CRIZ BON APPETITE

More than two years of food blogging was nothing to brag about. In fact, it’s not the experience that I had acquired through time that pushed me to withstand the pressure and pleasure to get the best detail on the greatest places for dining. It’s the support and encouragement from you, my fellow floggers and readers. The friendship, the communication, the interpersonal skills and most of all the mini gatherings and reviews we had together indeed fostered our relationships even closer. We are like a big family now and hope to remain so for years to come. Even the responses and comments from readers (although I saw quite a large number of silent stalkers :P) surely kept Criz Bon Appetite moving even more diligently to bring the best place to eat to you. One thing I have noticed, Penangites are always in search of great food. It’s even obvious when it’s free as I had posted up in my anniversary giveaway. Within a mere two weeks, almost RM3,000 of free food vouchers had been sent out through snail mails from Northern up to Central Malaysia.

Well, don’t thank me for that. I’m only the postman. If not for the wonderful sponsors who wished to share out the best there are in Penang/Butterworth, you won’t have the privilege to try out their wonderful culinary skills. Let’s officially thank them for promoting Penang’s best to the dining community. They are Fun Tea Garden Dim Sum, Ki Xiang Klang Bak Kut Teh, Village Café Tom Yam Fish Head Noodles, I Mum Mum Pan Mee, Ivy’s Kitchen Nyonya Cuisine, Kowloon Hainan Chicken Rice and Magazine Road Tang Yuan. Let’s hope there would be more sponsors around next year since there were some late requests during the end of the project. I sincerely hope that those who had received their free vouchers had a great dining experience. 🙂

Last Friday night was the ending of the giveaways and saw a memorable anniversary celebration for close friends and floggers at Fun Tea Garden for the “eat-until-you-drop” dim sum and noodles party. Everyone was indeed stuffed until the brim by trying out almost everything from the restaurant. Well, that’s another few inches to the waistline. LOL! In fact, the whole atmosphere was filled with the laughs of the wackiest floggers and shutterbugs around town. Jokes can be heard at every table while ghost stories at another. I hope Steven Goh did not have bad dreams that night for the story telling. Haha! It was indeed a fun filling event for many including our new flogger-to-be in town, Lay Min and friend, Kok Ann, who drove all the way from Butterworth to attend this function. You would be surprised that the oldies and the newbies can click really well that night. Won’t it be great if we were to have more of such happy moments? Gals and guys… plan more in 2010! Hehe!

Since I was the host for the night, shooting great shots was quite impossible. Why not let the rest of the attendees show you how great the food was that night? Here’s a glimpse of some of the food we had.

The celebration ended with a large anniversary Marble Cheese Cake from Jenni Homemade Cakes, courtesy of Carrie, Mary and CW Chan. It was a bonus for all of us and also a few more pounds gained. Haha!

Here’s the group photo of the attendees with the boss of Fun Tea Garden, Mr. Danny, courtesy of CW Chan who has also bought a new RM3.1K Lumix camera on that night to provide better shots for his readers in the future. Thanks for de“virgin”ized your camera for that night. LOL!

Not in photo: NKOTB & hubby

ATTENDEES:
Criz Lai
Alan & Amanda
NKOTB & hubby
Little Inbox & hubby
Eunice, Siew Ying & Kelvin
Lay Min & Kok Ann
Jason & Gill
CW Chan
Steven Goh
Mary Teo
Carrie Soon
Jian Ming

Note: This place has ceased operation in mid 2010.

Most of the time, major hotels within the Pearl of Island, Penang, would only hold buffet during weekends and special occasions. With the opening of Hardwicke House BBQ & Buffet Restaurant barely few months back, you can now have the opportunity to have buffet any day during lunch and dinner.

What is the difference between the food served at Hardwicke House and hotels? Well, practically none. Both of them have the same style of serving dishes from appetizers, salads, meat dishes to desserts but Hardwicke excels one step ahead with the availability of fresh seafood and meat grill DAILY for dinners at RM38++ per pax. Lunch would be at RM18++ minus the grill menus. Let us have a peek at what style of food would be available on a typical dinner evening.

As starters, we had Cream of Asparagus with some dinner rolls accompanied with butter cubes and some jars of crispy papadam and some crackers.

The salad section was quite impressive. Other than the usual salad greens, there were also some corn kernels, kidney beans, cherry tomatoes, button mushrooms, olives, raisins, cherries, pea sprouts (豆苗,dou miao) and swirl pasta for us to mix and match to our own liking. As for dressing, there were quite many choices such as mayonnaise, creamy French, vinaigrette, coleslaw, creamy Italian, thousand island and of course some mustard too.

