CRIZ BON APPETITE

With the presence of Empire Sushi kiosks conveniently available in most of the major malls throughout Kedah, Penang and Selangor, Malaysians can now purchase a large varieties of halal-friendly sushi fuss-free and speedily. Recently, we paid a visit to one of these kiosks at Gurney Plaza, Penang, and found the texture of the sushi to be at its best quality with the freshest ingredients.

The kiosk here at Gurney Plaza has at least 78 varieties of hand-crafted sushi and maki, with more options for temaki and onigiri to tempt your Japanese finger food cravings. Just on Inari Sushi itself, there are altogether 17 versions and I can assure you that all of them passed my fussy taste bud. Some of my choices of these versions were Egg, Tuna Cheese, Ebiko, Salmon, Idako, Tempura Ebi, Salmon Mayo and Unagi.

The rest of the sushi which were out of this world delicious to watch out for would be their Tempura Ebi Roll (RM2.60), Unagi Cheese Roll (RM2.60, Spicy Roll (RM2.40), Chicken Meat Slice Roll (RM2.40), Salmon Roll (RM2.60), Cheese Roll (RM2.40), Tobikko Cheese Roll (RM2.40) and more.

On top of that, they do have many types of Futo Maki and Maki, each piece priced between RM1.20 and RM2.10 for your basic maki needs.

There are also at least 4 types of Temaki (RM4.20 each) and 5 types of Onigiri (octopus, crab, tuna, salmon & chicken floss) to choose from.

You can check out the full menu below by clicking to enlarge for a better view:

Overall, I do love the many choices of sushi not only due to its freshness but the firmness and juiciness of the vinegar infused Japanese rice. They are so flavorful that you can practically eat it without any additional condiments.

Empire Sushi @ Gurney Plaza is located at the basement of Gurney Plaza, Penang. Just use the escalator down to the basement and you can see the kiosk with a colorful array of sushi choices.

Name: EMPIRE SUSHI @ GURNEY PLAZA PENANG
Address: Lot No. 170-B1-K7, Plaza Gurney, Gurney Drive, 10250 Penang, Malaysia.
Contact: N/A
Business Hours: 10.00am-10.00pm
GPS: 5.437951, 100.309815

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: 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)

For almost 2 decades after landing in Malaysia, Nando’s has been grilling Malaysian’s taste buds and has since been the top purveyors of spice and flavor through its world-renowned flame grilled PERi-PERi chicken. Recently, we had a try on its latest Mango & Lime PERi-PERi at one of its outlets at Gurney Plaza, Penang. Since its tangy and zesty introduction, Mango & Lime has proven to be a hit in various countries across the globe including United Kingdom and Australia and is now a staple at all Nando’s Malaysia outlets as part of its permanent menu. Be it with the flame-grilled PERi-PERi chicken, sides or appeteasers, it’s time to give your taste buds a tongue-tingling time with the Mango & Lime flavor.

The new Mango & Lime flavor stays true to its Afro-Portuguese roots and brings a new dimension to its range of PERi-PERi flavors. Imported from South Africa, the PERi-PERi flavors currently comes in 4 flaming options, Lemon & Herb, Mild, Hot and Extra Hot Now, fans that are just beginning their spicy journey can enjoy Mango & Lime as it wiggles its way on to the Nando’s PERi-ometer. Mango & Lime’s mixture of flavors undoubtedly appeals to Malaysian’s love for all things sweet and spicy.

“Our flame-grilled PERi-PERi chicken has proven to be a hit with our fans at home and abroad. With our new flavor, we hope to welcome new fans through our doors and ignite Nando’s lovers with sweet, tangy and zesty flavors but with the quirky Nando’s PERi-PERi twist. We are always on the look out to spice up the Nando’s experience while staying true to our identity and the fun combination of Mango & Lime fits the bill perfectly,” said Stephen Chew, CEO of Nando’s Malaysia.

Nando’s pairs Mango & Lime with a new designer drink, Tropical Fruitea, to complete the tantalizing experience. A thirst-quenching tropical medley of Mango & Lime infused with orange juice and lemon tea makes the perfect partner in crime to the Mango & Lime PERi-PERi flavored meal.

You can also try out their other main, side dishes and desserts too.

To find out more on the new addition to the family, log on to www.nandos.com.my or visit Nando’s Malaysia Facebook page at www.facebook.com/nandosmy.

