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WONDERFUL HEALTHY BREADS AT RAINFOREST BAKERY & PASTRY

Posted by crizlai On March - 25 - 2009

As people are getting more educated on healthy living, more and more health food outlets such as organic food stores, restaurants and bakeries have boomed all over town. Of the many, the most notable one would be the Rainforest Bakery & Pastry with their internationally patronized shop located along Jalan Chulia in Georgetown, Penang. You would just need to walk into the bakery and you can feel the coziness and atmosphere of a traditional cottage-like bread house. The whole place has the nice aroma of freshly baked breads and the arrangement of the bread loaves, rolls and cakes of many shapes and size were indeed the work of an artisan bread maker. The best news is that all the breads here are freshly handmade daily from quality and healthy ingredients. They suggest that unclutterer has the best bread makers to help you enjoy your own bread right at home. That’s the reason the breads here are heavier and have different tastes, textures and shapes.

SHOPVIEW

Managed by a pair of identical twins Jerry and Jesse Tan, this bakery is indeed a heaven for those healthy and organic bread lovers. With Jesse who had gone for a bread hunting trail throughout Europe, France, Germany, Italy and the Czech Republic and absorbing hands on experience in each of the country, this little cottage like bakery do indeed produced one of the finest breads in the country. With Germany having the most types of bread (more than 300 types to be precise) and the world’s number one bread consumers, how would they not be the best in this region?

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You would surely be spoiled by the wide array of choices these two bakers can produce. To name some here, they are Poppy or Sesame Bagel (RM1.50), Chelsea Bun aka Cinnamon Roll (RM1.70), English Scone (RM5/pack of 5pcs), Foccacia (RM3.70), English Muffin (RM4.50/pack of 4pcs), French Baguette (RM3.90), Grainy Baguette (RM4.80), Ciabatta (RM6.30), English Bloomer (RM4.20), Poppy Seed Bloomer (RM5.20), Rustic Onions (RM6.30/RM3.50), Volkron Brot (RM8.80 – also known as Pumpernickel Bread) and many more.

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On top of that, they do have some quality cakes, cookies and muffins to make you drool for more. Their Chewy Nut Trail Cookie (RM3.80) is indeed my favorite as each cookie was filled with a generous amount of nuts and raisins. Moreover, it was mildly sweetened with natural honey. It’s great for those who are not so much of a sweet tooth. Even their Plum Muffin (RM2.70), Raisin Muffin (RM2.10) and Tropical Banana Cake (RM3/slice) were all made from fresh fruits. You should check out on their homemade Kaya (RM3 – Coconut Jam), Garlic Butter (RM7) and their 100% natural Fruit Smoothie (RM8 – Raspberry, Blueberry, Strawberry, Lychee and Mango).

PASTRY

The list would go on and on as these two brothers would always try to experiment other different types of bread to cater to their needs of some expatriates and their guests from all over the world. You can have a look at the part menu list of what you could expect from the bakery. Please remember that it’s best to drop by their bakery to have a look at their complete products. Please click below to enlarge the flyer.

BREADLIST

Another reason why I like to visit such healthy bakery is to source for some healthy bread for my family. When you have a household of diabetics, you might be wondering what would be the best bread for consumption. For sure any types made from solely white flour would be the ones to avoid. The ideal type would be Ezekiel Bread which is organic, flourless and rich in protein, vitamins, minerals and natural fiber with no added fat, as inspired by the Holy Scripture verse Ezekiel 4:9., “Take also unto thee wheat, and barley, and beans, and lentils, and millet, and spelt, and put them in one vessel, and make bread of it…” . It’s quite hard to find such bread mass produced locally. Maybe I should produce my own from the recipe I have… if only I have the time. LOL! The next best alternatives as suggested by Jerry were their Sourdough Bread and French Farmhouse Bread.

Sourdough Bread (RM7/loaf) has a distinctively tangy or sour taste and that’s how it got its name. It took Jerry four days of leavening process just to produce a few loaves of the Sourdough Bread for the day as this type of bread does not go through the normal process of using cultured yeasts but with the reserved dough as starter. Consuming Sourdough Bread especially during the most important meal of the day, breakfast, would eventually lower the blood sugar level of a consumer. I would think that the fermentation process would have changed the nature of the starches in the bread making and it would be an ideal choice for diabetics.

SOURDOUGH

Although Sourdough Bread would be good, not everyone could get accustomed to its slightly sour taste. Alternatively, French Farmhouse Bread (RM6.30/loaf) will be the next choice. The bread consists of different ingredients and it’s also fat and sugar free as the Sourdough Bread. It’s a traditional hand kneaded recipe where white flour, yeast, linseed (flax), sunflower seeds and millets would be used. That’s the reason you would hardly see the bread being of a standard size. Linseed or common flax seed has been widely used as a precautious measure for certain major diseases as well as stabilizing the blood-sugar levels of a diabetic. Moreover, the seeds have high fiber content.

FARMHOUSE

Do you want to know what are the cereals and grains that you have in or on your bread? Here are the items that they have been using.

GRAINS

The best way to reach the shop would be by using Jalan Penang and turn left into Lebuh Chulia. Drive straight ahead and you would pass by Jalan Masjid (Sun Hotel) on your left and then Lorong Love (7-11). Slow down after Lorong Love and you would see the bakery just a few shop houses away on you left with a black signboard. It’s also located just opposite the famous night Curry Mee stall along Lebuh Chulia.