The main buffet spread for the night consisted mainly of some local, Indian and Western cuisines. We had fried rice, fried noodles, cabbage poriel, brinjal sambal, dhal, lamb rogan josh, chicken curry, roast beef, baked cured salmon with cheese, chicken lor bak (chicken rolls), crispy Vietnam prawn roll and spaghetti and beef Bolognese sauce. This was not a bad spread for those lamb and beef lovers.

As for the grill section which would only be available for those dinner patrons, the options would be more. There would be roast lamb leg, steaks, sausages, prawns, squids, fish, clams and of course there would also be tandoori chicken. You can also choose what you want as side dishes such as mash potatoes, baby carrots and corn kernels. On top of that, you can choose whichever gravy you would like to have such as BBQ sauce, mushroom sauce or even black pepper sauce.

Sweet tooth lovers would surely love their desserts section. On top of their many options such as homemade cakes, tarts, mousse, jelly, fruits, brewed coffee and tea, there are also many flavors of ice cream with your choice of toppings such as strawberry, caramel and chocolate.

If you think the beverages would not have the “boost” to energize you, there’s always the option to order some good old hot cup of “special” coffee. Of course these would not be covered under the buffet menu. They have Guatemala SHB Arabia, Kenia AA Arabia, Java WIB Robusta, Costarica Arabia SHB, Espresso Coffee Pod “Oro”, Decaffeinated Espresso Coffee Pod “Oro” to give you your favorite Espresso, Ice Berg, Regular Black, Cappucino, Flat White or even just a Latte.

Some people might want to have some wine to go with the meal. There would be many unique and established brand of wine for you to choose from the wine house. Some of the recommended would be the Friulvini Verduzzo IGT, a straw yellow colored wine with a pleasantly, amiable, slightly acidulous and full bodied which had a hint of fruity taste. This would go well with confectionery, salads and fruits. The next would be the Chilean Terranoble Sauvignon Blanc 2005. This slightly yellowish colored wine would be fresh, dry and well balanced for your consumption. It would be ideal to go with fish and seafood. There would also be the New Zealand produced Schubert Hardwicke Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2002, the deeply red colored wine would exhibit an intense nose of blackberries, plum, chocolate with notes of walnut and spice. This red wine would be great with your meaty meals.

There are many ongoing promotions from Hardwicke House this festive season. You might want to click and enlarge the photo below to view more on their December-January promotion.

For Christmas, check out their Christmas promotion too. It’s best that you call up to reserve your table to avoid disappointment.

If you are coming from town along Jalan Burma, drive all the way until you see a “Y” junction. Left would lead you to Pulau Tikus. Right would lead you to Gurney Drive. Turn left into Jalan Pangkor (keep to your right). Immediately after you see Gleneagles Medical Centre on your right, slow down. Turn right into the service road and you would see a purplish building (Northam Tower). Hardwicke House is just in front of the building. You would not miss the white colored colonial architectural building.

Name: HARDWICKE HOUSE BBQ & BUFFET RESTAURANT
Address: 67 Jalan Sultan Ahmad Shah, 10050 Penang, West Malaysia.
Business Hours: 12.00noon-2.30pm (lunch), 7.00pm-10.30pm (dinner)
Contact: 604-226 4998
GPS: 5.427643, 100.320806

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

There are so many hidden areas in Georgetown with many wonderful evening snacks and most of the time these little stalls by the roadside would go unnoticed by many. One such stall would be a little Laksa stall manned by a Chinese mother and her son along Cecil Street Ghaut (Gat Lebuh Cecil).

For those who love the sourness and sweetness of this version of Assam Laksa, this would be the right place. The Assam Laksa (RM2.20) here did not have the strong taste of tamarind (assam) but instead it had stronger blended pineapple sourness with some hints of Kaffir lime leaves. The color of the soup might not be as dark as others but it has the right sourness and sweetness for those people who like sourness in their food. With a spoonful or two of shrimp paste (hae ko), this bowl of Laksa would be enough to woo many ladies. 😛

What caught my attention most was not the Laksa but the little savory snacks the stall had. The rows of big sized golden colored Spring Rolls were tasty and crunchy. The secret… handmade poh piah skins instead of those frozen ones which can be found easily in supermarkets. Moreover, the simple filling of shredded jicama, carrot and sliced French beans gave the spring rolls the necessary original sweetness. It’s only 80sen each. It’s darn cheap, right? On top of that, you can just ask for some Laksa soup to dip these delicious snacks.

