CRIZ BON APPETITE

The BERJAYA University College of Hospitality (BERJAYA UCH) recently held the 2nd Uhrenholt Young Chef Dinner 2012 (UYC 2012) on 25 April 2012 at its “Manhattan V” function room. The UYC 2012 fundraising dinner for the Chefs Association of Malaysia (CAM) Youth Chef Club was a huge success with distinguished executive chefs from several 5-star hotels namely Chef Rajesh of Sheraton Imperial, Chef Martin of Ritz Carlton, Chef Sabri of Royal Chulan Hotel, Chef Antoine of Le Meridien, Chef Andrea of Renaissance Hotel, Chef Rudolph of Shangri La and Chef Nikolaj corporate chef of Uhrenholt Food Service, mentoring 43 students from the Klang Valley (BERJAYA UCH, Legand International College, INTI, Malaysian Institute of Baking, KL Metropolitan University and Cilantro Culinary Academy) based on the theme “Teamwork & Mentorship” to serve invited guests. Amongst the VIPs in presence were Sune Uhrenholt, CEO of Uhrenholt, Helle Sejersen Myrthue, Danish Embassy personnel, Lars Kruse Thomsen, Uhrenholt Country Manager in Malaysia & Singapore, Mae Ho, COO of BERJAYA UCH, Chef Chern Chee Hong, President of CAM and Chef Billy Ng, CAM Youth Club President & BERJAYA UCH Junior Chef Lecturer.

Prior to the formal sit down 5-course meals, guests were served with canapés by two teams. The first 3 canapes came from Chef Rajesh’s team. The first canapé was the Slow Poached Beef Tenderloin with Tuna Sauce & Micro Grated Grana Cheese. It was one of the best canapé I had for the night. The rolled up beef tenderloin with some capers and parsley filling was served on a thinly sliced butter toasted baguette, topped with tuna sauce and finely grated grana cheese and garnished with micro greens. It was an awesome combination of meaty, cheesy with a light touch of seafood flavor.

The second canapé from the team was monitored by Chef Ellis, also from the Sheraton Imperial. It was the Steamed Chicken and Prawn Siew Mai (Chinese dumpling) with Tangy Peanut Sauce. I was a cross between Chinese and Malay cuisine. The dumpling was one of the best around with flavorful minced chicken and prawn filling, complemented even further with some mildly spiced up earthly and tangy flavored peanut sauce. It was also another hit amongst the diners. This dish was served with a lemongrass stalk for easy handling.

The third canapé was the Shoyu Marinated Watermelon with Wasabi, Cream Cheese and Spiced Salmon Tartare, under the supervision of Chef Bob, another chef from the hotel. The combination was rather unique as the spiced raw salmon tartare blended in real well with the cream cheese, a fruity squeeze from torched shoyu marinated watermelon cube, with a tad of spiciness from the mini wasabi ball and pickled ginger.

The next 3 canapes came from Chef Martin’s team. The first canape was the Sarawak Peppered Tuna with Compressed Yellow Watermelon, Feta and Coriander Drops. The canapé had Sarawak black pepper rolled seared tuna fillet slices topped on two slices of compressed red and yellow watermelon, dressed with some feta cream cheese and garnished with a leaf of coriander. It was a colorful presentation.

The second canapé was the “Pie Tee” Crispy Basket with Smoked Halibut and Ginger Flower Salad. The Pie Tee or commonly known as the Singapore “Top Hat” was crispy but had a fusion type of filling instead of the common carrot and jicama combination. It had smoked halibut with a mixture of herby salad more toward a stronger kaffir lime leaves flavor. These little finger food treats had some crunchy crumbles garnished on them. Somehow, they were on a salty side unless you couple them with a glass of beer or wine.

The next canapé which was the South Asian Spicy Prawn with Coconut and Crumbled Chili Oil had a state-of-the-art method of preparation. It had prawn fritters matched with a gelatin-like ball filled with oozy “tom kha” aka white tom yam broth, some chili oil and garnishing. The soft and juicy balls were using a food science method of shaping the algae based sodium alginate combination of “filling” into calcium chloride solution. This was an innovative way of presentation indeed.

Dinner commenced an hour later with the first appetizer being served by Chef Sabri’s team. It was the Steamed Prawn Roll with ‘Otak-Otak’ Filling, Chilled Custard Flower with Crab Meat and Galangal Fish Floss. This was a very delicate presentation almost like those you get from fine dining as there were some sauce, mango cubes and micro greens used for lacing the plate. The steamed prawn’s filling of “otak-otak” was somewhat mild in herbs and spices unlike those you get from the authentic Nyonya cuisine. On the other hand, the chilled custard flower was the savory version of the Thai’s Tako Haew (Water Chestnut with Coconut Custard). It has ebiko (prawn roe) and bits of crab meat (I might be wrong but the bits tasted more like fish than crab meat), topped with coconut custard. The third appetizer was the baked phyllo pastry wrapped galangal fish floss. The filling had a nice aromatic flavor but it lacked a light touch of brushed butter on the pastry as it was rather dry.

The next dish under Chef Antoine’s team was the Asian Broth with Pacific Halibut, Vannamei Shrimps (Whiteleg Shrimps), Shredded Young Coconut and Diced Vegetables. With Chef Antoine’s experience in Thailand for many years, this soup was a sure win to boost up our appetite. The mild and flavorful soup based was almost like the tom kha (White Tom Yam). It was poured onto a dish filled with halves Vannamei shrimps, halibut fillet, cherry tomatoes, carrot slices, coriander leaves, sliced kaffir lime leaves and thinly sliced fresh young coconut meat, topped with some foam like garlic cream. It was an awesome dish! This dish was served with two side dishes which consisted of a slice of nicely Toasted Mantou with Basil, Plum Tomatoes & Various Cheese and a beautifully done Raw Papaya, Japanese Cucumber & Roasted Peanuts Salad with hints of flavors from nam pla (Thai fish sauce), Thai chili sauce, olive oil and chopped coriander.

