Food that can be stored for use throughout the year and forms the basis of a traditional diet
After loosing touch with Chee Meng Wantan Mee, we have finally got them back on our radar. They are now back in their old spot at “Tai Wah Cafe” on Agryll Road. After moving out of Thong Seng late last year, they went for a self proclaim holiday until the 7th day of the Chinese Lunar calender. Business is as usual and will be closed on every Tuesdays.
Popularity: 6% [?]
A different person was manning the Wantan Mee stall during our last trip (6th Feb).
One or two months back we wrote about “Chee Meng Cafe”, but it has since changed to “Tong Seng”. And the Chee Meng Wantan Mee that we have mentioned has moved to a new location that we have yet to find out. Anyway, the replacement wantan mee stall is no lesser in uniqueness as compared to Uncle Chee Meng.
We were sceptical when we approached the shop due to the unfamiliar faces at the shop, therefore we only made an order for a regular single serving of dry wantan noodles. After trying that faithful bowl, we continued with our brunch at Tong Seng. Always keep an open mind when it comes to new eating outlets, the most you will get run over once by the shop! T The wantan noodle stall at Tong Seng is a branch of the “Dhoby Ghuat Wantan Noodle Stall” that has more than 10 years of history. This branch at Jalan Dato Koyah is being manned by Yvonne. The business hours are from 6:30am up till 1:00pm daily except Wednesdays, as the shop rests for a day.
Although the noodles are not as thin as the ones use by Chee Meng, the dark soya sauce dressing for the dry version can compensate for it. It had a sweet caramel, smoky and nutty taste, which reminded us of the good old simple taste of wantan noodles. Nothing complicate, just good tasty dark soya sauce combined with fragrant lard oil tossed into al-dente egg noodles. An easy task but hard to master for many. Even the wantan dumplings also pack with nostalgic flavours.
Tip: As the noodles are not as old or dry, best is to order extra dry with lard bits and savour. Additional moisture would make the noodles lose their crunch.
Then after the first single serving we tried their “Spicy” wantan noodles. The noodles are toss with premix spicy mixture which is supplied some distributor. Same as the previous encounters, the mixture tend to have powdery texture at the end of the serving. But the taste that was delivered at this stall was slightly different with a more peppery taste as we continue eating.
Then we notice that it had stewed chicken feet, one of the must try of this stall! At RM3 per serving of 9 pieces, it all comes down to about 33cents per piece which is similar to the price of this delicacy when I was still in secondary school. The tastes had a good balance of savoury, sweet and spice, which all came from the equilibrium use of star anise (八角), cloves, Chinese cinnamon (肉桂), Sichuan pepper(花椒), and good quality dark soya sauce. The texture of the chicken feet was tender but not too soft with low amounts of oily aftertaste. It was not “sticky” and without the overwhelming feeling that Gill finish the whole bowl of gravy like drinking soup. We even asked Yvonne whether she can throw in some rice vermicelli and flat rice noodles with the gravy. And she did.
When you are dining at Tong Seng, do try out their kopi ‘o’ and also their nutmeg juice.
Business Hours: 6:30am up till 1:00pm daily except Wednesdays
GPS:5.41989, 100.3317
Overall experience:
| Taste |
3.5/5 (Good) |
| Texture |
3.5/5 (Good) |
| Service |
3.5/5(Good) |
| Cleanliness |
3.5/5 (Good) |
| Atmosphere |
2.5/5 (Average) |
| Price |
3.5/5 (Fair) |
| Portion |
3.5/5 (Good) |
| Value |
3.5/5 (Value) |
Popularity: 7% [?]
Last year we were given the opportunity to document the process of making the the famous ‘Pitt Street Koay Teow Th’ng’ fish balls.
And from that day onward we have actually became more than just their ordinary customers. Thus, there comes some perks like early notification of their forced shifting of the original stall on the corner Armenian Street and Jalan Masjid Kapitan Keling to a unit further down the road on Jalan Masjid Kapitan Keling, and now to the current location on Carnavon Street. To make finding the place easily, I have also included the GPS coordinates. The shop unit has a bright yellow and red sign board and is the left hand side of Carnavon Street if you are coming from the direction of the Penang Ferry Terminal. The unit is about 150 meters from traffic lighted junction of Prangin Road and Carnavon Street.
The place spots a cooler environment, more spacious area with more sitting capacity and is very near to Prangin Mall and the soon to be open 1 Avenue. And if one fancy some roast duck or crispy roasted pork you can find it just across the street at Yatt San which has much been blogged about by other bloggers. Then there is also a near by famous fried oyster stall in Seng Thor coffee shop. A lot of variety along the short street.
Popularity: 7% [?]
云吞面是起源于广州。据说，此食品在唐宋时已传入广东。至于广东何时用“云吞”二字取代“馄饨”之称，则无从考证。经几百年后的今天, 云吞面已经是谱罗大众绝不可缺的街头面食,在华人心目中有不可取代的地位. 随着华人移民的增加,在不同国家和区域里的云吞面也各有各精彩.在这儿暂别不谈历史, 不如大家一起来研究一下大马和香港两地的云吞面有何不同之处, 了解面条区分之余, 分享怎样吃云吞面才是最赞.
我和我丈夫俩人,素来喜爱吃猪油渣.别看那脆脆小小块的“渣”.放下一小匙乃有画龙点睛之效.某些食物若不配上它同吃,味道显然有差异.
不论是云吞面或是炒粿條，用“猪油和猪油渣”来烹调， 才能带出它原有的特色和香味。无可否认，现今社会每样都强调“吃得建康”。但不是叫你每天都吃炒粿條，云吞面呀！偶而尝一尝也无妨吧？什么东西多吃也有害. 例如Vitamin A, B, C够好了吧？若你吃得太多，它令你的肝脏负荷不来而倒至损坏. 那还有什么是好的呀? 不是“猪油”不好，而是现代人少做运动，怕肥才不敢吃.真可惜！你们该知道为何槟城的小食比吉隆坡来得有水准吧？虽然槟城好吃的越来越少，但有些还仍然保存着传统的烹调方式。
讲了老半天还没提到好吃的云吞面应该是怎样的呢？!
新鲜出炉的云吞面条其实是不鼓励现做现吃, 若你现煮, 会感觉吃面团一样, 毫无咬劲. 听前辈说, 云吞面条必须经过“走碱液”的步奏, 让它蒸发, 才算合格. 最理想的是放 置4天. 经过“走碱”的面条吃起来特别爽口而且有弹性. 现今讲求快速生产, 面家多以现做现批, 或最多“走碱” 2天而已.
查看书籍发现, 原来传统的云吞面条是用大茅竹竿即“竹升” 打压出来的, 称之为”竹升面”。面团经过用手搓面处理后，用“竹升”压打2小时, 全凭经验, 功夫和恒心.
云吞面有三类: 全蛋面, 半蛋面, 水面
全蛋面以鸭蛋和面，绝不加一滴水, 打出来的面条爽滑韧性好，蛋味香浓。
另一种是半蛋面，用鸭蛋与一定比例的水调配和面，面条爽滑可口，口感细腻。
水面则不放蛋, 煮后呈半透明, 和以上两种相比,没香味, 需靠酱汁拌味.
本土人民多喜爱味道脓郁的干捞云吞面.
酱汁做法是用酱清，黑酱油，蚝油，麻油，混入少许上汤和纯正猪油或烧猪油一起捞。配上半肥廋叉烧，肥美菜心，酸度适中的奄制青辣椒和皮薄陷美的水煮云吞或酥脆炸云吞，在洒上葱粒, 香脆可口的猪油渣…哇！简直是无敌的配搭呀, 满足满足！
而本地的汤头是以江鱼仔, 黄豆, 猪大骨熬煮而成, 有独特的清香甜味.
