LONDON DUCK
The story goes that London Duck is run by 4 Choo siblings who have worked in London’s top 3 duck restaurants over a period of eight years, including the famous Four Seasons. When they returned to Malaysia in 2010, they decided to pool their culinary expertise and resources together to open the Village Roast Duck at Bangsar. Soon after, they added another two branches at Mid-Valley and the Pavilion. Their latest venture, London Duck was opened at Gurney Plaza in November last year.
As the namesake of the restaurant goes, we decided to order an entire Peking duck and a portion of the aromatic crispy duck. Do note that this is not an entirely “duck” restaurant. They do serve pork, chicken, seafood, rice, ramen, porridge, and noodle dishes too. Over a hundred in all! We found the duck a bit dry although it was quite tasty with the sweet sauce dips, thin pancake wraps, and the usual sliced cucumber and scallions.
GREAT DELIGHT KITCHEN
It is definitely a nice place for a get-together. Service is good and the tables are nicely spread out. We should try the special set lunches the next time. Au Revoir!
Some of us have tried some of the Great Delight Kitchen’s menu a couple of times. We were particularly impressed with both the dried and wet version of its sar hor fun. But you have to book ahead to be sure of getting this dish as Mr. Liang is known to only keep a fresh supply of hor fun. He is also known for his “private kitchen” menu.
Thanks to Arthur and Vincent, we sought to give his “private kitchen” a try. We pre-ordered the two hor fun dishes, his signature “huai yang” braised pork meatball with broccoli (or the “Lion’s Head”), deep-fried bitter gourd, and the red snapper in a light sauce.
The fried prawn with creamy milky sauce and the Cantonese stir-fried egg with crab meat completed our main dishes. For dessert, we savoured the crystallised yam sticks.
The fried prawn with creamy milky sauce and the Cantonese stir-fried egg with crab meat completed our main dishes. For dessert, we savoured the crystallised yam sticks.
So what’s the verdict? It is getting very difficult to find a good “wok hei” sar hor fun chef in Penang.
Great Delight Kitchen deserves four stars for this delightful dish. The fried prawn with milky sauce gets the double thumbs up while the deep-fried red snapper and bitter gourd were also well-received.
We had a nice private room all to ourselves. And it was truly enjoyable to have Raymond and wife, Paley and Willy and wife, Mun Ying with us. Despite the foul air and uncertainty in Malaysian politics as well as the unwelcomed Covis19, we had good food and good company. Que Sera Sera!
HOKKIEN MEE
Amidst a roller-coaster political imbroglio in our beloved country, we took solace by indulging ourselves in arguably Penang’s most famous dish, the hokkien prawn mee.
Hosts Vincent and wife, Cewie had started preparations early with “chea liao” (the real deal) – a generous stock of prawn shells and pork ribs (bak kut). We would occasionally get whiffs of the strong prawn aroma from the kitchen when the lid of the pot is taken off. They have also sourced ready-made crispy fried shallots from Indonesia and the must-have crispy pork lard (bak eu pok). The shallots and pork lard certainly enhanced the flavour and fragrance to the delicious bowls that we savoured.
A freshly made sambal (Indon-style) gave this dish the extra ommph. A mouth-watering dish indeed! A few strands of kangkung (Chinese convolvulus) would have completed a classic bowl!
Earlier, for appetisers, we had polished off two (or possibly three) plates of Vincent’s crispy siu bak, made to perfection.
For dessert, everyone brought something to add to the long list! We had all kinds of nyonya kuih and fresh mango slices. Willy and Mun Ying brought dark brown sugar malai koh and delicious osmanthus flower jelly (made by Mun Ying). Raymond and Paley brought a beautiful cheesecake. Allan and Arthur each brought a bottle of fine wine to make it a long, long lunch! Much to our chagrin, the coronavirus outbreak and the leaping frog Malaysian politicians (coincidentally in a leap year day!) dominated the table talk. Let us all pray for the best for our beloved country and the world!