Nando’s @ Gurney Plaza is located at the new wing of Gurney Plaza, Penang. The easiest way to beat the maze is to use the al fresco area of McDonald’s and walk towards G Hotel Kelawai. You can easily spot the restaurant on the right.

Name: NANDO’S @ GURNEY PLAZA PENANG
Address: Lot No. 170-G-72, Plaza Gurney, Gurney Drive, 10250 Penang, Malaysia.
Contact: +60 1-300-88-6555
Business Hours: 10.00am-10.00pm (10.00am-10.30pm on Weekends)
GPS: 5.436389, 100.309429

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: 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)

About Nando’s Malaysia: The Nando’s cockerel landed on the tropical land of Malaysia in 1998 at Jalan Telawi, Bangsar – the 1st Nando’s restaurant in Malaysia officially opened on 29 June 1998. (The restaurant has since been relocated to Bangsar Village 1). It didn’t take long for the word to get around or for the people of Malaysia to get addicted to spicing things up with a fix of flame-grilled PERi-PERi chicken. Thanks to their passion for PERi-PERi, Nando’s spread across the length and breadth of Malaysia, and today, there are more than 50 Nando’s restaurants serving succulent flame-grilled PERi-PERi chicken with Afro-Portuguese inspired side dishes.

Malaysia’s all-time favorite Japanese restaurant, Sushi King from nationwide would be promoting several delectable auspicious dishes this festive season to usher in the Rooster this coming Chinese New Year 2017. Quality and Freshness have always been the priorities of Sushi King to ensure the fulfillment of its diners. The promotion would be “Doubly Fresh, Doubly Joyous” from 1 January 2017 until 28 February 2017. More surprises would be shared below.

To start off a brand new season, do toss to a doubly joyous and prosperous year with the highlight of the season, Prosperity Yee Sang (RM45.88++ for 4-6 pax). The dish is made with fresh quality ingredients rather than those prepacked versions and served with premium Norwegian salmon, harvested from the clear blue waters of Norway. Sushi King’s Prosperous Yee Sang is indeed a version out from the norm as it has all the healthy julienned vegetables plus crunchiness coming from their daily made tempura bits. Moreover, what I like most about this version is that it has both sliced and minced salmon added. Thus, everyone would have a fair share of the delicacy. You would have an option to choose their Tangy Plum Sauce or with a combination of Tangy Plum Sauce & Wasabi Sauce. You can also have their Regular Yee Sang (RM38.88++ for 4-6pax) or Longevity Yee Sang (RM18.88++ for 2-3 pax). However, my preference would still be the Prosperity Yee Sang.

For those who would like to try out their Yee Sang but do not have the crowd to join in, you can have your personal mini Yee Sang, by ordering their CNY Bento (RM19.90++). The bento would come with deep fried chicken, deep fried salmon and served with fragrant Japanese rice.

Alternatively, if you do not like Yee Sang, you could also try out their Seafood Bento (RM18.90++). This dish has tempura batter fried salmon, squid, prawns, long bean and korokke (potato croquette), served with fragrant Japanese rice.

For this festive season, you would also get to try our Sushi King’s own version of Salmon Don (RM8.88++). It has deep fried salmon belly and flying fish roe on top of their fragrant Japanese rice.

On the other hand, their Ontama Salmon Don (RM8.88++) would be a little different as it has salmon flakes, soft boiled egg and flying fish roe on top of their fragrant Japanese Rice.

There will also some special sushis exclusively created for this season such as the Spicy Salmon Teriyaki Sushi (RM5++), Salmon Teriyaki Sushi (RM5++), Fried Salmon Sushi (RM5++) and Assorted Sushi (RM6++).

For dessert, we had Hanjuku Cheese Cake (RM4++/pc), a soft baked cheese cake that caught me yearning for more. It was extremely delicious for everyone, regardless of age, as the sweetness and fluffiness of the cake was just right. I would advise you to request for a chilled version as it was perfect to end any meal.

Do check out on the current promotion (1 January 2017 – 28 February 2017) as each customer who spends RM68 and above in a single receipt at any Sushi King outlet, can receive an exclusive set of Sushi King Daruma Ang Pows and he/she would also be entitled in the running of the “Win an all expenses paid” trip to Tokyo.

Overall, I’m contended with the dishes served, especially the fresh air-flown Norwegian salmon dishes. On top of that, the Prosperity Yee Sang with sliced and minced salmon is a great way to enjoy the dish to ensure that everyone has their share of raw salmon. The CNY Bento on the other hand was also a great dish to ensure that each diner would have their own portion of yee sang for the joyous occasion.