Another of the tasty product from the stall would be the Prawn & Bean Curd Fritter (also cheap at 80sen each). Normally, you would get fritters either with prawns or bean curd but here the lady combined both. Each flat but large sized and crunchy fritter contained bean sprouts, peeled white prawns, cubed bean curds, fried in an Indian like masala reddish colored flour. I prefer this version here compared to the Tan Jetty Prawn Fritters as I did have pesky little prawn skins and heads poking into my gums. A piece or two of the spring rolls plus a piece of the fritter plus a small bowl of dipping Laksa soup were enough to bloat my tummy up.

If you think the above two items would be a bit too much for your tea time, then you can opt for the Fried Chicken Wings (90sen for wing/drumlet). If your timing is good, you might even get hot, crispy and well marinated chicken to keep you drooling for more.

Other than those mentioned above, there would also be some crispy flour coated Fried Prawn Ball (3 for RM1) and Stuffed Crabsticks (60sen each). The Stuffed Crabstick would have some mayonnaise, a slice of sausage, crabstick, coated with Pato breadcrumbs and deep fried until golden.

You can have your little evening snacks served with chili sauce but it was too plain for me. I preferred mine dipped in Laksa soup. It’s free anyway with the fritters.

There are a lot of evening stalls selling snacks over here such as rojak, cold desserts, local kuih, mua chee, nasi lemak, curry puff and banana fritters sold here in the evening. The best time to pay a visit would be after 2.00pm each day.

Finding the Laksa stall would be real easy. As you are moving your way towards the Jelutong Expressway from Weld Quay, you would come to a traffic light (Weld Quay/Gat Lebuh Macallum). Immediately after the traffic light, you would see another traffic light (Weld Quay/Gat Lebuh Cecil). Turn left into Gat Lebuh Cecil and you would see the stall on your left at the junction of Gat Lebuh Cecil 1.

Name: CECIL STREET GHAUT LAKSA & FRITTERS
Address: Gat Lebuh Cecil, 10300 Penang, West Malaysia.
Business Hours: 1.30pm-6.00pm (Closed Monday)
Contact: 016-498 6018 (Ah Boy)
GPS: 5.406025, 100.332189

RATING:
Ambience: 5/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 classy)
Food Choices: 6/10 (1-4 limited, 5-7 average, 8-10 many choices)
Taste: 7.5/10 (1-4 tasteless, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)
Pricing: 4/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 expensive)
Service: 8/10 (1-4 bad, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)

Finally, a group of us floggers managed to attend the first Penang flogger’s wedding reception. Who could that be? It was none other than our beloved Steven Goh tying the knot with his beautiful wife, Kim Peng. The memorable event was held at The Forum Chinese Cuisine on 5 December 2009. Let us all wish the couple happy and prosperous days ahead with lots of bubbly “tiger” babies. Next year is the Year of the Metal Tiger in the Chinese Lunar Calendar and based on the Chinese Zodiac, such tigers are said to be lucky, lively and engaging with courageous attributes to protect his family against many evils. The Metal element gives the 2010 born tigers their sharpness in action and speed of thoughts, which would likely make them stand out in a crowd. With an inspiring assertiveness and competitive demeanor, they determine their goals and then do anything necessary to achieve them. Well Steven, you should know your 2010 planning now right? LOL!

Anyway, let us go right into food now as when there are floggers around food would be the main news. Hehe! Although there was a minor hiccup by the management of the restaurant in the serving of the dishes, it did not spoil the moods of the occasion. We had Braised Shark’s Fin Soup with Dried Scallops & Crab Meat served first. It was just a normal wedding banquet type of serving but what caught my attention was the usage of “glass noodle texture-like” shark’s fin and surimi (crab sticks). I guessed many sharks and decapod crustaceans were spared in this eco-friendly dish. LOL!

Next was the Deluxe Hot & Cold Dish Combination which consisted of hot steaming crystal skin “money bag” dumplings, stir fried prawns with cashew nuts and bell peppers, Minced pork and waxed sausage rolls and minced pork cutlet in plum sauce which tasted somewhat like our local “bak kua” minus the red rose wine flavor and coloring. It was an interesting combination.

Braised Chicken with Chest Nuts wrapped in Aluminum Foil followed. Although the roasted chicken was a bit bland in taste due to over steaming, the tender meat went well with the stuffing of chest nuts, mushrooms, waxed sausages and carrots with some mild seasonings. The best part lied in the gravy where it had a rich and flavorful chicken essence.

