CRIZ BON APPETITE

Many people would just ignore this restaurant as it looks rather old and unimpressive but not the regulars. If you are near that area with your family, you can consider dropping by this restaurant aka coffee shop for dinner. Do try to be there earlier as most of the time the shop would be rather packed. As in most restaurants, the captain would make recommendation and take your orders but here they do provide menu too. That was something I did not expect to see. Most of the food in the menu are Cantonese dishes and contain lots of ginger, rice wine and vinegar. So, if you are not sure of the right combination for your meal, just leave it to the captain (Auntie) to recommend.

The food there can be considered tasty and has a touch of Mummy’s home cook food taste. My friend and I decided to try out the place after seeing that there was quite a crowd each time I passed by that area. We ordered Mapo Tofu, Kong Po Chicken with Cashew Nuts and a plate of Stir Fried Brocolli with Roasted Pork. We did not expect to see the amount of the dishes so much that it could have had fed 3 persons. I made a blunder this time as I changed the tofu from Crabmeat Tofu to Mapo Tofu as this dish combined with the Kong Po contained too much of sourness from the vinegar it has. But, both of us managed to finish up all the dishes with additional order of rice. Overall, we paid RM29.10 for the food with no discount of 10sen at all! I wondered why some restaurant owners are so money faced… haha 😛

You just can’t miss the shop as it is just next to the tallest UMNO Building (Menara UMNO) in Penang. The shop is located just at the junction of Jalan Zainal Abidin and Jalan Macalister.

Name:
SIN TAI TUNG SEAFOOD RESTAURANT (Opposite Menara UMNO)
Address: 130 Jalan Macalister, 10400 Penang, Malaysia.
Contact: 604-2271745, 012-480 1428 (Mr. Ng Kok Beng)
Opening Hours:
5.00pm – 10.00pm, 1.00pm – 10.00 pm (Sunday)
(Closed Tuesday)
GPS: 5.416061, 100.324895

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

NOTE: Shifted to New Lane shop house (opposite Sunway Hotel Georgetown)

I thought other than the famous stall down in the town area selling Tang Yuan, there were no other stalls selling this yummy dessert, other than on some auspicious occasions. CK Lam from What2See pointed out that there is another stall down at Perak Road area. This stall is selling Hong Kong Tang Yuan, much cheaper than the ones we get from HK Wong Kok Restaurant.

Each bowl of Tang Yuan comes with two filled Tang Yuan (Peanut & Black Sesame) some smaller Tang Yuan and gingko nuts. You can opt for different soup base such as ginger, kooi hua, soy beans or red beans. All the soups are not too sweet. It is suitable for elderly people and children. The filling for the Tang Yuan is blended very fine, so is the red beans for the soup.

The pricing is very reasonable as each bowl cost only RM2.50. Other than serving Tang Yuan, there have a few varieties of Jelly for you to choose from. The shop is close on Monday and Friday. On Friday, you can get them at the Pasar Malam (Night Market) just opposite the stall as early as 6.30pm.

We ordered two bowls of the Tang Yuan with soy beans and red beans soup base. Here is how they look like.

Finding the stall might be a bit troublesome if you do not know the location well. If you are traveling through Jalan Dato Keramat into Jalan Perak, drive straight pass the Jalan P. Ramlee traffic light, straight again at the Sum Sun Primary School, Jalan Free School traffic light. As you pass the traffic light, you will see the Bomba HQ on your left. Move ahead about 400m and you will see another traffic light. The stall is in front of Kafe Aik Hwa right before the traffic light on your left. Parking might be a problem if you are driving a car but you can always try parking at the lane before the stall.

