Gourmet Garden

After hearing much hype of the Town Steamboat in Macalister Road, we finally made a point at least try out the place for once. I guess we will stick to our favourite steamboat spot for now although it is not eat-all-you-can type buffet. May be if we were younger Town Steamboat would have appealed to us more, some how with age the ‘tangki’ grow smaller.

There are a selection of soup bases to choose for the steamboat, and one would be able to enjoy two at one seating. It is a buffet steamboat at RM18.90 during the weekdays and RM20.90 on weekends and public holidays, don’t expect too much from the soup or you will get disappointed.

Selection of items for the steamboat and pan griller were limited although we were one of the few early birds. It was a contrast with what we saw in our fellow bloggers’ blog. Lucky them!  There was no ‘lok-lok’, black vinegar pork knuckles and char koay teow in sight. And the dim sum selection was also limited in numbers and variety.

The favourite section for us was the sliced raw meat section and vegetable area. We don’t really fancy all the ‘artificial’ items available  for the picking. One thing about the raw meat section that we noticed was that the marinate tastes almost similar to one and another.

The pan grill section and ‘satay’ stall was also our full of dinners waiting for their fair share of succulent pork chop and chicken satay to be cook for them.

Dim Sum, pastry and fried snacks were quite limited in choice that faithful night. Not much could we tasted for the night.

Dessert was also few in selection. At one point the ice cream freezer was almost empty for quite a period of time.

To summarise, Town Steamboat would not be our chosen place to go for steamboat but what can one expect from the price that they charge? For us at least at the minimum, consistency in the available items that they are suppose to have for their buffet line.

Address: Town Steamboat Restaurant, 63 Macalister Road, 10400 Penang
Tel           : 04-229 7273
Business Hour: 5.30pm – 11.30pm

Popularity: 15% [?]

We were celebrating post Mother’s Day with Gill’s mom at La Mei Zhi. We are early so I decided to go for a cup of coffee at siTigun, which has been much blog of by many bloggers in Penang. A cup of single shot espresso is only RM 3.80, quite a reasonable price considering the average cost of espresso is around RM0.50 or so, actual cost will depend on the grade and quality. The coffee is quite aromatic and flavourful with hints of chocolate, sweetness and with a slight sour finish.

They are a micro coffee roaster, thus their coffee are as fresh as it gets. And it is one of the reasons it does not ‘stink’ when they grind or brew their bean.

A part from coffee, we could not resist trying their satay. We were told it is the authentic ‘Madura Sate’ from East Jawa. Originating from the island of Madura, near Java, is one of the famous variants among Indonesians. The recipe’s main characteristic is the black sauce made from Indonesian sweet soy sauce/kecap manis mixed with palm sugar or gula jawa, garlic, deep fried shallots, peanut paste, petis (shrimp paste), candlenut or kemiri, and salt. It is served and eaten with rice or rice cakes called lontong that are wrapped in banana. Condiments include thinly sliced raw shallot and plain sambal.

At RM15 for 5 sticks is quite a price to pay, but every bite is worth the money. Every stick were slowly grilled over a bed of hot coals until the surface caramelized and cooked. The chicken chunks were juicy and tender, retaining the sweetness of the meat. The glazing sauce did not interfere with the taste of the chicken; it actually enhanced the flavours even more.

The condiments that came with the Javanese satay were pickled cucumber and shallots, rice cakes(lontong), and peanut sauce. The peanut sauce was creamy, nutty and not too sweet and too spicy; a right balance of flavours. The satay was also served with a squeezed of lime juice which added a refreshing touch to the whole dish.

I guess I will be coming back to try out the other varieties of coffee product and their Madura satay, which is only available on Friday and Saturday evenings!

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Popularity: 18% [?]

There is a new franchise in Gurney Plaza, Chicago Ribs House(CRH) is the name. It is under the same umbrella group for Tony Romas’ franchise in Malaysia who also brought us ‘The Manhattan Fish Market’. Actually CRH is nothing new to Penang, it was previously housed in the building behind McDonalds in Juru Autocity in Penang. The unit in Gurney Plaza is more like moving house rather than new setup.

