Merry Xmas and Happy New Year 2010
Today is Christmas Eve *yaay*…
Doing anything special on this eve of Christmas? A get together with family and friends, perhaps? Or spending some quite time with your other half?
Well, with Christmas just merely hours away, PenangTuaPui would like to take this opportunity to wish all of you a merry jolly Christmas and to those who are not celebrating have a joyful happy holidays!!
Here is a song to all…and let’s sing aloud together ~Cheers…
Have yourself a merry little Christmas,
Let your heart be light
From now on,
our troubles will be out of sight.
Have yourself a merry Iittle Christmas,
Make the Yule-tide gay,
From now on,
our troubles will be miles away.
Here we are as in olden days,
Happy golden days of yore.
Faithful friends who are dear to us
Gather near to us once more.
Through the years
We all will be together,
If the Fates allow
Hang a shining star
upon the highest bough.
And have yourself
A merry little Christmas now.
Excerpt from:
Ang Hoi Lor | Authentic Penang Restaurant
A true Penangite would definitely have heard about Ang Hoay Lor and the food that is served there. It is truly synonymous with Penang’s local delights and flavour. This quaint shop located right in the heart of Old Georgetown is famous for its oyster mee, bak khi, fried tang hoon, pork leg beehoon, fried oyster and tauhu suan na, to name a few.
Limited parking is available. We circled the area twice before we managed to get a prime parking spot right in front of the shop J. The authentic feel of olden days greeted us as we entered the shop.
It was quite clear that Ang Hoay Lor has its share of loyal supporters, people who have been patronizing the shop for years. We settled on a few specialty dishes and sat back to wait while sipping hot chrysanthemum tea.
The fried oyster was the first dish to arrive. It looked a bit dark from overfrying, but the taste proved otherwise. There were sufficient fresh oysters and the spring onions added that extra oomph to the dish.
The oyster mee came next, with generous helpings of oyster, fish meat, pork and vege. We felt that the dish was slightly on the salty side.
One thing we note is that only pickled chillies and cabai burung are provided here. We were quite disappointed when we asked for sambal, and were told there was none available.
For those unfamiliar with bak khi, this (we are told by the server) is a famed Hokkien delight. It is essentially pork meat wrapped in a layer of cornstarch flour, fried and served in a thick soup.
After our experience eating this dish, we all agreed it is an acquired taste. If you like the texture of sticky cornstarch, you will most likely enjoy it.
The other 2 side dishes we ordered were the prawn fritters and the tauhu suan na. The prawn fritters were fried to a crispy golden brown (mmmm J) and the tauhu fried with suan na was indeed flavourful, though a bit salty.
All in all, if you are looking for a taste and ambience that is reminisce of Old Penang, look no further than Ang Hoay Lor.
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Yaki-Yaki Japanese Barbeque Buffet Restaurant @ Jalan Bukit Bintang
After witnessing the huge success of has managed to achieve by offering 50% discount on all dining period, many other Japanese buffet restaurants are doing the same too. Xenri, Daidomon and now the newly opened Yaki-Yaki Japanese Barbeque Buffet Restaurant too.
These promotions or competition you might say, are definitely good news for Japanese buffet lovers. Anyway, yesterday was the day Earth Hour was celebrated and we happened to be at Bukit Bintang area wondering where to have dinner. We looked at Starhill’s Jogoya and it cost RM88++ per pax, pricey.. Then we suddenly remembered Yaki-Yaki next to Low Yat Plaza.
We decided to give it a try because it was quite cheap for a buffet @ RM46.25 nett per pax (including service charge and tax) We didn’t make any reservations and dined as walk-in guests.
After we got our table and paid the full amount, we were guided to a round table just next to the beverage area. Each table has its own captain in charge, and any orders for barbecue are to be made through him. To ensure the food is maintained at its freshest, Yaki-Yaki only serves the food (for barbecue only) when an order is received.
After making an initial order for some scallops, unagi, beef and Chicken with Wine Soup. We took a quick tour around the restaurant to see the available choices. Yaki-Yaki has Japanese (sushi, sashimi, tempura), Chinese (cooked seafood), Western, seafood, skewers (mushroom, satay, sausage) and dessert sections.
The first thing I had was of course some sashimi, raw oysters and an Unagi sushi – just to test the freshness. The sashimi was definitely fresh and very enjoyable, that alone was enough to make me a happy person lol.
Mussel with mayonnaise, sushi and steamed prawns with herbs. The prawns (freshwater type) at Yaki-Yaki are very fresh, another good news for me. Among all prawns in the buffet, I found this cooking style the nicest because the herbal taste wasn’t too strong and you can still taste the prawns’ sweet flesh.
Perfect half boiled egg the Japanese style, called Spring Water Egg.
I think Jogoya started it, and thanks to them the newer Japanese buffets serve these mini fresh coconuts. Very sweet and refreshing! Oh you don’t have to worry that they will run out, Yaki-Yaki replenished them very quickly and generously. No need to compete with the other diners for it lol (you know what I mean hehe)
The first food to arrive from our barbecue order – Scallop with Butter Cream sauce. It was nice to see the butter melt and cooking the scallops when they are placed on the barbecue. But too bad the same couldn’t be said for the taste. By the way, the time needed to cook the food is written in the menu itself. For example the scallops need to be barbecued for 3.5 minutes, while fish typically needs 4 minutes. Better bring a long a friend who can read Chinese because the timings are all written in Chinese.
