CRIZ BON APPETITE

If you have yet to pay a visit to the newly revamped Wingers & Diners Café @ Merchant Hotel Penang, you should do it now as they do have some great daily offers that would be real cost saving. With ample car parks at the back of the hotel, you won’t even have to worry about paying exorbitantly at the nearby high-end car parks. Moreover, the specific daily deals are there to stay, regardless of public holidays. Now you know where to chill out this festive season when most of the cafes would be closed.

The first promotion would be on Lunch Deals (Monday until Friday – 12.00noon until 2.00pm only) as shown in the poster below. All meals would come with an appetizer, a soup and a salad.

For Monday & Wednesday, it would be BUY 1-FREE 1 Pasta Day. You could have an option of Beef Bolognese (RM15.90++), Turkey Ham & Mushroom Carbonara (RM15.90++) or Aglio Olio with Chili Padi & Chicken Wing (RM16.90++). All the pastas were quite nice especially the Aglio Olio with Chili Padi & Chicken Wing which had a mildly pungent spicy level and these little hot “devils” indeed boosted up the overall flavors. All meals would come with an appetizer, a soup and a salad.

For Tuesday & Thursday, it would be BUY 1-FREE 1 Cheesy Baked Rice Day. You have the option of Creole Chicken (RM16.90++), Beef Bolognese (RM15.90++) or Spicy Paprika Vegetarian (RM13.90++). I always love to have my baked cheesy rice to be creamy and the winner went to the Creole Chicken. The sensation of having the cheesiness on every grain of the rice was heavenly. All meals would come with an appetizer, a soup and a salad.

Friday would be the Burger Madness Day where all burgers would be at 30% off. You have the option to choose from Wannapull (RM18.90++ – beef), The Rocky (RM15.90++ – beef), Chugger (RM15.90++ – beef), Kimchi “Soul” Burger (RM15.90++ – free range chicken) and Not Just A Burger (RM15.90++ – free range chicken). All meals would come with an appetizer, a soup and a salad. All burgers had their own signature flavors and uniqueness. However, I fell in love with the Chugger as not only was I served with a juicy 100% quality beef patty, the burger had added beef bacon, turkey ham, caramelized onion, pickles and smoky BBQ sauce, the melted cheese indeed spiked up the overall flavors to the peak. Thumbs up!

The second and third promotions would be on Tea Time Deal (Monday until Friday – 3.00pm until 5.00pm only) and Daily Dinner Deal (Daily – 6.00pm until 10.30pm only – minimum order of 2 FOOD ONLY items) as shown in the poster below.

If you love to have some coffee or tea with some finger food, you should check out their Weekdays Tea Time Deal. Just purchase any beverage at RM5.00++ and you could order some add-ons at discounted price such as Garlic Bread (RM3.00++), Mushroom Bruschetta (RM4.00++), Slab Pizza (RM5.00++/pc – 3 flavors), Chicken Wings (RM5.00++ – 2pcs with 6 flavors), Bread Butter Pudding with Ice Cream (RM3.50++) and Fruit Skewer (RM3.50++). I was quite amazed with the Slab Pizza (mini pizza) as it came with 3 flavor options such as Hawaiian, Margarita and Smoked Salami. It was something so simple and yet pepped with flavors. On the other hand, you could also choose your flavor for your chicken wings. They do have 6 options such as Teriyaki, Honey Mustard, Cheese, BBQ, Bird’s Eye Chili and Sambal Asian. For dessert lovers, their Bread Butter Pudding with Ice Cream would be something you won’t want to miss especially on a humid day~ 🙂

The Daily Dinner Deal would suit many food enthusiasts as for any 2 food items ordered, you would get 50% off (excluding beverages). Some of the interesting food dishes might include Cajun Salad (RM10.50++), Chicken Wings (RM8.90++/3pcs or RM13.90++/5 pcs), Cheeky Chick (RM17.90++) and more. You order might also include dishes such as pastas, baked rice, burgers and desserts. The Cajun Salad was quite interesting as it had some crunchy deep fried turkey ham on it with light sprinkles of cajun spices and a squeeze of lemon juice. That would surely boost up your appetite for more meaty dishes.

As for Beverages and Desserts, there are quite a few options available such as Café Latte (RM8.50++), Hot Chocolate (RM9.50++), Hot Lavazza Coffee Float (RM7.50++), Root Beer Jelly Float (RM7.50++), Peachy Delight (RM6.50++), Sunset Cooler (RM6.50++) and more. What I loved most were their desserts. The Massacre (RM15.90++) which consisted of vanilla ice cream, meringue crumbles, peach slices, oreo cookies and oozy chocolate sauce was a killer. Another great dessert would be their Bread Butter Pudding (RM13.90++) with a nice scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Check out the full menu here (all prices stated are exclusive of 10% service tax and 6% GST):

Overall, I quite like the dishes served here as they were simple and yet tasty enough to fill you up. If I were you, I won’t want to miss out their burgers and desserts. It’s truly a great bargain to dine in here.

Wingers & Diners Café is located within the premises of Merchant Hotel, Penang. You can’t miss it as it’s at the junction of Jalan Penang and Jalan Muntri. There will be ample parking spaces behind the hotel and the good news is it’s free for guests and in-house diners.

Name: Wingers & Diners Café @ Merchant Hotel
Address: 55 Jalan Penang, 10000 Penang, Malaysia.
Contact: 604-263 2828
Business Hours: 12.00pm-2.00pm (lunch), 3.00pm-5.00pm (tea), 6.00pm until 10.30pm (dinner)
GPS: 5.421071, 100.333456

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

The Lone Pine Hotel at Batu Ferringhi, Penang, has provided wonderful buffet spreads for decades, even during my childhood days. For those who had missed those great years indulging in their luxurious lines of great delicacies, you could check out their coming Chinese New Year promotions under the skillful charge of the newly appointed Executive Chef, Chef Henry Ang Chye Hoe. The promotions would be available only on 8 and 9 February 2016. The Prosperity Buffet Lunch (12.30pm-3.30pm) is priced at RM98nett (adult) and RM49nett (child aged 6-12) and the Prosperity Buffet Dinner (7.00pm-10.30pm) is priced at RM168nett (adult) and RM88nett (child). Buffet Dinner diners would get free flow of wine, beer and refreshing beverages while those Buffet Lunch diners can also get the same privilege by topping up another RM60nett per person. For reservations and more information, contact +604-886 8566 or email to fb.coordinator@lonepinehotel.com.