以我各人口味，我喜爱吃干捞，特别是干干的, 还有缺一不可的猪油渣！不防试一试.
马来西亚干捞云吞面
云吞汤
酥脆炸云吞
香脆可口猪油渣 
~
半肥廋的叉烧
然而香港与马来西亚的云吞面版本完全不同, 他们讲究的是面条质感和弹性, 细得像米粉般幼, 配上大地鱼干上汤, 爽脆鲜味的大虾云吞(完全没放猪肉), 用韭黄段来点缀. 这就是名副其实的现代香港云吞面!
面条能够不易吸水还要有蛋香，爽滑而弹牙，鸭蛋就是秘诀.
汤头用猪骨, 虾米, 虾子和大地鱼干以文火一起熬煮，汤必须澄清透澈，味道浓，才可突显云吞和面条的色泽和口感。
云吞皮包上新鲜大虾和虾子, 口感十足, 鲜甜带有咸香. 一乐也.
香港干捞面决不像大马般的捞酱汁, 他们的非常简单, 只是捞猪油和虾子(干虾蛋)一起同吃.
无论是大马或香港都各有千秋.那您又有什么看发呢? 那一种是您的最爱? 有谁能介绍好的云吞面家吗？
弹牙十足的鸭蛋面条
鲜虾云吞
看那大虾!
Popularity: 21% [?]
Siong Ho Fish Head Bee Hoon has ceased operation at Weld Quay in Penang and has moved to Johor.
Some months back, we were given the opportunity to taste the skills of Mr.Teh who had 20 years of experience in cooking fresh seafood noodle and porridge. And of course, using fresh seafood is a must in his rule. You can choose from the variety of ingredients available to create your own taste preference and bowl of noodle or porridge that you would like to enjoy. The food is prepare almost instantly upon your instructions and choice.
The available option of ingredients to choose from: Prawns, Crabs, Squids, Fresh Grouper Fish Head, Fresh Grouper Fillet, Fried Bass Fillet and Head, Frog, Minced Pork Meat, Pork Kidney, Meat Balls, Fish Ball and Fried Soy Bean curd Sheet
Noodle options to slurp for: Thin Rice Vermicelli, Thick, Rice Vermicelli, Wheat Flour Vermicelli (mee suah), Instant Noodles and Porridge.
Then the soup stock options to cook your choice ingredients in: Clear Soup & Tomyam. Pickled Salted Vegetable and fried garlic bits are used for the Clear Soup toppings.
Fresh Fish Fillets and other ingredients.
Fresh Naked Frogs, almost the same length with my palm
Big fresh white prawns
Perfectly fried sea bass fillets and fish heads.
The Boss of Siong Ho. Mr.Teh (Ah Ho) prepared the noodle for us personally.
We were served with Cold White Nutmeg Juice with Plum – RM1.70 per glass
Once the hot bowls arrived to the table the cameras were like bees to honey…. lol
Clear Soup with Fried Bass Fillet & Thin Vermicelli – RM5
The fish came in chunks rather in fillets; we can still taste the freshness from the fish meat although it has been deep fried. The clear Soup is pretty clear with some natural sweetness.
Prawn Tom Yam Soup with Instant Noodle – RM9 for 3 large prawns
Here comes the tom yam with big prawn. A point to put forth is that the tom yam soup is not so oily, and it taste milder and smoother compare to the others.
Based on Mr.Teh said he had the tom yam powder and paste further enhanced to achieve their version of tom yam that he wants to serve. I personally prefer this kind of tom yam with less oil with a smoother soup “texture”. I dare not consume the “Fiery” type of tom yam soup; I would easily choke and cough to death. 
Clear Soup with Prawn and Thin vermicelli – RM9 for 3 large prawns
You can taste the seafood ingredients’ sweetness in the soup!
Clear Soup with Squid & Instant Noodle – RM5
The squid was cooked to just the right firmness without the chewy texture. The combination was with instant noodles, which were soaked a little too long in the soup, and thus making them soggy. The instant noodles do not go well with squid.
Fresh Grouper Fillet Porridge – RM7.50
The grouper fillets were fresh and came in thick flaky slices. The Porridge they served here uses cooked rice that are further cooked in their clear soup stock with the selected choice ingredients to produce a piping hot bowl of porridge. Usually preserved vegetable or “dong chai” will be added in this type of porridge to give it a special sweet and salty flavour.
Frog Porridge – RM12 (RM6/100gms)
See the naked frog? The chunky frog meat tasted sweet and fresh. Is was far more tastier as compared the to the frogs that we had at “Sin Gelang Claypot Frog Porridge”.
we thought that was all, then came another batch of noodles….
Clear Soup with Crab & Thick Vermicelli – RM10 (RM5/100gms)
The sweet taste of the crab was in every mouthful soup that we had. Even with just a small sip of the soup, you could tell the distinctive crabbiness.
Clear Soup with Deep Fried Bass Fish Head & Wheat Flour Vermicelli (mee suah)
I like the fried bass fish head a lot. It was tastier then the bass meat fillet that we had….heee
Mixed Seafood Tom Yam Soup – RM17 (based on selection of ingredients)
This mixed tom yam had additional fish, prawns, squid, meat & fish balls and oyster mushroom, and flavoured with extra mint leaves, chillies and tomatoes.
Jian with her lively picked crab say “cheese” before the crab say goodbye to the world….lol.
On average, I would rate :
Taste & Texture: 3.8/5
Money Value : 3.5/5
Service: 3.8/5
Cleanliness: 3/5
Atmosphere: 3/5
Personal liking Item/match:
1. Clear soup with bass fish head & thick rice vermicelli
2. Tomyam Soup with Prawn & Instant Noodle
Venue:
SIONG HO FISH HEAD NOODLES AND PORRIDGE @ VILLAGE CAFE
Address:
107-A, Pengkalan Weld (Weld Quay), 10300 Penang, Malaysia.
Opening Hours: 12.00noon-11.30pm
Contact: 
019-458 8693
(Mr. Teh/Ah Ho)
How to go:
If you are coming from the ferry terminal, keep an eye on the landmarks on your left, you can slow down your car or get a parking lot right after the Mixed Surname Jetty. The shop is just few doors away.
Popularity: 9% [?]
When one mentions Char Koay Teow (CKT) ones mind would first think of Penang. Penang is infamous with many ‘famous’ Char Koay Teow stalls that are frequented by their own band of fans. Each CKT stalls stirs up their own distinctive style of Char Koay Teow decorated their own choice of toppings. Some come with crab meat, some come with mantis prawns. But for me only the simple and yet flavour complex plate of CKT can satisfy my desire and scourge.
Today I won’t dwell on what I like, but talk about the choices CKT that we can choose from at Lorong Selamat. Yes, it is plural. There are now 3 stalls of CKT to choose from on the famous Lorong Selamat. We decided to talk or write about Char Koay Teow becasue we have just posted about Hoe Peng which was also located on Lorong Selamat.
First one on the list is the latest addition of Char Koay Teow stalls at Lorong Selamat. This particular CKT stall is housed in Midtown coffee shop, which is opposite of Kedai Kopi Dan Ice Kacang. This particular stall is run by two individuals, a Chinese lady and an Indian friend name Sam. This stall does not only serve CKT, they also sells various fried rice.
To taste the “wok hei” of CKT, we normally go for the CKT without egg and chilli. The CKT at Midtown had luscious amounts of plump and juicy bean sprouts, the prawns were firm but lack some of the sea fresh taste; the Koay Teow was springy and whole. The CKT at Midtown was not oily, which can be judge from the amount of oil left on the plate.
The CKT with egg in Midtown had the fragrance of egg but the egg did not stick to the strands of Koay Teow as it suppose to. The beansprout were juicy, the lard bits used in the CKT although nice, it lacked the fragrance and texture of bits that we have had at other places. To summarise the CKT in Midtown, it is a healthier and homey style of CKT which is not oily, not too dry and that uses a wider bodied springy Koay Teow noodles.
