Gourmet Garden

The name “Cheers” reminds me of an American situation comedy television series that ran for 11 seasons from 1982 to 1993. The tag line “Everybody Knows Your Name” from the theme song is still deeply edged in my memories. I guess it would be great to go to a place for some chow and drinks, relax and be recognised for who you are!

Last weekend we were invited over to “Cheers Restaurant & Bierhous” situated off Jalan Tanjung Tokong, directly opposite of Caltex petrol pump. We have been there before on our own accord and didn’t give much thought of the place then but after the current visit, we did find that the kitchen have made some fine tuning and were able to present a better meal. It was an open invited review and attended by 10 and the food served had their portion increased to suit our numbers.

Let’s start with their “Homemade Mushroom Soup” (RM9.80) as an appetizer to warm the palates. The soup was thick and creamy with a sweet earthy taste. There were bits and pieces of mushroom blended into the soup to give it some texture.We were given 5 of their signature main courses to sample and review, starting with their “Cheers Fisherman Sensation” (RM29.80). On the plate were pan grilled sea-bass and dory fish fillets, prawns, cheese baked mussels and chuka idako (marinated baby octopus) dressed in a garlic butter sauce. There was contrast of texture from the well seasoned seafood items which were finished with a non-fail able sweet buttery garlic sauce.Continuing with the mains was their “Cheers Seafood Chicken” (RM31.80). A perfectly butterfly chicken thigh baked until tender with a layer of seafood mix and a rich and fragrant cheese jacket and served with fresh greens, creamy Japanese sweet potato mash and a sweet tangy mandarin sauce.  The chicken chop is an alternative to the usual chicken chops, but the price tag was slightly on the high side on our accounts though the combination was exotic and quite appealing. Then came their “Cheers Burger Special” (RM21.80), a double patty burger on a toasted bun and served with golden fries and coleslaw. The moist and tender pork patty was peppery, well seasoned and a good compliment to the earthy sweet and savoury seafood patty that contains salmon, scallop, mussels and prawns. The burger is worth every single cent “paid”!The fourth to be sent out from the kitchen were their “Cheers BBQ Ribs” (RM29.80), marinated with their special combination of herbs and spices overnight, then wrapped in foil and slow roasted in a conventional oven until tender and off the bone. The ribs were glazed with their BBQ sauce that had a sweeten end which was slightly over for us, but the texture well compensated.Lastly, we had their fusion “Cheers Knuckles for 1″ (RM29.80). De-boned tender pork knuckle meat served with its crackling, spicy green mango salsa and malty beer reduction brown sauce. Though is not an original, the combination of German taste and Asian flavours did managed to peep out. The last time we had this item at Cheers; it was quite a disappointment with its dry and unappetizing meats.

Our overall experience:

• Add: 3X, Jalan Pantai Molek, Tanjung Tokong, 10470 Penang, Malaysia
• Tel:  +60 (4) 8999 757
• Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/pages/Cheers-Restaurant-Bierhaus/227503800646941
• Business Hours: Monday -  Sunday 3.00pm – 1:00am

Popularity: 3% [?]

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Many people say that ‘food blogging’ is all fun & play, but I beg to differ. It is a lot of work, but we enjoy every calorie if it. It is more enjoyable when we are hosted by business or people are passionate about what they cook-up and are able accept criticism and suggestion when there is any.

Last week we were called in to sample and give constructive feedback by a 7 month old seafood restaurant in Bukit Tambun, Ho Ho Food World. Our last visit to Tambun, a famous point of interest for seafood in Seberang Perai Selatan, was roughly about 3 years ago. It has been quite a long time and there have been many changes ever since.

In the hosted dinner, we had about 9 different items that were quite tantalizing and have their individual characters. Ying Yang Sea-Starter (YamYeong Leong Mei) RM12 – 20, the blenched Octopus tentacles and body with garlic oil and spring onions were light on taste with a tender springy texture.

The ‘Whelks” or “海囖” were slow blenched or poached at low heat for about 30 minutes to maintain its crunchy texture and size of flesh. The taste of the flesh was slightly sweet with a bit of earthiness.

Then we had unique oyster dish, Oyster Braised Gravy (How suin-chiu) RM$ 5 per unit. They oyster was coated with flour then fried before stir fried in their specially concocted sauce which was sweet and savoury.

Another of their specialties that we tried was their Sea Mixed Spring Roll (Hai choon kuin) RM$ 12 – 20. Shelled succulent prawns wrapped in a nutty bean curd skin deep fried to golden brown and based with a sweet tangy sauce and fragrant sesame seeds. It was one of our personal favourites for the night.
We also had the infamous flower crab that many visitors to Bukit Tambun for seafood would not miss. Though crabs are not my favourite or must have, HoHo’s way of preparing their Sea Flower Crab – IndoStyle (Chit YanLi cha) RM$ 35 – 45 per kg was something that t must be mentioned. The crab is first steamed with Chinese wine before it is added into their English curry base gravy that was fragrant yet not overpowering or too spicy to taste. The crab meat itself was tender and moist, unlike the usual versions where the meat is dry and stringy. The usual method of preparing crab is by deep frying in hot oil or blenched in boiling water, this produces a dryer and stringy texture with a loss of the natural sweetness that live crab has.We were also introduced to their signature Claypot PrawnRice (Tsa-po HeiPui)RM$28 – 38. Due to the shortage of prawns, there were some shortfalls in the texture of the medium size prawns but the taste of the rice itself was good enough for a mention. The rice was moist, well flavoured and fragrant with hint of smoky charred taste.

Mantis Prawn Cantonese Steam (Hei-Ko chui) RM$3 – $8 – $16, were also one of our favourites for the evening. The flesh was firm, tender and yet smooth with a natural sweetness that went well with its soy and fragrant oil dressing. The ease of handling the mantis prawns were also a plus point, the legs were trimmed for easy access to the flesh hidden inside its exoskeleton.Kapar Lime Steamed (Kapar suinkam chui) RM$15 – 25, were equally unique with its tangy and pungent garlicky sauce. The clams themselves were also worth a notice as there were hints of natural sweetness and the taste of the sea .  

Also another one of our favourite dishes that we have sampled so far was their Yummy YamFishHead (Hu – Tao Orr) RM38 – 60. The yam has already broken down and has become part of the soup liquid. Thus, the soup is filled with the sandy texture and sweet creamy taste of the yam. The fish head was well prepared till tender and off the bones. It reminds me of the ‘Fish Head Noodles’ that we had in Jalan Kuchai Lam, rich in texture and taste of pumpkin.

HoHo Food World

Add: 1301, Bagan Bukit Tambun, 14110 Simpang Ampat, SPS, Pulau Pinang.

Tel: +6016 5205535

Popularity: 5% [?]

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We have pass by this Kuchi Japanese Restaurant some time back, and it did not seem to be anything out of the ordinary. But then again, looks can be deceiving! It was an invitation through our blogging friend, Lonely Teacher. He had tried the place out and recommended that we give them a chance to ‘sell’ what they have to us picky eaters.

Kuchi’s co-owner, Alex Soon, was present to keep us inform of what was to be serve and what are their initial concept for their few months old restaurant that is nestle just opposite the “famous” Sri Batik Nyonya eatery.  From him we got to know that they will have in their menu fresh seafood that are caught in our local waters and also air-flown chilled varieties that are imported from various sources. They even have live octopus on the menu for people who are adventurous enough to give it a bite.

It was short sampling session after business hours. We only samples 7 dishes out of the many that are contained in their Japanese Asian fusion menu. First up was their Special Maki RM11 (Sushi) or ‘Dragon Roll’ to me. Large deep fried battered prawn encase in a firmly hand pressed sushi rice roll coated with sweet and savoury prawn roe.

Then we had their Name Ika Teriyaki RM25 or grilled squid which was one of our key likable. Crunchy yet tender squid generously seasoned and flavoured with their specially concocted sweet earthy sauce.

Kaki Guratan RM18 or oyster baked with butter and crumbs. I a mouthful, there was the feeling of crunchy grainy bread crumbs with the smooth soft texture of the oyster. Flavour wise, it was rich creamy and buttery with a medium salty end.

Ginmutsu Teppan Yaki RM26 is a deep fried cod and home-made kimchi dish that goes very well with dry noodles or plain old white rice. Though the fish was deep fried till crisp, it was still moist inside. The sweet and spicy sauce was quite appetizing for people who like a bit of heat in their food.

Lastly we had their Somen Chanpuru RM13 or Japanese Mee Sua. The stir fried somen was firm and not too oily to taste. It was a light noodle dish that has lots of vegetables.

Address:  102-A-5, New World Park, Burmah Road,10500 Penang

Tel: 04-2285176

GPS: N5 25.212 E100 19.638 View Gourmet Garden Food Trial in a larger map

Popularity: 4% [?]

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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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Housed in one of the pioneering hotels in Batu Ferringghi, the Feringgi Grill is situated on the Mezzanine floor of Rasa Wing at Rasa Sayang Resort & Spa Penang. With its full glass windows and well thought of layout, the dining area gives a breathtaking view of the grounds and garden of the resort, CHI spa and the ocean. The openness and close proximity to nature brings a sense of relaxation while savouring the wonders that can be flipped out from their semi-open kitchen equipped with their latest edition in a long line of chefs that has been charged with serving exquisite traditional favourites and creating signature dishes for their loyal clientele, Chef David Pooley.

Chef David Pooley, an Australian with over 10 years of culinary experience predominantly in Melbourne and Sydney has been appointed chef de cuisine at Feringgi Grill. Prior to joining the Shangri-La family, he was sous chef at Quay that specializes in modern Australian cuisine and mentored by celebrity chef Peter Gilmore, and Claude’s a 33 year old French fine-dining restaurant now owned by Chef Chui Lee Luk.

Brik Pastry Canneloni, savoury goats curd stuffed into a crisp pastry canneloni and served with a sweet cherry tomato on a bed of chopped olives dressed in a light acidic vinegarette and garnished with aromatic Dutch basil. The taste profile was a balance with rich creaminess, sweetness, savouriness and acidity that got our palates excited.

Torched Tuna,  skilfully prepared tuna fillet , lightly seared by torched that is served with crisp feta puffs, hard boiled quails egg with a rich runny yoke and frozen cucumber droplets on a bed of avocado puree and sprinkles of red powder.  The tuna had firm and fine texture with hints of natural sweetness that when combined with the avocado puree, feta puffs and red powder produced a lightly sweet, creamy and savoury taste experience. The frozen cucumber gave the dish a refreshing sensation. And with the egg and runny yoke, a smooth yet textured sensation.

Five Spice Quail, a dish that combines Asian ingredients with Continental cooking methods to produce this fusion of flavours. Lightly seasoned with five spice and salt and cooked till perfection, the quail was plated with mushrooms and fungi pan fried with garlic, chives, soy mirin, coriander and succulent baby cuttlefish. The quail was tender and flavourful, and the mushrooms and fungi were earthy and full of their individualistic taste and juices. A well executed dish that we will be back for more, simple ingredients and sophisticated techniques combined.

Bouillabaisse, a traditional Provencal fish stew originating from the port city of Marseille. Here at Feringgi Grill, lightly seared sweet juicy tender whole scallop and snapper fillet and a crunchy firm poached yabbie immerse in a thick and flavourful seafood and ginger bisque. The bisque was smooth, creamy and highly-seasoned and filled with flavours from the strained broth crustaceans. The taste is similar to our local Hokkien Prawn soup.

Sorbet Sesame Cones were served to cleanse our palates before the arrival of our main course. Made from lime, pineapple and coconut, the cold sweet and sour sensation refreshed our taste buds while our anticipating our lamb dish.