CHEF HUANG
For our first get-together in the year 2020, we chose to revisit Sin Geh Lang at Jalan Krian. A Chinese-style restaurant located in a row of refurbished prewar houses. Simple interior décor with photos of their dishes on the wall – and that’s the menu!
We pointed at 7 of the photos and the young lady duly recorded our orders.
In a short while our dishes were on the table.
First to arrive was a steaming claypot of paddy chicken (frog legs) with a concortion of ginger, dried spring onion and dried chilli. The thick black-sauce gravy went very well with the piping-hot teo chew broth. We actually ordered an extra claypot of the broth!
The fried tsuar chooi hoo came crispy and fresh. We also tried the deep-fried chim cho (crab stuffings) with prawn crackers, their signature fried bitter gourd in egg, long beans, and pork leg in vinegar. Thumbs up for all the dishes.
In essence, Sin Geh Lang serves typical Penang home-cooked dishes: simple and delicious. Price-wise, the bill came to RM210.
A good start to 2020!
(Photos courtesy of Mr. Vincent Teh@KARR Photography)
14/7/2020 Jia Siang
Café @ Pulau Betong
Allan Cheah remembered and checked the
date of our previous visit to Jia Siang. It was on the auspicious 8-8-2018! This
nondescript café in Balik Pulau is surrounded by market stalls selling an
assortment of fresh seafood and an idyllic river lined with fishing boats. For
a reasonable fee, Jia Siang will cook delectable dishes from your selection at
these stalls. As fresh as they come.
Our opening appetizer was somewhat a
surprise (courtesy of Arthur) – and hare durians to start with! When in Balik
Pulau, do what the BPs do.
Our first dish, a big plate of steamed fresh prawns
in soya sauce and Chinese wine was a welcome sight.
The final dish was the kou rou (pork in yam). Wonderfully cooked.
For dessert, Siau Ping recommended
fresh nangka. We sampled a few and found it not quite ripe. Thanks to Raymond
and Paley, we had a delicious cempedak butter cake to make up for it. A real
gem. Don’t forget to order the fresh ambra or nutmeg juices with sour plum for
drinks.
2/7/.2020 Dinner at Hamisu @
Jalan Datuk Kramat
Hamisu is a pork-free seafood restaurant with the teasing tagline, “Deliciousness swimming into the mouth”. The restaurant is famous for serving its seafood platter that comes piping hot in a special stainless steel shovel and toss onto a spread of banana leaves. Our RM99 platter of mixed seafood came with squids, crabs, prawns, crayfish, and lala. Mantou (sweet buns), sweet corn, okras, and a fragrant gravy completed the platter. A presentable novelty, no doubt.
We also tried their signature sauna prawns – basically, giant prawns cooked “live” on steaming hot rocks. Fresh with their own brand of sauce and wine.
Our next dish was the two flavor kalian, nicely cooked. Our fried hor fun order was a winner! Very tasty indeed.
We also ordered the Xishi chicken which is actually chicken fried with Hamisu’s special sauce. The skin was crispy.
Our final dish was lobster in a creamy sauce. Reasonably priced at RM79 for two small ones!
Hamisu (What’s the problem?) has no problem when it comes to parking. The restaurant offers live prawning onsite, meaning you can catch your own prawns. The downside is it is not air conditioned. And they are only opened for dinners.
A Cuppa @
Frank Laurent
We
later adjourned to Udini Square for coffee at Frank Laurent. Frank Laurent
Coffee Roasters roasts coffee beans from all over the world – from the famous
highland Ethiopian and Colombian beans to Costa Rican and El Salvadoran
arabicas. Hojicha latte was something new to all of us. It is a Japanese green tea
that has a soothing, almost
therapeutic earthy, and smoky aroma. More importantly, we were at Frank Laurent
for a relaxing hour after our heavy meal at Hamisu. Nice and comfy ambiance
with ample parking.