Chef Andrea’s team came out with Cinnamon Sautéed Bee Hoon (Rice Vermicelli) on Fondue, Buah Keras (Candlenuts) & Prawns Terrine with Dry Longan Reduction. The cinnamon sautéed rice vermicelli was baked rather than sautéed and it was rather tough for our bites. If not, it would blend in real well with the Mornay sauce (Bechamel sauce + cheese) fondue. The prawn terrine was fine except a bit too soft. The candlenuts were sugar caramelized and the dry longan had the sweetness as how it should be. Somehow, this dish had a savory and sweet combination which some of us did find the combination a bit out of place.

The main dish from Chef Rudolph’s team was the Asian Style Slow Braised Angus Beef Cheek with Bleu Cheese Macadamia Crust, Kumara Mash and Eryngii Mushrooms, served with Five Spice Flavored Beef Jus Reduction was yet another perfect dish for me. The juicy and tender beef blended in real well with the slightly herb boasted bleu cheese baked macadamia nuts crust. The usage of kumara (orange sweet potatoes) mash was something different.

Finally it was dessert time and Chef Nikolaj’s team came out with an additional pre-dessert dish – The 5 Way Cheese Canape. It had a spoon shaped like canapé filled with cubes of Edam, Fontina, Cheddar, Bleu cheese and cream cheese with some jam and a sprinkle of Pumpernickel bread bits. Well, some of us were not used to the waxy flavor from some of the cheeses.

The dessert that excelled better was the Sweet Cream Cheese ‘Tofu’ in Gula Melaka (Palm Sugar) Consommé with Sea Coconut, Sesame Two Ways and Passion Fruit Curd. Everyone seemed to love this concoction. On top of those mentioned above, sago was added in too. The sesame two ways actually consisted of candied black sesame and sesame cake crumbles.

Everyone indeed put on their best effort to make this fundraising dinner a successful and memorable one. I would love to see more of this sort of opportunity given to other young chefs nationwide as well in the future. “It was a great experience for the participating students from the different colleges to be under the real life working experiences with respective executive chefs and to forge new bonds and friendships,” said Matthew Lee, a BERJAYA UCH student under the Diploma of Culinary Arts program. To all the participants and sponsors of the UYC 2012, it was a job well done! Congratulation!

Here’s a short video behind the kitchen scene by Chef Arif Maula. Do enjoy~ 🙂

Name: BERJAYA UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF HOSPITALITY
Address: Level 14, East, Berjaya Times Square, 1 Jalan Imbi, 55100 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Contact: 603-2687 7073
GPS: 3.142152, 101.710618

The Eastin Hotel Penang held a charity dinner entitled “Don’t Just Play Play, Give Away Also” in aid of the Tun Sardon Foundation (Yayasan Tun Sardon) at the Grand Ballroom yesterday. This is in line with the hotel’s philosophy of sharing their success with the less fortunate. The event began with an entertaining drum performance, followed by speeches by the Executive Chairman, Dato’ CP Tan and Chairman of Tun Sardon Foundation, Dato’ Mohd Rizal Al-Amin bin Tun Sardon. In between the 4-course dinner, we had performances by the Penang Cheshire Home, a string quartet by Digital Music, games session with Ah Beng and King Kong, lucky draw prizes such as a 4D3N cruise to Phuket and Krabi on board Superstar Libra, Venessa Diamonds pearls and Danai Spa treatment vouchers.

Upon entering the ballroom, everyone was served with free flow of Fruit Punch as a welcoming drink. The drink had orange juice combined with grenadine syrup. Just look at those neatly folded yellow napkins in the shape of Phua Chu Kang’s famous yellow boots. Aren’t they cute?

We started with an appetizer namely the Seafood Terrine, Grilled Mussel served with Pickled Carrot, Beet Root Puree and Sun-Dried Tomato Essence. It was light and yet refreshing to start off the meal. There were some bits of salmon found in the flavorful terrine. The grilled mussel went well with the rest of the condiments, namely the pickled carrot slices which had some hints of sugar and lime juice.

The Creamy Pumpkin Soup with Pine Nuts was something I enjoyed most. It had a creamy and natural sweetness with a slight touch of herbs. The added pine nuts complemented the dish further with some nutty bites. It was a perfect dish.

Next on the list was the main course which consisted of Baked Chicken Stuffed Horseradish Topped with Tomato Basil Jam, Shitake & Lentil and Orange Emulsion with Asparagus. Since it was a stuffed chicken breast meat, I had expected the texture to be on the dry side but the tomato basil jam with some drips of orange emulsion gave the dish an aromatic and flavorful bite. The sautéed shitake mushrooms with lentils was something rather unique. It had an earthly yet nutty flavor. Unfortunately, it was a bit dry to my liking. Some additions of cream and butter or just some nice gravy would have done the side dish more justice.

We ended the meal with a simple Classic Tiramisu with Clear Vanilla Sauce and some coffee/tea. The dessert was light and fluffy and I love it. The clear vanilla sauce was rather mild to go with this dessert.

Of course the best was saved for the last. We had a grand entrance by none other than the multi-faceted comedian, singer and actor, Mr Gurmit Singh aka Phua Chu Kang. He started the show by having some easy games on stage with some volunteered diners. You would hear many funny jokes from him too.

Well… this Gurmit Singh sure gave us a nice surprise by rendering a few cool ballads. Who would have expected that this Singh can sing so well? He has a great voice indeed. Here are some videos on his singing skills.

He was so comical when he invited 4 persons from the crowd as his background dancers. They have to follow all his dancing steps. Hilarious!

The charity dinner ended with a short autograph and photography session with Gurmit Singh.

I was lucky to get his autograph too. 😛

Thanks to the Eastin Hotel Penang team who had put in the extra effort to fly in Gurmit Singh for a great experience for Penangites and at the same time make the lives of the less fortunate more bearable through this charity event. A job well done! 🙂

Eastin Hotel, Penang is located just next to Queensbay Mall. If you are coming from Georgetown towards Bayan Lepas Free Trade Zone via Bayan Lepas Expressway, do watch out for the Pulau Jerejak signboard (leading to Pulau Jerejak jetty). Ignore the turning and drive on to the next left junction. Turn left into Jalan Aziz Ibrahim and drive on until you a roundabout. Turn 3 o’ clock and drive on until you see a big Eastin Hotel signboard at the first right junction. Turn right and drive on. Park your car at the basement car park. Take a lift to the third floor and you would see the Grand Ballroom where the charity event would be held.