When it came to giving fresh and succulent large prawns, the restaurant had its best. The Deep Fried Prawns coated with Oats & Crispy Minced Egg was perfect. Some of us were caught savoring the delicious condiments instead.

We were then served with Stewed Assorted Mushroom with Broccoli in Oyster Sauce. Other than broccoli, straw mushrooms and Chinese mushrooms, there were another thinly sliced abalone-like texture ingredient. We were not too sure what that was but to me it tasted more like an edible sea snail meat.

As for the Steamed Grouper Fish “Teow Chew” Style, it was just a normal serving due to the mass production. Somehow ours was sort of “handicapped” (from the sign of the tilted head) and overcooked. The fish lost the firmness in texture. Moreover, a touch of more pickled sour plums and Shao Xing wine would make the dish more tasteful.

Steamed Lotus Leaf Rice with Waxed Sausage was served next. Simple as it may look, each grain of rice was well flavored with the taste from the lotus leaves.

The last course was of course dessert. We were served with Sweetened Honeydew Melon Cream with Sago. I suspected the cream came in powder form as the coloring was somewhat artificial. I surely preferred something more natural like blended honeydew instead.

Other than the free flowing wine, beer and cordial, we were each presented some gift by the couple – a piece of fruit cake and a silky pouch filled with a pair of heart-shape lollipops. From my observation, this memento pleased many of the guests. The elderly were happy with a little something to keep their coins, whereas the younger ones were happy with something to share with their friends and partner-to-be. After all, wedding is all about sharing the love together for eternity.

To Steven & Janice…
Your happiness begins
With your wonderful wedding day.
You’ll share everything together;
Through it all, your love will stay.
Congratulations to you,
As you begin your happy life.
May all good things be yours,
As new husband and new wife.

For those who had missed the memorable event, here’s a short video of the couple walking down the aisle.

The Forum Chinese Cuisine is located at Level 3 within Island Plaza, Penang. It won’t be hard to find the way as it’s just along Jalan Tanjung Tokong on your right.

Name: THE FORUM CHINESE CUISINE @ ISLAND PLAZA
Address: 803-01, 3rd Floor, Island Plaza, 118 Jalan Tokong, 10470 Penang.
Business Hours:
11.30am-3.00pm, 6.30pm-10.00pm (Monday-Saturday)
9.30am-3.00pm, 6.30pm-10.00pm (Sunday & Public Holiday)
Contact: 604-899 0088
GPS: 5.450371, 100.305946

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

ATTENDEES:
Criz Lai
CK Lam
Alan & Amanda
NKOTB & hubby
CW Chan
Eunice & Siew Ying

Gosh! I almost could not make it due to a month plus of office relocation and crashed hard backups, followed by the promised “2 weeks of delivery” of internet connectivity by Telekom Malaysia (still waiting since 23 October 2009 and still not fixed!!!). Alternatively, I had to borrow a P1W1max Broadband modem to go online, which was replaced with a new one yesterday due to some latest firmware upgrades. Due to some unforeseen technical setup error, the data was not properly updated and 24 hours were wasted unnecessarily. Let’s hope things would go smoother for Criz Bon Appetite with the beginning of another new year.

Today, the 4th of December 2009, marked my 2 years of food blogging, humbly started in two blogger.com accounts to the presently owned crizfood.com. To show my appreciation to my fellow readers, Criz Bon Appetite is giving away free food vouchers to anyone who would love to try out some of the best food around the Food Paradise of Malaysia – Penang. There are many options ranging from Midnight Dim Sum, Klang Bak Kut Teh, Pan Mee, Tom Yam/Clear Soup Fish Noodles, Nasi Lemak, Hainanese Chicken Rice to authentic dessert such and Glutinous Rice Ball Soup (Tang Yuan) from some of the notable stalls within the island and mainland Penang.

The procedure of claiming the vouchers is real simple. All you need to do is to email your particulars (name & mailing address) to crizfood@gmail.com and a randomly selected voucher would be sent to you in no time. The giveaway would be available until 17 December 2009 or until stocks last. Each person would be entitled to only one voucher. The voucher would be valid until 16 January 2010. Start emailing now to claim your voucher to avoid disappointment.

Do check out the website more often from now onwards for more hidden food treasures in Penang! Have a great meal everyone and a happy 2nd birthday to Criz Bon Appetite!