at how the chef managed to get rid of the porky scent and at the same time managed to keep the meat so tender and juicy. Initially, I thought it was cooked the pressurized method until I clarified with the chef. The meat has gone through a process called sous-vide, where the meat has been vacuum plastic packed and cooked in low temperature heated water for more than 48 hours. Wow! That was one method I had not applied in my own cooking. It was genius! The meat had the skin removed and seared to brown the fat and to keep the juice within. It was presented in thick slices on mashed potatoes and served with stir fried spinach with raisins and red wine syrup.

Another awesome dish would be the Australian Rack of Lamb (RM68++), served medium rare. The portion was just right and the meat was tender as it should be. The flavors were great with some hints from rosemary and anchovy juice. The rack was served with some sautéed zucchini and coarsely grated potato cake. Beautiful!

We also tried out the US Black Angus Tenderloin (RM88++ – 200gms), served medium rare as well. It was served on some mashed potatoes, blanched broccoli and red wine syrup. The flavorful marinates combined with the tender and juicy meat made this dish, the dish to yearn for just for anyone. It was perfect!

The next dish was one dish that I had heard about a lot through some of the foreign food channels but did not have the opportunity to try it out. It was the Squid Ink Aglio Olio with Seafood (RM38++). The usage of fresh herbs, garlic and chili flakes in extra virgin olive oil with the al dente of the pasta made this dish a must try. Combined with the flavors of the seafood, it was another delicious dish. Somehow there was this distinctive fragrant and salty taste that pepped up the overall flavors. I could be wrong but it tasted like there were some pickled salted garlic cloves added in. Moreover, there was one mystery to be solved here. Why the squid ink spaghetti tasted just like any other pasta without the distinctive flavors from the squids? After much clarification from the chef, the mystery was solved. Although the chef has the Spain imported thick and sticky squid ink available, the rich sea brine tasting sauce was not suitable for the status of corporate diners. I tried out just one drop of the sauce and it got my tongue stained for more than 3 hours! Can you imagine having black lips, black teeth and black tongue if you were to attend a meeting after having a plateful of the delicious pasta with squid ink? That would be a joke for all~ LOL!

We ended up the dinner with what they have on their dessert section on the menu. Firstly, it was the Orange Vanilla Crème Brulee (RM16++). The tangy with a tint of vanilla flavors on the crème brulee was perfect to end a meal. It had a thin layer of torch burned caramelized candy on the surface.

The next dessert was the Banana Strudel with Peanut Butter Ice Cream and Chocolate Sauce (RM16++). I love the way they rolled up the phyllo pastry just like how you would get for a mini spring roll. It tasted nice with the accompanied ice cream.

Chocolate Mousse with Marinated Strawberry, Cookies Crumbles & Brandy Sauce (RM16++) was served next. One tiny scoop of the mousse in your mouth and you would know that the cocoa powder used in the dessert was of an imported brand as it was filled with rich chocolate flavor. Taken in together with the cookie crumbles and brandy sauce, it was just heavenly.

Apple pie has always been my favorite as it has that nice cinnamon flavor in it and the next course which was the Apple Pie with Cinnamon Ice Cream & Caramel Sauce (RM16++) was one dessert I would not get sick of. It was wrapped just like the strudel and presented with some sandy caramel sauce. Wonderful!

The last dessert on the menu was the Panna Cotta with Fresh Berries and Chocolate Sauce (RM16++). To me, this was just another of those milk, cream and sugar concocted jelly served with fruits and sauce. It was nothing fanciful but one thing for sure was that the kitchen has made it to the firmness and texture that I would love to have.

Overall, the food served here can be real satisfying if you are a diner who prefers to have your food served right at its original taste. Leave it to expertise of Chef Weng, who had over a decade of culinary skills acquired during his rendezvous years in San Francisco and Western Australia. I quite like the food here as chef did a great job in preparing the dishes with different methods of cooking, thus maintaining the juiciness of the meat dishes while using the most basic and freshest ingredients to pep up the flavors. It was a job well done indeed. Prices of food are still within the acceptance of the public, though a 10% Service Tax and 6 % Government Tax would be imposed on all orders. Thanks to yourfoodreview.com in coalition with myooo.my and the management of Chez Weng for providing me the opportunity to experience scuh a wonderful restaurant.

Precinct 10 is just next to the Island Plaza along Jalan Tanjung Tokong. If you are coming from town area towards Batu Ferringghi, just take note of the second traffic light (Jalan Tanjung Tokong/ Jalan Fettes/ Jalan Seri Tanjung Pinang). Island Plaza is on your right. Make a U-Turn at the traffic lights and you will see Precinct 10 right after Island Plaza on the left. There are ample parking spaces at the premises. Parking fees would be around RM1/hour. You can visibly see Chez Weng sandwiched in between Oldtown and Snow House on your right.

Name: CHEZ WENG @ PRECINCT 10
Address: 10-C-18 & 19, Precinct 10, Jalan Tanjung Tokong, Tanjung Tokong, 10470 Penang, Malaysia.
Contact: 604-899 9878
Business Hours: 11.30am – 11.00pm (Closed Monday)
GPS: 5.448970, 100.306020

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: 8.5/10 (1-4 tasteless, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)
Pricing: 8/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 expensive)
Service: 8.5/10 (1-4 bad, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)

To start off as appetizer, I ordered their Pirikara Negi Char Siew (RM7.90++). It was just 5 thinly sliced Char Siew, laid on a bed of sliced romaine lettuce and leeks, garnished with their special spicy sauce, some sauteed onions, chopped spring onions and a sprinkle of deep fried garlic bits. I did not find this dish appealing, not because I’m not a total health freak who would take lots of greens, but because the whole concoction lacked a few distinctive flavors. The meat lacked a slight saltiness and fragrant that you would get from a bacon. The garlic bits did not have that aromatic strong flavor. The spicy sauce was not as spicy as I expected. One great example of a great meaty vegetable wrap dish would be the Korean styled Jokbal (족발) I had some time back at Sa Rang Chae (사랑채/舍廊居).

Since Goku Raku Ramen is also known as “The Ramen Haven”, no doubt it was a must to try out their specialty. I ordered a bowl of their signature ramen which was the Ultimate Ramen (RM21.90++ Big Bowl or RM16.90++ Small Bowl). You would have 3 options for the soup base such as the traditional Tonkotsu Soup (the mother of all soup bases with the rich creaminess coming from the long simmering of pork, chicken and fish bones), Shoyu Tonkotsu Soup (Tonkotsu with added Japanese soy sauce) and Miso Tonkotsu Soup (Tonkotsu with added miso aka blended fermented bean paste). I opted for the Ultimate Ramen with Miso Tonkotsu Soup. The bowl of ramen came topped with a few slices of Char Siew (Grilled Pork), half a flavored hard-boiled egg, bamboo shoot, black fungus, spring onions, leeks and garnished with fragrant blended burned garlic in oil. Although the broth was not as much as how you would get from other ramen shops, you can be assured that this was cooked with ultimate passion. Each drop of the broth was rich in flavors, leaving a trace of gelatin like creaminess that would linger in your mouth for some time. The mild touch of miso paste added in set the taste to a totally different dimension. It was indeed a great bowl of ramen! The only setback was the texture of the ramen. I could be sure that those noodles were not made upon request. They could be frozen-packed and send over from their main outlet in Kuala Lumpur. Somehow, it had that slight powdery texture that might be the cause of frost-bite due to improper storages. Well, that did not deter me from slurping off the whole bowl within a few minutes.

Note: If you prefer a stronger and creamier version of this ramen, you could always order the Goku Raku Miso Ramen (RM24.90++ Big Bowl or RM18.90++ Small Bowl). The Goku Raku broth has been simmered almost twice the time used in simmering the Tonkotsu soup.

Other than ramen, there are many other rice based dishes available here, either in a bowl or in a stone pot. I ordered the Stamina Don (RM17.90++). It basically had some pan-fried pork slices in their special sauce, topped on some steamed rice and garnished with a poached egg, some chopped leeks and sun-dried chili slices. There was nothing special about this dish except for some sweetness from the special sauce. I would think that their other sister company, Miraku Japanese Restaurant @ G Hotel, which is also under the Texchem group, did fair better in rice dishes. The rice set came with some pickled radish and cucumber.

Only 2 desserts such as the Annin Tofu (Almond Jelly – RM6.90) and Rare Cheese Cake (RM8.90) were available. I opted for the latter since it impressed me more as seen from the menu. Unfortunately, the experience turned into a nightmare. How could the restaurant serve me with “discarded” stuff? What I saw from the menu was not what I got! It was just another plain tasting cheese cake on a terribly presented twirl of blueberry sauce. Again the dish had the right name – RARE CHEESE CAKE! It was really RARE to see a part of the base missing (look carefully at the base of the cake towards the end). Moreover, it was RARE to see INVISIBLE strawberries and blueberries. On top of that, it was such a RARE occasion to guess the identity of the brutally severed fruit used as the décor. I presumed that was part of a plum since it has red skin with orange flesh. The whole ugly scene would have been avoided if the staff would just inform me on their shortage of fruits for the presentation instead of throwing me something that was not fit to be served. I could have just taken the whole cheese cake plain as it was. What disappointed me most was the chef’s lack of creativity in coming up with an alternative solution when faced with such a scenario. What amazed me too was that no one had the initiative to run down to the nearest supermarket (Cold Storage @ Gurney Plaza – 300m away) to temporary stock up whatever they were short of.

Just look at the menu photo. It’s a world of difference right?

As for beverages, I opted for just a plain tall glass of Iced Green Tea (RM2.90++) since I have been reviewing one too many dessert shops recently.

Overall, I’m not too happy with the choice of food served here as a large quantity of dishes and beverages served at the Mid Valley Megamall, Kuala Lumpur outlet were not available here at the Gurney Paragon Mall branch. The whole menu would surely not worth my revisit unless I’m desperately in need of a good bowl of ramen soup. The pricing for some of the items is much higher than other Japanese restaurants, considering that it has an additional 10% + 6% tax imposed on all tags. Let’s hope we’ll see some improvements in the near future.

The Gurney Paragon Mall is just two blocks before the G-Hotel along the beautiful promenade of Gurney Drive. As you enter the place, you would see the east wing of the Gurney Paragon Residences/Condominium on your left and the west wing on the right. Walk right into the premises and you will see the skillfully reconstruction of the St. Joseph’s Novitiate which former used to house the Upland’s School. The restaurant is located at the left side of the building right up towards the end of the Gurney Paragon Residences/Condominium east wing.

Name: GOKU RAKU RAMEN @ GURNEY PARAGON MALL
Address: Lot 163-D-1-05, Gurney Paragon Mall, Persiaran Gurney, 10250 Penang, Malaysia.
Contact: 604-226 0961
Business Hours: 10.00am – 10.00pm
GPS: 5.436072, 100.311693

RATING:
Ambience: 7/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 classy)
Food Choices: 6.5/10 (1-4 limited, 5-7 average, 8-10 many choices)
Taste: 6.5/10 (1-4 tasteless, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)
Pricing: 7.5/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 expensive)
Service: 7/10 (1-4 bad, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)

Ever since the mushrooming of many Thai restaurants in Pulau Tikus, the district has recently become the newest target for local and overseas dessert outlets. Outlets such as Tang Bo Fu (Pulau Tikus), ZenQ (Gurney Plaza), Lucky Desserts (Gurney Plaza) and the latest being BlackBall – Original Taiwanese Tea & Dessert, which would be officially open on 20 December 2011. Ever since its establishment in 2006, BlackBall now stands as one of the biggest dessert chains in Taipei with over 20 outlets and still expanding. Today, our fellow Malaysians would get the chance to savor the delicious desserts and teas from Taiwan at 5 strategically located outlets, starting with the first outlet in SS15 (PJ), followed by KSL City Mall (JB), Sri Petaling (KL), Pulau Tikus (Penang) and Damansara Uptown (PJ).

I would say this would be one of the first few dessert chains in Malaysia with a state-of-the-art gadget when ordering. Each order would come with a unique gadget which would beep and blink when your orders are ready for collections at a specific counter. What a great way to find yourselves comfortably seated while waiting for your desserts to be prepared.

As a trade secret, the company would not disclose much information on the compound on some of the ingredients. One thing for sure is that they do use a herbal plant known as Xian Cao (仙草). This magical plant is also commonly known as Jiao Gu Lan (绞股蓝/ Gynostemma pentaphyllum/ twisting vine orchid/ herb of immortality). It’s reputed to lengthen your life with its powerful antioxidant and adaptogenic effects, so much so that it had become a key inclusion in most traditional desserts across Taiwan as well as being made into tea bags. It also had been clinically proven that by consuming Xian Cao, one would have a lower blood pressure and cholesterol, a better body immune system and cancer risk free.

