Last Sunday afternoon we attended an invited review at Louis Cafe at Argyll Road Penang. It was an arrangement Lingzie and Madam Teoh(the proprietor) came up with. It was not much of a review, but more of a taste and comment type of event. Thus, my posting will just do that without being bias. Actually, the chef and the proprietor were very interactive and very receptive to the comments and ideas that we gave in terms of the taste and flavour of the food and also the marketing ideas to improve their customer turnover.
Some of the other bloggers that have attended the review have or will be displaying photos of indoor set up and decor, thus I would just leave that out or it will add additional length to this long post. I will focus more on the food and on the people and action of the review cum get-to-gather. This is the 3rd official invited review that we Penang bloggers attended as a group after we all first met and decided to organize this kind of activity and events for the benefit of all, bloggers and business establishments. And we hope that there will be more to come.
This event was made possible by Lingzie and the generosity and openness of Madam Teoh the proprietor of this cafe. We had alot of fun mingling around amongst the bloggers and also with Mdm. Teoh, her daughter and their chef. The event was suppose to start at 12noon, but me and Gill were there like 1 hour earlier as our Sunday service concludes at around 10am. We weren’t the only ones early, Marry of FoodParadise also came early. Therefore, Gill and Marry had some time to chit chat with Mdm. Teoh, I got some quite time to capture some shots of the place.
At Louis Cafe they have 3 menus to choose from, the alar carte menu for the adventuress, the set menu for those who can’t decide and looking for a fast meal, and the snack & Asian menu for that in between meal time sins. We were told that they have 5 set menus to choose from weekly, and their set menus are rotated daily so that the customers will not be bored from choosing the same old thing daily. The dishes served at Louis cafe are majorly of Italian and Western influence, but there are some Asian dishes and some fusion dishes (not fusion menu) offered too. Their chefs were source from a well known Singapore hotel and our local Park Royal hotel.
Part of the alar carte menu.
Snack & Asian Menu.
Different sets of set menus.
The first few dishes to come were the salads and appetizer. For the salads, we were served their Caesar salad for RM18 per serving and House Rules Organic Garden Greens is RM15. Caesar salads normally consist mainly of romaine lettuce, croûtons, eggs and Caesar dressing (anchovy fillets, mayo, garlic, cheese, milk or cream, lemon juice, worcestershire sauce and seasoning), but the bowl served by Louis Cafe has some slightly twig to it. They have actually substituted romaine lettuce with ‘yau mak’, which I think is in the same family as romaine, and added smoked salmon strips. As informed by the chef, the reason they chose ‘yau mak’ is because that romaine has a bitter taste it and yau mak don’t, and also because the source of greens could not provide the right texture romaines. Although great study was done for this salad, the substitution has created another problem. The Caesar salad slightly lost its balance in flavour, it was a bit salty and dull. The texture of the salad was also affected by the yau mak as it tends to shrivel faster and produce a lot of liquid which made the salad soggy and watery if the salad is not eaten immediately when served. So, the advice is to eat fresh!
House Rules Organic Garden Greens have lots of different vegetables for a balance intake. The vegetables were crunchy and refreshing, and the dressing hass added lemongrass juice in the dressing. With this light dressing we are able to taste and feel the vegetables in the mix. But the dressing may need some improvements as it was a bit over acidic for us.
The appetizer that was served on us to try was their Scallops with Apple Salsa. It is an easy dish to prepare, but a slightest mistake will definitely overwhelm the sweetness and fluffy texture of the scallops. Although the dressing for the scallops were apple salsa, it was anything but apple. It was refreshing, sweet, tangy and smokey(there was hint of BBQ or buffalo wing sauce flavour). The scallops are a must have ot try dish to start ones palates in motion for the different flavours to come.
After the starters, we had luscious servings of soup that are available at Louis Cafe. There were 5 different varieties that went under our taste buds for scrutiny. Please note that cream of broccoli, cream of cauliflower and cream of tomato are not found in the alar carte & set menus. But can be made available as a special order for RM9, that is if the ingredients are available. Cream of tomato – RM9
The Cream of cauliflower is sold at RM9 per bowl. It had a lite taste to it, and I quite enjoyed it with the hints of cauliflower flavour at every spoonful.
Cream of broccoli is also sold at RM9 per bowl. The soup is clean(some people like it clean and smooth), but I would prefer to have some texture in it. Perhaps some scrapings of the the broccoli buds/flowers would not only be great for added texture, but also as a garnish and as symbol of the broccoli soup. I would not recommend this soup to those who fancy heavy tasting soups as it is more for those laid back and adventures you.
The Wild Mushroom Soup is priced at RM10 per serving. It had a full body from all the blended mushrooms in it, but preferably some sliced or coarsely chopped buttons or brown mushroom would add some height to it. The taste was quite casual, but the use of shitake to add flavour may have back-fired as shitake mushrooms have that distinct flavour and aroma, which not every Joe likes and enjoy. I myself would not mind experiencing the different taste and flavours from all the various types of mushroom that they have to offer in their mushroom soup. One way to reduce or take away that distinct flavour and aroma from shitake would be by soaking in warm water and then squeezed out the water and litely grill it.
Pumpkin Soup also goes for RM9 per serving. The pumpkin was blended in to give it the fullness and texture that it needs for a pumpkin soup. It sweet to taste. The use of almond slices as a garnish, looks elegant.
Last but not least, is their Cream of Tomato which also sells for RM9 per bowl. This the heavier tasting soups that we tasted on that beautiful Sunday afternoon. It had that sour punch that local Malaysians like, but I would prefer it to be slightly milder and less acidic so that it would be more refreshing to the palate. Cutting down on the bay leaves would also help in calming the soup.