Name: HONG KONG TANG YUEN @ KAFE AIK HWA
Address: Perak Road, Penang, Malaysia
Contact: 019-476 3618 (Toh), 012-594 9892 (Ch’ng)
Opening Hours: 7.00pm – 11.00pm
(Closed on Monday and Friday at Pasar Malam)
GPS: 5.399784, 100.315164

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)

This is one type of hawker food that you would not find anywhere else in Penang – the Oriental Chicken Mushroom Hor Fun. The stall has been operating there for two generations ever since it moved over from Jalan Siam. Most of the patrons are regulars as the stall is way out of the view from the main road. You can either order it dry or soup with Hor Fun, Bee Hoon or Mee. Both will come topped with yummy, tender juicy chicken meat, mushrooms and wood fungus.

What make this dish unique is that the boneless chicken meat cubes, mushrooms, wood fungus are stewed until all the herbs and spices had gone right into the meat. One bite and you will taste the mild herby taste of Dong Quai (Chinese Angelica or Female Ginseng), a traditional herb used in some Chinese dishes for strengthening the blood circulation, gynecological ailments, fatigue, mild anemia and high blood pressure. Women should know better how this herb will help. 😛

Price wise, a small bowl will cost RM3.00 and a big one RM3.50. Here are the two big bowl of the Hor Fun that we had ordered. If you plan to eat something heavier such as dinner, Tuck Sai Café does provide ala carte dishes with rice. The dishes are quite tasty but the pricing for the food and drinks could be pricey a bit.

If you are moving from town area along Jalan Dato Keramat towards Greenlane / Air Itam, you will see the Dato Keramat Police Headquarters at the traffic light. Drive further about 800m and you will see a big Nasi Kandar shop on your left. Turn into the road, Jalan Singapura (next to the road, same stretch as the Nasi Kandar shop is Honolulu Bistro & Café – formerly an old cinema) and turn right into Jalan Bukom. The stall is prominently located on the ground floor of the Sri Pelangi Apartment on the right.

Name:
ORIENTAL CHICKEN MUSHROOM HOR FUN @ TUCK SAI CAFE
Address:
Ground Floor, Sri Pelangi Apartment, Jalan Bukom, Penang, Malaysia.
Opening Hours: 6.00pm – 11.00pm (Close Sunday & Monday)
GPS: 5.411768, 100.319059

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: 8/10 (1-4 tasteless, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)
Pricing: 6/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 expensive)
Service: 6/10 (1-4 bad, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)

Note: This restaurant has ceased its operation.

NOTE: Arirang Korean Restaurant has ceased operation. In its place is another Korean Restaurant by the name of Sa Rang Chae Korean Restaurant.

Korean food is totally different compared with Japanese or Chinese food. The food uses a lot of garlic, chili paste, sesame oil, salt, soy sauce, sugar, ginger and fermented soy paste.

Usually kimchi (fermented/pickled vegetables) are served at the beginning of each meal accompanied by salad. In fact, the Koreans consumed a lot of vegetables with most meat dishes eaten wrapped in fresh greens. Most of their food are taken either deep fried, BBQ or in stews.

There are many Korean restaurants in the Pulau Tikus / Gurney Drive area. So far, the one with a quiet and good ambience is the Arirang Korean Restaurant in New Bob Centre. If you are in for a change of diet and try out the new experience, you can drop in there. Recently, I had a family dinner at the restaurant and that was quiet an experience for me and the family. Here are the dishes what we had ordered.

Kimchi & Salad:

Main Dishes and Side Orders:

As for pricing, you can judge for yourself if it is within or beyond your means to spend on a family outing. I had the meal with 4 adults and two children. The total cost for all the meals including green tea (Korean green tea has a mild coffee taste in it) was RM217.80, inclusive government and service taxes which came up to RM19.80.

Here is the breakdown of the food pricing: Samgyupsal (13 pcs plain fatty pork belly slices just to BBQ) RM21, 10pcs thick skinned Dumplings RM12, BBQ Pork Ribs with salad RM29, Haemul Pajean (flour based seafood omelette) RM20, Bulgoki (sweetened beef slices stew with glass noodles and vegetables) RM50, Seafood Stew RM60.

The restaurant is located right at the corner shoplot of New Bob Centre, directly opposite Penang Chinese Primary School (Peng Hwa). You won’t miss it at all.