Taste & Texture: 3.5/5
Money Value : 3.8/5 (Reasonable -RM4.30 with medium to big size prawns and sufficient koay teow portion)
Atmosphere: 3.2/5 (Average food court but have big fans to cool you down from the weather)
Then we have next on the list is the KTG Char Koay Teow (a.k.a Ah Guan) stall located out side Kedai Kopi Dan Ice Kacang. This Ah Guan’s stall has taken over the spot of the original Lorong Selamat CKT which was run by the famous bad tempered lady wearing a red chef hat and protective goggles. Ah Guan took over the spot of the lady after she bought a lot further down the road and moved in. Ah Guan not only ‘inherited’ the famous spot but also the trademark of wearing protective goggles. Not only the CKT stall has changed at Kedai Kopi Dan Ice Kacang, even the proprietor of the coffee shop has also changed ownership. No more rude and nasty skinny lady asking customers to order drinks!
Ah Guan’s CKT has a heavier “wok hei” which one could taste immediately at the first mouthful. But with the “wok hei” come with it an oilier plate and the Koay Teow was in pieces and not in long strands. The egg was not moist and adhering to the pieces of Koay Teow, but it had the fragrant of fried egg. The prawns used were big and with the taste of the sea, but was over firm and lack the sweetness. The prawns were slightly bigger then the prawns used by Midtown CKT, but the prices also differ per serving size and variation as compared to Midtown’s. In summary, Ah Guan’s CKT is not cheap, had lots of “wok hei” which we personally find a bit over and the Koay Teow were in pieces and dryer but oilier in some sense.
Taste & Texture: 3.6/5
Money Value : 3.5/5 (RM6.00 – Prawns were big but not sweet and portion was insufficient)
Atmosphere: 3.2/5 (Entrance is oily and affects the car parked at the oppostite row of shops)
The last and most famous Char Koay Teow on Lorong Selamat is the plates fried by the lady in red. Red not only for the hat she wears but also for her temper. But after much research about her CKT stall, we understand why she is who she is. Imagine having to fry hundreds of plates of CKT and having to remember all the weird requests?! Even I would get frustrated and forget what is what. The lady as mentioned earlier has moved to a self-owned coffee shop call Heng Huat Cafe just a few doors down the road. She still trademarks the red hat and goggles that she always seen with while at the wok.
Heng Huat’s CKT uses big prawns that are synonymous with the CKT stalls on Lorong Selamat. Their prawns were big and juicy, they had that firm and springy texture and tasted sweet and fresh(sea fresh taste). The Koay Teow noodle strands were whole and soft and springy in texture. The Koay Teow noodles that she uses are of narrower body. The “wok hei” and seasoning was just right, not overwhelming. Another thing that we like about the ladies’ CKT is that the egg is properly done and adheres to the strand of Koay Teow. But portion and price wise, for us it is insufficient. I guess that is why other hawker food is flourishing around the CKTs.
Taste & Texture: 4.0/5
Money Value : 3.7/5 ( RM6.50 Big tasty prawns but portion not enough lah!)
Atmosphere: 3.3/5 (Coffee shop still new and clean and not so warm)
Basically, me and my wife were and still are anti Lorong Selamat Char Koay Teow persons due to the exorbitant prices that they charge just because they use big prawns in their Char Koay Teow. But after tasting the Heng Huat CKT and understanding why the lady is who she is we have change our perception a bit. Although we like the taste of her (Heng Huat) CKT, it doesn’t mean that we approve of the prices that she and the other stalls charge for a plate of CKT with the reason of using big prawns, except for Midtown which is slightly below their range.
Char Koay Teow to us is all about the texture of the Koay Teow nooldes, the lard oil and bits, the crunchy bean sprouts, the irony cockles, the fragrance of the egg (be it chicken or duck ), the taste of the seasoning, and most of all the “wok hei” or skill of frying a good plate of Char Koay Teow which is not expensive and reasonable in terms of price and portion. We have favourite stall in town which its prices are reasonable and the portion to our liking, but taste inconsistent. I would blog about this CKT stall in my next post.
View Georgetown Food in a larger map
Popularity: 15% [?]
We have heard a lot of the Xuan Xin Restaurant which newly established its self in the prime location at Gurney Plaza’s New Wing, some said their food & service is good and some said lousy. So who is the winner?
I ‘m now going to tell my true experience that we’ve encounter. The answer is Not Too Bad. Would it be due to the lesser dinner crowd as compared to the lunch’s crowd?
The Menu
We’ve choosen the Sliced “French Style” Smoked Duck @ RM12 to start our palate.
4 pcs of smoke duck breasts with it 4 steamed mantou (chinese steam bun), cucumber and fried beancured skin. I just wonder why they put the red sauce on top of the smoke duck? And the sauce is tasteless, its serve no purpose may be just color for presentation. By the way, the duck meat is pinkish in color.
Here is how I stacked the mantou first with smoke duck slice, followed by the cucumber, crispy beanchurd skin and of course top with the other half of the mantou. We did not get any instruction on how to eat this appertizer, is this the correct way? Shouldn’t they guide us to how best savour their dishes?
The mantou was moist and fluffy and dense, also good on its own. (oppss..sounds like gardenia slogan huh?) The smoke duck had a light smoked flavour and hint of saltiness. It is best eaten with only with the steam buns, not ideal to pack everything together. The fried beancurd skin was crisp and crunchy, but i find it was a little too thick for the combination.
The first bite you should experience the warm and soft buns covered with the crunch and salty beancured skin, refreshing cucumber and the smokey duck flavour, it should be wonderful. But our experince at Xuan Xin, the beancured skin is way thicker and saltier then the smoke duck, some how or rather the smokey duck flavour was loss (main subject). Dragon-i smoked duck is still my first choice.
Suggestion: It would be prefect if reduce the bean cured skin layer, and the enhance the duck meat flavor and moister.
Sliced “French Style” Smoked Duck: 3.8/5
Stir Fried Hor Fun with Sliced Beef @ RM12
My all time favourite “Stir Fried Hor Fun with Sliced Beef”. When I saw it in the menu, I had to order it.
The Hor Fun is slightly different from the local ones, its thinner and its cut similarly like koay teow shape, Bean sprout head and tails were picked (its a standard in Hong Kong Restaurant), slice onion, julienne slice scallion and thinly slice beef meat.
Wok hei comes from the first sense, second would be the sweetness from the dark soy sauce and caramelized onion. Hor Fun good in texture and smooth. Beef was bit of a let down as it was not Beefy in taste and the amount was countable, just aroun 8 slices. The Scallion was fiberish and doesn’t help much as it was pretty irritating and stuck in between the teeth.
Suggestion: Beef hor fun should have the beefy flavour. Priced @ RM12 should have more slices.haha… Should take note on the scallion.
Stir Fried Hor Fun with Sliced Beef: 3.8/5(for the wok hei and soya sauce taste)
New launch Food Items which separate from the menu.
We ordered Braised Crispy Noodle with Curry & Roasted Pork Belly @ RM12
Errrg…look at the presentation. It doesn’t look appertising ya?
Thick curry gravy poured on a bed of perfectly deep fried crisp thin noodles, served with long bean and roast pork belly chunks. Ok, did you see the different from the Menu and the presentation here? hah.
The only items that i like from this dish is the crispy noodle. I think they wish to do the similar of Japanese curry, but it doesn’t taste right to me. Its starchy and less spice from the curry. And the Roast pork belly was rough and dry. I personally doesn’t like the dish.
Something to praise, is the noodle has been cut like pizza slices which easgave ease in consuming it.
