CRIZ BON APPETITE » seafood

MUD CRABS FEASTING AT PANG HAINAN SEAFOOD

crizlai — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 17:11:24 +0000

Mud crabs which are found in the estuaries and mangroves of Africa, Australia and Asia, are often sought after as a seafood delicacy, mostly in the South Asian countries. They can grow up to a few kilograms with lots of meat to savor. With a large crab sanctuary through its mangrove reserves especially in the east Malaysia, Pang (Hainan) Restaurant had decided to import such mud crab for the huge appetite of the Penangites on top of other seafood such as the grouper, mantis prawns, lobsters and so on. Presently, the mud crabs available in this restaurant are priced at RM58/kilo with a minimum order of two crabs (approximately 1.2 kilograms) with a choice of 6 flavors such as Baked Crab, Sweet & Sour Crab, Black Pepper Crab, Steamed Crab, Chili Crab and their latest addition of Kam Heong Crab.

We took the opportunity to try out 3 of the 6 options. The first was the Black Pepper Crab. The crabs were stir fried with a generous amount of black pepper, onions, capsicum and curry leaves. Although the crabs were fresh, the taste was somehow overpowered by the over usage of sliced onions and capsicum which subdued the spiciness from the black pepper. Thus, it lacked the required fragrance to pep up the overall taste of the crabs. Sometimes, I do think that simplicity such as the usage of just some plain butter, curry leaves and black pepper would do more justice to a more flavorful bite.

The Sweet & Sour Crab on the other hand was more flavorful compared to the former except that it had that strong and sweet chili sauce after taste. The restaurant again tried to create their own recipe by implementing lots of sliced onions with some traces of bird eye chilies (cili padi), stir fried with some beaten eggs. It was basically quite dry without much gravy. Moreover, the gravy lacked a slight sprinkle of vinegar for those wonderful sweet and sour flavors to boost up the appetite.

The next version was the Kam Heong Crab. The name itself spelled out that the dish should be spicy and fragrant. Although the traces of sliced onions had reduced substantially, the usage of curry leaves and traceable dried shrimps somehow did not provide that flavorful “kick”. One reason could be that the dried shrimps they were using were rather big and thus did not omit that fragrance as required. The next reason was that the dish was not sautéed dry enough to get the flavorful “wok hei” (high heat cooking).

You can also order some Mantou (80sen each) to dip in the gravy. They would normally come deep fried to have that crisp on the surface with a soft bun-like texture within.

Other than just crabs, there are other side seafood dishes that you can order here. One of the dishes would be the Assam Prawns (RM11/100gms – 5 prawns ~ 200gms). I wonder if that was the intention of the restaurant to serve the prawns as a whole without slitting the back for the flavors to seep right into the flesh. Somehow, the usage of tamarind plus some sugar and salt did not marinate the prawns at all. The flesh was rather bland in taste. Moreover, the prawns were not fried as dry and tasty as the Nyonya Assam Prawns.

You can also order some Deep Fried Squids (RM11/RM17/RM25). This was a lovely dish, considering that every single cut were evenly covered with batter and maintained that crispiness. The only thing I would prefer would be the slight touch of spiciness from either turmeric powder or chili flakes to pep up the flavor.

It does not mean that you would need to have just seafood as your meal as there are also rice, noodles and porridge dishes for you to order. We tried out the Fried Rice (RM9/RM14/RM19). Well, it was just normal without the “wok hei” I preferred but with lots of small prawns and chicken cubes in it.

Overall, the seafood dishes served here are no doubt fresh but the firmness of the crab meat would depend on the season. As for taste wise, the restaurant has their own recipe with a touch of fusion which might not be the traditional way of preparation as per your preferences. Anyway, the whole meal was still a hearty one for the few of us, considering that everything served was super fresh.

Drive all the way up to Tanjung Bungah. Immediately after the curve at the UDA flat traffic lights, keep to your left. Drive on until you see Viva Café then Chinese Swimming Club on your right, slow down and watch out for the Pang Seafood neon signboard on your left right after the Thong Sin Building.

Name: PANG (HAINAN) SEAFOOD
Address: 501-K&L, Jalan Tanjung Bungah, 11200 Penang, Malaysia.
Contact: 604-899 4863, 017-452 4863
Business Hours: 11.30am-2.30pm, 6.00pm-10.00pm
GPS: 5.462728, 100.303191

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: 7/10 (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)

A SEAFOOD FEASTING JOURNEY TO GERTAK SANGGUL FISHING STAGE RESTAURANT

crizlai — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 05:22:15 +0000

Unless you are a hard knocked angler, you might not even be aware that such a seafood restaurant as the Gertak Sanggul Fishing Stage existed at the far south-east end of the Penang island. A paradise amongst anglers who prefer to relax under the shady areas next to the man-made fishing pond rather than heading up the hilly path of the Gertak Sanggul’s secondary jungle to the jackpot angling destination, this place would always be their favorite fishing spot. You can try your angling luck by paying RM40 for 3 hours of hooking up fishes such as the red snapper (ang cho), sea bass (siakap) or mangrove jack (ang ka tia). Presently, there’s an ongoing jackpot of over RM3,000 for whomever that can capture the sole goliath grouper (long tan). An additional RM200 would be given for the return of the prize fish. Business hours would be from 9.00am until 1.00am.

The setting up of the restaurant is simple with just a few tables by the pond and a few more along the patio area. It was amazing that you can’t find any menu here as they would just cook up anything upon your request, even with the fish that you had just landed. Dishes could include any fried rice or noodles, ala carte dishes to preordered course dinner with cold plate (RM80) as starter.

As the few of us just dropped by impromptu, we tried out their ala carte dishes with rice. The first dish that arrived was their Steamed Thai Style Red Snapper (RM28). The fish was barely 500gms, thus we did not get much meat on this skinny fellow. Fortunately, the gravy with traces of onions, chopped garlic, button mushrooms, green pepper, tomatoes, tamarind and lemongrass was quite appetizing. It had the mild sourness and saltiness that could be just as good as the Wong Chau Jun sour fish vermicelli noodles down at Jalan Rangoon, Penang.

The next dish that was presented was the Marmite Chicken (RM10). All the crispy meat pieces were from a drumstick. The yeast extract, a by-product of beer brewing, combined with some sprinkle of sugar, caramelized and stir fried with some chopped onions and curry leaves blended in real well with the deep fried chicken pieces. They were rather tasty except that I would prefer to have deboned ones instead.

Frankly speaking, the next dish which was the Kung Po Mantis Prawns (RM10), tasted quite similar to the Marmite Chicken as it also had some sugar added in rather than having the savory flavors as I had expected it to be. The dish had some chopped onions and dried chilies added in but there was not much spiciness in it as it lacked the more usage of dried chilies. Overall, the dish tasted quite nice with the crispiness from the batter infused mantis prawns but somehow this process drained the juiciness within the mantis prawns. I would recommend that you order either the former or the latter but not both due to the close similarity in taste.

You should try out the Sambal Asparagus (RM10). It was palatable as the dish had that nice fragrance from some toasted prawn paste (belacan). Not only was the dish less oily, the crunch from the asparagus and the freshness from the prawns were just right. I only wished the portion was a bit bigger.

The main highlight of the night was the Spicy Salted Egg Crabs (RM48). We had two huge and really fresh meat crabs stir fried in some curry based concoction together with salted duck eggs. The added curry leaves made the flavors from the dish even more irresistible. It had all the nice flavors but I found something missing from the dish. It was the significant amount of salted egg yolk bits. I guessed the chef would have used his bowl of pre-prepared salted eggs instead of providing one whole duck egg. What a joke! Moreover, the price of the dish had increased tremendously over a few months. It used to be around RM36 sometime last year. I actually don’t mind paying that amount if the crabs were filled with delicious but high cholesterol egg yolk~

Overall, this restaurant could be quite nice for a family outing after an evening stroll along the beautiful beaches of Gertak Sanggul. Price wise, it could be a bit high considering that I can get quite similar quality dishes nearer to the town area without driving all the way through the dark corners of the beach stretches. Moreover, the brewed beverages here were too diluted for my liking.

If you are coming from the Bayan Lepas FTZ area along Jalan Bayan Lepas towards the Penang International Airport, drive over the overhead bridge towards Teluk Kumbar. Drive on for around 6-7km and watch out for a big “Hai Boey Seafood” direction signboard on your left at a junction. Turn left into the junction which would also lead you towards Gertak Sanggul. Drive on until you see the “Hai Boey Seafood” signboard on your left. Drive all the way until the end of the road and watch out for the old signboard (Pusat Makanan Laut dan Memancing Ikan Gertak Sanggul Fishing Stage) on your right which is just before to a bus stop (Bus Route #308). Turn right into the sandy road and you would see the restaurant on the left. Make sure you visit this restaurant as early as possible (as at 6.00pm) or you might have to drive back under quite dimly lighted stretch of road home.