Here are summary of the promotions. You can also order Ala Carte Yee Sang from 5-15 February 2016 as shown in the poster below.

To start off, we had a fun time tossing the Salmon Yee Sang which resembled the face of a monkey, the Chinese zodiac for 2016.

You can also visit the Salad, Soup, Bread, Fried Items & Cold Dishes Sections for Iceberg Lettuce, Romaine Lettuce, Radicchio, Frisee Lollo Rossa, Mixed Salad with Assorted Dressings and Condiments, Pineapple Salad, Calamari Salad, Kerabu Chicken Salad, Glass Noodle Salad, Tuna Nicoise Salad, Japanese Baby Octopus Salad, Popiah, DIY Kuih Pie Tee with Crab Meat, Seafood Pumpkin Soup, Assorted Bread, Chicken Lobak, Calamari Ring, Spring Roll, Money Bag, Prawn Cracker, Assorted Sushi & Sashimi, Fresh Seafood and more.

As for the Hot Dishes Section, you can expect a mix & match of Chinese & Nyonya cuisine such as Chicken Curry Kapitan, Deep Fried Red Lion Fish with Spicy Sauce, Braised Duck with Vegetables, Deep Fried Golden Prawns, Yam & Dried Shrimps Fried Rice Wrapped with Lotus Leaf, Braised Mixed Mushrooms with Sea Moss and Dried Oyster in Bean Curd Skin and more.

The Action Counter and Grill Sections could be quite interesting as could expect some of their signature dishes such as Roasted Duck, BBQ Chicken Wings, Lamb Char Siew, Chicken Char Siew, Lamb Chops, Chicken Satay, Chicken Sausages, Grilled Salmon Steaks, Tiger Prawns, Scallops, Mussels and more.

The Dessert Section would be filled with some specially concocted goodies such as Mandarin Orange Tarts, Cream Caramel Pudding, Warm Chocolate Pudding and an assortment of Chinese New Year festive cookies, Ice Cream and more.

Overall, I was quite impressed with the buffet spread especially the roasted meat section where the kitchen had put in some fusion ideas into the dishes of yesteryears. You might have tasted Chicken Char Siew elsewhere but the idea of Lamb Char Siew was something way out from the world.

The Bungalow @ Lone Pine Hotel is located at the beach front of the hotel. After passing Rasa Sayang Resort & Spa on your right, you would reach a cross junction with traffic lights. After the traffic lights slow down, keep to your right and you would a small sign leading to Lone Pine Hotel just right after the Golden Sands Resort. Find a parking space within and just walk into the entrance of the hotel. You would see the Batubar on your right. Just keep to your right walk until the end where you can see the entrance to a bungalow. You won’t miss the restaurant.

Name: The Bungalow @ Lone Pine Hotel
Address: 97 Batu Ferringhi, 11100Penang, Malaysia.
Contact: 604-886 8686
Business Hours: 12.30pm until 3.30pm (lunch), 7.00pm until 10.30pm (dinner)
GPS: 5.476144, 100.250041

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

About Lone Pine Hotel: Lone Pine Hotel is the first hotel along Penang’s picturesque Batu Ferringhi coastline and since 1948 and is known to this day for its unpretentious accommodation and genuine hospitality. It was given a new lease of life after undergoing extensive refurbishment and expansion in 2009/2010. It reopened in 2010 with an additional 40 rooms (bringing the total to 90) and an upgraded swimming pool, wellness spa, shop and gym, business centre and meeting rooms. Guests, especially loyal long time followers of Lone Pine, were relieved to see that the hotel has not lost its quintessential charm and character, including its signature casuarina trees and lawn. The successful refurbishment and expansion of Lone Pine was recognised by the architect fraternity when it won the PAM Gold Award (commercial category) at the Malaysian Institute of Architects (PAM) bi-annual awards for architectural design excellence. Lone Pine’s recent accolades include the TripAdvisor® Top 10 Boutique Beach Resorts in the World 2011, Top 25 Trendiest Hotels in Malaysia (TripAdvisor Traveller’s Choice® 2012) and TripAdvisor® Certificate of Excellence for the fifth consecutive year from 2011 till 2015

The E&O Group: The E&O Group (Eastern & Oriental Berhad) is a listed company on Bursa Malaysia that has established a reputation as the premier lifestyle property developer of exclusive addresses for the discerning. In Kuala Lumpur, E&O’s landmark properties include The Mews, St Mary Residences, Dua Residency, Idamansara and Seventy Damansara, all located in the most prime and prestigious neighborhoods of the capital city. In Penang, Seri Tanjung Pinang is the island’s first masterplanned seafront development that is now a highly sought-after and thriving community to locals as well as expatriates from over 20 nationalities. In Johor’s southern development corridor of Iskandar Malaysia, E&O has embarked on Avira, a 207-acre wellness-themed development within Medini that has easy accessibility to the Second Link connection to Singapore. In its expansion overseas, E&O’s international foray into real estate investment and development is focused within prime locations in London, including Princes House along Kingsway, ESCA House in Bayswater, and a commercial property in Hammersmith. E&O’s leading position as a lifestyle developer is anchored by its niche in luxury hospitality derived from its namesake, the iconic Eastern & Oriental Hotel, a cherished heritage landmark in George Town established in 1885. Along the popular beachfront, Lone Pine Hotel stands as the only boutique resort on Batu Ferringhi and the Group has further leveraged on its experience and expertise in hospitality management with the opening of E&O Residences serviced apartments in Kuala Lumpur.

