August, 2008 | CRIZ BON APPETITE

Archive for August, 2008

HOU MEI NOODLE HOUSE

Posted by Criz Lai On August - 12 - 2008

Before the Dreamz show started, we had decided to go for some food to fill up our tummies since we had skipped our lunches due to the rushing to catch a bus up Genting Highlands. After moving around the dining area in search of food, we tried out the latest in contemporary Asian cuisine, the Hou Mei Noodle House. At least that was where we could savor a unique fusion of Western and Asian Cuisine all in one place.

Since I can’t live without curry, I ordered the Curry Hor Fun Noodles (RM14.95). The dish came in a large bowl with 3 chunky pieces of chicken meat, 2 prawns, 5 half pieces of soy bean cakes (tau hoo pok) and some long beans. I would think it is a bit pricey but what else would I expect as I was in Genting. Of course food would be more expensive there. The soup base was spicy with a mild taste of lemongrass but it was not as spicy as I would like it to be although I did add lots of chili paste which was not hot enough. Moreover, I needed to add in some soy sauce to boost up the salty taste in it. Passable but not as tasty as those I can get from Penang.

On the other hand, my friend decided to order the much recommended Hawaiian Chicken Chop (RM21.30). They have an average size of grilled chicken meat, topped with some sweet and sour gravy, a piece of canned pineapple and some vegetables. The portion and taste was fine but for me I would love to have some salad cream to go with my vegetables.

Overall, the restaurant has the ambience to make one feel relax. We paid a total of RM44.85 for the meals, inclusive a plastic cup of cold Chinese tea (RM2.30) and sprite float (RM6.30). All prices have 5% Government tax and 10% service tax added in. Hou Mei Noodles House is just next to the entrance of the Starworld Casino within the First World Hotel premises.

Name: HOU MEI NOODLE HOUSE
Address:
Level 2, First World Plaza, Genting Highlands Resort,
69000 Pahang, Malaysia.

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: 6/10 (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)

pahang, restaurant, review

COUNTRY’S TID-BITS & CANDIES COTTAGE

Posted by Criz Lai On August - 11 - 2008

Arghhh… I have been hooked on those colorful pebbles for days. I just can’t stop myself from munching these colored stones ever since I attended AMBP’s VIP invitations to the Genting’s Exclusive Dreamz Magic Show on Sunday. My friend said that I have gone nutty. Have I?

Haha! Don’t get me wrong. I am still as sober as always. It’s just that I love the taste of the rocky version of M&M. Of course, M&M does not produce this. I got those yummy chocolates from COUNTRY’S TID-BITS & CANDIES COTTAGE at Genting Skyway Complex. This is so far the largest tid-bits shop I have ever been to where I can try out everything without worrying whether I have to pay for them.

The shop will allow you to try out whatever preserved fruits, vegetables, nuts, cookies, sweets, jelly beans, biscuits, crackers, etc that you would love to buy. Just fill in the available plastic bags or containers, weigh them at the counter and pay for the amount. It’s so simple. Can you imagine going into a shop and seeing mounts of your favorite munchies at every corner of the shop?

Now you can say that I am a bit crazy when it comes to sweet and sour munchies. I could not even believe that I brought almost RM90 worth of tid-bits at one go. Hey! I am not pregnant ok? LOL! Some of the recommended tid-bits that I felt rather good include the colored pebbles, red skin salted peanuts, ginger in cubes and the sweetened cuttlefish. Maybe you have different taste bud but no worries as you have around 100 varieties to choose from. Here are some of the munchies that I had brought:

There are just too many branches to share with you the map and GPS reading. Just refer to the addresses and you sure won’t stop munching something at all times. LOL!