Name: GERTAK SANGGUL FISHING STAGE
Address: 388, MK 8, Gertak Sanggul, Teluk Kumbar, 11910 Bayan Lepas, Penang, Malaysia.
Business Hours: 6.00pm-12.00am (Closed Wednesday)
Contact: 604-649 1812, 012-494 7322, 012-470 8989, 016-480 9109
GPS: 5.283129, 100.191296

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: 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)

THE HUMBLE CURRY MEE AUNTIE ALONG JALAN DELIMA

crizlai — Sun, 05 Jun 2011 19:44:01 +0000

If you are a Curry Mee lover, you would have noticed that the price for a good bowl of the noodles can be rather costly now. Even with an average price of RM3.50 per bowl, you can hardly get substantial ingredients in it. If you were to add in more “fresh toppings”, a bowl might cost you more than RM5. Do you always face this problem while dining out? With the increasing cost of living in Penang, most of us would seek the next cheapest alternative which might not be to our likings. Well, you should pay this humble Curry Mee auntie along Jalan Delima a visit as she’s doing the business not for profit but to pass time and she has been doing this for almost a decade. A normal bowl of her Curry Mee with lots of ingredients would cost you only RM2.70 and her portion would be based on your body size WITHOUT additional charges. Amazing! You can always add on more ingredients as per your liking but just wait until you see her large bowl of Curry Mee at only RM3. The bowl would come with FIVE FRESH PRAWNS plus lots of seafood. This bowl would at least cost you RM5-RM6 elsewhere.

You can either choose yellow noodles, bee hoon (rice vermicelli) or a mix of both for your Curry Mee. Each bowl would come with bean sprouts, prawns, cuttlefish, cockles, pig’s blood jelly, tofu puff (tau hoo pok), garnished with fresh mint leaves and served with a spoonful of sautéed shallots chili paste. The chili paste here would not be as spicy hot as most stalls she did not add in dried chilies.

Overall, the Curry Mee served here was quite nice to my liking as it did not have that much coconut milk usage. The dish is more towards the clear soup version with a slight salty sweet taste. What attracted me most was the size and freshness of the prawns as she would only cook them when necessary. Now you know why I rather order a large bowl of the Curry Mee? It’s because I love fresh seafood~ Haha! There is one important note to those who wishes to dine in her humble little place. PLEASE BRING YOUR OWN BEVERAGE as the old auntie here DOES NOT SERVE any drinks. Most of her patrons are workers and housewives, thus barely anyone would dine at her place. Another thing would be the operating hours. Most of the time, her Curry Mee would be sold out by 9.30am. So do try to go as early as possible. I’m sorry I can’t provide her contact here as she had requested for some privacy.

It’s not that hard to locate the place as the stall within a row of houses is just towards the end of Jalan Delima, leading to Jalan Yeap Chor Ee. If you are driving towards the Penang Bridge along Jalan Mesjid Negeri, keep to your right and watch out for the second traffic lights right after Lam Wah Ee Hospital. Turn right into Jalan Delima. You can see the former N.G. Lighting shop (on the left) and a car seller shop (on the right) of the junction. Drive all the way up until you have passed two large fields. Immediately after Field 2, slow down and keep to your left. The stall, within the compound of a house with BLUE awnings, is just 10 houses away from the second left junction.

Name: AUNTIE’S CURRY MEE
Address: 9B Jalan Delima, Island Glades, 11700 Penang, Malaysia.
Business Hours: 7.30am – 10.00am
GPS: 5.380291, 100.301852

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: 7.5/10 (1-4 tasteless, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)
Pricing: 3/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 expensive)
Service: 9/10 (1-4 bad, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)

BBQ AND STEAMBOAT BUFFET BY THE SEA AT ASIAN HERITAGE RESTAURANT

crizlai — Sun, 22 May 2011 09:18:11 +0000

If you feel like having some BBQ and steamboat at an open area while enjoying the cool and soft breeze from the Andaman Sea, you should check out Asian Heritage Restaurant within the premises of Paradise Sandy Beach Resort Penang. The “Eat All You Can” BBQ and Steamboat would only cost you RM28+ (adult) / RM14+ (child) with lot of spreads to choose from, starting from appetizer, fresh seafood and vegetables to local and Western desserts.

To start off while waiting for your pot of soup to be boiled (option of clear chicken soup and tom yam soup), do check out the appetizer section for a light bite. There would be some salads and snacks of different dressings to get your appetite started.

At the steamboat section, there would be at least 8 types of fresh seafood and shellfish available daily. You would also get different shape and sizes of meat balls and fish balls, noodles and fresh vegetables abundantly displayed here.

To maintain the freshness of the BBQ items, they have a menu for you to choose from, ranging from marinated chicken, lamb, beef and fish. Don’t miss out the Char Siew Chicken, Barbeque Beef, Black Pepper Lamb and Curry Dory Fish. These few selections are simply irresistible!

There are a few desserts too for the package and that would include some local Nyonya delicacies, cakes, mousse and jellies.

Do keep a watch out for their coming promotion (most probably in June 2011) as they would be having a twist in their regular BBQ and Steamboat serving style. Don’t you love to have all your food on a bamboo skewer? Of course, you would be having Satay and Skewer Lok-Lok Celup Buffet – RM29.90+ (adult) / RM15.90+ (child & senior citizen). Your chosen skewers would be barbequed and delivered right to your table, with some spicy crushed peanuts dipping sauce (satay sauce). At the same time, you get to experience the Malacca Satay Celup, where you get to cook your skewers in a pot of boiling peanut sauce.

Well, some may think that having a buffet for dinner might be a little too heavy prior to going to bed. Don’t worry as they do have a wide range of dishes available in their ala carte menu. I did try out their Mushroom Bruschetta (RM13.50+) and Beef Lasagna (RM19.90+). Both the items were amazingly delicious. The bruschetta had sautéed mushrooms, mixed in creamy white sauce and served on toasted French loaf slices. The lasagna had layers of generously spread minced beef in tomato puree and topped with mixed cheese. I would think Garfield will frequent here more now. LOL!

Other than the above promotion, they also have Beer Festival all day long with a bucket of 5 bottles of Tiger Beer at only RM35+ or a choice of over 30 types of imported beers at normal price. If you feel bored during the weekend and felt like having a day off at the beach, do check out their Hi-Tea Buffet at RM8.90+ only. Don’t feel like drenching yourself in sweat during lunch hours under the humid weather? You can try out their Lunch Special Promotion (RM5+ per dish for the first 99 orders from Monday to Friday). Items available daily are as shown below:

Overall, Asian Heritage Restaurant is a great place to hang out, whether for a short meeting, family gathering, having some light snacks or even chilling out with friends. The only thing I feel the management should revise is the exclusion of beverages in their buffet promotions. All beverages ordered are additionally charged based on the price stated in their beverage menu.

It’s not hard to locate the restaurant as it’s within the premises of Paradise Sandy Beach Resort Penang. Drive all the way up towards Tanjung Bungah. As you see the Toy Museum (in front of Copthorne Hotel) on your right, keep to your right and make a U-turn at a junction further up before the traffic lights. The restaurant is just right inside the shoplots area of the Paradise Sandy Beach Resort’s car park. There will be a security guard house there. Don’t hesitate to ask for direction from the guard if you are not sure of the location.

Name: ASIAN HERITAGE RESTAURANT @ PARADISE SANDY BEACH RESORT PENANG.
Address: Jalan Tanjung Bungah, 11200 Penang, Malaysia.
Contact: 604-890 3076, 016-660 9295
Opening Hours:
BBQ & Steamboat Buffet Dinner: 6.00pm – 9.30pm (Daily)
Daily Lunch Special: 12.00 noon – 5.00pm (Monday – Friday)
Hi-Tea Buffet: 3.00pm – 5.30pm (Saturday & Sunday)
GPS: 5.467431, 100.289339

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

TEMPTING SEAFOOD DISHES AT RESTORAN FATTY SANG

crizlai — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 20:42:08 +0000

Hidden right into Kepong Baru, Kepong, Kuala Lumpur, is a corner lot restaurant which carries the name Restoran Fatty Sang. This restaurant had become the talk of the residents there as not only were the seafood dishes served there delicious, the pricing was so reasonable that it stunned me as a person coming from the sea surrounded Penang Island. Well, I managed to visit this place with a group of “hungry” friends (9 adults and a kid). LOL! So, do not expect to get clear photos as this was a quick point and shoot food expedition.

The first dish that arrived was the Szechuan styled Kung Po Chicken in Yam Basket (佛后本宫保鸡丁-RM20). The Kung Po Chicken was amazingly tasty with lots of chicken chunks, capsicum, onions wonderfully stir fried with dried chilies and garnished with a generous amount of cashew nuts. Somehow the mashed steamed yam basket was a bit of disappointment. It could have been prepared early as the inner portion was rather cold and the outer layer lacked the crispiness. This dish was served on a bed of deep fried glass noodles.