Miso Beef, lots of fat in this one.
Because they are sliced to thinly, they cook pretty fast in 1-2 minutes. And they tend to stick to the grill too.
The melting of the fat will make the fire burn even stronger. I managed to remain calm and took some photos while my gang was freaked out trying to put off the fire, lol.
Left to right: Beef, Lamb and Chicken Satay, they were very spicy! Funny that only Chicken Satay was not in skewered form.
The list of food can be ordered for barbecue includes: Chicken Slice with Honey sauce, Miso Chicken, Lamb Belly Tender, Beef Striploin, Hokkaido Sanma Fish, Shishamo, Argentina Squid, Crab with Butter Cream Sauce, Japanese Rich Ball and Mochi and etc.
A plate of delicately prepared Japanese tofu, some more mussels and cooked scallops.
Tempura Soft Shell Crabs, no doubt one of the most popular items in the buffet. But luckily Yaki-Yaki replenished them very frequently too. I didn’t have to wait long for it.
Tempura Prawns,very crunchy since I got them just after they were deep fried.
More sashimi, all were nice and fresh. Special mention to the sliced abalone with spicy chili sauce, which was great as well.
The Ebi (prawn) is a must try, very flavorful.
The Unagi with Japanese Tofu (upper left) was another yummy dish.
The cooked scallops at the sashimi section tasted much better than those for barbecue.
We didn’t enjoy the Cod Fish because it got hard, dry and salty after being barbecued.
Luckily the Unagi was very nice. But you gotta pay extra attention when cooking them because they get burnt very easily. Shown here is a portion for three.
Whole pomfret, Garoupa (head and tail only), huge clams and tiger prawns were available at seafood section. They were very fresh as well but weren’t really suitable to go on the grill except the clams. Reason being they tend to get really dry and tasteless after being barbecued.
Some food tasted much better if Yaki-Yaki’s recommended cooking method was followed. Firstly, place the clams in the small aluminum foil plates. Then, fill up the plate with some Chinese wine before placing them on the barbecue grill. Although this will make them take longer to cook, you will be rewarded with tasty clams infused with the fragrance of Chinese wine. You really gotta try it.
OK, enough of what I had and lets take a tour of the restaurant. First stop, Chinese food section.
Butter prawns
Cooked crabs
Snails
Cawanmushi and different types of soup
Chicken Herbal Soup
Fresh coconuts that come in large containers in front of the kitchen counter. I have to admit they weren’t displayed as fancy as those in Tenji or Jogoya but who cares as long as they are replenished fast, that’s what I think really matters. Other fruits like orange, apple, dragon fruit and kiwi can be found here too.
Raw Satays
Skewered sausages, which I didn’t try any. There’s skewered mushroom, sweet potato and corns nearby too.
The soft shell crabs prepared at the tempura station were not only for the diners but also for the sushi section. Half of the soft shell crabs being fried here would be sent to the sushi section used to prepare California Rolls. So, no pre-fried soft shell crabs were used at all.
Sashimi and oyster section. This section is the best for me because most of the food tasted great.
Salmon Sashimi, orangery goodness!
The chef is very friendly and likes to talk to the customers. He will also give recommendations if you are unsure of what to eat. Cool guy.
He’s so friendly that he even volunteered to pose for me while holding a huge slice of salmon.
Mussels
Scallops
A huge selection of drinks were available, from soft drinks to coffee, tea and fruit juice.
The iced Nescafe was pretty good!
Brew your very own coffee here.
A fridge containing Fruit Jellies is located next to the drink vending machines.
And lastly, the Sauce Station with some unique looking containers. OK, I didn’t write a lot because I feel the 50+ photos are pretty much self-explanatory of what is served in Yaki-Yaki. Overall, very good Japanese buffet and I actually enjoyed the warm, cooked food more than the barbecue.
For RM46.25 (promotion period only, and 5% government tax and 10% service charge on NORMAL PRICE) this buffet is very worth visiting and I highly recommend it if they can maintain the quality and freshness of the food. And I think many of you want a comparison of Yaki-Yaki and Tenji, so here goes:
- i. Better, fresher food overall.
- ii. Premium food like tempura, coconuts, sashimi, oyster and scallops are replenished very fast.
- iii. More attentive and efficient LOCAL staff (waiters, cook)
- iv. Tatami rooms for private gathering
- v. Longer dining period (3 to 4 hours)
- vi. Made me feel like returning!
- i. Almost non-existent dessert section, only jellies and some normal ice cream served (No Haagen-Dazs here).
- ii. Very dark environment.
- iii. Hot environment because of the barbecue, will sweat.