The Sushi King @ Gurney Plaza is located at level 2 of the new wing. Just use the escalator up to level 2 and you can see the outlet on the right.

Name: Sushi King @ Gurney Plaza
Address: Lot No. Lot 170-02-58, Plaza Gurney, Persiaran Gurney, 10250 Georgetown, Penang, Malaysia.
Contact: +604-227 5285
Business Hours: 10.00am-10.00pm
GPS: 5.437096, 100.309867

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: 8/10 (1-4 tasteless, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)
Pricing: 7/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 expensive)
Service: 9/10 (1-4 bad, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)

Nothing could be merrier than to be reunited with family members and friends during Chinese New Year over great food and company. One such place would be at Hakka Tree 客福家 (Tesco Tanjung Pinang & Gurney Plaza) where they would be promoting their Hakka Tree Poon Choi (RM328nett) and Hakka Tree Yee Sang (RM38nett for 1-2 pax/RM66nett for 6-8 pax). The promotion would last from 15 January 2017 until 6 February 2017. For any enquiries, please call +6016-229 6598 to make your booking. A minimum of 2 days advanced booking is required for the Poon Choi. Please also take note that in order to maintain the standard and quality, the Poon Choi is for dine-in only.

Let’s take a look at what’s in the Hakka Tree Poon Choi. The uniqueness in this Poon Phoi lies in the long simmering hours of plentiful bones with dried scallops and dried oysters to extract the concentrated stock which is rich in collagen. There would be more than a dozen of quality ingredients used to create this dish but the main attraction would be the generous amount of added pork knuckles, tender and melt in the mouth, on a bed of cabbages, yam, radish, slowly stacking up with deep fried bean sticks (fu chok), dried China-imported oysters, Australian sea cucumbers, New Zealand scallops, Chilean abalones, king prawns, Chinese mushrooms, broccoli, homemade pork tendon balls and topped with “golden” bags, a symbol of abundant wealth in the Chinese belief. The balance combination of meat, seafood and vegetables indeed made this a divine dish to savor during this festive season.

Other than the Poon Choi, you could also try out their Hakka Tree Yee Sang, a must have dish which symbolizes abundance, prosperity and vigor. The thin slices of vegetable pickles, crackers and more were mixed together thoroughly with some added fresh salmon slices and was further enhanced by a specially concocted sauce with distinctive flavors. What I like most was the generous amount of sauce, coating each and every strand of the ingredients, giving the dish a well balance taste.

If you have some place left in your stomach, you could always try out their desserts such as Purple Yam (RM8.90) and Fu Chok Yee Mai (RM5.90).

Overall, I’m happy with all dishes that were served on our table. However, I would suggest that the restaurant should advise their patrons on how to consume the Poon Choi properly, especially when there were abalones served as the abalones might get rather tough after a longer period of simmering in the pot. Moreover, this might deter some elderly patrons from enjoying this wonderful pot of goodness.

Hakka Tree can be located at both Tesco Tanjung Pinang (1st Floor) and Gurney Plaza (Basement). You can check out the address below.

Name: HAKKA TREE @ TESCO TANJUNG PINANG
Address: F27, 1st Floor Tesco Tanjung Pinang, Tanjung Tokong, 10470 Penang, Malaysia.
Contact: +604-899 3887
Business Hours: 9.00am-10.00pm
GPS: 5.458739, 100.308488

Name: HAKKA TREE @ GURNEY PLAZA
Address: 170-B1-06/07, Plaza Gurney, Solok Gurney 1, 10250 Penang, Malaysia.
Contact: +604-228 3887
Business Hours: 10.00am-10.00pm
GPS: 5.437987, 100.309818

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: 8/10 (1-4 tasteless, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)
Pricing: 7/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 expensive)
Service: 9/10 (1-4 bad, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)