The aluminum foil and cellophane paper wrapped Herbal Steamed Chicken (藥材雞-RM27 for half bird) was real nice as all the herbs had seeped right into the meat, giving each bite a flavorful and herb filled sensation. The portion was large too for half a bird. There were traces of Chinese wolfberries (枸杞/杞子/gouchi), Angelica sinensis (Chinese Angelica root/dang gui/當歸), dried Chinese yam (huai shan/淮山), Codonopsis pilosula (dang shen/poor man’s ginseng/當參), Astragalus root (黃蓍/pak kei), red dates (紅棗), ginger, rice wine and some sesame oil.

The next dish which was Stir Fry Broccoli with Fresh Scallops (西蘭花炒帶子-RM25) had the right flavorful gravy to get me to order more rice. The crunchiness of the broccoli plus the freshness of the fresh scallops, some prawns and Chinese mushroom was indeed appetizing.

The size of the fish for the next dish was huge. It was about a foot in length. The Steamed Golden Pomfret with Wolfberry (杞子蒸金昌-RM33) was extremely delicious with the right amount of wolfberries, ginger, soy sauce, garlic oil and rice wine. Considering the size and thickness of the fish, I can’t even get this pricing in Penang. It’s real cheap!

The last dish was the chef’s House Special Tofu (招牌豆腐-RM16). The silky smooth deep fried tofu dish had some added Chinese cabbage and prawns on top of the thick beaten egg white gravy. You should check out this tasty dish as well.

Overall, the total bill which included rice and tea came out to RM135.60, an amount that was quite reasonable for the portions and quality of food served. If you are coming from KL City towards Jalan Kepong, watch out for the MWE Kepong Commercial Park on your left. Drive further up and you would see a road on your left. Turn left into Jalan Ambong Kiri and take the second right turning into Jalan Ambong 2. Drive straight until the end and you would see the restaurant at the left corner shop lot. You won’t miss it. There are ample parking spaces along this road.

Name: RESTORAN FATTY SANG (肥仔生海鮮飯店)
Address:
30 Tingkat Bawah, Jalan Ambong 2, Kepong Baru, 52100 Kuala Lumpur, West Malaysia.
Contact: 012-361 5605, 012-205 5116
Business Hours: 12.00noon-2.30pm, 5.30pm-10.00pm
GPS: 3.211194, 101.646612

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

AFFORDABLE FAMILY DINING AT KIM HOOI SEAFOOD

crizlai — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 06:45:05 +0000

In my earlier post on the 2828 Café Famous Beef Koay Teow Soup stall, I did mention about the dinner spread you can get from the same café. If you are one who can appreciate authentic Chinese dishes, you had come to the right place as the dishes served here are a mixture of Cantonese and Hakka. Not only are the dishes here are having the taste of a family dinner spread, the pricing here would definitely please those with a big household. The stall here is none other than Kim Hooi Seafood which has been operating in the present premises for over 7 years.

On top of those common dishes you can get in any stir-fry dishes restaurant, this place had the extras effort to introduce their specialties daily. Here was one of the dishes. It’s Braised Pork Ribs with Radish (RM7). Choice pieces of pork ribs were marinated with red fermented bean curd (nam yu/tau joo/乳腐), fried and then braised with some chopped radish and chilies. Initially I thought this was another Hakka dish but eventually I was told that it was also called Thai Ribs (泰骨). The taste was remarkably unique and the ribs were tender and melted in my mouth.

The next special dish was indeed Hakka. It was the Hakka Fried Pork Belly with Wood Ear Fungus (客家炸肉-RM7). The method of preparation was somewhat like the pork ribs except that the gravy had a stronger red fermented bean curd taste. This dish would be best with a hot steaming bowl of rice.

If you do not want to have so much of pork dishes, the Plum Sauce Chicken (梅子雞-RM7) would be quite ideal, even for kids. Although there was the presence of some chopped chilies, the dish was not spicy at all. One whole boneless chicken drumstick was coated with some batter, deep fried, topped with some hot boiling plum sauce with chopped chilies and garnished with some chopped spring onions. Not only was the chicken slices crispy, the gravy itself was enough to boost up my appetite. I found that there was something in there that made the dish different compared to others. It had some chopped pickled ginger added. No wonder the dish was so delicious.

As for seafood, the next dish which was the Stir Fry Grouper Fish Fillet with Fresh Enokitake (金針菇石斑魚片-RM15) was wonderful. The fillets were indeed fresh. Together with the rest of the ingredients which included sliced carrots, button mushroom, snow peas, enokitake (enoki mushroom/golden needle mushroom/金針菇) with a dash of Shao Xing wine, the whole dish was healthy and hearty. Moreover, I found that the amount of grouper fillets given was rather generous.

The next dish was rather interesting – Fried King Prawns with Stout (黑啤酒蝦 – RM18). Four king size white prawns were deep fried and then stirred into some thickened stout beer with a soft touch of salt and chopped chilies. It had lots of sliced spring onions and big onions as salads. The sweetness from the stout blended in nicely with the salads. The prawns were so fresh that I had some trouble peeling off the skins. Although I love this dish a lot, the only hiccup I had was on the preparation. The prawns should have been slightly sliced at the side prior to cooking to allow the delicious gravy to seep into the flesh.

For those who love bitter gourd, the next specialty would be great – Stuffed Bitter Gourd (RM8-4pcs/RM12-6pcs). Each slice of bitter gourd was stuffed with the chef’s own recipe which included fish paste, minced pork, chopped salted and century eggs. These stuffed bitter gourd slices would then be steamed for a period of time before being topped with some oyster sauce based gravy.

For those who love to have same tofu dishes, this place served the best house special tofu I had tasted. The tofu slices were silky smooth and they just melt in your mouth. Although I could order other types tofu such as Japanese tofu which would also be available, I rather have their house special tofu which were preservative-free. One way of cooking the House Special Tofu (招牌豆腐 – RM6) would be in some mild gravy accompanied with some sliced Chinese mushrooms, peas, dried scallops and a touch of Shao Xing wine. Delicious!

Another version would be the Deep Fried House Special Tofu (紅燒招牌豆腐 – RM7). This dish may look quite similar to the earlier one but the gravy had a stronger taste due to the usage of some sliced carrot, leek, roasted pork, garlic and of course the Shao Xing wine. This is another great dish to go with rice.

When you have kids around, one of the common dish you might order would be the Foo Yong Omelette (RM5). There’s nothing special about this dish as it only contained eggs, sliced onions, chopped grilled pork (char siew) with a touch of flavorings.

There were so many types of fresh vegetable dishes available here but I always like to have something simple such as the Stir Fry Romaine Lettuce with Garlic (RM5). What I like most about their preparation was the maintaining of the crunchiness of the lettuce. It was simple yet healthy!

For those soup lovers, you should try out their daily double boiled soups other than their impromptu cooked soups. They should have at least two types available daily. I managed to try out their Double Boiled Winter Melon Soup (冬瓜湯 – RM5.50). I thought it would be just a simple bowl of soup but I was wrong. The thick and aromatic bowl of soup contained lots of meaty pork ribs, red dates, dried mussels and winter melon cubes. I did not regret ordering this bowl of soup.

I was also lucky to try out their Double Boiled Beet Root Soup (地瓜湯 – RM5.50). I expected this bowl of soup to be purplish red as in a fresh beet root but I was wrong again. It has the color of a normal pork ribs based soup. There was nothing much in the bowl of soup except some chopped beet roots, meaty pork ribs and some dates but the soup has that special natural sweetness in it. This bowl of soup is believed to protect the liver, lower cholesterol, hypertension, blood pressures and so on. It can also be taken for general health. Hmmm… I should cook this soup at home too from time to time.

Overall, this would be a great place to dine in after you are bored with all those restaurant/hawker/fast food. After all, we should also have some healthy meals from time to time right?

It’s easy to find the stall as it is located at a corner lot of Perak Plaza, Jalan Perak. The easiest way to reach the place from town would be by using Jalan Macalister (as you would not be able to turn right from Jalan Dato Keramat). Drive all the way until you see the Jalan Macalister/Jalan Anson traffic lights (EON Automobile Showroom on your left). Turn left into Jalan Anson and drive all the way until you see the Jalan Anson/Jalan Perak T-junction traffic lights. Turn right into Jalan Perak and keep left. You can see the corner café immediately after a stretch of the General Hospital Officers’ residence on your left. Turn left into Jalan Lim Khoon Huat and park your car along the service road in front of the Perak Plaza.

Name: KIM HOOI SEAFOOD @ 2828 CAFE
Address: 56K, Perak Plaza, Jalan Perak, 10460 Penang, Malaysia.
Business Hours: 6.00pm-10.30pm (Closed Wednesday)
Contact: 012-498 8453 (Mr. Lo)
GPS: 5.416874, 100.316519

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)

A SEAFOOD EXPERIENCE AT SIONG HO

crizlai — Sun, 17 May 2009 20:05:37 +0000

Even before their signboard was up, I had paid umpteen visits to Siong Ho Fish Head Bee Hoon to savor some of their noodles and porridges. To show some appreciation to my frequent support, the boss, Mr. Teh (Ah Ho) had decided to throw in a small feast for a handful of us to try out all the seafood items he has in his café. Due to the choices of either clear or tom yam soup based dishes, just a few floggers had the privilege to get the invitation, namely myself, Steven, Gill & Jason, Buzzing Bee, NKOTB and Jian.

