CRIZ BON APPETITE

Sea Queen Restaurant at Straits Quay, Penang, has almost 3 decades of background history in providing the best seafood for your dining needs. Overlooking a splendid seafront, the restaurant pampers its diners with freshly caught seafood in its most authentic and delicious ways. The restaurant can accommodate up to 1800 patrons or 180 tables for both indoor and outdoor events including weddings, annual corporate dinners, anniversaries, birthdays or any private functions. To summarize all, the Event Hall can cater up to 50 tables, the Sea Queen Ballroom can cater up to 70 tables, the Straits Quay Convention Centre (SQCC) can cater up to 180 tables, while the Sea Queen Restaurant can easily accommodate up to 35 tables. Recently, the restaurant has launched its new Hong Kong Style Dim Sum Promotion to pamper its diners more from 7.30am until 2.30pm and from 6.00pm until 10.00pm.

The choices of dim sum can be quite extensive with the availability of a variety of dim sum, either steamed, fried or baked to congee, noodles, vegetables and more, starting from a price as low as RM8, excluding the applicable taxes. You can view the items in the ordering chits as below.

If you are there for your brunch at 11.00am or even during dinner time after 6.00pm, you also order some additional dishes to pamper your friends and family members even more. Some of the recommended dishes would include the Deep Fried Squirrel Fish with Special Sauce (RM150+), Braised Prawns in Special Sauce with Bread (RM100+), Hakka Style Pork Belly with Yam (RM50+), Chilled Lemongrass Jelly with Lime Ice Cream (RM8+ each), and more.

You could also check out their Wedding Package below.

It’s easy to locate the restaurant as it’s located within the Straits Quay Marina Mall premises. Drive all the way up Jalan Tanjung Tokong until you see Tesco Seri Tanjung Pinang on your right. At the traffic lights, turn right into Jalan Seri Tanjung Pinang. Drive all the way until you see the colonial style mall building. Turn into the left of the building and drive straight until the end towards the beach area and you will see the restaurant.

Name: SEA QUEEN RESTAURANT
Address: G3 & 3A, Straits Quay, Seri Tanjung Pinang, Tanjung Tokong, 10470 Penang, Malaysia.
Contact: +6010-404 0299, +6010-405 0299
Website: www.seaqueen.my
Business Hours: 11.00am-2.30pm/6.00pm-10.30pm (Daily), 11.00am-11.00pm (Public Holidays), Dim Sum: 7.30am-2.30pm, 6.00pm-10.00pm (Daily)
GPS: 5.459273, 100.314161

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

For dim sum lovers, you should check out the All-You-Can-Eat Halal Dim Sum Buffet Promotion, impressively prepared by the experienced Chinese Sous Chef, Chef H’ng Weng Kiang and his dedicated team, at Flavours@3 at the Light Hotel at Seberang Jaya, Penang. The promotion would run throughout March until May 2016 on every Sundays. The price is at RM48+ (adult) and RM29+ (child). It’s recommended to make prior reservation to avoid disappointments to indulge in the freshly made dim sum assortments.

The selection of your freshly made dim sum would be simple as you have an impressive selection of more than 15 mid-high range a la carte items to order from.

Just tick on the provided order chit then hand over to the waiters and you are on the way to feast on the dim sum buffet.

Here are some of the options from steamed buns, steamed dim sum to fried dim sum:

While waiting for your orders to be prepared by the kitchen, you can indulge in other delicacies from their main, action stalls and desserts sections.

Overall, I quite like the halal dim sum, especially the deep fried items as they were prepared fresh from the kitchen upon request. Moreover, the condiments served were far from the norm where you would get only the basic commercialized chili sauce. The concoction of their own made chili sauce may look dull on colors but was remarkably appetizing with some hints of chopped garlic and sweet potato sauce (thnee cheong/甜麵醬). Please also take note that there would be charges levied on every 100g of wastage.

You can check out more of their promotions at Spice Brasserie, Flavour@3, Garden Bar and Lumino Lounge below:

The Light Hotel is located along Lebuh Tenggiri 2 at Seberang Jaya, Penang. Upon entering the main entrance of the hotel, just drive around to find your parking space at the front of the premises. Walk into the lobby of the hotel and head straight towards the furthest end and you will see some elevators. Flavour@3 is located at Level 3 of the hotel. Go up to Level 3 and you can see the eatery just next to the swimming pool.

Name: Flavour@3, The Light Hotel
Address: Lebuh Tenggiri 2, Bandar Seberang Jaya, 13700 Seberang Jaya, Penang, Malaysia.
Contact: +604-382 1111
Business Hours: 7.30am-11.00am (Breakfast), 12.00pm-2.30pm (Set Lunch), 7.00pm – 10.30pm (Set Dinner)
GPS: 5.394646, 100.397951

RATING:
Ambience: 8/10 (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 Golden Phoenix @ Hotel Equatorial, Penang has launched its “All You Can Eat Dim Sum Semi Buffet Lunch” promotion recently. For dim sum fans, it’s the time of the year for you to dine in the comfort of the restaurant while snacking your way through the 28 options of dim sum delicacies from Golden Phoenix. The promotion will be available for lunch (12.00noon – 2.30pm) on weekdays only (except weekends & public holidays) from 1 October 2013 until 30 November 2013. Price is at RM42++ (adult) and RM23++ (child).