Basically, the desserts consisted of BlackBall Signature, BlackBall Combo, Signature Drink, Winter Melon Tea Series, Traditional Tea, QQ Drink Series, Smoothie Series, “Jiu Fen” Taro Ball Series and BlackBall Crushed Ice, all within the range of RM4.90 nett to RM6.50 nett. Additional topping would be charged at an additional RM1 per topping. The toppings are Taro Ball (scallop shape), Taro Q (rectangular shape), Pearl, Red Bean, Green Bean, Sweetened Bean, Chinese Barley, Lotus Seed, Coco Jelly, Brown Sugar Jelly (Taiwanese version of a more QQ local “leong fun” cubes), Aloe Vera, Sky (White) Pearl, Sweetened Taro and Fresh Milk. All beverages come in 700cc size. You can enlarge the menu below for a clearer view.

We had the BlackBall Signature (Hot & Cold – RM6.50) which came with Taro Ball, Taro Q, Pearl, grass jelly and red beans served with some fresh milk. Both the hot and cold desserts were nice with the hot version having a more distinctive herbal after taste. The Taro Ball had a more al dente texture whereas the Taro Q has a more powdery taro taste as lesser potato flour was added in. The orange ones were made from red potatoes and the yellow ones were of sweet potatoes.

There were also the BlackBall Combo (with Taro Ball and Pearl): BlackBall Crushed Ice (Combo D with additional Chinese Barley & Lotus Seed – RM6.50) and BlackBall Combo (with Taro Ball and Pearl): Grass Jelly Ice (Combo H with additional Green Bean & Lotus Seed – RM6.50). The one with crushed ice came with some brown syrup and this tasted a bit like our Malaysian palm sugar.

The “Jiu Fen” Taro Ball Crushed Ice (RM6.50) had a special type of pale color sweetened bean added in on top of the Pearl, Taro Ball and crushed ice. The beans tasted quite similar to the sweetened red kidney beans. As usual, anything with crushed ice would come with a small canister of brown syrup.

As for beverages, we had quite a few choices. We tried out the Fresh Milk with Grass Jelly (RM5.90). This would be a nice choice for those fresh milk lovers. The whole concoction had a slight saltiness but creamy taste from the fresh milk with a mild touch of herbal after taste. Not bad but surely not my kind of unsweetened beverage.

The Winter Melon Tea with Sky Pearl (RM5.90) was quite a hit amongst some of us. The quite highly concentrated brew went well with the sky pearls.

Somehow, most of the ladies loved the QQ Cranberry Lemon Juice (RM5.90). Well, some guys did too. Hmm… I thought it would only benefit the ladies only against bacterial infections in the urinary system or commonly known as urinary tract infection? Haha! Well… no worries as cranberry juice would also help to level up the HDL (good cholesterol) against the LDL (bad cholesterol). Moreover, it’s great to destroy some stomach problem causing bacterias. The cranberry juice served here was rather highly concentrated compared to those other brands I obtained from the supermarkets. I love it especially with a mild twist of lemon juice! It came with some pearls and coco jellies.

The Signature “Xian Cao” Tea with Grass Jelly (RM5.90) had that unique herbal taste, quite similar to having Guilinggao (龜苓膏/Tortoise Jelly)，less bitter and in a more diluted form. I love the way this beverage had been prepared without much sweetening.

The combination of the 3Q Passion Fruit Green Tea (RM5.90) was also special but a bit too sweet to my liking. Maybe I ought to get them to reduce the sweetness for my cup of beverage. This beverage came with some added pearls, coco jellies and jade jelly (愛玉冰/Aiyu Jelly/O-Gio/噢橋) with some traces of the passion fruit pulps and seeds. Note: AiYu Jelly is actually made by rubbing the seeds from a variety of figs (無花果) in which would exude a sticky gel that would form into jelly at certain cool temperature.

The do have Yoghurt Green Tea (RM5.90) too. The green tea taste was a bit overpowering in proportion to the yoghurt used. I’m not sure if they were using the Japanese probiotic milk/yoghurt-like product named Yakult as it did not have that unique yoghurt taste as the ones I had at Tea Secret, Queensbay Mall, Penang.

There’s the term “save the best for last” and indeed the last beverage we had which was the Boba Milk Tea (RM5.90) was a hit amongst some of us. This beverage came with some added pearls. The sweetness was just right for me and the tea used indeed blended in well with the fresh milk used.

Since the 3rd to the 5th Blackball outlets [Sri Petaling (KL), Pulau Tikus (Penang) and Damansara Uptown (PJ)] would be officially open on the same day on 20 December 2011, there would be some ongoing promotions. From 20-28 December 2011, the Damansara Uptown and Sri Petaling outlets would be having the BUY ONE FREE ONE promotion. As for the Penang outlet, there will be the BUY TWO FREE ONE promotion from 20-22 December 2011. You can enlarge the poster below for a clearer view.

It’s not hard to locate the dessert outlet as it situated along a row of shop houses in Pulau Tikus, Penang. If you are coming from Jalan Burma towards Pulau Tikus, watch out for Lebuhraya Codrington on your left. Immediately after the junction, turn left into the service road (TanMark Bookstore/7-11) and park your car there. The restaurant is just across the road, 3 shoplots away on the right of Sukhothai Beef Noodles House (formerly Strada).

Name: BLACKBALL – ORIGINAL TAIWANESE TEA & DESSERT
Address: 232 Jalan Burma, 10350 Penang, Malaysia.
Contact: 016-466 1886
Business Hours: 12.00pm – 12.00am
GPS: 5.429939, 100.313319

RATING:
Ambience: 7/10 (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: 7.5/10 (1-4 bad, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)

Important Note: Each table would only be allocated only 2.5 hours of buffet session. There will be certain days that they will fix the buffet session time, especially during weekends and public holidays. It’s advisable to call up to make your reservation as well as to check on the session timing.

What’s so unique about this outlet compared to others will be the usage of a custom made crystal stone grill on charcoal instead of gas stove on individual table. This is a first indeed in Malaysia! With Korean technology, this crystal stone can withstand and store heat up to a few hundred °C (normally around 450 °C / 842 °F). At least this material is more hygienic and bacteria free compared to lava/black stone which would have cracks after a long period of usage. Cooking with such stone grill can be considered a healthier alternative as it would not have oil or fat added in if compared to other grilling methods such as the metal grills. They have over 70 pieces of such innovative crystal stone grills in the restaurant.

So what’s so special about dining here? Well, it’s a fun and adventurous way to create your own food with the different sauces available on each table. You would have many ingredients to test out such their special slightly sweetened soy sauce, pepper & salt, cheese powder (with a mixture of milk & icing sugar), lemon juice, black pepper, wasabi powder (great with seafood items) and Japanese 7 taste chili powder (Shichimi Togarashi – chili flakes, white sesame seeds, black sesame seeds, dried orange peels, seaweed (nori), dried ginger and poppy seeds). There was also a bottle of water for you to wash your grilling stone.

If you are not so familiar on how to cook your BBQ items well with the right marinates, I’ll advise you to take some time to view the documentary on “how to” on the TV. Here’s a short clips on how to cook some of the items as shown on their TV.

All the BBQ and Shabu Shabu items can be obtained from the respective areas. As for Shabu Shabu, there are over 30 types of vegetables and meat/fish ball section for you to choose. Some of the items included different types of meat balls and fish balls, cuttlefish, quail eggs, crab sticks (kanikama), bean curd sticks, artificial abalones (processed calamari slices), Taiwanese sausages, clams, different type of pork innards, romaine lettuce, bean sprouts, cabbages, enoki mushrooms, shitake mushrooms, abalone mushrooms, lotus roots (need a longer cooking time as it was rather hard), crown daisy chrysanthemum leaves (tang oh/ 茼蒿) and many more.

As for the BBQ items, the meat and seafood are kept in designated refrigerator to maintain their freshness. Some of the items included saba (mackerel/鯖魚), ayu (sweetfish/香魚), snapper (鯛魚), shishamo (willow-leaf fish/柳葉魚), salmon (鮭魚), shrimps (in fact they are big green shelled prawns), oden (fish cake quite similar to onion omelette with basils but with a more al dente texture), baby octopus, pork intestines, garlic scallops, garlic oysters, fried bean curd, beef brisket, sticky pork, lean pork slices, lamb shoulder slices and many more. They will never be shortage of any meat slices as the staff would always be there to slice more.

As for Shabu Shabu, you have an option to choose ONLY ONE SOUP from 5 types of available soups, namely shabu shabu (昆布柴魚湯), miso soup (味噌湯), malak soup (麻辣湯), tomyam soup (東炎湯) and salted vegetable duck soup (咸菜老鴨湯). Since we had so many people in our group, we managed to try out some of the options. The shabu shabu soup base which actually consisted of kelp or large seaweed boiled with fish bones. It had that clear non-fishy taste with a gelatin-like after taste. It was mild but suitable for more seafood based items. The miso soup base had that mild fermented bean taste but was on a sweeter side. This soup would be quite good with those bean curds and meat items. The salted vegetable duck soup base had more of the salted vegetable flavors minus the overpowering ducky taste. It was great initially with some bean curds and meat items. As you boil the soup longer, it got saltier and thus with slightly bitter after taste (salt reduction reaction, same as for sour based liquids). I won’t recommend this soup base as you would end up becoming thirstier.

As for dipping sauces, they do provide more than 10 options such as the sachai sauce (a type of Hypnea seagrass sauce/沙菜醬), chili bean curd sauce (豆乳醬), miso sauce (白味噌醬), chili bean sauce (辣豆瓣醬), spicy soy sauce (魚烧辣醬), cumin sauce (孜然醬), seafood chili spicy sauce (海鮮酸辣醬), spring onions, garlic, chili paddy and more. Although the sachai sauce was highly recommended, I preferred the miso sauce more as it had that slight salty sweet flavor that went well with my food. It would be great if the restaurant would also provide some sweet sauce (甜醬) and spicy dried shrimp sauce (蝦米辣醬) just like those served with the Hong Kong Style Chee Cheong Fun as both sauce would be great condiments to BBQ and steamboat items.

You do not have to worry not having something to bite on while waiting for either your stone grill to heat up or your shabu shabu pot to boil as the restaurant would also provide some salad, cold and hot dishes to start on. At the salad station, you can always mix and match whatever vegetables you like and top them up with whatever dressings available on that day. They have orange dressing, thousand islands dressing and wafu dressing (commonly known as Japanese vinaigrette which had some twists of apple cider, soy sauce, sesame oil and seeds, lime juice, sugar, vegetable oil and some grated radish). All the dressings were nice for my plate of salad.

The cold dishes included some Japanese style potato salad with Japanese cucumber and carrot, silky smooth tofu in sweet soy sauce, some pork salads, honey fried shrimps, pickles and so on.

The hot dishes station was awesome. It had dishes that were flavorful with the evidence of high usage of quality ingredients. The dishes served on that day included Mambo Fish with XO Sauce (XO醬炒龍肉), Black Pepper Beef Fillet (黑胡椒牛柳), Sweet & Sour Pork (糖醋里肌) and many more dishes which I could not savor any more due to too much food available. LOL!

By the way, you could also try out their Bibimbap, a Korean Stone Bowl Rice. Just get any of the waiters or waitresses to bring you one. The dish would come with steamed Japanese rice in a super hot stone bowl, topped with some cut omelettes, carrots, cucumber, morning glory, mushroom, kimchi and chicken, to be mixed thoroughly with a special sauce. The whole concoction tasted quite similar to our local sotong kangkung (cuttlefish with morning glory). It had that sweet sauce taste with a hint of sesame oil. Unfortunately, the stone bowl was not hot enough and the rice was a bit too wet. Thus, we did not get that fragrant flavors emitted from some burns through the stone bowl.

As for dessert, they have quite a variety of items ranging from Western cakes, tarts, jelly, Japanese style mocha to fresh fruits and ice creams, not forgetting the Chinese/Nyonya style tong sui such as peanut soup, red bean soup, bu bu cha cha, etc. Do not miss out the Japanese green tea (mocha) mochi with lotus filling. They were awesome! You could check out on their chocolate fountain too.

Beverage wise, you can order anything from carbonated drinks, cordial, coffee and tea. Most of the beverages are refillable.

Beers and sake are charged separately. As for sake, it’s only RM10 nett for a 150ml jar or RM130 nett for a 1.8L bottle. Beers are at RM50 nett for a bucket of 5 bottles.

Here are some of the items we had taken during our visit during the pre-opening day. Don’t you think it’s valued for money at RM48++? The quality is just as good as Sarkies Sunday Buffet Hi-Tea at E&O Hotel, George Town, Penang.

The café is located at the right wing of Penang Times Square right under Sunshine City Supermarket. It consists of two floors – ground floor and mezzanine floor. The easiest way to reach there would be to park your vehicle at the open car park at the entrance of Penang Times Square, and walk all the way through the automated glass door next to Swensen’s. Walk straight until the end of another automated glass door. As you exit the automated door, you would see a wooden door on your right. It’s actually another automated door to go into the restaurant.