Lamb Loin, the still pinkish loin meat was firm to touch but yet succulent and juicy was paired with mellow tasting smooth eggplant puree, sweet nutty pine nuts, pearl barley and chopped spring onions and the salty fermented miso paste that was lightly torched.  And to finish off the garnishing was the red-coloured mint leaves and spring onion buds. Taste wise, there was savory, nutty and earthy in play. As for the texture, there were combinations soft, firm and crunchy, but our favourite was still the lamb lions’ firm yet tender mouth feel.

All good things have to come to an end, but the ending also saw an orchestra of taste and texture at work in their served desserts. Rose & Strawberry Granita, strawberry flavoured ice shavings laced with rose water set in a glass with cubes of cocoa jelly, a scoop of vanilla gelato and garnished with gold leaf and violets. It was slightly acidic with creaminess from the gelato and texture from the ice and gold leaf; light, refreshing  and not over sweet for our palates. The violet gave some sweet perfume smell.

Chocolate Panna cotta, frozen white chocolate encasing a sorbet of earl grey and served together with rosemary popcorns, banana marshmallow and cocoa jelly. It is a bit exotic in terms taste with sweet, savoury and earthy flavours in one dessert presentation.

Last and not least was the Macaroons & Prailines. The chocolate was dark with a bitter after taste which I like.

Feringgi Grill
Shangri-La’s Rasa Sayang Resort and Spa
Address: Batu Feringgi Beach, 11100 Penang

Tel: 04 8888888
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Popularity: 8% [?]

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Last weekend we were invited to do a group review of Little Cottage 2 on Gottlieb Road. It is a place that we have drove by numerous of times but have yet to venture into. I guess word of mouth do effect a person perception and decision, especially on places to eat.

The Sunday review was focused around their 5-course set lunch and dinner. But before the review session began, there was some extra time to roam around the restaurant to take in the atmosphere of the outlet and also their Sunday only buffet lunch. The buffet is priced at RM25.90+ for adult and RM13.90+. From our observation, the dishes with its ingredients looks solid and perhaps may be more value as compared to the buffet review we done recently  for Terrace Bay, but the variety here was not as numerous as that at Terrace Bay. May be we will drop by one lazy Sunday afternoon to try out their buffet line and share our experience.

The set lunch is a 5 course meal inclusive of butter roll, soup of the day, main course, dessert and coffee or tea. Price range of the set lunch selections range from RM9.90 to RM15.90 and RM19.90 depending on the main course of choice.

The set dinner is also a 5 course meal inclusive of butter roll, soup of the day, main course, dessert and coffee or tea. Price range of the set lunch selections range from a low of  RM25.90 to a high of RM49.90 per set depending on the desired main course. For further details of the set lunch and dinner prices, choices and combinations, please visit their site.

Due to to some technical problems and miscommunication, a second review session was held at their Burma Road outlet on the following day. Therefore our comments will be based on the samples that we had at Little Cottage Cafe and Little Cottage Cafe2.

Clam Chowder in Bread Bowl @ RM19.90

• Taste - Earthy, creamy & rich with a hint of sweetness and a balanced use of herbs.
• Texture - Think with body due to the use of potatoes in the soup and bits & pieces of clam meat. The bread was lightly steamed/heated thus it was tender and went well with the soup.
• Presentation - Similar to the available bread bowl soups.
• Value – For 19.90 I would have wanted more “bite” in the chowder and less potato.
• Rating - 70% on taste due inconsistency; 30% on value.

Lamb Shank @ RM29.90

• Taste – Refreshing with the acidity from tomatoes and meaty flavours in LCC2. But in LCC the sauce was sweeter and heavy. Thus, there is a lack in consistency.
• Texture – Tender  and moist in LCC2 and went well with the sautéed aubergines & capsicum and mushroom fried rice. But was slightly over cooked in LCC.
• Presentation – Colorful.
• Value – With the complimentary rice and sautéed vegetables, it would be a full meal by itself.
• Rating - 40% on taste due inconsistency; 60% on value.

Seafoof Olio @ RM28.90

• Taste – Filled with seafood taste in the sauce. But the taste was more to Asian taste and quite peppery.
• Texture – Pasta was slightly overcooked  and
• Presentation – Standard.
• Value – Considering the cost and amount of serving it is a bit on the expensive side.
• Rating - 60% on taste due to the abundant seafood flavours; 40% on value due to the smaller portion.

Chicken Sausage & Turkey Ham Combo @ RM36.90

• Taste - Sauce had a sweet end and the sausages and ham tasted like your normal supermarket frozen section preserved meats.
• Texture - The turkey ham felt like “fish cake” and the sausages had no texture/body.
• Presentation - Average.
• Value - For over 30 Ringgit this kind of quality product should not have been served.
• Rating – 20% on taste; 20% on value.

Lunch Set No.4, Garlic Lingguine @ RM9.90

• Taste – A little bit to heavy on the garlic taste and the pasta itself lack taste.
• Texture – Pasta was al dente but too oily.
• Presentation - Average.
• Value – It is well worth for a set lunch.
• Rating – 60% on taste due to the fragrant garlic flavors that is quite Asian; 70% on value for set price.

Lunch Set No.7, Grilled Almond Fish @ RM15.90

• Taste – The almond flakes lack fragrance and taste but with a few drops of lime juice, the flavours were extracted. Pairing with their tartar sauce which was on the sweet side and slightly over acidic would have killed the taste of this dish.
• Texture – Almonds were slightly burnt and the fillets was too soft and lacking of texture.
• Presentation – Averagely arranged.
• Value – Not exceptionally attractive if it was an a-la-carte item, but combined in a set lunch it is acceptable.
• Rating - 50% on taste; 60% on value.

Set Lunch No.3, Lamb Shoulder with B/Pepper Sauce @ RM19.90

• Taste – Mint sauce would have done the trick for the light fragrant lamb shoulders. The black pepper sauce had overwhelmed the original flavors of the lamb itself.
• Texture - Meat was fine and firm, but not chewy.
• Presentation - Average
• Value - On the near value for money side.
• Rating – 50% on taste could have done better with the sauce combination; 55% on value.

Set Dinner No.1, Lobster Combo with Beef Tenderloin @ RM49.90

• Taste - The cheesy sauce was overwhelmed by pickled capers and there was not sufficient cheese topping. Too much cream was mix into the cheese mixture.  Again too peppery for the beefy flavors.
• Texture – Meat was fine in texture and cooked till medium-well. There was some chewiness though.
• Presentation - Avearage.
• Value - Should be near to market wide pricing.
• Rating - 40% on taste as points were deducted on the lobster and the over use of black pepper; 50% on value.

Overall rating for The Little Cottage:

Taste & Texture:

• 2.5/5
• A few dishes turning up with the same black pepper sauce.
• Lack consistency, LCC & LCC2 have different taste & texture.
• Sausages and turkey ham could be substituted with other types of similar products.

Money Value:

• 2.5/5
• Portioning of certain items, quality of ingredients, final product and enjoyment of a dish are very much the key here.

Service:

• -NA-/5 (but I overheard some of the attendees complaining about certain waiter and waitress in both outlets. There was one young waitress that was very helpful and friendly at LCC2)

Cleanliness:

• 3.0/5 (so far no food poisoning)

Atmosphere:

• 3.0/5
• warm and cosy ambiance.

Other food bloggers present:

1. Food Promotions
2. Steven Goh
3. All About Penang Food
4. Waco
5. Criz Food
6. Mary Teo

How to get to Little Cottage Cafe & Little Cottage Cafe2.

Popularity: 6% [?]

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Last Saturday we were invited by FoodPromotions to attend an invited review hosted by TERRACE BAY RESTAURANT @ COPTHORNE ORCHID HOTEL PENANG.

It was the “second” Thai cuisine review in 30 days for of the foodies. As for us, we had to forgo the earlier event at Tree Monkey which was arranged by CK Lam & Criz Lai, and hosted by a local company that builds websites, GenisSIX.  Although we did not attend the review at Tree Monkey, we were “there” to lend support as my mother-in-law already planned to celebrate her birthday there. We actually tried to persuade her to have the dinner in Hard Rock Cafe, but she wanted to try Tree Monkey after reading about it in the papers. We knew misunderstandings would bound to happen if we were to show up, but it was not a choice that we had. Compound by past frictions and perceived conflict of interests, it will leave further misunderstandings. But between family and acquaintances, I choose family. What can be said about Tree Monkey is that it is a place to JUST relaxed, enjoy a cold drink, soak in the clean air from the surrounding greeneries and admire the the beautiful sun setting towards the west. A cold drink and an “Asian Tapas” platter shared amongst 2 would suffice as a pre-dinner outing.

Back to the Terrace Bay Restaurant Thai Buffet invited review. The buffet is priced at RM30nett for adults, RM20nett for senior citizens & RM18nett for children. The buffet runs from 7pm to 10pm on Saturdays for dinner and 12pm to 2.30pm on Sundays for lunch. The selected composition of dishes is brought to TERRACE BAY RESTAURANT by a Chef Chamnan Ngamlamai from Bangkok.

The menu or list of item that were served on that evening is as follows, there is an alternate menu/list which would be rotated as and when see fit by the restaurant:

Appetizer

Papaya Mango Salad (Som Tam), Mango Salad (Yam Mak Muang), Chicken Feet Salad (Yam Tin Kai), Thai Sambal Belacan (Nam Pit Ka), Kacang Botol (Sator Thua Pool) & Kai Lan with Salted Fish (Kana Pla Kem)

Soup

Ken Som(Tom Yam Soup with mushroom, chicken slice, mixed vegetables)

Main Course

Basil Leave Beef (Kak Thau Nua), Chicken Red Curry (Kai Pat Pit), Fish Pat Pit (Pla Pat Pit), Prawn Clam Noodle (Kung Obboon Sen), Egg Ommelette (Kai Pat Pit), Thai Otak – Otak (Homok) & Thai Fried Rice (Phad Thad)

Stall

Thai Kampung Chicken Rice (Kau Man Kai), Thai Laksa (Khanom Chin), BBQ Fish ball, Beef Ball, Crab Stick (Look Chic Ping), Crispy Cat Fish with Spicy Sweet and Sour & Green Mango Salad (Yam Pladukfu)

Dessert

Fresh Cut Fruits, Khanom Chan (Multi Layer Of Pandan Flavour Sticky Rice with Coconut Milk,) Baked Sweet Pudding, Khanom Tan (Palm Flavour, Mini Cake with Shredded Coconut on Top), Khanom Thuai Talai (Steam Sweet Coconut Jelly and Cream), Lot Chong Nam Kathi (Pandan Flavour rice Flour Noodle In Coconut milk, Similar To Cendol) & Salim (Multi Cour Mung Bean Flour Noodle in Sweetened Coconut Milk Serve with crushed Ice)

TERRACE BAY RESTAURANT @ COPTHORNE ORCHID HOTEL PENANG.

Overall rating by us at GourmetGarden:

Taste & Texture:

• 2.5/5
• To our preference the dishes seem not as “authentic” as we expected, but the dishes were acceptable in terms flavours in general.

Money Value:

• 3.5/5
• Authenticity was not in our consideration but a hotel themed buffet at RM30 nett with quite a variety is hard to come by in Penang especially on the tourist belt areas.
• As a budget or middle income earner, Terrace Bay Thai Buffet would be my better choice to feel the tank at a affordable price range as compared to Tree Monkey in Teluk Bahang.

Service:

• -NA-/5 (cannot be considered as it was an arranged event)

Cleanliness:

• 4.0/5
• plates & utensils are tidy and clean, and the overall restaurant dining floor is well kept.

Atmosphere:

• 3.0/5
• nice pool & Sea view at the alfresco section

Add: Jalan Tanjung Bungah, 11200 Penang, Malaysia.

Tel : 604-892 3333   Fax : 60 4 892 3303

Email : fb@copthorne.com.my

Opening Hours:

• Saturday Buffet Dinner: 7.00pm – 10.00pm
• Sunday Buffet Lunch: 12.00 noon – 2.30pm

Other food bloggers present:

1. Food Promotions
2. Steven Goh
3. All About Penang Food
4. Cariso
5. Waco
6. Criz Food

Popularity: 10% [?]