- iv. Less photography freedom (not allowed to take photos of the restaurant)
50% discount only from 16/03/2009 to 30/04/2009
Buffet Lunch NP RM65++ 11:00am to 2:30pm (3.5 hours)
Buffet Hi-tea NP RM55++ 2:30pm to 5:30pm (3 hours)
Buffet Dinner NP RM75++ 6:00pm to 10:00pm (4 hours)
Buffet Supper NP RM65++ 10:00pm to 2:00am (4 hours)
Yaki-Yaki Japanese Barbeque Buffet Restaurant,
Ground Floor, Federal Bowl,
Jalan Bukit Bintang,
Off Jalan Bukit Bintang,
Bukit Bintang Central,
55100 Kuala Lumpur (next to Plaza Low Yat)
Reservation: +603-2142 8111
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Invited Review | Karaikudi Restaurant @ Market St – Part 2
We had the opportunity to attend a at Karaikudi Restaurant at Market Street last week and the experience of dining at this Indian Restaurant is something different compared to other reviews we have done. Despite having quite a lot of Indian Restaurants or eating outlets in Penang, we have to admit that we have less exposure about Indian Cuisine and there are still a lot of interesting facts about Indian food that we have not found out.
In the second part of the Invited Review, we will showcase the rest of the dishes that we have that time and save the best for last, a home made recipe (although not from Karaikudi) that gives us a lasting, “sizzling” impression. 
The three dishes that we had that time, clockwise from bottom left; Mutton Chukka Varuval, Chettinad Potato Masala and Ladies Finger Pepper Fry. Notice that all the dishes were put on the same type of container, called “kadai“.
Kadai in this case, refers to the cooking pot which the dishes are prepared and normally bigger in size. The smaller ones as shown here are used for serving instead. The loop shaped handles make the kadai easy to carry.
This dish is a favourite among the food bloggers during the review until we actually requested the second portion Ladies Finger Pepper Fry (RM7.00). It is quite chewy and some say it is “quite Q (the Cantonese version)”. The pepper taste for this dish is not as strong as the mutton dish.
The dish in slight yellowish is a simple dish that every other cuisine will have as well. The indian version of “telur goreng” or scrambled egg is Egg Podimass (RM4.00). Huat Koay said this is the first time he had noticed the Indian scrambled eggs dish. Taste wise, you have guessed it, just like scrambled eggs.
Kadai Vegetable (RM9.00) contains assorted vegetable cooked in rich gravy. Some dishes uses Kadai to indicate the dish is prepared using this type of cooking pot.
Chettinad Potato Masala (RM6.00) is a good dish to have with either the naan or dosai. The masala sauce and potato taste good with the potato being soft and easy to chew with the bread.
Squid Fry (RM8.00) is definitely different from the that we have been tasting at the Malay outlets. The Malay version is just squids fried with flour but for the squid fry here is dipped in spicy batter before being fried and the red colour is just part of the spices used.
The squid has some spicy taste which makes it interesting than the conventional ones and we also squeeze some lime juice on top which taste very nice and totally different. Just like any other fried squids, it must be consumed as soon as it is served or it will harden the longer it is exposed to air.
The lamb dish is always Tam Ciak’s favourite but Fei Fei will always keeps a distance because of its pungent smell. Yet with Mutton Chukka Varuval (RM18.00), we feel surprised when we noticed Fei Fei keeps taking pieces of the mutton for himself.
The Mutton Chukka Varuval has the pepper spiciness that can be quite strong which is the reason the lamb smell is not that dominant anymore. The meat is quite tender and easy to chew and comes in the dry curry type which is just excellent.
If you have eaten banana leave meals before, this is probably something you have experienced. Each of us was given a large stainless steel plate to put our dishes. All the dishes mentioned above were served to us one at a time and every when the waiter scoop the dishes onto our plate, they will mention the name of the dish to us, to tell us what we were having at that time.
Sometimes it may be hard to understand or to catch the name of the dish because of their heavy Indian accent, we have to ask them repeat a few times, even to the extend of spelling the dish. Yet, they are more than willing to educate us especially on the Indian terms used to make sure we understand them. Yes, the service and hospitality offered by staffs of Karaikudi Restaurant are quite welcoming.
Nickname “the Indian Pizza” is Chettinad Special Dosai (RM4.00). How special can it be? Well, this is actually a “thosai” that all of us commonly know of (besides the chapati and puri).
Chettinad Special Dosai comes in a very colourful topping that we feel it looks more suitable for culinary contest. With topping ingredients like chopped coriander (yes, they use a lot here), onions, potato, chili flakes etc, it combines the usual slight sour “thosai” taste with these ingredients and taste just wonderful.
Before being served with the final dessert, we were served with Chettinad Filter Coffee (RM2.80) to neutralize our tongue and to wash away all the remaining flavours that still exist in the mouth. Unlike other types of coffee, the fragrance of Chettinad coffee can be smelled in close proximity. Also, there is heavy use of milk in this coffee that it taste more like latte than kopi O.
The “eruption” feeling of the night was the Karaikudi’s signature dessert, Sizzling Brownie (RM10.00). The sizzling brownie is in fact a creation from the wife of the owner of Karaikudi Restaurant. All of us were excited seeing the ice cream brownie being served and all the bloggers were quickly, happily snapping the pictures because the ice cream melts fast.
The sizzling brownie looks like molten lava erupted from volcano with the chocolate sauce on top of the melting ice cream flowing down while the base where the brownie and cashew nuts are at the hot plate look hot and boiling, creating a sizzling effect which spills all over towards the surrounding. Notice the smoke effects going upwards on top of the ice cream…
Once the sizzling effect settles down, it is time to savour this delicious brownie with every spoon ends with “MMmmmmm“, “Aaaahhhhhhh“, giggling and laughing, re-enacting our childhood behaviours seeing those sweet delicacies. The sizzling brownie is just the right dish to leave a lasting impression of dining at Karaikudi Restaurant.