Suggestion:
The name of “Braised Crispy Noodle with Curry & Roasted Pork Belly” doens’t sound rights to me, as the noodle was not braised in curry but poured on. It would be right to name it ”Braised Curry Roasted Pork Belly with Crispy Noodle”, sounds better right?
I don’t know how to put a suggestion on this curry, may less starchy and more local flavour infuse in the curry.
Braised Crispy Noodle with Curry & Roasted Pork Belly: 3/5
Poached Chinese Spinach with 2 Kinds of Egg in Superior Stock @ RM12.80
This soup was delicious and the most enjoyable for us that night! We both enjoyed it till the last drop. The Spinach poached to just the right consistency where one could still feel the crunchiness. There were more then 2 kinds of eggs in this dish, it has chicken egg whites, century eggs and salted eggs and 3 of them has its unique taste, all flavor combine with the good soup stock….it was very delicious. This is far more better then many restaurants.
Poached Chinese Spinach with 2 Kinds of Egg in Superior Stock: 4.2/5
On average, I would rate :
Taste & Texture: 3.95/5
Money Value : 3.8/5 (its Reasonable, with the consideration of the price, location, serving)
Service: 3.7/5 (at least they asked your feedback for the newly launch menu. Fast and efficient when press the service button. btw, they served the appetizer at last, why?)
Cleanliness: 4/5
Atmosphere: 4/5
View Gurney Drive in a larger map
Popularity: 9% [?]
We all talk about preserving the historical building, endangered animals, etc. But why don’t we also put in more effort to promote and support our locally unique heritage hand-made products and traditional trades. In this competitive world many trades have turn to mass production through new technology, but through this change we have loss the rich character of hand-made products that was once the pride of our country and culture.
Hand made “Mee Koo” (in Hokkien) or “Steamed Turtle Buns” are one of the example of these dying trades in Malaysia. The Mee Koo are linked and used in Chinese festive celebrations and cultural ceremonies. Now a day, many have turn the age old manufacturing process by hand to mechanised manufacturing lines. But then who am I to say they are wrong to change, they still need to put rice on the table at this competitive times. As a marketing consultant, I advocate change to create a competitive edge to overcome obstacles and competition. But sometimes a total change would have created more harm than good. Therefore, we would need to consider the many angles that affect our change. Sometimes, partial change or improvements can do more good and than full conversions.
Hoe Peng & Co. is one of the examples of partial change that help them survive through the test of time. In the old days when one thinks of Mee Koo in Penang, Hoe Peng’s buns would be the first to come to mine. They not only churn out their famous Mee Koo but also “Siew Thou” (in Hokkien) or “Longevity Buns”, “Thou Sar Pheah” or “Green Bean Biscuits” and some Chinese folk lore prayer items that are used in Taoist ceremonies.
“Siew Thou” or Longevity Buns
“Tho Sar Pheah” or Green Bean Biscuit
Assorted Taoist Ceremonies Prayers Items
As our society, is ever influenced by the western culture and its dining practice, many have forgotten about the versatile Mee Koo. We have forgotten one could the Mee Koo as it is, with butter and kaya, dunk in a cup of hot Kopi ‘O’, made into French toast, or even used as a coating for fish n’ chips (that is my own recipe). Thus, it is due time to give our traditionally unique Mee Koo recognition and respect.
Some weeks ago we were honoured to be given the opportunity to visit and have a peek into the Mee Koo making process at Hoe Peng & Co.’s kitchen. Hoe Peng & Co. was previously located in a corner shop lot just beside “Ong Kongsi” and opposite the once tallest building in Malaysia, Komtar. Currently they have moved to a new location on Lorong Selamat where just opposite the famous “Lorong Selamat Char Koay Teow”. It is now under the umbrella of Cheong Kim Chuan, who has been a household name in Penang and also Malaysia since 1937. They are one of the producers and retailers of our famous and much sort after nutmeg products, “belacan”, “Rojak” sauce, Tambun Biscuit (Tau Sar Pneah) and other traditional Malaysian food and non-food products.
Our visit started with a tour of their Mee Koo making kitchen where we were introduced to its production executive and food tech, and then we were briefed on the Mee Koo making process. The process from flour to Mee Koo has in all 5 stages, fermenting, kneading, and moulding, proofing and finally steaming. All of these were used to be done by hand, but as technology touch down our shore of Malaysia many years ago, they have converted the mixing and kneading to a mechanical process by introducing mixing, kneading and press machines.
The initial stage of flour mixing and fermenting is a business secret which we did not cover. We begun on the the kneading process, the objective is to churn out dough that has a consistent and equal composition.
After the dough has reached the right consistency, it is then transferred to another machine where the dough is repeatedly passed through rollers to press the dough. This machine compresses the dough so that they reach a specific elasticity before it is sent to the human hands for moulding.
The common Mee Koo has two layers, the inner one is the main white bun and the outer pink or yellow layer is the skin that encases the white fluffy bun. At Hoe Peng & Co. the outer coloured layer is edible due to the food grade colouring used to churn out the dough.
At Hoe Peng, the tradition of hand moulding of the dough to the specific weight and shape are kept like when it was done many years ago. The dough is hand cut down to size and weighed, wrapped, moulded, and placed on the base paper which also serves as the branding of the Mee Koo.
After the Mee Koo dough is all prepped up, it is placed on a bamboo tray and left to proof or set before they are sent for steaming. The proofing stage is a important stage where it also determines the texture of the end product. There is set time for proofing, but it mainly relies on the experience nad touch of the food tech to determine the duration required. The uncooked doughs are touch and squeezed to determine the ripeness because due to the ever floating temperature and humidity of our Malaysian climate, the Mee Koo proofing time would fluctuate.
After the Mee Koo is steamed and cooked, it is place on sale at the counter out side the retail outlet. As you are wondering how do they write the Chinese characters on the Mee Koo for the festive and cultural ceremonies? They are all hand ‘written’ upon request or order. This part of the mee koo is not edible because the dough used in writing the Chinese characters have not been cooked or steamed. They are actually raw dough with added colouring. The process of preparing the coloured dough is also hand-worked to the right texture and elasticity.
All the characters on every Mee Koo are hand ‘written’ using the traditional method that has been used since Hoe Peng & Co. opened it is doors for business years ago. The writing process is very laboured intensive and tedious. Imagine during the festive seasons and hundreds or thousands of orders that require specified Chinese characters to suit the occasion, I pity the person who has to ‘write’ all those characters. But I also admire the person for keeping the tradition alive for our future generations to experience and see.
Thus, as a Penangite I would like ask my fellow Malaysians regardless of the race and religion to put in support for our heritage products, trades, etc in the form of consuming and patronising them. Give the support in terms business so that they can get to survive the test of time and leave a piece of history, culture and character for our future generation that they will be proud of. Heritage is not only in the form of buildings and artefacts, but also the way of life, cuisines that were savoured by our forefathers, etc.
View Georgetown Food in a larger map
Popularity: 17% [?]
Last Saturday on (13th June 2009) we revisited Blue Reef, the fish n’ chip joint at 32 Permai off Vale of Tempe that we visited early this year. The revisit to Blue Reef was partially to meet a friend and also to find out whether their quality food is still consistent to that we had early this year. We had to find out for our selves because we have read some ‘not so good’ comments of the place.
It has been almost 6 months since we set foot in Blue Reef, and we didn’t know what to expect from them. Not much has changed since then, the only thing that we notice is the little drawings that were pasted on one side of their wall. It is good to see that our ideas were accepted and used, but the actual idea was to have the photos of patrons and their fun moments captured and enshrine on their wall. At least the idea was used in some way!
Currently there is an offer for a full meal option, excluding dessert, for an additional RM1. It is a good promotional strategy at this current economy phase. Many are looking for bargain and money saving deals for their daily needs and wants. With an additional RM 1 added to the cost of the chosen main course, I was served with a glass of ice-lemon tea and a bowl of the soup of the day.