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On the 5th of March we were invited to review a newly establish specialty shop that sells everything(almost) about beef. The invitation was extended by Steve through Steven Goh to us to try out the beef steamboat and other dishes that focus on beef as the main ingredient. If coming from Jalan Tan Sri Teh Ewe Lim or the  Jelutong Police Station to Perak Road, the shop is on the right hand side  just a few hundred meters from the junction. Before we began digging into the prepare food, we shared some small talk and we found out that the owner of this Kang Beef House is somewhat related to the other Beef Noodle stalls that we have wrote about previously. There was also an Mandarin version that was written by Gill.

The star attraction for the night was their beef theme steam boat. But if you are dining alone or light, there are also other choices to choose from. The steamboat is priced at RM20 per head count with a minimum order for 2 persons, and it includes ‘牛腱’( tenderloin, muscle or shank meat), brisket, tripes, tendons, 2 types of beef balls, thinly sliced beef, Chinese Lettuce and Enoki mushroom.

We have been having this cut of beef in our daily beef noodles, and yet I have yet to find out its true name. Some call it tenderloin, I though is part of the shank or muscle section due to the existence of the transparent gel type casing. But in Cantonese it is call 牛腱 or ‘ngau jin’ (腱子肉是大腿上的肌肉，有肉膜包裹的，内藏筋，硬度适中，纹路规则). Anyway, the meat is tender and the gel type casing gives it a smooth and springy texture after it has been poached in the the accompanying beefy soup.

Another meaty side dish is portion from the bell which can either come from the brisket, plate or flank area. This meaty portion would contain meat fats and some tendons, thus the texture is slightly chewy and flavorful due to the fats. In Cantonese this part is call 牛腩 or ‘ngau lam’ in general (即牛腹部及靠近牛肋处的松软肌肉)

Another side dish is the beef tripe. The tripe is usually made from the rumen (smooth tripe) and the reticulum (honeycomb and pocket tripe). These two tripes forms the series of 3 stomachs chanbers. Taste wise is slightly blend and texture is crunchy and slight  chewy.

Another body ‘parts’ that we had was the beef tendon or 牛筋. It is firm and rubbery, but after poaching it turns to a soft and slight slimy texture, like firm Jello. Taste is also blend.

Then there the bovines’ balls. It is actually beef meat ball made the Chinese way. There are 2 type on the plate, the darker colored balls have a tastier and beefy taste but rougher on texture;  and the pale color balls are slightly blend but finer and crunchier on texture.

Then there is the thinly sliced beef fillets. The thickness is standard, thus one does not need to poach it for too long. I my prefer the slices with the egg, but it is there to give it additional smoothness. When the egg was introduced into the soup,it changes the taste of the otherwise light and beefy soup into a sweeter and eggy pot of soup.

Our Beef Steamboat experience:

2.5/5 for value (assuming the portion that we had were for six persons and per pax is RM20, it is equitable)
2.7/5 for taste & texture (darker beef balls and the tendon was my favourite)

Beef Koay Teow at Kang Beef House goes at RM6, 8, 10, 12, and RM15 for serving size. The soup stock is similar to the steamboats, but without the reddish and Chinese pickled vegetables(咸菜). The one we shared was the largest serving size (RM15).

Our Beef Koay Teow experience:

2.4/5 for value (slightly out of my means)
2.8/5 for taste & texture (taste better then some of my previous experiences in other places, plus there was less contamination of taste by the noodles)

Actually the steamboat session began, were introduced to a few fried and deep fried items that they serve. We began with the Crystal Beef Fried Rice. there was sufficient wok sear and the rice was individual and the had an infusion of the beefy taste. In addition to the soft gluteny pearls, there were also crispy bits of deep fried rice which gave an additional texture. The beef slice in this rice dish was tender and glistening with juices.

Our Crystal Beef Fried Rice with Beef Ball Soup experience:

2.5/5 for value (RM12.50 for fried rice is a bit on the high side for me, but with beef balls and soup it may be worthwhile) (we did not see the portioning of the beef balls)
2.9/5 for taste & texture (good wok searing and tender beef slices maintain their juices)

Stir Fried Beef with Black Pepper sauce has serving sizes ranging from small at  RM15 to big at RM28. Texture of the beef slices were soft and tender and the sauce was not overwhelming to many. But I personally do not like heavy a sauce that will cover the natural flavor of the main ingredient. The accompanying capsicum and chili was still crunchy and firm.

Our Stir Fry Black-pepper Beef experience:

2.7/5 for value
2.8/5 for taste & texture

Their version of Crispy Beef Balls was the only deep fried dish that we had the whole night. Each beef meat ball individually encased in crispy golden brown croutons.

Our Crispy Beef Ball experience:

2.9/5 for value
2.9/5 for taste & texture (Crispy outer shell and tender soft meaty chunks in side)

Address: 474, Jalan Jelutong, Penang, Malaysia, 11600

To sum up our experience at Kang Beef House:

Taste & Texture: 3.0/5 (average with room to improve)
Money Value : 2.9/5 (may need to look at the portioning of the steamboat and beef noodles)
Service: 2.5/5
Cleanliness: 3.5/5 (still new, lets wait and see)
Atmosphere: 2.4/5 (noise from the busy traffic and the hot and humid feeling from too many burners turned on)

Most probably I would return for their beef koay teow, Crispy Beef Balls, Crystal Beef Fried Rice, and Dry Stir Fried Hor Fun with beef slice.

Popularity: 5% [?]

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UPDATE! The Chef Wong (who prepared the dishes for the review) has left the restaurant sometime in 2011.

On the 1st of October 2009, we attend a arranged review at little know restaurant in Sungai Ara. Pearl Palace restaurant is housed in the former Pearl Island Golf Resort main building which now serves as the sales office and country club for SP Setia. Unless one has attend a wedding banquet there, it would have been foreign to you. It is quite off track from the Sungai Ara main road, which one of the reasons that it is under patronised. The dinner review was prepared by Pearl Palace’s manager cum head chef, Mr. Wong, whom we got to know recently.

Pearl Palace Restaurant is on the 1st Floor of SP Setia country club. The dining area could easily accommodate 30 tables with plenty of space left for wedding banquets, company functions, etc.

There is a full view of the Penang International Airport and Bayan Lepas industrial area  from their dining hall during the day time.

And during the night time, diners can enjoy the night lights of the airport and the surrounding area.

Upon entering the Pearl Palace’s, the interior is full of typical Chinese statues, displays filled with the many dried and canned ingredients used in their dishes, a collection of tea pots and other decorative items.

After all the attendees of the review arrived, the diner began with their much sort after ‘Fish Pot or Fish Steam Boat’. The main ingredient would be the fish, but without a good stock to begin with would be futile. The ‘Fish Pot’ soup had other than their base stock; there were pieces of deep fried fish bones, fish head, Chinese cabbage and ginger.

The usual fish used for their ‘Fish Pot’ is the common red snapper, but it was grouper for us as they did not get any nice red snapper for the day. In fact, the fish is determined by the market supply as freshness is of the utmost importance. After the fish has been deboned and sliced, its bones and head are used to further enhance the flavour of the soup.  To compliment the fish fillets, tofu, raw spinach and rice are served with ‘Fish Pot’ set.

Chunky fresh Grouper fillets laying on a bed of spinach and tofu.

Their friendly waitress is seen here putting the fish, tofu and spinach into the boiling hot soup.

The fish was fresh, soup was indeed flavorful, smooth and sweet. Good till the last drop! [My rating : 4.5/5]

Before we could stop savouring the ‘Fish Pot’, the ‘Steamed Bean Curd with Prawn and Salted Egg’ was served. It is a light dish but full of flavour. The dish is made up of Japanese round tofu stuffed with fish paste/patty and topped with a unshelled prawn, which is later put to the steamer.  After it is cooked, a starchy sauce is drizzled on and topped with sands of salted duck egg yoke. To contrast the texture of the soft tofu and fish paste, Brussels sprout was used to offer a slight crunch texture to this dish and also a a garnish. But my wife thinks that broccoli would be more attractive in terms of colour contrast compare to the pale color of the sprouts.

Gill in her notes mentioned that the fish paste was kind of bland in terms of taste and colour, and suggested that may be chopped spring onions could mixed into the paste to some colour and flavour. As for the prawn, it was quite fresh and sweet. The salted duck egg yoke gave some sense of savouriness and fragrant, but it was a bit dry.

Overall the ‘Steamed Beancurd with Prawns and Salted Egg Yoke was a light, sweet with a slight savory dish which would appeal to many if not all.  Price of servings: small  RM25, medium  RM35 and large RM45.  [My rating : 3.9/5]

‘Braised Bamboo Shoot with Enoki Mushrooms’ is a vegetarian dish which looks plain and simple but the addition of tomatoes made it look more attractive to our sense of sight. This vegetarian dish offers more in the area of texture rather than taste as the shoots and Enoki mushrooms do not have much flavour in them. The taste comes from the preparation process and the sauce.

As usual the Enoki mushrooms had an earthy flavour with a light sour after taste. The bamboo shoot was flavourful as it has soaked up the tasty sauce and the texture was what we had experience before, soft and fibres with some crunch to it. But the uncooked tomatoes were exactly complimentary to the taste, but for garnishing is gives colour..

Overall the Braised Bamboo Shoot with Enoki Mushroom is not something that we personally fond of. Price per serving size: Small RM15, Medium RM22, Large RM35. [My rating : 3/5]

Other than some arduous abalones and slight saltier taste, it would have been an excellent dish and the gravy would be great to go with rice or noodles. Price per serving size: Small RM80, Medium RM160, Large RM220. [My rating: 3.8/5]

Chicken was served next, ‘Deep Fried Chicken with Marmite Sauce’. The chicken tenders were lightly batter coated and deep fried until golden in colour, then stir fried in their marmite base sauce. Gill thought they were fish fillets due to the soft texture. The chicken was very tender and moist, but the dish felt a bit dry as the marmite has dried up after the batter coat soaked up the sauce.  She prefer to have more sauce on the dish so that the chicken would not feel dry in our mouth. If too much sauce was applied, then the batter would turn soggy, Mr. Wong explained.  Or just let the deep fried chicken pieces be served as they are without any sauce. Crispy on the surface and tender moist chicken meat inside and serve with the marmite sauce on the side is what we might have tried. But then, the taste would have been different!

Deep Fried Chicken with Marmite Sauce, a common taste presented differently, was something that we have not tried. Overall the taste was fine, just that some pieces felt slightly drier than others. Price per serving size: Small RM12, Medium RM20, Large RM30 [My rating: 3.7/5]

This time it is really fish, ‘Pomfret in 2 Preparations’. This dish shows the difference between ‘Normal Restaurant’ and ‘Hotel or Five Star style Restaurants’ chef’s cooking experience. Mr. Wong was put to task to make is fish dish that call for the fish to be stir-fried and the other half steamed. It would need a well synchronisation of timing and flavours to have this dish served hot and able to have the flavours differentiated but not overwhelming each other.

The stir fried portion was a thumb up for everyone who was present, except for the nuts that had stale after taste. The smooth fish fillets were stir fried with celery, cashew nuts and carrots, with light gravy to glisten and moisten the dish. But the steam version had some comments that it was dry. I guess this because the steam version’s sauce was not the usual watery type, but of a thicker consistency to have it clinging to the fresh fish fillets for plating. May be the duration of photographing the dish also took its toll on the steam fish.