Let’s welcome the arrival of the Red Fire Rooster during this coming Chinese New Year 2017 with wonderful spreads of Chinese delicacies from Sukkah Coffee House @ Olive Tree Hotel, Penang. Olive Tree Hotel ensures only the best and finest dishes are served in the Chinese New Year menus. On Chinese New Year’s Eve, Olive Tree Hotel will be offering both buffet and 8-course dinner in its Grand Ballroom. It is indeed an opportunity not to be missed for those who want to get a taste of traditional and authentic cuisines from various Chinese people groups such as the Hakka, Cantonese and Teochew. This will be accompanied by live performances like lion dance, Chinese orchestra and many more, guaranteed to keep the evening exciting. Skip the hassle of cooking and cleaning and spend more time with your family. Celebrate the first and second day of Chinese New Year with a buffet lunch or dinner with your loved ones. Large families can benefit on the Buy 5 free 1 promotion for buffet lunch on both days. Ongoing 7-course and 8-course meals are also available for pre-celebration until the 15th day of the Chinese New Year. These meals are available by advanced booking and each booking will be held in a Chinese New Year-themed private function rooms – ideal for private groups, family celebrations and company meals. For reservation and enquiries, please contact Sukkah Coffee House at +604-637 7873 to make prior booking to avoid any disappointment.

Let’s dive in and savor the best of the best during this auspicious celebration with their RM888nett package. As how it should be, the Olive Tree Yee Sang Platter would be presented to the diners to “lo hei” in a great year of great fortune, a symbol of abundance, prosperity and vigor.

Next on the line up would be the Double Boiled Chicken Soup with Sea Cucumber and Scallops, a rich and nourishing soup which had obvious taste of the long simmering hours to pep it up.

The Crispy Golden Roasted Duck was something that had us gobbling up more as it was done to perfection with crispy skins and tender meat.

We also tried out their Steamed Garoupa with Superior Soy Sauce, fresh and succulent until the last bit. The size of the fish was just nice for a table of 10 pax.

The Braised Mushrooms & Homemade Tofu with Scallops & Broccoli may look simple but the overall dish was filled with just the right flavors and “wok hei”.

On the other hand, the Stir Fried Tiger Prawns with Butter Cream Sauce was something quite unique in flavors. I quite like the portion served too.

The Authentic Claypot Chicken Rice was something that I did not expect to see on the menu but it was so skillfully prepared with some charred flavors to pep up the flavors more. How I wished there with some deep fried bits of salted fish added to make the dish more Malaysian.

Lastly, we had Snow Fungus with Ginkgo Nuts in Soya Bean Milk which was a great dessert to end the meal.

Overall, the package deal of RM888nett for 10 pax was more than adequate for consumption as the portion could be rather big compared to some of the eateries available out there. The dishes were flavorful and had some nicely pepped up dishes such as the roasted duck and claypot chicken rice.

Set menu spreads and other promotions as below:

The Sukkah Coffee House @ Olive Tree Hotel Penang is located just opposite the Subterranean Penang International Conference & Exhibition Centre (SPICE – formerly known as PISA aka Penang International Sports Arena) along Jalan Mahsuri. If you are coming from Bukit Jambul via Jalan Tun Dr. Awang towards the Penang International Airport (PIA), turn left into Jalan Mahsuri at the traffic lights immediately after you have passed the SPICE. Keep right and drive up until the traffic lights and make a U-Turn. You can see the hotel on your left. Park your car and use the elevator or escalator to Level 2 and you can see the Sukkah Coffee House there.

Name: SUKKAH COFFEE HOUSE @ OLIVE TREE HOTEL PENANG
Address: 76, Jalan Mahsuri, 11950 Bayan Lepas, Penang, Malaysia.
Contact: +604-637 7856
Business Hours:
Breakfast: 6.00am-10.30am
Lunch (Monday to Friday): 12.00noon-2.30pm
Lunch (Saturday & Sunday): 12.00noon-3.00pm
Dinner: 6.30pm-11.00pm
GPS: 5.327101, 100.279070

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: 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)

About Olive Tree Hotel: Nestled along the industrial and corporate corridors of Penang, the Olive Tree Hotel is a Green Building Index (GBI) compliant hotel that boasts easy access to major landmarks and hosts a convenient and conducive environment for business and leisure travelers alike. A 25-storey statement of well profound architecture and hospitality with a choice of 228 rooms and 24 suites, guests can expect not only a functional space that is sure to give the utmost comfort, but also a memorable experience. The Olive Tree Hotel Penang is also built to cater to meetings, conventions, banquets and weddings. It houses a Grand Ballroom with a mezzanine gallery that that can comfortably accommodate up to 720 people and 7 function rooms with various dimensions for various events.

