CRIZ BON APPETITE

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)

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: 11.00am-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)

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

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)

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.

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:

1. Drain the excess water from the squid. Sprinkle some pepper and add in the sesame oil. Mix thoroughly.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.

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

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

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)

HONEY CHICKEN (RM8)

FRIED JAPANESE TOFU WITH PACIFIC CLAMS (RM8)

FOO YONG TAN (RM6)

PRESTEAM RADISH SOUP (RM5)

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)

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)

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)

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.