The GPS coordinate as shown (N 05° 24.992? E100° 20.442?) or map at below
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Invited Review | Karaikudi Restaurant @ Market St – Part 1
We had an opportunity recently to attend a food review that is out of what we have covered till now. Up to now, PenangTuaPui has limited posting on Indian food which we are beginning to cover for more. We are lucky to be in touch with Karaikudi Restaurant to do a food review about their Indian Cuisine as well as to understand more about indian culture and indian food.
There are two Karaikudi outlets in Penang with this one at Market Street, which is inside Penang’s Little India itself while the second outlet is at Tanjung Bungah. The chefs for these two restaurants are different although it is handled by the same management.
We have the upper floor for the food review purpose so that our presence will not disrupt the present business operations below. In fact, we were there during the dinner so the tables below were pretty much packed anyway.
Most of the decorations inside Karaikudi are imported from India to imitate the environment of the original Karaikudi city, the capital of Chettinad. The painting above is also an import from the homeland of Chettiyars.
Meet the fellow bloggers , , , , , and . Where is PenangTuaPui? As usual, the 4 of us are at the lower right of the picture
We are lucky to have Hafiz (Marketing Manager) and Lakshmanan (Restaurant Manager) to be our hosts for the food review. Both of them provided lots of explanation and background about Karaikudi and the dishes we had to enable us understand more about Indian Cuisine.
For a start, we decided to do something different on the food review with the use of an evaluation form. This form actually helps us to jot down our taste and perception at the moment we taste it when things are still clear in the mind. It will also let the restaurant know of the so called customers’ feedback.
Mango Lassi (RM4.00) was the drink of the day which came in medium height glass. Any Indian restaurant you go to will tell you that their Mango Lassi is good and this one is no exception either. The mango lassi is thick and full of flavour but less creamy (less butter taste) compared to Passions of Kerala.
Chettinad Style Vegetable Soup (RM3.00) is a home made vegetable soup with spices and the yellowish colour on the soup is because of the use of dahl. The soup is watery type and not as thick as the western style while the taste is not that strong either. Perhaps, this is not just our style.
Bittergourd chips (RM6.00) is an addictive appetizer served with fried chilies and curry leaves. The bittergourd used is smaller type which is much bitter compared to its bigger brother.
Taking the first bite of this bittergourd, one can feel the spiciness surrounding the bittergourd snacks but gradually the bitterness taste becomes more evident and the effect seems to linger for some time. The spices used have encapsulated well the bitter taste at the begining but tingling your taste buds with spiciness before letting the bitterness sets in.
The crispy bittergourd can be quite addictive too despite the bitter taste. Each time after we finish one chip, there was a mix feeling for spiciness and bitterness that somehow tempting us to take the next bites. The Kashmir Chili used was quite crispy as well but not too hot in taste. Still the spiciness flows down the throat as we swallow it.
Chicken cutlet (RNM6.00) comes in a lovely shape that bring smiles among some of the bloggers. Want to take a guess why? Because it is made into the heart shape specially for us…hehe
The boneless pieces of chicken is marinated with eggs and bread crumbs before being fried. It contains chopped green chili and coriander as well.
The chicken cutlet is quite tender without sign of being overfried and taste a little bit, (yes, just a little bit) spicy because of the chili. Tam Ciak said it feels like eating the spicy KFC chicken nugget….
We thought this is supposed to be a dessert but Chettinad Special Dosai (RM4.00) can just be a sweet dish to have with main dish.
The dosai (thosai) is actually a favourite among the kids because of its colourful and sweet taste. It has cut dried cherry on top as well as sesame seeds. Once you open the inner part, it reveals the dessicated coconut in different colours red, green, yellow and original colour.
We initially thought nutmeg was included as well but we got it wrong. The dosai can be eaten on its own or it goes well with the dishes we have too.
Chicken Briyani (RM9.50) comes in a typical Indian container that we normally see in the movie except this is much smaller. The briyani uses basmathi rice which is longer and more fragrant compared to normal rice. One piece of chicken drumstick is included in the briyani rice with an egg served on top of the rice.
Sometimes we just cannot help ourselves laughing when we see the names although we know this is how each dish is called. Yes, our bad for being such mischievious… Chicken Kothu Paratha (RM9.00) is essentially Prata (bread) that has been chopped and served together with cooked chicken. This dish looks simple enough with nothing to be amazed yet perhaps it is the simplicity of this dish that makes it special at Karaikudi.
Some of the dishes we have, clockwise from bottom left; Mutton Chukka Varuval, Chicken Briyani, Chettinad Potato Masala, Kadai Vegetable and Ladies Finger Pepper Fry. To know more about each of this dish, stay tuned for next post~!
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RM1.20 Nasi Lemak @ Sri Weld Food Court, Beach Street
PJ has a famous , in Penang we have it too. Same price, same quantity, similar packaging but a whole lot more spicier. Definitely for those nasi lemak lovers looking for sambal pedas in their rice.
