Gourmet Garden

A recent trip to Gurney Drive took us to the newly open Gurney Paragon Mall and to Brussels Beer Café that was recently opened. Brussels’ heart and soul is their bar that serves a wide variety of imported and draft beers, like Belle-Vue, Hoegaarden, Stella Artois, Leffe fresh, etc. Although beer is like the blood in their veins, but the Belgian cuisines that are churned out from their kitchen are like the air they breathe.

Brussels Beer Cafe also serves a variety of Belgian dishes that will tantalize the taste buds and fill the hunger puns. Listed in their menu, we have found Crispy Roasted Pork Knuckle, Braised Lamb Shank, Belgium Foot Long Doggies, Moules Mariniere, and Homemade Belgian Waffles.

Before the light meal that we had, we cleanse our palates with Belle-Vue Kriek which was much recommended by Caryn who also likes to savour great beers. Belle-Vue is a Belgian lambic beer made through spontaneous fermentation of Morello cherries by the wild yeasts/bacteria that are native to the Senne Valley. The beer has a vinous or red-wine appearance with a sweet foretaste and a cider-tart aftertaste. It is sweet, fruity, and creamy but lacks a full body.

To pair Belle-Vue we asked for the Blind Finches, meaty minced pork balls wrapped with a slice of salty and smoky pork bacon slowly braised in a sautéed  onion and Laffe Blonde sauce.  The sauce was slightly sweet, herby (oregano) and peppery with alcoholic aftertaste.

One of the main courses that were well recommended by their staff was the Moules Mariniere. It is a pot of 500gm fresh live imported mussels steamed with garlic, celery, onions, thyme and white wine. The mussels were smooth and tender with a sweet earthy taste, but the white wine sauce was over salty. If the mussel flesh had a bigger size, thus bigger bite then it would be more attractive. They also serve other moules varieties that are prepared with beers.

Last but not least and our favourite was their Braised Pork Cheek, a slab of sinful porky and sweet well proportioned fat and meat lean pork cheek slow braised until tender and served with rye bread, fluffy buttery potatoes, crisp sautéed asparagus and a malty Franzikaner sauce. Though fatty the cheek was it was not greasy, and the proportion was just nice to flavour the lean meat and give it contrast of texture.

Our overall experience:

Popularity: 9% [?]

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Sometime in August G Hotel and ‘Sesame + Soy’, their Pan Asian Chinese restaurant, extended a gracious invitation to us to sample their ‘Business Lunch Set @ Soy’. Sesame + Soy’s uniqueness lie in their dual dining ambience, where Sesame is the epitome of fine dining while Soy is casual yet elegant. Soy comes across as a modern Asian bistro, infused with a hint of Zen that complements its casual vibe. Soy offers a scrumptious menu with a wide selection of tempting delicacies that are luscious fusion of Asian flavours that will in some ways tantalise your taste buds.

Soy’s ‘Business Set Lunch’ consists provides for a select any two (2) dishes, a choice of either a bowl steamed rice or fried rice, a single serving of their soup of the day and a dessert.  Rice and Chinese tea is free flow.

Back to their main dishes, there are eight choices to choose from and rotated or changed according to their restaurant’s schedule. The following dishes are the items that we have tasted and found to be pleasing. Soup of the day that we had was ‘Lotus Root Soup’, light to the palate but was not the version that we are used to at home.

Wok fried black fungus with garlic and ginger, crispy texture with a light sweetness that cuts through the savoury taste.

Braise angle luffa with minced chicken and egg whites, the smooth eggy sweet gravy balanced well with the textured tender body of the luffa. 

Fried mixed vegetables with garlic, a simple dish that is ready to be paired with dishes that exude intense flavours.

Steamed snapper fillet and Sichuan peppercorns, is spicy at first but ends with a sweet after taste that does not interfere with the slick texture of the fish. Would be appeaser to people who fancy some ‘heat’ to their lunch. 

Crispy batter eel with red pickled grains and chili Hoi Sin dip, true to its name. Deep fried till crunchy crisp with a slight salty taste.

Chilled drunken chicken with garlic and chive dressing, the crisp skin matched with the firmed meat of the poached chicken was cohesive to the light tasting dressing which went quite well with a bowl of white rice. 

Spiced crispy chicken with ginger and garlic, the tender chicken pieces were slightly oily to our liking but the flavours went down well with us. There was a bit of zing that heated up the taste buds.

Sichuan style wok fried duck fillet with chilli and ginger, a bit general but still flavourful with its spiced up seasoning.

As the meal ends, dessert is served. We had the opportunity the sample the specialties or signatures which is said to be the favourites amongst their returning guests. Their ‘Gula Melaka Crème Brule with Coconut Ice Cream’ is one of their star desserts that infuse the techniques of the west with local ingredients. The rich creamy crème Brule wasn’t too sweet nor blend, just the right consistency in taste and texture. The other desserts that we sampled were equally delightful.

Operation hours: 11:00am – 3:00pm (7 days a week)

Address:168-A, Persiaran Gurney, 10250 Georgetown, Penang

Tel: 04-238 0000

GPS: N5° 43′ 78.13″ E100° 31′ 06.26″

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Popularity: 2% [?]