After all the tantalizing dishes, the event went into full swing with the serving of the main courses. The first to served to the firing squad was the Vegetarian Cutlet. It would cost you RM15.90 to order this dish. It is not found in either menus, but can be specially ordered for your non meat eating partner(s). The cutlet is actually potato and mixture vegetables formed into a shape of a leaf and deep fried till golden brown. To savour this dish, you should not forget the accompanying sauces as they give them the additional taste and flavour.
Normally it is chicken gordon blue, but what we have here is their Fish Gordon Bleu. This one would cost you RM25 per order, but looking at the luscious stuffing’s it should be worth the money spent. I can’t comment on the taste and texture as it was hijacked from the plate before I got to it with my fork. Damn!
Grilled Lamb Chop with brown mushroom sauce at RM22 should be an average restaurant price. The tender lamb chops drenched in flavourful mushroom sauce and slices is very tempting to any lamb lover. I would definitely go back for their lamb chops to really savour the flavour it has to offer. Their lamb chop is better than what I had at The Sire. And it would be good idea to serve them baby potatoes or mash.
Next to go under our microscope is their Beef tenderloin with peppercorn sauce. This serving would cost you RM38. The sauce was slightly over peppery as commented by Criz, but if you were to fork a bit mash, vegetables, meat and sauce it would be just nice for the tongue. That is how me and Gill like to enjoy our meats with heavy tasting sauces. Though it taste nice, the texture of the meat was a bit rough.
The Sirloin Steak with red wine sauce at RM28, might slightly be on the expensive side due to the meat portion size. But the taste of the sauce and flavour of the meat can off set that pinching feeling in my already shallow pocket. How I hope to have seconds to savour that rich sauce.
For the more fish dishes, there are the Pan Seared Salmon steak at RM30 and Red Snapper with cream of tomato pulp at RM25. The salmon block with skin still intact had that distinct salmon flavour and Dijon mustard sauce was a good match. The fried ginger garnish also help in providing extra flavour to the dish.
The Red Snapper with cream of tomato pulp was my favourit amongst te fish dishes that I had opportunity to taste. The tangy and creamy sauce complimented the sweet and moist pan grilled snapper fillet. A must try dish!
The Baked stuffed chicken was not in the list if I am not wrong. But it was a surprise that I would not decline or push away. It would be a grave mistake to do so. The piece of chicken thigh was perfectly caramelised on the surface and moist and juicy in the inside. The sausage that was stuffed inside the thigh was smokey and chunky. Definitely I would want to have this in the daily menu.
For the pasta section of the menu, we were given their Spaghetti Arrabiata and Fettucine Carbonara to scrutinised. Both pastas are priced at RM16, which to me is quite reasonable as the kitchen was quite generous in the ingredients usage. I didn’t quite fancy the Spaghetti Arrabiata that day, may be it had something to do with me. Anyway, the spaghetti was slightly over cooked. And for the Fettucine Carbonara is was acceptable to my taste buds. But I hope that the kitchen would cut down on the bacon and ham, as it is too smokey for my liking.
Another ad hoc dish and the last that was introduce to us, was their Chicken Tortilla. This dish is also not found in the either menus, but I am able to let you know that it costs RM15.90. The tortilla was something that the chef did specially for us to taste and comment on. The Chicken Tortilla tastes better the chicken tortilla at KFCs. Their tortilla had that fragrant taste of cheese, grilled chicken and the spices. A great snack to have for that in between meal munching. Another must try dish!
We had a great time at Louis Cafe that Sunday afternoon, and it was all thanks to our ‘che meh’(chairman), Lingzie, Louis Cafes proprietor and staffs. We were all busy taking photographs, savouring tasty dishes and chit chatting the afternoon through. We only called it day after we saw the clock was already 3pm.
Even their staff also want to be in the action.
Group photo of the attending bloggers. (Courtesy from PTP’s Huat Koay) Starting from second left CK Lam from What2seeonline.com,Bee from Buzzing with Food, Lingzie from Lingzie’s Tummy Treats, Mr. Lee of Kwong Wah Yit Poh, Criz Lai from Criz Bon Appetite, Steven Goh from Steven Goh’s Great Food, Budget Travel and Unique Lifestyle, Allen Ooi from Yummy Station, Rebecca from The Nomad Gourmand, Carrie from Cariso Delicacies Corner, Marry from FoodParadise , Huat Koay fromPenangTuaPui(not in the photo).
Bloggers and the crew of Louis Cafe together.(Courtesy from PTP’s Huat Koay)
The proprietor, Madam Teoh, their Chef and their kitchen staff.
We bloggers and Mdm Teoh and her daughter Sue and their staff.
On average, I would give this place:
* 4/5 for value
* 4.1/5 for taste & texture
* 4.4/5 for service
* 4.5 for cleanliness
* 4.3/5 for atmosphere( There are separate floors for smokers and non-smokers, free wi-fi facility and cosy environment for business discussions.)
Address:
161-C, Argyll Road, 100500 Georgetown, Penang. (Just opposite Mingood Hotel)
Tel:
04 2287729
GPS Coordinate:
N 05*25′ 315” E 100*19’820”
A follow-up visit to Louis Cafe would be in the pipe line in the future to confirm our review is true and actual, and also to see that any changes have taken place. Plus to see their wine bar set-up.
View Larger Map
Popularity: 36% [?]
~
Last Sunday we were invited to 
Oyster Pancake / Omelette
Sitr Fry Tapioca Leafs (without sambal)