What was my reason for visiting this café for my noodles and porridges so frequently? It’s definitely not due to humid weather, the signs of feeling sick soon or my huge appetite for spicy food but the secret lied in the soup. The soup has a specific recipe of chicken bones, some hint of dried shrimps and some of their secret ingredients. Even the tom yam paste they used was from a reputable brand from overseas.

To start your meal, you would have 6 options to your bowl of hot steaming dish. You can either choose thin rice vermicelli (bee hoon), thick rice vermicelli (cho bee hoon), wheat flour vermicelli (mee suah), instant noodles (maggi mee), soya noodles (tao chiam) or porridge (moey).

Next would be your choice of main ingredients such as large white prawns, grouper fish head, grouper fillet, fried “kalak” fish head, fried “kalak” fish fillet, mud crabs, flower crabs, mantis prawns, squids or frog. Some of the main items here would depend on market availability as the boss would only accept fresh ones from his suppliers. I will also like to give a short description here on the fishes. The grouper fish (kerapu, 石斑魚) is one of the most sought after fish locally due to the fine texture in the flesh. It’s also one of the more expensive fish in the local market. The “kalak” fish (ibu kerisi or goldband jobfish) as it is more commonly known as locally is loved for the softness in flesh and less fishy taste. Most local western cuisine restaurants would use them fresh for fish and chips rather than the frozen dory fish.

You could also have some addons to your dish such as pork kidney, minced meat, meat balls, fish ball, quail’s eggs and dried bean curd.

To spice up your bowl of noodles, you might get some of these vegetables and herbs.

No dishes would be presentable minus the colors of some garnishing. You could expect some cut red chillies, chili paddy and a bottle of dried fried chopped garlic available on each table for your preferred intake.

Let’s start the ball rolling with the presentation of the first dish which was the Tom Yam Prawn Noodles (東炎蝦麵 – RM9-RM10 for 3 large prawns). This was served with instant noodles (Vit’s Mee to be exact). This dish had improved a lot since my last visit as the boss had taken steps to add in some tomato and abalone mushroom slices for the value-for-money bowl of noodles. The soup was thick and spicy enough for me with the fragrance coming from the added Kaffir lime leaves and mint leaves. The prawns were large and super fresh. It was a hit amongst us. Now you know why I love that brand of tom yam paste. Haha!

The next dish was the Fried “Kalak” Fish Head Noodles (炸魚頭清湯粗米粉 – RM6). It has many chunky pieces of fried goldband jobfish head served with thick rice vermicelli (bee hoon) in clear soup. This combination is one of the most favorite orders in the café. The sweetness in the soup and the freshness of the fish blended in real well.

Prawn Noodles in Clear Soup (大蝦清湯米粉 – RM9-RM10 for 3 large prawns) came up next. It came with the thinner type of rice vermicelli. I truly love this dish better compared to the earlier dish as the freshness and sweetness of the prawns brought out the best in taste in the bowl of soup. After all, better quality food sure cost almost double right? It’s really value for money considering the size of those fresh prawns.

We were then served with Squid Noodles (魷魚清湯麵 – RM6). This time, it was served with instant noodles. Although the squids were fresh and cooked just nice plus some with eggs (ooo.. the cholesterol level), the dish somehow tasted a bit bland due to the true nature of squids being tasteless. I would prefer them cooked with tom yam soup instead.

There’s nothing better than to have a bowl of hot steaming porridge served with fresh grouper fillet. That was what we had next – Grouper Fillet Porridge (石斑魚肉粥 – RM8/75gms). The texture of the porridge was just nice and combined with the freshness of the grouper fillet, it was delicious.

Another of their most sought after dishes would be the fresh Frog Porridge (田雞粥 -RM6/100gms). We had a large frog and this dish cost RM12. The flesh was smooth and tender as braised chicken meat. It was a delicious dish as well.

It was a surprise to me that the boss chose the largest crab he has for our next dish. The Crab Noodles (螃蟹清湯粗米粉 – RM5/100gms), which came with thick rice vermicelli (bee hoon) cost just RM10. The unique freshness and sweetness of the mud crab indeed proved this dish to be another favorite amongst us. You can also opt for the blue flower crab (RM5/100gms – if available). You would be even luckier if you can get to try out another species by the name of Charybdis feriatus (紅螃蟹). This species is quite rare in the local water and taste just as great as the blue flower crabs.

The Fried “Kalak” Fish Fillet Mee Suah (炸魚肉清湯麵綫 – RM6) also tasted great with the mee suah (wheat flour vermicelli) cooked just nice and not too soggy.

We were all quite full after gobbling down so many bowls of noodles and porridges when the boss decided to throw in another large bowl of Mixed Seafood Tom Yam Soup (RM17 based on the selection of ingredients) just for us. This dish was indeed a blessing to please our craving for more tom yam soup. There were lots of ingredients in it too with the availability of all the fish and meat balls, fried fish head and fillets, squids, pig kidney, etc without any trace of prawns. Can you guess the reason? The boss was so happy to see us that he forgot to add those in. He even showed me proof that he had without any intention left out the prawns. LOL! Anyway, the dish was good enough for our filled tummies. You can order this “only items based” soup if you crave for more delicious soup.

Here’s a rough summary of all the possible combination of ingredients and prices (either with noodles or porridge in clear soup or tom yam):
Grouper Fish Head: RM9
Grouper Fish Fillet: RM8
Prawns (3 pcs): RM9-RM10
Mud Crab/Flower Crab: RM5/100gms
Mantis Prawn: RM5/100gms
Frog: RM6/100gms
Fried “Kalak” Fillet/Fish Head: RM6
Minced Meat: RM4.50 – RM6
Miscellaneous items such as pork kidney, fish balls, meat balls and dried bean curd: RM3+ per item or combined

If you are coming from Prangin Mall along Jalan Dr. Lim Chwee Leong, drive straight pass the Lebuh Carnarvon traffic light. You will reach another traffic light (Lebuh Pantai). Drive straight again until you have reached the Weld Quay (Pengkalan Weld) traffic light. Turn left and drive on until you have reached the third left junction (Gat Lebuh Armenian). The stall is just within the Kedai Makanan dan Minuman CF. Turn left into Gat Lebuh Armenian and left again into Lebuh Victoria and you would see some parking spaces behind the coffee house for its patrons.

If you are coming from the ferry terminal, keep a watchful eye on the landmarks on your right, especially those Jetty signboards. You would pass by Lim Jetty (temple), Shell Petrol Kiosk, Chew Jetty (hawker area), Tan Jetty and you would see the coffee house by the name New Ocean (next to Pan Malaysia shop) directly opposite the Tan Jetty. There would be some parking spaces next to the coffee house for its patrons.

Name:
SIONG HO FISH HEAD NOODLES & PORRIDGE
@Kedai Makanan and Minuman New Ocean
Address: 116A, Pengkalan Weld (Weld Quay), 10300 Penang, Malaysia.
Opening Hours: 12.00noon-12.00 midnight
(Closed on 1st & 15th Day of Chinese Lunar Calendar)
Contact: 019-458 8693 (Mr. Teh/Ah Ho)
GPS: 5.41191,100.337319

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: 9/10 (1-4 bad, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)

SIONG HO FISH HEAD NOODLES AND PORRIDGE

crizlai — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 19:58:47 +0000

Note: Please refer to http://www.crizfood.com/1019/siongho/ for the update on the relocation of the stall effective 18 March 2010.

If you are thinking of having some fresh seafood noodles or porridge (especially during this humid and contagious flu and fever season), you can always head over to the newly open branch of Siong Ho Fish Head Bee Hoon (Sg. Tiram, next to Shell petrol kiosk Bayan Lepas) along Weld Quay, Georgetown, Penang. The owner, Mr. Teh (Ah Ho) had more than 20 years of experience in cooking up fresh seafood noodles and porridge just for you. If the ingredients were not fresh as it should, they will definitely not pass the regular QC check of the boss.

There are two types of soup you can choose from on top of the different arrays of seafood and meat. One would be the clear soup broth which was boiled with lots of chicken bones, dried shrimps with their secret recipe. The other would be a spicier choice with tom yam paste.

Firstly, you have 5 options for your bowl of hot steaming meal. You can either choose thin rice vermicelli (bee hoon), thick rice vermicelli (cho bee hoon), wheat flour vermicelli (mee sua), instant noodles (maggi mee) or porridge (moey).

The next step would be choosing your main ingredients such as large white prawns, grouper fish head, grouper fillet, fried bass fillet, minced meat, frog, pork kidney, meat balls, fish ball and dried bean curd. More ingredients such as crabs, squids and so on would be available at a later date.