Overall a good flavour contrast with more preferences to the stir fried version.  And a barrier between two different preparations would have a better visual effect. Price per serving size would be base on the daily market price of the fish.  [My rating: 4/5]

We are all filled to the brim after the 6th course, but we still have to find ‘parking’ space for their ‘Fried Wet Hor Fun with Sliced Abalone’. The ‘Hor Fun’ had the wok sear or ‘wok hei’ aroma and taste. As for the gravy it was light and sweet with an eggy flavour. After all the photo shooting, I could still find yellowish streams of liquid egg yoke floating in the gravy. Just nice! Accompanying the ‘hor fun’, were shitake mushrooms, chicken slices, sticks of ‘bak choi’ and slices of abalone. The abalone is an optional topping to have. For me simple is gold. Just simple ingredients made or cooked to perfection to have their flavours and texture shine is the best skill a chef could have.

Overall a well presented simpletons dish made to shine, but the ‘hor fun’ was lumpy and mash up as it was kept in the fridge to prevent contamination. The price per serving size: Small RM12, Medium RM24, Large RM38 [My rating: 3.9/5]

Finally, the last sampling of the night was the dessert. As there more Ying than Yang, the chef made something especially for the ladies, ‘Double Boiled Aloe Vera with Red Dates’. The dessert had Aloe Vera, red dates and wolfberries double boiled and sweeten with rock sugar. It is simple to make but full of nourishment and goodness. The aloe vera was boiled with the other ingredients so that the flavours and goodness are infused and to present a jelly like texture.

The aloe vera with red dates dessert was a good ending to a hearty meal. But it was a bit too sweet for some. We believe the extra sweetness may have come from the red dates that were used.  The price per serving size: Small RM8, Medium RM18, Large RM30 [My rating: 4.5/5]

The last photos show the chef and manager of Pearl Palace asking for honest feedbacks from the attending food bloggers that faithful night. He also shared some tips and experience he had gain through the years in his line of work.

To sum up our experience at Pearl Palace Restaurant:

Taste & Texture: 3.8/5
Money Value : 3.5/5
Service: 3.8/5
Cleanliness: 4.5/5 (way to hotel standard)
Atmosphere: 4.5/5 (relaxing place with the airport and seaview, where else you can get? )

Personal liking(s):

1. Fish Steamboat

2.  Steam Bean Curd with Prawns and Salted Egg Yoke

3. Fried Hor Fun

4. Double Boiled Aloe Vera with Red Dates

List of attending Food Bloggers:

AllAboutPenangFood

Allie Food Talk

Buzzing Bee

Cariso Delicacies Corner

Criz

Food Promotion

Steven

Allen

Pearl Palace Restaurant

Tel: 604-643 9888, 644 9355 Fax: 604-645 9888
Business Hour: 11am – 3pm and 6pm – 10pm (Close on Monday)

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Popularity: 22% [?]

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Sometime last month we were had the opportunity to dine and review Who’s Bryan at the Raja Uda area on the expense of it co-owner, Bryan. We actually got to know about this new place from one of our business acquaintances. It is a typical boy’s interested in F&B line, went for basic training, go to work in cafes and restaurant, then came back and open cafe of his own with his friends or family.

This newly set-upped cafe is located just opposite the Apex cafe in Raja Uda. Upon arrival, the out look of the cafe seems to have brought in some liveliness to the other otherwise dull looking place. It has an open concept with full height glass panels and no doors. It looks like something that one would find shopping malls or upmarket areas. Bryan’s intention is to bring something fresh, good food and enjoyment to the Raja Uda area. We could see that much effort has been put in to refurbish the old and run down corner shop unit, which used to serve as the storage area for a ‘nasi kandar’ business.

But if you are a person who are allergic to the warm and humid weather, then it would be advisable to visit the place during the evening.   It is not hot during the day, but because of the open concept it would not be as cool as in malls. The food that one would find in Who’s Bryan’s menu is similar to those of Dome, Segafrado, and the likes of it. It is mainly fast western dishes like soups, sandwiches, burgers, chops, snacks, coffee base beverages, sodas, etc.

Before we arrived, Bryan had already arranged for some of their specialties for us to sample, which include their coffee and coffee base drinks, a snack and 3 main courses. First to be served were the drinks, all coffee drinks in fact, which I have forgotten their  exact names. The coffee was said to be freshly brewed on order. Presentation wise they look standard, but the taste of the coffee base was a bit bland. It lack that nutty taste and pungent aroma of the coffee beans.

Then we had their Affogato which was served ice-cream and coffee in individual cups. The Espresso tasted a bit stronger than the previous cups but the vanilla ice-cream lack that luxurious vanilla flavor and the ice-cream did not have that rich creamy after taste. Overall verdict on their coffee drink is that effort was put in to present an otherwise common drink to look outstanding, but more care should also be placed on brewing a better cup of coffee and also to look into the beans itself.

A short chat afterwards, their kitchen started to roll out their main courses and a plate of bruschetta Bryan’ style. The bruschetta had raw garlic and a mixture of cheese and mayo, which did not appeal to us as the mayo had overwhelm the supposing rich dairy flavor. But the texture of the bread base was just nice, crisp on the surface and slightly soft inside.

We were also give a ‘preview’ of their ‘Pumpkin Soup’, which look presentable and safe. The texture of the soup was average, but it lack the sweetness of the pumpkin and was bland to taste. I guess the best pumpkin soup we had this year was at Louise Cafe, which we have been to since March.

The ‘Who’s Lamb Shank’ gave me the impression of ‘Lamb Mole’ due to dark brown color of the gravy. The gravy did not stand out from the crowd of lamb shanks that are available at other restaurants, and it was a bit over salty which with some mash potato can help neutralize. Meat wise, it was tender but it did not have the flavor of the gravy infused in to it. Thus, without the gravy this dish would have been bland.

‘Who’s Crumbly Chicken’ is the signature chop. It is different from other chicken chops as the tender boneless whole chicken  leg was encase in a crispy casing of light batter and corn flakes, not breaded or heavily battered with seasoned flour mix. The corn flakes gave it the extra crunch and corny fragrant. And the mushroom sauce was standard with slices of button mushrooms.  After this dish, it struck us that it would more sensible to have the corn flakes downed size a bit to give ease to diner’s chewing motion.

We also had the luxury to try out their homemade beef patty burger with cheese and egg  and fries and salad on the side. It was good attempt on their part. The patty was well cooked, tender and moist. The only set back for this dish was that the minced meat was slightly over minced which led to a finer texture. My preference of a good beef patty is that I could still see and feel the grains of minced beef and its fats after every bite of the burger. Other than that, a look in the seasoning the herbs used should also be looked into. With the suggested tuning of the beef patty, with the well melted cheese to added extra flavor  and well prepared sunny side-up egg to give it some moisture and richness, the burger would give the road side burger stalls a run for their money.

To sum up our experience at Who’s Bryan:

Taste & Texture: 3.2/5 (The chicken whole leg, bread, beef patty were fresh without the frozen meat taste texture, but the tastes of the dishes should be looked into)
Money Value : 3.5/5 (For a place like this and with the price they charge it is considered quite reasonable, but food also plays an important role for our consideration)
Service: 3.0/5 (Their staff would have to pay more attention)
Cleanliness: 3.8/5 (The place is new and well kept, the toilet was also well maintain, but due to the open concept plus the surrounding environment there tends to be flies)
Atmosphere: 3.5/5 (A bit warm for us during the mid afternoon, but the interior looks refreshing for that area)

Address & GPS: 65(GF), Lorong Teras Jaya 2, Pusat Perniagaan Teras Jaya, 13400  Butterworth, Penang, Malaysia.

Tel: +60 (4) 3329097

Popularity: 19% [?]

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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% [?]

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aaaaahhhh………Still remember Ivy’s Kitchen Combo Meal posted a month ago?

I feel a bit bad towards to Mr.Tan & Ivy for owing the a-lar cart dinner post for such a long time.

Ok now, Ivy’s Kitchen also have available dishes on a-lar-cart order for dinner time besides the lunch combos that cater to the OLs and OMs in the near by office blocks.

At Night they serve Chinese and Nyonya dishes, and the followings are my verdict for some of the dishes served for the invited review dinner do:

The Big Banner hanging in front of the restaurant is eye catching. Jason has given Mr. Tan some ideas to make the restataurant’s brand name more visible to attract those who drive on Jalan Chow Thye. One of them was to place a extended vertical banner similar to that used by Japanese restaurants to show-off its name because the current banner is slightly out of sight by car drivers.

Sweet and Sour Flower Crab (market price)

The sauce combination is thick and very flavorful, and i can taste the distinctive sweet crab meat flavor from the first mouthful.

The flower crab flesh was indeed very meaty & fresh, it is a testament to the quality ingredients that they used here. To be frank, is my first encounter with such a meaty flower crab. Usually flower crab ain’t that meaty. The dish is a good mate for a bowl of fragrant white rice.

It was good, but there was a slightly sweet after taste. Light handed on the sugar is necessary.

Rating for the dish: 3.9/5

Gulai Tumis Chinese Silver Pomfret (market price)

Gulai Tumis usually would be Malaysian’s favourite, when talk and think about the dish one would start begin to experience a  saliva tsunami in the mouth. Hahaha…

What is so special about the Gulai? It is all about the spiciness of the chili paste, sourly taste of tamarind, pungent smell of lemongrass, light perfumery bungah kantan (tourh ginger) to make it became a mouth watering dish.

Above all ingredients, Ivy’s Kitchen version has additional Green Chilies and tomatoes. The Silver Promfret was fresh, but the fish was slightly over cooked because there some late arrivals due to the traffic situation.  I personally would prefer the silver pomfret put into the steaming tray rather into the gulai tumis if the fish still extremely fresh.  :)

Rating for the dish: 3.7/5

Assam Prawns (RM20 for 10 prawns)

Look at that divine caramelised colour!

There are 2 types of assam prawn, either with thick gravy or dried.  And here they served dried and crispy assam prawn with wonderful flavors .

I would say this nyonya assam prawn was very authentic to me. Although here in Malaysia there are tones of restaurant serving the same dish, but rarely you would get the same “good” nyonya assam prawn.

But don’t be sad, you can now taste the very nicely marinated and pan fried to perfection assam prawn in Ivy’s kitchen. The tamarind flavour is not overpowering; sweet and sour on the right balance. Thumbs Up!

Rating for the dish: 4/5

Fried Bean curd with Leeks

This was a simple homey dish with wok hei. It was slightly dried, a little more gravy and leeks should be better.

Again, it was slightly over sweeten.

Rating for the dish: 3.6/5

Tofu with Seaweed Soup

Seaweed soup with distinctive and clear flavours! This is the freshest seaweed flavour and aroma that I never taste before. No wonder Japanese like it so much. But again it was slightly over sweeten with the seasoning.

The soup come together with sliced carrots, fish balls, cabbages, minced chicken balls and prawns, and of course generous amounts of  the fragrant seaweed

Rating for the dish: 3.8/5

Fried Snow Pea Shoots with Bean Sprouts

The combination of snow pea shoots and bean sprout stir fried was not popular not until the recent years. I and jason still remember we had our curry fish head in Alor Star and we discovered this combination of stir frying of snow pea shoots and bean sprouts for the first time back in 2006 or 2007. Something interesting, as the friendly curry fish head chef cum owner told us, bean sprout gives the sweetness and evenly match the bitterness and rough texture of the snow pea shoots.

Anyway, the easiest dish is the hardest to master, more skill is needed. This dish in Ivy’s has that homey taste with wok hei.  But the bean sprouts were slightly overcooked, thus, the loss of that crunchy feeling. But the fragrant garlic bits compensated for that..

Rating for the dish: 3.7/5

Fruits Platter

After all the dishes, big plate of fruits was sent to our table, with chunks of sweet mango, papaya and longan.

Note: ivy’s kitchen is serves pork free dishes.