Name: COUNTRY’S TID-BITS & CANDIES COTTAGE
Address & Contact:
GENTING SKYWAY BRANCH:
Lot 3.25, 3rd Floor, Genting Skyway Complex,
69000 Genting Highland, Pahang, Malaysia.
Tel: 603-6100 1546

GENTING HOTEL BRANCH:
Lot G/LG, 13-00, Genting Hotel,
69000 Genting Highland, Pahang, Malaysia.
Tel: 603-6101 3475

MID VALLEY MEGAMALL BRANCH:
Lot LG-055, 3rd Floor, Mid Valley Megamall,
Mid Valley City, 59200 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Tel: 603-2287 9751

SUNWAY PYRAMID BRANCH:
Lot LL2.03, Sunway Pyramid, 3 Jalan PJS 11/15,
Bandar Sunway, 46160 Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia.
Tel: 603-5638 3087

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

pahang, review, snack

WONG CHAU JUN RESTAURANT

Posted by Criz Lai On August - 7 - 2008

After having too much of rice related meals for the week, my friend and I decided to visit a restaurant along Jalan Rangoon for some fresh seafood noodles. That restaurant is called Wong Chau Jun Restaurant where they are famous for their Spicy Sour Fish Noodles. I saw that on all the tables, there was at least an order. Since I was not able to consume something spicy and sour that day, I ordered something milder.

The first dish that came was the Steamed Fish with Ginger and Hor Fun (RM8). The perch fillet was real fresh and the time used to cook the fish was just right. It came with some hor fun. Although this looked like a simple steamed fish with soy sauce, ginger and some Chinese wine, the combination of ingredients was really nice. This is a must to try out on a hot and humid weather.

The Fried Maggi Mee (RM4) came next. Nothing special about the dish except that it has 3 big and fresh prawns. The taste was fine but the restaurant could have done better by using a more springy type of noodles.

What I like most was their special homemade Deep Fried Tofu with Dried Shrimps (RM6). The tofu was soft and smooth. The way they fried the deep fried tofu with some dried shrimps was simple and yet the taste wonderful. I would highly recommend this dish.

If you are coming from Komtar into Jalan Burmah, just drive further up until you reach the second traffic light in front of New Word Park. Turn left into Jalan Rangoon. Drive forward until almost the end of that road and you will see the restaurant on your left (two more shops and you will reach Jalan Macalister).

Name: WONG CHAU JUN RESTAURANT
Address: 73 Jalan Rangoon, 10400 Penang, Malaysia.
Contact: 012-555 9046, 012-470 9549
Opening Hours: 8.00am – 2.30pm (Closed Tuesday)
GPS: 5.416559, 100.323737

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: 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)

penang, restaurant, review

BAD MEMORY OR GREAT FOOD?

Posted by Criz Lai On August - 5 - 2008

There I was writing about remembering my childhood days and here I am experiencing the scary signs of growing old gracefully. Do you know what would be the worst nightmare for a food blogger? It is either all the photos turned out to be over exposed, under exposed, and blur or forgetting to take a snap shot of the food that was served to them on the table. Sometimes, it could also be due to the fact that certain owners disallowed taking shots within the premises. My nightmare was none of the above as I got even worst! I forgot to take a snapshot of one of the dishes I cooked last night. Arggh!! Haiz… I think it’s time for me to get some Gingko Bibola to rejuvenate my brain cells. 😛

After having spent so much on restaurants food these few days, I had decided to spend some time in the kitchen to cook some simple meals. Since it was a meal for four, I cooked some cans of rice with some herbs and spices and fried with some butter, eggs, raisins, roasted chicken meat chunks and garnished with fried onions. Bingo! I had my Buttered Roasted Chicken Fried Rice. There’s the BUT here! I forgot to take a shot of this dish. I guessed somehow with the migraine medication I was taking, it made me kind of a blur king. LOL! Anyway, not even one grain of rice was left in the pot. It must have been real good then. 🙂

As for the side dishes, I came out with Deep Fried Prawn Paste Squids (Fried Belacan Sotong). This is a simple yet mouth-watering dish that can be taken with either Thai Chili Sauce or Mayonnaise.

The recipe is rather easy. Here are the ingredients needed.