Name: YEA JAPANESE BBQ & SHABU SHABU @ PENANG TIMES SQUARE
Address: Ground Floor, Penang Times Square, Jalan Dato Keramat, 10150 Penang, Malaysia.
Contact: 604-229 7826
Business Hours:
6.00pm – 1.00am (Monday – Thursday)
12.00pm – 1.00am (Friday – Sunday & Public Holidays)
GPS: 5.411728, 100.324879

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

Nostalgie is still quite new in this business with its operation started just a few weeks’ ago. It’s a family run café cum hotel business, managed and operated by siblings, Jean Lee and Jason Lee. Currently, they have started their café while waiting for their rooms to be fully furnished. The rooms would probably be available in December 2011. As for the café, they do serve some delicious and homemade pastas, pizzas, sandwiches and dessert. All the items are freshly made daily without the usage of any preservatives. The menu has a rather limited selection at the moment as they have plans to expand it in due course when the place is officially opened for business. Nevertheless, the chef had the passion to pep up dishes that would woo any diners.

We started the meal with their Spaghetti Marinara with Prawns (RM24). This dish came with two super king sized pan-fried prawns freshly obtained from the nearest fisherman’s wharf. The marinara sauce was thick and flavorful with a light touch of saltiness from the accompanied grated parmesan cheese. The pasta had just the right al dente and each mouthful had all the taste of freshness from the tomatoes, onions and chopped basils used. It was a heavenly dish although it needed a bit more of extra virgin olive oil for that extra moisture. With prawns being used, it would be great too if the chef would have added in some dashes of white wine and chopped parsley or oregano to pep up the herby taste even more. By the way, you could request for additional parmesan cheese to tempt your cheesy taste bud.

Another of their signature pasta would be their Chicken and Basil Pesto Fettuccine (RM21). This dish would also come served with linguine upon availability. The dish was awesome. The chef did a great job in preparing the sauce that complemented well with the pasta. The sauce had that nutty flavor from what I presumed was blended walnuts as it was much drier and less oily than that of pine nuts, with stronger hints from the sweetness of basil leaves and garlic. It also had a much lighter hint of crushed black peppers in which I would prefer them to be a bit stronger. The pasta came with some slightly sautéed cherry tomatoes, a skillfully pan-fried chicken breast meat and garnished with a mixture of pesto, red chilies and Kalamata black olives. The chicken breast meat was much juicier than I anticipated. A job well done! Alternatively, instead of Parmesan cheese being used in the pesto, Romano cheese would also be great for that extra cheesy and creamy flavor.

If you are a pizza lover, you would love the next dish. It’s their Prawn & Chilies Pizza (RM30). The pizza came with their homemade thin base, spread with their moist tomato sauce, topped with fresh prawns, onions, mozzarella cheese, chopped basils and red chilies. It may look Italian but had some Asian flavors in it. Simply Irresistible with the cheesiness! Although the pizza tasted great, I have a feeling that the chef loved basils a lot. A bit of chopped parsley/oregano would provide a better justice to any cheese based dishes, regardless of seafood or meat.

Another of their good pizza would be the Chicken with Feta Cheese Pizza (RM28). The pizza came with their homemade thin base, spread with their homemade basil pesto (the same recipe as above), topped with cubes of chicken meat, cherry tomatoes, mozzarella and feta cheese with some sprinkles of dried oregano. I could have this pizza for the whole day. The combination of mozzarella cheese and feta cheese was great as it had that unique and fragrant cheesiness. Each bite was heaven with a little squeeze of juices coming from the baked cherry tomatoes. You should not leave this place without trying this pizza out!

They also serve sandwiches here. One of their hot items is the Teriyaki Chicken Sandwich (RM14). It had a juicily pan-grilled chicken fillet in teriyaki sauce, served with lettuce, onion and mayo between a pair of whole meal bread slices and some French fries. I would say that the teriyaki chicken fillet was nicely done but the usage of this kind of bread might not be suitable as it was rather dry. It would be nice if these were to come with some steamed dinner rolls. Even if the kitchen had decided to use whole meal bread in the future, it would be recommended if they had a thicker spread of mayo with some thinly sliced fresh tomatoes. At least with these solutions, diners would have a much juicier bite, even if those slices of bread were toasted more.

Currently, they only have their homemade Carrot Cake with Crème Cheese Frosting (RM12/slice) for dessert. More options would be available in due course. This was one great secret recipe by Jean Lee. The carrot cake was moist and flavorful from the sweet grated carrots with a hint from some grounded cinnamon. It had some little bites from the added roasted walnuts and raisins. Combined with the creamy cheese frosting with a touch of lemon zest, the cake would be a target for dessert lovers. Unfortunately, I’m not such a sweet tooth and I found the cake to be a bit sweet to my liking. I prefer mine to be more towards the healthy version with the natural sweetness coming from some sweet Australian carrots and raisins. The cake would go well with a cup of hotly brewed coffee… minus the sugar for me.

As for beverages, it was more of a kopitiam style with fresh juice, chilled juice, coffee, tea and soft drinks. More options would be available in due course such as cocktails and mocktails. What we had were some iced/hot coffee/white coffee (RM5) and a Chilled Cranberry Juice with Longan (RM9).

Here’s a little sneak preview of the unfurnished rooms and their surroundings. The rates would definitely be much cheaper than some of the scattered boutique hotels along that heritage zone. The rooms are scheduled to be available somewhere in December 2011.

Overall, Nostalgie is a great place for some relaxations with the companionships of family members and friends. The charges for the food and accommodation would also be reasonable and affordable for all walks of lives. The only problem would be the scarcity of finding a comfortable parking space. Well, that won’t be a problem if you would park your car a bit further away and take a mild stroll towards the venue while enjoying the heritage of George Town.

The café is located just a stone throw away from 55 Café @ Coffee Atelier. 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 right, just right after to the only mansion there with a compound. Parking can be quite limited during peak hours. I would advise you to find whatever parking space you can along some of the lanes there and walk to the venue. Alternatively, you can drive a bit further up after the Goddess of Mercy Temple and park your car at the designated metered car park. Be warned here that the local Municipal Council can be quite strict in unpaid meter. Make sure that you have enough of coins inserted to last your visit to the café. Another warning would be that the place would be quite flood-prone during heavy rains but on VERY RARE occasion. Do pick a nice and sunny day for your visit.

Name: NOSTALGIE (CAFÉ & BOUTIQUE HOTEL)
Address: 34, Lorong Stewart, 10200 Penang, Malaysia.
Contact: 604-261 0977
Business Hours: 10.00am – 9.00pm (Closed Thursday)
GPS: 5.419378, 100.337458

RATING:
Ambience: 8/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 classy)
Food Choices: 6/10 (1-4 limited, 5-7 average, 8-10 many choices)
Taste: 8/10 (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)

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)

As for starter, there’s the Soup of the Day which happened to be Mushroom Soup (RM5.90nett). It may look like a normal bowl of soup with a slice of toasted garlic bread displayed but it definitely would give the required punch. The soup has just the right creaminess with hints of fragrance and sweetness coming from the chef’s secret recipe of combining different types of fresh mushrooms and carrot. It was indeed a touch of difference done tactfully compared to the ones I’ve tried before.

As for main dishes, there were about 9 dishes ranging from pasta, fish and poultry. We started off with the Roast Chicken (RM13.90nett) which in fact was pan-grilled to perfection. The usage of a boneless drumstick combined with the right usage of herbs and spices made this dish remarkably palatable. The outer layer of the chicken maintained a bit of crisp while the inner part was still as tender and juicy. Not a bad choice for a meal. This was served with their unique homemade mash potatoes and some greens, topped with some brown sauce. Their mashed potatoes side dish was unique in the sense that it had kyuri (Japanese cucumber) and carrot slices added in, something that you won’t get from elsewhere. As for size wise, it was just adequate for a normal diner. It would be great if one or two slices of garlic bread being added in for those with bigger appetite.

Their pastas had that wonderful buttery yet fragrant aroma floating about the surrounding. One such pasta would be their Mascarpone Cheese Walnut Spaghetti (RM13.90) with the cheese being one of the main ingredients for making modern styled Tiramisu. With the milky-white coagulated crème cheese skillfully folded into the sautéed chopped garlic in olive oil, prior to being stir mixed with the spaghetti, it would be a great dish for those carbonara pasta lovers. This pasta came with some chopped walnuts and parsley as garnishes and topped with some slices of nicely herbed roasted chicken. The portion was also just right with approximately 180g of pasta being given.

Two new pastas were added in recently. One of the new ones not stated in their menu was the Aglio Olio with Prawns (RM13.90nett). This dish would be one of my favorite pastas served here. The mildly spiced pasta with the fragrance coming from some dried chilies, combined with the briny taste of fresh prawns, sautéed with some chopped garlic and parsley, made this dish remarkably appetizing. Do not leave the café without trying out this perfectly concocted dish.

Another new pasta dish would be their Eryngii Spaghetti (RM13.90nett). For those healthy and meatless diners, this would be my most recommended pasta dish. The usage of eryngii mushrooms (king trumpet mushroom/エリンギ/杏鮑菇) was indeed delicious. The meaty bite from the slightly toasted mushroom slices, combined with the nicely sautéed chopped garlic, parsley and pasta made this dish remarkably tasty. The earthly flavor was one flavor which I would not forget for a long time. Superb dish indeed!

On a lighter side, they do have some nice finger food available. One of them would be the Smoked Duck (RM18nett for 8 skews). This dish would come with some fresh lettuce all wrapped with a slice of smoked duck, dressed with some homemade dressing and herbs. Another dish would be their Greek Pie (RM6.90nett for 3 pieces). This would be another meatless dish as the pies do not contain any meat such as the Kotopoulokopita (Greek Chicken Pie) or Kreatopita (Greek Meat Pie). In fact, it was not even near to the Spanakopita (Greek Spinach Pie). The café do serve their version as there are a thousand and one ways for filling up the pita based pies but each would definitely has some cheese on them. The Greek pies served here had some freshly made tomato puree, topped with some yoghurt and herbs prior to baking.

As for desserts, Get’em Smack do serves some great crepe related desserts on top of their occasionally available Chocolate Brownie, Tiramisu and so on. One of the more notable ones which you won’t get easily from elsewhere in Penang would be their Crepe Cake (RM6.90nett per slice). Since the cake which would not last for too long in the chiller due to the moist from the fresh crème and fruits, the Café is proud to serve them as theirs are made fresh daily. Each slice has multiple layers of freshly buttered pan-made crepes filled with fresh crème and fruits. The taste was simply refreshing. There also have Mango Crepe (RM6.90), Banana Crepe (RM6.90), Kiwi Crepe (RM7.90) and Strawberry Crepe (RM7.90). The more recommended one would be the Banana Crepe as the fruity and creamy flavors of the ripened fruit complement well with the fresh crème and Vanilla ice cream.

The beverages served here can range from just a soda drink, tea & coffee, fresh fruit juices or just a cup of brewed tea. The Café would serve well-known brands such as the UK based Twinings products such as the English Breakfast Tea, Earl Grey Tea, Camomile Tea and Jasmine Green Tea. Each refillable pot of tea would cost RM8.90nett. You should try more of the Camomile Tea as it has the effect of relaxing the body and calming the mind after a hectic day of work.

The café is located at the exterior part of the mall. It’s actually at the ground floor below the biggest food court in Penang aka Penang Times Square Food Gallery, behind Soju Café and two shop lots away from the Roti Bakar branch. If you intend to park at the open car park at the entrance of Penang Times Square, just drive all the way towards the end where you would see a big “Entertainment City” signage and park your car there. It won’t be that hard to locate them from there on.

Name: GET’EM SMACK @ PENANG TIMES SQUARE
Address: 77-G-44, Penang Times Square, Jalan Dato Keramat, 10150 Penang, Malaysia.
Contact: 012- 401 6888 (Esther Chan) / 017- 478 4901 (Celynn Tan)
Business Hours: 12.00pm – 9.00pm
GPS: 5.411485, 100.32556

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: 8/10 (1-4 tasteless, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)
Pricing: 7/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 expensive)
Service: 8.5/10 (1-4 bad, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)

Recently, we had a small gathering amongst 13 friends and we opted for the Big Basin Feast (RM400nett). The basin came with 14 ingredients which consisted of (from base) Chinese Cabbages, Braised Pork Belly in Red Fermented Bean Curd (Tao Joo/Nam Joo), Yam, Yam Bean (Sengkuang/Jicama), Sea Cucumbers, Chinese Mushrooms, Fish Maws, One Whole Charcoal Roasted Duck, One Whole Chicken in Sesame Oil, Broccoli, Deep Fried Snapper Fillets, Deep Fried Homemade Hock Chew Fish Balls (Fish Ball with Minced Meat Filling), Sweet n Sour Prawns and One Whole New Zealand Abalone Slices (on the top). It came heated up on a portable gas stove with a low-medium fire to avoid the base being burned. Well, the cabbages which were laced at the base for this purpose were indeed slightly burned but due to the long period of maintaining the heat. Alternatively to avoid burned items at the base, the kitchen could consider using a shallow based metal or porcelain plate to avoid this issue. As for taste, the whole combination was just right to my liking. The gravy had the taste of high soup stock combined with the individual seasonings and sweetness from all the ingredients within… not too thick and can be easily taken as a soup.