Average rating for this place:

2.9/5 for value (slightly over priced for seafood, but it was on market forces)
3.8/5 for taste & texture (taste of home cook meals, but there is still room to excel especially on the handling of certain ingredients and the seasoning)
3.8/5 for service
4.0/5 for cleanliness
3.0/5 for atmosphere (not much of decoration. evening got lots of mosquito due to the neighbours plants but they are looking into environmental friendly ways to get rid of this minor problem)

Location:

Add : 58 Jalan Chow Thye, 10250 Penang. (Next to Isaribi Tei and near by Jemputree)

Tel : 013-433 7878 (Mr. Tan), 016-433 7130 (Ms. Ivy)

Business Hours : Daily 9:00am-9:00pm from Monday to Sunday. Saturday 12:00pm-9:00pm.

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Popularity: 7% [?]

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The Food Loft at Gurney Plaza has come and go. The lots are now being occupied by a new tenant by the name of Ko Fu Loft. When we were driving past Gurney Plaza and while looking to the vacated lots, I told Gill that if it were up to me, I would have occupied the vacated lots with a Dim Sum restaurant. Not long later, we got news that a dim sum restaurant would be opened to replace The Food Loft. There are numerous reasons behind the idea; the location, the type of crowd and potential customers, and the competition, but I won’t go into that here may be in my other blog.

I have yet to interview or have much information about Ko Fu Loft and their operations to provide a clear write-up of this place. Thus, it would be more of a pictorial post with focuses on the people, the atmosphere, the food and experience during the invited review that was held on last Sunday’s late afternoon (7th July 2009). Basically Ko Fu Loft took over the setup left by The Food Loft and made some minor renovation to suit their concept.

Let’s start with the people! This review saw some new faces that we have not personally met other than reading their blogs. We were overjoyed to have the opportunity to persanally meet up Christy from yumyumbites.blogspot.com, Cheryl from nuttyeve9.blogspot.com, L K Low from food-4tots.com, Eunice, Siew Ying & Iris from foodpromotions.com.my, CW Chan from noweating.com, and Chef Khoon(blog is still in the works) for the first time after reading their blogs for so long. In some way, the review was an occasion and opportunity to meet other persons that also shares the same passion for food.

Some how or rather, the majority of the food bloggers that attended the functions are women. Many would think that food bloggers would be like a 2 ton truck like me but you would be amazed to see many of them are like a SMART cars, petite and attractive to the eye. Other than having a smaller circumference, each and every one of these beautiful human beings are very approachable and easy to be with. They would be great companions to have at the dining table. We shared many laughs and ideas at the table, and time seems to fly by when there is great company amongst. Three hours seems like 3 minutes.

As we shared our laughs we also shared some pointer is photo shooting when the dishes were served. The moment the food was placed on the table we were all like bees to honey. Each one was trying to get the best angle and shot for our blog readers to feast on. The management and kitchen of Ko Fu Loft had generously prepared 14 types of dishes and a dessert for us to sample that range from appetizers and dim sum to ‘Poon Choy’ and fried noodles.

K o Fu Sesame Seed Ball(RM 10.90), the presentation was quite unique, one ball in a spoon. It is exactly like the suggestion that we gave to Haven Delight for their Chicken Bom. Taste wise was average, the sesame seeds were not fragrant enough and the stuffing was slightly dry.

Crystal Spring Roll Skin Stuff with Vege & Chicken Meat(RM6.90), the presentation was average similar to many other restaurants that offered this kind of Vietnamese summer rolls. Taste wise it wasn’t appetising or refreshing as we have better experienced in Miss Saigon & Young Heart . This may be contributed by the powdery texture chicken meat and the vegetables that lack sweetness.

Steam Fresh Prawn Dumpling or ‘Har Kau’(RM5.50), taste and presentation was standard and comparable to some traditional dim sum restaurants.

Pork Dumpling with Fish Roes or ‘Siew Mai’(RM5.50), presentation is pretty standard in the bamboo steam basket and taste considered quite standard. But Gill found that the minced meat was slightly rougher in texture, but depends on what do you personally prefer.

Minced Squid with Crab Claw (RM5.50), Gill gave this dish a good rating for presentation and taste. But I personally do not fancy this dish, may be because the texture was a bit too smooth without any contrast in texture. To me it felt and tasted like there was too much flour mixed into it.

Signature Steamed Custard Creamy Bun ((RM5.50), with one of the buns cracked opened it looked pretty nice golden yellow custard cream flowing out. But then was it supposed to be presented in this way? The buns were average in texture and taste except for the custard cream. The custard cream wasn’t smooth in texture; it felt sandy like an inclusion of duck egg yolk in the cream.

Deep Fried Yam Paste with Mince Pork or Wo Kok (RM4.50), it should be more like pork chunks than mince pork. The out look seems appetising and pretty standard. For taste it was a bit too sweet more like ‘char siew’ feelings than the normal stuffing used in old traditional ‘wu kok’. Yam is already heavy, couple with the over sweet feeling it won’t be appetising.

Deep fried Pandan Lotus Paste or ‘ chin toi’ (RM4.50), basically looks standard but the skin, when bite, was too thick and chewy. And the pandan lotus feeling tasted like it was made with pandan essence.

Szechuan Aromatic Duck (RM18.90), presentation average taste texture was below average. The duck slices were coated in some sort of batter and deep fried. But it may have been over cooked, thus the duck meat slices were dry and the lacks any aromatics and tastes. The accompanying egg wrapper was similarly dry and lacks that eggy taste.

Jingdo Pork Rib (RM14.90), presentation was average and for taste it was more like black pepper ribs than’ jingdo’ ribs due to the overwhelming pepper taste. In addition to that, there was a slight taste of soda on the surface of the ribs.  But of all the dishes that were served it seems that the ribs and the following deep fried Calamari were my favourite as they have got some taste in them.

Deep Fried Five Spice Calamari ((RM13.90), it had a light batter coating which was infused with five spice powder which was quite alluring. The contrast in texture and taste was also one of the attractions to this dish. The batter was fluffy and the squid was tender and crunchy. For taste contrast, it was exotic and salty on the out side and juicy and sweet in the inside.

Deep Fried Homemade Bean Curd (RM12.90), looks appealing due to the golden colour of the batter coating but the taste was bland. The bean curd or tofu did not have that unique earthy and nutty taste of the soya bean in it.

All in 1 Roasted Meat with Vegetables or ‘Poon Choy’(RM19.90), was not what we expected to be. If you have read our ‘Phoon Choy’ post you would know the difference. At Ko Fu Loft it is basically various types of roasted meat and prawns placed in a clay pot based and topped with vegetable and prawns, then immersed in their starch up soup stock. Most of the ingredients were not fresh especially the prawns. And from tasting from different servings that we provided with, we found that the taste was not consistent. Some tasted like broccoli, some tasted like white cabbage, while some tasted like oyster sauce was used.  Then what we expect from RM 19.90 for a ‘Poon Choy’?! The one that we made roughly cost us jus for the ingredients was nearly RM250.

Fried Seafood Emperor Noodles (RM12.90), was nothing royal about it. It’s looks average and tasted below average. The noodles when served were already dry and taste was very bland. We had to resort to look for soy sauce to make the noodles appetising.

Lastly we were served with their dessert of the day which would cost RM3.50 per bowl. I do not what to call it as no name was provided. The sago was over cooked and soft. And the water chestnut had no sweetness in it although it was crunchy. The coconut milk used didn’t have that nutty creamy taste that it would usually have. I guess they were using boxed coconut milk.

And on average I would grade Ko Fu Loft:

* 3.0/5 for value (ingredients used are not the best but we have to consider the location of the restaurant)
* 2.7/5 for taste & texture (taste was inconsistent and the was nothing particularly attractive)
* 2.5/5 for service ( there were particularly not much service, we had to clear our own tables and search for service)
* 3.0/5 for cleanliness (average but we had to ask for service to clear the table)
* 3.0/5 for atmosphere (typical like the Food Loft but with some enhancement, but to my point of view is waste of precious seating area)

Popularity: 6% [?]

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For Ivy’s Kitchen, an arrangement was made for some of us food bloggers to sample their spread of a-lar-carte dishes and combo meals. The a-la-carte sampling was held on a Friday night and the combo meals were arranged for on Sunday’s lunch. It was good because we could just waltz in after Sunday Service. The Sunday lunch sampling was mainly to introduce the various sets and combinations that Ivy’s Kitchen can dish out daily. Other than sampling the meals, we were also given the opportunity to put-up some personal feedbacks on the food and also give some thoughts on the possibility to utilise some of our know-how to attract and improve in certain areas ranging from food quality and business management.

As usual we try to make it slightly earlier to capture some kitchen action, thus the following shots were possible.

The value sets or combo meals are specially created to cater to those who need to grab a quick bite that is value for their money. The combo meals are priced from RM 7.50 to RM 9.00 per set and what one would get is a rice set, a glass of freshly squeeze fruit juice and dessert, and for noodle sets they are accompanied with ‘thong shui’ and jelly dessert. You can say that their combo meals cater to both rice drums(fun tong) and noodle freaks.

If one does not prefer to get stuffed and just to fill the tank emperor, you could opt for the a-la-carte noodles and porridge offerings.

Combo A: Chicken Rendang

At RM9.00 per set, one would be served with a piece of tender creamy rich aromatic chicken cut, a  bowl of white rice(not nasi lemak because it would be to rich with all that coconut milk), half an egg, deep fried anchovies and peanuts, papadum and achar or pickles vegetables.

Rendang is a dish which originated from an ethnic group of Indonesia, Minangkabau. In many cases the rendang is mentioned as curry, but authentically the rendang is anything but curry. Rendang is prepared through a slow cooking process of the meat of choice in coconut milk and spices until almost all the liquid is evaporated and the aroma and taste of the spices and creamy richness of the coconut milk are absorb by the meat. And through this slow cooking process it allows the meat to become tender, even beef.

Combo B: Beef Rendang

The combo of beef rendang and rice shares the same side dishes as in combo A but is cheaper by RM0.50, at RM8.50 per set. Both chicken and beef rendang shared the same characteristics, creamy, rich, and aromatic, but the beef rendang was slightly spicier hot. Although the rendang dish calls for a slow cooked tender chunk of meat, the beef rendang today had some chewy chunks. One of the reasons for this is that the chewy chunks had less or no fatty contents. But yet is not enough of a reason to shun from this dish.

Combo C: Nasi Lemak

At RM7.50 per set, one could expect a coconut rich fragrant bowl of rice accompany with a halved hard boiled egg, ‘sambal’ anchovies that is prominent with the colour of turmeric and sweet, deep fried chicken wing minus the drum- met, deep fried sardine, crisp anchovies and peanuts and fish cracker. Alternatively, one could substitute the chicken wing and sardine with a bigger fish like the deep fried stuffed cincaru or hard tail mackerel for RM9.00. Personally, I would like to have bigger piece of chicken to fill my tank while still maintaining the price at RM7.50. What are people looking for now is something which tasty, economical and yet able to fill them up.

This stuffed hard tail mackerel in its raw form.  The stuffing consists various type of herbs and spices, and the predominant taste that one will get to experience from this fish is the sourness of tamarind, the fragrant of Kaffir lime leafs and the heat from the chilli paste. This stuffed hard tail mackerel is sold at RM3.80 per fish.

Combo D: Fish Fillet Noodles in clear soup

This set is for the noodle freaks and light tasting food fans, and it is only  RM9.00 for a bowl of noodle topped with generous amounts of deep fried dory fish fillet and chicken meat balls, accompanied with thong shui and dessert. One could choose from your noodle of choice from instant noodles to rice vermicelli(bee hoon), glass noodles(tang hoon) to plain old rice porridge. The soup is clear and sweet with a noticebale taste  of sesame seed oil as a condiment.  When requesting for the rice porridge version, do expect a more hard hitting sweet taste of ‘tung choy’ (type of Chinese preserved vegetable with sweet and salty taste) in soup. This because by substituting the noodle with cooked rice, the light clear soup would have its taste overwhelmed by the rice, thus the usage of ‘tung choy’ is call for. If you are a person who can’t taste anything lite, it is would not be a good choice to choose combo D.