Ingredient:
One box 100gms Nona All Purpose Seasoned Flour (Prawn Shrimp Recipe)
Some pepper
2 Tspn sesame oil
Oil
250gms squids (clean and cut into rings)

Method:

Drain the excess water from the squid. Sprinkle some pepper and add in the sesame oil. Mix thoroughly.
Add in the prawn shrimp flour gradually until all the squids get mixed well. Put in a bit of water to make it into a batter like mixture. Add in a teaspoon of oil and mix thoroughly.
Heat up some oil in a wok. Lower the fire to medium when it is hot. Scoop the ringed squid pieces by pieces with a spoon and slowly put it into the wok. BEWARE! The oil might explode everywhere due to the little amount of water added earlier. You might want to consider laying some used newspaper on the floor. When the squids become golden brown, take them out and put onto a plate laid with kitchen towel to drain the excess oil.
Transfer the cooked squids onto a plate and you are ready to serve.

(Serve: 3-4)

Note: Try frying a piece first to taste the saltiness as some brands of flour do not have salt in the content. If not enough, drip some soy sauce into the batter.

Since both of the dishes were fried dishes, I decided to have another dish with gravy base. Let me introduce you to my Broiled Cabbage with Steamed Meatballs. This is another simple and yet delicious recipe that my demised grandmother used to cook for us.

Ingredients:
300gms minced meat
100gms minced prawns
250gms cabbage (wash and cut into 2” x 2”)
2 Tspn oyster sauce
I tspn Worchester sauce
3 tspn sesame oil
Some pepper
Pinch of salt
5 Tspn corn flour (3 Tspn mixed with water for gravy)
Young ginger (3 slices in strips)
Carrot (6 slices chopped & 6 slices in strips)
Some chopped garlic
2 bowls water (70gms)
Oil
Chinese mushrooms (optional – soak and cut into small cubes)

Method:

Mix thoroughly the minced meat and prawns in a big bowl with one Tablespoon oyster sauce, one teaspoon Worchester sauce, 2 teaspoons sesame oil, chopped carrots, 2 Tablespoon corn flour, some pepper, and a pinch of salt.
Line a big metal plate with some oil. Use a Tablespoon / Porcelain Spoon to scoop the mixture onto the plate. Steam the meatballs under medium fire for 10-15 minutes. Leave aside.
Heat up a wok with 2 Tablespoon of oil and sauté some chopped garlic under medium fire. When the garlic turned a bit brown, put in the ginger strips and stir for awhile. Put in the cabbage and stir fry for 5 minutes. Add in 1 teaspoon sesame oil, 1 Tablespoon oyster sauce and sprinkle some pepper and salt. Stir evenly. When the cabbage looked cook, put in 2 bowls of boiled water. Let the cabbage cook until all turned soft. Add in the strips of carrot. Stir evenly. Bring to boil and add in the remaining corn flour mixture slowly to thicken the soup.
Put in the steamed meatballs and let it simmer for 5 minutes.
Scoop onto a bowl and serve with rice while it is hot.

(Serve 4-6)

recipe

BRINGING BACK MEMORIES AT THE SENIOR CITIZENS’ ASSOCIATION OF PENANG

Posted by Criz Lai On August - 4 - 2008

NOTE: The Association has relocated to Jalan Sir Hussein, Air Itam, Pulau Pinang. Tel: 04-826 6314. The cafeteria has ceased its operation. Fortunately, you can find them at Pulau Tikus market hawker area from 6.00pm until late daily or Lengkok Burma’s “Lao Heok Hooi” under the tree hawker area from 10.00am until 3.00pm (Monday-Friday).

Sometimes it is good to visit places that will bring back fond memories of our childhood days. When I was a child, I used to play in the big field along Jalan Scott with my parents and brother. After a happy and enjoyable day out with them, we will usually end up at the Senior Citizens’ Association of Penang for our meals. Going back there again recently brought back many memories of how fun and united it was to have everyone sitting down there and enjoying ourselves as a family. That sort of reunion hardly exists that frequent in our family now as all of us had grown up and being busy with our own life and family.

