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2ND PENANG FLOGGERS MEET @ EDELWEISS CAFE

Posted by Criz Lai On September - 27 - 2008

The second Penang Food Bloggers (Floggers) Meet at Edelweiss Café on 27 September 2008 was a huge success. Thanks to Gill & hubby Jason for arranging for the place, Lingzie for organizing the event so skillfully. Not forgetting those who have helped out in one way or another to make the event memorable. Thanks CK Lam and PenangTuaPui for helping out too.

More than 25 people gathered under one roof to meet who’s the person behind the respective food blogs. Some of them came as far as UK. Welcome to Malaysia, Nigel & Diane.

There were door gifts filled with discount vouchers, tarts (courtesy of CK Lam) and Chocolate Brownies (Courtesy of Shi Hui) for everyone.

We were privileged to have our seasoned flogger, Lilian Chan of Malaysiabest.net to join us in the wonderful evening. Amongst those who had attended were Buzzing Bee (I want more fruit tarts as the ones in the first meet :P), Carrie (Where’s the Green Tea Red Bean Cake you owed me? Hehe!), and Andrew (What’s dish do you want to cook next? :P) & wife (Psss… you sure he did not mess up your kitchen?), Durianberry (I was hoping you would bring some of your bread rolls for me to dip in the soup. :P), Nick Chan (What have you to say for being the youngest active blogger? Gosh! How old are you now? :P), Allen Ooi (Taiwanese Crispy Chicken nearby? Come my house lar.. I can cook better. Haha!), Alvin Ng, Steven Goh (Nice knowing you there. ), Yi Phing, Ken and many other guests.

At RM38nett, we were served with delicious set dinners. Our loving couple, Gill and Jason, did a great job on liaising with the management of the restaurant to come up with our own special menu. I’m still licking my fingers from the leftover of the Vanilla Ice Cream with the Apple Flan guys. LOL! Without much delay, let’s jump into the food photos now.

Starter: Toasted Roti Benggali with Cheese and Onions

Soup: Pumpkin Orange Soup (served with garlic bread)

Main course – A choice of:

1) BBQ Pork Ribs (served with french fries and salad)

2) Curry Pork Sausage (served with French fries and salad) – has tomato sauce and curry powder sprinkled on top

3) Roast Leg of Lamb (served with mashed potatoes, gravy and mint sauce)

4) Gammon Ham (served with mashed potatoes, onion gravy and salad)

5) Smoke Pork Belly (served with mashed potatoes and salad)

Dessert: Apple Flan with Vanilla Ice cream

Drink: Coffee/Tea

The night ended up with an additional lucky draw prizes for everyone, arranged by yours truly.

Going to the restaurant won’t be hard as it is located within the heritage trail of Penang. If you are coming from Prangin Mall along Jalan Dr. Lim Chwee Leong, you will reach a traffic light. Drive on until you have reached the second traffic light and turn left into Lebuh Panta
i. Start counting the roads on your left until you have reached the 5th road. That’s Lebuh Armenian. The restaurant is on your right next to a medical supplies wholesaler. Parking might be a problem here as the roads here are quite narrow. You might want to consider parking further up or along Lebuh Ah Quee and walk to the restaurant by using the small lane nearby.

Name: EDELWEISS CAFE
Address: 38 Lebuh Armenian, 10300 Penang, Malaysia.
Contact: 604-261 8935
Opening Hours:
Tuesday – Friday: 11.00am – 3.00pm, 6.30pm – 10.00pm
Saturday: 12.00noon – 10.00pm
Sunday: 12.00noon – 7.00pm
Closed on Monday
GPS: 5.415243, 100.337770

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

NOTE: WE HAVE TENTATIVELY SET THE 3RD FLOGGERS MEET ON 6 DECEMBER 2008. MORE DETAILS WOULD BE AVAILABLE AT A LATER DATE.

floggers, penang, restaurant, review

SWENSEN’S QUEENSBAY MALL

Posted by Criz Lai On September - 23 - 2008

I wondered if anyone has been around when Swensen’s first started its operation up in Mount Pleasure in Batu Ferringhi area. I used to be a regular there until I got out from being a teen. LOL! My favorite has always been the Earthquake – 8 scoops of ice cream of your choice, plus 8 toppings. Who would resist that as a teenager? Even now! However, I have decided to try out their other products this visit.