Vistana Hotel Penang Bukit Jambul had always been one of the main banquet providers, with support from the corporate and public sectors for quite many years. This year again, diners would have the privilege the Chinese New Year spreads from the Hong Kong Master Chef Ng Wing Lam with more than 40 years of culinary experiences from Hong Kong and Asia. The Chinese New Year Yee Sang Banquet 2017 promotion would start from 8 January 2017 until 11 February 2017 (Lunch: 12.00pm-3.00pm & Dinner: 7.00pm-10.00pm). For more information, you can email vispg@ytlhotels.com.my or call +604-646 8000 for enquiries and reservations.

You have an option to choose from the menu as shown below with pricing starting as low as RM688++ per table for 10 persons. However, the hotel does also provide the flexibility to customize your dishes as what we had earlier.

I would be sharing with you some of dishes plucked from the 3 different menus available. The main highlight of the dinner was the Prosperity Salmon Yee Sang, a rather out of the norm dish with jellyfish, freshly julienned carrot and radish plus some deep fried julienned yam on top of the usual other ingredients.

The next on the list was the Double-Boiled Chicken Soup with Ginseng and Chinese Herbs, packed with herbal flavors and chunks of boneless chicken thigh meat.

We were also served with Fried Boneless Chicken with Spicy Mayonnaise, a set of 3 batter fried boneless chicken served on a bed of spicy mayonnaise. It was a rather unique dish, except that the portion might be quite small for a table of 10 pax.

As usual, there would be a fish dish to symbolize years of abundant wealth and we had the Steamed Red Lion Fish with Superior Soya Sauce. Not bad but it could be better in size.

The Braised Broccoli with Black Mushrooms, Pacific Clams and Fatt Choy was another usual dish you would get in a banquet style of serving.

We also had the Chef’s Special Deep-Fried Prawns. The sizes of the prawns were indeed bigger than the normal servings.

The Gemini Fried Rice with Assorted Meat & Vegetables might not look appetizing as I would expect some additional julienned iceberg lettuce to be added in like last year to add in more colors and flavors to the dish. However, look can be deceiving as the dish was quite palatable.

We ended our meal with Double-Boiled Dried Longan and Red Dates with Glutinous Rice Balls. It was a rather balanced Chinese dessert with tasty sesame paste filled glutinous rice balls.

The bonus dessert of Sweet Rice Cake was something that caught our attention most as they could be rather addictive. There were hint of sweet potatoes, yam and lotus paste in each of the mini ball.

Overall, the dishes served for the night was quite fulfilling but it could have been better in terms of portion. The ballroom can only cater up to 500 pax at one time, so do email vispg@ytlhotels.com.my or call in +604-646 8000 to make your advance reservations to avoid any disappointment.

The ballroom is located at the left side as you enter the hotel lobby of Vistana Hotel Penang along Jalan Bukit Gambir. You can park your car at the basement which would require you to get a magnetic card from the receptionist to scan your way out.

Name: GROUND FLOOR BALLROOM @ VISTANA HOTEL PENANG
Address: 213 Jalan Bukit Gambir, 11950 Bukit Jambul, Penang, Malaysia.
Contact: 604- 646 8000
Business Hours: 12.00pm-3.00pm & 7.00pm-10.00pm (8 January until 11 February 2017)
GPS: 5.336334, 100.291527

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

Ever since my encounter in dining at Starz Diner @ Hard Rock Hotel Penang during Chinese New Year last year, I’ve since felt in love with the culinary skills as well as the uniqueness in flavors that the hotel’s Chinese Sous Chef, Chef Yoong Toy Heng @ Chef Heng and his team had pepped up wondrous spread for the festive season. Do check out their Chinese New Year 2017 Rockin’ Reunion Buffet Dinner (27 January 2017), priced at RM138nett (Adult) and RM69nett (children 6-12 years old) as well as their Rock of Prosperity Seafood Buffet Dinner (28 January 2017), priced at RM128nett (Adult) and RM64nett (children 6-12 years old), at Starz Diner @ Hard Rock Hotel Penang from 6.30pm until 10.30pm this festive season. Please call +604-886 8057 or email fb.penang@hardrockhotels.net to book earlier to avoid disappointment.

This buffet this year would offer a variety of mouth watering spreads starting from the must-have Yee Sang to traditional desserts and cookies. Here are some of the dishes that you might have during the buffet sessions. From Cold Platter, you might have Marinated Octopus Salad, Jelly Fish Papaya Salad, Chicken Roll with Thai Mango Salad, Pomelo & Mandarin and Shrimp Salad, Yee Sang Platter and more. You should try out the Braised Sliced Chicken and Seafood Treasure Soup as the stock was indeed so rich and nourishing that I had more bowls than I had anticipated.