For those who enjoyed the scrumptious English Afternoon Tea or even the Ala Carte Dinner at 1885 @ Eastern & Oriental Hotel (E&O Hotel), you now have another option which would be the Yesterday’s Classic 3-Course Set Dinner. Available from 7.00pm until 10.30pm daily (except during certain festive dates), you would get to indulge in the best of the best fine dining experience for only RM120nett per pax. There’s nothing better than to relax and be pampered within the comfortable colonial style part of the heritage building.

Here are the dishes available on the Yesterday’s Classic 3-Course Set Dinner Menu.

At 1885 @ E&O Hotel, meals would always start with some lovely and warm dinner rolls, served with their creamy tomato butter, balsamic vinegar in olive oil and butter. The soft yet fluffy textured in-house made dinner rolls would get anyone’s appetite urging for more.

To start the first course, you would have two options, either a salad or a soup.

The salad option would consist of Smoked Magret De Canard (Smoked Duck Breast) served baby gem (little gem/baby romaine lettuce) and shaved red radish, shaved cucumber, cherry tomatoes with aged balsamic vinegar dressing. It was simple yet fulfilling with the generous portion of thick slabs of smoked duck breast.

The Bisque with lobster ragout, chives and cream was something so delicious that I could lick the plate clean if I were allowed to do so~ LOL~ 😛 The nicely stewed and well seasoned lobster meat plus the thick cream, combined with hot serving bisque (roasted shellfish extracted creamy soup) was extremely flavorful. The best part of the bisque was that it was so fresh that there was no trace of any fishy aftertaste. I would like to compliment the chef for a job well done~ 🙂

As for the main, you would also have two options, either fish or beef.

The first option would be the Pan Fried Red Snapper Fillet, served with spring vegetables, squid ink bread slices and shellfish butter. Though being pan fried, the fish fillet still maintained its moisture and combined with the shellfish butter, it was a great dish for fish lovers.

The next option would be Grilled Grass Fed Filet Mignon, served with mousseline potatoes (baked mashed potatoes), baby vegetables and your choice of gravy (shallot glaze or crushed pepper with thyme jus). I had the tender beef fillet done medium-rare (though medium-done was recommended) and served with crushed pepper with thyme jus. The sensation of having the meat melted in the mouth was so divine. Combined with the aromatic herbal and yet fresh peppery taste of the gravy, I really wished I could have a bigger cut. I was at Cloud 9 with the perfect dish.

As for dessert, we had the Berries Summer Pudding “Bavarois” served with wild berries compote. It may look like a blob of chocolate pudding but within lied a bundle of hidden wild berry gems. Combined with the lovely fruity yet mildly sweetened wild berries compote, it was a great dessert to end the meal.

You would also have an option for beverage. You could either choose their Freshly Brewed Coffee or Selection of Gourmet Tea with pralines.

Overall, I like the concept of course set meals as it would be less hassle to think through what to order and faster to get the food served on your table. Moreover, the ingredients used in the Yesterday’s Classic 3-Course Set Dinner Menu were of high quality and flavors. Be it for a date, business appointment or even family gathering, I would highly recommend this venue. It’s indeed a great deal for all.

Eastern & Oriental Hotel, Penang (next to Penang Bowl) is located along Lebuh Farquhar. If you are coming from Jalan Sultan Ahmad Shah towards Weld Quay, keep to your left immediately after passing by CitiBank. When you see the Penang Bowl building on your left (UMW Toyota opposite), please slow down. Turn left immediately after the Penang Bowl entrance. The E&O Hotel car park is situated just inside the Victory Annexe building. Parking charges would be a maximum of RM6 (weekdays: Monday-Thursday) and RM12 (weekends: Friday- Sunday). 1885 @ Eastern & Oriental Hotel (E&O Hotel) is located within the old wing of the hotel just next to Sarkies Corner.

Name: 1885 @ Eastern & Oriental Hotel (E&O Hotel)
Address: 10 Lebuh Farquhar, 10200 Penang, Malaysia.
Contact: 604-222 2000
Business Hours: 7.00pm until 10.30pm
GPS: 5.423624, 100.334988

RATING:
Ambience: 8.5/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 classy)
Food Choices: 6/10 (1-4 limited, 5-7 average, 8-10 many choices)
Taste: 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)

Sarkies @ E&O Hotel (Eastern & Oriental Hotel) would be promoting their Gong Xi Fa Chai Buffet Dinner 2016 from 7.00pm until 10.30pm on 7-13 February 2016. Priced at RM133.30nett (adult) and RM60.95nett (child from 6-12 years old), diners would get to savor a mix and match of both international and local cuisines. For adults, free flow of wines and beers would be available with an additional RM66nett per pax. Of course, on top of the great selections of salads, sushi, sashimi, grills, roasts, mains, local fares, desserts and more as you would expect from their festive promotion, you would be getting some specially prepared Chinese cuisine to mood up the auspicious occasion.

To start of the Chinese New Year with symbolic greetings of abundance, prosperity, vigor, good luck and more, Prosperity Yee Sang would also be available at the buffet spread. For 6 pax and above, you could request for a specially prepared set for your table upon booking. Baby abalones would be available too as an add-on but would be charged separately.

Special highlight for the buffet would be the Sea Treasures Seafood Soup. One sip and you would know that it had gone through many hours of simmering to get such a good broth. The whole concoction was filled with generous amount of sea cucumbers, fish maws and crab meat.

The next dish to savor would be their Individual Steamed Herbal Soup. For herbal soup lovers, you should not miss out this soup as it was really delicious and filled with nutrients.

Ever since I tried the Steamed Fish with Nyonya Sauce some time back, I still could not forget that complex and yet distinctive flavors from the dish. It could be real addictive too. Obviously the concoction of blended lemongrass, chilies, ginger flower, sugar, salt, pepper with a light squeeze of fish sauce and lime juice indeed made the dish real appetizing.

We also tried out their Sautéed Seasonal Vegetables with Two Treasure Mushrooms. It was just a simple dish. If only they could add in some deep fried wet bean curd sheet (Tao Bor), then it would add in a new dimension to the flavor of the oyster sauce.