Being an American franchise, they should be good in burgers. I tried out their BBQ Mushroom Chicken Burger (RM16.90). It has a piece of chicken patty topped with BBQ mushrooms, some eggplants and served with French fries and coleslaw. The portion was big and the taste was great except for the burger was a bit dry. Well, chicken meat has always been dry as it does not contain as much fat as beef.

Next was the Fish Baked Rice (RM17.90). There were quite a lot of chunky pieces of grilled fish fillet on top of some rice with some white sauce and baked with cheese. Not bad for the taste except for the dryness of the fish. They could have done better by not over grilling the fish as the baking alone would have made the fish cooked. The portion looked normal but it can be quite filling.

Since I was there late in the afternoon, I dreaded the idea of jumping around having my lunch as my actual intention of visiting them was to grab their ice creams. Well, I was not totally disappointed too. What came next was heaven. I ordered the Sizzling Pan Apple Crumble (RM24.90) to be shared. What? That price for a scoop of ice cream with a piece of cake? I must be crazy! The dish did not disappoint me at all. The apple crumble came in a hot pan with a big scoop of Vanilla ice cream on top. The waiter then poured some syrup with some chopped apples in it over the pan. It was bubbling furiously. He then poured some butterscotch over the ice cream. This is truly wonderful. I was expecting this to be too sweet for my liking but the combination of everything was just nice. It’s worth a try.

Some people might think that it’s rather costly to dine in Swensen’s but one thing you need to realize is that their portion is rather big to fill you up. On top of that, if you are lucky to be in Penang Island itself, you have the opportunity to try them out in Queensbay Mall with their latest promotion up to 30 November 2008. They will rebate you with cash vouchers worth the amount on your bill for your next visit. So hurry up if you have yet to try them up.

Swensen’s has two branches in Penang. One is in Auto City down in Juru, mainland and the other one having the promotion now is in Queensbay Mall. To find the restaurant is easy. Just shop around the mall and you will see the corner shop at level 2, central zone area.

Name: SWENSEN’S QUEENSBAY MALL
Address:
2F-50, 2nd Floor, Queensbay Mall (Central Zone)
100 Persiaran Bayan Indah, 11900 Penang, Malaysia.
Contact: 604-646 6593
Opening Hours: 10.00am – 10.00pm
GPS: 5.333661, 100.306506

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

dessert, penang, review

CAFÉ CANTINA

Posted by Criz Lai On September - 20 - 2008

A lot of people, even the Penangites themselves, were not aware that there is this little paradise hidden at the foot of Penang Hill. Located at the entrance to the Jade Emperor’s Pavilion (Thnee Kong Tua) in Air Itam, this small scout camp like restaurant has been in operation since early 2008. Even the entrance itself reminded me of my school days when the scouts would build bamboo arches to greet attendees to their campfire events.

Café Cantina’s customers include many people of different ages, races and nationalities. It is a hangout place where old friends and families would gather to share news of their latest updates. Speaking of old school mates, the layout itself made me moved back into time when I was having my meals in the school canteen. I really missed all the actions then. But one thing which is better than my school canteen would be their Free Wifi facilities. I have never thought that I can bring my laptop over to a school canteen now. LOL!

Even the smartly decorated so called blackboards were decorated with chalked designs. This one really caught my attention and it was drawn by some school kids. What? “Don’t eat too much abo can fat?” I was laughing hysterically at that message as I was there for my dinner. One of the ever friendly partners cum boss, Lawrence gave me a smile while explaining to me that the graffiti was for health conscious individuals. He even has a disclaimer in his menu stating that most of his dishes had coconut milk (santan) in it and he would not be held responsible for any health implications. Thanks Lawrence. That’s something new for me too… Haha!