Name: EASTIN HOTEL PENANG
Address: 1 Solok Bayan Indah, Queens Bay, 11900 Bayan Lepas, Penang, Malaysia.
Ticket Purchase: 604-612 1111
Event Date: 23 April 2012 (Monday)
Event Hours: 6.30pm-9.30pm
GPS: 5.33643, 100.306345

For those who were from the older generation, the name Kham Kee would have brought back many memories. It was a trademark for the earliest beef steamboat in Penang. Initially located along the row of shop houses as Waterfall Hotel, Jalan Gottlieb, Penang, it has now moved to a residential area along Jalan Gajah, Tanjung Tokong, Penang, for years where it only cater for private bookings. Fear not as they have now set up a stall named Kham Kee Beef Noodles along Jalan Tan Sri Teh Ewe Lim, serving a simple spread of beef items with either noodles or rice.

The bowl of beef noodles (Minimum RM7.00) is quite similar to the famous beef noodles stall at 2828 Café along Jalan Perak, Penang, with a clearer and not too beefy soup base. One thing you can be sure of is that it won’t be as oily as the rest as they do not add in lard in oil. Sorry lard lovers, it’s time to stay healthier~ LOL!

Basically, there’s not much to brag about what sizes of bull “bazooka” or “bombs” you had here as they only serve 4 basic items, namely beef balls, beef tendon, beef tripe and beef slices, to go with your noodles or rice. The trademark of Kham Kee has always been their special handmade beef balls. They always have that bouncy al dente bite that you can hardly find elsewhere and they were bigger in size than others. Their chili sauce was also superb as it was a handed down recipe for decades. It was sassy recipe with hints of red chilies, bird eyes chilies and ginger with some pinches of salt. It was fiery spicy but I love it! The dish would come with a generous garnishing of chopped Chinese celery and some oil drained fried garlic. It was a simple yet fulfilling hot bowl of noodles on a rainy day~ 🙂

Overall, the taste for the beef noodles soup was not as great as it was during the old days where it had a thicker taste but still better than some beef noodles stalls in term of less oil and not much weird innards in the dish. Simplicity can still be the best for me. Do watch out as the chili sauce can be super spicy. Special arrangement can be made for takeaway steamboat ingredients and soup from RM100 onwards.

Kham Kee Beef Noodles stall is located within the premises of New B Garden Café along Jalan Tan Sri Teh Ewe Lim, a bit further up from Lam Wah Ee Hospital. If you are coming from Jalan Mesjid Negeri from Air Itam, just watch out for the ESSO petrol kiosk on you left. Immediately after the petrol kiosk, turn left into Jalan Tan Sri Teh Ewe Lim (next to an overhead bridge). Drive on for another 300m or so and you will see the RHB Bank there. Park your vehicle there and walk over the opposite direction. You would see a large blue signboard with “New B Garden Café” at the corner of Jalan Tan Sri Teh Ewe Lim and Lintang Batu Lanchang. The stall is in there.

Name: KHAM KEE BEEF NOODLES @ NEW B GARDEN CAFE
Address: 139 Jalan Tan Sri Teh Ewe Lim, 11600 Penang, Malaysia.
Contact: 016-411 9365 (Ms. Sally)
Business Hours: 4.00pm-11.00pm (Closed Alternate Thursday)
GPS: 5.392467, 100.306438

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

More and more Taiwanese restaurants and dessert houses have popped up in Penang recently with the latest being the Formosa Restaurant (臺灣風味館) which opened two weeks ago at Penang’s first smart office – The C.E.O, Penang. The restaurant is the 7th branch in Malaysia with the other 6 branches based in the central. Some of the best Taiwanese delicacies with some homemade touches would be served here daily. I went over to the restaurant recently and tried out some of their signature dishes. Basically, the menu was simple and consisted of 4 categories – noodles, rice, appetizers and beverages.

We started off with their signature noodles – Dry Noodles with Bean Sauce (炸醬乾麵 – RM7.90+). The dish has quite a generous amount of nice al dente textured ramen topped with bean sprouts, sliced cucumber and carrot with some sinfully delicious braised pork belly in bean sauce. It had a mild saltiness as there were loads of vegetables in it. Although flavorful with nice bites, the kitchen should take note of the surplus oil at the base. It has chopped spring onion and fried shallots as garnishes.

There was also the spicy version of the dry noodles – Spicy Dry Noodles (麻辣乾麵 – RM9.90+). The noodles basically was stirred in some spicy chili in oil and garnished with some Chinese cabbage, wood ear fungus, boiled deep fried pork skin, squids and fried shallots. Well, this dish was not in my favorite list as there was only the spiciness in the noodles and nothing else. They should have followed how I Mum Mum Pan Mee handled their cooked noodles by tossing in some dark soy and soy sauce for that extra flavors on each strand of the noodles. There were also too much water taste in the soggy pork skin and the squids were tasteless. Seriously, there should be some soy sauce, pepper and chili oil available on each table for us to tweak the taste to our liking. Maybe I’m an extreme spicy eater as I found the level of spiciness was too low for me.

I also tried out their Beef Noodles (牛肉麵 – RM10.90+) since I’m also a fan the Taiwanese style of recipe. Since this is a franchised restaurant, there was nothing much that can be done to pep up the flavors further. The ramen noodles were perfect as it should be but the soup base was a bit too mild for me. It lacked the thick flavor that it should have from the herbs and spices used. It practically tasted more towards the soup for tempura dip rather than for a beef soup. There were hints of star anise, soy sauce and some brown sugar without flavors from some dried orange peels, garlic, scallions, ginger and rice wine. The beef slices also lacked the beefy taste as all the flavors had gone into the soup. The kitchen should time the cooking time of the beef better in the future to maintain its flavors. The noodles were served with beef slices, Chinese cabbage, chopped spring onions, pickled mustard greens and some mala chili sauce. The only garnishing missing was the chopped cilantro which would also add in some extra flavors. This dish would be suitable for those who prefer a lighter soup base.