The Wok Fried Prawns with Oat and Butter had everyone yearning for more as it was filled with the fragrance from the butter with the crisp from the oats.

Who could resist the Signature E&O Roasted Duck? If you have yet to try this dish before, you would be in a lost. The chef sure knows well about his product as the duck meat was always tender plus its aromatic and fragrant skin would always be my favorite.

The Lotus Rice with Chicken Meat and Mushroom was nicely pepped up with flavors, especially from the unique flavor emitted by the steamed lotus leaves. However, it would be great if some Chinese sausage be added in for that special taste and texture, the halal version of course.

The Braised Chicken in Soy Sauce with Black Mushrooms was something quite common in any household. I don’t mind if the kitchen pepped up the flavors more with some usages of ginger and sesame oil. The dish tends to be a bit flat to my liking.

For desserts, other than the usual vast varieties of delightful sweet temptations, you would get more treats such as Red Bean Soup with Glutinous Rice Ball and Chinese Pancake.

Overall, I like Sarkies @ E&O Hotel as it has lots of options for international and local cuisine. With their signature dishes and more add-ons for this coming Chinese New Year 2016, I can assure that it would be a great venue to celebrate the auspicious Red Fire Monkey year with family and friends.

Eastern & Oriental Hotel, Penang (next to Penang Bowl) is located along Lebuh Farquhar. If you are coming from Jalan Sultan Ahmad Shah towards Weld Quay, keep to your left immediately after passing by CitiBank. When you see the Penang Bowl building on your left (UMW Toyota opposite), please slow down. Turn left immediately after the Penang Bowl entrance. The E&O Hotel car park is situated just inside the Victory Annexe building. Parking charges would be a maximum of RM6 (weekdays: Monday-Thursday) and RM12 (weekends: Friday- Sunday)

Name: SARKIES @ EASTERN & ORIENTAL HOTEL
Address: 10 Lebuh Farquhar, 10200 Penang, Malaysia.
Contact: 604-222 2000
Business Hours: 7.00pm until 10.30pm
GPS: 5.423624, 100.334988

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

If you had tried Sarkies Corner’s Seafood Steamboat Promotion at E&O Hotel (Eastern & Oriental Hotel) at its launch during the third quarter of 2015, you would know that what it’s offering to its diner during this coming festive season would be a bargain too hard to resist. Instead of normal set deal, the restaurant would be offering a wide selection of freshest and quality ingredients – BUFFET STYLE plus the bonus of lovely cakes and cookies during this Chinese New Year 2016. Located at the old wing of E&O Hotel, Sarkies Corner would be serving its Steamboat Buffet Dinner Promotion from 7.00pm until 10.30pm from 7-9 February 2016. Priced at RM88.00nett (adult) and RM44.00nett (child from 6-12 years old), you would get to indulge in the fresh ingredients with your choice of their delicious soup stocks. Free flow of Chinese Tea would be available for the day. If you are interested on the great value for money deal, do make your prior booking now as the restaurant can only cater to a maximum of 80 pax per day.

As per normal, 3 types of soup base such as clear chicken soup, Chinese herbal soup and tomyam soup would be available. You can only choose one option and the soup is refillable.

The buffet spreads would include items such as Prawn 16/20, Brown Cuttlefish, Fish Maw, Sea Cucumber, Salmon Fillet, Red Snapper Fillet, Baby Squid, Flower Crabs, Green Mussel, Crab Stick, Crab Claw, Bamboo Clam, Top Shell (can), White Pomfret, Sea Asparagus (can), Teochew Fish Dumpling, White Fish ball, Stuffed Red Chili with Fish Paste, Stuffed Bitter Gourd with Fish Paste, Stuffed Egg Plants with Fish Paste, Vegetable Fish Ball, Stuffed Bean Curd Skin with Fish Paste, Sui Kow, Bean Curd, Bean Curd Skin and Deep Fried Wanton. Other than that, there will be some meat cuts such as Sliced Beef, Sliced Lamb, Chicken Meat and Sliced Duck.

On top of the seafood and meaty items, you would also get some seasonal vegetables, mushrooms, noodles and eggs. The items could include Tang Oh (Garland Chrysanthemum), Long Cabbage (Napa Cabbage), Chinese Spinach, Nai Pak (Milk Cabbage), Local Choy Sum, Iceberg Lettuce, Local Lettuce, Siew Pak Choy (Baby Bok Choy), Leek, Carrot, Buna/Bunapi Shimeji Mushroom, Shitake Mushroom, Enoki Mushroom, Abalone Mushroom, Yellow Noodles, Koay Teow, Bee Hoon, Glass Noodles, Udon Noodles, Fresh Eggs and Quail Eggs.

There would also be lots of condiments to go with your steamboat such as Homemade Special Chilli Sauce, Coriander Oyster Garlic Sauce, White Radish Spicy Sauce, Sweet Sauce, Tomato Sauce, Chili Sauce, Peanut Sauce, Cut Red Chili, Chopped Garlic, Chinese Parsley, Garlic Oil, Dark Soya Sauce and Light Soya Sauce.

As for Desserts, you might get delicacies such as Egg Tart, Chinese Tea Chiffon Cake, Semolina Almond Cake, Assorted Festive Cookies, Red Bean Glutinous Rice Ball Soup, Mango Pudding, Assorted Pastries (minimum 6 options) and Fresh Tropical Fruits.

Here’s a nice steamboat filled with glorious fresh ingredients.

The Prosperity Yee Sang would also be available at the buffet spread. For 6 pax and above, you could request for a specially prepared set for your table upon booking. Baby abalones would be available too as an add-on but would be charged separately.

Overall, I like the concept of serving steamboats at Sarkies Corner @ E&O Hotel. Who would want to miss having all the richness and sweetness from those fresh ingredients simmered inside the hot pot? Moreover, everyone loves reunions and this would be the best time to gather all your friends and family members for an enjoyable evening.