They do also have “takeaway package” for both sizes of Poon Choi but the free flow of rice and herbal drinks would not be included.

I ordered the RM258 package home recently for a small family reunion. This smaller size would have half the portion of the ingredients served as above but with one whole abalone. I managed to have the abalone replaced with Kooi Fa Abalone (actually they are evenly cut calamari slices) and Fresh Scallops. Yup, you can have additional ingredients or replace one or two ingredients for your Poon Choi if the boss agrees to it but the price would be based on market rate.

Other than Poon Choi, Zi Zai Restaurant also serves other stir fry dishes. One of their signature dishes would be their Assam Prawns (RM32 – about 16 prawns). Good sized prawns were marinated with tamarind juice, sugar and salt prior to being fried to perfection. This easy to cook Nyonya cuisine would get many yearning for more as the tamarind infused prawns had that slightly acidic sourness on top of the briny sweet taste.

Another of their signature dishes would be their Belacan Chicken Wings (RM16). Belacan or commonly known as shrimp paste would be something some foreigners would dread coming near to one. Due to the long fermentation of grounded and sundried shrimps, they indeed omit an intruding smell to the nose but belacan remains one of the most sought after ingredients throughout South East Asia. Alternatively, some would use belacan granules to avoid the overpowering smell floating around the air. The restaurant sure had mastered their recipe well here as each bite onto the succulent and yet crispy meat would surely boost up your appetite for more.

A simple dish such as the Stir Fried Bean Sprout with Salted Fish (RM12) would go well with any meal, especially with the meat and seafood enriched Poon Choi. I admired the commitment of the restaurant staff in peeling off the roots of the bean sprouts to give the dish a clearly look. The chef did a real job here in maintaining the crunch on each sprout.

Another nice vegetable dish would be the Stir Fry Yao Mak in Garlic (RM10). It’s simple and yet delicious. The chef again did a great job in maintaining the freshly crunch on the vegetables. Yao Mak is also known as Baby Romaine Lettuce.

Occasionally, there will be some species of clams available at the restaurant. What we had was the Stir Fried Sambal Lala (RM12). The mildly spiced up dish had that gingery taste from some shredded ginger and spring onion garnishing. Unfortunately the supply on that day was rather small, thus leaving the Lala without much flesh. Overall, it was still an acceptable dish for our palate.

Don’t you think our lunch for that day was impressively delicious?

Yours truly also did sponsor 2 cans of New Zealand abalones to make the occasion more joyous. The chef had abalones cooked with some fresh mini Chinese cabbages.

Finding this restaurant won’t be hard as it’s located along the main road of Paya Terubong, Air Itam, Penang. The easiest way would be driving through Farlim, Air Itam via the Thean Teik Highway. If you are coming from town along Jalan Air Itam into Lorong Batu Lancang, just drive all the way until you have reached a traffic light (Lorong Batu Lancang/Thean Teik Highway). Turn right into Thean Teik Highway (Lebuhraya Thean Teik) and drive all the way pass 4 traffic lights until the end. At the last T-junction traffic lights (Lebuhraya Thean Teik/Jalan Paya Terubong), turn right into the main road of Jalan Paya Terubong. Drive about 400m and you would see the restaurant on your left along a stretch of shop houses.

Name: ZI ZAI RESTAURANT (自在飯店)
Address: 1239-G, Ground Floor, Jalan Paya Terubong, 11600 Penang, Malaysia.
Contact: 604-826 5173 (Mr. Tan Hock Chai)
Business Hours: 4.00pm – 10.30pm (Closed Tuesday)
GPS: 5.387212, 100.274013

RATING:
Ambience: 7/10 (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: 7/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 expensive)
Service: 8/10 (1-4 bad, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)

As for the Business Set Lunch, you would be served with Soup of the Day, either steamed rice or fried rice accompanied by any 2 items from the menu of 8 dishes and followed by Dessert of the Day, all within the cool and cozy ambiance of the restaurant. It would be great if you could have a company of 4 pax to share out all the dishes from the menu. The menu items would be changed every few weeks.

To start the meal off, we were served the Soup of the Day which was the Radish Chicken Soup. It was just a simple home cooked soup with radish, carrot, wolfberries and chicken. Taste wise, it was just a normal soup with the natural sweetness from the vegetables. It somehow lacked the most important item to create that unique flavor which was the toasted baby cuttlefish. Moreover, it did not have that purity as in all clear soups. There were traces of blood remnants present, normally due to the meat (especially chicken), being dropped into water not at its boiling point. Let’s hope the kitchen would be more aware of this golden rule in cooking clear soup.

We had the option to choose either steamed rice or fried rice for the set meal. Since we had quite a number of people present, we chose both equally. The steamed rice consisted of rice from a good quality grain. So was the rice for the fried rice. Although the fried rice was just nice to go with the dishes, it would be great if it were to have some toasted garlic slices added in (just like those Japanese Teppanyaki style) to boast up the flavor.

As we had more than 4 pax, it was just nice to try out all the dishes from the menu. The first dish was the Stewed Bean Curd. Instead of the normal style of cooking this dish with oyster sauce in starch, this tofu dish had that rich flavors from some seafood stock with traces of crab meat and crab roes. The chef was wise enough to add in some cut snap peas for the extra crunch rather than having those soft and thin snow peas. It was appetizing.

Next on the list was the Jin Dou Chicken with some honey dew cubes. The batter coated chicken pieces were stir fried in Jin Dou sauce. I could be wrong but the chicken tasted like it had been marinated in some fermented bean curd (nam joo) as the meat indeed had that distinctive flavor. The Jin Dou sauce was good as there were hints of LP sauce, black vinegar, plum sauce, tomato sauce, 5-spice powder and sugar being used here, together with some fruity flavors from the cubed honeydew. Overall, the dish was good but I would rather have the meat pieces to be boneless as well as from some drumsticks for a more juicy bite.

We were also served the Steamed Snapper Fillet. The snapper fillet was steamed on a bed of angled luffa (kak kua/丝瓜) and wood ear fungus (black fungus/黑木耳) in superior soy sauce and garnished with deep fried bean curd crumbs, sautéed garlic and coriander. It was a simple dish but the fish was indeed fresh.

The next dish which was the Hunan Style Beef Cubes had us yearning for more. It was delicious with the flavorful beef cubes immediately melting in our mouth. Hunan cuisine has always been very flavorful with the liberate usage of garlic, shallots and chili pepper. This dish had a little bit of twist with the usage of celery and some chopped dried shrimps on top of the usual usage of chili pepper, oyster sauce and black pepper corns. The meat was tender and juicy. It was super good!

Braised Moi Choi Duck Breast was also presented to us. It was just a small amount on a huge plate. Somehow the taste of the whole dish was overpowered by the deep flavors from the duck meat. Moreover, the moi choi (pickled Chinese cabbage either salty or sweet) basically lost its taste by being soaked too long. The kitchen should take note that the unique taste from the pickled cabbage should not be lost totally when preparing such a dish no matter with what type of meat they would be using.

There was also the Stewed Baby Chinese Cabbage with enoki mushrooms, shitake mushroom slices and dry scallops garnished with some wolfberries. Although this dish was healthy with the mild taste from some oyster sauce in starch, it tasted rather bland to us. Alternatively, this dish should have the mushroom being marinated in some ginger juice, soy sauce, sesame oil and pepper and sautéed slightly to pep up some flavors. Moreover, the soaked dry scallops should be deep fried and served as garnish instead.

They do serve another beef plus vegetable dish in the menu as well – Stir Fried Snake Beans with Beef Bisket Slices in Shrimp Paste. The dish was good with a notable taste from the wet shrimp paste (belacan) but it was a bit salty by itself. This dish would go well with steamed rice.

The 8th and last dish in the menu was the Crispy Snapper Fillet. It had batter coated snapper stir fried with some red curry paste. It had a touch of Indian flavor and tasted more toward the tandoori style of preparation. Not a bad choice too.

The Dessert of the Day was the Palm Sugar Brulee with Homemade Ice Cream. The whole concoction was marvelous. The natural sweetness from the palm sugar (Gula Melaka) blended in just nice with the crème brulee. It would be great if the brulee was torch burned a bit more for that burnt flavor. The hotel’s homemade ice cream was something not to miss out too. It was served on some sprinkles of crushed toasted peanuts and had that fineness and creaminess to my liking.

They also have a Taipei Specialty Cuisine Promotion for September/October 2011. We did try out a few main courses from the selection of 8 dishes. Each set of the selected main course would come with Chilled Braised Bean Curd, Century Egg with Pickled Ginger and Taiwanese Stewed Rice with Minced Pork & Mushroom.

The first main course consisted of Stewed Chicken with Basil Leaves & Taiwanese Chinese Wine (RM26++). This dish tasted quite similar to the Cantonese style of Gu Lou Yoke (Sweet & Sour Pork) with the freshness of some tomatoes but with a stronger taste from the added basil leaves. This dish would taste better if boneless chicken especially from those drumstick and thigh parts were used for a smoother bite.

The next main course was the Braised Duck Web & Duck Wing with Spicy Master Stock (RM24++). This dish would suit people with acquired taste with the strong spicy taste from the duck as well as the flavors from the master stock.

The last of our choices was the Braised Beef Cubes with Stir Fried Tomatoes (RM42++). No wonder the price was the most expensive on the menu. This was a superb dish just like the Hunan Style Beef Cubes. The chef did a great job here in serving another tender yet flavorful palate here.

The Soy Restaurant is located at the first floor of G Hotel. If you walk in through the front entrance along Persiaran Gurney, just head for the stairways on your left, just right before the reception. Walk up and you will see the restaurant entrance.

Name: SESAME + SOY @ G HOTEL
Address: 168-A Persiaran Gurney, 10250 Penang, Malaysia.
Contact: 604-238 0000
Business Hours: Soy: 12.00pm-2.30pm, Sesame: 6.30pm-10.30pm
GPS: 5.437637, 100.310567

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: 7.5/10 (1-4 tasteless, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)
Pricing: 7.5/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 expensive)
Service: 8/10 (1-4 bad, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)

It’s always nice to start a meal with some salad to boost up the appetite such as the Som Tam (ส้มตำ/Spicy Papaya Salad – RM5), which in Thai means “pounded sourness”. The usage of ingredients varies from different parts of Thailand but basically it would consist of quite similar sauces such as lime juice, bird’s eyes chili, fish sauce (nam pla) and palm sugar. The ingredients in the salad served here included shredded young papaya, tomatoes, yardlong beans, cabbages, dried shrimps and toasted peanuts. The taste was just right to my liking as it was not overly sour and pungent as served elsewhere.

There are many variations on how you would want your fish dish to be prepared. I had Pla Phat Phet (ปลาผัดเผ็ด/Deep Fried Fish in Spicy Sauce – RM35-RM45) with deep fried sea bass in it. The flavor was rather unique as it had a strong hint of galangal in the sauce, freshly blended spices, Thai basils and some coconut milk just to make it a tad more saucy and fragrant. The sauce was great to go with rice but this dish could be a bit spicy for some. Somehow, the taste of Thai basils was not prominent in the dish as they were deep fried.

The next dish was something that most diners would not miss out. It’s Tom Yam but the version served here had a clearer soup based and it’s called Tom Yam Nam Sai (ตมยามนามซ้าย/Clear Tom Yam with Mixed Seafood – RM15-RM25). It had prawns, fish, squids, abalone mushrooms, tomatoes, onions, cilantro and spring onions all cooked in a flavorful hot pot of sweet and sour soup. It tasted almost similar to the Thai style steamed fish with sour plums but with some hints of fish sauce, tamarind juice, lime juice, lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, and galangal being added in. I also noticed that they did not include the small spicy killer aka bird’s eyes chilies inside. The spiciness was not as strong as the common tom yam with red chilies oil included.

We were also served the common household dish of Cha-Om Omellete (ขายจิ๋วจะออม /Khai Jiu Ja Awm – RM8). The feathery shoots of this the Thai’s staple food plant (also known as climbing wattle/Acacia pennata) are common used in omelettes, soups, curries or simply by stir frying in mild sauce. Only young shoots are used as the older ones can be rather fibrous, just like the bottom part of an asparagus. The shoot has a unique flavor almost like a much milder version of the stink beans (buah petai). It was just a simple dish but it fulfilled my contentment.

The restaurant does serve some nice prawn dishes such as the Ma Kam Goong Grawp (มะขามกุ้งกรอบ/Crispy Prawns in Tamarind and Thai Basils – RM3.50 each/Min 6 pieces). Each batter coated prawn had a nice dressing of tamarind paste with a hint of plum sauce added in. The prawns were garnish with some deep fried Thai basils and onion. This is a must try dish! Awesome!