For the Main Course of Hot Dishes, you might get to savor their Steamed Glutinous Rice with Dried Oyster & Roasted Mix Meat (Reunion), Crispy Chicken with Prawn Cake and Marmite Chicken (Reunion), Braised Whole Duck with Eight Treasure Style (Day 1), Steamed Fish with “Pat Tong” Style (Day 1), Deep Fried King Prawn with Spicy BBQ Sauce (Reunion), Wok Fried Brown Crab with “Kam Hiong” Sauce (Reunion), Braised Seafood Treasure in Pumpkin and Garden Green (Reunion). Their braised duck has always been my favorite, considering that it had all the ingredients of my liking. The Braised Seafood Treasure in Pumpkin and Garden Green indeed was an eye-opening dish as I’ve yet to see any chef produced such an interesting and flavorful dish before. The combination of the natural sweetness from the added pumpkin puree combined with the rich seafood flavors from the added fresh scallops, dried oysters, sea cucumber, Chinese mushrooms and greens, made up the umani taste of this heavenly dish.

As for desserts, you could expect to have Soya Bean Milk with Glutinous Ball, Leng Chee Kang, Glutinous Rice Cake, Chinese Cookies and more.

Overall, both their Chinese New Year buffet spreads had the quality and value worth that no other hotels had ever produced. Moreover, the taste I savor each year had always excelled beyond my expectations. It’s another job well done by the kitchen team.

The Starz Diner is located at the left wing of Hard Rock Hotel Penang. Upon entering, just head to the left side and you will see a little glass door leading to the eatery.

Name: STARZ DINER @ HARD ROCK HOTEL PENANG
Address: Batu Ferringhi Beach, 11100 Penang, Malaysia.
Contact: 604-881 1711
Business Hours: 6.30am-11.00am, 5.30pm-11.00pm
GPS: 5.467568, 100.241382

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

RESERVATIONS:

Starz Diner/Pizzeria: Call +604-886 6057 or email fb.penang@hardrockhotels.net.
Hard Rock Café Penang: Call +604-886 8050 or email hrc.admin@hardrockhotels.net.
More information: Hard Rock Hotel Penang’s F&B Promotions

Hard Rock International: With a total of 204 venues in 64 countries, including 157 cafes, 22 hotels and 11 casinos, Hard Rock International (HRI) is one of the most globally recognized companies. Beginning with an Eric Clapton guitar, Hard Rock owns the world’s greatest collection of music memorabilia, which is displayed at its locations around the globe. Hard Rock is also known for its collectible fashion and music-related merchandise, Hard Rock Live performance venues and an award-winning website. HRI owns the global trademark for all Hard Rock brands. The company owns, operates and franchises Cafes in iconic cities including London, New York, San Francisco, Sydney and Dubai. HRI also owns, licenses and/or manages hotel/casino properties worldwide. Destinations include the company’s two most successful Hotel and Casino properties in Tampa and Hollywood, Fl., both owned and operated by HRI parent company The Seminole Tribe of Florida, as well as other exciting locations including Bali, Chicago, Cancun, Ibiza, Las Vegas, Macau and San Diego. Upcoming new Hard Rock Cafe locations include San Juan, Lagos and Gran Canaria, Spain. New Hard Rock Hotel projects include Daytona Beach, Dubai, Los Cabos, Tenerife, Abu Dhabi, and Shenzhen and Haikou in China. For more information on Hard Rock International, visit www.hardrock.com.

If you like to spend some time by the beach to watch the sunset along the horizon and then proceed to some nice indoor spaces for your dining and drinking needs during these festive seasons, there are a few restaurants and a sky bar at Lexis Suites Penang that would meet the criteria. This Christmas season, Roselle Coffee House @ Lexis Suites Penang, would be having its Christmas buffets on 24-25 December 2016 to tempt the diners with traditional and fusion mouth-watering Christmas dishes. Do check out the poster above for more details.

The highlight of the night would always be the Roasted Turkey and Yorkshire Puddings, served with different condiments. What I love most at the carving section was the juicily pepped up turkey, accompanied by other delicious meaty dishes such as the Beef Wellington and Honey Glazed Chicken Roll.

On top of the carving section, there would also be 6 other sections of delightful spreads such as the Appetizer, Salads, Salad Bar, Soup, Hot Dishes and Desserts. Do check out those freshly prepared sushi and sashimi as well as some of the fresh cold cuts.