As I drove into the compound of the Association, I can see many cars parked outside. Those were the cars of some of the senior citizens there. I kept thinking in my mind why they were there when they should be in the comfort of their home enjoying their life with their children and grandchildren. Were they there because they would feel more at home with people of their ages or they were not getting as much attention from their loved ones that they had to be there for companies? I have no answers to that, do you?

Anyway, coming back to the type of food they were serving since the first day I stepped foot into the cafeteria with my parents. The menu did not change much. Most of the food served there were for the convenience of the club members although they did get revisits from some of the guests the members brought in there earlier. I ordered the usual such as the Mee Sua Tao (RM5), Roti Babi (RM3.80 per set) and Choon Pneah (RM3.80).

The Mee Sua Tao (Rice Vermicelli with gravy) was great when taken with black vinegar. The dish was cooked with some minced meat, egg and crab meat. Nothing really special compared to those sold elsewhere as the prices of things had gone up tremendously and the ingredients were not as much as it used to be. The taste still remained the same as what I had taken when I was younger.

The Choon Pneah (Spring Roll) was still nice. Strips of turnips, carrots, minced meat and crab meats were wrapped in a poh piah (flour crepe) skin and then coated with some flour and fried to perfection. Although it was a bit oily, the crunchiness and the taste of the 5-spice powder brought out the taste nicely. As for the filling, not much of crab meats in there as the price had shot up a lot quite a lot in the recent years.

The Roti Babi (French toast with filling) had the same filling as the spring roll. Instead of the poh piah skin, white bread was used and coated with beaten eggs and deep fried until it turned to golden brown. This is a great dish for breakfast, tea or supper. Both dishes are best served with cut chillies in Worchester sauce.

The cafeteria is very near to One-Stop Midlands Park Centre and Adventist Hospital. If you are along Jalan Burmah, just turn into Jalan Brown. Drive forward until you reach the second junction on your left. Turn into the road (Jalan Scott) and you will see a building with a big field on your right. That is where the Senior Citizens’ Association of Penang is. The cafeteria is just behind the building.

Name: CAFETERIA SENIOR CITIZENS’ ASSOCIATION OF PENANG
Address: 7 Jalan D.S. Ramanathan (Jalan Scott), 10350 Penang, Malaysia.
Contact: 604-226 0986
Opening Hours: 12.00pm – 8.00pm (Closed Monday)
GPS: 5.428794, 100.306125

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

penang, review

A NIGHT WITH PENANG FLOGGERS AT HAI NAN TOWN RESTAURANT

Posted by Criz Lai On August - 3 - 2008

Yesterday marked an unforgettable day as I got to meet up with some of the food bloggers in Penang. Finally, I get to see those real faces behind the virtual food blogs. Those who attended the mini gathering included the three brains behind PenangTuaPui, Lingzie, CK Lam, Buzzing Bee, Carrie, Gill & hubby Jason and me. I wanted to arrive earlier to take some snap shots of the vicinity but ended up quite late at 7.45pm due to some unexpected delay. Why? Because my little gift packs only came out from the oven only at 7.20pm. LOL!

Anyway, the gathering started with us guessing who and who were Tam Jiak, Huat Koay and Fei Fei from the PenangTuaPui trio. We all were in stitches after knowing the story behind this trio. In fact the whole group of floggers who gathered there last night was a bunch of jokers. Not only do they know their taste buds well, they also know how to make everyone felt at home. Not long later, the food was served. Here were the dishes we had ordered.

The food served that night was just average and nothing to fuss about. What really got us excited was when BuzzingBee brought out her homemade fruit tarts. Everybody was like busy shooting those 20 pieces of tarts being nicely arranged on the lazy susan. The tarts were amazing. Bee had the tarts baked to perfection with some not-so-sweet chocolate glazed at the base. She then topped the tarts with freshly sliced banana, kiwi fruit, orange and lychee. What a nice dessert for all of us.

