Melting Pot Cafe - Concorde Inn, KLIA ( U )

I have to say, I thought the food here would be average, But I was wrong.

Let's start with the Mushroom soup.

Last time I had something this good was many,many years ago at the Renaissance near KLCC.

Superb and very filling too if I may add.

Craving for piping hot pizza at 2am in the morning ?

Can't tell you how it tasted as the person who ordered this guarded it jealously.

What I can say though is that it looked real impressive.

Concorde Inn, KLIA

We had missed the last flight and had to wait till the next morning. Pan Pacific was FULL ! The other one inside the satellite building run by MAS too !

In desperation, I called Concorde Inn and they directed me here via phone

The ride wasn't as far as I had thought it would be.
And we were at the lobby in good time.

Duck Meat Koay Teow Thng - Super Suck XXX ( NH)

Oily....sweet.....wrong recipe.

Most horrible ktt !
few fishball,small fibres of meat ....Costs $5 !!!

Who would have thought of using the thng for boiling kai see chook (chicken porridge) to cook koay teow thng ?

Koay Teow Thng - Kimberley Street (NH)

This was actually a very quiet street before a tv programme made a bunch of hawkers here so famous

Sadly, the stall in the picture below, 
is one of the last remaining handful that offers a decent bowl of koay teow thng , today, on Penang island
(there are so many horrible ones , let me tell you )

Glad to say that the owners have not let success go to their heads.They're one of the most humble, friendly and patient stall owners around.

My order comes complete with sliced red chillies ( rare ! )

Tong Pak Fu - what boycott ? ( NH )

Whose bright idea was it to boycott the chain ?

Because nobody in Penang is listening

Durian Snow ice with grass jelly .

Features small pieces of cornflakes, a few pieces of exploding pearl balls, tiny chopped fruit, grass jelly and most important of all, D24 durian flavour hidden within a soft cloud of shaved ice !

Ros Mutiara - Lemony Pickled Tandoori & Naan ( U )

I've never liked the tandoori , sold in the popular shop opposite Ros Mutiara.



Maybe because this place is frequented by less people,

 you are rewarded with the rare sight of a street chef , lovingly slaving over the clay oven like this.

Hainanese Delights - $60 ? Are you kidding ? ( PF )

Mind you, the restaurant is located within a budget hotel , so excuse me, for complaining that I find the bill a bit too much.

Our order

• 3 drinks - 2 hainanese kopi ( 1 hot, 1 cold), 1 orange juice
• 1 dessert - 1 small bowl of sago with gula melaka
• 3 mains - 1 fried rice, 1 fried rice with salted fish, 1 fried beehoon
• 1 appetizer - 2 spring rolls

Fried rice. Tasty and nice with prawns and chicken meat.

 Deep fried onions were so hard , I spit them out in disgust.

Fried beehoon. Crunchy sawi, nice fluffy scrambled eggs with prawns and chicken meat.

Again, the onions spoilt the whole dish.

Boiling inside.

Transfer Road Roti Canai ( U ) -Tomorrow You Will Know...

You might wonder why everyone is lined up against the wall, facing the dusty road like this.

In case you decide to join in the sweatclub , never take their

"ok ajer" face for granted.

Actually their insides are exploding and they're their best trying to maintain their composure

Others prefer to pour the meat and curry on top of the roti for that extra power kick.

But we're keeping the curry and bread separate.

Our breakfast.....

3 pieces of canai, one piece of chicken and one serving of mutton - all for $11

Close up of the roti canai. Looks burnt, oily and tiny.

Right on all counts. Add salty to the list.

Although this might be a borderline case in the hygiene and cooking school department , you can't help but wonder,  how on earth can something so unappetizing looking , taste so damn gooood ?

1 Month+ to spend

Leave it to me to spend.

No problemo.

Will be gone in a blink.

Shell Lego Ferrari Promotion

Updated entry (21st Nov 2012) : Kelawei Road SOLD OUT


So difficult to purchase this

Must have Bonuslink card ...purchase petrol above $40 ....
wait for it , there's more.
On top of coughing out extra money , if you're eyeing the pitstop lego crew, you'll have to purchase the expensive fuel .

And after all that trouble, the eager midget, accidentally 'tepek-ed' the sticker 'senget'.

Deep breath, deep breath.

Nando's Peri-Vilege Membership Card

One of the nicest membership card packs I ever paid $10 for is this

Tear the cute sticker seal open...

..to reveal the membership card.

7 Village Lin Restaurant HQ ( NH )

This restaurant has grown and evolved by leaps and bounds today

With 3 branches scattered around the major growth areas on the mainland, I'm wondering when they'll ever open up a shop on Penang island.

They've very successfully elevated the humble koay teow thng shop, into a modern cafe with the option to dine in airconditioned comfort

..or not, in case you prefer the old sweat shop treatment

Part of their success has to do with the generous portion.