Other than the combo meals that are mentioned here, one could also try out their lite snacks and other a-lar-carte dishes.

Average rating for this place:

3.1/5 for value (slightly above averagely priced for combo meals as comapred to economy rice, but with fresh juice and dessert it should break-even nicely)
3.7/5 for taste & texture (taste of home cook meals, but there is still room to excel)
3.8/5 for service
3.9/5 for cleanliness
3/5 for atmosphere (not much of decoration. evening got lots of mosquito due to the neighbours plants but they are looking into environmental friendly ways to get rid of this minor problem)

Location:

Add : 58 Jalan Chow Thye, 10250 Penang. (Next to Isaribi Tei and near by Jemputree)

Tel : 013-433 7878 (Mr. Tan), 016-433 7130 (Ms. Ivy)

Business Hours : Daily 9:00am-9:00pm from Monday to Sunday. Saturday 12:00pm-9:00pm.

Popularity: 7% [?]

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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.

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Popularity: 15% [?]

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Last Saturday on the 18th of April year 2009, we were invited by Haven Delight which is located at the newly constructed Penang Time Square to attend a formal review of the delicacies that are offered there. The event was made possible by Criz after he ventured into Haven’s den looking for something to satisfy his appetite. Thus, it would be polite to thank Criz and the management of Haven Delight for making this event possible.

Now back to Haven Delight’s review. Haven Delight is located on the 1st Floor of Penang Time Square which has open its doors not long ago on 2nd of March and officially launch on the 7th, and started their buffet spread on the 20th of the same month. Words have it that Penang Time Square would hold their official grand opening in between the month June and August this year. Thus, Haven Delight would be one of the pioneer businesses to step foot into this mall. This outlet in Penang Time Square is the flagship restaurant conceptualised and created by Mr. B.T. Ng who is the Managing Director of this restaurant. And at the helm of the kitchen is their Executive Chef, Edwin Teo, who has in total 10 years of experience in the kitchen preparing various types of cuisines ranging from Japanese to local Malaysian cuisines. At the Haven Delight kitchen, Edwin has teamed up with Alex a Sous Chef who specialised in Hong Kong and Shanghainese cuisines, K.P. Lim a Demi Chef de Partie and  Melvin Loo at the sushi bar.

At Haven Delight, one may find oneself savouring cuisines from in and around Asia and also be pampered with some fusion dishes. Therefore, one must be prepared to be bombarded by the different types of aromas, flavours and taste which have been yielded from the usage of various cooking techniques and ingredients. At Haven you are also assured that the ingredients used are delivered fresh and inspected by either the Executive Chef or the Sous Chef before anything is allowed on to the kitchen’s preparation table.

Any person who steps into Haven will be greeted with their specially design decor and friendly crew of stewards who are ever ready help you on your orders and recommendations as there roughly about 200 different dishes to choose from the A la Carte menu. And if are undecided on what have, may be you would like to try out their Buffet Menu which would only set you back RM49.90++ per person for adults, as for kids under the age of 12 you can expect to only pay 50% of the adult rate. In the buffet menu there are around 90 different dishes to savour within the stapled two(2) hours ordering period. Although it is  stated that the ordering period is only 2 hours, you are most welcome stay longer to finish the food that you have ordered within that period to prevent any waste of food.

As usual, I and Gill normally arrives early for events like this to check out the place and also to try to adjust the settings of the camera for the occasion and atmosphere. While waiting for the rest of the bloggers to arrive I managed to get off some shots of the interior and decorative ornaments.

In addition to the decor shots, I was also lucky enough capture the Executive Chef preparing the first dish that was planned for us to get our palates warmed up.

At about 5:30pm and after everyone has settled down at their respective tables, the cold cut starters began to roll out from the kitchen. First to be served to our table was the Hotzzz Abalone, a platter of sliced abalone dressed with their special spicy sauce, unagi sweet sauce and garlic oil and bits. The abalone pieces were firm and crunchy, if taken only with garlic oil and the crispy fried bits of garlic it would produce a fragrantly lite and sweet taste experience. Abalone and scallops are very delicate ingredients which do not have a heavy flavour and must be paired with seasonings or cooking techniques to bring out its unique mild sweetness, and that was what the garlic bits and oil did for the first piece of abalone that went into my mouth.  The addition of the spicy sauce/paste actually overwhelmed that unique sweet tasting flavour that the abalone has. Thus, our recommendation is to leave the spice out of the dish, but if you are the kind that likes some heat in a dish you may want to pair it with some shredded reddish to give the dish a refreshing taste and balance out some of the heat produce by the spicy sauce/paste.

Accompanying the abalone dish was the Unagi Tofu which is also found in the cold cut section of the menu similar to Hotzzz Abalone. The Unagi or eel in Japanese Restaurants are normally served with sweet sauce, at Haven Delight there is no exception. The only difference here is that the unagi sweet sauce was not too sweet like those found elsewhere. As the name says Unagi Tofu, the dish is really just a cut of unagi resting on top of a small block of cold tofu dressed over with sweet sauce and garnished with sprinkles of spring onion, sesame seed, bonito flakes and crispy bits of garlic. At the first bite into the unagi, the texture was plum and firm and the taste was not excessively creamy. Then when I combine the unagi to the tofu, it gave another type pleasure to the senses in my mouth. The cold tofu with its sweet soy scent and cold creamy taste match well with the unagi cutlet, giving it a refreshing experience rather than a dull end. But one thing to point out was that the unagi’s skin was a bit chewy, otherwise it would be a fantastic starter.

After the two cold cut samples that we had, the steward crew started to roll out the main cause sample for our review. In all we sampled 7 main dishes during the event, which was started with their Chicken Ban Ban. The Chicken Ban Ban is a construction of deep fried boneless chicken cutlets in batter stacked on top of a bed of greens and deep fried egg omelette, and painted with a combination of their chef’s mayonnaise, wasabi mayonnaise and sweet sauce. The chicken cutlet was tender and moist, but slightly oily on its own. By combining the chicken cutlet with the other ingredients found on the plate and plastering it with the mayo to add richness, wasabi mayo to add some spice and the sweet sauce to achieve some sugary taste, was actually a different experience to savour. If everything was done as it was done previously as commented by Criz would have been a better experience because the egg should have been on top of the pile rather than at the bottom which had cause it to loose the crispiness and introduced the oil drippings from the chicken to it. I second that as the texture of the egg was rough due to the loss of that crunch and it tend to brush on the throat when swallowed. Some times old is really gold!

After the savour Chicken Ban Ban, next to come was the Red Dragon Prawns with Jammy Sauce. This is really a colourful dish with lightly battered deep fried prawns stir fried with capsicum, onions, and dragon fruit and glaze with a tangy, sweet and spicy(not hot) sauce.  As the name has it, jammy sauce, the predominant taste of this dish is sweet but not overwhelmingly sweet until the tooth falls off. Other than sweet, the sauce was fruity and tangy with a hint of turmeric. The jammy sauce went very well with the firm and tender prawns. On the presentation wise, the outlook of the plating we skilfully planned but the yellow was too strong, may be if they were to add in the dragon fruit much later in the stir frying process, it might still retain some white to achieve some balance in colour.  But then again, the dragon fruit might not have soaked up enough flavour of the jammy sauce! Dragon fruit on its own has no predominant taste but has lots of texture and a pretty looks. Therefore it needs other ingredients to give some flavour or good to pair with different taste as it would not overwhelm it.

Next to come was the Motoyaki Scallop which for tonight came in a big round Japanese platter and bedded individually with shredded reddish and green coral leafs. On normal days, the scallop comes on a plate of 5. The scallop we found under all that sauce and cheese was surprising fresh and plum. The fresh scallop with shell intact was topped with a spicy cream and cheese mixture with bits of fresh grind black pepper and whole grain black sesame seeds were baked to perfection. The cheese chunks tasted savoury and smokey, the sauce was spicy hot from the Tabasco sauce and chilli flakes and rich, and the black sesame seeds where infused with heat and a little bit of sourness from the black pepper. It was a great sauce to start with, but like the abalone scallops have a very delicate sweet taste and the heavy tasting sauce had overwhelmed the fresh scallop that was used in this dish.

Most traditional Korean families would have their own kimchi making recipes that pass on from generation to generation. At Haven Delight, the kimchi used in their Korean Beef Kimchi are also home-made or can I say kitchen -made. The kimchi is the concoction of the executive chef and used in the stir frying of the tender slices of beef. Presentation wise not much can said just average, but looks can be deceiving. Although the Beef Kimchi looks red hot, in fact the heat was mild with some sourness. The beef slices were tender, juicy and still permeating with scent of beef. The Korean Beef Kimchi can be either taken hot or cold, but when taken cold the heat is much more intense and less sour. A bowl of white rice is a good marriage for this dish and the two (2) dishes to come, Homemade Spicy Chicken and Shanghainese Honey Spare Ribs.

The Lamb Teriyaki looks standard with parts achieving caramelising with a sweet taste to the end with help of the teriyaki sauce used to base it. But certain part of the lamb chop did not have enough flavour marinated into them. It could also be due to the cut used which is from the leg of lamb that has less fat. The fats actually help to induce more fragrant and flavour in to the meaty areas, just like fats on a beef sirloin steak.  During the sampling I overhead that some bloggers encountered some resistance with the lamb like it didn’t want to just go down without a fight.

As mentioned above, the Homemade Spicy Chicken is a dish that definitely needs a bowl of white rice to be happily married.  The deep fried chicken cutlets are more heavily battered and crisp as compared to the Chicken Ban Ban cutlets that we had earlier. The tender chicken cutlets are then coated with a sweet-sour spicy sauce that combines savouries from fermented black beans, spice from lemon grass, heat from red chilli, and fragrant from spring onion, curry leafs, onion and garlic. This is one of the dishes that we will definite like to have seconds!

Another white rice favourite is the Shanghainese Honey Spare Ribs. We were expecting tender meat-fall-off-the-bone spare ribs, but what got was a tough, over salty and heavily sweet sticks of ribs. Thus without white rice or plain chinese steam buns it would be a hard hit to our taste buds. Presentation wise more should be done to make the ribs more appetising, in fact I had to rearrange the ribs so that it would provide a better shot.

After all the planned main courses that were served for the night  the kitchen started to send out some of the lighter dishes for us to sample, and they started with their Japanese Yaki Udon. The Yaki Udon is a common noodle dish that is found in almost every Japanese restaurant that serves cooked dishes, the only thing exceptional here is that the garnishing takes centre stage with bonito flakes. When immediately served, you could the bonito flakes come to ‘live’ due to the introduction of heat. We actually had a prelude of the Yaki Udon some weeks back and it was acceptable on the average side.  As for today’s serving, we found that it was too moist and there was some hint burnt taste and smell. When we checked, the Yaki Udon today was prepared by another person who doesn’t usually work with Japanese cuisines, thus the unacceptable mistake occurred.

This was the Yaki Udon we had weeks ago.

Another light dish that we sample was the chef’s special, Tempura Cheese Maki. Again we had in fact sample this dish before weeks ago and at that time we made some suggestions that were implemented into this dish today. We found that there were improvements to the outer batter which is more fragrant and crisp,  and also the fillings were altered to achieve a better texture. It used to be a combination of salmon and unagi which we found to be too rich in flavour and too soft in texture. At that time I and Gill requested that some crunch to be added and substitute either the salmon or unagi to balance out the taste. As for the cheesy mayo sauce, it was quite delightful for our palate as it combine the savoury and crisp deep fried maki with a sauce which is smooth and creamy. That is what I call chef at work!