The next dish which was the Lab Moo Sub (ลาบหมู/Spicy Minced Pork Salad – RM12) was delicious but it has a “wasabi” type of spiciness. It would be best to go with some rice or just complement it with some vegetable cuts to lessen the hotness. This dish can be prepared easily with just some water cooked minced pork, toasted glutinous rice powder, sliced kaffir lime leaves, onions, chili flakes, fish sauce, lime juice, palm sugar and garnished with some spring onions and coriander.

Instead of having with rice, this dish which was the Khoon Ob Woon Sen (คุณอบวุ่นเส้น/Thai Style Glass Noodles – RM15) can be eaten just by itself. In fact, this was one of my favorites. The delicious glass noodles had all the nice gravy penetrated right into each strand, making each mouthful flavorful. The dish contain a generous amount of sautéed prawns, topped on the glass noodles, which have been simmered with some stock, sweet soy sauce, fish sauce, sesame oil, oyster sauce, black pepper, garlic, ginger, cilantro roots and garnished with some chopped cilantro. Yummilicious!

Most people would think that Aroy Chang Moo Kata is just the name of the restaurant. Well, they were not wrong. In fact, Moo Kata (หมูกาต๊ะ/pork pan/pork skillet/meat pot – RM30 for 2-3 pax) is actually the Northern Thais’ way of having a feast with a cheaper budget. The moo kata pan would consist of two sections. One part on the dome-like structure would be used for barbequing while the circular shallow area below the dome would allow you to boil-cook some items. Some restaurants such as the BBQ Plaza at Gurney Plaza, Penang would be using gas stove but at Aroy Chang Moo Kata, they were as traditional as can be with the usage of burning charcoal. You would have 3 options of soups here, namely clear chicken stock, tom yam stock or the clear tom yam stock. With the spicy and sour dishes before this meal, we opted for the clear chicken soup. It was indeed a good choice as the soup was very flavorful. The set would come with a plate each of pork and chicken (with 3 marinates such as sesame, tom yam and black pepper), squids, fish, prawns, fish/pork balls, fish cakes, pork bacons and a basket full of vegetables, shitake mushrooms, enoki mushrooms and some glass noodles. Some pork fat would be given to you to oil the skillet prior to barbequing your food. This is truly a great bargain for such an amount paid.

The restaurant has only one type of dessert, mainly the Tub Tim Krob (ทับทิมกรอบ/Jellied Water Chestnut with Jackfruit in Coconut Milk – RM2.50/bowl). Somehow, the dessert served here was not to my liking as the mock pomegranate seeds (water chestnut cubes in red colored corn starch) were flavored and colored with rose essence. The dessert lost its originality of its jackfruit flavor as the overall taste was overpowered by the taste from the rose essence. Moreover, the water chestnuts were cubed too finely, resulting in a blob of clumped starch.

The beverages here are rather limited too. You would get canned drinks, packet tea or beers easily. The only item that was freshly brewed was the Lemongrass Tea (RM2.50). You can either have it hot or iced.

Aroy Chang Moo Kata can be easily located right next to the Dhammikarama Burmese Temple and diagonally opposite Wat Chayamangkalaram, the home of Penang’s Reclining Buddha. As this is a one way street, the best way would be through Jalan Kelawei. If you are coming from town along Jalan Burma towards Pulau Tikus, turn right into Jalan Pangkor when you see a “Y” junction just next to the Chinese Recreation Centre (CRC). Drive further on, keep left and turn left into Jalan Kelawei. Drive alaong Jalan Kelawei and keep a watch out for the fourth junction on your left. When you would see the yellow wall of the Wat Chayamangkalaram, turn left into Lorong Burma. Aray Chang Moo Kata is only 2 houses away after the Dhammikarama Burmese Temple on your left. You can find ample parking space along the road. If not, drive further up to Solok Burma on your left to find more parking spaces.

Name: AROY CHANG MOO KATA
Address: 22 Lorong Burma, 10250 Penang, Malaysia.
Contact: 010-379 9852 (Mr. Jerry Lim)
Business Hours: 11.00am-2.30pm, 6.00pm-11.00pm (Closed Monday)
GPS: 5.431036, 100.313624

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

Most people would think that having Western food quite often might cause a burn in the pocket. Well, this perception has to be changed as Bon Appetit Western Deli has its way to promote its dishes at an unbelievable price that would make dining a total different experience, thus by combining Western food with our local staple food, namely steamed rice. There would be 3 types of SET LUNCHES available daily which consist of either chicken, fish or pork, with an option to choose your preferred sauce such as brown sauce, sweet & sour sauce or black pepper sauce. We tried out the Chicken Chop Rice (RM5.00). The dish came with rice, an omelette, a generous amount of greens dressed with some mayonnaise and grilled chicken with brown sauce. The grilled chicken chunks were well marinated and cooked until perfection while maintaining the tenderness of the meat. The brown sauce on the other hand has only managed a mild herb taste and was not as thick and flavorful as I would have expected. I would think a bit more of rosemary and plain/potato flour added in would have a better outcome. Nevertheless, the grilled chicken was awesome on its own.

The next set lunch meal with was the Fish Fritter Rice (RM5.00) also consisted of rice, an omelette, a generous amount of greens dressed with some mayonnaise but with deep fried breadcrumbed dory fish fillet, topped with sweet and sour sauce. The chef did a great job as the fish had just the right crispiness while maintaining the moist within. The sweet and sour sauce which basically used some chili sauce with some sautéed chopped garlic, onions and a sprinkle of herbs, complemented the fillet well.

The third set lunch meal was the Pork Cutlet Rice (RM5.00). Most Western food stalls nowadays do not serve pork as they are also targeting at those non pork takers. At Bon Appetit Western Deli, this was an exception as their pork chop which also came with rice, an omelette, a generous amount of greens dressed with some mayonnaise but with grilled pork cutlet with black pepper sauce was superb. The well marinated and grilled pork cutlet went well with the slightly pungent tasting sauce.

Other that the above Set Lunches, there are also some delicious items available in their Ala Carte Menu for both meals. As starter, you can always order the Soup of the Day (RM3.00) which happened to be Mushroom Soup on that day, accompanied by a slice of crunchy toasted Garlic Bread. The soup was normal but at least it was creamier than others.

They do also serve the rural Canada originated Poutine (RM4.50), which traditionally consisted of French fries, brown sauce and cheese curds. Somehow, the chef created his own version by replacing the cheese curds with mayonnaise. No doubt the whole concoction was creamy but it was too sour to my liking due to that fact that Mayonnaise has that sourness from either the usage of lemon juice or vinegar in the recipe. It would be better if the orange colored cheesy mayonnaise or ranch dressing be used here. Alternatively, some grated cheese sprinkled over the dish would have provided a different taste altogether. There are actually many variations to this dish. The Italians love to replace the gravy with Bolognese sauce with some sprinkles of grated cheese. The Mexicans love them in some dipping sauce such as blended avocado with sour cream, topped with grated cheese. Other variation might add in items such as turkey, chicken, bacon, ham, sausages, crab meat, chopped onions and more. There’s actually no right or wrong method in preparing poutine but one thing for sure is that cheese (mostly from the Cheddar cheese family) would never be left out. As for presentation, some sprinkles of paprika and chopped spring onions would make the dish more flavorful and colorful.

One of the hot selling items here would be their Grilled Chicken Chop (RM7.00), topped with the gravy of your choice. The dish would come with some French fries, greens and a set of butter spread white bread. I simply love the caramelized texture on the chicken. It was flavorful even without the gravy.

As for the fish section, many diners would go for their Grilled Fish in Lemon Butter Sauce (RM7.00), which would also come with the standard serving of some French fries, greens and a set of butter spread white bread. The Dory fish fillet was well grilled but I personally felt that it lacked that buttery taste as well as some herbs. A small cube of butter on the grilled fillet before serving plus some sprinkles of mixed herbs or even capers would provide the dish with a better justice.

The Grilled Salmon Steak (14.00) was something to crave for as it was the star of the day. I quite like the natural taste of the fish without the heavy usage of marinates and sauces. The only worry I had was the cut. The steak has bones in it. It would be a disadvantage for those elderly or kids to savor such a beautifully done dish without worrying about being choked by the small bones within. It would be great if a fillet version being served here. This dish also came with the standard serving of some French fries, greens and a set of butter spread white bread.

As I had mentioned earlier, Western food stalls serving pork would quite hard to come by. Do try out the Grilled Pork Chop (RM8.00). This is one dish not to miss out too. This dish also came with the standard serving of some French fries, greens and a set of butter spread white bread.

Grilled Pork Chop might be rare but the next dish which was the Pork Cordon Bleu was even scarce in Penang. The golden fried breadcrumb coated Pork Cordon Bleu (RM9.50) was heaven. One cut and you would see the melted cheese oozing out to welcome my presence. The dish was done perfectly to my liking with the flavors from the stuffed ham and cheese seeping right into the pork fillet. I think I would go without the gravy next time as it did soil the crispiness on the awesomely prepared dish. This dish also came with the standard serving of some French fries, greens and a set of butter spread white bread.

The chef has always been a lamb chop lover, thus you would know how enthusiastic he would be in preparing his favorite Grilled Lamb Chop (RM9.50). At such a price with such a big portion, this is another dish you should not miss out. By having the patience to watch over the meat over slow fire, the chef did a great job in providing a nicely flavored lamb chop, served with some tasty mint sauce. This dish also came with the standard serving of some French fries, greens and a set of butter spread white bread.

Finally, there was the Grilled Rib-Eye Steak (RM16.00) which was grilled just as tasty as the lamb chop. It was grilled medium-rare to maintain the tenderness and juiciness of the choice piece. This dish also came with the standard serving of some French fries, greens and a set of butter spread white bread.

Overall, the dishes served here, especially those grilled items are delicious. The chef sure knows how to handle his grills well… just as good as Robert Rainford, the AFC’s License to Grill’s host. As for the sauces as well as presentation, he would need to explore more into the styles served by others to further improvements. My most frequent western food stall with the best sauce in town would be the first one he should look into. Here is the full menu in case you are interested in other available dishes. Please click on the menu for a clearer look.

It’s not hard to locate the shop as it’s just a unit off the newly constructed Pine Valley Business Centre along Jalan Paya Terubong. If you are coming from the Air Itam district along Jalan Paya Terubong towards Relau/Balik Pulau, drive on until you see the second traffic lights (Lebuhraya Thean Teik/Jalan Paya Terubong – Shell petrol kiosk is on your right). Drive on for about 500m and you would see the Pine Valley Business Centre sign on your left. Turn left into the service road and drive on until the end of the shop houses. Bon Appetit Western Deli is at the last third unit along the row of shop houses.

Name: BON APPETIT WESTERN DELI @ EQ KOPITIAM
Address:
Pine Valley Business Centre, 1049 Jalan Paya Terubong, 11060 Air Itam, Penang, Malaysia.
Contact: 012-452 5311 (Mr. Pierre Choo)
Business Hours: 11.00am-3.00pm, 6.00pm-10.00pm (Closed Monday)
GPS: 5.381342, 100.275470

RATING:
Ambience: 7/10 (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: 7/10 (1-4 bad, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)

Since we were quite late for breakfast due to the heavy rain yesterday, we had a try out on the lunch items instead. There were a few selections in menu, starting with choices for breakfast, salads, starters, hot & cold tapas, pasta, desserts and beverages. We started with some tapas of hot and cold, all served with a plate/bowl of your selected item and a basket of baguette slices. The first one was with Chicken Liver Pate (RM14+). The pate was well prepared with traces of fresh herbs, butter, shallots, garlic, salt and pepper to cover up the bitterness from the chicken liver. It would even be better if they could just add in some dashes of brandy for that extra flavor.

The next batch was with Aubergines (eggplant), Tomato and Garlic (RM9+) in a paste form. It had some traces of black pepper being added in and was quite spicy but it complemented well with the baguette slices.

We also had with some tapas with Grilled Eggplant (RM9+), garnished with some sweet basil and chili slices for that light touch of spiciness.

The next set of tapas was the Gambas Aljillo (RM13+) served with some baguette slices. It was a hit amongst us as the fresh and firm prawns were beautifully cooked with chopped garlic, chili and some herbs in extra virgin olive oil. The dish was so lovely that we wiped out the whole plate dry with the baguettes served.

After the light finger food to boost up our appetite, we went for the Al Chef (RM28+). The dish had pan-fried sea bass fillet, served on spaghetti stir fried with potatoes and carrot casserole and seafood emulsion, garnished with a cherry tomato and some chopped chives. The sauce was awesome as it had some distinctive flavors from some toasted prawn shell, almost similar to the flavors of the lobster bisque I had at QEII. I won’t mind having some dashes of white wine in the sauce to go with the nicely pan-fried sea bass fillet.