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Of recent we were invited by Miraku Japanese Restaurant in Penang’s G-Hotel to gather a small group of bloggers to share the opportunity to preview their new dishes and promotions, and bridge them to the mass of Japanese food lovers out there. To begin with the series of planned event is their March & April Hotate (Scallop) & Chuhai (Japanese Cocktail) promotions. The promotions begin from the 1st of March and ends on the 30th of April 2011.

There are 10 items to choose from their Hotate promotion menu that ranges from the naturally sweet Nama Hotate sashimi to the savoury Hotate Ramen.

If you are planning for a full night of Hotate craze, you could  start the meal with the Nama Hotate Sashimi (6pcs) RM19.90 that had a light natural sweetness and smooth tender flesh.

Then we had the Hotate Sushi (Nigiri Sushi) (3pcs) RM14.00. The texture of the scallops were similarly soft and tender like the sahsimi scallops and the hand pressed rice rolls were not too sour nor too compact.  With a small drop of shoyu and a touch of wasabi, it brought out the sweet taste of the scallop further.

After the raw hotate, we had the Hotate Chuka Chinmi RM8.00. They are actually the membranes on the side of the adductor muscle trimmed and tossed with sesame seeds, chili, vinegar and seasoned to taste. It had a crunchy texture and an appetising taste that helps to get the palate moving and duets quite well with certain beer sand sake.

Then we tried the Hotate Kakiage RM28.00. Mixed vegetables, onion, capsicum and scallops batter coated and deep fried till golden brown. It had a crisp surface with moist and juicy fillings that are appealing people who love fried foods.

Another deep fried item on the promotion menu was the Hotate Korroke (2pcs) RM18.00. The croquettes are different from the normal potato base, they were made from diary custard packed with corn kernels and scallop breaded and deep fried until achieving a golden crust and yet maintaining a rich creamy centre.

Continuing after the deep friend version, we had the Hotate Kushi Yaki (2 sticks with 6pcs scallop) RM11.50. Pieces of whole scallop grilled and glazed with their home made sauce of soyu, sugar & leek. It is said that the end product is very similar in taste as the ones found in Japan, authentic and exquisite.

Then there was the Hotate Kara Yaki RM19.90. Big size Scallops with roe pan grilled in butter, Mirin, sake, shoyu and seasoned with pepper. The scallops had a firm and tender texture with a buttery and savoury taste.

After the grilled, we had the Sanshoku Hotate Mayo ( a set of 3 colours with individual flavour) RM30.00, Green was Wasabi, Yellow was Mayo and Red was the  Mentaiko (明太子) is the marinated fish roe of Pollock. Each individual flavours would have a different appeal to different taste preference. Some liked the spicy Wasabi or horseradish taste, some enjoyed the rich mellow taste of the mayo and for me it was the rich and salty Mentaiko that hit the note.

Another creamy dish that was on the menu was the Hotate Gratin RM23.00. It had 5 lovely charred scallops on a bed of sweet and creamy gratin made of custard, cheese, mayonnaise and macaroni, then finish with a slight torch of the surface.

Last but not least, a hot bowl of Hotate Ramen RM25.00. The soup base had predominant flavour of Miso and Wakame or seaweed. The savoury and creamy tasting soup had in it a mount of Ramen noodles, Ginkensai or Pak Choy, Moyasi or bean-sprouts, corn kernels and most importantly the whole scallops with roes intact.

After finishing the last item on the “Hotate Promotion” menu, we went on to have some cocktails drinks. The drinks were also part of their March & April promos, “Chūhai Promotion” @ RM28.00 per tokkuri. Chūhai is a cocktail mixture of Shōchū (Japanese Liquor) with carbonated drinks & citrus drinks, the possible concoctions may include lime, grapefruit, apple, orange, pineapple, grape, kiwi, ume (plum), yuzu, lychee, and peach. In short, Chūhai is a Japanese Alcoholic Cocktail that can either be served hot or cold and any with any flavours according to the drinkers’ preference.

Miraku in its Chūhai promotion is providing a 150ml tokkuri (house pouring) of either Mugi (Wheat Shōchū) with 23% alcohol or Imo (Potato Shōchū) with 25% alcohol with a variety of choices mixers:

• A can soft drink of either tonic, soda, Sprite, Cola or Oolong,
• 300ml of choice of juice of either lime, Orange or Mango Juice.

The most desirable cocktail by the ladies that particular night was the Mugi (Wheat Shōchū) with Sprite and Lime Juice cocktail. It was well blend, with little bit sweetness, tang, mellow alcoholic taste and fizzy after taste.

The following is the Potato Shōchū or Imo with Sprite/Tonic, Lime and Plum. It had an alcoholic taste with a bit of salty sourish taste, and it was the second most liked concoction of the night.

This is Imo with just Oolong tea. It is for the more matured drinkers who like their cocktail strong.

Our chef of the day was Nakagawa-san, a shy chap at start but looks can be deceiving. If I am not wrong, he is still single and available for now!