Let’s have a look at the semi buffet spread first before going into the dim sum selections. On the main spread, there would be some savory dishes for you to start off your appetite while waiting for your dim sum orders to be served. Savory dishes served would be on a rotation basis and you might get items such as Sichuan Hot & Sour Soup, Pei Tan Chok, Fried Singapore Bee Hoon, Yong Chow Fried Rice and Stir Fry Yau Mak with Garlic.

On the other hand, there would be a dessert corner with items such as Sweet Potatoes in Syrup, Chilled Honeydew Sago, Assorted Cakes and Fresh Fruit Cuts.

Some of the dim sum items in the ala carte menu would be worth mentioning as they excelled above the rest on the market, whether these are from hawkers or restaurants.

The first recommended dish on the list would be the XO Sauce Siew Mai (#1 in the menu). Amazingly, the kitchen could still come out with its own “halal” XO sauce as this sauce normally contains chopped bacon, ham and Chinese sausages. I guessed they have their ways to replace pork items with chicken items instead. XO sauce is a rich sauce filled with flavors from some dried seafood and meat and this combination of minced prawns, chicken and sauce indeed pepped up the unique flavors in this dim sum.

Next on the list would be the Hak Chiew Kwei Mei Gai (#2 in the menu). Normally this dish would come with small pieces of pork ribs. The kitchen did a great job in tenderizing the chicken pieces with some ginger juice and pepped up with enough coarsely crushed black pepper and salt, prior to steaming, indeed made this dish my favorite of the day.

Next on the list would be the Tian Suan Yuan Yang Xia (#15 in the menu). This is practically just two deveined prawns steamed with 2-flavor sauce but the freshness of the prawns was remarkably appetizing.

Next on the list would be the Hoi Tong Gor (#17 in the menu). These dumplings were quite identical to the taste of the usual Har Mai (prawn dumplings) but with the added dried scallops did emit extra rich seafood flavors in the concoction.

Next on the list would be the Fried Lor Mai Fan (#18 in the menu). Steaming glutinous rice would be quite an easy task but to boost up the fragrance of the rice grains to get the extra aromatic flavors would require more effort. The kitchen did a good job in stir toasting the grains with just the right amount of seasoning prior to steaming them.

Next on the list would be the Char Wu Kok (#21 in the menu). This is indeed another of my favorite item while having dim sum. Delicious char siew BBQ sauce marinated minced chicken wrapped in mashed yam paste and deep fried to perfection. The flakiness of the outer crust combined with the ooziness of the sauce within would make this item a great snack for any occasion.

The last recommended dish on the list would be the Lor Pak Gou (#28 in the menu). The firmness and texture of this delicacy were just right. On top of the grated radish, the little pieces of added dried shrimps and Chinese sausages (chicken) flavored up the whole combination real well. By pan frying the cake slices, the fragrance from the slightly crispy crust combined with the soft interior made this dish delicious.

Overall, there are still rooms for improvements as the taste and flavors of some of dished were rather localized. However, being a halal restaurant with the limitation of ingredient usages, that would be the best you can get without the use of pork for the dim sum. Here’s a look at the items available in the menu. Click on the photo to enlarge for a better view.

If you are coming from Bayan Baru area towards Jalan Tun Dr Awang, make a right turn into Persiaran Bukit Jambul at the second traffic lights. Drive all the way up the sloppy road until you see INTI International College on your left. Drive about another 150m onwards and turn right into Jalan Bukit Jambul at the first junction you see. You will see the hotel on your left. The easiest way to get there would be by parking your car on the left side of the building (office block area) as your enter the hotel’s car park. Take the nearest stairway up a level and you will see the restaurant on your left. The Golden Phoenix is located at the same level as the Grand Ballroom overseeing the golf courses of Bukit Jambul Country Club.

Name: GOLDEN PHOENIX @ HOTEL EQUATORIAL
Address: Jalan Bukit Jambul, 11900 Bayan Lepas, Penang, Malaysia.
Contact: 604-632 7166
Business Hours (Promotion Period): 12.00pm-2.30pm (excluding weekends & public holidays)
GPS: 5.337122, 100.285308345

RATING:
Ambience: 8/10 (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: 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 think that made to order dim sum would only be available in hotel-class restaurants, you would be in for a surprise. One of Penang’s newest food court, Viva Local Food Haven (formerly Golden Horse Food Court) has just launched its newest dim sum kitchen, Viva Dim Sum Delight (東城點心) on 10 August 2010. The main objective of the outlet opening is to provide more quality and affordable priced dim sum within the reach of the public. In fact, most of their ingredients were Hong Kong based imports.