As for the Desserts Section, there would be some nice Christmas-theme decorated cakes and pastries for all your sweet-tooth needs, which might include the traditional Christmas Puddings, Yule Logs, Stollen and more.

Do check out the items available in their Christmas menu as shown below:

Other promotions for New Year Eve and New Year Day 2017 are also available. Check out the posters below:

Overall, I quite love the simple yet delectable dishes served at Roselle Coffee House, especially on the spreads available at the Japanese, appetizer and carving sections. As for the rest of the sections, there are still some rooms for improvements as the eatery caters mostly for ala carte orders rather than buffets.

Lexis Suites Penang is located right at the end of Teluk Kumbar before the main road into Gertak Sanggul. In fact, it’s located just next to the Hao You Teluk Kumbar Seafood (公巴好友海鲜). The Roselle Coffee House is located at level 1 of Lexis Suites Penang. Just walk into the main lobby of the resort and move towards the right side of the lobby and you will see the elevator there. Take the lift to the first floor and you would see the restaurant there.

Name: ROSELLE COFFEE HOUSE @ LEXIS SUITES PENANG
Address: 28, Jalan Teluk Kumbar, 11920 Bayan Lepas, Penang, Malaysia.
Contact: 604-628 2888
Business Hours:
Breakfast: 6.30am-10.30am
All Day Menu: 11.30am-10.30pm
Buffet Menu: 6.30pm-11.00pm
Room Service: 24 hours
GPS: 5.287210, 100.232760

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

About Lexis Suites Penang: A luxurious resort by the beachfront that stands out as the only hotel on the island which offer guests the luxury of an individual private pool and steam room in every of its 222 suites. Located at the idyllic Teluk Kumbar, Lexis Suites Penang is about ten minutes’ drive from Penang International Airport. The guestrooms feature two king-sized beds and a host of practical amenities in a spacious enclave, with an awesome view of the sea.

Too much of preparations, cooking and baking might spoil your moods during festive seasons as you would be drained of energy trying to impress your family and friends. Why don’t you leave it to the experts to pep up your meals and enjoy the memorable moments with your loved ones these seasons? Do check out the festive promotions at Spice Brasserie and Flavour@3 at The Light Hotel, Seberang Jaya, Penang. Whether it is to celebrate Christmas or welcoming the new 2017 year, there would be something for everyone at The Light Hotel, Penang. Oh ya~ Don’t forget to try out their Teh Tarik as it’s one of the best around~ 🙂

Here are the promotions for these festive seasons, please click to have a clearer picture of the menus served.

Some of the highlights would include Roast Turkey with Apple & Raisins Stuffing, Leg of Lamb Marinated with Italian Herbs, Roasted Beef with Mixed Capsicum & Garlic Pepper Sauce, Gratinated Oyster with cheese, Salmon Fillet with Blackcurrant Cream Sauce, Seafood in Ice, Smoked Salmon with Rock Melon, Chicken Terrine with Cranberries Sauce and more. There would also be the actions counters with great sashimi, grilled and stir fried items. Moreover, a must try would be their Signature Nasi Briyani with Cashew Nuts and Raisin, accompanied by various mouthwatering spiced up dishes.

For dessert lovers, it’s all about Christmas with all the traditional and modern sweet indulgences to tempt your sweet tooth. Do expect to see items such as Christmas Puddings with Vanilla Sauce, Christmas Cakes, Baked Chocolate Souffle, Tiramisu Cake, Pear William Cake, Lemon Meringue Pie and more.

If you think buffet might be a bit too surfeit to your liking, you may opt for their 5-course set dinners in a much quiet ambience up at Flavour@3 at Level 3 of the premises. You can check out their Christmas as well as New Year Eve menu below.

As for their New Year Eve 5-course Set Dinner, you would expect to be served with Smoked Salmon Caesar Salad, Maine Prawn Bisque, Sorbet, an option of main course of either Lamb Rack & Chicken Roulade or Garlic Butter Prawns & Pan Grilled Smoked Breast, Chocolate Cake with Cream Lemon Puff with Berry Sauce, end with Coffee or Tea.

Overall, the dishes served at both Spice Brasserie and Flavour@3 had always being my favorite. Not only were the dishes creative and packed with flavors, the kitchen team sure knows how to fully utilize herbs and spices in their day-to-day preparations. They do have some of the most unique prepared dishes amongst the hotels nationwide.

