Gourmet Garden

A month or ago we noticed that there was a new nasi lemak stall located just in front of Sunrise Tower McD at Gurney Drive Hawker Center. At last we managed to try out the nasi lemak and fried chicken from the stall.

The price ranges from RM1.00 to RM3.50 and the price of their fried chicken is RM2.50 per piece.

The nasi or rice is steam and kept wram in a wooden bucket on top of some hot water.

The fried chicken is fresh prepared and the taste is about 85% near to the taste of the Original flavour fried chicken found in KFC.

Taste & Texture: 3.3/5 (The gravy or chili tasted sweet, our preference is more to savory and spicy but not hot. Additional points were given due to the near KFC flavour fried chicken. The RM1.00 version was not up to our expectations)
Money Value : 3.0/5 (Fried Chicken was big and tender juicy, but the rice has space to improve in terms of grade and volume)
Service: 3.0/5
Cleanliness: 2.8/5 (above average cleanliness for a hawker stall)
Atmosphere: 2.5/5 (can’t for much from a hawking area, but care is needed to upgrade the standards in the area. Upgrading doesn’t mean cosmetic changes only!)

Popularity: 10% [?]

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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: 7% [?]

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Days back while driving through the Jelutong Express-way, we noticed a typical looking Malay eating outlet beside the ramp just after the old land fill area along the express-way. As we just finish the eLawyer seminar at USM and had no plans of where to have lunch, we decided to try out the Malay eating outlet that we saw previously. When coming from the Georgetown area, just keep to the left after the Jelutong xpress-way Shell petrol station. The “makan” area is just after the old land fill. But if you are driving from the Bayan Lepas direction, after Tesco stay to the left and turn right at the first traffic lights and you will see the “makan” area.

The name of the stall is “Ani Nasi Campur Gulai Sembilang”, and it is housed in the “Balai Nelayan Jelutong”. The stall open’s for business daily except Sunday and their business hours are from 11:30am onwards until everything is gone from their trays. It literally closes after all their dishes are all sold out, and would just take about 2 to 3 hours. We were there some where near to 2:00pm and everything was all sold out except for some beef, squid, and some fish curries.

And thus, that is what we had for lunch that faithfull Saturday. 2 plates of white rice, 1 nasi tambah, 1 curry sembilang head, 1 piece of curry ikan pari  , 3 pieces of beef and some chilli squid. And the total demage is RM 17.00.

The chilli squid or “sotong pedas” was slightly chewy and over firm, but the taste was quite appetising with some sourness and heat. This dish almost taste like “sotong sambal”. With the gravy in toe, one could finish the whole plate of rice without anything else.

The beef that we had I guess was some sort of rendang or stewed beef. Anyway, it was tender and flavourful. The beef chunks that we had been moisten with a distinctive sardine like taste gravy with just the right amount of spice to bring out the beefy flavour. The heat in the chilli and spice did not overwhelm the sweet and affirmative taste of the beef chunks. The usage of curry leaves in this dish was also something that we do not see everyday at Malay “makan” stalls.

The “Ikan Pari” or stingray curry had some hint of “balacan” or fermented shrimp paste in it. The taste is of this dish is quite light but the gravy was creamy. It is a dish that I would not miss if the run out of stock on my next visit there.

Next on the table was the “Gulai Sembilang”, which is actually our local catfish cooked in their special “gulai” or curry. The gulai was light, sweet and full of fragrant of spices. As the gulai is light, it did not go well with white rice alone; one would need to mixed it with other heavier tasting gravies. But to enjoy it like one would do with soups would be a better way to enjoy the flavour the sembilang gulai has to offer. As for the sembilang fish head, it was creamy or “lemak” especially with those entire soft cartridge like flesh encasing the skull of the fish head. The mixture of spices used in the gulai was well balanced to rid the sembilang of any unappetising taste but yet left that sweet taste of fish still intact in the dish.   No wonder Ani is famous for their “gulai sembilang”!

On average, I would rate Ani Nasi Campur Gulai Sembilang:

* 3.8/5 for value (RM17 is a bit high just for 3 chunks of beef, scoops of squid, 1 piece of stingray meat and 1 catfish head)
* 3.9/5 for taste & texture (love the beef and catfish)
* 3.4/5 for service (not attentive when first approach the stall)
* 3.0/5 for cleanliness(by the sea and at make shift area, not much can be expected)
* 3.0/5 for atmosphere (a bit hot on sunny days)

Address : Balai Nelayan Jelutong, Jelutong Express-way, Penang.

Tel : 016-4584229 (Ani)

Business Hours : 11.30am – ?pm. Closed on Sundays.

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Popularity: 11% [?]