Let’s have a look at how reasonable those delicacies are from the menu. There would be over 30 variety of items for you to choose from, ranging from steamed, deep fried to stir fried food. Click on the photo below for a larger view.

To start the fiesta, we had the Traditional Steamed Glutinous Rice (古法糯米雞-RM3.80). There was a strong hint that the glutinous rice was flavorfully stir fried prior to steaming with precooked chunks of chicken, Chinese sausage and BBQ pork (char siew). The whole combination was quite fine except I still prefer mine to have a few Chinese mushrooms and wrapped in lotus leaves for that extra flavor.

The next was the Crispy Dragon Roll (香脆升龍卷-RM3.80). This is indeed the gigantic version of the usual prawn roll, with larger prawns too. It was served on a bed of the chef’s specially created mayo sauce with a hint of mustard added. It was a nice combo deal.

When I thought I could only get the Shanghainese Meat Dumpling (小籠包-RM4.80) from posh restaurants, I was surprised by the next presentation. What? 3 Xiao Long Bao at that price when others are double or triple fold that pricing? The soup within each dumpling was indeed abundant and tasty. When combined with the provided ginger strips in black vinegar, it was heaven! The only fallback was the amount of meat inside. One can’t complain for the price paid right?

There was also a manual showing the right way to consume the dumpling without spilling all over your body. Cute!

What would be dim sum without some beautifully created and tasty buns? The chefs sure know how to tempt the taste buds of their patrons with their delicious sweet and savory buns. One such product would be their recommended Steamed Bun with Butter Cream & Egg Yolk (特制流沙包-RM4.80). Indeed it was the best bun I had in ages. Even the texture of the bun was remarkably smooth and fine. A small nibble at the side saw a large flow of golden egg yolk colored cream oozing out furiously. Well, there’s a skill in consuming this bun as well without drowning your fingers in sweetness. The method of eating is just like the Xiao Long Bao stated above.

There was such a term as “sweetness will come in pairs”. The next bun which was Steamed Bun with Premium Lotus Paste and Egg Yolk (蛋皇蓮蓉包-RM3.80) was a double happiness. It had a lot of finely ground lotus paste and a big salted egg yolk. A bit sweet for my liking but having 3 buns as a set would surely please those sweet lovers.

Next was the Steamed Bun with Supreme Barbequed Pork (蜜汁叉燒包-RM3.80). The overall taste was nice except that it was a bit too dry to my liking. I prefer to have mine with some added toasted sesame seeds mixed with the ingredients too.

The next set of buns got all the “wives” rolling their eyes at their “husbands”. How dare you touch these Shanghainese “Mistress” Bun (上海二奶包-RM4.80)? Just look at that shape! Don’t you think they do resemble something? LOL! Anyway, these buns have some nice custard-like buttery cream within.

You could also get some savory type of buns with some sweet crust on the surface – Baked Hong Kong Style Polo Bun (香港菠蘿包-RM3.80). Each bun would be filled with some barbeque pork slices.

Do also check out with the staff there on their weekend specials. One of the specials we had was the Scallop and Fish Roe Dumpling (鳳眼帶子餃). I would say this was one of the great fusion combinations as the dumpling was filled with large prawns, topped with fresh scallop and garnished with fish roe, spring onion stalk and a leaf of coriander.

Another of the weekend specials was the Dragon Whiskers Roll (龍鬚卷). Sweet indeed and it had a rather unique combination of filling. The deep fried delicacy was filled with blended avocado, custard cream, butter and wrapped with a type of rice noodles. Those sweet tooth lovers would surely love this crispy product.

If you are driving from town towards Batu Ferringhi beach area, you would pass by Island Plaza shopping mall on your right. Drive all the way until you meet with a curve. You would see a traffic light (UDA Flats on your right). The food court is actually a bit further up on your right but you need to make a U-turn to reach the venue. So, drive on and keep to your right until you see the next traffic lights (Tanjung Bungah Beach Hotel on your right). Make a U-turn until you see the Chinese Swimming Club on your left. Immediately after the building you would see a lane on your left (Jalan C M Hashim leading to Naza Hotel). Turn left and you would the food court on your right with ample parking space behind.

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Name: VIVA DIM SUM DELIGHT (东城点心)
Address: Lot 303, Jalan Tanjung Tokong, 10470 Penang, Malaysia.
Opening Hours: 6.00am-2.00pm
Contact: 604-890 2549
GPS: 5.462813, 100.305056

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Not in photo: NKOTB & hubby

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

After patronizing more than 14 dim sum restaurants within the Georgetown vicinity, I had found one that suited my taste best. Surprisingly, this barely a year old restaurant is the sister company of the famed Restoran Zim Sum along Jalan Anson and they do share the same premise with another sister company named The Steamboat Restaurant along Jalan Macalister, Penang. The name of this restaurant is Dim Sum Food Restaurant.