Before this visit we already heard and read of some no so positive comments on the service and food, but to be fair to everyone we decided to give them a try and experience for ourselves. Just to be seated was a bit of a challenge, service was slow and rigid.  Rigid because there were 2 empty table meant for 5 to 6 people and it was already off peak hours but the 2 off us were not allowed in to the indoor seating area. When we finish our meal and paid our bill the table was still empty. Ordering was also a bit on the cold side if not for the kitchen manager who came out to help us.

About 10 minutes after our order was taken, our first order was served which was a serving of complimentary fried mushrooms and then came the refillable ice lemon tea. The fresh button mushroom halves were tender and moist with its batter still crisp and fragrant. The accompanying dip was tangy and sharp which complimented well the deep fried  mushrooms.

CRH’s specialty is the pork ribs and that was what we had to try. We ordered their ‘Pork Ribs Combo Dinner’ with ‘Chicago Sirloin’.

I normally like my steaks medium-cook but had to settle for medium. Many places do not serve medium-cooked steaks. The sirloin was slightly under medium when it was served and thus it has not aromatised the fats and lacks in flavours. When we were in Tony Romas we were glad to have the waitress ask us to check on the doneness of our steaks when served. It will prevent wastages and avoid customer complaints.

As for the pork ribs, they were off the bone easily but certain part were dryer than others especially the outer areas. The inner meaty areas were tender though. This may be due to the long cooking and storage time. To have off the bone result slow roasting is the method and when just before serving glazing is done. The meat was sweet and the glaze was strong, too strong that it overwhelmed what should have been in terms of pork flavours. In fact the taste was similar to Tony Romas. Comparing beef and pork, the former has stronger taste than the later. I guess you’ve got what I mean. Another place for pork ribs to consider which has better porky flavours is ‘Ribs by Vintry‘.

Another porky item that we had was the ‘Chicago Double Cheese Burger’.

The presentation of the burger did not show the value is carries; Carl’s Junior’s burgers would look more appetising to us with overflowing toppings and sauce. The pork pate was sweet, tender and moist, but the cheese was strong and was slightly overwhelming to the light porky taste. The toppings were not what we expected from RM20 burger, a bit scarce and not properly placed. Is it me only? I normally expect iceberg lettuce with my burgers not ‘Chinese Romanian Lettuce’ or ‘yau mak’. The side of french fries were limp and cold.

Taste & Texture: 2.5/5 (It is not a place that I would choose to go unless out of choices)
Money Value : 2.5/5
Service: 2.0/5 (The floor staffs were not attentive and gather in group to chit chat. The kitchen manager was very helpful)
Cleanliness: N/A (we were seated at the alfresco area)
Atmosphere: N/A(we were seated at the alfresco area)

Popularity: 33% [?]

This afternoon we were at Lidiana’s again for lunch. We almost had all our usual dishes except for the raw pea sprouts. Food still taste the same spicey, flavourfull and cheap. The pea sprouts had a slight tangy taste with sweetness and a bitter aftertaste.

Our usual favourites are their ayam kicap, beef, curry fish, tempeh and ‘money leaf’ in lemak.

A great news to those who are unable to make a bee line to Lidiana for lunch, we were told by the staff that they are open up until 9:00pm daily, from Monday to Saturday. Sunday is the rest day for them.

The direction starts from landmark of  Tanjung Bungah Maybank, once you see the maybank at your left,  keep going straight after the second traffic light. you will see the tsunami’s flat on your right. Take note on the left, when the moment you see the junction on your left, just turn in, and you can see the big signage – Arked Tanjung Bungah is on your right, it is axactly opposite the Floating Mosque. Lidiana is the first stall (bigest stall) from the entrance.

Popularity: 12% [?]

The meals that we had on Day 3 during our Hong Kong trip was focus on food hunting through the information gathered from blogs and other Medias. The first place that we hunt down was the much talked about old style dim sum place called Lin Heung (莲香楼). Much was expected from them especially reading about it and also seeing the article by 蔡澜 recommending this place which boasts old people serving good oldskool dim sum, what we actually got was poor and rude service from the waiters and food that had loads of MSG. The dim sum dishes were very much a letdown in terms of taste and texture, except for the ‘char siew pao’ which had some standard.