The soup of the day that we had was their green pea soup. It tasted kind of earthy, nutty and sweet. There was some sandy texture to the soup which I find to my liking. Served with the soup, was piece toasted garlic bread. On seeing it, we thought that the bread would hard to consume due to the thicker shaped. But surprisingly the bread was quite manageable because it was crisp on the surface and moist and soft inside. Thus, it was not crumbly and hard to bite into.
For the main course, I had their Salmon Burger. The flaky salmon patty was well caramelised on the surfaces and yet retaining the juicy moisture. The seasoning of the salmon meat was well choreographed as it did not totally overwhelm the distinct taste of salmon. The crisp and soft sesame seed bun and the sauté onion toppings was a good combination to the salmon patty. There was only one thing that I felt bad about the burger was the amount of tartar sauce. I would personally leave the tartar sauce out and may be sauté the onions with some balsamic vinegar to give the burger some added flavour.
Gill had their Aglio e Olio as usual. But it was a bit of a disappointment for her because they have substitute the pork bacon for the anchovies as they are now a pork free restaurant. With the anchovies, it tasted a bit weird to us. We asked Chris why not use beef bacon, and he told us that it did not have enough flavour. Anyway, I guess we would be going back for try their Aglio e Olio again because the Chris mentioned that they might change it to Seafood Aglio e Olio. The previous trip to Blue Reef, the Aglio e Olio was excellent and the pasta strands were firm and springy.
Our friend had their famous fish n’ chips and their Caesar salad. One of the not so good comments that we read was that the batter for the fish n’ chips were a soggy. But from the looks of our friend’s serving, it was perfectly coated and deep fried till gold brown. Although minutes have passed, the beer batter coat was still firm and crisp. And the serving portion for below RM20 was, as my friend puts it, value for money. He said in Kuala Lumpur the portion would have cost him at least RM35.
As for his Ceasar salad, I am not the position to comment as I did not taste it.
At the end of the lunch cum discussion, our friend ordered their Orange Crème brûlée. Crème brûlée is a rich custard dessert topped with a layer of hard caramel that is formed by the burning of sugar by any means of heat source. Traditionally the custard base is normally flavoured with just vanilla, but at Blue Reef they have prepared their version flavoured with orange. The cream was not too dairy or creamy, and sweetness was just at the right note. But the caramelise sugar coating was slightly coarse for the silky smooth textured custard. May be fine sugar should be used instead.
On average, I would rate Blue Reef:
* 4.1/5 for value
* 3.7/5 for taste & texture (because of having to choose pork free)
* 4.1/5 for service (Chris and his staffs are always attentive to our comments)
* 4.1/5 for cleanliness(still clean and neat after in bussiness for more than 6 months)
* 3.7/5 for atmosphere
Address : Permai 32, No.22 Lebuh Lembah Permai 4, 11200 Tanjung Bungah, Penang.
Tel : 04 8999128.
Business Hours : 11.30am – 2.30pm and 6.30pm – 10.30pm. Closed on Mondays.
GPS Coordinate : N 05*27?16.38? E 100*17?25.4?
Popularity: 7% [?]
It was a sunny morning somewhere in March this year that we were invited to interview the owners of an unique bakery located on the busy Chulia Street in the Georgetown area, Rainforest Bakery. The bakery has been in operations since year 2000/2001 which at those days were only supplying their breads wholesale to eateries, etc. But as time goes by and from the request of their ‘door-knocking’ customers, Rainforest began to plan for a retail outlet which was finally materialised at its current location on Chulia Street in year 2008. At Rainforest, one could see that customers from all walks of life and nationality wondering and choosing their pick of the day from the selection of continental breads that are baked daily.
At current the bakery is being managed by a pair of identical twins, Jerry and Jesse Tan(short spiky hair do). Jesse whom entertained our question and answer session was actually MIA from Rainforest Bakery for approximately 3 years not for fun, but to work in London and travel around Europe to acquire the skills and knowledge that they require to differentiate their breads from the localised bakeries and to provide better and healthier loafs of wholesome organic breads to its patrons. The daily fresh baked loafs uses the traditional or organic methods of preparing the dough for each individual type of bread that they offer today. Organic does not only mean that the ingredients are organic, even the preparation and baking process must be organic in every way that is what sets them apart from the rest. What they are selling at the bakery is not only bread, but also the concept of healthy organic traditionally baked and non-localised bread.
The daily fresh baked loafs uses the traditional or organic methods of preparing the dough for each individual type of bread that they offer today. Organic does not only mean that the ingredients are organic, even the preparation and baking process must be organic in every way and that is what sets them apart from the rest. Enjoy with assurance that no preservative, no MSG or enhancers and no essence are use in their bread. Even the yeast they used is self-cultured!
Not only the ingredients and baking take on the traditional concept, the packing or wrapping of certain breads also takes on the original ways that were used to pack them for customers which are still practiced in certain parts of the baking world.
Other than bread, one would also be enticed by their cakes, muffins and cookies that are on display at the bakery.
And if you need to add some savoury or sweetness to the bread that was just picked from the rack, you could also try out their homemade Kaya and Garlic Butter spread.
Their current business caters to the retail walk-in customers, wholesale deliveries to restaurant and hotels, and also residential home if it is located on the delivery routes. Other than the current retail outlet, there are also plans to expand their business by setting up their own branch. They are not looking into franchise because they want their Rainforest Bakery breads to be made fresh and to keep the quality in check so as not disappoint their customers.
Average rating for this place:
Address : 300 Lebuh Chulia, 10200 Penang, Malaysia.
Contact :+ 60 (4) 261 4641
Opening Hours : 10.00am-10.00pm (Closed Sunday)
enclosed with their in-house brochures
Popularity: 32% [?]
The remembrance of childhood tastes and food texture are some things that affect ones eating habit and expectations. I can remember as a young tod, my parents or siblings used to like to patronise a Koay Teow Th’ng stall located opposite the Air Itam wet market. It was a treat whenever we visit that place cause I like the texture of the mince pork patties that they cook up. Now I am nearing my mid-30′s and I still yarn for that feeling in my mouth again. I have ventured to many Koay Teow Th’ng stalls in Penang and in Kuala Lumpur in search for my nostalgic childhood memories, and the closest that I could achieve was at Peter’s Pork Noodles in Breikfields in Kuala Lumpur. But know I have found a stall that can fill that void, and it was all the while under my nose.
Me and my wife always travel to Kimberley street for ‘makan’ on Saturdays before our church fellowship, have never thought of trying out Ah Hai’s Koay Teow Th’ng which is next to the much talk about Ah Seng Eco Bee Hoon on Kimberley Street. Numerous trips there over the years and have not tried them, I should be kicked in the head for that kind of mistake!
Ah Hai’s Koay Teow Th’ng is the freshly cooked to order type where you could choose toppings like mince pork patties, slice pork, pork innards, fish balls, fish cake, whole egg, and not forgetting glorious crispy pork lard. And for the noodles there are a few choices too like ‘koay teow’, ‘lo shu fan aka bee thai bak’, yellow noodles, instant noodles and rice vermicelli. My favorite is still yellow noodle and koay teow mix, and Gill’s is ‘lo shu fan’.
Since the beginning I have been talking about hunting for that nostalgic memory in a Koay Teow Th’ng, what is it?! Well, it is that firm and tender texture of mince pork patties that I had at the Air Itam Koay Teow Th’ng stall which have since disappeared from that place. With this new found ‘makan’ place, I will be able to enjoy that firm and tender texture of the pork patties that I used enjoy in my mouth ages ago. Ah Hai’s pork patties, although, after being cooked for a long period of time in the boiling hot soup base, they still remain tender and juicy. The trick is the fatty content ratio and self pounded mince pork meat. The beads of fats give it the bouncy tender texture and the sweet creamy taste that produces a good piece of mince pork patties. The texture is so different from the pork patties found at Pitt Street Koay Teow Th’ng, which is hand press to achieve that uniquely spring lite textured patties. Both versions of patties offer an individual and total different texture experience of their own.