When I mention about being the cheapest, do not have the wrong perception as in monetary terms or on the restaurant serving extremely cheap food. I had based my judgment on the quality, freshness and amount of ingredients used in each of the dishes. Moreover, the food here did fill the two of us here until the beam. Let me share with you my experiences of dining in this restaurant.

Not many restaurants in town would provide quality and delicious dim sum from Shanghai or Hong Kong and at the same time at an affordable price but this restaurant proved me wrong. The have Gyoza (Jiaozi – 餃子) , Egg Dumpling (蛋餃), Shanghai Sheng Jian Mantou (生煎饅頭) and many more at less than RM3 for a plate of threes. Just to try them out without overeating, I just ordered one of each at RM1 per piece. That’s cheap in my context as I had paid RM8+ before just to savor 5 pieces of smaller sized Gyoza in other restaurants.

The Gyoza was great and had the mild crisp still on the skin and the filling was well stuffed wile maintaining its juiciness. It went well with lots of young ginger strip soaked in black vinegar. The Egg Dumpling tasted great as well although it looked just like an egg coated dumpling. What impressed me more was the Sheng Jian Mantou (Pan Fried Steamed Bun), a common street food in Shanghai. The filling within was so compact and it has lots of ingredients such as minced pork, chopped shrimps, jicama and mushroom seasoned with a mild fragrant taste from some dashes of sesame oil. This is a must try.

Just for information purposes, you might want to know how to differentiate the many versions of the Chinese dumpling, Jiaozi (餃子). Depending on the way these dumplings are cooked, boiled ones are called Shuijiao (水餃), shallow pan fried ones are called Guotie (鍋貼) and steamed ones are called Zhengjiao (蒸餃). Some people may use egg as the wrapper or coat the Jiaozi with beaten eggs prior to frying. These would be called Danjiao (蛋餃/蛋餃子).

Next was the Har Gao (Shrimp Bonnet due to its pleated shape). The skin was so thin that the basket of three looked so translucent. With the freshness of the mildly seasoned prawns, the whole dumpling just melted smoothly inside my mouth.

In most of the dim sum restaurants locally as well as those from Taiping, Perak, you would get Siu Mai (Pork Dumpling) as a common item. This restaurant had put in the extra effort to have some prawns in the dumpling, thus making them into Har Mai (Prawns and Pork Dumpling). The best part was that they have four in the basket compared to the normal three I get elsewhere. With the fresh juicy prawn dumpling served steaming hot on my table, they were one of the best around.

I also realized something unique in this restaurant. They do not use Kani Kama, artificial crab sticks which have no crab meat in it but processed to resemble snow crab legs with surimi (grounded) white fish meat (pollock or hake). Most dim sum restaurants would use Kani Kama to dress each dumping differently but with the same type of filling just to impress on the look. I guessed this restaurant believed in freshness of each dim sum they serve. I had chunks of fresh crab meat garnished on my richly prawn filled dumpling. Moreover, it’s really cheap at RM4 for a basket of threes.

The next order was something that I have not had in ages. It’s Steamed Prawns on Pan Fried Tofu and served with egg white gravy. The minced prawns were mildly flavored and the fried tofu was silky smooth.

A visit to any dim sum restaurants would not be complete if you did not try out the Hong Kong Style Prawn/Char Siu Chee Cheong Fun (Rice Noodle Roll with Prawns/Honey BBQ Pork). Although the rolls were not as soft and as translucent as they should be, the tasty special soy sauce, fried onions and blended dried shrimp chili paste complimented each other well.

The waitress also recommended their hot selling Nam Yu Bao (Red Fermented Bean Curd Roasted Pork Steam Bun). It was superb! Choice pieces of roasted pork belly meat were marinated with red fermented bean curd, sugar, salt and some sauces and steamed until tender prior to rolling them into the steamed bun dough. These would then be steamed until the dough rose up beautifully. This is another must try in this restaurant if you love fatty meat items.

The last order which was supposed to be our first order came last. It was a mistake order, not as in quality but in quantity. We did not expect our small order to end up so big. The Fried Grouper Fillet Hor Fun was enough to feed three persons and it was priced at only RM8. The dish had lots of snow peas, carrot slices, cabbages, onions, roasted pork slices on top of the generously garnished fried grouper fillets. The first taste of the gravy was beautiful but we ended up felling disgusted due to the oversized portion of the hor fun (broad rice noodles). The chef should have fried the noodles dry instead of serving them plain. That would have cut down on the soggy feeling.

With our tummies being over expanded, we did not manage to try out the remaining fried items out of their over 80 types of dim sum served there. I was also being informed by the chef that they would still be coming out with new items by the end of the week. Although I did have some takeaway, it would unfair to judge them when the food had cooled down but I can assure you that the taste of the brought back items were rich in flavors. Some of the items which I could not manage to capture on shots included the Fish Bladder Prawn Dumpling and Shark’s Fin Prawn Dumpling. Gosh! Those eaters sure know how to grab good food fast. Anyway, I would just share what I had photographed below.