25/6/2020 - Super Crab Best Seafood Restaurant @Changkat Sungkai Ara
25th June is the Chinese Dumplings Festival (Duan Wu Jie). It is traditionally celebrated on the 5th day of the 5th moon of the lunar calendar. We decided to celebrate the festival with a seafood lunch. Later, we were all going to have a fantastic bak chang dinner, courtesy of Cewie and Vincent. Thank you for the wonderful thought and the delicious bak changs.
Ah Keong, the partner and chef of Super Crab were on hand to take our orders. We went with his suggestions.
Of course, we had to go with the crabs – there were eight ways of cooking the crabs! We opted for the salted egg crabs and their specialty chili crabs. The sweet and sour chili crabs were well done and they came with a plate of freshly made golden buns. A second plate of the crispy buns had to be fried to wipe the Indonesian chili crabs’ sauce clean!
Next, were our orders for fish. The Jade Perch, a native to Australian rivers, was steamed in soya sauce. The fish texture was very smooth. Chef Keong mentioned that the “spine area” of the fish is full of collagen. Double thumbs up! The stir-fried golden tilapia was fresh from their own farm.
Our other order was the lala bee hoon, sprinkled with tiny, tiny clams. It went very well with the Four King’s vegetable dish. The Four Kings’ combination of okra (ladies’ fingers), petai (stinky beans), brinjal, and four-angled beans (kacang botol) were delightful in sambal.
And the stir-fried prawns in dark soya sauce were quite tasty.
Ah Keong surprised us with three complementary dishes! The first dish was a deep-fried fish skin which was a real treat. It was crispy and crunchy. The next dish was the hor fun. The presentation was not to our liking. We preferred the deep-fried version - golden brown and a lot of wok hei.
The last dish was the black sesame glutinous ball in almond soya milk dessert. We appreciated the nice gesture. An enjoyable outing.
Happy Dumplings Festival!
21/6/2020 - Fathers’ Day Brunch @ Papa Nyonya Restaurant
After a three-month hiatus from the MCO, the Eatingkakis decided to meet up for a Father’s Day brunch at Papa Nyonya Restaurant in Island Glades. The new RMCO (Recovery Movement Control Order) and the latest relaxation on seatings per table enabled our long-awaited get-together. Of course, we adhered to social distancing as Malaysia is not out of the woods as yet. But life goes on. Staying home for too long a time is not exactly “staying healthy”.
Papa Nyonya opened their doors just for a week before the MCO set in. This family-owned restaurant serves dishes with family recipes. Gary Poh, the boss says the curry fish (fish head) is their trademark dish. Previously, Gary and his wife (the chef) ran a stall at the New World Park Food Court.
Our group decided to go for the 7-dish Father’s Day menu: Curry fish, bangkuang char, sui luak too kar (sweet sour pork leg), lor bak, fried black pomfret, nyonya chicken curry and thick gravy prawns. True to Gary’s claim, the piping hot curry fish in a black pot was the stand-out dish. Just the right mix of spices and ingredients.
The lor bak and nyonya curry chicken were delicious. A refreshing nasi-lemak style sambal accompanied the bangkuang char.
Papa Nyonya serves home-made drinks and they could do even better with a home-made nyonya dessert. Pricing is reasonable. The dishes are good enough to win Raymond and Paley over – they are returning for a second round with some friends at 6 pm on the same day!
Why are we having brunch instead of lunch today? Today happens to be a special day because it is the Summer Solstice happening with the annular solar eclipse. According to the astrologer, Joey Yap, avoid being exposed to the extreme Yin phenomenon around 2.00 to 4.00 pm sunlight. It will deplete the Yang energy. Whether there’s truth or not in Joey’s caution, let’s not tempt the universe.
Happy Fathers’ Day!