The ‘char siew pao’ is actually the world’s first dim sum. Both the dough and filling is equivalently important to deliver the soft fluffy texture and flavourful bites.

As we did not feel satisfied with what we had at Lin Heung, we continue our breakfast at ‘Mak Wai’ (麥记）wantan noodles. Their noodles were crunchier and thinner compared to those we have found in Malaysia so far. The wantan itself only consist of just prawn and prawn roe which was already sufficient to deliver satisfaction to what would be a disappointed morning. The wantan dumplings were fresh and crunchy and the taste delivered was sweet and savoury. The wantan noodle is actually one of my favourite noodle dish that I don’t mind having every morning.

Other than noodles and dumplings, we also sampled their ‘牛腩‘or stewed beef belly. It was not what we expected but just looking at the serving it was already enough to make me drool. The tendons and meat chunks were tender and full of flavour, the best thing were that the herbs and spice used did not overwhelm the beefy taste. The only thing that bugged me in this dish was the heavy usage of ‘Mandarin Orange Peel’.

After breakfasts, we set out to walk about and found this ‘泰昌饼家’ or Tai Cheung Bakery. They are famous for their egg tarts which even the last British Governor of Hong Kong enjoyed very much.

The tart shell was soft but not too flaky, and it does not stick to the grooves of our teeth. The egg custard filling was fragrantly eggy with a rich taste minus the overwhelming sugary sweetness. If you are in Hong Kong it may be one of the pit stops that would not want to miss.

In the evening and part of our hunting list, we headed to ‘蘭芳園‘ or Lan Fong Yuen to sample their famous pork chop buns and ‘奶茶‘ or milk tea. The milk tea was smooth as in subtle on the throat or in another words like downing a smooth full body wine, full of flavours but yet does not stress the throat too much.

The pork chop bun was also not a letdown, it was fried till golden brown and yet retained its tenderness and juices. Paired with soft mayo and nicely toasted sesame bun, it was the best that I have so far. In the past, we only found something of similar at Wongkok restaurant at  OUG in Old Klang Road, Kuala Lumpur, but the place has since closed down.

In the evening we went to shop for some items in the Mongkok area which is famous for its ‘电子街‘，’女人街’ and ‘球鞋街’, and to find some street food that may entice our taste buds. We found a street side shop that sells a variety of snack foods like stinky tofu,  curry fish balls, stewed cow innards and so on at the end of ’女人街’. The snack food sold here did not had as much MSG as compared to the shop fronting the hotel that we were staying in, Langham.

Popularity: 15% [?]

Some few weeks ago we were asked what can we recommend to eat in the Batu Ferringhi area, it was simple but yet hard to answer question. Although I have been calling Batu Ferringhi our home for the past 6 years or so, we have not really put much thought and research on the food scene here. Some of the more logical reasons that I can think of are that we cook our meals most of the time, the ‘tourist’ pricing that are charged and the presumed quality of the food.  But if you really put in some effort and time, you will find some decent and fair priced chows in Batu Ferringhi.

Breakfast and lunch is easy to satisfy with a range of fair price hawker fare and economy rice at Mutiara Apartment, which is about 5 minutes walking distance from Golden Sand Hotel. It is opposite the areas’ 7-Elven convenient store.

Try to ask the apartment’s food court location from the locals, and they will able to show you. Most of the stalls in the food court opens 7 days a week,.

Stall no.5 sells assortment of noodles, curry me, hokkien prawn mee and lor mee. The price ranges from RM2.80 to RM3.30 per serving depending on size, which is quite reasonable. And for taste it is not very exceptional but decent and able to calm the addiction when it hits. My favourite pick with this stall is the curry mee, as for lor mee I would substitute the usual ‘chili boh’ with curry mee chili and top up with some stock from the hokkien prawn mee to give it some additional flavour.