The food served at Café Cantina is totally different compared to what you get out there. Those dishes are a fusion of Malaysian Chinese, Malay-Chinese Baba Nyonya, Eurasion (Serani) and Thai (southern Thai dishes). Here are some of the dishes you can order. Please do inform the chef on your chili preferences as it might be too spicy for you.

The Green Curry (RM8) is one of my favorite dishes because it has that special fragrant and unique taste. You can opt for seafood, chicken or beef. I ordered the chicken and the dish came with a creamy green look. OK! I must admit, I love Martian food. LOL! The dish has a strong Thai sweet basil leaves flavor and also some Thai apple eggplants. The taste would be great for those who love the sweet taste from the basils.

You can even order the Seafood Otak Otak (RM15-RM18). It has a mixture of seafood, eggs, coconut milk and spices all in a foil and steamed to perfection. It is something Nyonya but with a touch of Thai ingredients.

If you have children around who could not take spicy food, you can opt for their Belacan Chicken Wings (RM2 each) or their Pandan Chicken (RM2.50 per piece). My recommendation would be the Pandan Chicken as the size is big and the taste is great.

You can even order their Thai Omelette (RM8). It has some minced meat with a tasty sweet and sour sauce wrapped in an omelette. This is also suitable for children.

We should also have some fiber in our meals. Do try out their Beansprout Salad (Kerabu Taugeh) (RM6-RM9). This is quite healthy as it has lots of fresh raw beansprouts mixed with some spicy Thai sauce. You can even order Mieng Kam (One Mouthful), Som Tam (Green Papaya Salad) or just get the chef to stir up some green vegetables of your choice.

There are still many other tasty dishes such as the much recommended Cantina Beef, Tom Yam, Pad Ped (Yellow Curry) or Panang (Red Curry) and seafood of many kinds for you to choose from the menu. If you do not fancy having rice with the above dishes, you could even order some side dishes such as rice and noodles in many styles, namely Thai, Chinese, Cantonese and Hokkien. If you are in for a surprise, get the chef to cook up something unique for you at no extra charges. It may be fried or soup. What would you want to have then? A green curry fried noodles or Phad Thai? Well, it is only RM5 for a regular plate (too big for me in fact) or RM8 for a large plate to share around.

As for drinks, the pricing is reasonable. Nothing will cost you more than RM2.50. A yummy bowl of Shaved Ice (Ais Kacang) is only RM2.50. You can even add one scoop of ice cream for an additional RM1. Selected can beers are only RM5/RM5.50 each. You can drink and chat until the wee hours of the morning. Remember not to drive when you are drunk as they would be a resting place for you to become sober. Haha! Although the place would be open until the last customer leaves the place, be polite enough to let the staff get some good rest before the start of yet another busy day.

I’m sure you won’t miss the place as Café Cantina is located just on your right on your way up to the Penang Hill Railway Station along Jalan Bukit Bendera. It is just at a junction where you would see a beautifully decorated Chinese Arch “Tien Kong Than”. You have ample parking spaces along the main road.

Name: CAFÉ CANTINA
Address: 1 Jalan Bukit Bendera, Air Itam, 11500 Penang, Malaysia.
Contact: 604-827 1610, 019-380 6966 (Mr. Lawrence), 012-489 2247 (Mr. Thong), 016-488 7716 (Ms One)
Opening Hours: 6.00pm – Late (Daily)
Website: http://malaysian-cuisine.com/
GPS: 5.407510, 100.278611

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: 9/10 (1-4 bad, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)

penang, restaurant, review

T-JAY CAFÉ @ THE GARAGE

Posted by Criz Lai On September - 12 - 2008

SORRY! THIS RESTAURANT HAS CEASED ITS OPERATION EFFECTIVE NOVEMBER 2008

T-Jay Café would be an ideal place for hangout since it’s located within The Garage, a place filled with endless flow of people going for a drink or some partying. You would see a lot of tourist enjoying themselves there too. What I like most is their flexibility of dining hours. I usually find it hard to dine out after 10.00pm (due to having to work up to after 9.00pm most of the time) as most of the restaurant would be closed by then. I recently paid them a visit after looking through all the menus of other restaurants and found their price list amongst one of the more affordable ones around that area. Moreover, much to my surprise, they do not charge any taxes.