At the end of the sampling, we were pampered with their homemade ice-creams, Macha Ice-Cream and Kuru Goma Ice-Cream. The Macha Ice-cream is actually a scoop of cold green tea flavoured ice-cream served with a dollop of red bean paste accompanied by two (2) balls of mochi or glutinous rice flour balls. There is nothing to complain about the not sugary sweet ice-cream, it had the unique flavour of green tea and the bitter-sweet taste of green tea. The ice-cream actually relies on the red bean paste to balance the bitter-sweet taste of green tea with its sugary sweetness. But the texture of the red bean paste was a bit of a put-off because the beans were not smooth enough to compliment the texture of the ice-cream. I guess they must look into substituting the red beans with another species, like kidney beans for say. And the mochi were slight tough in the insides. As explain by Criz, when hot meets cold things will get hard. That for me is called ‘tempering’, but it should not have happened.

As for the Kuru Goma Ice-cream that we had, I found it to excellent not because it is sweet but for the fragrant and flavour that it delivered. The Kuru Goma Ice-Cream is actually black sesame seed ice-cream topped with generous sprinkles of crush peanuts. The presentation of this ice-cream that cost RM 8 had many thinking whether is was worth that price as it was not well decorated to enhance our sense of sight to capture our attention, But a mouthful of the ice-cream it self was enough to convince me to put all those thought at bay. The ice-cream was packed with the aroma and flavour of sesame coupled with the crush peanut topping that provided the nutty savoury taste made me think of our local ‘Mua Chi’ and the urge to ask for more. The sugary sweetness in the ice-cream was not overwhelming but balanced with the taste of sesame and peanut.

Other than the planned list of dishes to sample on that night, we were also given the opportunity to be the ‘preview’ 2 new dishes that they are testing out in the kitchen. The first one was their Hong Kong Style Wanton Noodle Soup. It took me & Gill sometime before we got sample the noodles, wanton and soup. Although some minutes have passed, the wanton noodles were still surprisingly firm and crunchy, I guess it has to do with the flour used and the ratio.  The soup was sweet with taste of prawns and pork, but the soup was not totally clear as you would expect.  in all the noodles and soup were better tasting the wanton noodle we had at Canton-i in Queens Bay Mall. But, there are still buts! We were disappointed with the wanton dumplings, the texture was mushy as the prawns were no longer fresh and firm, and they used squid paste rather than mince pork to adhere the prawns together in the dumpling. These caused the dumpling to produce a powdery texture and reduce the sweet taste of the dumpling that it supposed to give. Then there was the used of fried shallots to garnish the plate of noodle, which spoilt the original sweet taste of the soup. And the accompanying chilli was not well prepared, it did not have that prawny aroma and the chilli was not fragrant. The best Hong Kong style chilli for Wanton Noodles I ever had was still the one produced by the long gone Super Tanker Restaurant in KOMTAR. The fragrant and taste of the dried shrimps and dried chilli were all infused together and also into the oil.

For the second preview, we had the opportunity to taste their Chicken Bom. The Chicken Bom is actually a fillet of chicken encasing chopped salmon and a bunch of herbs and spices. Many thought the casing was made of flour, but it turned out to be a chicken fillet drench with a type of sweet sauce. The presentation looks very interesting for the night, with a small blue flame burning at the side. When cut, the fillings emitted a very unique herb like aroma which many could not put a finger on. And many did not like that strong herb taste and some even find that it didn’t even ‘jive’ with the dish. I guess my experience with Western herbs gave me an advantage over the rest, my first guess was either Thyme or Oregano. And it turn out to be Thyme. Thyme is normally used on fish dishes and sometimes chicken when combine with other herbs. But the amount used that night was definitely on the heavy side. Anyways, it was something unique that you don’t get to try everyday. The chicken was tender, the salmon was slightly dry with unique herb taste.

And on average I would grade Haven Delight:

* 3.8/5 for value (used of good quality and fresh ingredients in their cooking, and overheads were also taken into consideration)

* 3.5/5 for taste & texture (inconsistent in the taste and flavour dishes that were sent out from the kitchen)

* 4.5/5 for service (friendly and prompt not only at this event)

* 4.5/5 for cleanliness (basically the place is still new for it just open its doors in March)

* 4.0/5 for atmosphere (slightly noisy due to the in-house music)

Apart from the photographs taken on food and the physical look of the restaurant, I also managed to capture some happenings before and during the event.

Passionate, Edwin Teo fully concentrating on making the event as tasteful as possible.

Ever ready Jing Jing who was charge with serving us that joyful night.

The silent Hooi Sian promptly assists in removing empty plates for a new dish to be served.

Food Paradise is seen here hard at work writing her reviews.

Steven anxiously waits for everyone to start with the scallop.

Allie enjoying her scoop of Kuru Goma Ice-cream.

The feedback or review form prepared by Criz for this event.

Other Food Bloggers who attended the event:

Allen Ooi

Allie

BBO

Buzzing Bee

Cariso Food

C.K.Lam

Criz Lai

Food POI

Lingzie

Mary

Nick Chan

Penang Tua Pui

Steven Goh

The Nomad Goumand

Popularity: 15% [?]

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24th June 2011, just got to know that they have closed down 2 months ago. And the Chef is now at Mizi Tesco Tanjong Pinang.

Last Sunday afternoon we attended an invited review at Louis Cafe at Argyll Road Penang. It was an arrangement Lingzie and Madam Teoh(the proprietor) came up with. It was not much of a review, but more of a taste and comment type of event. Thus, my posting will just do that without being bias. Actually, the chef and the proprietor were very interactive and very receptive to the comments and ideas that we gave in terms of the taste and flavour of the food and also the marketing ideas to improve their customer turnover.

Some of the other bloggers that have attended the review have or will be displaying photos of indoor set up and decor, thus I would just leave that out or it will add additional length to this long post. I will focus more on the food and on the people and action of the review cum get-to-gather. This is the 3rd  official invited review that we Penang bloggers attended as a group after we all first met and decided to organize this kind of activity and events for the benefit of all, bloggers and business establishments. And we hope that there will be more to come.

This event was made possible by Lingzie and the generosity and openness of Madam Teoh the proprietor of this cafe. We had alot of fun mingling around amongst the bloggers and also with Mdm. Teoh, her daughter and their chef. The event was suppose to start at 12noon, but me and Gill were there like 1 hour earlier as our Sunday service concludes at around 10am. We weren’t the only ones early, Marry of FoodParadise also came early. Therefore, Gill and Marry had some time to chit chat with Mdm. Teoh, I got some quite time to capture some shots of the place.

At Louis Cafe they have 3 menus to choose from, the alar carte menu for the adventuress, the set menu for those who can’t decide and looking for a fast meal, and the snack & Asian menu for that in between meal time sins. We were told that they have 5 set  menus to choose from weekly, and their set menus are rotated daily so that the customers will not be bored from choosing the same old thing daily. The dishes served at Louis cafe are majorly of Italian and Western influence, but there are some Asian dishes and some fusion dishes (not fusion menu) offered too. Their chefs were source from a well known Singapore hotel and our local Park Royal hotel.

Part of the alar carte menu.

Snack & Asian Menu.

Different sets of set menus.

The first few dishes to come were the salads and appetizer. For the  salads, we were served their Caesar salad for RM18 per serving and House Rules Organic Garden Greens  is RM15. Caesar salads normally consist mainly of romaine lettuce, croûtons, eggs and Caesar dressing (anchovy fillets, mayo, garlic, cheese, milk or cream, lemon juice, worcestershire sauce and seasoning), but the bowl served by Louis Cafe has some slightly twig to it. They have actually substituted romaine lettuce with ‘yau mak’, which I think is in the same family as romaine, and added smoked salmon strips. As informed by the chef, the reason they chose ‘yau mak’ is because that romaine has a bitter taste it and yau mak don’t, and also because the source of greens could not provide the right texture romaines. Although great study was done for this salad, the substitution has created another problem. The Caesar salad slightly lost its balance in flavour, it was a bit salty and dull. The texture of the salad was also affected by the yau mak as it tends to shrivel faster and produce a lot of liquid which made the salad soggy and watery if the salad is not eaten immediately when served.  So, the advice is to eat fresh!

House Rules Organic Garden Greens have lots of different vegetables for a balance intake. The vegetables were crunchy and refreshing, and the dressing hass added lemongrass juice in the dressing. With this light  dressing we are able to taste and feel the vegetables in the mix. But the dressing may need some improvements as it was a bit over acidic for us.

The appetizer that was served on us to try was their Scallops with Apple Salsa. It is an easy dish to prepare, but a slightest mistake will definitely overwhelm the sweetness and fluffy texture of the scallops. Although the dressing for the scallops were apple salsa, it was anything but apple. It was refreshing, sweet, tangy and smokey(there was hint of BBQ or buffalo wing sauce flavour).  The scallops are a must have ot try dish to start ones palates in motion for the different flavours to come.

After the starters, we had luscious servings of soup that are available at Louis Cafe. There were 5 different varieties that went under our taste buds for scrutiny. Please note that cream of broccoli, cream of cauliflower and cream of tomato are not found in the alar carte & set menus. But can be made available as a special order for RM9, that is if the ingredients are available. Cream of tomato – RM9

The Cream of cauliflower is sold at RM9 per bowl. It had a lite taste to it, and I quite enjoyed it with the hints of cauliflower flavour at every spoonful.

Cream of broccoli is also sold at RM9 per bowl. The soup is clean(some people like it clean and smooth), but I would prefer to have some texture in it. Perhaps some scrapings of the the broccoli buds/flowers would not only be great for added texture, but also as a garnish and as symbol of the broccoli soup. I would not recommend this soup to those who fancy heavy tasting soups as it is more for those laid back and adventures you.

The Wild Mushroom Soup is priced at  RM10 per serving. It had a full body from all the blended mushrooms in it, but preferably some sliced or coarsely chopped buttons or brown mushroom would add some height to it. The taste was quite casual, but the use of shitake to add flavour may have back-fired as shitake mushrooms have that distinct flavour and aroma, which not every Joe likes and enjoy. I myself would not mind experiencing the different taste and flavours from all the various types of mushroom that they have to offer in their mushroom soup. One way to reduce or take away that distinct flavour and aroma from shitake would be by soaking in warm water and then squeezed out the water and litely grill it.

Pumpkin Soup also goes for RM9 per serving. The pumpkin was blended in to give it the fullness and texture that it needs for a pumpkin soup. It sweet to taste. The use of almond slices as a garnish, looks elegant.

Last but not least, is their Cream of Tomato which also sells for RM9 per bowl. This the heavier tasting soups that we tasted on that beautiful Sunday afternoon. It had that sour punch that local Malaysians like, but I would prefer it to be slightly milder and less acidic so that it would be more refreshing to the palate. Cutting down on the bay leaves would also help in calming the soup.

After all the tantalizing dishes, the event went into full swing with the serving of the main courses. The first to served to the firing squad was the Vegetarian Cutlet. It would cost you RM15.90 to order this dish. It is not found in either menus, but can be specially ordered for your non meat eating partner(s). The cutlet is actually potato and mixture vegetables formed into a shape of a leaf and deep fried till golden brown. To savour this dish, you should not forget the accompanying sauces as they give them the additional taste and flavour.

Normally it is chicken gordon blue, but what we have here is their Fish Gordon Bleu. This one would cost you RM25 per order, but looking at the luscious stuffing’s it should be worth the money spent. I can’t comment on the taste and texture as it was hijacked from the plate before I got to it with my fork. Damn!

Grilled Lamb Chop with brown mushroom sauce  at RM22 should be an average restaurant price. The tender lamb chops drenched in flavourful mushroom sauce and slices is very tempting to any lamb lover. I would definitely go back for their lamb chops to really savour the flavour it has to offer. Their lamb chop is better than what I had at The Sire. And it would be good idea to serve them baby potatoes or mash.