The funny thing is, the photos you are about to see are already one year old. That time, I knew I was going to move to Selangor so it was my last attempt to try as many Penang food as I could. One fine Friday afternoon, SL and I drove all the way from Bayan Lepas to Sri Weld Food Court at Beach Street just to try two food that were said to be famous there, beef noodles and nasi lemak.
Although the journey seem short for me now since I start working in Selangor (you know lah how freaking long those LDP highways are), those working in Bayan Lepas would know it is unusual to drive all the way to town just for lunch. Usually we just settle in Batu Maung, Bayan Baru or Bukit Jambul.
I hesitated for a while (for one year lol) on whether I should post this, main reason being the crappy photos. But then, why not? I think the photo is fairly self-explanatory on the level of spiciness in the sambal. Red hot!
For RM1.20 you would get a packet of traditional nasi lemak with a slice of hard boiled egg, some ikan bilis (fried anchovies) drenched in sambal.
Nasi Lemak drilling in progress. For me, finishing the nasi lemak was a challenge because the spiciness would numb your tongue and make you sweat like hell. And I ordered a cold drink so it only made things worse. You know how cold drinks make hot food taste even hotter right lol.
By the way, if you come early in the morning you would see rows and rows of freshly packed nasi lemak arranged in front of the stall. It’s a very neat sight and really great for photo. If I ever return that’s the shot I won’t miss.
Oh, this is one of my favorite drinks in Penang where we call it 932, basically a lime and sour plum drink. The limes are stuffed with sour plums and placed in a huge jar to be infused with sugar water (I think). Preparation is straightforward and simple, just mix with water and ice.
It is a very cool and refreshing drink, sweet tasting and not sourish like ???? ‘Kiet La Sem Boay’. 932 drink is extremely hard to find in KL, and they don’t call it 932 here. It’s called ?? ‘Pou Kat’ instead. So far I only seen one coffee shop selling it and the taste is just not as nice as those in Penang.
Yeah I mentioned that I was here to try the beef noodles too. But too bad the photo of the noodle is just too bad I dare not show it here. So, have a look at the stall instead lol. Taste wise I still find the opposite the Balai Bomba much nicer, with more meat too.
OK since it’s been a year I last went, I don’t know if the stalls are still there. Can anyone verify? For a super-delicious-omg-I-must-eat-one-now photo of the nasi lemak, head to . And apparently, has already reviewed the nasi lemak and beef noodles even before I went there! Haha.
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MAS Inflight Kitchen Tour & Food Tasting Session @ LSG Sky Chefs, KLIA
Have you ever wondered how in-flight meals are actually prepared? I do. Last weekend, I had an one in a lifetime chance of joining an exclusive tour of MAS’ in-flight kitchen somewhere around KLIA along with several other bloggers courtesy of Fleishman PR Agency.
LSG Sky Chefs Brahim Sdn Bhd, an international provider of airline catering services is responsible for preparing the meals.
I mentioned it was one in a lifetime thing because you have to be either an employee or an invited guest to be allowed in the kitchen area. Security is very tight and controlled so photography was not allowed, this is to prevent competitors from spying their operations.
After touring the kitchen, we were also treated to a feast of MAS’ in-flight cuisines from the top chefs so there are plenty of food photos!
After having some light refreshments LSG presented a presentation to the attendees a brief introduction of their company, a flow chart of their meal preparation and some facts and figures. I was amazed by the number of meals they prepared in a day, 30,000! Then the kitchen tour ensued and we were brought to the bakery section where large machineries are used to mass produce buns.
We also visited the chiller section where dairy products and prepared foods are stored before being loaded into flights. The freezer section was the nicest one. It was really freezing inside and there were hundreds of packets of frozen salmon, pomfret and even lobster!
The kitchen tour lasted about an hour so it was time to sample the food from MAS’ kitchen. Lamb shank, beef ribs, salmon, nasi lemak and MAS’ famous traditional Malaysian satay were only some of the items lined up for our food tasting session.
The food was displayed at a designated area for introductory and photography purpose, while the really edible ones were served in buffet style. When asked about the best food in MAS‘ menu, the chef immediately replied “Lamb Shank” without thinking twice.
He was right, it was one of the nicest dish we had that day with tender, juicy meat. By the way, this Lamb Shank was the displayed one. It could stand so nicely because mashed potato was used as the supporting base.
Country Style Beef Ribs, a pity we didn’t try this. But I heard it was quite good from the other bloggers.
Ahh.. MAS’ satays, the signature dish that have won the many hearts of MAS passengers around the world. Here, they were shown to be served along with Nasi Goreng Kampung – box meal style.
At the buffet area chicken, beef and lamb satay were served. That’s a huge tray of beef satay!
I really didn’t expect this but they tasted really great especially the lamb satay, very tender meat! If you didn’t know, this month (March) is a Satay Month in which satay will be on the menu for MAS passengers travelling on Economy Class to domestic and selected Asean countries.
This is actually a good news for Economy Class travellers because satay is usually served only in Business and First Class cabins.
I can’t imagine eating Lobster in the air.. that’s pure enjoyment if you ask me.
Grilled Salmon is usually served on Japan flights along with imported rice from Japan to make the guests feel like home while they eat.
Nasi Lemak with sambal prawns and chicken rendang. This is the display unit only.. but I have tasted the real thing which was quite nice. Although the prawns had a weird rubbery texture, the sambal was tasty and had the right level of spiciness.