What is Koay Teow Th’ng without the sinful crisp pork lard pieces and addictive garlic oil?! The crisp lard pieces were full bodied and fragrant, even after being immersed in the soup it still maintain that firm crisp texture.
My favorite noodle koay teow and yellow mee combination give me that balance of slippery smoothness(from the koay teow) and 3 dimensional firm(from the yellow noodle) texture feeling in my mouth. But do be reminded that the koay teow would in some ways affect the quality of the soup base (inducing some slight sour taste) and also because that the stock lacks that dominant sweet meaty flavour.
As for my wife’s favourite noodle, the ‘lo shu fan’, it compliments well with the soup base and also the taste of the meaty ingredients. It does not bring with it that sour taste that the koay teow has.
We also had their dry noodles or ‘kon lo’, which we found that the dark soy used did not have that smoky caramel flavour. But to compensate for that lacking, the sambal was of great help to bring the taste of the otherwise dull bowl of noodles.
Ah Hai also offers koay teow th’ng with poached egg. We were surprise that the bowl that we tried with egg on our second visit there did not contain that eggs’ flavour, which I like. It is usually common to taste some hint of egg flavour when it is introduced to any soup base.
Average rating for this place:
4.2/5 for value (generous amounts of mince pork patties & slice pork with the extra toppings at RM4.00)
4.0/5 for taste & texture (soup was not as tasty as Peter’s Pork Noodle, but the mince pork patties compensate for that)
4.0/5 for service (friendly and accommodating)
3.7/5 for cleanliness ( because it is road side)
3/5 for atmosphere (road side mah!)
Location: On Kimberley Street opposite the new green colour restaurant owned by Bee Ching Hiang
Tel : 016-466 3488 , 017-466 7309
Business Hours : Daily 6:00pm-1:00am(or until sold out). Rest days need to be updated later.
Tips: Do not go too late as the salty taste of the fish balls would be infused into the soup stock.
Popularity: 11% [?]
Have you heard of fried porridge before? Fried the Porridge! How can the porridge be fried? How does it taste & looks like?
All the questions popping up in a sudden, after the mentioned of “fried porridge”! Yea, its kind of weird without any logical sense right? Would you have the guts/urge to try this “weird” thing? Well, i am not kidding, the weird porridge it’s pretty delicious though. What i am going to introduce to you today is truly a good bowl of porridge that specially caters to those who have a fancy for heavy taste food.
Thanks to Criz for organizing this eating adventure for us and Steven Goh .
I think some of the local has heard of this “113 Fried Porridge” before. Through the years they have shifted to 2 different locations before setting foot at the current location in Tanjung Tokong just opposite of the Prima Tanjung shop houses. The first place they started business was on Burmah Road and then they moved to Batu Maung. At the current location, one can easily locate them by their signage that is of striking yellow orangey color, which stands out among the kopitiams.
Other then the unique porridge, they serve chinese dishes and a variety in their air-conditioned restaurant.
Small plate of homemade potatoes chip will be served before the order.
You may fine they have limited choices in the menu, as they just serve their specialties which is more then enough. It’s good to specialise in something and rather be a Jack of all trades, right?
Off the a alar carte menu, they also offer Lunch Sets for those who wants a trouble free and fast meal in the afternoon. And the Lunch Sets are quite reasonably priced at RM5.90. For the RM 5.90 you pay, you will be getting a plate of rice with one dish, fried egg, soup and a glass of tea. Can you believe it? In an air-conditioned restaurant! Where to get?
As we paid our virgin visit to this place, so we let the Host – Criz to make the orders and thus we end up savouring of some of their specialties.
We have total of 4 dishes, 1 porridge, 2 noodles….guess although the four(4) of us have double sized stomach the dishes served was more than what we can stomached….4 of us were filled till up to the brims! Thanks to the owner for arranging such a big feast for us…lol
Black Four Seasons Beans
Crunchy & young French beans are slightly deep fried into oil and then stir fry/sautéed with generous amount of garlic, chai por, dried shrimps and dark soy sauce. It was fragrantly salty with a hint of sweetness. This is indeed a good match for a bowl of white rice. Love it. Extra bowl of rice pls…
My Rating: 3.9/5
House Special – Yunnan Tofu
The homemade tofu deep fried to perfection. Once you bites on, it has some gluey feeling from the crispy outer layer and following by smooth and silky tofu. Guess it was coated by tapioca flour, to give the layer special & differently from others.
There are some dried shrimps and chopped wood fungus inside the tofu. The tofu mixture doesn’t have much taste by itself, so try to eat them with Thai chilli sauce.
Anyway, beware of your tongue will get burnt, when it was immediately from the kitchen. Piping Hot!
My Rating: 3.7/5
Wild Boar Curry
Fresh and lean wild boar meat were cut into slices and cook with onions & curry leafs with thick & fragrant curry sauce. I guess they were using milk instead of coconut milk, as it was not oily and too creamy. Although the curry was thick but it has sense of powdery still. Using curry powder? Still need some improvement, but it was a nice dish.
Criz said, the boar always is fresh as the owner hunts it every day! Who will be interested to join the hunting team? Anyone?
My Rating: 3.8/5
Oyster Omelette
Fresh Oyster fried together with eggs to perfectly golden. This is not a starchy type as usually found in penang. Pretty genuine as they serve purely eggs without flour.
My Rating: 3.6/5
Fried Porridge
The unique porridge was reached our table, and finally answered our curiosity.
What is Fried Porridge?
The below paragraph was exert from Criz post:
“Cooked porridge is stir fried in a wok with some herbs and spices, together with prawns, cuttlefish strips, dried shrimps and Chinese leek (koochai) & char siew. In fact, it looked just like dark soy sauce porridge but the taste is unique. “
The Porridge itself came with the mixture of some smooth (70%) and slightly rough (30%) texture, dried cuttlefish strips & shrimps brings up the fragrant of its own, Chinese leeks gave some refreshing green taste to the porridge. It was good I would say. Another way to descript the fried porridge, it would be something similar to dried cuttlefish porridge, just the different of extra ingredient, heavier taste (black sause), and method pf preparing.
My Rating: 3.9/5
Hor Fun with “sunny yolk”
Moonlight Hor Fun
It was an ordinary Stir fry hor fun with just added in a raw Egg Yolk. If you stir the raw yolk with the steaming hot hor fun together and eat it immediately, it shouldn’t taste raw. The fact to put in the raw yolk is to enhance the creaminess to the hor fun with special experience. Although I don’t really like to take raw yolk but the hor fun is still fine.
My Rating: 3.5/5
after mixing the Hor Fun & yolk
3 Taste Noodle
Yellow noodles stir fry with a unique sauce, bean sprout, prawn and garnish with lettuce & fried shallots. 3 taste in Chinese, means they have 3 different flavours has added in to the noodle. Although the flavour has became 3 into 1, but I still can roughly tell the mixing flavour of mee goreng & sambal. The taste is acceptable…hah.
It was a litter bit wet, a little too sweet to my liking, slightly adjust the sugar ratio would be perfect.
My Rating: 3.4/5
Dishes Rating:
* Black Four Seasons Beans: 3.9/5
* House Special – Yunnan Tofu: 3.7/5
* Wild Boar Curry: 3.8/5
* Oyster Omelette: 3.6/5
* Fried Porridge: 3.9/5
* Moonlight Hor Fun: 3.5/5
* 3 Taste Noodle: 3.4/5
Average Rating for this place:
* 3.9/5 for value
* 3.9/5 for taste & texture
* 3.7/5 for service
* 4.0/5 for cleanliness
* 3.5/5 for atmosphere
P/S: The quality may not be consistent during weekend & public holidays. I guess the young cooks still learning from the father (owner). The best is go in weekday. Young kids serve dishes and drinks, as this is the family business, so do watch out the kids with full hand of food.