The next dish which was the Braised Pork Rice (滷肉飯 – RM5.90+) was a hit amongst the diners. It may look simple with just the braised pork plus pickled mustard greens on some steamed rice, but each bite was filled with awesome melting moments from the flavorful pork belly cuts. This is a must have dish for those who would not mind some fatty meat occasionally.

We also tried out their signature Deep Fried Pork Chop Rice (排骨飯 – RM 10.90+). The dish came with a plate of deep fried pork chop, sprinkled with some seasonings and paprika, a bowl of soup and a plate of steamed rice with four side dishes, namely deep fried eggplant, stir fry cabbage, stir fry celery with carrots and tomato omelette. It was a fulfilling set meal at an affordable price.

There were also some delicious appetizers available here such as their signature homemade Taiwan Sausage (自製臺灣香腸 – RM6.90+). This plump looking sausage is a killer. Not only were the thinly sliced sausage pieces sweet and flavorful, they were juicy for each bite. The dish would go well with some sliced raw garlic. It would be best if the garlic were to be sliced thinner (7-8 slices instead of the current 2 cuts) for a more delicate presentation.

The was also the Stewed Pork Steamed Sandwich (割包 – RM4.90+/pc). The delicacy had a piece of specially seasoned steamed pork belly slice sandwiched in between a flat steamed bun, together with some chopped cilantro, pickled mustard greens and some pounded roasted peanuts. The pork belly was actually stewed in a recipe almost similar to the Nyonya Hong Bak (Stewed Pork Belly in Fermented Bean Sauce). The concoction was nice but it lacked a bit of thick sauce on the meat for a more moist bite. It would be better if the meat were to be stewed with red fermented bean curd (tao joo/nam joo/南乳) rather than fermented beans paste (tao cheong/豆醬) for more flavors.

Another light and refreshing appetizer would be their Century Egg with Tofu (柴魚皮蛋豆腐 – RM5.90+). It had a small block of chilled tofu and four quarters of a century egg, dressed with their homemade sauce and topped with a generous amount of katsuobushi shavings (bonito flakes). The sauce tasted like a concentrated version of the tentsuyu sauce with some hints of dashi, mirin and shoyu. There was a mild taste of kelp (large seaweed), most probably from the dashi sauce which has an extract from the boiling of kelps and bonito flakes. There were requests from diner for additional bonito flakes on the dish but I felt that the abundant cuttlefish taste like flakes overpowered the natural taste of the whole dish. Personally, I would rather go for the delicious Japanese style Agedashi Tofu which would be served in a hot tentsuyu broth.

Other than the Deep Fried Pork Chop, they also have the Shi-Lin Chicken Chop (士林大雞排 – RM7.90+). I love how they prepared this dish as the coated batter was just right, not too thick and not too thin. Combined with the seasoning and paprika, it was heaven! I prefer this chicken chop more than the pork chop as it was more tender and juicy than the former. It was more delicious than Uncle Bob’s for sure. Beware when you bite it as it may contain some tiny bones which are quite common in Taiwanese chicken snacks.

For a boneless version, there was the Taiwan Salted Chicken (臺灣咸酥雞 – RM6.90+) that got me munching endlessly. Talk about juiciness and flavors and this dish had it all. Although the coating was similar as the Shi-Lin Chicken Chop, I prefer these cubed chicken pieces more. You can forget about other Pop Pop Chicken as I would call them, this dish rules! It’s a dish not to miss~ 🙂

Do you fancy glutinous rice? If you do, you can try out their Rice Burger with Sausage (大腸包小腸 – RM9.50+). It had a sausage bun like deep fried glutinous rice mixed with peanuts, stuffed with fresh cucumber and pickled mustard green, topped with the delicious Taiwanese sausage. The dish had a special thick soy sauce (豆油醬) dressed on it. The slightly crisp glutinous rice blended in real well with the vegetables and the sausages, except it was a bit salty due to the dressing. It would be best if the dressing were to be served separately for diners to adjust to their level of saltiness. This dish is best taken when served hot or it would be a bit chewy when cold.

If you are a fresh oyster lover, the next dish which was the Oyster Mee Sua (蚵仔麵線 – RM6.90+), better known as Oh Ah Misua in Taiwan, might suit you well. The dish had Taiwan imported tan-brown salted wheat grass noodles (misua/mee sua/mee suah) served in a starched broth with some mildly blanched fresh oyster in boiling water with some dashes of pepper, sesame oil and shallot oil. This dish would be best taken hot when served. Although the dish was slightly cold after my photography session, I found the soup base lacked in thick broth flavors. Somehow, it did not have the flavors as I would get in a bowl of rich sharksfin soup with high quality broth (上湯). The usage of some shaoxing wine plus some deep fried shallots/garlic in oil might pep up the taste better. I also found this dish to have too much soup than mee sua. Moreover, they did not serve this dish with some black vinegar.

As for beverages, there are tea, milk tea and others which you could add on either magic crystal, coffee jelly or pearl at an additional RM1.00 per cup. Obviously, you can see clearly from the photos below that my favorite was the Lavender Milk Tea (RM4.50+). The milk tea had just the right sweetness to my liking with a fragrant lavender flavor coming from the added lavender seeds. This refreshing drink would be great for sleep and relaxation. The next drink that I quite like was the Taro Milk Tea (RM4.50+). The creaminess and sweetness for this beverage was just right for me too. The honey used in this restaurant was rather unique. It had a flowery chrysanthemum after taste in it. The lemon juice too had that sourness unlike the usual ones as I can taste that there were some Calamansi (Calamondin/Limau Kasturi) juice added in. Thus, you should not miss out their beverages such as the Honey Lemon Jasmine Green Tea (RM4.50+) or even the Honey Lemon Juice (RM3.50+). I also tried out the Honey Black Tea with Coffee Jelly (RM3.90+ plus RM1.00+ for add on). It was a perfect combination with a distinctive coffee flavor coming from the al dente jelly cubes.