Some other in-flight food on display like scallops, steamed pomfret, abalone, salad and other meals.
A bowl of mixed salad with cheese cubes.
This gotta be a favorite of many, scallops and salmon served with some greens. We didn’t get to try this though lol.
MAS serves abalone too, look at the thickness! In First Class cabins lah. Like the scallops and lobsters, we didn’t try this too. Expensive stuffs were solely for presentation and photography purposes only lol.
I have no idea what is this, but I am guessing it was some sort of lunch meal consisting of stir fried chicken and rice.
The displayed pomfret had some chili sauce on it but the one we had was Steamed Pomfret with XO sauce. It was very fresh and sweet tasting but I felt it was slightly overcooked due to the rubbery flesh. I didn’t take any photo because it looked very messy on my plate lol. Same goes for the nasi lemak and lamb shank.
This is a typical lunch meal enjoyed by MAS passengers flying from KL to London, the way water is served is very interesting don’t you think? I have never seen anything like this before haha, I always travel economy class only. By the way LHR is the airport code for London, I see these codes every single day since I start working in Subang Airport lol.
A light meal consisting of salad, fresh fruits, bun and butter. The butter you may look normal but in fact it was a PREMIUM butter called Isigny Ste Mere Beurre D’isigny – a cow’s milk unsalted natural butter. I have to emphasize the word premium because it is actually voted one of the best butters in the world!
A platter of fresh local fruits – dragon fruit, honeydew, papaya, pineapple and watermelon. The arrangement was very well done, so vibrant what a wonderful contrast of colors.
Besides fruits, two types of desserts were available too. Creme Brulee is a dessert of custard base with a layer of hard caramel created by caramelizing sugar with a blowtorch. It had a jelly like texture and tasted sweet (no surprise here), very nice.
Panna Cotta (an Italian dessert made with cream, milk, sugar then mixed with gelatin) was the other dessert. And just when we thought we were done with the wonderful treat by MAS, we were given a food souvenir – a box containing some Ferrero Rocher, Beryl’s Bitter Sweet Chocolate and a freshly baked Apple Crumble Cake.
Man, the Apple Crumble Cake was DELICIOUS! Even though I had it for dinner which was hours after the tour, the cake’s outer layer was still nice and crispy. I think I have found a new favorite cake after this lol.
Being able to take part in MAS’ Inflight Kitchen Tour is probably one of the best experience for me as far as being a food blogger is concerned. I am really thankful for Fleishman and Malaysia Airlines for extending the invitation to me.
Truthfully I don’t think I would be flying First Class anytime unless I become freaking rich one day. So, being able to sample some of the food being offered in a First Class Cabin without having to pay for the ticket, lol I think you know what a great feeling that must be right?
But one day if I have the ability to fly First Class with MAS (fingers crossed) then Lamb Shank, the delicious Satay and Creme Brulee would definitely be my choices!
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The Wok Cafe – Authentic Penang Nyonya & Local Cuisine @ Kota Damansara
The Wok Cafe is a newly opened restaurant at Kota Damansara serving home-cooked authenthic Penang Style Nyonya Cuisine. If you’re from Penang, The Wok might sound familiar because their first branch – Hot Wok is indeed located in Penang along Burmah Road (previously at Tanjong Tokong).
Opened only about a month ago, Mervyn the head cook and owner extended an invitation to me to their restaurant to try their Nyonya cuisine and Penang hawker food. Being an avid fan of Penang hawker food, I was eager to find out if The Wok could live up to the standards.
It was a surprise visit because I happened to be at Kota Damansara for dinner and suddenly remembered about Mervyn’s invitation. After meeting the owner himself and got ourself seated, he presented us with The Wok’s menu, which was extensive and had almost all the Nyonya food I’ve ever known. But I was actually more interested in the Penang hawker food listed in the last page, lol.
Anyway take a look at the drinks, can you guess what are they? No they are not teh ais and sirap bandung but soya milk mixed with gula Melaka and rose syrup respectively! I think I have openly expressed my dislike towards gula Melaka before but when combined with soya milk, it was a great and refreshing drink for me. This is so simple you can try making one yourself!
A serving of Otak-otak (for two persons) cost RM5. Under the soft and squishy fish paste was a layer of fish meat. I enjoyed it but I might have loved it more if only it was spicier.
Since Mervyn stressed that they have retained the original Penang cooking style when it comes to their hawker food, the easiest way to verify this claim was to order a bowl of Hokkien Mee (Prawn Mee) @ RM6.
And truthfully enough, the Prawn Mee was of Penang style with light and sweet tasting soup packed with prawn flavor. Interesting enough, some nice and crunchy lard was present in the noodle. Ah.. it has been a long time since I last tasted a good bowl of Prawn Mee like this in KL.
Char Koay Teow, the iconic Penang hawker food @ RM7. There’s simply no other food that can represent Penang better. I particularly ordered this because I had been deprived of a good Char Koay Teow for months, lol.
If you feel RM7 is expensive for Char Koay Teow, well don’t be because that’s the standard price for any restaurants here. Besides, the price is justifiable by the big portion and the four huge, fresh sea prawns. My god those prawns were so meaty and juicy.
