2020 Revisits

 Restoran Sing Geh Lang @ Jalan Krian

Our first get-together for the year 2020. Sin Geh Lang is located in a row of refurbished prewar houses. Simple interior décor with the menu of their dishes on the wall! Try their steaming clay pot of paddy chicken (frog legs). The thick black-sauce gravy goes well with the fine teochew potato broth. We also recommend the fried tsuar chooi hoo, the deep fried chim cho (crab stuffings), their signature fried bitter gourd in egg, and pork leg in vinegar. A good restaurant to start the year!

Chef Wang Fusion @ Presgrave Street

This was the group’s first foray at private dining.  Thanks to Arthur, we call ahead to book and agree to a degustation menu with Chef Wang himself. Our selection included the Peking duck, cold kerabu salad, caramelled prawns on Thai chili sauce and Patin (freshwater silver catfish) braised in spicy fermented bean-paste sauce. Indeed, a good gastronomic experience!

London Duck @ Level 3 Gurney Plaza

We tried an entire Peking duck and a portion of the aromatic crispy duck. The duck was a bit dry although it was quite tasty with the sweet sauce dips, thin pancake wraps, and the usual sliced cucumber and scallions. They do serve pork, chicken, seafood, rice, ramen, porridge, and noodle dishes too. The stand-outs were the black sauce tai lok mee and crispy roast pork. The restaurant provides complimentary guilingkao for dessert. Definitely a nice place for a get-together. Service is good.

Great Delight Kitchen @ Jalan Phuah Hin Leong

Chef Liang is also known for his “private kitchen” menu. We pre-ordered the two hor fun dishes, his signature “huai yang” braised pork meat ball with broccoli (or the “Lion’s Head”), deep fried bitter gourd and the red snapper in 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 savored the crystallized yam sticks. His fried hor fun and fried prawn with milky sauce gets the double thumbs up.

Hokkien Prawn Mee @ Vincent’s Place

Amidst a roller-coaster political imbroglio in our beloved country, we took solace by indulging ourselves in homemade hokkien prawn mee. Hosts Vincent and wife, Cewie had started the soup preparations early with a generous stock of prawn shells and pork ribs. They have also sourced ready-made crispy fried shallots from Indonesia and the must-have crispy pork lard. The shallots and pork lard certainly enhanced the flavour and fragrance of the delicious bowls. A freshly made Indon-style sambal gave this dish the extra oomph. A mouth-watering dish indeed! For dessert, we had all kinds of nyonya kuih, mango slices, brown sugar malai koh and delicious osmanthus flower jelly. A beautiful cheesecake and two bottles of fine wine made it a long, long lunch! Cheers!

 

Hong Xin No.1 Dim Sum Restaurant @ Precinct 10

Hong Xin No. 1 is a relatively new dim sum restaurant in Penang. Your orders come 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.  

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, attentive service, and pleasant surrounding more than made up for it. We were glad that Fred and Doris, a friendly couple from Toronto could join our eating group today. 

Wu Jia @ Taman Pekaka

Wu Jia has built a reputation for serving good “home-cooked” food at a reasonable price. The pre-booked lamb dish is a specialty. We also opted for the curry fish with fried bun, boneless chicken in mint sauce, braised brinjal in sauce, tofu with special toppings, fried hor fun, and fried crispy seafood noodles. 

The fragrant curry fish was the best dish. The siakap was fresh and it blended in nicely with the curry that oozes with all kinds of spices. The sweet bun complemented the curry. 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!  

Papa Nyonya Restaurant @ Island Glades

After a three-month hiatus from the MCO, the Eatingkakis decided to meet up for a Father’s Day brunch at Papa Nyonya Restaurant. The new Recovery Movement Control Order enabled our long-awaited get-together as we didn’t have to book two tables. Staying home for too long a time is not exactly “staying healthy”.

This family-owned restaurant serves dishes with family recipes. The piping hot curry fish head is their trademark dish. It had 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.  

Happy Fathers’ Day!

 

Super Crab Best Seafood Restaurant @Changkat Sungkai Ara

We decided to celebrate the Duan Wu Jie with a seafood lunch. Ah Keong, the chef suggested the salted egg crabs and their specialty sweet and chili crabs. The chili crabs with a plate of freshly made golden buns were especially tasty. We also tried the Jade Perch in soya sauce. The fish texture was very smooth.  Double thumbs up!

The lala bee hoon went very well with the Four King’s combination of okra, petai, brinjal and four-angled beans. Do try their delightful stir-fried prawns in dark soya sauce. Ah Keong surprised us with three complementary dishes - deep fried fish, hor fun, and black sesame glutinous ball in almond soya milk.

Happy Dumpling Festival!

Dinner at Hamisu @ Jalan Datuk Kramat

Hamisu 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. Their signature sauna prawns are cooked “live” on steaming hot rocks. Their fried hor fun 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!  They were only opened for dinners.

A Cuppa @ 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. Nice and comfy ambiance with ample parking.

 

 Jia Siang @ Pulau Betong II

It was our second trip to this nondescript café in Balik Pulau. For a reasonable fee, Jia Siang will cook delectable dishes from your selection of fresh seafood from the market stalls nearby. As fresh as they come.