One of the most sought after dish would be the fresh Frog Porridge (RM6/100gms). One look at the color of the skinless frogs, you will know that they are real fresh. Those frogs may look rather gross to some but their flesh can be as smooth and tender as chicken meat. That’s how the frogs got the name “Water Chicken” as in “水雞” in Chinese.

Here’s an inside peep at what are the other ingredients that they would use make each bowl of the dish delicious. The best part is that the meals served here are MSG free, thus you won’t feel thirsty after consuming.

Since this is a “pick & choose” what you like concept, the pricing might be different for each individual bowl of order. Basically, a bowl of minced pork related noodles/porridge would cost you as low as RM3.50 to “God knows how much you love seafood” type of order which would cost you tens of dollars. Just to be on a safe side for those budget food hunters, let me share some of the basic pricing with you.

Majority of patrons over there would order fried bass fillet meals. All types of noodles or porridge with only fried fish fillets with vegetables would cost you RM5 per bowl.

I managed to try out both the clear soup as well as the tom yam noodles. Let me share with you my experience on each bowl of the noodles. Firstly, it was the Tom Yam Bee Hoon without any fresh seafood. My bowl consisted of only fish balls, meat balls and dried bean curd together with bee hoon. It was priced at RM5. The color was fiery red but it was not chili hot at all for me. The soup was thick, sweet and tasty with the fragrance coming from the added Kaffir lime leaves and mint leaves but somehow it lacked some vegetables such as tomatoes, young corns or abalone mushrooms. I had suggested these additional items to the boss and hopefully he would have them during my next visit.

The next was my “pick & mix” items for my instant noodles with clear soup. I had picked fish balls, meat balls, dried bean curd with fresh grouper fillets. Although the bowl cost me RM10.50, it was worth the amount spent considering that there were a generous amount of grouper fillets inside the bowl. The taste of the soup was amazing. It has the sweetness from the fresh fish fillets with a hint of preserved vegetables (Dong Cai/冬菜 – salted dried cabbage with leeks and sea salt water). On top of the added ingredients, this bowl of noodles was rather fulfilling.

Here’s a rough summary of all the possible combination of ingredients and prices (either with noodles or porridge in clear soup or tom yam):
Grouper Fish Head: RM9
Grouper Fish Fillet: RM7.50
Prawns (3 pcs): RM8
Frog: RM6/100gms
Fried Bass Fillet/Fish Head: RM5
Minced Meat: RM3.50 – RM5
Miscellaneous items such as pork kidney, fish balls, meat balls and dried bean curd: RM3+ per item or combined

If you are coming from Prangin Mall along Jalan Dr. Lim Chwee Leong, drive straight pass the Lebuh Carnarvon traffic light. You will reach another traffic light (Lebuh Pantai). Drive straight again until you have reached the Weld Quay (Pengkalan Weld) traffic light. Turn left and drive on until you have reached the first left junction (Lebuh Melayu). The shop is just diagonally opposite the newly constructed building in brown color.

If you are coming from the ferry terminal, keep a watchful eye on the landmarks on your left, especially those Jetty signboards. You would pass by Lim Jetty (temple), Chew Jetty (hawker area), Tan Jetty (Xen Teck Café), Lee Jetty and Mixed Surname Jetty. Immediately after the Mixed Surname Jetty, slow down your car. The shop is just after signboard maker, Chuan Advertising and next to Chun Heng Auto Repair. You won’t miss it as the boss and his workers are all dressed in chef uniforms and cute Bermudas. You may find parking a bit hard along the heavy trafficked road as it’s the main road leading to the Jelutong Expressway/Penang Bridge. Try driving a bit further up to Yeoh Jetty. You should be able to see some open space there. If not, you have to drive a bit further up to Lebuhraya Merdeka where Ghee Seng Seafood Restaurant is located.

Name: SIONG HO FISH HEAD NOODLES AND PORRIDGE @ VILLAGE CAFE
Address: 107-A, Pengkalan Weld (Weld Quay), 10300 Penang, Malaysia.
Opening Hours: 12.00noon-11.30pm
Contact: 019-458 8693 (Mr. Teh/Ah Ho)
GPS: 5.411414, 100.336897

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: 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: 9/10 (1-4 bad, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)

EXPLORING INTO THE HEART OF KUALA JURU FISHING VILLAGE

crizlai — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 18:54:23 +0000

Ever since my adventurous trip to Pulau Aman to discover the wonderful and tasty Mee Udang (Prawn Noodles), I have been yearning for the similar dish, if not the best, which would be much nearer to Penang island. Eventually after much searching around, I found a place right within mainland Penang – Kuala Juru, the river mouth of Juru. Located next to Persatuan Nelayan Kawasan Seberang Perai Kuala Juru Jetty, lies a quiet and scenic restaurant by the name of Restoran Nelayan Kuala Juru. This place served fresh and delicious seafood dishes. Let me start by recommending the food here prior to introducing other aspects which also did amaze me.

Coming so far away from the island, I would surely try out their seafood dishes rather than the Malay cuisine which they do also serve. They have Mee Udang (Prawn Noodles) and Mee Ketam (Flower Crab Noodles). Instead of having a plate of both, I had the mixed version with two fresh large prawns and a flower crab in halves. All for RM6!!! That’s real cheap considering the size of the prawns and crab although the noodles were a bit too little for my consumption.

The broth with ingredients such as smashed garlic, chillies, cabbage, onion and a hint of tomato puree combined with the sweetness of the fresh seafood was superb. The prawns and flower crab were so fresh that I wanted to order more. I even bought home a few packets and my parents sipped everything until the last drop. You could imagine how delicious the noodles were. It’s a must try for all seafood noodle lovers.

Since I was still a bit full with the 5.30am Char Koay Teow breakfast, I managed to try out the second dish which was the Nasi Goreng Udang. Most stalls that I had been to would just fried rice with a few medium sized prawns. The way the restaurant served the dish was totally different. It came with a plate of fried rice which was quite normal to me but the spicy large prawns curry was a real surprise. It may look like it would be a fiery dish from the look of the color but it was not chili hot at all. The thick gravy which consist some freshly grounded spices was very appetizing to be taken with the fried rice. I have a feeling that they did add in some belacan (prawn paste) to have that fragrant and delicious taste. This set was also priced at RM6.

In case you might want to find out what else they have in this restaurant, you can click and enlarge the attached menu below.

**** UPDATED 15 MARCH 2009 ****

It was only during the 2nd visit to this restaurant did I know that the prawns used were neither green prawns nor tiger prawns. It was another species that I had never heard of or common in our wet markets. These prawns are called Udang Rotan (Cane Prawns as translated). They are the same family with the tiger prawns but with a harder shell. No matter what species they are, they sure tasted better than fresh water prawns.

On top of the above fried rice and noodles, we also tried out their Nasi Goreng Padprik (Padprik Fried Rice – RM4). The cook sure knew how to use the stove well as the fried rice has the required grainy texture and the high heat cooking was just right. The accompanied stir fry mixed vegetables with fresh squids in some spicy tomato gravy combined well with the fried rice. You should check this dish out.

**** END UPDATE ****

Although there are two more such restaurants at Sungai Sembilang and another three restaurants along Jalan Kuala Juru, I like this restaurant the most. Not only was I amazed by the great food and simplicity of the village folks, it’s also a heaven for nature photographers. You just won’t know what you would expect to find along your way to your gastronomic destination. I had seen a few stray otters playfully along the swampy area, a monitor lizard by the roadside, a Haliaeetus leucogaster (white bellied sea eagle) soaring the sky seeking its prey, a low flying stork, hungry looking stray cats and many other unique looking shell fish such as the Horseshoe Crab/King crab along the river banks.

One main type of shell fish that you would see here would be the cockles. Kuala Juru is one the many areas in Malaysia that harvests and processes cockles for distribution to the local markets. It was indeed an eye-opening experience to see how cockles were in their original state and the processes to get them clean. I managed to catch the whole action on camera and would like to share with you. As the cockles arrived in sampans, they had that dirty and muddy look mixed with lots of rubbish. After they had been put into a rotating machine that filters out the mud, tiny objects and other dead shells with a constant spray of clean water, they would end up at section where larger objects would be filtered out. Towards the end of the process, these cleaned cockles would be packed in large nylon sacks to be distributed to the local markets. The steps may look simple but it did involve a lot of manpower.

It would be easier to reach the restaurant if you know your way to Auto City. As you come to the Juru Interchange, you would pass through 3 traffic lights to reach Auto City. At the last traffic light at the T-junction (McDonald’s), turn left and drive all the way up Jalan Perusahaan/Jalan Tok Kangar until you have reach a traffic light at Jalan Juru (Map A), turn right into Jalan Juru (Juru Villa Show House) and drive all the way until the end. You would pass through a few sign boards of the district on your left namely Kampung Sekolah Juru (Map B), Bagan Nyior (Map C), and a sign board showing direction to Sungai Sembilang and Kuala Juru (Map D). At the T-junction (Map E), turn right and drive all the way to Kuala Juru (Map F). You would reach a playground not far away (Map G). Find a parking space there as the restaurant is just opposite the playground. You can click to enlarge the two maps below for a clearer direction.