Eastern & Oriental Hotel, Penang (next to Penang Bowl) is located along Lebuh Farquhar. If you are coming from Jalan Sultan Ahmad Shah towards Weld Quay, keep to your left immediately after passing by CitiBank. When you see the Penang Bowl building on your left (UMW Toyota opposite), please slow down. Turn left immediately after the Penang Bowl entrance. The E&O Hotel car park is situated just inside the Victory Annexe building. Parking charges would be a maximum of RM6 (weekdays: Monday-Thursday) and RM12 (weekends: Friday- Sunday). Sarkies Corner is located within the old wing of the hotel.

Name: SARKIES CORNER @ EASTERN & ORIENTAL HOTEL
Address: 10 Lebuh Farquhar, 10200 Penang, Malaysia.
Contact: 604-222 2000
Business Hours: 7.00pm-10.30pm
GPS: 5.423624, 100.334988

RATING:
Ambience: 8.5/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 classy)
Food Choices: 8.5/10 (1-4 limited, 5-7 average, 8-10 many choices)
Taste: 8/10 (1-4 tasteless, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)
Pricing: 7.5/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 expensive)
Service: 8/10 (1-4 bad, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)

If you want to dine like the emperor, stay like the emperor and rock like the emperor, you should try out the Rock of Prosperity Chinese New Year Buffer Dinner 2016 at Starz Diner @ Hard Rock Hotel Penang from 6.30pm until 10.30pm on 7-8 February 2016. Priced at as low as RM99nett (Adult) and RM68nett (Children 6-12 years old), you would get to savor an extensive array of authentic Chinese and fusion under the expertise of the hotel’s Chinese Sous Chef, Chef Yoong Toy Heng @ Chef Heng, Demi Chef De Partie, Chef Hong Swee Aun and their kitchen team. Please call +604-886 8057 or email fb.penang@hardrockhotels.net to book earlier to avoid disappointment.

From left to right: Chef Hong Swee Aun (Demi Chef De Partie), Andy Chin (F&B Manager), Chef Yoong Toy Heng @ Chef Heng (Chinese Sous Chef), Angeline Chen (Asst. Marketing Communications Manager) and Sheryn Ng (Marketing Communications Executive

Here are the summary and menus for those days. Please click on the photos for clearer views.

Here are some of the highlights of the buffet spreads for the Rock of Prosperity Chinese New Year Buffer Dinner 2016. For the 2-days of buffet dinners, you would get to lavishly indulge in a wide variety of Chinese cuisine which would items such as hot and cold platters, soup of the day, Chinese main dishes, Yee Sang, Chinese BBQ Carving, noodles, steamboat and desserts.

The best part to start off the auspicious occasion with great omen is the availability of a Yee Sang Station. You would find fresh ingredients ranging from Sliced Fresh Salmon (maybe fresh Tuna too), Sliced Abalone, Jelly Fish, Chinese Five-Spice Powder, Toasted Sesame Seed, Roasted Peanuts, Crispy Crackers, Red Pickled Ginger, Yellow Pickled Ginger, Green Pickled Ginger, Pickled Papaya, Pickled Cucumber, Pickled Onion, Yellow Yam Sliced, Red Yam Sliced, Green Yam Sliced, Lime, Lime Leaves, Carrot, White Radish and Plum Sauce. Let’s usher in the year of the Fire Monkey with a big bang of great health, wealth and happiness.

The chefs had also pepped a number of Cold Platter Combinations such as Chicken Roll with Mango Sauce, Smoked Duck with Pineapple Sauce, Pomelo & Mandarin Orange Salad, Young Papaya Salad with Baby Octopus plus Sliced Chicken & Jelly Fish with Oyster Sauce.

You might even get some of the appetizers in canapé servings.

Some of the Chinese New Year dishes you could try out at Starz Diner would include Golden Vegetarian Shark Fin with Crabmeat and Eight Seafood Treasures Soup. It has been a long time since I had savored a rich stock starchy soup so heavenly pepped up with so many flavors. The kitchen indeed did put on hours of labor in simmering the stock. There was a significant taste of roasted poultry flavors in each sip. It was a dish so well done that it could put a lot of eateries in shame.

Special highlights from the main dishes are the XO Chinese Seafood Fried Rice, Steamed Whole Chicken with Ginger & Black Fungus, Braised Lamb Leg with Superior Soy Sauce, Deep Fried Golden King Prawn with Butter & Chicken Floss, Stir-Fried Sea Scallops & Celery in Yam Ring and Braised Green Broccoli with Seafood Treasure & Black Moss plus Steamed Fish with Garlic & Chilies. I was truly impressed with quality of most of the main dishes especially the Steamed Whole Chicken with Ginger & Black Fungus, Deep Fried Golden King Prawn with Butter & Chicken Floss, Stir-Fried Sea Scallops & Celery in Yam Ring and Braised Green Broccoli with Seafood Treasure & Black Moss. You practically find lots quality ingredients used such as scallops, macadamia nuts, various types of mushroom, soy based vegetarian pork belly, dried oysters, sea cucumbers, fish maws, black moss and more in quite a number of the dishes. Wow! It’s like a meal fit for the emperor!

Having steamboats are always merrier encompassing families during Chinese New Year dinners. Bask in an array of meat, vegetables and noodles accompanied with Clear Chicken Soup and Bamboo Soup and a selection of sauces. The hotpot would be available at the buffet spread action counter – DIY style. However, there would be a chef on standby to help you with your requests.

You could also end the meal with some sweet temptations such as a bowl of delicious Hot Chinese Traditional Famous ‘Leng Chee Kang’, Chinese Glutinous Rice Cake with Yam and Sweet Potato, Fried Crispy Shanghai Pancakes, some Chinese cookies, Mandarin oranges and more.