Overall, the whole dim sum breakfast meal came up to RM30 nett inclusive of a pot of chrysanthemum tea for two. Do you think the food here is expensive then?

Dim Sum Food Restaurant is just located along Jalan Macalister between Jalan Kek Chuan and Lorong Susu. The most prominent landmark would be Menara UMNO which is directly opposite the restaurant. In case you might miss the restaurant, just look out for The Steamboat Restaurant sign as both share the same premises.

Name: DIM SUM FOOD RESTAURANT
Address: 63, Lorong Macalister, 10400 Penang, Malaysia.
Contact: 604-229 7273
Business Hours:
9.00am-3.00pm (Monday-Friday)
8.00am-3.00pm (Saturday, Sunday & Public Holiday)
GPS: 5.415606, 100.324736

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

By now everyone should know that Sarkies @ E&O Hotel (Eastern & Oriental Hotel) has the reputation of pampering its diners with great choices for their buffet spreads and this year it’s the best one would expect for their Christmas Eve 2019 Buffet Dinner. Other than being served with international and local cuisines, more delicious yet classic Christmas dishes and desserts would be added to the spreads, making the festive experiences even more joyous and memorable. The promotion would be held on 24 December 2019 from 6.30pm until 10.00pm with live band performances. Prices are as stated in the poster below.

Some of the main highlights of the buffet would include Starters (Chilled Green Tea Soba Noodles Served with Poached Chicken, Green Beans, Nuts, Seeds and Tahini Ponzu Dressing, Salad Nicoise with Grilled Sabah Tuna, Thai Glass Noodle Salad with Poached Seafood, Roast Chat Potatoes with Glazed Pear, Roquefort Cheese and Walnut Salad, Sous Vide Fennel and Orange Quinoa Salad, Pomegranate, Yoghurt Dressing, Baby Spinach Leaf, Homemade Marinated Salmon Side Fresh Dill and Lemon Wedges, Semi-Cooked Scallops Topped With Herb and Tomato Salsa, Galantine of Turkey with Chestnut Stuffing, Sushi and Sashimi with Condiments, Daily Catch Seafood on Ice with Dressings and Condiments (Lime Wedges, Lemon Wedges, Tabasco, Wasabi, Cocktail Sauce, Kikkoman), Soup served with Selection of Breads, Butter, Olive Oil and Balsamic (Creamy Smoked Salmon, Leek & Potato Soup, Classic French Onion Soup with Croutons), Fish Cartoccio served with Fennel, Mushroom, Spinach, Tomato, Basil, Rosemary, Homemade Meatballs served with Mint and Rosemary Tomato Concasse, Oven Baked Rib Eye with Chef Special Marinade served with Sauce and Condiments (Cranberry Jelly, Giblet Sauce, Black Pepper Sauce, Roasted Garlic Sauce, Mint Sauce, Rosemary Sauce, English Mustard, Horseradish, Mashed Potato, Wood Oven Roasted Vegetables with Peso, Potato Pumpkin Gratin and Yorkshire Puddings), Roast Turkey served with Sauce and Condiments (Cranberry Jelly, Giblet Sauce, Sauté Brussels Sprout, Apple Chestnut Stuffing, Braised Red Cabbage), Selection of Main Course (Fragrant Pilaf Rice with Dried Fruits and Nuts, Oven Roasted Marinated Chicken with Fennel, Onion, Tomato and Thyme, Lamb Osso Bucco with Root Vegetables, Slow Braised Beef with Beans Ragout, Mixed Seafood Lasagna, Mixed Vegetables with Herbs Butter, Aglio Olio with Roasted Vegetables, and maybe more)

The desserts served this year are of premium quality as always and the best news is that all the desserts are with the right amount of sweetness to send your sweet tooth craving for more without the fear of increasing your waistline. Cool right? Haha! Some of the dessert highlights are Strawberry Bavaroise, Chocolate Pear Chiboust Crème Tart, Morello Cherry Gateau, Fresh Wild Berries Flan, Chocolate Mousse in Shot Glass, Strawberry and Raspberry Jello, Crème Brulee, Christmas Fruit Cake, Mince Pies, Chocolate Yule Log, Pistachio Opera, Butterscotch Banana Cream Torte, Raspberry Chocolate Mille Feulle, Vanilla Mango Panna Cotta, Mont Blanc, Gingerbread/Panettone, Christmas Log Sensations, Berries Éclair, Framboise Crunch Feulle Bavaroise, Financier with Wild Berries, Lemon Tart, Assorted Chocolate Santa, Macaron Tower, Chocolate Bar, Gingerbread Man with Candy Hook, and maybe more.

There are also some Christmas items for your purchases to make your celebration filled with more festive moods. Here’s the order form for your reference. Please call up +604-222 2000 (Ext. 3602) to make your order. All orders must be made at least 3 days in advance with the necessary payment.