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We have been hibernating for the pass weeks, and I guess it is time to post some articles. Or else Steven Goh would bug me about our idle blog again. This one is for you Steven!

Last weekend (15th March 2009), four of us (Steven, Criz, Gill and me) went to Kuala Juru to try out the famous mee udang beings served there. We started our journey at around 3:15pm from Tesco Penang and drove to Kuala Juru in about 30 minutes. The weather was cooling with intermediate heavy raining, thus the journey was a comfortable and cooling one. For the trip we planned to try out the fehmes mee udangs from two places, the first one we went to was the ‘Restoran Nelayan Kuala Juru’ and the next was ‘Warung Pak Su’.

When we arrived at Restoran Nelayan Kuala Juru, it began to rain cats and dogs, thus we quickly rush into the typical Malay kampung style restaurant. This particular place is located right at the end of Kuala Juru, the main entrance faces a play ground and hill and its back is to a river mouth, which I guess is Sungai Juru. Anyway, it is a good place to do some sight seeing of the wetlands, fishing village, free flying eagles and swiftlets. A place to relax and enjoy what earth has to give.

At Restoran Nelayan Kuala Juru, we left the ordering to Criz as he is familar with it has to offer. We had their Mee Udang (Prawn’s Noodle RM6), Mee Udang dan Ketam (Prawn & Crab’s Noodle RM6), Nasi Goreng Udang (Prawn Fried Rice RM6) and Nasi Goreng Paprik (Paprik Fried Rice RM4) and some drinks (RM5), which only cost us RM 27.00. I am not familar of the prices here, but it seems to be quite cheap to me to have crab, prawns and sotong at this price. Of all the dishes that we ordered at the Restoran Nelayan Kuala Juru, my favourite was the Mee Udang (Prawn Noodle) and the Nasi Goreng Paprik (Paprik Fried Rice with squid a.k.a sotong and Vegies). The gravy or soup of the Mee Udang tasted like our Chinese’s Hokkien Mee (Prawn Soup Noodle), in fact it was even tastier than the Hokkien Mees that I have had before. The sweetness and fragrant of prawns was mush more intense than our Hokkien Mee, but there was one set back due to the prawns wasnt fresh. I guess may be our timing could have something to do with it! Anyway, at Restoran Nelayan Kuala Juru the prawns used are of the Udang Rotan(thick greenish shelled) species as informed by Criz.

4.5/5 for taste & texture

The Mee Udang dan Ketam (Prawn & Crab’s Noodle) did not fare as well as the Mee Udang in terms of the gravy taste. It did not permiate the sweetness of prawns that we enjoyed in the Mee Udang. And the ketam or crab was also not as fresh as we wanted it to be. But in terms of price, the mee udang and mee udang dan ketam offered here is considered cheap from point of view.

3.5/5 for taste & texture

The Nasi Goreng Paprik with Sotong and vegies was one of our favourites at Restoran Nelayan Kuala Juru. The fried rice was well seasoned and spiced, it was fragrant and tasty to the last grain of rice. And the accompanying stir fried ‘sotong’ or squid was equivalently tasty, the squid rings were  juicy and tender.

4.2/5 for taste & texture

The other dish that we had was their Nasi Goreng Udang. It was the rice version of the Mee Udang, but the gravy is a bit eggy due to the use of egg in their gravy. And the fried rice was not as tasty as the Nasi Goreng Paprik.

3.8/5 for taste & texture

On average, I would give Restoran Nelayan Kuala Juru:

* 3.9/5 for value
* 3.9/5 for taste & texture (the Mee Udang gravy and Nasi Goreng Paprik saved the day)
* 3.0/5 for service
* 3.0/5 for cleanliness
* 4.2/5 for atmosphere (becasue of the river view)

GPS:5.340084, 100.408500

After feasting at Restoran Nelayan Kuala Juru, we headed back out on the Jalan Kuala Juru to Warung Pak Su which is more conveniently located. This place is said to be the more famous Mee Udang restaurant around the Juru area. They were even featured in a newspaper.

When we began to enquire about the Mee Udang here, we were told that they have 2 version, one with gravy the other without gravy and prepared like mee goreng. The Mee Udang Goreng or Fried Prawn Noodles(RM10.00) has a sugary sweeter taste  and the prawns were fresh and crunchy. But my preference on taste is still with Restoran Nelayan Kuala Juru for the prawny  flavor and taste. We had an idea to have the best of both worlds, get the prawns from Pak Su, which are of the Udang Kertas(thined white shelled) species, and buy the noodles and gravy from Restoran Nelayan Kuala Juru, and mix them togather to get a plate of sweet and tasty prawn flavored noodles with fresh and jucy prawns! Anyone who tries that, do let us know the verdict.