For those who would fancy a set dinner instead of a buffet dinner may opt for Hard Rock Café Prosperity Rock Platter, available for 2 persons at RM160nett or 3 persons at RM240nett. The promotion would be from 1-13 February 2016 from 11.30am until 11.30pm. Diners will be given a choice of Soup of the Day served with Garlic Bread or a House Salad – fresh green salad served with a choice of house dressing. For the mains, delight in a combo of Potato Skins, Chicken Fried Rice, Sweet and Sour Fish, Five Spices Bar-B-Que Chicken, Mini Beef Burgers with Plum Sauce, Deep Fried Prawn with Thai Chili Sauce, Hickory Smoked Pulled Lamb Sandwiches and Chicken Wings with Sweat Sticky BBQ Sauce. To end the perfect meal, enjoy a savory Hard Rock Cafe’s signature dessert –Mini Apple Cobbler served with vanilla ice cream.

Overall, I quite like their Chinese New Year buffet spreads as they were more authentic than most eateries I have tried to date. With so many types of rich ingredients used, the taste of course excelled beyond my expectations. Thanks to the two skillful Chinese chefs that we could savor quality Chinese cuisine from Hard Rock Hotel Penang.

The Starz Diner is located at the left wing of Hard Rock Hotel Penang. Upon entering, just head to the left side and you will see a little glass door leading to the eatery.

Name: STARZ DINER @ HARD ROCK HOTEL PENANG
Address: Batu Ferringhi Beach, 11100 Penang, Malaysia.
Contact: 604-881 1711
Business Hours: 6.30am-11.00am, 5.30pm-11.00pm
GPS: 5.467568, 100.241382

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

RESERVATIONS:

Starz Diner/Pizzeria: Call +604-886 6057 or email fb.penang@hardrockhotels.net.
Hard Rock Café Penang: Call +604-886 8050 or email hrc.admin@hardrockhotels.net.
More information: Hard Rock Hotel Penang’s F&B Promotions

Hard Rock International: With a total of 204 venues in 64 countries, including 157 cafes, 22 hotels and 11 casinos, Hard Rock International (HRI) is one of the most globally recognized companies. Beginning with an Eric Clapton guitar, Hard Rock owns the world’s greatest collection of music memorabilia, which is displayed at its locations around the globe. Hard Rock is also known for its collectible fashion and music-related merchandise, Hard Rock Live performance venues and an award-winning website. HRI owns the global trademark for all Hard Rock brands. The company owns, operates and franchises Cafes in iconic cities including London, New York, San Francisco, Sydney and Dubai. HRI also owns, licenses and/or manages hotel/casino properties worldwide. Destinations include the company’s two most successful Hotel and Casino properties in Tampa and Hollywood, Fl., both owned and operated by HRI parent company The Seminole Tribe of Florida, as well as other exciting locations including Bali, Chicago, Cancun, Ibiza, Las Vegas, Macau and San Diego. Upcoming new Hard Rock Cafe locations include San Juan, Lagos and Gran Canaria, Spain. New Hard Rock Hotel projects include Daytona Beach, Dubai, Los Cabos, Tenerife, Abu Dhabi, and Shenzhen and Haikou in China. For more information on Hard Rock International, visit www.hardrock.com.

Celebrating Chinese New Year with banquet spreads is not something new for Vistana Hotel Penang Bukit Jambul as they have been doing so with tremendous support from the corporate and public sectors for quite many years. However, this year diners would have a bonus as the Hong Kong Master Chef Ng Wing Lam with more than 40 years of culinary experiences from Hong Kong and Asia, has been specially flown in to impress us with his cooking skills. The Chinese New Year Yee Sang Banquet 2016 promotion would start from 18 January 2016 until 22 February 2016 (Lunch: 12.00pm-3.00pm & Dinner: 7.00pm-10.00pm). For more information, you can email vispg@ytlhotels.com.my or call +604-646 8000 for enquiries and reservations.

You have an option to choose from the menu as shown below with pricing starting as low as RM618++ per table for 10 persons.

However, the hotel does also provide the flexibility to customize your dishes as what we had earlier. Here are what we had for the 8-course banquet dinner which was priced around RM688++.

Of course the main highlight of the dinner was the Salmon Yee Sang which had additional add-ons such as jellyfish, freshly julienned carrot and radish plus some deep fried julienned yam on top of the usual other ingredients. I quite like the crunchiness of the overall dish minus the overpowering sweetness as you get from some of the eateries out there.

On the other hand, the Braised Pumpkin Soup with Assorted Seafood was something quite unique. The starchy soup with mild sweetness from the braised pumpkins combined with the sweetness from the added minced chicken, crab meat and prawns plus some tofu cubes, was something simple and yet appetizing.

We also had Steamed Red Lion Fish with Superior Soy Sauce. No doubt the fish was extremely fresh and the texture was just right. However, the chef might have been a bit light handed as I could not taste the significant sweetness and saltiness from the sauce. Moreover, I would think that a light sprinkle of garlic oil would have given the taste more justice.

Next on the list was their Home-Style Whole Chicken with Mushrooms. Well, the dish might look colorful and impressive from the first glance with lots of vegetables and mushrooms scattered everywhere. However, I personally felt that gravy lacked the flavors from the roasted whole chicken. It was just another starchy gravy dish in the menu. It would be great if the kitchen could pick up the unused roasted parts of the chicken, simmer to extract the smoky flavors and infuse the juice into the solely oyster sauce gravy to pep up the flavors more.

We also did try out their Deep Fried Crispy Prawns with Yellow Beans and Mayo. It was indeed an appetizing and palatable dish with a bit of crunchiness from here and there. However, the kitchen should monitor the frying time as some pieces could tend to be a bit chewy to my liking.

The Braised Garden Vegetables with Assorted Mushrooms might not be an ideal choice to add on into your selection of dishes as it tend to be too much starchy dish with the same flavors in one go. Alternatively, the kitchen should reconsider other type of gravy base instead of the of oyster sauce. It might be wise to use either scallop or abalone sauce instead.

The Wok Fried Rice with Anchovies and Chicken might look simple but it was a mouthful of flavors. The deep fried baby anchovies garnished on the rice indeed pepped up the dish further. However, it would be great if some chopped spring onion, deep fried shallots or even pounded deep fried sole fish were to be added in to boost up the flavors even more.