Overall, the items served here can be considered real reasonable in price compared to those within malls, considering that only a 5% service fee would be charged. Taste wise, some of the dishes can be real delicious while others were quite common. As a franchised restaurant, it has the necessary standards to please any diner. This restaurant would be a great venue to hang out with family, friends and colleagues over some nice Taiwanese cuisine.

Formosa Restaurant is located just opposite Kayu Nasi Kandar at the ground floor of Penang’s first smart office, The CEO. If you are driving up towards Bukit Jambul via Jalan Yeap Chor Ee/Jalan Bukit Gambier, just take note of the USM traffic lights. Immediately after the traffic lights, take note of the 4th traffic lights (1st traffic lights to Taman Perkaka/USM, 2nd traffic lights to Bukit Jambul/Equatorial Hotel, 3rd traffic lights to Taman Lip Sin/Super Tanker Food Court, 4th traffic lights to Kayu Nasi Kandar/The CEO – Penang’s first smart office). At the 4th traffic lights (Jalan Bukit Gambier/Lebuh Nipah 5), turn left into Lebuh Nipah 5 and drive until the T-junction (Lebuh Nipah 5/Lebuh Nipah). Turn right into Lebuh Nipah and take the first right turning into Lebuh Nipah 7 (as stated in Google map but Kayu address is stated as Lebuh Nipah whereas the opposite CEO address is stated as Lebuh Nipah 5~ A bit of confusion here~ LOL!). You can see the double floors restaurant on your left. In case you cannot find parking spaces surrounding that area, you can park your car at the CEO multi-storey cark behind the restaurant.

Name: FORMOSA RESTAURANT @ THE CEO PENANG
Address: The CEO, 31-1-16 Lebuh Nipah 5, Sg. Nibong, 11950 Penang, Malaysia.
Contact: 604-611 1988, 012-286 9912 / 016-629 1632 (Mr. Brandon Ong)
Business Hours: 11.00am-10.00pm
GPS: 5.336566, 100.292797

BRANCHES:
Kuchai Lama (HQ):
No. 5, Jalan 10/116B, Kuchai Entrepreneur’s Park, Off Jalan Kuchai Lama, 58200 Kuala Lumpur.
Tel: 603-7980 1888
Sunway Pyramid (New Wing):
Unit 167, Asian Avenue, 1st Floor, Bandar Sunway, 46150 Petaling Jaya, Selangor.
SS Two Mall:
No. 40, Jalan SS2/72 (PT21680), 47000 Petaling Jaya, Selangor.
Sungai Wang Plaza:
TC 037 & 038, Third Floor, Sungai Wang Plaza, Jalan Bukit Bintang, 50250 Kuala Lumpur.
Seri Kembangan:
KG03, Ground Floor, Mines 2, The Street Mall, Jalan Balakong,
Mines Resort City, 43300 Seri Kembangan, Selangor.
Setapak:
25, Jalan Prima Setapak 3, Off Jalan Genting Kelang, 53300 Kuala Lumpur.

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: 7.5/10 (1-4 tasteless, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)
Pricing: 7/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 expensive)
Service: 8.5/10 (1-4 bad, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)

You might get an 8-inch pizza anywhere throughout the world but I won’t think you could get any 8-inch halal burger from anywhere in Malaysia except at Zul’s Burger in Penang. At Encik Zulkifle’s humble little corner stall located right towards the end of the Kompleks MPPP Lebuh Nipah (opposite Kayu Nasi Kandar Penang), you could find a variety of burgers and hot dogs in super huge size. All would come with custom ordered buns which I have yet to see from any other street burger stalls in Penang.

The most impressive of all the burgers would be the super huge 8” Diameter 3-Tiers Giant Burger (RM30nett) which would be big enough to feed 2-4 pax.

Just look at how big it was compared to my friend’s hand.

In between the 3 tier potato bun like texture burger would be 5 meat patties (chicken and/or beef), 5 chicken sausages, 5 eggs and 5 pieces of cheese, topped with lots onions, mixed vegetables, lettuce, mayonnaise, baked beans, black pepper sauce and chili sauce.

All eyes were on the burger as we were wondering how we could gobble down such a huge size. It was truly an oozy experience for us. Taste wise, the burger was just like any other common burgers except for the size. All the meat patties and sausages were slightly cut up and pan fried on the skillet with the eggs prior to being evenly spread out on the buns.

Effective 11 April 2012, it would be another tough challenge for many as the burger diameter size would be increased to 11 inches (RM30nett). Not only would it be the biggest halal burger, it would be the biggest burger in Malaysia with the nearest competitor being Euro Deli group of restaurants for their 9 inches Matterhorn (non halal) burger. The filling would be the same as the former 8 inches burger.

Another version of this giant burger would come in 7 inches by 12 inches rectangular shaped bun (RM30nett), another unique size and shape I have yet to see anywhere in Malaysia. I presumed it’s the only one in Malaysia too. The filling for this version would also be the same as the 8” burger.

The rectangular giant burger weighed about 1.6kg (total weight 1913gms minus plate weight 286gms). It was heavy but not as heavy as the Matterhorn burger which would be about 2.75kg in weight (1.5kg meat patty plus 1.25kg of bun and vegetables). If you can’t finish this burger, don’t even think of winning the Matterhorn Challenge with a RM100 cash reward.

Well, creamy and sweet cakes for birthdays may be gone with the birth of this 11” giant burger. Won’t it be great to have one giant 11” Birthday Burger Cake (RM30nett) instead? 😛

For those FaceBook users, there was also a burger named after the famous social network site – the FaceBook Burger (RM10nett).

The burger had 3 burger patties (chicken or beef or mix) with 3 eggs, a piece of cheese and vegetables. It was also another tall and filling burger for many.

We also had the longest Chicken Hot Dog (RM10nett). The custom made bun had a foot long sausage with onions, mixed vegetables, lettuce, mayonnaise, baked beans, black pepper sauce and chili sauce. At least this hot dog was still within my consumable size.