Name: RESTORAN NELAYAN KUALA JURU
Address: Persatuan Nelayan Unit Kuala Juru, MK12, SPT, 14100 Bukit Mertajam, Penang, Malaysia.
Opening Hours: 12.00noon-11.00pm (Closed Tuesday)
Contact: 012-567 2423, 019-549 7134, 017-446 7194
GPS: 5.340084, 100.408500

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: 9/10 (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)

PULAU AMAN FLOATING RESTAURANT

Criz Lai — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 19:07:45 +0000

Please bear with me this time on the lengthy post as it involved traveling and trying out new food during a totally out of the way island hopping adventure trip. I was off exploring for great food again and this time it was an adventurous trip involving traveling by land and by sea. The destination was Pulau Aman, an island covering an area of 288 acres and is 25 nautical miles from the mainland just off the coast of Seberang Perai’s southern district of Penang, Malaysia. It’s quite a nice island to be on with affordable chalets. You could also book your lodging through KOPEL HomeStay Project or Ministry of Tourism HomeStay Project to stay with the locals and experience their daily lifestyles. There are many activities on Pulau Aman as well as nearby Pulau Gedung such as fishing, snorkeling, camping, hiking, jungle trekking, kayaking, canoeing, historic site visits or just a visit to the bullet warehouse plus the pirates’ cave. It’s truly a back-to-the-nature outdoor experience for those who won’t mind roughing it out in the wild.

A 10-15 minutes boat ride from the Batu Musang new jetty brought us to Pulau Aman where there existed the famous floating seafood restaurant. The seafood is real fresh as you can see fishermen bringing in all the live catch, which include varieties of shell fish, fish, flower crabs, prawns and mantis prawns. You can even try catching your own and get the restaurant to cook for you at minimal charges.

The only disadvantage of patronizing this restaurant is their limitation of food choices. There are only three choices of rice/noodles dishes for you to choose from. Each plate of rice or noodles would cost differently depending on the sizes of the fresh prawns given. It could be as low as RM5 and as high as RM10.

The first dish that arrived was the Prawn Noodle Soup (RM5.50). This was the best prawn noodles I had tasted so far. The soup base was slightly sweet but was rich in flavors with one fresh gigantic prawn, some slices cabbages and fried bean curd. The prawn was almost half the size of the plate of noodles. This is a must to have if you ever visit Pulau Aman. In fact, this dish is one of the most ordered in this restaurant.

The next was the Fried Prawn Noodle (RM5.50). The fried noodles were cooked in a different way compared to the Indian style fried noodles which was slightly drier. It has 3 medium sized prawns, some cabbages and bean curd slices, garnished with chopped spring onions and chillies. Somehow the Malay lady cook knew the combination of sauces real well. The dish was also superb.

Fried Rice with Large Prawns (RM5.50) was served next. I had frequent so many Malay styled hawker stalls and restaurants but normally found their fried rice to be a bit damp. This Malay lady cook surprised us with one of the best fried rice I had eaten. I could not had imagined how such an elderly lady would be able to provide us with a plate of wok hei (high heat cooking) filled fried rice full of flavors. Accompanied by 3 large and juicy prawns, I almost ordered a second round. Unfortunately, she was out of rice. What? At 1.10pm? She must have a great demand for the day.

Since we had almost an hour and a half left before the next boat leaved the island, we went for some sightseeing. It was quite an experience witnessing the lifestyle of the Malay villagers on the island. Although the villagers were living a simple life with basic necessities, they were filled with smiles and contentment. Children were seen playing along the trekking paths and by the semi mud filled beaches but they were seen to be very happy. Even the school and clinic available were such a small scale compared to how fortunate we were to be in the city. One thing which caught my attention was the stray animals on the island. There were barely a handful of dogs but cats could be seen everywhere even by the beaches.

Visiting a historic site on this island could be real taxing as every site seemed to be so far apart, although it did look near in the map provided on the sign board on the island. We were traveling almost a quarter of the island before we managed to find the Telaga Emas (Gold Well). History stated that a villager found some “gold” in the well. Eventually, those were discovered to be some colored stones. What amazed most of the visitors was that in it contained fresh, energizing and pure water. Although the well was dug just next to the sea, it did not contain any salt water taste in it.

Strolling within the fishing village, we noticed an abundance of a certain 20m trees. It has leaves almost similar to that of a papaya tree, fruits with texture similar to our cempedak and flesh as white and powdery as tapioca. The locals called them Buah Sukun (Breadfruits), a fruit native to the Malay Peninsula and western Pacific islands.

We happened to see a stall selling some fried chip-like food by the jetty and thought it was potatoes. As an adventurous foodie, I immediately bought a few packets of the fried chips home, after knowing that they were breadfruit chips. The taste was unique. It was like munching a cross breed of potato and tapioca chips with a hint of jackfruit flavor. After all, a pack was not expensive as it cost me only RM3.50 for a small one and RM5 for a big one. In fact, I bought 3 packets of the smaller ones for only RM10.

The nearest way to reach the island would be at Batu Musang Jetty (GPS: 5.265888, 100.406928), Batu Kawan, Seberang Perai (Butterworth). A trip from this new jetty at Batu Musang to the island would take about 10-15 minutes or at the Bukit Tambun jetty which would take about 30 minutes (Update: all transports had been redirected to Batu Musang Jetty unless there are some private operator available). If you find it rather taxing to drive all the way to Batu Kawan, you could always board a boat at Batu Uban or Batu Maung jetties but the charges would differ as it would be run by private operators. It would take about 45 minutes to reach the island. Going to the floating restaurant won’t be a problem after all as it’s at the old jetty which is next to the new berthing area. Please get a sea sick pill or a sea sick wrist band from the nearest pharmacy if you are sea sick prone. Just as a precaution, make sure you call up to ensure that the restaurant would be open on the day of your visit (although it’s supposed to be open daily) or you might just waste your effort visiting the island to try out their delicious food. Boat trip charges for return ticket would be RM6 per person (collected at Pulau Aman dock). Operating time would be 8am-7pm (Scheduled ride from Batu Musang: 10am/1pm/4pm/7pm. From Pulau Aman: 8am/1pm/3pm/6pm. There are more trips on weekends and holidays or if there are more passengers to and fro.)

As you come out from the toll plaza, you would reach a T-junction. Turn right and go over the overhead bridge towards Batu Kawan. Drive a few meters away and you would reach a cross junction. Turn left towards the Batu Kawan Stadium (There will be a signboard showing left towards the stadium. You would pass by the stadium on your left. Drive on until a roundabout. Drive towards your 12 o’clock (leading to Jeti Bandar Cassia) and go straight until you reach a turning on your left (no through road ahead). Turn left into the road (a quarry is on your left) and it would lead you to the Batu Musang Jetty. Take a 10-15 minutes boat ride to the floating restaurant.

Name: RESTORAN TERAPUNG PULAU AMAN
Address: 120 Pulau Aman, 14100 Simpang Ampat, Penang, Malaysia.
Contact: 016-495 5125, 019-476 6125
Opening Hours: 11.00pm-9.00pm (daily)
GPS: 5.268310, 100.391495

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

SUNSHINE BAY SEAFOOD RESTAURANT

Criz Lai — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 03:56:00 +0000

If you are not familiar with the dining places of Tanjung Bungah, you may just missed out this fine seafood restaurant there. From the front signboard “Kedai Kopi Sin Eng Huat”, it may look like another ordinary coffee shop but what lied within the premises is the Sunshine Bay Seafood Restaurant. Most people would just overlook this restaurant as it is out of convenience or not knowing that they do have a parking space behind.

Recently, I revisited the place with a friend. Instead of going for the usual noodles dishes that they have, we opted for dishes served with rice. The restaurant has many types of seafood available but their main specialties are steamed fish and baby stingray. Since there were only two of us, we chose their Spicy “Kam Heong” White Prawns (RM20 for 8 large prawns). The prawns were rather spicy with loads of big onion slices, curry leaves, curry paste and pounded dried shrimps. The dish was very appetizing except that I would prefer it to be a bit less oily.

The Green Beans (Or Kooi Tao) with Dried Shrimps (RM6) was served next. Some chopped onions and dried shrimps were fried in dark soy sauce and then stir fried with fried green beans. I love this dish as the green beans still maintained their crunchiness.

Next was the Royal Stout Fried Chicken (RM8). Choice pieces of chicken thigh meats were marinated well, fried and then cooked with some stout and ingredients. This dish is great. I won’t mind ordering this more next time. It tasted like spare ribs BBQ sauce but it has that unique taste that is rather hard to describe unless you try it out yourself. There’s no alcoholic taste in it at all. I guessed they might have used Royal rather then Guinness.

The last dish was their Homemade Tofu with Soy Sauce (RM8), garnished with chopped spring onions. The fried tofu was real soft and the soy sauce was not too salty. Everything blended in real well except that I found the dish to be overpriced. It’s ridiculous to charge this amount as there wasn’t even any meat in it.