The dessert was just Ginger Tea with Red Dates and Black Sesame Glutinous Rice Balls. The tea was rather mild from gingery flavor and significant the sweetness from the red dates. Maybe it was my personal preference but I would love a stronger ginger taste. As for the black sesame glutinous rice balls, it would be great if some pounded roasted peanuts were to be added in for that extra bite.

Overall, the spread of dishes for the banquet could be quite fulfilling considering that the hotel does provide the flexibility to change your dishes to the ones which suit your taste buds better. However, the pricing might differ compared to the standard options in the menu. As for taste, the dishes could be a bit better than most hotels’ banquet courses but more localized in flavors. The ballroom can only cater up to 500 pax at one time, so do email vispg@ytlhotels.com.my or call in +604-646 8000 to make your advance reservations to avoid any disappointment.

The ballroom is located at the left side as you enter the hotel lobby of Vistana Hotel Penang along Jalan Bukit Gambir. You can park your car at the basement which would require you to get a magnetic card from the receptionist to scan your way out.

Name: GROUND FLOOR BALLROOM @ VISTANA HOTEL PENANG
Address: 213 Jalan Bukit Gambir, 11950 Bukit Jambul, Penang, Malaysia.
Contact: 604- 646 8000
Business Hours: 12.00pm-3.00pm (lunch) & 7.00pm-10.00pm (dinner) – (18 January until 22 February 2016)
GPS: 5.336334, 100.291527

RATING:
Ambience: 7.5/10 (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: 7/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 expensive)
Service: 8/10 (1-4 bad, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)

Let’s start the coming Chinese New Year by having lots of “Lou Sang”, an age-old custom in ancient Chinese tradition and culture, symbolizing “upward” health, wealth, luck and happiness in abundance during each brand new year. This year, Swez Brasserie at Eastin Hotel, Penang, would be offering various dinner packages for your reunions from 6.00pm until 10.30pm on 7-9 February 2016 or even Hi-Tea from 12.00pm until 3.00pm on 8-9 February 2016. It could be a table of feasting with your close associates/friends and family members or it could be fresh seafood spreads with unique dishes buffet. Please take note that for the buffet dinner, advanced booking with full payment before 24 January 2016 would be entitled to a 20% discount.

Do check out the posters below for more details.

Let’s have a peep at some of dishes to be served for the buffet dinner promotions below.

At the Salad Bar & Soup Sections, you would get to try out dishes such as the Fortune Yee Sang with Condiments, Classic Szechuan Hot & Spicy, Fresh Greens with Dressings, Hot Bread Rolls, a Variety of Cheese, Pickles, Mixed Salads, Sushi and Sashimi. The Yee Sang was great with fresh salmon slices and the Szechuan Soup was heavenly pepped up with lots of ingredients.

For seafood lovers, you would be impressed with their Seafood on Ice Section where at least 8 Types of Fresh Seafood with Condiments would be served on the day. Of course, the main attraction would be their juicy and succulent Alaskan Crabs.

Their Hot Dishes Section would one great area to indulge in many newly concocted dishes such as Curry Leave Thai Sweet Kapar, Romeo Sour Curry Fish, Juliet Coconut Squid, Tandoori Lamb Chop with Cucumber Raita, Pan Fried Fish with Saffron Sauce, Creamy Mix Seafood with Cheese, Angel Hair with Bolognese Sauce, Wok Fried Tiger Prawn with Salted Egg Gravy, Stir-fried Broccoli with Mushroom & Sea Cucumber and Pineapple Fried Rice. Although all the dishes were to my liking, my main preferences would still be the Tandoori Lamb Chop with Cucumber Raita, Angel Hair with Bolognese Sauce and Wok Fried Tiger Prawn with Salted Egg Gravy.

The Dessert Section could be real abundance with selections such as Assorted Fruit Platter, Nyonya/Malay Kuih, Chocolate Fountain, Berries Mizu, Red Velvet, Classic Cheese Cake, Waffle with Condiments, French Pastries, House Pudding, Sweet Roll in the Heart, Jellies and Lovely Banana Chocolate Crumble with Vanilla Sauce.

For Yee Sang Takeaway with various toppings, you can check out the poster below.

If you missed out the dinners on 7-9 February 2016, you could always check out their other offers such as their “Seafood Esplora Il Mare” Buffet Dinner on all Fridays and Saturdays.

Overall, I do find the buffet spreads under the supervision of the new Executive Sous Chef, Chef Johnno Fong, to be quite extraordinary compared to the buffets I had at the same venue for the past few years. The dishes served indeed did set the whole atmosphere to be in celebrative moods. However, I do find the dessert section lacked of some Chinese influence as most were basically Western and Nyonya/Malay cakes and bakes. They should have come out with something like steamed glutinous rice cakes with grated coconut, lo han guo infused snow fungus with dried longan soup, red beans filled sesame balls, glutinous rice ball in ginger syrup, fish shaped crystal jelly, pineapple tarts, peanuts cookies, fortune cookies and more.

The Swez Brasserie is located at the ring wing of Eastin Hotel, Penang (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 first floor lobby and you would see the restaurant there.

Name: SWEZ BRASSERIE @ EASTIN HOTEL
Address: 1 Solok Bayan Indah, Queens Bay, 11900 Bayan Lepas, Penang, Malaysia.
Contact: 604-612 1128
Business Hours: 12.00pm-2.30pm (Lunch), 6.30pm-10.00pm (Dinner)
GPS: 5.33643, 100.306345

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

Instead of just having Valentine’s Day romantic dinner as most places would offer, Eastin Hotel, Penang, had gone a step further to combine different packages to suit your budget this year to make the special day more memorable. There would be 4 packages available such as the Only You & Me (RM888nett – 2D1N accommodation with in suite dining), Fly Me Away (RM588nett – Dinner by the Pool), Eternal Love (RM588 – Dinner at Swez Alcove, a specially set up private corner within Swez Brasserie) and Serendipity (RM388 – Semi-buffet dinner at Swez Brasserie). Please refer to the poster below for more information. For the first 12 couples whom had paid up in full before Chinese New Year (8 February 2016), you would be given a 15% discount. Booking is now open until 13 February 2016 or until full. Terms & Conditions apply.