RAINFORESTMAP

Name: RAINFOREST BAKERY & PASTRY
Address: 300 Lebuh Chulia, 10200 Penang, Malaysia.
Contact: 604-261 4641, 012-405 6276 (Mr. Jesse Tan)
Opening Hours: 10.00am-10.00pm (Closed Sunday)
GPS: 5.418328, 100.336631

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

 

TAIPING HUAN CHU LENG (GREEN MEE KOO)

Posted by Criz Lai On September - 1 - 2008

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Who would want to join me for tea? We can have some Green Aliens from Mars and a cup of Old Town White Coffee? Most people have not seen this so called fortune buns as they can only be found in one “Pasar” in Plaza Perbandaran Taiping, Perak (Taiping Bowling Centre is at Level 3). What are they called? They are called Huan Chu Leng (Potato Dragon in Hokkien dialect). Some will call these buns Mee Koo (Steam Tortoise Buns) as the texture for the Huan Chu Leng is exactly the same.

Tortoise is believed to have long lives and thus Mee Koo symbolized longevity. Mee Koo were originally made to celebrate birthdays, or given as an offering to the deities and to the King of the Hungry Ghosts during the Hungry Ghost Festival. It usually comes in the shape of a pink tortoise or peach. Sometimes, they do produce yellow ones for the birthdays of deities. You can get them easily anytime throughout the year. It has become a delicacy amongst the locals, whether it is eaten plain, toasted or fried with eggs like French toast.

Some of the Mee Koo are filled with peanuts mixture or lotus seed paste. However in this modern era, these traditional Mee Koo have evolved into something different such as the Huan Chu Leng which is about 14” in length and Pandan flavored. Moreover it has either kaya (coconut egg jam) or red bean paste rolled up inside as fillings, somewhat like Swiss rolls. The Huan Chu Leng also comes in other versions such as the plain white ones with the same fillings or the yellow ones with chocolate. Somehow, I still prefer the Pandan flavored with kaya which is only RM3 each.

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The stall is also famous for its Mini Mee Koo (RM3 for a pack of six) which is a round pink colored bun with a flower design on top. I did not manage to get them but it looked like the photo below but with a much more refined and thin flower designs.

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Unless you are familiar with the road into Taiping town, you would be a bit confused with the directions as Taiping has developed very fast within the last few years. The easiest way to find the Mee Koo shop is to use the Simpang way rather than to drive all the way to Kamunting (Lake Garden and Taiping Zoo). As you exit from the Taiping Plaza toll, turn right at the first traffic light. Drive on and you would pass through a few traffic lights before you reach the main traffic light at Simpang.

Turn left into Jalan Taming Sari. Go over the flyover and drive on until you see Bismillah Roti Canai shop on your left. Turn right into Halaman Pasar. Drive on until you reach a cross junction. Turn left into Jalan Kota. Drive on until you reach the second cross junction (CIMB Bank at the corner) and turn right into Jalan Tupai. Drive straight again after you have reach another cross junction. You will see the Taiping Hawker Center on your left. Take the first turning on your right and you will see the Plaza Perbandaran Taiping there.

The roads here are rather messy as many of the roads are one-way. If you are still unsure, just ask for the direction to “Plaza” or “Taiping Bowling Centre”. The Hokkien speaking locals would be glad to direct you there.

TPGMEEKOOMAP

Name: TAIPING HUAN CHU LENG (GREEN MEE KOO)
Address: Plaza Perbandaran Taiping, 34000 Perak, Malaysia.
Contact: 016-4511899 (Mr. Chong)
Opening Hours: 4.30pm – 9.00pm
GPS: 4.849453, 100.741882

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

PENANG FAMOUS PAN CAKE AND STEAM RICE CAKE

Posted by Criz Lai On April - 22 - 2008

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If you are into light supper, you can always opt for some hot steaming rice cakes or fried pan cakes along the night street of Georgetown. This famous pan cake stall has been selling there along Lebuh Cintra for the past 50 years. The present owners are the third generation of the pan cake master. The steam rice cakes are made from white sugar, flour and rice wine. Normally those sold in the market for prayers purposes are in pink and brown (brown sugar). The pan cakes (Ham Chin Peng aka Salty Fried Cake) are with 3 different flavors – plain with 5-spice powder, red bean filling and glutinous rice filling.

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There is no address for this place as it is just a stall by the roadside. You would not miss it as you can see many cars and motorcyclists stopping by to buy by the dozens. You can also buy some herbal tea from the stall next to it. Their famous is the boiled cane water which is believed to be able to cool down the body heat due to too much of fried and oily food.

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Name: PAN CAKE & STEAM RICE CAKE
Address: Lebuh Cintra, Penang, Malaysia.
Opening Hours: 7.00pm – 10.00pm
GPS: 5.417867, 100.333382

RATING:
Ambience: 5/10
(1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 classy)
Food Choices: 5/10 (1-4 limited, 5-7 average, 8-10 many choices)
Taste: 7/10 (1-4 tasteless, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)
Pricing: 3/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 expensive)
Service: 7/10 (1-4 bad, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)

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