3/3/2020 - Hong Xin No.1 Dim Sum Restaurant
Hong Xin No. 1 Dim Sum Restaurant is a relatively new dim sum restaurant in Penang. It is conveniently located at Precinct 10 where parking is quite easy. Well, Hong Xin is not your usual dim sum restaurant where there is a lot of movement of trolley carts or where customers go and select their dim sum from stations. Instead, you order from the menu and it comes to you “piping hot”. The original restaurant in Ipoh claims that its chef is from Shanxi.
As all dim sum lovers will attest to it, each and every dim sum restaurant will serve some excellent dishes, while the rest can be just ordinary.
Here, we found the char siew pau (BBQ pork buns), fried shrimp bean curd rolls, & deep fried yam puffs especially good.
We had the benefit of “washing down” the oily stuff with excellent Taiwanese tea, courtesy of Raymond. Although Hong Xin No. 1 may be a bit pricey, the air conditioning (Penang has very few air-conditioned dim sum restaurants), attentive service, and pleasant surrounding more than made up for it.
We later adjourned to Raymond’s beautiful condo to admire his collection of petrified wood carvings and paintings. And for dessert, fruits, and karaoke. We were glad that Fred and Doris, a friendly couple from Toronto could join our eating group today. We were also pleasantly surprised when we found out that Fred is a Qigong master who could activate our bodies’ meridians to facilitate the healing process. Practically, everyone had an ailment or two! Thanks, Fred for sharing your Qigong expertise and treating us. Also our thanks to Raymond and Paley for being such wonderful hosts!
13/3/2020 - Wu Jia @ Taman Pekaka
Wu Jia, literally meaning “My Home” started in a shop lot at Lebuh Pekaka 1 nearly 10 years ago. It has built a reputation for serving good home-cooked food at a reasonable price. Today, the restaurant has moved to a much bigger and more spacious place above the Maxim Dim Sum Restaurant. Big enough to host a wedding reception!
Our friends told us that the lamb dish is a specialty but it has to be pre-booked a day earlier. So we opted to try the curry fish (“siakap”) with fried bun, boneless chicken in mint sauce, braised brinjal in sauce, tofu with special toppings, fried hor fun, and fried crispy seafood noodles.
We unanimously agreed that the fragrant curry fish was the best dish. The siakap was fresh and it blended in nicely with the curry that oozes all kinds of spices. The sweet bun complemented the curry. This delicious bowl costs RM58. Very reasonable indeed. The boneless chicken in mint sauce and braised brinjal were a breath of fresh air. Different, yet tasty! However, the fried hor fun was a disappointment! A typical small dish at Wu Jia costs RM30, a medium dish RM40, and a large one RM50.
With so many other choices to explore, Wu Jia deserves a revisit!!
31/10/2020 - Fellowship @ Vincent's Place
Twice, this week, we have full house in our fellowship! This time around, it was a “command performance” of sorts. Raymond gets to name the cuisine that he craves, and Vincent and Cewie will deliver! At the comforts of their home and in the company of good friends and good wine! Voila! We were served with Ark Or (yam duck).
Sio Bak (roasted pork belly)
Gado-Gado
Petai Prawns
Egg Foo Yong
Pie Tee
Tau Yew Bak
Mutton Curry
Kiam Chai Th’ng
All the dishes were definitely up to the mark. In fact, three or four dishes deserved special mention for they were exquisite!
Vincent has perfected the art of
making sio bak, soft, tender and juicy meat with crispy and crunchy skin! And that
was only the appetizer. The yam duck came in thick gravy. The meat and yam were
tender and it was a bowl of crazy “deliciousness”. Cewie thoughtfully prepared
a bowl of extras for the yam lovers. The tau yew bak (braised pork belly in
dark soya sauce) and mutton curry were also in the same league. I would say a
labour of love went into the preparation of all these cuisines.
There were also nice desserts available, chief of which is the bee koh moi! Delicious sweet corns and fruits. Oh, the last minute hot potato buns too! And also take home tapioca kuih.