We also had some Spaghetti Carbonara (RM22+). The al dente pasta had a generous amount of back bacon slices, mushroom slices, egg, parmesan cheese, black pepper, hint of extra virgin olive oil and some fresh herbs cooked in white cream sauce, garnished with some chopped chives, tomato cuts and some lettuce slices. Although the whole combination was flavorful, the meaty back bacon with less fat somehow did not provide that nice fragrant bacon taste for the dish. Moreover the bacon tasted more cooked in sauce rather than being sautéed slightly prior to cooking. Ideally, but not totally healthy for those health conscious diners, sautéed slab bacon or streaky bacon would have a better justice to the overall taste of the pasta.

The Aglio Olio with Smoked Salmon (RM25+) in extra virgin olive oil was somewhat different to the ones I had tried elsewhere. It did not have some deep fried dried chilies added in for that nice pungent flavor. Moreover, it lacked the taste from some sautéed garlic slices which played an important part in this dish. Although some crispy chopped garlic were added in as garnishing, those were not adequate enough to pep up the overall taste. The pasta was presented with two cherry tomatoes, garnished with some chopped chives and grated parmesan cheese. The dish had the required amount of extra virgin oil added in but with overused of grated parmesan cheese. It was slightly on the salty side as the chef might have forgotten that the smoked salmon might have been treated with some salt during the preparation process.

They do have some different type of desserts served daily. So you might need to enquire about them from the counter. We tried out the Baked Cheese Cake (RM9+). It was not as what we expected as the cake was rather dry without much traces of the cheesy taste. Moreover, the slight sour after taste was rather mild instead of the usual lemon zesty flavor. The Chocolate Coffee Cake (RM6+) tasted better, considering that it was fluffy, moist with some traces of some chopped almond but it lacked a stronger taste of coffee. Moreover, the chocolate coating was rather sauced based. A bar of wrapped cheesecake by Gateau which had not been officially sold was passed around for our comments. This version indeed had our praises as the usage of cheese on the digestive biscuit base was of standard. I guessed the café should take note on the quality of cakes supplied to them in the near future.

As for beverages, there was a wide selection to choose from ranging from coffee, chocolate, tea, ice cream milkshakes, mocktails to beers. We tried out the Caramel Hot Chocolate (RM10+). It was frosty and nice. The Chamomile Dream (RM9+), a fragrant and flavorful flower tea served in a pot was as fine as it should be. This flower tea has always been my favorite tea due to the fact that it’s a cure all tea for building up the body immune system against cold related infections, relaxing the nerves, strengthen the liver function, relieving back pain, rheumatism, etc. There was also the Vanilla Ice Cream, Banana and Chocolate Chips Milkshake (RM16+). It had just the right flavors but was not as creamy as the one I had at Delicious, Straits Quay, Penang. When it comes to coffee, the café sure can declare they are the best with their state-of-the-art coffee maker. The Hot Latte (RM8+) I had was the best I had taken so far with the right thickness, sweetness and creaminess it should have. Simply awesome!

Here’s a sneak preview of the almost completed hotel interior. The charges would be between RM300 and RM400, with or without breakfast. The rates would be confirmed very soon by the management upon completion of the heritage hotel.

Overall, the food served here can be quite unique on its own. All the dishes served here are of fresh ingredients and can be well accepted by the locals as well as foreigners but there are still rooms for improvements for some of the dishes as I had mentioned above. The prices for food can be a bit high for some dishes and beverages. Please also note that there would be a 10% service charge applicable for all purchases.

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

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

There are two type of menus available here, namely the Menu Dejeuner (lunch from 12.00 noon onwards) and Menu Diner (dinner from 6.00pm onwards). The latter has a few additional items added in for a more fulfilling dinner. Let’s start with the entrees (starter). One of the dishes which I tried out was the Potage du Jour (Soup of the Day – RM5.90) which happened to be Mushroom Soup. It would be served fresh from the kitchen with some sprinkles of black pepper. The soup had a distinctive earthly taste from the finely chopped Shitake mushroom within (most restaurant would just blend all in). It had this sweet but not too creamy taste which was quite different from elsewhere. Instead of the normal usage of flour to create that broth like soup version, the chef applied a healthier method by substituting flour with some freshly mashed potatoes and a mild touch of chopped parsley. Simply healthy and delicious! The soup would not come with any bread or bun, so you might want to order some Pain d’ail (garlic bread – RM3 for 5pcs ciabatta slices).

There was also the Croques Monsieur (Oven baked Ciabatta) – Croc’ Ham & Cheese (Pork Ham – RM9.80) served with some sautéed potatoes and fresh greens. The whole dish was heaven! The half-sliced ciabatta had just the right crisp on the surface while maintaining the softness within. The bread has some light spread of butter, chopped parsley, pork ham and cheese, prior to being oven baked to perfection. The taste of the cheese was rather different as Mozarella cheese alone would not have that sharp salty cheesy taste. Some crumbles of bleu cheese were used too. The other two side dishes needed some compliments as well. The sautéed potatoes were awesome with a nice aromatic taste from some added herbs. The fresh greens may look normal but when you mix them together with the special dressing created by the chef, it was totally another response. The slightly mustard spiced dressing with some butter-flour roux béchamel sauce and herbs was superb for any salad.

Another dish that you should not miss out for any meal would be the savory croissants. The Croissant Poulet (Yoghurt Chicken – RM10.90) which was crispy, flavorful yet healthy was another dish to remember. The stuffed chicken meat mixed with some yoghurt and fresh herbs, topped with some cheese and baked to perfection was a perfect lunch for me. It also came with two delicious side dishes as above. You can also try out their Croissant Jambon (Pork Ham – RM10.90), Croissant au Thon (Tuna – RM10.90) or Croissant Saumon Fume (Smoked Salmon & Egg – RM14.90)

As for pasta, they would use the twirl like fusilli pasta. I tried out the Aglio Olio with Extra Virgin Olive Oil (RM9.00). This version was totally different compared to others. I guessed different restaurant prepared this dish differently. Basically, Aglio e Olio means garlic and oil. The pasta came with some cut dried chili pepper, cut black olives, chopped parsley, sliced garlic, some sprinkles of black pepper, mixed with some extra virgin olive oil and garnished with some parmesan cheese. Overall, it may look rather dry for some but each mouthful gave a totally different cheesy experience. Finally, the whole dish was cleared. Personally, I felt that it may need just a bit more dashes of olive oil, a more fragrant sautéed garlic slices and some available chili flakes for those who love the dish to be a bit more spicy.

There was also the Crepes de Bleu (Savory French pancakes) section to try out in the menu but I opted for other dishes as it basically consisted of fillings such as eggs, chicken, tuna and smoked salmon but there was this dish that caught my attention. It was the Oven Baked Crepes Beef Bolognese (RM13.90) with cheesy toppings. Well, I had too much of meat and cheese for a day, so I leave it for another day. Instead, I headed for the Dessert Maison section. I had the Crepes Suzette (RM5.90). It was a hot and cold dessert with two folded hot crepes, topped with slightly sweetened fresh orange juice and served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. The tangy taste of the juice on the crepes combined with the creaminess from the ice cream was simply refreshing.

The next dessert which was the Crepe Compote (Apple & Banana – RM6.80) was another great dessert. The crepes were rolled up with some fruit compote, sprinkled with some icing sugar and garnished with some hot chocolate sauce. This was another superb dessert for all. The natural sweetened compote had a bit of wine after taste due to the cooking reaction by the combination of the two fruits. It had some raisins and a bit of grounded cinnamon added in for that flavorful taste.

As I had mentioned earlier, the menu had some additional dishes added in. Let me share with you what you would expect from here. There’s the Omelettes Soufflees (Fluffy) with choices such as the Omelette Champignon (Fresh Mushroom – RM9.90) Omelette Fromage (Cheese – RM9.50), Omelette Jambon Fromage (Ham & Cheese – RM10.50) and Omelette Forestiere (Mushroom, Ham & Cheese – RM12.90). I had decided to go for the Omelette Jambon Fromage (Ham & Cheese – RM10.50) which had chopped hams, onions, chopped parsley, black pepper and cheese. It was cheesy and flavorful. The dish also came with some Pomme Frite (French Fries) and greens. This was another marvelous dish by the restaurant.

There are two additional dishes for dinner in the Les Regionales (French Local Specialties) section. Other than the Quiche Alsacienne with Bacon & Cheese (RM9.50) and Bratwurst with Sauteed Potatoes (RM11.80) available for both meals, I tried out the Kartoffelpuffer (Alsacien Potato Pancakes – RM10.90). It was a thin fried savory pancake originated from Europe which consisted of grated potatoes, flour, eggs, onions, chopped parsley, topped with sautéed mushrooms in bechamel sauce and served with greens. It tasted quite normal to me as it was but when combined with the sauce, the creaminess and buttery taste of the evenly coated pancake was awesome. The slightly burned edges of the potato pancake gave it that extra flavor. The dish also came with some fresh greens.

Another of the dinner dish would be the Schnitzel (Grilled Chicken Cutlet – RM14.90). The grilled chicken with a flavorful layer of pork ham and served with white sauce was very tasty. It had some nice crisps at the edges while keeping the moist with the tender meat. This came with some sauteed potatoes and greens.

La France Café & Restaurant is not just a place for your meals but also a great place for meet ups. You can have some nice desserts during tea time or supper over some hot and cold beverages. On top of that, they do serve imported lager such as the Kronenbourg 1664 (RM16.90), which was reported symbolized the French art of pleasure, exquisite in every details and universally desirable.

Overall, the dishes served here are delicious, provided you are a lover of cheese and healthy food, as all the food served here are made fresh from selected quality ingredient and does not contain any monosodium glutamate (MSG). The portion may look rather fine and small in some dishes but it’s the standard size as served in France. It would be more than enough to fill up your appetite… unless you are an extremely big eater. Some of the cheese based dishes may contain some crumbles of blue (bleu) cheese which would give the dish a unique, sharp and a bit salty flavor. All dishes are fairly charged with a nett price tag.

La France Cafe & Restaurant would not be visible by the main road. If you are from town towards Pulau Tikus along Jalan Burma, keep to your right after passing the Giant Supermarket (Penang Plaza) at the junction of Jalan Burma/Jalan Larut. Keep driving until you have passed Him Heang, a church, Jemputee (junction of Jalan Burma/Jalan Chow Thye), a vegetarian food court and Malaysian Chin Woo Association on your right. Turn right into Jalan Servis (between Chin Woo Association and Malaysian Buddhists’ Association) and drive all the way in until your see a right junction (Jalan Irrawadi). At the corner lot, you would see the El Case Wine & Dine Restaurant. La France Café & Restaurant is just opposite the café in a state-of-the art mansion. You won’t miss it at all.

Name: LA FRANCE CAFÉ & RESTAURANT
Address: 3B, Jalan Irrawaddi, 10050 Penang, Malaysia.
Contact: 012-412 7355 (Ginny), 012-491 3360 (Nathan)
Business Hours: 12.00pm-10.00pm (Closed Tuesday – Dinner 6.00pm onwards)
GPS: 5.42628, 100.320936

RATING:
Ambience: 8/10 (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: 8/10 (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)

It’s quite normal for diners to start off a meal with Mieng Kam (Chiang Mai Leaf-Wrapped Appetizer – RM15), an appetizer originated from the Northern provinces of Thailand. The palate of appetizer would come with wild betel leaves (daun kaduk) to wrap in some dried shrimps (hae bee/har mai), peanuts, cubed galangal, shallots, kaffir lime, chili paddy (bird’s eye chili), toasted grated coconut and topped with some sweet plus salty based sauce. Now you know why this dish is also known as “One Mouthful” as your handy work would be put right into your mouth for that flavorful chewing. One distinctive difference compared to major Thai restaurants elsewhere would be the sauce served here. Instead of the normal caramel looking sauce, which basically consisted of melted palm sugar, fish sauce and water, this version had grated coconut and chopped dried shrimps added in. It’s a superb dish to start a meal.

Another great dish would be their Yum Pla Duk Fu (Deep Fried Catfish in Spicy & Sour Mango Salad – RM12.90). This dish had deep fried flour coated steamed catfish flakes, topped with a combination of raw mango strips, sliced onions, carrot strips, chili paddy, dressed with some sweet spicy sauce and garnished with some roasted peanuts. This is a must try dish! Just as good as the one I tried at the outskirt of Hatyai, Thailand some years back. Note: Do consume this salad fast in order to have that crispiness from the deep fried catfish.

An alternative salad would be Yum Cha-Om Tod Krob (Crispy Cha-Om with Thai Sauce – RM12.90). This is another great dish to compliment. Cha-Om (climbing wattle/Acacia pennata) is actually the young leaves from a tropical “coconut leaves lookalike” shrub which had became a staple food in Thai cuisine. These leafy vegetables would be deep fried in batter and laced on the plate, prior to being topped with a sliced onions, carrots, spring onions, chili paddy, dressed with some sweet and sour Thai sauce and garnished with some roasted peanuts. This is a must try dish! Note: Do consume this salad fast in order to have that crispiness from the batter fried vegetables.