You could also view their other ongoing promotions from their website for November & December 2019.

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
GPS: 5.423624, 100.334988

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

This year Angsana Teluk Bahang would be offering Juadah Di Teluk Bahang Ramadan Buffet Dinner 2022 at Level 3, Jendela Restaurant. The promotion would start from Thursday, 14 April 2022 until Saturday, 30 April 2022, from 6.30pm to 10.00pm. There would be a live performance of traditional wayang kulit and a gamelan band, and also a demonstration of coconut leaf weaving. Normal price is RM128.00nett for adult and RM 64.00nett for children 6 to 12 years old. An Early Bird Price of RM105.00nett for adults and RM 52.50nett for children 6 to 12 years old is available for a limited time only between Friday, 11 March 2022 to Wednesday, 13 April 2022. Children 5 years old and below would get to dine for FREE. For bookings, please call +604-817 0888 or email telukbahang@angsana.com today.

The buffet would feature Malay kampung delights like raw green ulam, ulam raja, ulam pegaga, daun selom, jantung pisang with a medley of sambals including sambal belacan, sambal tempoyak, sambal mangga, sambal kelapa, sambal kicap pedas, petis udang and cincalok. At the Chinese corner, there would be steamed dim sum, mantou and buns with sauces and dips, The soup station includes Szechuan hot and sour soup and spicy mutton soup. There is a noodle station showcasing bakso daging and herbal chicken soups with a variety of noodles plus vegetables and condiments, stir-fried prawns in spicy chili sauce, sautéed Hong Kong kailan with mushrooms, wok-fried mee hoon with seafood and black pepper crab and whole seabass with superior soya sauce. The Malay corner would include beef rendang, udang masak sambal petai, clams in padprik sauce, ribs in asam pedas sauce and spicy fried chicken. The Indian corner would have chicken and lamb tandoori, chicken briyani, aloo ghobi, butter chicken masala and Madras lamb curry. There woul also be wasabi marinated fried chicken with sesame sauce and roasted Mediterranean vegetables in the western corner. Indonesian dishes include gulai daging masak hitam, gulai lemak nangka, gulai kambing and gulai patin tempoyak. There would also be a whole roasted lamb marinated with lemongrass, turmeric and galangal, grilled seafood wrapped in banana leaves and spicy sambal, chicken and beef satay, chicken and beef Ramli burger, beef and chicken murtabak served with pickled onions.

Desserts would include iced syrups, a chocolate fountain of vanilla sponge, honey dew, pineapple, churroz and cream puffs, ice cream, bitter chocolate cake, mixed berries bavarois, assorted nyonya kuih, lemongrass jelly, cheese cake, linzer torte, crème caramel, air batu campur and assorted cut fruits.

Getting to the Angsana Teluk Bahang won’t be hard as it’s all the way up via Jalan Tanjung Tokong until almost the end of Jalan Teluk Bahang. Park your car at the ample parking space and walk right into the lobby, then go the lift area right at end and go up level 3. Upon exiting the lift, you can see the Jendela Restaurant.

Name: JENDELA RESTAURANT @ ANGSANA TELUK BAHANG
Address: Level 3, 11 Jalan Teluk Bahang, 11050 Teluk Bahang, Penang, Malaysia.
Contact: +604-817 0888
Business Hours: 6.30pm-10.00pm (buffet time)
GPS: 5.461866, 100.219752

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

Welcome the year of the rat for the coming Chinese New Year 2020 with special festive menus pepped up the skillful chefs of The Light Hotel, Seberang Jaya, Penang, for you to celebrate with loved ones for social gathering, company departmental get-together, and corporate dinner as well as outside catering services. Fret not our Muslim-Chinese guests as they can also savor the food which are Halal certified by JAKIM and our chefs try their best not to compromise on the authenticity of Chinese festive delicacies. There will be many ongoing promotions as shown in the poster below. This year Grand Prosperity Reunion Buffet Dinner held in The Light Grand Ballroom offers great entertainment from 5-piece Chinese Orchestra and 3-piece live band to accompany you all-night-long. You could also opt for their Blooming Abundance CNY 8-Course Set Dinner from now until the end February 2020 ranging from RM1,088+ onward for 10 persons. Advanced reservations are encouraged. For reservations and enquiries, please contact +604-382 1111 or email to info@thelighthotelpg.com