View Tanjung Tokong Food in a larger map
Popularity: 15% [?]
Last Saturday before going to our church for the blood donation campaign, me & Gill headed to Seng Thor coffee shop for brunch. Seng Thor is an old rustic coffee shop or kopitiam in local dialect located at the junction of Carnarvon Street and Kimberly Street. We have been here for numerous times not for their famous Oyster Omelette nor the Loh Mee, but for the little known wantan mee. Basically at the Seng Thor coffee shop there are a five(5) hawker stalls(Koay Teow Th’ng, Loh Mee, Loh Bak, Wantan Mee & Oyster Omelette) in and around the shop and an economy rice stall(was not open that day or has ceased operations) operating at different hours. During the morning breakfast hours the centre of attraction is the Loh Mee and the individually cooked koay teow th’ng stalls. And in the afternoon until early evening hours, the limelight is on the Oyster Omelette stall. These 3 hawker food stalls are quite famous in Penang as many Penangites and outstation people like to patronise them, and little attention is actually given to the wantan mee stall there.
Today my attention is only on the Koay Teow Th’ng(KTT) and Wantan Mee(WtM) stall because that were what we had that faithful day. Let’s talk about the KTT stall which we actually tried before quite some time ago and this was like a revisit for us after reading about it in the blog-sphere. The KTT at Seng Thor is actually individually cooked upon order which is quite scarce and hard to come by now-a-days, especially good ones. Although the KTT was cook without or less MSG, Gill noticed that the uncle has a lot of rock sugar in stock in the cupboard below the stall. Rock sugar is normally used to give sweetness to soups, especially clear ones.
For last Saturday’s brunch we ordered a bowl of ‘Lo Shu Fun’ and a bowl of Koay Teow and Yellow Noodle mix, which cost us RM7. By looking at the toppings and the size of the bowl they quite worth the money paid as both bowls were requested to have additional toppings of pig liver, lean meat, minced meat, pork balls, fish balls and pig heart.
But the sad thing about these 2 bowls of KTT is that the soup base was not as tasty and ‘sweet’ as we expected. My bowl of koay teow and yellow noodles weren’t that bad, with the additional innard toppings the soup had some ‘sweetness’ to it. Other than the soup base the koay teow and yellow noodles was also a put down. The koay teow and yellow noodle felt limb and blotted(like noodles soaked in water for too long).
Gill’s bowl of ‘Loh Shun Fun’ was blend with very little taste of ‘sweetness’ although we had the same toppings and was cooked in the same pot. But the ‘Loh Shu Fun’ was of consolation because they were firm and full.
Because we were not satified with the brunch that we had, we went for the wantan mee that we usually patronise at the same coffee shop. This wantan mee stall is not very good or delicious, the main reason we like it is because it is cheap. The bowl of 12 wantan dumplings in soup + regular size wantan noodle only cost us RM5. Remember to ask for the “dry dry” noodles toss in oil and dark soya sauce without or little soup mix, but the taste is some times inconsistent due to the dark soy and the lard oil.
Another attraction is the fried wantans which have a slight sugary sweetness to their crispy skin, one can even eat them like snacks on its own and on the go. 10pcs of fried wantan is only RM2! but dont espect the wantan have much filling inside ~ 20 cents per pcs?! what do you espect?
The fried pork lard bits are also a must at this stall, but you must ask for it as the proprietor seldom provides them without requests. The lard bits were actually more fragrant than the ones provided by the KTT stall.
On average I would grade the Koay Teow Th’ng stall:
* 3.5/5 for value(considered cheap in Penang standards)
* 2.9/5 for taste & texture (soup was blend and the noodles not firm and fresh)
* 3.0/5 for service
* 3.0/5 for cleanliness
* 3.0/5 for atmosphere (what do you expect from an old rustic kopitiam man by seniors)
And on average I would grade the Wantan Mee stall:
* 4.2/5 for value
* 3.8/5 for taste & texture (not consistent on the dry sauce)
* 3.5/5 for service
* 3.4/5 for cleanliness
* 3.0/5 for atmosphere (what do you expect from an old rustic kopitiam man by seniors)
GPS Coordinate: N5*24’91″ E100*20’07″
Popularity: 7% [?]
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: 17% [?]
Some time back on December 20th 2008, me and Gill by curiousity drop by the new place in 32 Permai off Velle of Temp, Blue Reef Fish & Chips. In fact we were forwarded their online flyer by one of my good friends weeks before their opening. The business is run by two beautiful persons, Swen and Christopher. Blue Reef Fish & Chips as the name has it is specialised in fish and chips, but not the common everyday road side or cafe type fish and chips. A brief introduction to what I call true fish n’ chips, the Fish n’ Chips is a popular take-away food that originated in the UK. It consists of deep fried fish, traditionally of cod or haddock, that is coated in batter or bread crumbs and served with deep-fried chipped or slab-cut potatoes. At Blue Reef you are able to savour both batter coated or bread crumbs coated fish fillets deep fried till golden and served with chips, not french fries. Up till now we have only tried their special beer batter coated fish n’ chips.
We are more interested in the beer batter coated fish n’ chips because I have tried my hand in preparing it before quite some time ago. It was a recipe that I concocted myself after I saw it on the television. It was successful at he beginning, but the crispiness could not stay long. The choice of fish used is also very important other than the composition and preparation of the batter. Read the rest of this entry »
Popularity: 33% [?]
Last Wednesday we, the Penang Food Bloggers, had another small gathering, this time at The Sire. It was only a few of us enjoying the food, ambiance and company. We were exchanging ideas and skills, especially in the area of photography.
The Sire is actually under the same management as Ferringghi Garden. Not only that! They also share some similarities in the decor, especially with the usage of the plants and water.
The night started with some banquettes top with cheese. Quite cheesy and crunchy, but sprinkle with a pinch or two salt, it brought the taste some more.
Then the appetizers or starters begin to come, they were the beef tenderloin sandwich, prawn tartare and portebello mushroom. The Beef Tenderloin Sandwich was out of my expectations, I was expecting moist and juicy beef meat or fillet sandwich in between soft fluffy bread laced with lots of vegetables, but what we got was something the direct opposite. The beef was dry and the bread is like your common bun from the bakery. The only thing that was good about this dish was the accompanying fries. They were fried golden to colour, crisp on the surface and moist in the centre. The aroma and taste of the fries led us to order another plate of fries, but with added toppings of cheese. I guess they only used cheddar, not mozzarella and Parmesan as requested.
Beef Tendeloin Sandwich RM14.80
The Prawn Tartare was actually prawn salad on greens with button mushroom minus the mayonnaise. The salad was light on the taste bud, good for a starter to cleanse the senses for the coming main course. The salad was dressed in olive oil, herbs, some light seasoning and may be some acidity from vinegar or lemon,. The dressing was light, thus it actually brought out the flavours of the freshness of the prawns and the sweetness of the greens.
The Portebello Mushroom was a must try for me because one of my specialties are mushrooms. It looked appetising when served, but the used of balsamic vinegar killed the taste. Mushroom seasoned lightly with just salt and pepper and dressed in either garlic compound butter or just plain old olive oil and herds would have been sufficient. The fungus has very little taste, thus too mush used of seasoning or heavy dressing would destroy sensitive nature of the mushroom.