The Wok included sliced fish cakes into their Char Koay Teow, which is not a norm in Penang. And one of my favorite ingredients, cockles was missing too. When asked about the cockles, Mervyn explained that the cockles were not fresh that day so they were omitted from the dish. An acceptable explanation. I wouldn’t want any unfresh ingredients in my Char Koay Teow that would spoil the whole dish or, worse still, cause me food poisoning later.
To be honest, it tasted nice for a plate of Char Koay Teow especially those yummy prawns.. simply heavenly. But if compared to the real Penang style Char Koay Teow, I found the authenticity to be lacking due to the lack of the special fragrance and ‘wok hei’. I feel I am very picky, lol.
Just to be fair, it’s not easy to be a master in all Penang hawker food. Even Penang hawkers themselves are specialized in their very own food only. You won’t be able to find a stall selling both great Prawn Mee and Char Koay Teow, would you?
Mervyn then suggested that we give their Penang Hokkien Char a try. Hokkien Char is a fried noodle (usually yellow mee mixed with vercimilli mee) with dark soya sauce and meat, prawns and vegetables @ RM7. Sometimes liver is included as well.
Like the Char Koay Teow we had earlier, The Wok wasn’t stingy with the ingredients. Huge juicy prawns and generous strips of meat were given.
If eaten on its own Hokkien Char seems like a very normal noodle, which is why sambal is so important for this dish. Sambal is like the soul of Hokkien Char, to provide the desirable spicy and slightly sourish flavor to this noodle. Even just a hint of sambal would make all the difference in the taste and open up your appetite.
But not all sambal would make the cut yeah, because only authentic Penang sambal is qualified for the task. Well, I am glad to say Mervyn has managed to cook the Hokkien Char and sambal very faithfully according to Penang style.
Then it was time for desserts. First up was Cendol @ RM3.30.
And followed by Sago Nangka @ RM3.30 too. Both SL and I preferred this to cendol because the jackfruit bits and sago were just much enjoyable compared to starch noodles and kidney beans. This is highly recommended for desserts.
The father and son team of The Wok Cafe has put in a lot of effort decorating the restaurant to give it a 50-60s feel. With many Nyonya decor, antiques, photos around, dining at The Wok Cafe felt like being sent back to the past.
Round marble tables and old coffee shop chairs will bring out the nostalgic feeling in you. Provided if you’re born before or around the 80s lah, else I doubt you would feel a thing lol.
I know Penang Hokkien Char is not easy to find in KL after being here for some time. So, if you’re curious about how Hokkien Char tastes like and not visiting Penang anytime soon, do head to The Wok Cafe to try it. The Nyonya cuisine looked pretty interesting as well and I won’t hesitate to return to sample it. And if you’re staying near Kota Damansara, do know that I am pretty jealous of you because you have easy access to great Penang food cooked by a true Penangite lol.
The Wok Cafe
Authentic Penang Nyonya & Local Cuisine
26, Jalan PJU 5/21
The Strand, Kota Damansara
PS* – The Wok Cafe is located at the newer shoplots across the road from Kayu’s Nasi Kandar. After turning into The Strand from the traffic light, keep left and you will notice a big electrical shop and Alliance bank. The Wok Cafe is just behind.
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Kin Kin Chili Pan Mee – worst attitude ever
I actually wanted to blog about this Kin Kin Chili Pan Mee later but I am still so damn pissed off with the shop. I had the worst experience dining experience ever here – got our orders forgotten TWICE, waited for one hour and even got scolded by the boss for the slightest thing! No matter how tasty or famous their Chili Pan Mee is, I have vowed to boycott this shop forever. If you feel the and have bad attitudes, man you haven’t seen anything yet.
In KL I believe if Chili Pan Mee is mentioned, Kin Kin is the first shop to come into mind. Besides being famous for their Pan Mee (which I think is overrated anyway) they are also notorious for showing bad attitudes to customers. I have heard some incidents from my close friends where they were scolded by the owners but I have kept an open mind so far. At least until the last weekend.
The Pan Mee we waited for more an hour. Those customers who came in much later than us were served earlier, seriously WTF. They didn’t seem to notice the four of us had been sitting there for so long too. And any reminder to them about our orders would be brushed off nonchalantly. It’s like “do you think I care?” was written on their foreheads.
OK to be fair I am not expecting 5 star hotel service from a noodle stall, heck I didn’t even expect them to be nice and all. But hey, at least show us some respect like a normal human being does!
Chili Flakes. What’s this? Flakes made of chili to be mixed into your pan mee loh. Taste? Spicy and damn salty. I can’t imagine how some people manage to put 5-6 spoonfuls of this into their pan mee..
Although I am still very angry over the incident, I am going to give an honest opinion about their pan mee.. which in my honest, non-biased, frank, genuine, sincere, truthful opinion.. NORMAL only.
Ingredients wise there were self made pan mee, some fried anchovies, minced meat, lard and a sunny side-up egg. First timers were advised by some hand writings on the shop’s wall to only put half a spoon to one spoonful of chili flakes, then slowly increase the amount as desired. For me, I taruh-ed two spoonfuls.
Here’s how it looked like after the noodle was mixed with the chili flakes. Looks fiery and spicy enough for you? The pan mee didn’t have much taste so the only thing one can do is to put a lot of chili flakes to enhance the flavor. That would probably explain the spoonful after spoonful of chili flakes people mix into their pan mee. Heh.