Just a comparison on how long this hot dog was can be seen at the photo below.

Here the man, Encik Zulkefli Bin Hassan, who had started the huge craze amongst the Penangite ever since his opening on 23 October 2011. He had vast experiences dealing in food businesses from Vietnam to Thailand. He’s well versed in Vietnamese language too~ 🙂

There are more items available here such as rabbit burger, lamb burger as well as fish burger. You can click on the menu below for a clearer view.

Overall, the items served here were of a slightly above average taste and texture. No doubt the portions were super huge out of the norm but there are still rooms for improvements in term of taste. The usage of the chili sauce was a bit too overpowering for those who could not savor too spicy stuff. Their self concocted mayonnaise and black pepper sauce also needed some extra tweaking for a more flavorful “kick”. Instead of the Anchor brand “light” cheese, they should consider using another brand for more cheesiness. Their most important task would be on the balancing of the sauces for the right bite. I found the giant burgers and long hot dogs to be a bit too oozy wet to my liking. I love the nice sauce balance just like the way my food were presented to me at one of my regular street burger stalls down at Georgetown Penang.

Note: If you visit the place too late in the night (after 10.00pm or so), you might not have any drinks to go with your food. Just walk to the convenient store next to Kayu Nasi Kandar to purchase your drinks.

Zul’s Burger Penang is located just opposite Kayu Nasi Kandar within an isolated Malay food court named Kompleks MPPP Lebuh Nipah. If you are driving up towards Bukit Jambul via Jalan Yeap Chor Ee/Jalan Bukit Gambier, just take note of the USM traffic lights. Immediately after the traffic lights, take note of the 4th traffic lights (1st traffic lights to Taman Perkaka/USM, 2nd traffic lights to Bukit Jambul/Equatorial Hotel, 3rd traffic lights to Taman Lip Sin/Super Tanker Food Court, 4th traffic lights to Kayu Nasi Kandar/The CEO – Penang’s first smart office). At the 4th traffic lights (Jalan Bukit Gambier/Lebuh Nipah 5), turn left into Lebuh Nipah 5 and drive until the T-junction (Lebuh Nipah 5/Lebuh Nipah). Turn right into Lebuh Nipah and take the first right turning into Lebuh Nipah 7 (as stated in Google map but Kayu address is stated as Lebuh Nipah whereas opposite The CEO address is stated as Lebuh Nipah 5~ A bit of confusion here~ LOL!). Take note that there’s a left turning into the Kompleks MPPP Lebuh Nipah. Drive until the end and you’ll see Zul’s Burger Penang at the last corner lot next to a residence house.

Name: ZUL’S BURGER PENANG @ KOMPLEKS MPPP LEBUH NIPAH
Address: 30Y, Kompleks MPPP Lebuh Nipah, Sg. Nibong, 11900 Penang, Malaysia.
Contact: 012-578 8771 (En. Zulkefli Bin Hassan)
Business Hours: 7.00pm-2.00am
GPS: 5.335989, 100.293376

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

“Eat your vegetables!” was the first thing that came into my mind when I was approached by Idealite – Malaysia’s 1st Wellness Education Restaurant to write on their NO MEAT, NO GLUTEN, NO MSG, NO WHITE SUGAR & SALT, NO PEANUTS, NO ARTIFICIAL FLAVORING, ETC healthy menu. It may sound like some sort of imprisonment torture for many foodies but I can guarantee you that I did not suffer from any hunger side effects. LOL! The restaurant is not similar to any other vegetarian restaurants as it also uses other fresh/organic produce such as garlic, onions and eggs, minus the mocked items of course. As opposed to the normal dining experiences, Idealite would focus on satiating your appetite with a well balanced diet such as adequate protein, carbohydrate, fiber, mineral and vitamin for a healthy living. Their cuisine would be based on the usage of natural/organic and quality ingredients to boost up the food in taste, colors and flavors with some light touches of uniqueness and creativity. Even their fruits and vegetables are washed by an ozone machine to remove any existing chemicals and pesticides.

Idealite would serve healthy and well balanced breakfast as low as RM4.70 from 8.00am to 11.00am daily (except Monday). Being an adult with a kid in the heart, I could not resist ordering their Kid’s Breakfast Meal (小孩營養早餐 – RM10.70) with a “Hello Kitty” wholemeal bread mascot (upon request). This breakfast set meal would ascertain that your kid/adult get the right amount of carbohydrate, protein, mineral, vitamin and fiber for the day. Items given might differ from day to day as they have yet to firm up on the actual menu.

We started our lunch with the Curry Tofu Salad (咖喱豆腐沙拉 – RM5.70). The dish had a block of tofu on a colorful bed of fresh greens (purple cabbage, carrot, cucumber & coral green), dressed with a combination of soy yoghurt and curry powder and garnished with some raisins, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds and chopped almonds. The taste of the dressing had that mild beany soy sourness, very mild spiciness with a touch of fruity after taste. I presumed the soy yoghurt was cultivated with fructose instead of glucose or sugar. This dish would only be suitable for consumers with an acquired taste for such flavor. Soy yoghurt is low in fat and is suitable for people with milk allergy, diabetes type II and high blood pressure. I believed that the curry powder used had a high content of turmeric in it. Turmeric has been used for centuries as a wonder spice with anti-inflammatory medicinal values.

As for side dishes, we were served with Chee Cheong Fun (酵素珠常粉 – RM3.70), a steamed rice roll made from a mixture of rice flour, tapioca flour and water in cream consistency batter for that al dente texture. The special order made rolls were benzoic acid free. The rolls were served with a secret recipe sauce in placement of the usual prawn paste (蝦膏), red sweet sauce (紅甜醬) and chili paste (辣椒醬). The secret sauce had that sea brine saltiness with a darkish purple color which I presumed was from some species of seaweed. The overall taste was still acceptable but it lacked that thick creaminess. Since they do not use peanuts as it contained a high level of aflatoxins (黃曲霉素) which is bad for the liver, maybe some finely blended hazelnuts would add in the slight nutty creaminess? The Chee Cheong Fun came garnished with some toasted white and black sesame seeds.