Two of us went for dinner around 10.15pm. We were presented with a menu with so many dishes to choose from ranging from Western to Oriental. They have lamb, chicken, fish, beef and sausages in the Western food sections and local hawker delicacies such as Curry Chicken Rice, Kong Poh Chicken Rice, Fried Noodles and so on. We ended up ordering some of the recommended dishes. As for appetizer, we had soup of the day which was Mushroom Soup (RM4.90). The soup was creamy and had a bit of the herb taste. Very tasty compared to others that I had tasted before.

We were then served the Caribbean Cheese Baked Fish (RM19.90). Although the fish (Dory Fish) size was not as big as I had expected, it was baked with lots of Mozzarella, Cheddar and Parmesan Cheese. The dish tasted great with lots of salads and fries to fill up the tummy.

The Chicken Breast Supreme (RM12.90) came next. Two tender pieces of chicken fillet was served. Not big but the taste was great with the special sauce by the chef. The sauce tasted like BBQ sauce but had a milder taste with a combination of tomato and onion puree.

As for drinks, we order a Kickapoo Fizzy Soft Drink (RM3.90) and Oreo Chocolate Milkshake (RM8.90). In fact the Oreo drink was our own creation as there only offered Oreo Coffee Milkshake.

After resting out filled tummies while watching Astro’s Asia Food Channel, we decided to try out their recommended Choc Cake Ala Mode (RM6.90). The dessert came with a small piece of moist chocolate cake (a bit of Brandy taste in it) with a large scoop of Nestle’s vanilla ice cream topped with Hershey chocolate syrup and chocolate rice. It was real yummy.

Visiting this restaurant won’t be hard as it is within the compound of The Garage along Upper Penang Road. The only problem would be the parking as the place would be packed during weekends. The nearest place with ample car park would be the car park along Penang Road, opposite Cititel. Anyway, it’s good to take a stroll and watch for any happenings along this hot night spots area of Penang. On top of that, you can easily get access into the many bistros and pubs surrounding that area such as Fame, Slippery Senorita, Momo, Mois and so on after having your meal there.

Name: T-JAY CAFÉ @ THE GARAGE
Address:
LotA22, The Garage ( Upper Penang Road),
2 Penang Road, 10000 Penang, Malaysia.
Contact: 604-261 2188, 012-499 9311 (Mr. Terry Tan)
Opening Hours: 12.00pm – 3.00pm, 6.30pm – Late Night (Monday – Saturday)
GPS: 5.422955, 100.335088

RATING:
Ambience: 7/10 (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)

entertainment, penang, restaurant, review

I HAD PIZZA FOR SUPPER!

Posted by Criz Lai On September - 10 - 2008

After a long weekend of heavy down pour which caused my area being flooded, I finally had some relieves to be able to get out to grab something sensible to put into my tummy. Although I had some tummy problems the day before, the 5-pagoda Thai Powder did help solve it. Well, I better don’t get the post too disgusting as I’m still recovering from Sciatica which made my whole body aching in pain. Anyway, thanks to foodpromotions for sending over some discount vouchers for Domino’s Pizza’s new outlet in Krystal Point which had started their operations since 23 August 2008. It indeed saved me a lot.

What I like about Domino’s Pizza is the way they handle their customers. They are real professional. They even have my name printed on the order chit and pizza boxes. Although I was asked to wait for 15 minutes for my pizzas, both were ready within 12 minutes.

The amount you see there is correct. It was only RM23.90 for TWO regular 9” pizzas? First one was at RM23.80 and the second one was at 10sen only. Well, you need to have the special voucher for that and you should know who to ask for that right? 😛

Anyway, eating in would be better for pizzas but the offer only applied for takeaway. Even though I went to the nearest place within 10 minutes to take my pizzas, the crust wasn’t that nice as it should be. Here are the shots of the pizzas I had ordered.