Business Hour :

Daily Lunch 12:00pm to 2:30pm

Daily Dinner 6:00pm to 10:30pm

Reservation:

Tel No. : 604-229 8702

Fax No. : 604-229 8560

Email Add : fm@miraku-restaurant.com

Links to the other attendees of the preview:

• Food Promotions
• It’s Delicious
• Valyn Lim

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Popularity: 7% [?]

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Most local Japanese food patron would have one or many encounters with sake (酒) or to be more precise Nihonshu (日本酒)  in their course of dining out in their favourite Japanese restaurant, but not many would have been introduced to masu sake(枡酒).

Masu is a square wooden box that was originally used to measure rice in Japan during the feudal period. One masu was supposedly enough rice to feed a person for one day. Today the masu is largely used for drinking sake with standard size of one gō or approximately 180ml. The masu is a symbol or celebration of life, love, friendship and happiness and are commonly used for New Year celebrations, weddings and company gatherings. The box is hand crafted in Japan from hinoki (桧) wood (lemon-scented, light pinkish-brown, with a rich, straight grain, and is highly rot-resistant) using traditional method without any use of nails or glue, it is all about old world carpentry skills and good wood. It will impart a delicate hint of lemony, woody and sweetness to your sake and smoothers the body of the sake that you are having regardless of brand or type. Thus, the masu box is never to be wash using soapy water or anything that will distort the unique flavours of the wood. It is usually washed by using hot water.

To further enhance the experience, salt can be placed on the rim edge of the box before drinking from it. It adds a dash of savouriness to the sake.

We had our first masu sake experience at Miraku Japanese Restaurant sometime late last year, and the latest encounter was during this January. Miraku is having a promotion from January to February (2011) to promote the traditional art of masu sake drinking with each serving charge at RM28 per full masu box.

Miraku Japanese Restaurant

Address: 1st Floor G Hotel, 168A Persiaran Gurney, 10250 Penang
Tel No. : 604-229 8702
Fax No. : 604-229 8560
Email Add : fm@miraku-restaurant.com

Popularity: 4% [?]

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Song River is located right smack on Gurney Drive, just a few doors up from Evergreen Hotel. We usually don’t patronise the place but because of its grilled fish, we have put in some time to try the other hawker stalls and their offerings available for the dinner and late night crowd.

Charcoal grilled chicken parts are one of the attraction in Song River, especially for the beer drinkers and those looking something snack on while they chit chat. So far our favourites are the chicken wings and bishops’ nose, the whole thigh is not our cup of tea. The chicken wings when prepared properly (depending on luck) offers a taste of smokiness, caramelization, savouriness and sweetness (sometimes slightly too sweet for us). When it has the balance of the flavours, no further chilli sauce is needed (but that depends on individuals) as it would overwhelmed the natural sweetness of the chicken and the taste of the marinates.

Tip:

• Order one piece to try, if it is up to standard on your particular visit, only then ask for more.
• One serving 10pcs of bishops’ nose is more than enough for 2 persons.

Another stall that one may like to try is the “Fried Oyster” which is manned by an old uncle. The servings that we had were rich in egg flavour and the oysters were nicely cooked (tender and neither under nor over cooked). The spices added some aromatic fragrance to the omelette without overpowering the eggy fragrance and the sweetness of the oysters. The sprinkle of spring onions gave it a touch of freshness and sweetness. The usual fried oyster omelette would constitute the usage of some form of starch to give it “extra body” and act as a binding agent, this stall uses it sparingly, and thus one would not feel overwhelmed after a serving or two.

Tip:

• Order the smallest serving and request for crispier omelette.
• Spring onion and coriander gives some freshness to the omellete.

Our favourite stall here would be the Grilled Fish which opens for business at around 10:30pm on week days and 8:00 plus on Sundays. This stall has the usual stingray and other local fishes ready for the pan, but the prize selection is the meat from the belly part of a fish(鱼腩). We frequent this grill fish stall because of the marinate that is uses for its grilling. The marinate consist of lots of raw garlic and birds eye chilli, fermented bean paste, sugar and “asam”. It is different from the usual grill fish stalls in other hawker centre and food courts. The after product would taste rich, sweet, spicy and nutty with slight acidity, but yet would not overwhelm the flavours of the fish.

Tip:

• Be there early for the fish belly(鱼腩).
• Ask for less bird’s eye chili padi if you could not take spicy
• Ignore the chattering of the stall owner.
• The asam deep also goes well with the BBQ chicken wings and bishops’ nose.

The bah kut teh stall is one that we won’t be going back for seconds after our first try. We have tasted better ones. The soup base was blend and the portion for was little compared to price we paid for.

Overall rating for Song River and its hawker stalls:

Taste & Texture: 3.0/5 (lacks consistency, except the grill fish stall that has a higher ratio of hitting the right balance)
Money Value : 2.5/5 (above average pricing due to its location)
Service: 2.5/5 (average unless you know them for some time)
Cleanliness: 1.5/5 (open air places near the sea normally gets visits from more than two legged friends)
Atmosphere: 2.0/5 (open air kopitiam, can’t ask for much)

Popularity: 8% [?]

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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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