29/10/2020 - Wu Jia III @ Taman Pekaka
Raymond made good on his promise by getting two big ikan terubuks for the chef at Wu Jia! A really commendable effort as he had to get the orders from his good friend, Moh Huat. Moh Huat told us that ikan terubuks of those sizes are not always in season. And then Raymond had to send it to the Wu Jia chef two days earlier to allow time to defrost and prepare the “yim kok” (salted and baked) version.
According to Moh Huat, both fish were from the
Myanmar coast and weighed in at around
2.2 kilos each. One male and one female. Luck was with us as the female terubuk
came with a lot of roe (egg masses). For the patient diner, the terubuk is really
one fine fish but he has to be extra cautious with the fishy bones found all
over. And the chef did not disappoint!
As this is our third visit, we will not
dwell much on the other dishes that we ordered. Truth be told, we were looking
forward to the delightful black pepper lamb. However, it was a let-down as we
were served with the tougher version of lamb compared to our previous visit.
The good news is we have full attendance for the first time! All twelve of us.
Thank you Moh Huat for your insightful sharing on the fishery business in Myanmar and wife, Maggie for joining us. Once again, many thanks Raymond for sponsoring the terubuks. Cheers!
22/10/2020 - Irama Restaurant Revisit
We had decided to book Irama Restaurant as the manager confidently told us that he could accommodate all ten of us at one table. We were here just about a month ago and we had left with a good impression of the place. Good ambiance and good food.
Our
four lovely ladies present were tasked with ordering the dishes. Somehow, they
picked the same three dishes we ordered at our last visit: cucur jagung, ikan
bakaq and ayam kerutup.
The
other orders were: lamb shank kuzi, kerabu platters and pandan crepe (for
dessert). The lamb shank was the “October Special”. The dish presentation
deserved an A+, complete with crispy papadam, special sauce, and decorative
pandan leaves. An excellent choice, no doubt!
Ikan bakaq and ayam kerutup were splendid choices, in fact, the two dishes tasted better than the ones from our previous visit. The ikan bakaq (grilled siakap) came wrapped in banana leaves and its special sauce. The whole fish was reasonably priced at RM60. However, the cucur jagung was just so-so, not as crispy as it should be.
So
were the kerabu platters, a traditional malay salad that is made using
vegetables and herbs and often dressed with a fiery sambal. Our kerabu came in three small bowls. The
first was kerabu pucuk paku kerang which is sweet pucuk paku mixed with
aromatic bunga kantan and cockles. The second was kerabu kacang botol sotong
which is actually fresh squid marinated with turmeric. It is then mixed with kacang
botol (four angled bean) and aromatic bunga kantan. The third is the kerabu
manga which is sweet sour mango mixed with aromatic bunga kantan. All the three
dishes came with the chef’s speciality sauce with a touch of lime and fragrant
kerisik.
Our
pandan crepe was actually kuih ketayap tastefully decorated with ice cream,
strawberry, mint leaves, a dash of chocolate and keropok. The chef deserved a
pat on the back for their creative food presentation.
17/10/2020 - Wu Jia Revisit
Well, we are back to Wu Jia (My Home) as we were pleased with our earlier visit in March. Suffice to say, 'eating kakis' agreed that their cuisine is above average and their pricing quite reasonable.
This time around, we pre-booked the lamb
shoulder in black pepper. It
was the Numero Uno dish of the day – tender and well marinated. At RM35 for
this delicious dish, it was actually a steal!! Remember, you need to pre-book a
day earlier. 
The curry prawn with sweet bread was
also a winner. The prawn was well-cooked to a near burnt taste, quite
delightful actually. And it went very well with the bread!
There
was a promotion for Soon Hock (marble goby), the steamed fish in premium soya
sauce coming in at RM138 each! Certainly value for money.