The shop is located at the last unit of the second phase of Krystal Point Complex. Make sure that when you come in from the main road leading to the Jelutong Expressway, you turn in the second turning on your left. Getting to the place should not be a problem. It’s the getting out that might cause some concern for those people not staying there. Since it’s a one-way street, you have to drive on and turn into the second turning on your left (Lebuh Bukit Kecil 3). Drive on until you see a playground and turn left into Jalan Bukit Kecil 2. Just follow the road all the way until the end. You will reach a “T” junction, turn left into Jalan Bukit Kecil 1 and it would lead you all the way to the Sungai Nibong main road. You can also check out the many restaurants such as Goh Teo Kee, Dav’s Corner, etc around this area too.

Name: DOMINO’S PIZZA BAYAN LEPAS
Address:
1-1-33, Krystal Point Corporate Park, Lebuh Bukit Kecil 6,
Bayan Lepas, 11900 Penang, Malaysia.
Contact: 1-300-888-333 (Delivery)
Opening Hours: 11.00am – 11.00pm
GPS: 5.330928, 100.299339

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: 7/10 (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)

penang, restaurant, review

BENG HEANG BAK KUT TEH

Posted by Criz Lai On September - 4 - 2008

Beng Heang is another famous Bak Kut Teh shop located by the service road of Jalan Air Itam. Originated from the Klang style of Bak Kut Teh recipe, they have been operating at the present premises for over ten years. Although the soup base has a milder herb taste compared to those from Klang, this restaurant still maintained its steady flow of customers each night. Recently, I was there with 3 other friends for dinner and we had ordered a claypot of Bak Kut Teh (RM18). As we were there quite late, most of the choice pieces were already sold out, leaving us without the normal yao char kwai, soy bean stick, pig stomach and soft rib bones. I won’t blame them as we were there after 11.00pm.

One thing good about the boiled Cameron lettuce (RM7) which they served was that it had a generous amount of meat floss garnished on top.

On top of that you can also try out their side order such as braised chicken legs (RM2.50). The meat was tender and the taste was not bad at all but I would prefer the sauce to be thickened slightly more.

The restaurant also served two types of rice – the dark oil rice as well as the plain rice. Most shops would have charged a bowl between RM1.20 and RM1.50 but they were still maintaining each bowl at RM1. Overall the bill came out to RM37, inclusive of the rice and drinks.

If you are driving from the Penang State Mosque towards Penang Hill, you would pass by Chung Ling High School and Chung Ling (Private) High School on your left. Drive on until you had reached the traffic light (turn left would lead you to Sunshine Farlim). After moving about 20m, you will see an Indian temple on your right. Turn right into the service road and you will see the restaurant on your left.

Name: BENG HEANG BAK KUT TEH
Address: 554-S Jalan Air Itam, 11400 Penang, Malaysia.
Contact: 604-829 1906, 012-475 5903 (Mr. Teh)
Opening Hours: 5.30pm – 2.00am (Close Alternate Friday)
GPS: 5.404891, 100.290220

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

TAIPING HUAN CHU LENG (GREEN MEE KOO)

Posted by Criz Lai On September - 1 - 2008

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.

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.

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.

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)

perak, review, snack

HOCK LOK SIEW BISCUIT TRADING

Posted by Criz Lai On August - 31 - 2008

Most people would just visit the many “branded” shops in Penang for buying some local products back home. Thus, with so much of publicity and advertising charges incurred by the companies, the products would be rather expensive. There is this shop called Hock Lok Siew Biscuit Trading within the heart of Georgetown itself that produces quality local products and market them at a cheaper price. In fact, they are the main shop that supplied 40%-50% of their products to the food industry. Here are some of their products (about 40% shown) available throughout the year.