If you want to try out the World’s #1 Most Delicious Food – Massaman Curry from Thailand based on the recent CNN Go results, this delicious dish is also available here. The Gaeng Massaman Gai (two drumsticks – RM12.90) actually had a bit of Indian Muslim influence as some of the ingredients used are quite similar. The gravy looked somewhat like the Nyonya Kapitan Curry without the use of kaffir lime leave and lime juice. Instead, the dish has a more Indian flavor with a distinctive flavor from some blended galangal, palm sugar, cardamom and cassia leaves (Indian bay leaves). This dish had added potatoes and roasted peanuts. Although the taste was still acceptable to many, I personally found that it had a little bitter after taste. It could be due to too high a fire when the chef sautéed the blended curry paste. Moreover, there was this rough ingredient which I had suspected to be some toasted grated coconut being added in. The preparation for this dish is somewhat different here.

You should never go without a Thai style steamed fish whenever you visit a Thai restaurant. We had a different version called Pla Kra Pong Neung Manow (Steamed Fish in Lime & Chili Marinade – RM35 for small fish). This signature dish has concocted flavors from some lime juice, ginger, galangal, lemongrass, garlic, chili paddy, chilies and sugar. Although this dish was rather appetizing, I personally prefer the normal salty steamed ones with just sour plums, tomatoes and tofu as most of the dishes were already having too much of spiciness, sourness and sweetness. We had sea bass here.

Another dish that was presented differently was the Hor Mok Talay (Steamed Seafood Otak-Otak – RM23.90) served in a fresh coconut. The dish was a wetter version of the Nyonya Fish Otak-otak without the usage of wild betel leaves (daun kaduk) and sliced kaffir lime leaves. I had a feeling the ingredients within the coconut were stir fried rather than steamed as mentioned earlier. It had a heavy usage of Thai basil leaves combined with blended spices, sliced cabbages, onions, fresh coconut milk, prawns, squids and fish with a touch of beaten eggs. The dish was garnished with fresh coconut flesh. Overall, the dish was still acceptable by many.

I was surprised that they do serve Ped Sam Rod (Deep Fried Roasted Duck with Triple Sauce – RM18.90) as well, which you don’t usually get this dish from elsewhere. The duck meat was rather tender and flavorful. There were strong hints of garlic, tomatoes, chilies and plum sauce being used in the dish.

Never leave a Thai restaurant without trying out their Tom Yam soup. What we had was the Tom Yam Ruam Mit Talay (Mixed Seafood Spicy Thai Tom Yam – RM21.90). The soup had large prawns, fish, squids, oyster mushroom, tomatoes with some chopped spring onions and coriander. Well, the soup tasted like those easily available tom yam paste with a strong sweetness and lime juice sourness. I prefer Tom Kha, a clearer soup based and not so spicy version. There was a bit of evaporated milk added in this soup for that extra creaminess.

As for dessert, we had the Tub Tim Krob (Red Starched Water Chestnut & Jackfruit in Coconut Milk – RM4.50). I love the taste of the mildly sweetened concoction with generous amount of cubed water chestnuts and sliced jackfruit given.

The next dessert was the Khao Neow Mamuang (Mango Sticky Rice – RM9.90). The dessert came with a long roll of steamed glutinous rice, garnished with some deep fried mung beans, served with slightly salted sweetened coconut milk and mango slices. The combination was good, except that I would prefer a thicker coconut milk on my glutinous rice dessert. I had tasted a thicker coconut milk version elsewhere, which had some corn starch added in for a thicker and creamier spread.

Overall, the food here is quite nice if you know how to have some mix and match dishes that would not be almost similar in taste. Most of the recommended signature dishes here are towards a spicy, sweet and sour taste. You should ask the person-in-charge to combine some dishes more of a salty based such as the Gai Hor Bai Toey (Pandan Chicken – RM3/pc), Kar Moo Nan Dang (Stewed Pork Trotter – RM27/RM45.90), Gai Phad Kraprow (Stir Fry Chicken with Basil Leaves – RM12.90/RM22.90) or just a simple sty fry mixed vegetables with prawns/roasted pork (Pad Phuk Ruam Mit Goong/Moo Grob – RM12.90/RM19.90).

It’s not hard to locate the restaurant as it situated along a row of shop houses at the main road of Jalan Burma in Pulau Tikus, Penang. If you are coming from town towards Pulau Tikus, watch out for Jalan Burma/Jalan Cantonment traffic lights. You can see the restaurant diagonally on your right (Pinang Medical Supplies is at the corner lot). Immediately after the traffic lights, turn right into the service road and find your parking space there. It might be a bit hard to get a parking space at certain peak hours, so another option would be go straight into Lintang Burma for more parking spaces.

Name: WANG THAI RESTAURANT
Address: 294 Jalan Burma, 10350 Penang, Malaysia.
Contact: 604-226 5168
Business Hours: 11.00am-2.30pm, 6.00pm-10.00pm (Closed Monday except on Public Holiday)
GPS: 5.432003, 100.311637

RATING:
Ambience: 7/10 (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: 7.5/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 expensive)
Service: 8/10 (1-4 bad, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)

As the name has been described quite clearly, Sukhothai Beef Noodles House specialized more towards beef noodles and other street food from the Sukhothai Province. The Sukhothai Beef Noodle (RM12.90) would come in 3 options, namely the original, glass noodles or instant noodles. We had the original which had thin Thai noodles, served with a variety of beef chunks (3 different parts of meat), beef balls, bean sprouts and garnished with lots of chopped coriander. Each bowl would come with some additional raw bean sprouts and Thai basil leaves for you to add in. The soup had the taste of some selected herbs (somewhat milder than our local Bak Kut Teh) and a mild sweetness from some rock sugar. The beef chunks were tender to my liking. I love the beef balls the most as they have the bounciness texture. There would be some chili flakes, fish sauce, sugar and Thai chili sauce to pep up the taste of the soup to your preferences but beware of the Thai chili sauce as it could be too spicy hot for many.

Since having another version of the beef noodles with instant noodles would be a bit too common. We decided to go for the Sukhothai Beef Noodles (RM12.90) with glass noodles. Most of us felt that this version tasted better than the previous one although the soup base was the same. Somehow with the soup seeped right into the glass noodles, the whole concoction tasted better. This is a must try dish!

There was also the Thai Fried Rice (RM12.90). The chef sure knows how to handle the heat for frying rice well. The dish was awesome with some distinctive taste of fish sauce with a mild sprinkle of sugar. Each grain of rice was well flavored with a nice aroma from the high heat cooking (wok hei). This would be a nice dish for all ages.

I actually have a phobia for Phad Thai (RM12.90) as most of the ones I had tasted contained too much of sugar to my liking. This restaurant indeed changed my perception on this dish as it had just the right sweetness and taste which suited me well. The dish had deep fried bean curd cubes, prawns, bean sprouts, chopped chives, Chinese sausage slices and a sprinkle of some coarsely pounded roasted peanuts. What surprised me was the usage of the Chinese sausages as I have not seen anyone in town using them. Moreover, the whole presentation looked so much like our local Char Koay Teow, except that they were using the thin Thai noodles instead.

If you think that having beef noodles or the fried stuff might be a bit too heat strong for your internal organs, do try out their Fish Maw Soup (RM19.90). This soup was starch-like, similar to the Oriental Sharksfin Soup. The outlook was more dish-like than soup-like as it would go well with rice too. The whole mini pot had a generous amount of well flavored fish maw, pork chunks, mushrooms and quail eggs, garnished with chopped coriander, filled with a punch of tasty flavors.

Although the menu was quite limited to only 4 main dishes, the dessert section which also had limited 3 options did not let us down. The Durian Sticky Rice (RM8.90) was heaven! Instead of using solely the white glutinous rice, the restaurant also combined some black glutinous rice. It had some mildly sweetened coconut milk with almost no fiber and creamy local durian flesh. This is a must have dessert after your meal. Another option would be the Mango Sticky Rice (RM8.90). It tasted nice with ripened mango but somehow it was still incompatible to the smoothness from the former dessert. There was also the Banana Sago (RM4.90) which tasted just as great as the rest. The dish had sago in mildly sweetened coconut milk and steamed banana slices. The banana was from the dwarf Pisang Mas (Bee Chio) breed. Most of the Nyonya households would use steamed Pisang Raja instead for a more sweetened taste. As for beverage, we decided to try out their Sweet & Sour Roselle Juice (RM4.90) and Green Tea (without milk – RM3.90/with milk – RM4.90). All the drinks ordered were thick and nice.

Overall, the food here is quite healthy as the dish did not have overused of oil and sugar as in some of the Thai restaurants scattered everywhere in town.

It’s not hard to locate the restaurant as it situated along a row of shop houses in Pulau Tikus, Penang. If you are coming from Jalan Burma towards Pulau Tikus, watch out for Lebuhraya Codrington on your left. Immediately after the junction, turn left into the service road (TanMark Bookstore/7-11) and park your car there. The restaurant is just across the road next to Klinik Bala.

Name: SUKHOTHAI BEEF NOODLES HOUSE
Address: 238, Jalan Burma, 10350 Penang, Malaysia.
Contact: 604-227 9262, 016-438 7788 (Joanne Ang), 016-433 5588 (Ce Ang)
Business Hours: 11.00am-3.00pm, 6.00pm-10.00pm (Closed Wednesday)
GPS: 5.430093, 100.313247

RATING:
Ambience: 7.5/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 classy)
Food Choices: 6/10 (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: 8/10 (1-4 bad, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)

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)

The Chapatis, flat unleavened breads made with the combination of atta flour (grinded whole wheat flour) and water, mildly toasted on a preheated dry skillet (tava). Thus, it’s and fiber-rich and low in cholesterol, making the bread healthy for just everyone, especially those with diabetics. The Roti Jala (Netted Bread or Lacy Crepe) on the other hand, is a local delicacy, especially during the fasting month in Malaysia. The mixture prior to being molded on a preheated skillet, “screwpine” brushed with oil, consists of flour, eggs, milk, salt, turmeric powder (coloring) and water. Both these delicacies would go well with any curry dishes.

Here’s a summary of the food available at Sulaiman’s stall:

Chapati (RM0.80/pc)
Roti Jala (RM1.00 for 3 pcs)
Chicken Curry (RM3.00/pc with potatoes)
Minced Beef Curry (RM1.50/plate)
Vegetables Curry (RM1.50/plate)
Sardine Curry (RM1.50/plate)

Set Meals (2pcs Chapatis/4pcs Roti Jala)
With Chicken Curry (RM4.00/set)
With Minced Beef Curry (RM3.00/set)
With Vegetables Curry (RM3.00/set)
With Sardine Curry (RM3.00/set)

The Chicken Curry was way the best I had so far as the curry was amazingly fragrant from the thick creamy coconut milk, mint leaves, tomatoes and screwpine (pandan) leaves other than the usual herbs and spices. With each set ordered, they would be a slice of potato. This dish is my all the time favorite.

The Minced Beef Curry had a similar curry taste compared to the above but with distinctive flavors coming from the coarsely minced chunks of beef combined with potato cubes and onions. Beef lovers would love this dish as you won’t find any tough parts in this concoction.

The Vegetables Curry was cooked differently as in korma style with traces of green peas, onions, carrots, mint leaves and potatoes. It had a slight nutty taste as I would suspect that grinded almonds or cashew nuts were added in for that creaminess and that mild fragrant from the added screwpine (pandan) leaves. It was tasty indeed.

The last curry available would be the Sardine Curry. Of course, the dish would come from the tomato paste canned sardine stir fried with lots of sliced onions and green chilies. Somehow, the boss had a little twist in cooking up this dish by adding in mild spices and mint leaves with the right amount of sugar. I’m not a fond lover of canned sardines but this dish went well with the roti jala I had.

On top of selling chapati and roti jala, they would also have some sweet desserts such as bubur kacang hijau (mung beans porridge), bubur kacang merah (azuki beans porridge), bubur gandum (wheat porridge) bubur pulut hitam (black glutinous rice porridge), bubur ubi keledek (sweet potatoes porridge) and so on, alternate on different days. Each packet would only cost you RM1.30.

Overall, the curries would go well with either the chapatis and/or roti jala. It would be advisable to visit the stall as early as possible to grab your choice chicken pieces as the flow of customers could sometimes be quite unpredictable, especially during the Ramadhan period. Most of the time, their products would be sold out by 7.00pm although their business hours is until 9.00pm. Do try to call up if you are unsure. You can also make booking in advance for any function such as house warming, reunion, party, Chinese New Year, etc. It would be great if you could bring your pots and plates to contain the food prior to collection. Gosh! Little did I realize that I had engaged them for my functions for the past 10 years. Amazing!

If you are coming from the Penang Bridge via Jalan Sultan Azlan Shah in Gelugor area, keep to your right and drive all the way up to the traffic lights (Hindu temple on your left). Turn right into Hilir Pemancar (Post Office Gelugor is at the left corner building) and drive on for about 600m and you will see the beige colored roofing Pasar & Balai Rakyat Gelugor on your right. Turn right into the service road and you will see the chapati stall just next to the food court there.