To start off with the 4-course dinner, you would firstly be served with an Appetizer as Salmon Carpaccio with Apple Chutney and Fig Compote.

Next on the list would be the Soup which would consist of Cepes Mushroom Cream with Cappuccino-like Milk Foam.

For Main Course, you would have 3 choices such as fish, beef or chicken.

The first dish would be Grilled Barramundi with Sweet and Sour Tomatoes, Potato Chips and Raspberry Balsamic Vinaigrette.

The next option would be Authentic Beef Fillet served with Mash Potatoes, Baby Vegetables and Fresh Salad with Green Pepper Sauce.

The last option would be Chicken Roulade with Mushroom served with Italiano Mixed Herbs Sauce and Potato Cutlet.

As for Dessert, it would be Lovely Couple Mousse with Australia Berries.

The Swez Brasserie is located at the ring wing of Eastin Hotel, Penang (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 first floor lobby and you would see the restaurant there.

Name: SWEZ BRASSERIE @ EASTIN HOTEL
Address: 1 Solok Bayan Indah, Queens Bay, 11900 Bayan Lepas, Penang, Malaysia.
Contact: 604-612 1128
Business Hours: 12.00pm-2.30pm (Lunch), 6.30pm-10.00pm (Dinner)
GPS: 5.33643, 100.306345

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

Just a few days into Chinese New Year 2016, it’s going to be Valentine’s Day, which also coincides with Renri (7th day of lunar first month – Human Day/Everyone’s Birthday). On this special day, it’s not meant only to celebrate romantic love between couple but also a day to shower your loved ones with lots of love, gifts and blessings. This year, at David Brown’s Restaurant & Tea Terrace at Strawberry Hill up Penang Hill, would be offering unique set meals for Valentine’s Day. Priced at RM338++/per couple or RM170++/pax (in the case you would want to bring your parents or siblings along), you would be served with a 5-course dinner (with double main courses) plus coffee/tea. The promotion will be available from 12-14 February 2016.

However, if you make the booking for 14 February 2016 with full payment now, the management would compliment you with a bottle of their in-house red/white wine. Two sessions would be available for the day – Session 1: 6.30pm-8.00pm and Session2: 8.30pm-10.00pm~ 🙂 Please contact +604-828 8337 or +6018-409 6277 for more information or to make your reservation today.

Prior to the start of any set dinner, you would be served with an in-house made bread roll each, accompanied with butter.

For starter, we were served with Rouleau de printemps (spring rolls) which was something different as it came with a piece each of Cod Fish Paper Roll and Mango Spring Roll. Both the rolls had basically the same ingredients except the Mango Spring Roll came with Vietnamese paper roll with shredded raw mango strips added.

We also tried out their Lobster Bisque Soup with added Slipper Lobster Meat. It was a great soup with nice flavors from the roasted shells and those added chunks of slipper lobster meat did give that extra bite. It would be great too if some croutons or even gnocchi be added in for more texture.

As for the First Main Course, it would be Chicken Roulade served with Poivrade Sauce & Potato Confit. The crushed pistachio nuts and herbs stuffed chicken had just the right flavor and texture. Combined with the peppery mirepoix reduction sauce, both complemented each other real well.

The Second Main Course would consist of an option of 3 choices such as Cod, Lamb or Beef.

The first option would be the Steamed Chiteau Cod served with Seafood Veloute and Chives Pomme Puree. The smooth texture of the steamed Pacific Cod combined with the roux formed buttery seafood sauce and accompanied with some chives boosted mashed potatoes (pomme puree) would be perfect for those seafood lovers.

The second option would be the Lamb Stew served with Balsamic Port Wine Sauce and Potato Confit. The slightly fatty, tender yet juicy slab of stewed lamb combined real well with the balsamic vinegar and Port Wine reduction. I wished I could have more of this heavenly dish over some nicely toasted garlic bread (**hinting**) 😛

The third option would be their Pan-Seared Grain Fed Tenderloin served with Australian Potato Crisps and Au Jus. I simply love how the kitchen prepared their beef tenderloin – medium-rare, tender and juicy. Combined with it natural beef juice (Au Jus), it was perfect. I just wished they could have served more of the Australian Potato Crisps rather than providing only one wedge.

I always love the dessert for their set meals and this time we had the opportunity to try out their Chocolate Strawberry Mousse & Sponge served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and some berries. Can I have more? Slurp~ 🙂

To end the meal, it’s either Tea or Coffee. As for me, I would always go for their aromatic and full-bodied Italian Caffe Vergnano Espresso Rico ‘700 brew.

Overall, I do find the package a great deal as they sure know how to utilize quality ingredients for their cooking. However, the portion served this time could be more towards fine dining with smaller serving through the courses. Anyhow, it was still a fulfilling meal to buzz up the occasion.

In order to get to the restaurant, you would need to take a train up Penang Hill. For MyKad holders, it’s RM10/pax (adult) or RM4/pax (senior citizen, child & student). As for visiting tourists, it’s RM30/pax (adult & senior citizen) or RM15/pax (child & student). Daily train operation hours will be 6.30am-11.00pm (last train from top station). It’s not hard to find David Brown’s Restaurant and Tea Terraces as it’s located above the small Strawberry Hill next to the train station. Upon disembarking from the train, just walk towards the end and turn right and you can see a stairways leading up to the restaurant.

Name: DAVID BROWN’S RESTAURANT & TEA TERRACES
Address: Lot 400, MK 17, Daerah Barat Daya, Strawberry Hill, Bukit Bendera, 11300 Air Itam, Penang, Malaysia
Contact: +604-828 8337 or +6018-409 6277
Business Hours: 11.00am-3.00pm (lunch), 3.00pm-6.00pm (tea), 6.00pm-10.00pm (dinner – last order at 9.00pm)
GPS: 5.424210, 100.268632

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