To start off the prosperous Lunar New Year, toss to good fortune and longevity with the Fatt Choy Yee Sang with Salmon and condiments, which would be available at the DIY buffet counter. The Prosperity Poon Choi, which is literally translated to “Chinese casserole in a basin” is one of the “must have” dishes during this auspicious celebration. If you prefer a la carte order of Prosperity Poon Choi or Treasure Pot it’s also available at RM588+ per serving. You would get to savor an array of seafood, vegetables served with option of either Clear Soup or Tom Yam Soup and selection of 5 types of noodles, seafood on ice – fresh catch of succulent juicy prawns, scallop and crab. There are 10 types of salad and appetizer, smoked salmon platter, 7 choices of homemade dim sum, whereas Nyonya station will be serving fresh popiah and pie tee. The main course dishes would include salt & pepper fried squid, signature salted egg cereal prawns, steamed fish fillet with supreme soy sauce, chicken rice, chicken char siew, roasted duck and steamed herbal chicken. Do try out their famous stir-fried black pepper beef too. Unlike others, this year they have 4 types of soup from Chinese traditional black chicken herbal soup, crabmeat soup, seafood chowder and cream of mushroom soup. Some Western delight would also be featured such as seafood lasagna, chicken & potato pie, pasta and roasted leg of lamb with condiments. Their ready-to-serve action counter varies from noodle station, chef’s specialty Char Koay Teow, longevity noodle soup and Hokkien Mee, chicken/duck rice stall, and more.

You would still get to enjoy The Light Hotel’s signature dishes at a lower scale during this festive season. Not to be missed are their shawarma, chicken biryani alongside mutton curry and potato, best accompanied with Indian bread too.

For that sweet finish, guests can head on to the Dessert Corner that serves assorted cakes such as orange mousse cake, mandarin orange cake, marble cheese cake, French pastries, puddings, traditional Chinese butter cake, Shanghai pan cake, tong yuan soup, cookies and the list goes on.

Do also check out the “Stay & Dine Package” which is inclusive of a “2 Days 1 Night Stay” in Deluxe Room with Complimentary Buffet Breakfast, Evening Cocktail and Chinese New Year Reunion Buffet Dinner from RM388+ for 2 pax. Only applicable on 24 January 2020. Terms and conditions apply.

The Light Hotel is located along Lebuh Tenggiri 2 at Seberang Jaya, Penang. Upon entering the main entrance of the hotel, just drive around to find your parking space at the front of the premises. Walk into the lobby of the hotel and you can see Spice Brasserie on your left.

THE LIGHT HOTEL PENANG
Address: Lebuh Tenggiri 2, Bandar Seberang Jaya, 13700 Seberang Jaya, Penang, Malaysia.
Contact: +604-382 1111
Business Hours: 7.30am-11.00am (Breakfast), 12.00pm-2.30pm (Set Lunch), 7.00pm – 10.30pm (Set Dinner)
GPS: 5.394646, 100.397951

RATING:
Ambience: 8/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 classy)
Food Choices: 9/10 (1-4 limited, 5-7 average, 8-10 many choices)
Taste: 9/10 (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 The Light Hotel: The Light Hotel Penang is wholly owned and managed by The Light Hotel (M) Sdn Bhd. It is located within a fast-developing industrial area of Seberang Jaya, Penang. The 5-star Hotel offers a luxury resort-style experience with a total of 303 rooms of 6 different categories. Its private and fully equipped meeting facilities and boardrooms offer high class stylish business environments which cater to all business needs. Meet your partners or hold your business gatherings in the comfort of our function rooms. Expand the possibilities in fascinating surrounding and ultra-modern interior of The Light Grand Ballroom with 1200 banquet seating or choose from any of the 12 other meeting rooms that caters for a small intimate affair to larger scale events. Opt for a casual all-day dining at Spice Brassiere or an exquisite experience at Flavour@3 that caters for in-door and Al fresco style dining whereas Lumino Lounge serves refined food and beverages as well as fine cigar brands. The beautiful outdoor landscaped swimming pool, gymnasium, sauna room, yoga studio, kid’s playroom, are namely some of the facilities on the 3rd floor, whereas the Spa is located on the Mezzanine floor. The Light Hotel Penang represents the perfect combination of luxurious destination of Delightful Mix of Business and Comfort for a truly unique experience. Visit www.thelighthotelpg.com for more information.

In conjunction with the Chinese New Year 2020, the year of the Yang Metal Rat, Lexis Suites Penang, would be providing guests with a few options for buffet dinner & lunch, set lunch & dinner and Salmon Yee Sang Platter. Please check out the posters below for more information. Prices stated are all in net. Executive Chef, Johnno Fong and his culinary team have prepared a grand reunion buffet dinner on 24 January 2020 (6.30pm-10.30pm), a sumptuous buffet lunch on 25 & 26 January 2020 (12.00pm-3.00pm), set lunch & dinner from 24 January until 8 February 2020 (lunch & dinner time) and Salmon Yee Sang Platter from 20 January – 8 February 2020 (11.00am – 10.00pm). For more details and reservations, please call +604-628 2888 or email to reservations@lexissuitespenang.com today.

The best part is that there are quite a number of activities during the Chinese New Year Eve’s buffet dinner, such as Dou Mask Changing Performance, God of Prosperity/Fortune walkabout, live band performance, and you could walk away with attractive lucky draw prizes. Moreover, the buffet is reasonably priced at RM138 for adult and RM90 for senior citizen/child. Early bird discount of 20% will be given to the adult published price rate of RM138 for those who make their booking from now until 20 January 2020. You can obtain the early bird discount by scanning the QR code below and key in the promo code of LSPCNY20. Terms and conditions apply.