Next to go under our microscope is their Beef tenderloin with peppercorn sauce. This serving would cost you RM38. The sauce was slightly over peppery as commented by Criz, but if you were to fork a bit mash, vegetables, meat and sauce it would be just nice for the tongue. That is how me and Gill like to enjoy our meats with heavy tasting sauces. Though it taste nice, the texture of the meat was a bit rough.

The Sirloin Steak with red wine sauce at RM28, might slightly be on the expensive side due to the meat portion size. But the taste of the sauce and flavour of the meat can off set that pinching feeling in my already shallow pocket. How I hope to have seconds to savour that rich sauce.

For the more fish dishes, there are the Pan Seared Salmon steak at RM30 and Red Snapper with cream of tomato pulp at RM25. The salmon block with skin still intact had that distinct salmon flavour and Dijon mustard sauce was a good match. The fried ginger garnish also help in providing extra flavour to the dish.

The Red Snapper with cream of tomato pulp was my favourit amongst te fish dishes that I had opportunity to taste. The tangy and creamy sauce complimented the sweet and moist pan grilled snapper fillet. A must try dish!

The Baked stuffed chicken was not in the list if I am not wrong. But it was a surprise that I would not decline or push away. It would be a grave mistake to do so.  The piece of chicken thigh was perfectly caramelised on the surface and moist and juicy in the inside. The sausage that was stuffed inside the thigh was smokey and chunky. Definitely I would want to have this in the daily menu.

For the pasta section of the menu, we were given  their Spaghetti Arrabiata and Fettucine Carbonara to scrutinised. Both pastas are priced at RM16, which to me is quite reasonable as the kitchen was quite generous in the ingredients usage.  I didn’t quite fancy the Spaghetti Arrabiata that day, may be it had something to do with me. Anyway, the spaghetti was slightly over cooked. And for the Fettucine Carbonara is was acceptable to my taste buds. But I hope that the kitchen would cut down on the bacon and ham, as it is too smokey for my liking.

Another ad hoc dish and the last that was introduce to us, was their Chicken Tortilla. This dish is also not found in the either menus, but I am able to let you know that it costs RM15.90. The tortilla was something that the chef did specially for us to taste and comment on. The Chicken Tortilla tastes better the chicken tortilla at KFCs. Their tortilla had that fragrant taste of cheese, grilled chicken and the spices.  A great snack to have for that in between meal munching. Another must try dish!

We had a great time at Louis Cafe that Sunday afternoon, and it was all thanks to our ‘che meh’(chairman), Lingzie, Louis Cafes proprietor and staffs. We were all busy taking photographs, savouring tasty dishes and chit chatting the afternoon through. We only called it day after we saw the clock was already 3pm.

Even their staff also want to be in the action.

Group photo of the attending bloggers. (Courtesy from PTP’s Huat Koay) Starting from second left CK Lam from What2seeonline.com,Bee from Buzzing with Food, Lingzie from Lingzie’s Tummy Treats, Mr. Lee of Kwong Wah Yit Poh, Criz Lai from Criz Bon Appetite, Steven Goh from Steven Goh’s Great Food, Budget Travel and Unique Lifestyle, Allen Ooi from Yummy Station, Rebecca from The Nomad Gourmand, Carrie from Cariso Delicacies Corner, Marry from FoodParadise , Huat Koay fromPenangTuaPui(not in the photo).

Bloggers and the crew of Louis Cafe together.(Courtesy from PTP’s Huat Koay)

The proprietor, Madam Teoh, their Chef and their kitchen staff.

We bloggers and Mdm Teoh and her daughter Sue and their staff.

On average, I would give this place:

* 4/5 for value
* 4.1/5 for taste & texture
* 4.4/5 for service
* 4.5 for cleanliness
* 4.3/5 for atmosphere( There are separate floors for smokers and non-smokers, free wi-fi facility and cosy environment for business discussions.)

Address:

161-C, Argyll Road, 100500 Georgetown, Penang. (Just opposite Mingood Hotel)

Tel:

04 2287729

GPS Coordinate:

N 05*25′ 315”  E 100*19’820”

A follow-up visit to Louis Cafe would be in the pipe line in the future to confirm our review is true and actual, and also to see that any changes have taken place.  Plus to see their wine bar set-up.

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Popularity: 13% [?]

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Their noodles usually freshly made everday, and you can find their noodle is more springier compare to others.  It’s one of their in house specialty

For drinks we had Honey Lemon with Aloe Vera & Chrysanthemum Tea. The Aloevera was freshly peel from their restaurant’s garden. Its truly gaints my heart – fresh from the garden.

The Chrysanthemum Tea infused with Chamomile, no wonder it tasted different fromt the ordinary Chrysanthemum Tea.

After we had all the above items, and we reliase and understand, they really cooked from the heart and should praise the passion that they have.

Other than wanting to serve home cook meals and food to its patrons, they have also decorated their premises plants and made it as homey as possible.

Address: 44A, Jalan Cantonment, 10350

Penang, Malaysia.
Opening Hours: 12.00noon-10.00pm (Closed Monday)
Contact: 604-228 8084, 016-410 8098 (Ms. Ann Kee)

On average, I would give this place:

• 3.8/5 for value
  
• 3.8/5 for taste & texture
  
• 4.5/5 for service
  
• 4.5/5 for cleanliness
  
• 4/5 for atmosphere

Other bloggers that were also invited by CK were:

1. Penang Tua Pui
2. Heanenly Allie
3. Food Paradise
4. Steven Goh
5. Cariso Delicacies
6. Criz
7. Allen Ooi
8. Buzzing Bee

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Popularity: 7% [?]

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First to come from the kitchen were the Summer Rolls or hand rolls Vietnamese style. In this category there are 8 varieties to choose from. There is the Traditional Northern Rolls (Prawn or Chicken Slices), Farmer’s Egg Rolls, Mini Prawn Paste on Sugar Cane (with some DIY wrapping action with rice paper), Crispy Gourmet Seafood Rolls, Crisp Fried Hanoi Rolls, Fresh Vegetable Rolls, Southern Fish Rolls and Classic Rice Flour Rolls.



   

Tham Chiak from PTP is seen here trying his hand in the Mini Prawn Paste on Sugar Cane DIY rice paper roll. I hope he had washed his hands! If not, I sympathised with person sharing that piece with him.

Wok Fried Flower Beef

Wok Fried Flower Chicken

Spiced Grilled Eel Cake / Villagers Grilled Snail Cake

Street Style Salty Soft Shell Crabs

Royal Seafood Skewer

I especially like the Wok Fried Flower Chicken/Beef and the Grilled Chicken T-Shaped. The Wok Fried Flower Chicken/Beef was stir fried with a herb which is commonly found in Vietnam. Thailand also produces this herb, Pergularia, which it is brought in from. It has nutty taste to it, and almost taste similar to Asparagus tip when it was fried with beef. When the Pergularia was cooked with chicken, this dish produce a light and sweet taste with the chicken taste still in tact. As for the Grilled Chicken T-Shaped, it taste unique with the use herbs spices, which the chef is not willing to part with, and the texture was a bit powdery because of the ground spices used.

The Street Style Salty Soft Shell Crabs was crispy to the bite and was filled with the taste of Dill. Something different from the usual method of cooking soft shell crabs. As for the Royal Seafood Skewer, the Salmon was slightly over cooked. The Salmon had already loss its unique rich oils and moisture and that is why it was dry and too firm. But if taken with the accompanying grilled fresh mushrooms and capsicum would have enhanced the texture and taste of the Salmon chunks.

Next on the new menu was the Salads category. The choices are Sour Green Mango Salad, Miss Saigon Salad, Cold Glass Noodle Salad, Crunchy Papaya Salad and Jelly Fish Salad. The salads did go down well with me and Gill, except for one which was the Miss Saigon Salad. The pineapple and prawns did not really compliment each other in taste and texture. All the salads had the natural sweetness from all the vege, fruit, fungus and seafood ingredients. They were also sour but not too sour, thus they quite an appetiser and ‘hoi wai‘ (start the gastronomic activity) in Cantonese. The roasted peanut toppings were also fragrant and crunchy. With all the various texture of smooth, crunchy and firm dressed with the sweet and sour taste, the salads are a must have any patronage.

After the salad section, next in line was the noodle section. In this section, one could choose from the choices of Crunchy Eel Glass Noodle Soup, Villagers Snail Noodle Soup, Traditional Southern Beef/Chicken BUN and Traditional Vietnamese Chicken/Beef PHO.

The Village Snail Noodle Soup was….. Actually I did not really try this one, I only had the snails. The snails are earthy, sweet and a bit chewy. A good compliment to a bowl of fluffy noodles.

The Traditional Bun is something like our ‘Kon Lou’ noodles, but without the dark soy and fragrant oils. It is sour with a hint of sweetness on its gravy/sauce. This noodle is quite a appetiser because the sweet and sour really opens up the stomach for more to come. The sourness is light and tangy, unlike the sourness from our local Laksaa. The condiments of mint leaves, bean sprouts and spring onions, compliments the silky smooth noodles with is rough texture and crunch, they also provide some of the sweetness that this Bun has to offer.

The last category on the new menu was the Sandwich section. There are only two to choose from, Vietnamese Street Baguette and Frog Curry with Garlic Spice Baguette. In between the two, I fancy the Street Baguette more because of the taste from the chicken pete(it is actually chicken liver pete) combined with the cold cut meat and the juicy tomato and fresh salad greens. The texture of the baguette was also something to look forward for, in fact the bread wasn’t the usual hard baguettes, it was replace with the softer French Loaf. The substitution was because of the hardness of the baguettes that will affect the enjoyment of the soft and smooth fillings.

As for the Frog Curry with Garlic Spice Baguettes, I was too busy mingling around and the baguettes were all gone. But from the looks of it, it should be Garlic Bread to the extreme. The Frog Curry, that I did taste a bit. It was creamy but not too rich and sweet with a bit of heat, unlike the curries here which are spicy and rich(lemak). May be the curry would taste better with the baguettes.

Overall the dishes that were presented to us was quite interesting in the sense of the composition of the aroma of the herbs and spices used in the dishes, taste of their unique seasoning, texture of the ingredients and the use of various vegetables to compliment almost every dish. Definitely I would try to make an effort to go try the Vietnamese Cuisien at Miss Saigon again. May be the whole range of the new menu again because me and Gill did not really experience what could be offered by the dishes, but not at one seating because the prices of certain items are a bit on the high side.

From this outing with this group of PFB, we can see that we are all doing it because of the passion we have on food. It was a great time to mingle arround and get to know one and another. But as a formal review of a business or restaurant, it was not quite a successfull one becasue we(me & Gill) did not really sat down and let dishes arouse our senses. After everything was over, I felt a bit guilty because Miss Saigon has taken the effort and time the organise this session, but no justice was done for them. Then PTP’s Huat Kuih and I got thinking, it would be better to have a proper procedure and pre-arrange with the restaurant so that we can make the best the opportunity and give a quality review rather than something which cannot justify the effort and cost on the restaurants part. To really savour and enjoy food, we must be comfortable and relax so that we can really experience what the dish can offer! Anyway, I would like to give thanks to Leslie from Miss Saigon and PTP for making this event happen.

On a more serious side, I can see that Miss Saigon still have long way to go to promote their Vietnamese cuisine and restaurant. As a marketer, my suggestions to them are, provide more education on the specialty and benefits of Vietnamese cuisine, tell people the history and culture that shaped and influence Vietnamese cuisien to what it is now, put more effort in the promotions. Entice people to try their food with special discounts, like happy hour or tea time treats to attract the crowd who are always there at their neighbouring Old Town or Starbucks, special Purchase-with-Purchase Deals, Bring-in-More patron discounts and etc. The food is healthy and wholesome niche market it to the healthy consciouss.

On average, I would give this place:

• 3.3/5 for value
• 3.7/5 for taste & texture
• 4/5 for service
• 4/5 for cleanliness
• 3.5/5 for atmosphere

Popularity: 4% [?]

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