Portobello Mushroom
Portobello Mushroom RM12.80
After the starters, the pastas were served. We ordered Seafood Carbonara Spaghetti, Golden Linguine and Prawn Macaroni. The Seafood Carbonara, the spaghetti was springy and firm just right for me, but Gill preferred it to be slightly more cooked so that it is smoother and softer. As for the cream sauce, it was rough and dry. It felt like the cream was made from powdered creamer or the egg yoke was not properly mixed. Gill said that she could see powdery substance in the sauce, like when we make milk from instant milk powder.
Carbonara Spaghetti RM16.80
The Golden Linguine, was a fusion of Western and Asian flavours. The sauce had the aroma and taste of lemon grass, Thai basil, curry and lime or something citrus. The flavour combination is for those who enjoy Asia in their food.
Golden Linguine RM15.80
Prawn Macaroni, had the saltiness ‘ham heong’ and just the right creaminess, but it was a bit too oily for the liking. Texture wise, the pasta was a slightly undercooked, chewy and too firm to feel. I do not know about the comments from the other, to me the taste is something Chinese can relate to, especially the older generation due the ‘hum heong’ taste like fried noodles.
Prawn Marcaroni
Prawn Marcaroni
The Tenderloin Medallion, two piece beef tenderloin well done served with mash potato, grilled aubergines and some sort vege, which I suspect is spinach. For the sauce or dressing, one could choose from either Bearnaise sauce or just butter. We tried both. The Bearnaise sauce is made of clarified butter and egg yolks flavored with tarragon, shallots, chervil and vinegar.Normally I like my steaks medium to medium-cooked, therefore this plate would be not to my liking. But the mash potato was nice, different from those found in fast food outlets like KFC and in TGI. The mash potato came with some chunks of potato rather than all mash up. Creamy and smooth texture with something to bite on, quite nice experience.
Tenderloin Medallion RM49.80
Lamb Loin Chop, was one of the dishes that did not let down. The lamp pieces were coated and season with spices, although slightly saltier, it was one of the better tasting dishes we had all night. The meat was still tender and juicy, the fats were caramelised under the cooking heat. Nice! It was good on its own without dipping into any of the accompanying sauces, the whole grain honey mustard and mint sauce.
Roast Loin Chop RM32.80
The lamb shank was recommended by CK, but the nights serving was different her previous visit. The kitchen add in tomato puree, that is why the sauce looks red. The sour taste did not go well with the lamb shank plus the meat was not tender. It was flaky and dry. Again it was the mash potato that save the day.
Lamb Shank
Lamb Shank RM49.80
Finally, time for desert! For desert we had Tiramisu and Green Mousse. The Tiramisu and the Mousse was very firm not hard. After some asking, we were told that both Tiramisu and mousse have not totally thored. Personally, to compensate for that mistake, I experiment with spooning a bit of everything on the plate, and that did help to take away the firm texture of the Tiramisu and mousse.
Tiramisu RM 15.80
Green Mousse RM 15.80
Before the night was over, Ken had a glass of Bailey’s coffee and I had Espresso with Vanilla Ice Cream. The Vanilla Ice was from Movenpick, it really hit the note for me.
Bailey's Coffee
On average, I would give this place:
Popularity: 8% [?]
Last Sunday after church we could not decide where to go for breakfast, therefore we went driving around our Heritage zone in Georgetown. It was hard to decide what to eat because there were to many choice and also because we had problem finding a good place to park. Then we came by this corners shop selling Duck Meat Koay Teow Th’ng. We actually drove by this place some weeks ago hoping to try it after Gill’s dad said that it was not bad, but no luck. It was always closed for us. This time die-die must try said Gill.
This shop is located at the corner of Lebuh Keng Kwee and Jalan Kangsar. The name of the shop is Kedai Kopi Tong Hoe. The only hawker offering they sell is the Duck Meat Koay Teow Th’ng and drinks. But fear not, you are allowed to order other hawker item from road side stalls located at the vacininity. This shop is open for business from 7:30am to 12:30pm daily except for either Wednesday or Thursday. They also close on the 1st and 15th day of the month on the lunar calender.
For the first meal of the day, we ordered 2 small bowls of KTT, 1 plate of duck meat, 1 plate pig intestines and 1 plate of blench green vege. Guess how much is cost us?
The first thing that we tasted was the soup, it was very lite with a hint of the duck’s scent. Remember not to put any soya sauce or chili, or else you would have lost that unique taste. The Koay Teow (flat rice noodle) is smooth and springy, but not as springy like the ones in Ipoh. They quite a compliment to the light soup base. One of condiment item in the KTT, was the meat balls (not the testicles). It taste average and not firm enough. Why I mentioned the pork balls is because it will affect the taste of the soup due to the stronger taste it has.
Then there are the 3 side dishes that we ordered, the duck meat, pig intestines and blench green vegetables. The duck and intestines were served on a bed of plum and crunchy beans sprouts, dressed in light soya and fragrant lard and garlic oil and sprinkle with crispy garlic and pork lard bids. The duck meat was firm and cooked just nice, but it lost its juices because it was cutted too thin. The pig intestine was light, clean, and slightly springy. The blench vege was crunchy and sweet. It was dressed in the same dressing as the the duck meat and pork intestine.
If you are not fond of the taste burnt garlic, you could ask them leave out the garlic. May be before you decide, just snoop around to see how the garlic was that day.
GPS Coordinate: N5*24’59.5″ E100*19’53.5″
Popularity: 4% [?]
One fine morning, I had itching hands thus I decided to make Wild Mushrooms and Ham. The ingredients that are needed are Wild Fresh Mushrooms, ham or bacon, rock salt, freshly grind black pepper, pink peppercorns, marjoram, tarragon, oregano and vodka.
First, place the pink peppercorns in hot olive oil and cook until fragrant.
Then pour some vodka and flame bay it to get rid of the alcohol and leave the tangy taste in.
It is done when the juices are all soaked up and dry.
Heat up some tortillas on the pan.
Popularity: 5% [?]
A few weeks ago, we had made arrangements with Ken to go in and around KL for a one day food trip. First on the itinerary should have been Nippi Noodle at Kuchai Lama, but it was too early for them, I guess.
Therefore, we went to next item on the list, Chili Pan Mee. It is your usual Pan Mee with just a twist or in other words, spice! Ken took us to Super Kitchen instead of the original Chili Pan Mee founder in KL. He was worried that we might not be able to tolerate the hygiene at Kin Kin, which is just opposite the Super Kitchen base camp.
The Pan Mee are made to order. Stacks of dough are ready for the press whenever there is an order. The dough is put through and noodle press to get the thickness, length and diameter /width of the noodle strands. The size and shape will have considerable effect on the texture and taste of the Chili Pan Mee. Ken mentioned that he had tried a few shape and sizes and it does determine the amount of and how the chili clings to the noodles. Too much or too less would, as I put it, potong steam(roughly translated, kill the climax).
The cooking time of the noodles are also an important factor in Pan Mee. Overcooked noodles would feel like soggy bread.
I guess my first try was only one scoop, but I escalated to three because its was simply not enough. Remember to get the chili oil! Mix everything together and enjoy. The crunchy anchovies and shallots gave it the fragrant aroma, the mince meat gave it the meaty taste and moisture, the poach egg yoke gave the bowl of noodle the rich creamy taste. The half cooked poach egg is a very important part of the chili pan mee, it is the catalyst to bind the chili on to the noodle strands. So, don’t ask for cooked egg with the noodle.
Popularity: 7% [?]
This cous cous was brought back by my Auntie who worked for contract basis in Saudi Arabia.
Well, as i asked her a favour to buy some local foods for us to try out, and she brought back alot of spices and Middle East local product, like: Big Dates, Olive in Can, Masala, Kebab Marinate Spices, Hummus…etc
This cous cous is just something similiar to what we can get in malaysia. nothing special.
But the packaging has definately gives me “Made in Saudi” feeling with the Camel Graphic…Haa.
Popularity: 1% [?]