Name: SULAIMAN CHAPATI & ROTI JALA
Residence Address: D-1-7, Taman Tun Sardon, 11700 Gelugor, Penang, Malaysia.
Site Address:
Pasar & Balai Rakyat Gelugor (next to food court), Hilir Pemancar, 11700 Gelugor, Penang, Malaysia.
Contact: 012-594 6116 (En. Sulaiman / En. Johan)
Business Hours: 3.30pm-9.00pm (Closed Wednesday)
GPS: 5.369192, 100.305819

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

Three signature dishes from the old chef’s own creation were presented namely the Stuffed Pork Trotter with Eight Treasures (八寳豬手 – RM80nett), Dry Fry Grouper Head (生炒石斑魚頭 – RM30nett) and Five Continents Under the Moonlight (月光照五洲 – RM30nett). All the chefs were impressed with the “Stuffed Pork Trotter with Eight Treasures” as it was rich in flavors and without the strong pork smell, evidently stated by Chef Chen Hong during his audio interview with the bloggers. He even tried to survey more on the ingredients used in the dish. I’ll brief more on the ingredients and preparations in our recent interview with the Sifu below. The “Dry Fry Grouper Head”, on the other hand, was specially marinated in the chef’s secret sauce and dry fried in the fish’s own juice, WITHOUT ANY DROP OF WATER. It had some vegetables such as carrots, onions, snow peas and the pungent taste from the added chilies. The “Five Continents Under the Moonlight” was actually the chef’s smooth and silky steamed egg with five different types of toppings, namely mussels, prawns, grouper fillets, squids and century eggs.

Other than the three main dishes, Chef Chen Hong was also introduced to two of their signature noodle dishes such as the Hong Tu Mien (鴻圖面) which had Ee Foo Noodles (伊麵), in a sharksfin soup like broth with chopped prawns, chicken slices and eggs, served with black vinegar and the Gui Hua Mien (桂花麵) which also had Ee Foo Noodles but stir fried with a generous amount of crab meat, scallops, prawns and egg, garnished with lots of sliced lettuce, served with the chef’s own concocted fragrantly fried chili paste (sambal).

In a recent interview with Sifu Malai Chong, we had the Stuffed Pork Trotter with Eight Treasures (八寳豬手 – RM80nett) recreated to check out what made Chef Chen Hong so impressed with this dish. I would say I was as equally impressed as the chef with the rich taste and quality of the ingredients within the stuffed pork trotter.

The Sifu had really put in all his time, effort and passion into this dish and at RM80nett, this is super cheap. To get rid of the normal strong pork smell, the pork trotter was soaked and washed many times. After ridding of the excess water, a layer of seasoning was applied to the trotter and then deep fried to perfection. When cool down, the Sifu carefully deboned the trotter, while reserving the meaty parts to be added back into the dish. The stuffing actually consisted of a combination of stir fried meat cubes from the trotter (豬手肉) plus eight other treasures such as scallops (乾貝), sea cucumber (海参), mushrooms (花冬菇), Chinese water chestnuts (馬蹄), Chinese chestnuts (栗子), lotus seeds (蓮子), carrots (紅蘿卜) and glutinous rice (糯米). These stir fried ingredients were then stuffed back into the deboned trotter, sewn up and steamed up to 6 hours. The remaining juice from the steamed trotter together with some corn flour, dashes of Shao Xing wine would then be used to make the gravy with some additional pre-marinated steamed scallops. The taste of the filling was like the Chinese savory dumpling, rich and delicious. You would need to order this dish in advance to avoid disappointment.

You can have a look at how many bones there were left on trotter. There was only one left and the rest are just cartilages, full of collagen, a protein that is commonly found in the body of mammals. It’s believed to slow down the aging processes and keep you young although there’s no proven medical research that it would really help. It’s just a trend, especially amongst the ladies who would want to try out anything just to be wrinkle free. Anyway, collagen is harmless as it would just break down into amino acid just like any other protein.

Here’s a short video on the interview with Sifu Malai Chong by our podcaster, Mr. Willy Wah. It’s in Cantonese and is up in Mobile Radio Hong Kong now.

The chef also came out with two more of his self created dishes. One of them was the funny named Granny Asking Direction (婆婆問路 – RM20nett) which I had introduced last year. It’s a poor man’s way of having an expensive sea cucumber dish. The Sifu steamed the fuzzy melon/squash (毛瓜/mo kua) in thick broth (上湯) and seasoning to make the melon looked just like sea cucumbers and the dish had some seafood, vegetables, mushrooms, scallops and sliced chicken sausages. The whole presentation was rather exclusive. This dish would suit the elderly too as the “sea cucumber” aka melon would not be as tough as the real one. Moreover, the thick gravy matched well with the rest of the ingredients.

The next dish also had a bombastic name – the Iron Net Golden Dragon (鐵網金龍 – RM3.50nett/pcs, Min order 2 pieces). It’s even cheaper than most of the Thai items I had tried before. As for this dish, there was again the hardship in getting the dish out as it was not as simple as it looked to get that shape. Each piece would be molded into a pear-like shape with a “dragon” aka prawn wrapped with salted duck egg and “gold nugget” (金錢肉) as the ones I normally get from Choo Choo Heng during Chinese New Year. This shaped item would then be rolled into some frying flour, wrapped in the chef’s secret “iron net” and then rolled again into frying flour prior to being deep fried. The secret “iron net” which is actually a pig’s caul fat netting (猪油網), a very thin lacy membrane that surrounds the viscera of a pig, is a traditional Chinese way of containing a loose product prior to deep frying. It shaped the product when the fat melts away, leaving that extra fragrant that would be simply delicious. The end products were sliced into halves and served with some coriander, chopped pickled ginger (調味醋姜片), pickled Rakkyo bulbs (酸甜蕎頭) and Thai chili sauce.

If you are coming from Trader’s Hotel along Jalan Magazine, keep to your left and drive on until you have reach the second traffic light. Turn into the first road on your left (Jalan Gurdwara – left of the Gama Supermarket) and then the first left turning into Lebuh Noordin. The shop is just somewhere in the middle on your right within a row of heritage houses. In fact, this shop is just two houses away from another recommended confectionery manufacturer by the name of Hock Lok Siew Biscuit Trading. Please make sure you call up for reservation as this place could be packed during lunch or dinner hours.

Name: CHIN BEE TEA CAFE
Address: 124, Lebuh Noordin, 10300 Penang, Malaysia.
Contact: 604-261 1761, 012-499 9972 (Mr. Ong)
Opening Hours:
12noon – 3.00pm, 6.00pm-9.30pm (Closed Alternate Wednesday)
GPS: 5.412361, 100.329541

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

The first thing that I would normally do when visiting any Western Food outlets, whether it’s street or restaurant would be to try out their mushroom soup. I have read from many blogs about the soup served at some of the prominent Street Western Food venues and most of them would compliment on the cheap pricing of RM2.50-RM3.00 per bowl. Of course, those bowls of soup would be cheap as they are mostly stirred up from instant mix. At Diner’s Choice, a few varieties of fresh mushrooms were carefully selected, toasted, blended and cooked in a secret recipe that you would yearn for more. Their thick, creamy and flavorful Mushroom Soup (RM5.00nett) would be presented beautifully in a wide dish, together with a slice of garlic bread. For those who do not have such a big appetite, I have to forewarn you that you might not be able to finish up the soup since the rest of the main course could be such a big portion too.

The main course would consist of chicken, beef, lamb and fish, prepared in your preferred style of cooking – grilled, batter-fried or baked. You also have an option to choose from 3 types of gravy, namely black pepper sauce, garlic sauce and mushroom sauce which had been specially pepped up in taste with brandy. What? Brandy? Yes, indeed. This is what made Diner’s Choice unique compared to the rest as they believed in providing their diners with the best without charging them extra.

Let’s have a look at their Batter-fried Chicken in Black Pepper Sauce (RM9.00nett). The presentation alone had already stunned me at first sight. You won’t get such a presentation with so much of fresh side dishes anywhere else except in a restaurant. The chicken fillet was actually from a deboned drumstick, dipped in batter and deep fried to perfection. The only problem would be the gravy soaked meal. It would be advisable to request for the gravy to be served separately in a small bowl. The black pepper sauce was not that pungent as I would have expected. It had that mild peppery taste with traces of some herbs and fragrant sweetness from the brandy. It would suit even a child’s taste bud.

The Batter-fried Chicken in Mushroom Sauce (RM9.00nett) was similar to the above except that this time I had different gravy. This style remained my all-time favorite as the slices of Shitake mushrooms has soaked up all the flavors and brandy from the gravy, giving each bite a squeeze of heaven. It went well with any choices of meat.

There was one item on the menu board that caught my attention. It was the Grilled Chicken Butcher Style (RM8.50nett). I was fooled by the name as it was just grilled chicken spread with my selection of garlic sauce and topped with just a sausage and half a piece of ham. The garlic sauce on the other hand had that nice taste from the chopped garlic, mild traces of black pepper and herbs in brown sauce.

I also tried out the Sizzling Grilled Chicken Chop (RM8.50) served in my favorite mushroom sauce. It was delicious as the chicken was well marinated and grilled, on top of having that extra charred flavor from the hot plate. The only disadvantage was that my gravy dried up too fast until I had I request for additional top-up.

The Breaded Fish & Chips (RM7.00nett) was just normal. I found the cut to be a bit too thin and considering that dory fillet was used here, it did not have the required juiciness. I won’t mind paying a bit more if barramundi (siakap) or gold-banded jobfish (kalak) fillets were used here. Unless you love the fish fingers like texture and bite, this dish would not be my preference.

There’s one dish that I saw many repeated orders and that was the BBQ Grilled Chicken (RM7.50nett). The dish was indeed delicious. The pounded chicken drumsticks fillet had the right flavors and combined with the chef’s specially prepared BBQ sauce, it was very palatable to anyone’s appetite.

For meat lovers, you sure would love the Diner’s Choice Mixed Grills (RM18.50nett). It came with well marinated grilled beef rib-eye steak, lamb shoulder, chicken drumstick, ham and sausage, with a substantial amount of fresh greens and chips. If only my stomach could contain so much, I won’t mind ordering a second helping. You can choose your choice of gravy here too or you can leave it to the chef to decide for you.

Another unique dish of theirs would be their Chicken Cordon Bleu (RM8.50nett). Instead of being presented in a dry form as what others would do, this deep fried ham and cheese stuffed chicken fillet with breadcrumbs came with the chef’s special oriental sauce. This tangy yet mildly sweetened sauce blended in real well with the chicken.

Who said that Street Western Food must have those common items and not something out of the norm? The chef did a great job in presenting a few international dishes in his menu. One of the more noticeable ones would be the Italian Chicken Parmigiano (RM8.50nett). It looked almost like a pizza. Instead of a pizza base, it had the chef’s specially concocted tomato base, spread on a chicken fillet, topped with grated Italian Parmigiano-Reggiano hard cheese (normally substituted with the French’s version of Parmesan cheese) and baked to perfection. Just a look at the dish and you can be assured of the juiciness that remained within the meat.

Another great recommendation would be their Grilled Fish in Chimichurri Sauce (RM7.00nett). Though it was still dory fillet being used here, at least this version maintained the moist within the fillet. The Argentine-influenced green colored Chimichurri sauce was actually the chef’s own recipe with hints of minced parsley, garlic, olive oil, red chilies (instead of red pepper flakes) and more. It was a bit spicy with a touch of sourness but it suited the fish fillet well.

Overall, this stall does provide great Western dishes at a reasonable price. Since this is just an open air coffee shop with another stall selling stir fried dishes, it might get stuffy at times with all the oil flying about. There are a few tables away from these stalls for your dining pleasure. You can check out a bigger version of the menu board here.

As the stall within a residential coffee shop is not visible from the main road, it would be hard for those who are not familiar with the vicinity to locate it, especially using some of the small lanes which would also lead to the venue. The easiest way would be by identifying certain landmarks. If you are coming from 1-Stop Midland Park Centre along Jalan Burma, just drive all the way to the Jalan Burma/Jalan Bagan Jermal traffic lights. Drive straight towards Mt. Erskine and keep to your right. After about 1km, you would reach another traffic lights (turn left would lead you to Hong Seng Estate). Switch on your right indicator. Immediately after the traffic light, turn right into Tingkat Mt. Erskine 1 (you can see a Chinese temple at the junction on your right and a fruit stall on the other side of the junction). Turn right into the first junction (Lengkok Mt. Erskine). Drive further up and you can see the brightly lighted up coffee shop on your left at the junction of Gerbang Erskine (Erskine Grove).

Name: DINER’S CHOICE WESTERN FOOD
Address: 1 Gerbang Erskine (Erskine Grove), Mt. Erskine, 10470 Penang, Malaysia.
Contact: 016-455 2028 (Patrick)
Business Hours: 5.00pm-11.00pm (Closed Thursday)
GPS: 5.43946, 100.303464

RATING:
Ambience: 6/10 (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: 8/10 (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)