Overall, I find the food here rather satisfying. By the way, they charged the rice separately but who would complain at 80sens each? Of course you won’t be charged any service or government tax in this type of environment too.

Going to the restaurant from town would be quite a headache as the place is on the other side of the road with a stone divider separating both sides. The easiest way would be driving along Jalan Tanjung Bungah towards Batu Ferringhi until you have reached the traffic lights of Jalan Permai (Vale of Temp). You can see Maybank at the corner shop lot. Drive on until you have reached another traffic light (about 30m away) and turn left into Jalan Chan Siew Teong to make a U-Turn. The restaurant is actually opposite Jalan Chan Siew Teong. When the traffic turns green, turn right and then left into a small lane next to the restaurant. There are ample parking spaces behind the restaurant. Alternatively, you can drive on after the traffic light and turn right into the Tanjung Bungah Floating Mosque to make a U-Turn. Be careful to watch out for oncoming vehicles. You can also park your car in Restoran Khaleel (next to the restaurant) but be prepared to pay RM2 as parking fees.

Name: SUNSHINE BAY SEAFOOD RESTAURANT
Address: 569-B, Jalan Tanjung Bungah, 11200 Penang, Malaysia.
Opening Hours: 6.30pm – 10.30pm (Closed Tuesday)
Contact: 012-473 7276, 016-468 9168
GPS: 5.466144, 100.279989

BAD MEMORY OR GREAT FOOD?

Criz Lai — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 04:04:00 +0000

There I was writing about remembering my childhood days and here I am experiencing the scary signs of growing old gracefully. Do you know what would be the worst nightmare for a food blogger? It is either all the photos turned out to be over exposed, under exposed, and blur or forgetting to take a snap shot of the food that was served to them on the table. Sometimes, it could also be due to the fact that certain owners disallowed taking shots within the premises. My nightmare was none of the above as I got even worst! I forgot to take a snapshot of one of the dishes I cooked last night. Arggh!! Haiz… I think it’s time for me to get some Gingko Bibola to rejuvenate my brain cells.

After having spent so much on restaurants food these few days, I had decided to spend some time in the kitchen to cook some simple meals. Since it was a meal for four, I cooked some cans of rice with some herbs and spices and fried with some butter, eggs, raisins, roasted chicken meat chunks and garnished with fried onions. Bingo! I had my Buttered Roasted Chicken Fried Rice. There’s the BUT here! I forgot to take a shot of this dish. I guessed somehow with the migraine medication I was taking, it made me kind of a blur king. LOL! Anyway, not even one grain of rice was left in the pot. It must have been real good then.

As for the side dishes, I came out with Deep Fried Prawn Paste Squids (Fried Belacan Sotong). This is a simple yet mouth-watering dish that can be taken with either Thai Chili Sauce or Mayonnaise.

The recipe is rather easy. Here are the ingredients needed.

Ingredient:
One box 100gms Nona All Purpose Seasoned Flour (Prawn Shrimp Recipe)
Some pepper
2 Tspn sesame oil
Oil
250gms squids (clean and cut into rings)

Method:

Drain the excess water from the squid. Sprinkle some pepper and add in the sesame oil. Mix thoroughly.
Add in the prawn shrimp flour gradually until all the squids get mixed well. Put in a bit of water to make it into a batter like mixture. Add in a teaspoon of oil and mix thoroughly.
Heat up some oil in a wok. Lower the fire to medium when it is hot. Scoop the ringed squid pieces by pieces with a spoon and slowly put it into the wok. BEWARE! The oil might explode everywhere due to the little amount of water added earlier. You might want to consider laying some used newspaper on the floor. When the squids become golden brown, take them out and put onto a plate laid with kitchen towel to drain the excess oil.
Transfer the cooked squids onto a plate and you are ready to serve.

(Serve: 3-4)

Note: Try frying a piece first to taste the saltiness as some brands of flour do not have salt in the content. If not enough, drip some soy sauce into the batter.

Since both of the dishes were fried dishes, I decided to have another dish with gravy base. Let me introduce you to my Broiled Cabbage with Steamed Meatballs. This is another simple and yet delicious recipe that my demised grandmother used to cook for us.

Ingredients:
300gms minced meat
100gms minced prawns
250gms cabbage (wash and cut into 2” x 2”)
2 Tspn oyster sauce
I tspn Worchester sauce
3 tspn sesame oil
Some pepper
Pinch of salt
5 Tspn corn flour (3 Tspn mixed with water for gravy)
Young ginger (3 slices in strips)
Carrot (6 slices chopped & 6 slices in strips)
Some chopped garlic
2 bowls water (70gms)
Oil
Chinese mushrooms (optional – soak and cut into small cubes)

Method:

Mix thoroughly the minced meat and prawns in a big bowl with one Tablespoon oyster sauce, one teaspoon Worchester sauce, 2 teaspoons sesame oil, chopped carrots, 2 Tablespoon corn flour, some pepper, and a pinch of salt.
Line a big metal plate with some oil. Use a Tablespoon / Porcelain Spoon to scoop the mixture onto the plate. Steam the meatballs under medium fire for 10-15 minutes. Leave aside.
Heat up a wok with 2 Tablespoon of oil and sauté some chopped garlic under medium fire. When the garlic turned a bit brown, put in the ginger strips and stir for awhile. Put in the cabbage and stir fry for 5 minutes. Add in 1 teaspoon sesame oil, 1 Tablespoon oyster sauce and sprinkle some pepper and salt. Stir evenly. When the cabbage looked cook, put in 2 bowls of boiled water. Let the cabbage cook until all turned soft. Add in the strips of carrot. Stir evenly. Bring to boil and add in the remaining corn flour mixture slowly to thicken the soup.
Put in the steamed meatballs and let it simmer for 5 minutes.
Scoop onto a bowl and serve with rice while it is hot.

(Serve 4-6)

SIN HONG KEE SEAFOOD

Criz Lai — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 09:30:00 +0000

If you like to have lots of seafood dishes at an affordable price, you should make a visit to this small restaurant along Weld Quay area. The food served here are quite nice as they are neither too oily nor over flavored as most of the restaurant along that area. I visited that place not long ago with a friend of mine.

We ordered a bowl of Seaweed Soup (RM4) with lots of fish balls and meat in it. Not bad for the taste except that I find it a bit oily on the surface.

Next on the list was my personal request to the chef – Fried Bean Sprouts (Taugeh) and Pea Sprouts (Dou Miao) with Salted Fish (RM5). The chef did even better than I expected as he added some juicy mushroom slices in the dish. The dish was just nice with the correct amount of crunchy salted fish added.

The Iron Plate Tofu with Minced Pork (RM6) followed. This restaurant presented it in a different way as they laid the base of the hot plate with eggs before putting in the tofu and minced meat on top. Most restaurants would just knock an egg on top of the hot steaming dish before serving.

The best of the rest came last. We were served seven juicy and big Spicy Buttered Egg Prawns (RM19) and that got our appetite to boost up further. What I like about this dish is that the prawns were real fresh and the slightly sweet buttered egg was real crunchy. Most of all, the dish was not too oily and the amount of curry leaves and butter used in the dish were combined well.

Overall we spent RM40.20 on the food which was inclusive of rice (RM2.40) and drinks (RM3.80). If you are driving from the ferry terminal towards the Jelutong Expressway, the restaurant is just before the Shell petrol kiosk on your left. Do watch out carefully as they have yet to replace their signboard after it was spoiled by a heavy and windy rainfall.

Name: SIN HONG KEE SEAFOOD
Address: 8 Weld Quay, 10300 Penang, Malaysia.
Contact: 604-263 5231
Opening Hours: 5.30pm – 11.30pm (Closed Tuesday)
GPS: 5.413372, 100.340570

KIM MAOU CAFE

Criz Lai — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 11:37:00 +0000

I just read about What2See’s review on the all the nice places to eat along Lebuh Cintra but he missed out one nice hawker shop along the way. He was not the first one too as the shop which sells Fried Hor Fun looked just like any other hawker stalls in Penang. Unless the person resides within the town area, he or she would have overlooked the small stall hidden at the corner of the old coffee shop.

My friend and I paid a visit to the shop not long ago, although I had frequent the stall for takeaways all the time. We ordered a large Fried Hor Fun (RM6) with lots of freshly fried grouper meat and also a normal sized Fried Ee Foo Mee (RM4) with big fresh succulent prawns. Although the portions served were quite small, the tastes were wonderful. What mattered most was the freshness of the seafood used at the stall. In fact, majority of the patrons there would order their Snakehead Fish Rice Vermicelli Soup (Lay Hoo Bee Hoon Th’ng). If you happen to be around that area, do drop by to try them out. Here are the two dishes which we had ordered.

You won’t miss the shop as it is at the junction of Lorong Kampung Malabar and Lebuh Cintra. In fact the stall is the row as the famous Rice Dumpling (Bak Chang) shop. Although the shop is located at the heavy traffic area, you can easily find ample parking space along Lorong Kampung Malabar.