Our opening appetizer was ang hare (durians)! It was Balik Pulau after all. Our orders included three of their best dishes - a plate of steamed fresh prawns in soya sauce and Chinese wine, silver pomfret in soy sauce-preserved radish and deep fried crispy kembong. Jia Siang’s vegetables and soft Japanese tofu were quite tasty. The pork in yam was wonderfully cooked. Thanks to Raymond and Paley, we had a delicious cempedak butter cake. Don’t forget to try their fresh ambra or nutmeg juices with sour plum for drinks. 

Gourmet Dinner @ Vincent’s Place

This dinner was hosted by Vincent and Cewie in honour of our new-found friends, Fred and Doris. They will be leaving for Toronto when normal flights resume. Their extended stay was not in vain as it would be a gourmet dinner to remember for all of us!

Well, we wiped three plates of Sio Bak clean for appetizers! The Nyonya Babi Pongteh ala Indon style and kiam hu kut gulai were delightful dishes. The other dishes were Prawn in Black Sauce, Sambal Ikan Bilis with Petai, Egg Foo Yong, ayam rendang and the Hainanese Kay Bian Chee. 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.  Cewie also dished out three gorgeous desserts for us: Bubur Cha Cha, Bee Koh Moi and Gandum. 

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Bun Snarl Fishing Stage @ Gertak Sanggul

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 chili, fried prawns, sotong in thick sauce and kerabu hare bee. For vegetables, we had yau mak , huan choo hiok, and mix vegetables. We also sampled their fried hor fun and fried mee hoon. The nyonya style red snapper was everybody’s favourite, getting instant rave reviews!  Their fried bee hoon and deep fried mantis prawns were simply delicious. The other dishes were just OK. Price-wise, we found it a bit expensive for an open-air restaurant so far away. The “Bun” is closed on Wednesdays! And they don’t serve lunch.

 

Good Taste Food Garden @ Sungai Rambai, Bukit Mertajam

This was our second get-together for the week! We ordered the laksa curry with piak kia (sharp-nosed stingray). A bit too saltish.  The steaming broth with floral crab and giant prawns was a winner. Raymond’s choice of fried kerabu tau kua and bittergourd egg was 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 ikan kurau in premium soya sauce, stir fried cai xin and stir-fried bean sprouts. We then had Aiyu jelly for dessert. Bukit Mertajam may sound quite far but in reality, it took no more than 40 minutes to drive there! Cheap and good food across the bridge! Good Taste is closed on Wednesdays. 

 

Irama @ Penang Chamber of Commerce

Irama has a cozy ambiance.

The menu is quite extensive with a riot of colours – nasi bunga telang and nasi ulam, all kinds of sauces, the curries, veggies, pais (dishes cooked in sambal and wrapped in banana leaves), kerabu platters and more. We settled for ikan bakaq sambal, cucur jagung, ayam kerutup, pucuk ubi masak lemak udang and ulam-ulaman. The udang masak lemak with fresh succulent prawns braised in turmeric and coconut gravy was superb. So was the ayam kerutup; infused with flavours of herbs and mouthwatering kerisik. Our cucur jagung came with a nice dipping “rojak” sauce. The ikan bakaq and ulam-ulaman both came with different dipping sauces. We sampled two of their desserts. Churros was a rather refreshing choice while the other was pandan crepe. Definitely worth a return visit.

 

Wu Jia Revisit

We had pre-booked the lamb shoulder in black pepper. It was tender and well-marinated. Priced at RM35, it was actually a steal!!  The curry prawn with sweet bread is a must-have dish. There was a promotion for Soon Hock, the marble goby 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, allowing for a lettuce wrap. Our choice of tofu with minced pork, salted fish, and green dragon vegetables was okay. We then finished off with aiyu jelly. A pleasant afternoon for the eight of us.

Irama Restaurant Revisit

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. The lamb shank was the “October Special”. 

The dish presentation deserved an A+, complete with crispy papadam, special sauce, and decorative pandan leaves. 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, reasonably priced at RM60 for a whole fish, came wrapped in banana leaves and its special sauce. However, the cucur jagung and kerabu platters were just so-so.   Our kerabu came in three small bowls -kerabu pucuk paku kerang, kerabu kacang botol-sotong (fresh squid marinated with turmeric with four-angled beans) and kacang botol (four angled bean) and kerabu manga (sweet sour mango mixed with aromatic bunga kantan). All the three dishes had the chef’s specialty sauce with a touch of lime and fragrant kerisik. Hats off to the chef for their creative presentation!

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 Moh Huat, a good friend and supplier told us that ikan terubuks of those sizes are not always in season. The Wu Jia chef’s “yim kok” (salted and baked) version was well received.

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. 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. 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 letdown as we were served 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. Cheers! 

Fellowship @ Vincent's Place

Twice, this week, we have a 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! All the dishes were definitely up to the mark. In fact, three or four dishes deserved special mention for they were exquisite! Vincent’s sio bak was just perfecto.  And that was only the appetizer. We were served with Ark Or (yam duck).

The yam duck came in thick gravy. The meat and yam were tender and it was a bowl of crazy “deliciousness”. The tau yew bak 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. What more could one ask for?

Here’s us wishing everyone a Happy New Year!