We
also opted for the Peking duck that came with charcoal bun wraps and a special
sauce. The duck meat was later cooked in fine cubes with other veggies,
allowing for a lettuce wrap.
Our
choice of tofu with minced pork and salted fish was just okay. Ching long cai
(green dragon veg) was our pick for vegetables.
For dessert, we had aiyu jelly with
lychee. A pleasant afternoon for the eight of us as Wu Jia had a big table (for
social distancing). Will there be a third visit? Well, there’s a promotion for
ikan temoleh (golden carp) at RM150 per kg and Raymond is trying to bring an
ikan terubuk for the Wu Jia chef to cook – salt-baked style. Why not??
29/9/2020 - Irama @ Penang Chamber of Commerce
“We aim to bring to the table Malaysian cuisine that celebrates the multi-cultural heritage of our nation. Our dishes are a revival of hand-me-down recipes through generations. Malaysian cuisine is a confluence of so many different flavours, colours and cooking style.”
Such is the inviting paragraph from the colourful menu at Irama Restaurant in Penang Street. A quick look around and we are surrounded by a cosy ambience: quaint floor tiles, matching wooden ceiling and classical Malay music in the background. And you can’t take your eyes off the centrepiece mural of a beautiful and demure Malay lady. She is dressed in traditional kebaya with her hair tied up in a bun with intricate hairpins.
The menu is quite extensive with a riot of colours – nasi bunga telang and nasi ulam, all kinds of sauces, curries, veggies, pais (dishes cooked in sambal wrapped in banana leaves), grilled dishes, kerabu platters, classical desserts and more.
We settled for ikan bakaq sambal (pais barramundi), cucur jagung, ayam kerutup, pucuk ubi masak lemak udang and ulam-ulaman.
The stand-out dish has to be the udang masak lemak with fresh succulent prawns braised in turmeric and coconut gravy with pucuk ubi. So addictive and flavourful!
Our second order, the ayam kerutup is slow cooked chicken with coconut infused with flavours of herbs and mouthwatering kerisik (coconut butter). It was delicious.
Our cucur jagung was actually a wok-fried batter-mix of corn, dried shrimp, bean sprout, prawns and chives. It came with a nice dipping “rojak” sauce.
The ikan bakaq and ulam-ulaman (a selection of raw and fresh local leaves and vegetables) both came with different dipping sauces.
We could not possibly leave Irama without sampling two of their desserts. Churros were a rather refreshing choice – crispy yet soft in the middle. It is actually fried dough with a choice of a chocolate dip or a coconut pandan dip. Our other pick was pandan crepe which is actually kuih ketayap served with ice cream, mint leaves and strawberry.
Hats off to the Irama chefs for such delectable
presentations. There are so much more dishes on the menu that will tantalize our
taste buds. It is definitely worth a
return visit.
Make sure you make reservations before you go. They also have al
fresco dining on the rooftop for dinners.
Home-cook by Cewie
Steam White Pomfret in Black Bean Paste, Steam White Pomfret in Soy Sauce, Chicken Soup, Stir-fried Choy Sum and Dessert Lo Por Paeng.
29/7/2020 - Brunch @ Good Taste Food Garden @ Sungai Rambai, Bukit Mertajam
Once in a while, the “insular”
Penangites should venture out of their precious island to sample the mainland
cuisine. Bukit Mertajam or Tua sua kah (at the foot of the hill), if we bother
to ask around, is a food haven for reasonably cheap and good seafood!
Raymond had recommended Good Taste
Food Garden while we were eating at Gertak Sanggul. So, here we are at Good
Taste two days later. Our second get-together for the week!
We
ordered the laksa curry fish with piak kia (sharp-nosed stingray). A bit too
saltish for our liking. A novelty, nevertheless.
The
steaming broth with floral crab and giant prawns was a winner. Fragrant and
tasty.
Raymond’s
choice of fried kerabu tau kua and bittergourd egg were also good. The kerabu
dish came with a wide complement of condiments while the bitter gourd egg was
expertly done.