Name: KIM MAOU CAFE
Address: Lebuh Cintra, 10200 Penang, Malaysia.
Opening Hours: 5.30pm – 10.30pm
GPS: 5.418497, 100.333672

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

KRISTAL SEAFOOD CAFE

Criz Lai — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 21:08:00 +0000

Where would you go for some hot steaming homecooked food after working late in the office or had just arrived from a long tiring trip from outstation? Most of the time you would just end up at Mamak stalls or McDonald’s to grab your meals as majority of the good restaurants and famous hawker stalls would be closed by then. Well, I had that experience myself as I had late dinner dates with a few friends of mine. By the time they have finished their work (especially those from malls) and refreshed themselves, it would be almost 11.00pm at night.

You might get some stalls still selling rice/porridge but their food were precooked and left on the warmer for hours. What I needed was some freshly cooked dishes with rice. I have searched for this type of service all over Penang and managed to find barely a handful scattered at different districts of the state. One of the coffee shops worth mentioning would be the Kedai Kopi Kristal Seafood located right in the heart of Pulau Tikus. Not only do they serve their customers right until 2.00am, they also provide delivery services right to your doorsteps. What impressed me most was their internet/WIFI ready access in their shop as this extra service is extremely rare in Penang coffee shops.

The charges for the food here can be considered reasonable with a meat/vegetable dish in the range of RM6, RM8 and RM10 whereas seafood dishes would be RM10 and above based on the market rate. My friend and I spent barely RM32 on the food and drinks, not forgetting the extra helping of rice we had ordered. It was a waste that there were just the two of us. If there were more, we would have tried out their impressive arrays of steamed fish and spicy prawns. Here were the basic dishes that we had ordered.

HONEY CHICKEN (RM8)

FRIED JAPANESE TOFU WITH PACIFIC CLAMS (RM8)

FOO YONG TAN (RM6)

PRESTEAM RADISH SOUP (RM5)

I did also find out that there was another room upstairs with air-conditioning and KTV that can cater for a small gathering of 50 persons or more. It is real easy to find the shop as it is situated along the main road. Just refer to the map below for directions.

Name: KEDAI KOPI KRISTAL SEAFOOD
Address: 224-B Jalan Burmah, 10350 Penang, Malaysia.
Tel: 604-227 2218, 012-438 3962, 016-445 6882 (Mr. Y.K. Lim)
Opening Hours: 4.30pm – 1.45am
GPS: 5.430064, 100.313351

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

HOCK LYE SEAFOOD VILLAGE

Criz Lai — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 11:34:00 +0000

Whenever we thought of having seafood by the beach, we would always think of Teluk Bahang, Batu Ferringhi, Tanjung Bungah, Gurney Drive, Gertak Sanggul, Batu Maung without knowing that there is another shop right in the heart of Georgetown overseeing Penang Bridge. Hock Lye Seafood Village has been operating their present shop for almost one and a half years and many Penangites do not even know that it even existed.

My friend and I decided to drop by the place after seeing the roof sign many times as we were using the Jelutong Expressway towards Penang Bridge. The restaurant is actually hidden behind some shoplots / flats within the Gat Macallum Street area. Although the restaurant specialized in seafood dishes, we only managed to order a few mixed dishes to be taken with rice. There were also many varieties of noodles served.

The first dish that came was the Thai Style Homemade Tofu (RM8). This is a must to try as the tofu was real smooth accompanied by lots of dried shrimps, cili padi, onions and mint leaves.

Next was some Spicy Deep Fried Squids (RM8). It came with a saucer of mayonnaise. Common but it was great!

Golden Fragrant Chicken (RM8) followed next. Chunky pieces of chicken meat were dipped in frying flour and stir fried with lots of curry leaves and mayonnaise. It tasted crunchy and nice. I would recommend that the dish be eaten fast as it will become soggy after too long.

The much awaited Cereal Buttered Prawns (RM20) finally came. Eight big prawns cooked perfectly to our liking and they were real generous with the amount of cereal given.

Overall, the food were good and we paid RM50 for the dishes, 4 bowls of rice and 3 glasses of their Homecooked Lo Han Guo drinks. I was surprised to find out that they do also serve lunch from 11.30am until 2.30pm daily. Next visit, I would try out their meat crabs as I saw almost all the tables ordered that. The crab must be good.

Just remember that the restaurant is behind some shoplots within the Macallum Street Flats area by following the map I have drawn out. Do enjoy your experiences there.

Name: HOCK LYE SEAFOOD VILLAGE
Address: 130A, Jalan C. Y. Choy, Bridge Street Foreshore, 10300 Penang, Malaysia.
Tel: 604-262 7524, 012-525 1874
Opening Hours: 11.30am – 2.30pm 5.30pm – 10.30pm
GPS: 5.404451, 100.330689

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

KOPITIAM SOON LEE

Criz Lai — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 08:02:00 +0000

As you know, I was down in Selangor for a few days and I was brought by the boss/cook of Restoran Goh Teo Kee (Pg) to one of the best seafood restaurants that I have ever been to. I must admit that the food there tasted even better than most seafood restaurants in Penang. Kopitiam Soon Lee is just located a few minutes’ drive away from Mines Shopping Fair / Mines Wonderland / MIECC. The success for this restaurant lies in their secret sambal (chili paste) recipe.

Seven of us went and we ordered 6 dishes which comprised of Grilled Lamb Chop, Spicy Stir Fried Squids and Clams, Steamed Chicken with Ginger and Dong Quai, Grilled Sting Ray and Stir Fry Brussel Sprouts. In fact, the squids tasted so fresh and tender that we ordered another plate. I would highly recommend this Spicy Stir Fried Squids dish.

With the amount of food, the price paid can be considered real cheap. Here are the breakdowns of the total cost for the meal (RM144.30 including rice and drinks) for 7 persons. Grill Sting Ray (RM19), Steam Chicken with Ginger and Dong Quai (Chinese Angelica or Female Ginseng) (RM26), Spicy Stir Fry Squid (RM15 x 2), Spicy Stir Fry Clams (RM15), Grilled Lamb Chop (RM15), Stir Fry Brussel Sprouts (RM10) and 5% Government Tax.

The super nice shop is located about 5 minutes drive away from Mines Shopping Fair. Just follow the map towards Seri Kembangan and you will not get lost. Your effort in finding the place will surely be rewarded with the best seafood in Seri Kembangan.

Name: KOPITIAM SOON LEE
Address:
No.21-1, Jalan SP 2/1, Serdang Perdana,
43300 Seri Kembangan, Selangor, Malaysia.
Tel: 603-8941 5144
Opening Hours: 10.00am – 1.00am (Closed Tuesday)
GPS: 3.032387, 101.707853

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: 9/10 (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)

SEAFOOD FETTUCCINE PASTA RECIPE

Criz Lai — Sun, 17 Feb 2008 01:55:00 +0000

If you are planning to invite a small group of friends back for dinner, you might want to impress them with some pasta dishes. Here is one good recipe which most people would like to have. They will sure like the Seafood Fettuccine dish that you had prepared.

INGREDIENTS:
2 tins Campbell Mushroom Soup (420gms + 300gms)
½ tin Evaporated Milk
1 tin button mushroom (thinly sliced)
2 big onions (chopped)
2 big tomatoes (cut into cubes)
500gms frozen Dory fish (cut into small cubes)
500gms peeled prawns
300gms squid (cut into rings)
1 stalk of celery (chopped)
2 pkt fettuccine pasta (500gms)
2 small cans of water (600gms)
Some black pepper
Some Italian Mixed Herbs
Pinch of salt and sugar

MARINATE (15 MINS):
prawns – some soya sauce, sesame seed oil, pepper and pinch of sugar
squids – some soya sauce, pepper and sesame oil
fish – some soya sauce, pepper and sesame oil

METHOD OF COOKING:
1.Boil a big pot of water with a teaspoon of salt. Put in the pasta and cook until soft according to the instructions given on the packaging. Drain the water and then mixed with some margarine/olive oil.
2.Stir fry all the marinated seafood individually and put aside to be used later.
3.Put 3 Tablespoon oil into a wok. Put in the chopped onions. When it’s cooked, put in the tomatoes and stir fry for 5 minutes.
4.Put in the canned mushroom soups. Stir awhile and then add in the evaporated milk and water. Bring to boil.
5.Put in the boiled carrots, mushroom slices and celery. Bring to boil.
6.Sprinkle some mixed herbs and black pepper
7.Put in the cooked seafood and stir well.
8.Add in salt and sugar to taste
9.You are ready to serve.
10.Put the cooked pasta into a flat plate and put some sauce on it.
11.Garnish with some herbs and celery leaves.

(Serves: 8-10)

Note: Use a packet of pasta if you do not want to have so much. You can keep the rest of the sauce in the cooler to be reheated the next day.

YOU CAN CHECK HERE FOR MORE RECIPES.