So, you ready to hear my story? Here goes. We entered the shop around 1pm and found a table at the center not too far behind the restaurant. Refer diagram below. I am the orange dude, red dots represent the other customers and the arrows represent the traffic in the restaurant.
Needless to say, when you are sitting at such a position, people are bound to touch you either with their hands or their butts. So we were already very patient with all the waiting and forgotten orders, and I was already a little upset at that time. You’d feel the same too if you were in my shoes.
Then suddenly the lady boss came over to our table and demanded me to sit on the other side of the table, because she said I was blocking the people moving around. WTF? I was not the only person who was seated like that, there were other customers blocking the way too. Even if I moved to the other side of the table, it was going to be the same lah.. still blocking people what.
She: Eh, you come sit over here lah.
Me (frustrated with all the waiting): No need lah, I am fine here.
She: Can you sit over here?! You are blocking people lah. It’s not I don’t want to let you sit there, later they knock you when they deliver the noodles you know.
Me: Nevermind, I will just sit in a bit.
She (shouts): Haiyo, then at least push the table a bit lah! *Carries and shifts the table, many people looking*
After that she walked back to the cooking area, where she threw us an angry look at us. So angry like we were her ???? (enemy who killed her father) Behind her angry stares I imagined what were in her mind, maybe chopping us up into a million pieces, or spitting in our noodles. No kidding, I really had those thoughts. LOL we quickly finished the noodles and left.
If you still feel like visiting Kin Kin after reading my post, you can search for other bloggers’ review. Because I am not even bothered post the shop’s address and location.
And the RM5.30 I paid for the pan mee is definitely the last they’re ever going to get from me. After all, there are many pan mee alternatives in KL with friendlier staff that I can go to. So, if Kin Kin thinks their pan mee is so godlike tasty that they can treat customers the way they treated me, they are obviously wrong.
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Penang Food | Restoran Hock Chuan Heong Oyster Noodles
Long lunch break on Fridays is certainly a time that we look forward to since we can drive further from our usual place to go for makan. Of course, with the Jelutong Expressway built that connects all the way to Weld Quay, the driving time can be much shorter and we get to spend more time at the food outlet rather than inside the car.
We were heading towards Weld Quay, thinking to have the instant chu char at the when suddenly Tam Ciak suddenly thinks of having having oyster noodles. Immediately, we made a right swerve at the the first traffic light to make a turn into Lebuh McCallum (5th Road or Gor Tiau Lor).
Restoran Hock Chuan Heong is a name that does not need much introduction yet many people might still be wondering where this place is. However, the moment the specialty of this shop is mentioned; oyster noodles or “oh mee“, you will probably can associate this place with the expression, Ahhhhh….
This is one of the few places in Penang that almost everything you order has oysters in it. Yes, it sounds like this restaurant is an oyster house. Just like the , this place has only few specialty dishes and most patrons are here for their specialties.
Needless to say, this is a must when you are coming here to eat. What is the better way to introduce this restaurant if it is not for the fried oyster or the oh chien. The oyster fried in omelet is simply delicious with lots of oyster in it. And the plate of fried oyster itself has less sticky tapioca flour compared to the typical fried oyster elsewhere. You get to taste more of the oyster than the flour which sometimes tastes like glue. Huat Koay declares this is the best fried oyster that he has ever tasted. Well, the others quite agree as well.
This is one of the many specialties in Restoran Hock Chuan Heong, the oyster noodles or the oh mee. The oyster noodles has similar looks like “cheh mee” except this one comes with oysters and lots of it. But then the size of the oysters is not consistent as you can get mixture of small and medium ones on the same plate. Besides oysters, the plate of oh mee also included ingredients like prawns, pig liver, vegetables etc.
Tau Kua Chien or Fried Bean Curd is another simple yet delicious dish that one must order while eating here. Although the tau kua chien consist of three main ingredients of bean curd fried together with leeks (suan nah or sing kia) and prawns, the taste is exceptionally good. The tau kua or bean curd is slightly special as we tasted some 5 spices flavour on the bean curd that makes it slightly different from the regular bean curd.
The fried tang hoon (glass noodles) is slightly wet type and dark in colour. The slight wetness in this fried tang hoon makes it easier to chew and swallow down the throat. It is quite appetizing yet not too salty. With ingredients like prawns, oysters, pig liver and vegetables, this plate of tang hoon is just a nice substitutes to rice for our meal.
The Bak Kee soup is a unique soup so to speak as the bak kee is actually mixture of meat inside tapioca flour which has been fried before being cooked together with the soup. The bak kee or the meat dough can be quite smooth and slippery because of the tapioca flour used. Cabbage is also added to the soup. Tau Hua felt too much starch inside this soup that she prefers to help herself with other dishes instead.
Tam Ciak feels the oyster noodles are much better here but Fei Fei keeps arguing the one at F is much better. But we do agree the fried oyster and tau kua chien are two dishes ought to order when dining here. The tang hoon (glass noodles) deserve to mention as well as it does satisfy our tastebuds where bak kee would be an interesting soup to try on.
344-G-5, Pengkalan Weld,
10300 Penang
Phone: 04-2611004
Business Hours:
12.00pm till 6:30pm
Map to be updated later…
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