We
also ordered the deep-fried mah yau fish (ikan kurau) in premium soya sauce,
stir-fried cai xin and stir-fried bean sprouts.
For dessert, we ordered the Aiyu
jelly. It came with jelly, longans, and a slice of lemon. It was a very refreshing bowl indeed.
Bukit Mertajam or BM may sound quite
far but in reality, it took no more than 40 minutes to drive there! The other
good news is it costs us just over RM230 for so much “goodness” for 7 pax.
Good
Taste is closed on Wednesdays. It is advisable to call up first to book a
table. Cheers!
27/7/2020 - Bun Snarl Fishing Stage @ Gertak Sanggul
This week, we headed for the idyllic Chinese
fishing village of Gertak Sanggul for an early dinner. Legend has it that the Malay ladies in the
area, who typically tied their hair into buns (sanggul),
would ride their bicycles along the area's uneven roads, causing their buns to
come undone (gertak) … Hence Gertak Sanggul got its name.
Thanks to waze, we found our way to the “hidden”
fishing stage after a 40 minute drive. The surrounding area is rather pleasant
with hillocks, lots of greenery and the fishing stage. Unfortunately, the
fishing stage is no more in use due to the prolonged MCO. We had a “hut” to
ourselves although we had to split into two separate tables to comply with MCO
regulations.
We ordered a variety of dishes: steamed nyonya
style red snapper, deep fried mantis prawn in dried chilli, fried prawns,
sotong in thick sauce and kerabu hare bee.
For vegetables, we tried their yau mak
(lettuce), huan choo hiok (tapioca leaves) and mix vegetables (a mix of lotus,
capsicum and celery with macadamia nuts).
We also sampled their fried hor fun and fried
mee hoon.
The nyonya style red snapper was everybody’s favourite, getting instant rave reviews! It’s all in the gravy!! Spicy, sour, a hint of sweetness, fragrant … wished it was served piping hot. Their fried bee hoon and deep-fried mantis prawns were simply delicious. The other dishes were OK. Price-wise, we found it a bit expensive for a place so far away and without the comforts of an air-conditioned room.
Remember, the “Bun” is closed on Wednesdays!
And they don’t serve lunch.
18/7/2020 Gourmet Dinner @ Vincent's Place
This dinner was hosted by Vincent and
Cewie in honour of our newfound friends, Fred and Doris from Toronto. The couple
were caught in the Covid Pandemic lock-down and had an extended stay in Penang.
They will be leaving for home once the normal flights are made available. Their
extended stay was not in vain as it would be a gourmet dinner to remember for
Fred and Doris! And for the rest of us too!!
The first dish was the inviting Sio Bak
appetizer, three plates full wiped clean! Arthur’s all-time favourite. Next
came the Nyonya Babi Pongteh ala Indon style. Savour the braised pork in the
thick and rich fermented bean paste with potatoes. A delightful dish.
The
lollipop chicken and stuffed chicken wings were crispy, tender and delicious.
So
was the Kiam Hu Kut Gulai. It had the right mix of spices with soft tau pok and
an assortment of veggies. The prawns soaked in the salted fish curry were fresh.
The other dishes were Prawn in Black
Sauce, Sambal Ikan Bilis with Petai, Egg Foo Yong and the Hainanese Kay Bian
Chee. All were up to the mark. The final dish was the Ayam Rendang. Definitely
give the top restaurants a run for their money.
Many thanks also to Mun Ying for her
version of Kiam Hu Kut Gulai. Double thumbs up. And the ordered steamed tapioca
with grated coconut for dessert. Cewie also dished out three gorgeous desserts
for us: Bubur Cha Cha, Bee Koh Moi and Gandum.
We tasted all three even though we were all on a full stomach. It was a wonderful evening.
You can’t go wrong with good food and good company! Kamsia, Kamsia!