We were served with two versions of vegetarian sushi. The first was the Vege Sushi (蔬菜壽司 – RM6.70). It had strips of raw carrot, cucumber, purple cabbage, jicama (sengkuang), coral green lettuce and some pounded hazelnuts all wrapped within a poh piah (traditional Chinese spring roll) skin and garnished with some toasted sesame seeds. Some sweetened lime juice was dressed for that refreshing bite.

The second version of sushi was the chef’s latest creation named as the Jade Seaweed Vege Sushi (白玉紫菜蔬菜壽司 – RM7.70). This sushi will be available in the menu soon. Except for the usage of the benzoic acid free steamed rice roll and nori, the fillings were the same as above. Most of us preferred this version as the earlier one got soggy too fast due to the moist within the vegetables.

There was also the Seaweed Roll Sushi (紫菜壽司筒 – RM7.70). This was the unique one amongst the rest as there was some taste difference. This sushi has coral green lettuce, jicama, cucumber, carrot, spring onion and pounded hazelnuts all wrapped up with a thin strip of nori. There were some drizzles of sweetened lime juice, sesame oil and some dashed of black pepper. I love this sushi most~ 🙂

The next side order was the Poh Piah (健康薄餅 – RM4.70). Somehow this dish was rather disappointing. It lacked flavors and texture as the carrot, jicama and mushrooms were too finely shredded and easily got overcooked. It became too mushy to even being wrapped firmly with the lettuce and poh piah skin. The vegetables should be coarsely shredded and cooked until translucent but still maintaining the slight crunchiness. The mushroom was totally bland without the addition of some marinates. I just wondered why bean curd and some toasted garlic were not added for the extra flavors. Even a light coat of red sweet sauce would have done more justice to this local delicacy.

For those who would want to have some rice with dishes, there would be a few set meals to choose from. We tried out the Dry Curry Set Meal (香辣乾咖喱套餐 – RM9.70) and it was amazingly delicious. The main dish consisted of dry curry stir fry savory and sweet potatoes filled with herbs and spices. The only two ingredients missing that would add in more aromatic flavors and benefits would be the curry leaves which have Vitamin A, Vitamin B, Vitamin C, Vitamin B2, calcium and iron in plenty and mustard seeds which would help in supporting healthy blood circulation, appetite, pancreas, metabolism, overall digestive and gastrointestinal health. Each of the set meal would come with a bowl of organic brown rice with soy bean in olive oil, a healthy salad with homemade mayo dressing, tofu with tom yam sauce and a slice of fresh fruit.

The next set meal was the Eryngii Mushroom Set Meal (特色杏鮑菇套餐 – RM9.70). The set meal also came with a bowl of organic brown rice with soy bean in olive oil, a healthy salad with homemade mayo dressing, tofu with tom yam sauce and a slice of fresh fruit. The slightly sour based stir fry eryngii mushroom had some sprinkles of black pepper to pep up the flavors. Although the main dish was rather appetizing, I personally felt that the sour sauce had overpowered the natural taste of the mushrooms. It would be great if they were to present the dish in just plain mushroom sauce. Get’em Smack did a great job in maintaining the mushroom flavor by mildly sautéing them in olive oil with some chopped garlic and these mushrooms went well with pasta too.

One of the most healthy dishes by the Hakka clan would be the Hakka Lei Cha (客家擂茶飯 – RM12.70) and the dish would also be available here at Idealite. The dish came with a bowl of steamed brown rice and soy bean in olive oil, garnished with mixed sesame seeds and pine nuts, served with cabbage, long beans, carrot, homemade preserved radish, sweet leaves (sayur manis/star gooseberry/馬尼菜), chickpeas, fried bean curds and dressed with a concoction of blended basil (九層塔/羅勒), mugwort (蒌蒿/艾草), coriander (香菜), mint (薄荷) and tea leaves (茶葉) with mild seasoning. The dressing was just right and not overpowered by the intense taste from the basil. It was an ideal dish for anyone. People who often consume this dish are believed to benefit from improved vitality, relaxation and body detoxification.

We also tried out a few of their noodles which were made from Spinach (菠菜), Pumpkin (南瓜) and Buckwheat (蕎麥). We started with Green Curry Ramen (招牌青咖喱拉麵 – RM9.70) served with Pumpkin Noodles. Due to their principles of not using coconut milk or lactose filled milk, the dish lacked the creaminess. The soup had some potato sweetness almost similar to the Jawa Mee gravy. As it was green curry, there was a strong Thai basil flavor in it minus the spiciness from some green chilies. The pumpkin noodles were smooth and had the right al dente but were overpowered by the strong flavors from the green curry.
The dish was served with some potatoes, long beans, carrot, eggplant, tofu puff, and half a hardboiled egg. They should find ways on how to improve the creaminess maybe with the usage of lactose-free soy milk, almond milk or even hempseed milk (大麻子).

The next version of noodles which was the Organic Curry Ramen (有機咖喱拉麵 – RM9.70), served with Spinach Noodles, was far better tasting. The dish was served with some long beans, bean sprouts, chick peas, tofu puff and dark soy sauce brewed bean curd aka “pig’s blood”. The soup base basically had thick curry paste with mild flavors. Overall, it was still a nice bowl of ramen. It would be even better if they could add in some lemongrass for the extra fragrance. The only setback was that the curry flavors overpowered the distinctive taste of the spinach noodles.

The Organic Lo Ramen (有機滷味拉麵 – RM9.70) served with Pumpkin Noodles was another dish that was not within my acceptance level. They failed in getting the right flavors into the gravy. It was rather diluted and bland in taste except from the overwhelming flavors from some star anise (八角). They could have blended in some potatoes to thicken the texture plus sweetness of the gravy and also add in some mushroom stock/juice. The dish was served with some bean sprouts, radish, mushroom, mildly dark soy sauce brewed bean curd and half a hardboiled egg. I rather have some bean curd stick rather than the flavor-drained radish slices.