4.0/5 for taste & texture

The gravied version of Mee Udang(RM6.00) at Warung Pak Su was blend in flavor without much taste of prawns in it, but the prawns was very fresh though.

3.6/5 for taste & texture

At Pak Su’s, we also got the opportunity to try out the Malay grilled Siakap fish a.k.a. Perch (RM 30.00) on banana leaves and chicken satay as when we reached there they preparing for the dinner crowd to come. Criz decided to order the grilled fish because the fish looked very fresh. We were glad that we ordered the fish as it was really fresh, and is was nicely grilled to perfection with all the juicies and sweetness still intact, and slightly permiating a smokey aroma. Unlike the grill fish we had at Teluk Tempoyak on the southern tip of the Penang Island, were the fish is normally over grilled and the banana leafs sticking to the meat. At Pak Su’s, we did not have to work through the burnt banana leaf to get to the fish meat and did not have to endure the burnt aroma and taste.

The end product of Grill Perch.

The siakap marinated with chili and spices and wrapped with banana leaves and grilled on top of the charcoal. The dish accomplish with a plate of sauce, and it usually contain chili padi, onions into soury sauce. infact we do really enjoy the chili spices with the fresh fish, and the sauce would abit too much to match with the taste.

4.4/5 for taste & texture

We also got to savor the chicken satay(RM0.60 per stick) as when we arrived at Pak Su’s the satay man just delivered his satay stock to the place. The chicken satay are similar to the chicken skewers or kebabs. The chicken meat was juicy and tender, but slightly a bit to sweet for me. Normally, Malays prepare the satay without the skin intact, but this one kept the skin which gave the meat skewres the moister and fats it needed. The accompanying dipping gravy was also a bit sweet for my liking, but overall the satay was nice if you ignore the sweetness.

4.2/5 for taste & texture

This are the cockles waiting to be ordered and grilled. We did not order the cockles because it did not looke fresh to us.

On average, I would give Warung Pak Su:

* 4.0/5 for value (Due to the freshness and quantity of prawns)
* 3.5/5 for taste & texture (It would have been 3, but points were added because of the grilled fish and satay)
* 3.8/5 for service (Because the staff were able to reccomend what was available and fresh)
* 4.0/5 for cleanliness (Excep the toilet)
* 3.0/5 for atmosphere (Kampung style)

GPS: 5.326817, 100.414767
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Popularity: 19% [?]

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On average, I would give this place:

• 3.9/5 for value (RM 63 excluding drinks)
  
• 4/5 for taste & texture
  
• 3.8/5 for service
  
• 3.8/5 for cleanliness
  
• 3.5/5 for atmosphere

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 – Arkad 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% [?]

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Moonlight Cafe – A Very Special Signage at the entrance, and you will not miss out this roadside Singage while on the way up along the winding road to batu ferringhi. The area name called Moonlight Bay, and currently have 2 new housing developments facing the moonlight cafe right after the miami beach. The Cafe signage lighten up the dark and busy street with cars but without a man walking. The entrance lead you to the long staircase and down to the beach. There are 2 seating areas; selter w seafront and sandy beach without selter. Well, due to the “Green” lighting putting up at the beach area, we uncomfortable with it, so we choosed the seltered area which near to the kitchen.

Moonlight Cafe is a good place for lovers to dine at the relaxing private beach. They are selling Malay’s Food which has usual Malay Chu Char Menu + Ikan and seafood bakar + Western Food.

Charcoal BBQ Sea Cockers…mMmmMMmm…is gill’s flavorites. The Cockers were slidly over cooked and come with the Thai Sweet Chili Sauce for dip. But i’d rather taste the original cocker flavour. The Cockers were freashly grill but its lack of the sea saltyness.

Rating: 2 / 5

Ayam Masak Merah…Erm…the vegatables portion seems more then Ayam. well, what do you expect? is only RM4.50 per plate. Thick and spicy gravy taste quite ok.
Rating: 3 /5

Teluk Dada…well, a simple egg and do it in thousand’s way. Teluk dada is not sunny or bulleye, but its a deep fried egg in large amount of hot oil. It makes a thin crispy outer layer and inner was tender and moist. That simple Teluk Dada was fullfil my desire…GOOD

Rating: 4 / 5 (must try)

Daging Kunyit…the beef full of kunyit flavor but the texture is abit tough, but overall not bad in taste.

Rating: 2.5 / 5

Kangkung Ikan Masin…i have to say this is s must try dishes. A karrif lime play an important rule in this dish. Ikan Masin brings the salty and they use lime to neutralise and added in the soury taste to blend the perfect match! This is the first time we’ve taste the different from the others.

Rating: 4.5 / 5 (must try)

Popularity: 3% [?]

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