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
Mutton Curry
Bee Koh Moi (black glutinous rice dessert) 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!