Finally, a beautiful and moist Green Tea Cake bought by Lingzie came in. Coincidentally it was Carrie’s Birthday. How old was she? We dare not ask. As you know most ladies would not like to disclose their age, especially when they get a year older on their birthday. LOL! Anyway, we had lots of fun fooling around with her cake as who should get the strawberries and so on. In the end, they ended up on Carrie’s plate. Here was what she had on her plate.

Somehow, something made my mind go wild when she made her birthday wish. Is this what she had in her mind? We won’t know for sure… hahaha!

Finding the restaurant won’t be hard as it is located within the vicinity of Penang’s Inshore Marina, Church Street Pier and QEII along Pengkalan Weld (Weld Quay). It’s a great place for gathering and to have a drink while enjoying the scenic view of the seaside.

Name: HAI NAN TOWN RESTAURANT
Address: 8A Pengkalan Weld (Weld Quay), 10300 Penang, Malaysia.
Contact: 604-263 8633
Opening Hours: 6.00pm – 11.00pm
GPS: 5.414577, 100.343311

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: 6/10 (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)

NOTE: THE NEXT GATHERING IS SCHEDULED ON 20 SEPTEMBER 2008. IT’S GOING TO BE A POTLUCK DINNER. VENUE AND TIME WOULD BE NOTIFIED NEARER TO THAT DATE. PLEASE KEEP YOURSELF FREE IF YOU WANT TO JOIN US. SEE YOU ALL THEN FLOGGERS!

entertainment, floggers, penang, restaurant, review

MING XIANG TAI PASTRY HOUSE

Posted by Criz Lai On August - 1 - 2008

Maybe you are not aware but Penang has another new shop selling nice and oven fresh pastries to keep your mouth nibbling at all time. Originated from Teluk Intan, this shop provides one of the best egg tarts and puffs around Penang. The business started as early as 1975 in a small bungalow in Teluk Intan. By 1979, they started using trishaw to sell the delicacies in trays. That’s the reason you can see the trishaw as part of their logo. What made the pastry so irresistible is that they are handmade until today and the recipes are of the original for the past 30 years. Even the fillings for the pastries are of selected choice pieces of meat and ingredients.

The pastries come in different sizes. Some of them are bite sizes and are great for parties and office meetings. If you plan to have functions or intend to make them as gifts, do try to call up and make your orders. The oven fresh pastries get snatched up real fast. Here are some of the pastries which you can get from the shop.

TRISHAW EGG TART (RM1.20 EACH)

MINI BLACK PEPPER CHICKEN PIE (RM0.80 EACH)

MINI CHICKEN PIE (RM0.80 EACH)

TRADITIONAL SIEW PAO (RM1.20 EACH)

ROASTED PORK PUFF (RM1.40 EACH)

KAYA PUFF (RM1.20 EACH)

RED BEAN PUFF (RM1.20 EACH)

TRADITIONAL COOKIES (RM0.80 EACH)

To find the shop is rather easy as there is a big signboard in front that shows an elderly lady on a trishaw. If you are coming from Komtar into Jalan Burmah, just drive further up until you reach a traffic light in front of Telekom. The shop is just after Lorong Madras on your left. Chew Thean Yeang Aquarium is just diagonally opposite this shop.

Name: MING XIANG TAI PASTRY HOUSE
Address: 133 Jalan Burma, 10050 Penang, Malaysia.
Contact: 604-227 9880
Opening Hours: 9.30am – 8.00pm (Closed Monday)
GPS: 5.418618, 100.327513

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: 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)

penang, restaurant, review, snack

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Savoring The Best All Over Town…

Archive for August, 2008

HOU MEI NOODLE HOUSE

COUNTRY’S TID-BITS & CANDIES COTTAGE

WONG CHAU JUN RESTAURANT

BAD MEMORY OR GREAT FOOD?

BRINGING BACK MEMORIES AT THE SENIOR CITIZENS’ ASSOCIATION OF PENANG

A NIGHT WITH PENANG FLOGGERS AT HAI NAN TOWN RESTAURANT

MING XIANG TAI PASTRY HOUSE

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