Since today is Malaysia’s Independence Day as well as the 1st day of the 8th Month in the Chinese Lunar Calendar, it also marked the start of the Mid Autmn Festival. Traditionally, on this day, many Chinese households would gather family members and friends to celebrate this festival outdoor while admiring the bright mid-autumn harvest moon. Children would be playing with colorful lanterns lighted with candle (nowadays battery operated too). Moon cakes and biscuits would be in abundance as desserts.

The shop would also produce such tasty delicacies during this festival. They have many paste fillings such as red bean, green bean, coconut, lotus seed, durian, red plum, pandan lotus, green tea, mixed nuts, and also mixed nuts with ham. All would be priced between RM4.00 and RM7.00. You will have the option to add in a salted egg by paying only RM1.00 extra per egg yolk. If you feel that one big moon cake would be too sweet for you to consume, they do have the mini size moon cakes (red bean and lotus seed paste only) at RM4.00 per box. That’s for two red bean paste and two lotus seed paste mini moon cakes. It’s a great bargain. All the moon cakes come with a simple yet great plastic box to present as a gift to your family and friends.

On top of that, they do have moon biscuits (Gong Zai Pheang) for sale too. The plain, melon seed, red bean, lotus seed and coconut moon biscuit would be available throughout the year while the durian paste moon biscuit are seasonal. Prices ranged between RM4.00 and RM7.00 for 10 pieces or per 500grams.

If you are coming from Trader’s Hotel along Jalan Magazine, keep to your left and drive on until you have reach the second traffic light. Turn into the first road on your left (Jalan Gurdwara) and then the first left turning into Lebuh Noordin. The shop is just somewhere in the middle on your right within a row of heritage houses. By the way, please give them a call prior to going as some of the products might be available only at certain time of the day.

Name: HOCK LOK SIEW BISCUIT TRADING
Address: 120, Lebuh Noordin, 10300 Penang, Malaysia.
Contact: 604-2622162, 016-472 4565
Opening Hours: 9.00am – 7.00pm (Daily)
GPS: 5.412253, 100.329745

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

penang, review

LOOK YUEN RESTAURANT

Posted by Criz Lai On August - 28 - 2008

Since Aeon Jusco Bandar Perda had already opened since 22 August 2008, we decided to pay the place a visit for some Big Apple donuts. LOL! But on the way there, we ended up at one of my favorite restaurants there when I was working in the Bukit Minyak Industrial Area. Look Yuen Restaurant has been serving many of the workers as well as residents there for years. It’s almost always packed during lunch and dinner hours. In fact, this is the only restaurant that has its kitchen stationed upstairs in another shoplot. It was interesting to see how they transfer food from upstairs using the mini automated elevators.

The first dish served was their house specialty – Steamed Glass Noodle (Tang Hoon) with Homemade Fish Balls (RM5). The simple combination of sauce, big onions and spring onions went well with the noodles. The fish balls were fresh and springy.

Next was another of their specialties, the Honeyed Fried Chicken (RM7). Choice pieces of chicken were fried to perfection. The meat was well marinated and was very tender to my liking.

As usual, I love to try out every restaurant’s Spicy Buttered Prawns (RM14). Eight big fresh and juicy prawns were served. It was very yummy and the best part was that it was not over oily at all. I would recommend this dish as it’s worth the amount to have fresh prawns that cost barely RM2 each.

As for the pricing, RM29.60 inclusive of rice and drinks was not expensive at all. Since some are you are not familiar with the road to get to the restaurant, I will show you the easiest route here. If you coming from the Penang Bridge, keep towards your right and turn into the North-South Highway towards AutoCity / Ipoh / Kuala Lumpur. After you have passed the Juru Rest Area, keep to your left and turn left into Jalan Juru (Turn right and you will reach AutoCity). When you reach a traffic light at a “T” junction, turn left Jalan Bukit Tengah which will lead you to Bukit Mertajam town. Drive on. I will show you how to get there next as highlighted in the red box.

You will pass by two traffic lights (the 2nd traffic light will lead you to Aeon Jusco Bandar Perda). Drive on but keep to your left until you will see an overhead bridge to Permatang Pauh. DO NOT GO OVER THE OVERHEAD BRIDGE! Turn left into Jalan Kerjasama (about 50m before the overhead bridge) and right into Lorong Kerjasama 1. You can actually see the restaurant at the far end with huge signboards at the junction of Tingkat Kerjasama 4.