The buffet spread would comprise of many different sections, ranging from salads, cold items, soup, hot dishes, seafood on ice, action counter, fried corner and desserts culminating in an amazing gastronomical journey of food adventure. You could start off the culinary adventure with refreshing greens or savory little bites with assorted dressings and condiments that will get the appetite going. To sooth down the throat, we have piping hot Chinese Emperor Seafood Chowder & Double Boiled Chicken Herbal Soup accompanied by fresh baked bread rolls and butter. You could also enjoy a variety of seafood items on ice before proceeding to the mains. As for the mains, diners will find many signature Oriental style dishes such as Sea Moss Bamboo Pith with Mixed Vegetables, Fatt Choi Seafood and Smoked Chicken Noodles, Braised Bailing Mushroom with Sea Cucumber, Lexis Style Spicy Prawns, Ostrich with Spring Onion, Ginger and Chestnuts, Braised Herbal Duck with Wolfberry among others. A variety of deep-fried items such as Fish Crackers, Tempura Squid & Pumpkin Fritter spices up the mix, and for a different filing, try out the action counters consist of Roasted Whole Smoked Chicken Block with Condiments, Black Pepper and BBQ sauce, Baked Whole Fish with Mai Lai King Sauce, Lexis Style Lobster Wok, classic Steamed Dim Sum’s and Man Tou. Diners will also get to indulge in one the main highlighted items in the buffet which is the “Emperors Twin Dome” consists of Poon Choi and Yook Chin that will ensure the taste buds are tingling in all senses.

Desserts are abundance with Mini French Pastries, Chocolate Fountain with Rock Condiments and Dried Longan Peach Gum with Wolfberry Soup. Of course, you cannot end a Chinese New Year buffet without some succulent Mandarin Oranges, Fortune Cookies, assorted Chinese Cookies and Pandan Tau Fu Fa with Brown Sugar.

There are also some splendid set lunch and dinner promotions. There are three set options to choose from and are reasonably priced at RM988, RM1188 and RM1388 respectively for a table of 10pax. Depending on which you go for, you might get to enjoy signature dishes like Steamed Seabass with Supreme Soya Sauce and Roasted Garlic, Chef’s Special Fried Rice with Diced Chicken and Dried Shrimps wrapped in Lotus Leaf, Steamed Grouper with Emperor Sauce and Chicken Essence, and Double Boiled Exclusive Dried Longan, Lotus Seed with Ginseng Root and Sea Bird Nest. All set lunch and dinner would come with a complimentary Salmon Yee Sang platter for each table.

Here are the 3 set selections.

Here’s a peep at how a RM1188 set package would look like.

For those who just want to indulge in our Salmon Yee Sang platter, they can also purchase one at RM108 per set for 10pax. It is available for dine-in or takeaway.

Thanks to the management of Lexis Suites Penang for having us over for an exciting Chinese New Year preview.

Lexis Suites Penang is located right at the end of Teluk Kumbar before the main road into Gertak Sanggul. In fact, it’s located just next to the Hao You Teluk Kumbar Seafood (公巴好友海鲜). The Roselle Coffee House is located at level 1 of Lexis Suites Penang. Just walk into the main lobby of the resort and move towards the right side of the lobby and you will see the elevator there. Take the lift to the first floor and you would see the restaurant there.

Name: ROSELLE COFFEE HOUSE @ LEXIS SUITES PENANG
Address: 28, Jalan Teluk Kumbar, 11920 Bayan Lepas, Penang, Malaysia.
Contact: 604-628 2888
Business Hours:
Breakfast: 6.30am-10.30am
All Day Menu: 11.30am-10.30pm
Buffet Menu: 6.30pm-10.30pm
Room Service: 24 hours
GPS: 5.287210, 100.232760

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

About Lexis Hotel Group: Lexis Hotel Group provides discerning leisure and business guests with practical and luxurious accommodations across various properties in Malaysia. It is steadfast in offering professional management services for hotels and resorts, and has successfully built a strong, profitable and visible premier niche brand in the hospitality industry especially in managing award-winning unique water chalets as well as pool villas. The brand currently manages four properties, namely Lexis, Grand Lexis and Lexis Hibiscus, all located in Port Dickson, as well as Lexis Suites Penang, situated at the Pearl of the Orient.

About Lexis Suites Penang: A luxurious resort by the beachfront that stands out as the only hotel on the island which offer guests the luxury of an individual private pool and steam room in every one of its 222 suites. Located at the idyllic Teluk Kumbar, Lexis Suites Penang is about ten minutes’ drive from Penang International Airport. The guestrooms feature two king-sized beds and a host of practical amenities in a spacious enclave, with an awesome view of the sea.