Name: ARIRANG KOREAN RESTAURANT

Address:

11-G-1 & 2, New Bob Centre, Jalan Gottlieb, 10350 Penang, Malaysia.

Contact: 604-2268518, 6016-467 2203 (Park Won Chan)

Opening Hours:

12.00pm – 3.00pm, 6.00pm – 10.30pm (Sunday Dinner only)

GPS: 5.432649, 100.302150

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

Pricing: 9/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 expensive)

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

If you are in Malaysia, you should try out the famous local fried chicken, the Belacan Fried Chicken. Belacan is actually a shrimp paste or sauce, made from fermented blended shrimp, sun dried and then cut into fist-sized rectangular blocks. It is raw and need to be toasted before use. Many foreigners are unfamiliar with this condiment as the smell could be too repulsive for them but it is one of the most important ingredients for most of the Malaysian cooking. Nowadays, you can get the processed version of the belacan (Maggi) in bottles, selling widely in the local supermarkets.

I have tried many of such belacan fried chicken stalls in Penang but none can beat the taste and crispiness of the one selling along Kimberley Street. The chicken meat is tender and the belacan taste is well marinated into the meat. The taste is just nice for my taste bud as it is not overly pungent. There are many choice of the chicken that you can buy from the stall, namely the chicken wings, drumsticks, thighs, breast meat, etc.

If you are in for other parts of the chicken, there are also the bishop noses, necks and other intestinal parts.

While you are there, do try out their homemade salty fish tofu. The tofu cubes are deep fried until golden brown color. It has the softness of tofu and the fragrance of salty fish. This stall can be considered for party ideas as the food here is cheap and good.

The stall is situated by the roadside along the busy hawker area of Kimberley Street. If you are coming from Penang Road into Jalan Dr. Lim Chwee Leong, turn left into Jalan Sungai Ujung. When you reach the junction of Kimberley Street, turn left and you will see the stall.

Name: BELACAN CHICKEN HAWKER STALL
Address: Kimberley Street, Penang, Malaysia.
Contact: 016-451 5007 (Ah Tong)
Opening Hours: 5.00pm – 11.00pm (Closed on Friday)
GPS: 5.416478, 100.332298

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

Note: The stall would be relocated to a few shop houses away at Kedai Kopi Bee Hong on 12 May 2012 to enable some construction works

Maybe some of the foreigners may not know what is Tang Yuan but I can assure you that this dessert is very delicious. Tang Yuan is made out of glutinous rice flour mixed with water and form into small balls, either plain or colored. They can also be eaten unfilled or filled. You can opt for plain syrup or brown syrup cooked with or without old ginger slices. The most common filling would be red bean paste, black sesame paste or peanut paste. My grandmother used to fill them up with minced pork, cook them in boiling water and served them with chicken soup and vegetables. I really missed that and could not find anyone else selling it this way. I guessed the recipe went with her as well.

Anyway, Tang Yuan was originally served only during Lantern Festival, Winter Solstice and Chinese New Year. Today, they can be found easily in the frozen food section of any Asian supermarkets around the world. No matter what, I would still prefer those made fresh as they are softer. It has always been a tedious job and time consuming rolling the glutinous rice flour into balls but now you can just get them easily throughout the year. Where would you find the best Tang Yuan shop in Penang? The stall is right in the heart of Georgetown.

Recently, I visited the famous stall to savor the yummy dessert. My friend and I ordered two different combinations just to show you what Tang Yuan looked like. One bowl was filled Tang Yuan in gingered brown syrup whereas the other was unfilled Tang Yuan in plain syrup.

Just look at the fully filled Black Sesame and Peanut Tang Yuan. Don’t they look yummy?

Do not miss the opportunity to try out this wonderful dessert when you are in town during dinner time. The stall is situated by the roadside just diagonally opposite Traders Hotel, Magazine Road as well as Lebuh Lintang leading to Sushi King Prangin Mall. It is right after the second traffic lights on your left if you are coming from Jelutong Expressway towards town.