The Light Hotel is located along Lebuh Tenggiri 2 at Seberang Jaya, Penang. Upon entering the main entrance of the hotel, just drive around to find your parking space at the front of the premises. Walk into the lobby of the hotel and you can see Spice Brasserie on your left or walk straight until the elevator at the furthest end and take the life up Level 3 where Flavour@3 is.

Name: Flavour@3/Spice Brasserie @ The Light Hotel
Address: Lebuh Tenggiri 2, Bandar Seberang Jaya, 13700 Seberang Jaya, Penang, Malaysia.
Contact: +604-382 1111
Business Hours: 7.30am-11.00am (Breakfast), 12.00pm-2.30pm (Set Lunch), 7.00pm – 10.30pm (Set Dinner)
GPS: 5.394646, 100.397951

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: 8/10 (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)

About The Light Hotel: The Light Hotel is wholly owned and managed by The Light Hotel (M) Sdn Bhd. It is located in a fast developing industrial area of Seberang Jaya, Penang. The 5 star Hotel offers a luxury resort-style experience with a total of 303 rooms of 6 different categories. The Light Grand Ballroom, 9 meeting rooms, Spice Brassiere, Flavour@3 and Lumino Lounge are refined food and beverage outlets that cater for in-door and Al fresco style dining. The beautiful outdoor landscaped swimming pool, gymnasium, sauna room, spa are namely some of the facilities on the 3 floors, whereas kiddies club and wedding show room are located on the Mezzanine floor. The Light Hotel represents the perfect combination of luxurious destination of Delightful Mix of Business and Comfort for a truly unique experience. Visit www.thelighthotelpg.com

Christmas and New Year would be just around the corner. Have you decided where to celebrate your yearend festive seasons? Do check out on the saliva-dripping spreads from Sukkah Coffee House @ Olive Tree Hotel, Penang. For reservation and enquiries, please contact Sukkah Coffee House at +604-637 7856 to make prior booking to avoid any disappointment.

Let’s have a glimpse on some of the dishes available for the festive season with the main attraction being the 7kg huge turkey, bigger than most I’ve seen this year. Do watch out for their Roasted Chestnut Soup, a refreshing and flavorful soup you won’t get all the time except during such an occasion.

Moreover, you would get many types of meatloaves and roulade filled with delicious stuffing.

For fans of desserts, you would be all delighted as the sweet delicacies for this season exceeded my expectations. I love their creativity as well.

Overall, I love the spreads for the festive seasons as the dishes outshone many other buffets out there with more traditionally prepared dishes such as meatloaf, mouth-melting cookies and more.

Do check out the menus for the Christmas and New Year below (click to enlarge for better view):

More promotion below:

The Sukkah Coffee House @ Olive Tree Hotel Penang is located just opposite the Subterranean Penang International Conference & Exhibition Centre (SPICE – formerly known as PISA aka Penang International Sports Arena) along Jalan Mahsuri. If you are coming from Bukit Jambul via Jalan Tun Dr. Awang towards the Penang International Airport (PIA), turn left into Jalan Mahsuri at the traffic lights immediately after you have passed the SPICE. Keep right and drive up until the traffic lights and make a U-Turn. You can see the hotel on your left. Park your car and use the elevator or escalator to Level 2 and you can see the Sukkah Coffee House there.

Name: SUKKAH COFFEE HOUSE @ OLIVE TREE HOTEL PENANG
Address: 76, Jalan Mahsuri, 11950 Bayan Lepas, Penang, Malaysia.
Contact: +604-637 7856
Business Hours:
Breakfast: 6.00am-10.30am
Lunch (Monday to Friday): 12.00noon-2.30pm
Lunch (Saturday & Sunday): 12.00noon-3.00pm
Dinner: 6.30pm-11.00pm
GPS: 5.327101, 100.279070

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: 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)

About Olive Tree Hotel: Nestled along the industrial and corporate corridors of Penang, the Olive Tree Hotel is a Green Building Index (GBI) compliant hotel that boasts easy access to major landmarks and hosts a convenient and conducive environment for business and leisure travelers alike. A 25-storey statement of well profound architecture and hospitality with a choice of 228 rooms and 24 suites, guests can expect not only a functional space that is sure to give the utmost comfort, but also a memorable experience. The Olive Tree Hotel Penang is also built to cater to meetings, conventions, banquets and weddings. It houses a Grand Ballroom with a mezzanine gallery that that can comfortably accommodate up to 720 people and 7 function rooms with various dimensions for various events.