If you are planning to pay a visit to Aeon Jusco Bandar Perda, there’s a U-turn further up under the overhead bridge. When you reach the first traffic light, just turn left into Jalan Kebun Sireh. You will see the Jusco signboard from a far. When you reach another traffic light at Jalan Padang Lalang, turn left until you reach another traffic light. Turn right and drive on and you will see Bandar Perda on your left. Aeon Jusco Bandar Perda is just inside the township.

Name: LOOK YUEN RESTAURANT
Address: 2 Tingkat Kerjasama 4, Taman Kerjasama, 14000 Penang, Malaysia.
Contact: 604-507 4785
Opening Hours: 11.30am – 11.00pm (Daily)
GPS: 5.361289, 100.425586

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

RESTORAN SENG HUAT BAK KUT TEH

Posted by Criz Lai On August - 26 - 2008

I could not believe my ears when I heard that Klang alone has over 300 stalls and shops selling Bak Kut Teh. No wonder Klang is believed to be the home of Bak Kut Teh. When I was in Klang, I thought I could revisit Fei Kay for their yummy Dry Bak Kut Teh. At the same time, I was also tempted to try out another famous stall known as “Under The Klang Bridge” Restaurant. In the end, I went for the new taste. I was expecting that all Bak Kut Teh stalls in Klang would have the dry version but I was wrong. This restaurant served only the soup version. Fortunately, the dish turned out to be marvelous. The soup was thick with the proper ingredients and was extremely tasty.

We also order a plate of Oil Vegetables to compliment our meaty dish. The differences between the vegetables (Cameron Lettuce) and the one served in Penang was that Klang style garnished the boiled vegetables with garlic oil and fried onions, whereas Penang style would be with fried lard in oil with meat floss.

The steamed rice was also different. It’s cooked with pork oil and garnished with fried garlic or fried onions, somewhat like the Hainanese style chicken rice. Penang style would be plain white rice or dark soy sauce rice with dried shrimps. Anyway, the rice was real fragrant and tasty to be taken with the Bak Kut Teh.

After enjoying the meal without noticing about how famous this shop had got itself into, I saw some newspaper cuttings on the wall showing how much Liang Wen Tao love this place. Uncle Liang, a Hong Kong Food Critic and Gourmet Secret Agent food presenter and author of many cookbooks had visited the restaurant twice for their Bak Kut Teh within the last 10 years. If a famous TVB person like him would revisit the restaurant, it must be real good then. By the way, the restaurant has been operating for the last 3 decades and ranked top 10 in Malaysia. Here’s the proof of his review in the local China Post.

As for the pricing, I won’t say it’s expensive as the 3 of us consumed RM22.20 worth of dishes with an extra helping of the oil rice. We brought our own tea leaves too since they were charging only 40sen per person for utilizing their hot water kettles. Here’s the price list:

Restoran Seng Huat Bak Kut Teh is also popularly known as the Restaurant “Under the Klang Bridge”. It is a corner lot the same stretch as the Klang KTM station. To get to the restaurant, you have to drive into Jalan Jambatan Kota and turn right into Jalan Dato Hamzah. When you see a “Y” junction, turn left into Jalan Tengku Diaudin. When you see a Bomba on your left, turn into the lane and you will also see the Klang District Police Headquarters on your left. Just drive forward while following the curve and you will see a pedestrian overhead bridge on your left. The restaurant is just next to the bridge along Jalan Besar.

Name: RESTORAN SENG HUAT BAK KUT TEH
Address: 9, Jalan Besar, 41000 Klang, Selangor, Malaysia.
Contact: 012-309 8303, 012-385 5154 (Mr. John Lee)
Opening Hours: 7.00am – 12.00noon, 5.30pm – 8.30pm
GPS: 3.043566, 101.448441

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: 9/10 (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)

review, selangor

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