Then there is the wantan mee stall which is good to stuff the belly for a quick and cheap meal. Price ranges from RM2.80 to RM3.30 too and is worth the penny for quantity. But be sure to ask the auntie to make to order the way you like it. We normally like our wantan noodles dry (meaning no added stock or soup) with lots of lard and spring onions, and a mixture of broad and thin noodles. This combination brings out the flavor of the dark soy sauce and enhances the texture of the noodles.

If you like fried noodles, then there is the Hokkien Char, Char Koay Teow and fried rice stall. But our usual order from this is their Hokkien Char. The trick in savouring this hokkien char is to let the noodles soak up all the gravy before you start eating it. Price is similar to the previous stalls, cheap and decent.

For a more filling meal or lunch, you may want to try the economy rice stalls available in the food court.  There are actually 3 stalls there but we only patronized 2 of them, stall no. 15 and the one opposite it. On average there are 30 or so dishes available for the picking from stall no.15 depending on available ingredients. As for the stall opposite no. 15, their favourite is their curry fish and homey tastes, but the cleanliness is a bit of a no eye see at time.

At lunch time, an extra choice would be the available selection of Malay food by the road side of Jalan Sungai Emas, just outside of the mentioned food court / its infront of the 7 Elvent. There are 2 stalls in the area, but we have been patronizing ‘Kak Umi‘ of recent. The dishes are cooked at their nearby home and driven to the stall when ready. Business hour starts from around 11am until the early evening. Their curry ranges from mild spiced to flaming hot and with variety of meats like mutton, beef, chicken, fish and prawns. And their ‘ulam’ (salad) are fresh and green accompanied with their pungent ‘sambal’.  If you are willing to travel the distance you may want to try out Kedai Makan Lidiana at Tanjung Bungah for more choices of dishes and flavour variety with a very reasonable price tag. They are closed on Sundays.

The following meal cost us RM17.00 with 2 servings of mutton, 1 fried chicken, 1 fried cat fish, ulam, and 2 vegetables. It is a bit on the price side because we took extra servings of meat, our normal meal for 2 is usually below RM10.

For the between meal snacking after lunch, Banana House near the Parkroyal hotel may be the answer. This Fritter’s Shop located exactly the same roll as Park royal, less then 5 min walking distant. It’s in between Park Royal & Ferringhi Garden or the way up to Hard Rock. They sell bananas (as the name has it) all day long from 12 pm onwards and are open on all days except for special occasions, but we are more interested is the ‘goreng pisang’ (banana fritter), ‘kuih kodok’ (banana bread balls), ubi goreng, etc. I love their goreng pisang because they are crisp, sweet, tender and flavourful, and of cause cheap at RM0.50 per piece.

Dinner time is bit hard to recommend much as we seldom eat out at the time, especially in Batu Ferringghi. By nigh fall there are numerous eateries that are open for business but most of them are more for tourists with ‘tourist’ prices. Beach Corner behind Parkroyal has been a staple favourite for visiting Penangites and tourist. They serve some Hainanese fare and seafood, but is a bit pricey for our standards. One thing that is a no try would be their ‘Yam Duck’! To try their Hainanese dishes it would be wise to call and book beforehand with Lim or Yeow at 012 4729113 / 016 4222113. They are closed on Wednesdays and business hours are from early evening(I think).

Another choice for dinner if we were lazy or unable to make dinner would be ‘D’Anjung Selera Qistina’ which is on the street behind ‘Kak Umi’ / straight end of 7 eleven’s building . They are the Malay/Thai ‘chu char’ that is good in fried rice and variety of small dishes. Their dishes are prices are similar to the other Malay stall pricing levels. We aren’t sure of their off days. Will update later.

If you are looking for a classier place to dine at night, you may consider Tarbush, Sigi’s in Golden Sands, Hard Rock Cafe, etc. We have not visited these places, thus are not in the place to comment on them, but they have been blogged by some celebrity bloggers in Penang. With this that wraps up our usual haunts for makan in Batu Ferringghi for me and Gill. Enjoy your trip to Penang, Wendy!
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Popularity: 21% [?]