When you mention about jelly, the first thought that would come into your mind would be those translucent and wobbling like gelatin that would normally be served chilled as a dessert. Yup! Those are jellies but do you know that there are so many kinds of jellies available in the market? Most people would assume that these were made out of seaweed. Well, it’s not necessary true as certain brands used animal-derived gelatin with the requirement of alcohol in the cooking process and thus that would not be appropriate for the consumption of certain religious groups or vegetarians.

Brands such as Kraft Food’s Jell-O Shots (Vodka Jelly) would require the use of some alcohol such as vodka, tequila, rum or grain alcohol. This would replace the use of certain percentage of water or fruit juice to congeal the gel. In Malaysia, people used agar strips or powder made from algae-like seaweed. Carrageenans, an extract from red seaweed that grew abundantly in Phillipines were used by the locals, either in dried or powder form for making jellies and thickening certain food stuff. Japan had their version of jelly too. The Japanese would make jellies out of a prepacked mixture made from Konnyaku potatoes combined with calcium hydroxide extracts from eggshells.

Let me share with you a great success story of one of our locals here who owned a coconut shop right in Georgetown, Penang. The first moment you step into the shop, you would see coconuts scattered everywhere. That would be how you would see as in the many other coconut wholesalers in Penang such as the one at Lorong Abu Siti. They would normally sell the coconut juice straight from the fruit.

If you are observant enough, you would noticed a small refrigerator by the side of the shop with chilled coconuts in it. Isn’t it great to sip chilled coconut juice on such a hot weather?

You would be in for a surprise if you try to sip that using a straw. Watch closely what was written on the label.

It’s jelly inside my friend! You would need a spoon instead of a straw. LOL! This new and refreshing way to get pampered was the brainchild by one of the Malaysian geniuses. Welcome to the newly innovated idea of Mr. Joel with his Penang “Coconut Jelly”. The best part of this yummy dessert would be the jelly within that is preservative free and fresh to be consumed anytime throughout the day. You can even savor the fresh flesh after that.

You can have a look at how original the content in the coconut is. It looked so deceiving as the color of the jelly is exactly like the juice itself. The only difference is that you would not be able to spill any juice out by turning it upside down.

The mildly sweetened jelly tasted great with the natural taste of the coconut juice. The texture of the jelly was like a harder version of soft fruity crystallized jelly but a softer version of the agar we usually get from the mamak stalls. Everything was perfect. On top of that, I could even scoop up the flesh with ease. Well, it’s best that you get the person to choose a younger fruit for you just to make sure you won’t get hardy coconut flesh. If you intend to buy back the coconut jelly, make sure you consume within 3-4 days as you won’t want the RM3.70 per coconut fruit to go stale.

You could get three coconuts for RM11 with only 10sen discount. If you would want to get each for just RM3, you could always drop by PenangTuaPui’s food blog to print their 1st anniversary discount voucher. For courtesy sake, please leave them some well wishes. You can see their banner being hung right above the shop. The promotion ends 23 March 2009.

The best way to reach the shop would be by using Jalan Magazine (Traders Hotel). Drive into Jalan Dato Kramat (2nd junction at the right of Gama Supermarket) until you have reached Penang Times Square on your left. Start counting until the 3rd junction (Jalan Kajang) on your left. The shop is just 2 shop houses after Jalan Kajang on your left. Parking would be hard here as the shop is near to a traffic light. My advice would be for you to park along Jalan Kajang itself and walk up to the shop.

Name: JOEZ ENTERRPISE
Address: 201, Jalan Dato Kramat, 10150 Penang, Malaysia.
Opening Hours: 11.00am-7.00pm
Contact: 604-229 6063, 016-440 9049 (Mr. Joel@Joe)
GPS: 5.411811, 100.323208

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

Name: MELLANO FOOD CORNER
Address: 373, Jalan Dato Keramat, 10150 Penang, Malaysia.
Tel: 604-229 6012, 012-411 6012
Opening Hours: 7.00am – 3.00pm (Closed Wednesday)
GPS: 5.412537, 100.319456

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

This is one type of hawker food that you would not find anywhere else in Penang – the Oriental Chicken Mushroom Hor Fun. The stall has been operating there for two generations ever since it moved over from Jalan Siam. Most of the patrons are regulars as the stall is way out of the view from the main road. You can either order it dry or soup with Hor Fun, Bee Hoon or Mee. Both will come topped with yummy, tender juicy chicken meat, mushrooms and wood fungus.

What make this dish unique is that the boneless chicken meat cubes, mushrooms, wood fungus are stewed until all the herbs and spices had gone right into the meat. One bite and you will taste the mild herby taste of Dong Quai (Chinese Angelica or Female Ginseng), a traditional herb used in some Chinese dishes for strengthening the blood circulation, gynecological ailments, fatigue, mild anemia and high blood pressure. Women should know better how this herb will help.

Price wise, a small bowl will cost RM3.00 and a big one RM3.50. Here are the two big bowl of the Hor Fun that we had ordered. If you plan to eat something heavier such as dinner, Tuck Sai Café does provide ala carte dishes with rice. The dishes are quite tasty but the pricing for the food and drinks could be pricey a bit.

If you are moving from town area along Jalan Dato Keramat towards Greenlane / Air Itam, you will see the Dato Keramat Police Headquarters at the traffic light. Drive further about 800m and you will see a big Nasi Kandar shop on your left. Turn into the road, Jalan Singapura (next to the road, same stretch as the Nasi Kandar shop is Honolulu Bistro & Café – formerly an old cinema) and turn right into Jalan Bukom. The stall is prominently located on the ground floor of the Sri Pelangi Apartment on the right.

Name:
ORIENTAL CHICKEN MUSHROOM HOR FUN @ TUCK SAI CAFE
Address:
Ground Floor, Sri Pelangi Apartment, Jalan Bukom, Penang, Malaysia.
Opening Hours: 6.00pm – 11.00pm (Close Sunday & Monday)
GPS: 5.411768, 100.319059

RATING:
Ambience: 6/10 (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: 6/10 (1-4 bad, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)