Of all the ramen dishes, my pick would be the Organic Dry Ramen (有機乾撈拉麵 – RM9.70) served with Buckwheat Noodles. It was an uncomplicated dish where I get to savor the true flavor of the buckwheat noodles, together with some mushroom slices, purple cabbages, carrots, cucumber, bean sprouts and green coral lettuces. There was the simple fruity flavor dressing that made the whole dish awesomely refreshing. I could have this dish all the time.

Frankly speaking, I loved all types of pastas and also cooked them frequently. I was not impressed at all with the next dish which was their Tomato Spaghetti (番茄意大利麵 – RM9.70). The dish lacked flavors, textures, colors and taste. It was basically some overcooked pasta minus the al dente in some quite diluted homemade tomato and basil puree, lightly garnished with some dry herbs. They should have added in some blanched carrots, cauliflower and broccoli for the extra bite and colors. Of course they won’t use cheese which contained dairy but alternatively they can utilize non diary nutritional yeast with nutty, creamy and cheesy flavors would have boasted up the flavors. Moreover, they lacked more varieties in this category. They could have given more options such as the Aglio Olio which consists of garlic and olive oil or Eryngii Pasta with mushroom, garlic, olive oil and parsley. Even Pesto (blended garlic, basil, pine nuts, olive oil and cheese) which is good for constipation would make great pastas. They can always replace the cheese with non diary nutritional yeast.

Idealite also serves Tomyam Steamboat (營養健康東炎火鍋 – RM17.70-1 pax/RM27.70-2 pax) served with olive oil steamed brown rice with soy beans. It was a mild spicy but sour soup steamboat filled with plentiful vegetables such as sweet corn, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, carrots, mushrooms and seaweed. The soup practically had the flavors from the vegetables especially a strong seaweed taste and got saltier as it reduced. Somehow, I could not taste the presence of lemongrass and kaffir lime leave being used to boost up the taste. Moreover, the dish lacked more options such as tofu and bean curd sticks which would go well with the tomyam soup.

We were also served with a numbers of desserts with my favorite being the Signature Sesame Paste (招牌黑芝麻糊 – RM5.70). It had that mild sweetness from the organic brown sugar used and nice flavors from the blended black sesame seeds, cashew nuts and brown rice. This is one must have dessert during your visit.

I also quite like the 7 Color Bean Paste (七色豆養生糊 – RM4.70) which had blended mung beans, azuki red beans, soy beans, white kidney beans and black beans aka black turtle beans, cooked with blended 10 multi grains such as organic sorghum, organic millet, organic buckwheat, organic pearl barley, organic oats, mountain red rice, black rice, unpolished brown rice, parboiled rice and wheat. It was also mildly sweetened with organic brown sugar.

We were also introduced to a weekend special dessert which was the Bubur Cha Cha (摩摩喳喳 – RM4.70), a Nyonya dessert. The dessert was cooked in a broth like texture with some blended grains plus sweet red potatoes, yam and black eyed peas. It had oat milk instead of coconut milk as a healthier version, thus it lacked that creamy and fragrant coconut taste.

There was also the Dragon Fruit Konyaku Jelly (龍珠果蒟蒻 – RM1.70/3 pcs) available here. It had that bouncy and chewy texture as how a konyaku jelly should be with a mild fruity flavor. No doubt it was a nice dessert but it would be best if some of the fresh fruit meat be added in for that extra freshness.

As for beverages, the selections were rather limited. We had the Organic Cocoa Oatmilk (有機朱古力植物奶 – RM6.70), Organic 5 Grain Energy Oatmilk (有機五穀植物奶 – RM4.70), Sugar Free Organic Soy Milk (無糖有機豆奶 – RM4.70), Organic Masala Chai (有機馬薩拉口味茶– RM3.70), Organic Lemongrass Green Tea (有機柠檬香草绿茶– RM3.70), Organic Assam Tea (有機酸梅茶 – RM3.70) and Pumpkin Barley (金瓜薏米 – RM3.70). I quite like the Organic Cocoa Oatmilk as it tasted quite similar to my daily breakfast boost of Cocoa with Malt. The Sugar Free Organic Soy Milk was also thick and nice. The Pumpkin Barley was one drink to compliment too as it has the natural sweetness from the pumpkin and fibrous barley grains for great bowel movements.

Here’s the young and energetic Chef Hung with his creative meals the healthy way~ 🙂

Overall, the dishes served here were extremely healthy with a reminder to us to follow the age old principles of cooking and dining healthily. Some dishes served indeed required an acquired taste bud as we are all so used to the taste from today’s world of fast and processed food. As for the dishes, there are still rooms for improvement as the choices of dishes were just average with not many options. The restaurant basically concentrated on the Eastern way of cuisine without providing much insight into the healthy diet from the West. They could have added in items such as the asparagus soup which is great for irritable bowel system. Even the usage of tofu has not been explored further other than the usual few selections. As an example, it could just be steamed tofu with egg in pumpkin paste to name one option. As for beverages, it lacked the creativity in combining fruits and vegetables as juices. One such drink would be the usage of cucumber to benefit the skin, nails and hair. Cucumber plus mint leaves juice would be a refreshing and nutrient rich drink for any ages. All price stated is nett.

It’s not hard to find Idealite at it’s located just two shop houses away from Hotel Waterfall (Little Cottage 2) and next to Double Dragon Inn Restaurant along Jalan Gottlieb. Parking spaces could be rather limited during weekends especially when Little Cottage 2 is having their weekend buffet. Currently, they are utilizing only the first floor of the shop house.

Name: IDEALITE – MALAYSIA 1ST WELLNESS EDUCATIONAL RESTAURANT
生命陽光-馬來西亞首創正食養生餐廳 (Beside Waterfall Hotel)
Address: 27C Jalan Gottlieb, 10350 Penang, Malaysia.
Contact: 604-226 3650
Business Hours: 7.30am-11.00am, 12.00noon-3.00pm, 6.00pm-10.00pm (Closed on Monday)
GPS: 5.430574, 100.299698

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