Name: TANG YEN HAWKER STALL
Address: Magazine Road, Penang, Malaysia. (Opposite Traders Hotel)
Contact: 016-477 7764 (Ah Hock), 016-454 4031 (Anna)
Opening Hours: 7.00pm – 12.00am (Closed on Wednesday and Sunday)
GPS: 5.413039, 100.330603

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: 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)

There are also many different versions for the Curry Mee of Penang. You get the salty, sweet, salty sweet, spicy with lemon grass or chicken curry. Some would be cooked with thick creamy coconut milk, evaporated milk, full cream milk whereas some could be of almost clear soup type. Some stalls would also have an array of curry chicken, chicken legs, fish/meat balls, chicken intestines, squids, cuttlefishes, clams, tofu balls, prawns, pig blood gelatin, processed pork skin, long beans, etc for customers to choose.

The one I went to was located along Chulia Street. The crowds there were usually big and waiting for a bowl of noodle would take up to half an hour or more. The Curry Mee soup is not like those selling elsewhere. It has the taste of some curry spices and comes with a big fish ball, garnished with lots of tofu balls, cuttlefishes, clams and pig blood served with a spoonful of fragrant chilly paste. We ordered four bowls and they cost us on RM10.00. Do try this stall out when you are along town area. The Wan Than Mee and Apom stalls there are just as good.

The location of the stall is very prominent. As you move along Chulia Street towards Weld Quay, you would see lots of hawker stalls on your right. The stall is just right in front of a furniture shop. Next to it is the famous Wan Than Mee stall.

Name: CHULIA STREET CURRY MEE
Address: Lebuh Chulia, Penang, Malaysia.
Opening Hours: 7.00pm – 10.00pm
GPS: 5.417892, 100.336595

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: 8/10 (1-4 tasteless, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)
Pricing: 6/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 expensive)
Service: 5/10 (1-4 bad, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)

NOTE: Effective 19 December 2009, Francis Fusion Western Food will be relocated to Poly Cafe (opposite the present location, directly next to Bellisa Row/3rd shoplot after Lorong Leandros) GPS: 5.432602,100.310738)

Name: FRANCIS FUSION WESTERN FOOD @ Kedai Kopi Guan Hiang
Address: 38 Jalan Burmah, 10350 Penang, Malaysia.
Contact: 012-4930554 (Francis Cheah)
Opening Hours: 5.00pm -10.00pm (Closed on Monday)
GPS: 5.431613, 100.311613

RATING:
Ambience: 6/10 (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: 7/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 expensive)
Service: 7/10 (1-4 bad, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)

Note: Check out the new location at http://www.crizfood.com/118/mee-manja/

Name: MEE MANJA @ KEDAI KOPI CLG
Address: Lebuh Clarke, Penang, Malaysia.
Opening Hours: 5.00pm – 11.00pm (Closed on Tuesday)
Contact: 016-480 3568 (En. Aman)
GPS: 5.420195, 100.330775

RATING:
Ambience: 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: 6/10 (1-4 bad, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)

After having the cut fruits and juices, I would always go for the best rojak in town. Most people would go for the mixed fruit rojak (spicy or non-spicy) but for me I love the fruits/vegetables in thin slices topped with the yummy sauce and sprinkled with pound groundnuts and dried shrimp powder.

You can opt for the turnip, pineapple, mangoes, pink guava or even baby cucumber slices. I ordered the turnip and pineapple and it cost me only RM2. It was so tasty that I bought the sauce (RM2.50 for 220gms & RM4.00 for 440gms) home for another fiesta later on. It also came with nuts and shrimp powder. I even saw many people buying by tens of bottles home. If you are along that area, do not ever miss this stall. You will surely regret not trying it out.

It is just along the Esplanade. There are ample of parking spaces.

Name: HO WEI JENG ROJAK (STALL 46)
Address: Esplanade Food Court
Opening Hours: 6.00pm -1.00am
GPS: 5.422822, 100.340688

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: 9/10 (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)