Large bowl costs $4.50

Gaudily indecent Kenari

This ridiculously souped up Kenari caught my eye.

If you look closer at the cartoon on the back though....

...you wonder if the JPJ will detain the car for a personalized stripping session by the roadside


Totally naked fox girl, legs splayed wide open, save for the hair and tail placed at the most strategic places .

Restoran Deen - Nasi Kandar Jelutong ( U )

To me, Deen sells the most moderately priced yet delicious nasi kandar on the island

Most locals, I am sure would concur with me.

There is always a line , any given time of the day .

Four Seasons Tea Restaurant - Bayan Lepas (NH )

This restaurant remains a firm favourite, while their other branch in town has faltered .
However, don't expect much from their service crew and you'll emerge just fine.

Diners, while mostly casually attired, are here for the reasonably priced , good food.
Some of them act like its their own home, hoisting 2 feet up onto the chair as they dig into their favourite dishes.
You may have to close one eye, to not only that balkingly rude behaviour, but also to the beat up fixtures that have seen better days.

The best durians outside Balik Pulau ( U )

There are vendors in town who have the privilege of reserving some of the best trees from the area, to their customers convenience, and this is the one, you have to look out for.

He is "expensive but good " 
gushed an old achim who recommended this place to me.

Select your fruit, get it weighed, pay for your purchase, then sit back and enjoy the view as you dine beneath the canopy of umbrellas and trees

Jasmine Garden Cafe ( PF)

7th January 2013 :

I don'tknow what's happened. Whether the kitchen is on strike or the chef has got a better offer elsewhere but the usual foods below which we ordered were dissapointing.
No taste. Not salty enough. Rancid char siew. Undercooked chicken. 

Earlier post :

Although YMCA lies just a little further down, across the road , most tourists give this a miss, preferring to venture elsewhere without ever realising, that they have a gem right at their doorstep .

Instead a bulk of their customers nowadays, consists of Indonesian medical tourists and staff from the hospital nearby.

Belacan chicken is excellent.

No overpoweringly, bitter belacan flavour.

Just heavenly.
You absolutely have to try this dish when you're in Penang.

Restoran Minah - Gelugor ( U )

This shop is a real throwback to the 70s.
It's also so much cleaner, with an environment that is much more pleasant , compared to the other great Minangkabau restaurant inside Georgetown.
The only drawback is parking, which can be quite a challenge as the area has limited space only.

It may be further from everything, yet manages to attract a good mix of local and Indonesian customers

Fried chinese pastry van outside Lye Lye ( NH )

Didn't take much notice of this white mobile van on the left hand side of the building, until today.

Because, I had initially come to this kopitiam for some loh bak .

Don't know what happened, only the tofu and century egg was edible this time around.

It was good last time but now beh chiak already.

The fishball was sour, the small popiah like getah.

Why oh why ?

Dave's Deli ( PF )

 Expect nothing less than good,wholesome food from this particular Dave's Deli outlet.

Customers have to line up and order food canteen style but who's complaining when there's no additional taxes on an incredibly reasonable bill ?

Always look forward to the roast chicken.

Portion is definitely larger than their competitors, mashed potatoes are really creamy and delicious.

Salads always perfect and crunchy.

Restoran Sup Hameed ( U )

 Although this is the best place for sup kambing in Penang, I usually resort to takeaway because the whole restaurant from outside to inside is infested with smokers .

Thus today is the first time after many, many, many years, that I am eating in .

But it doesn't take long for me to regret that decision especially when I'm drinking mutton soup, under a choking haze of Marlboro and keretek.

Dato' Lee Chong Wei - 100 Plus fridge magnet

Bet you've seen this face on countless 100 plus bottles.

But on a fridge magnet ?

Wait.... made from tin and not ceramic ?

Awesomeness...I wanted one !

 

Got it from buying a 500ml 100 plus bottle at a participating outlet.

Comes in 3 other designs .... Pandalela Rinong , Khairul Fahmi Che Mat and Azizul Hasni Awang.

Springs Town Restaurant ( NH )

Every Penangite worth their salt, knows how to sniff out and make a beeline, for an out of the way, gem such as this.

Prices of most dishes are so ridiculously low , you might want to pinch yourself,
 seeing that the setting inside, is almost palatial with nice airconditioning and lighting even

Passions of Kerala ( PF )

This restaurant combines the best of both worlds....

a nice banana leaf meal, in clean, air conditioned comfort .

One vegetarian set costs just $5.50

Flash flood at Gunung Semanggol R&R

At first, I thought there had been an accident

A police car passes by, while this man is striking a gangnam style pose.

No he didn't, he was just directing traffic.

Water pooling ?

PLUS personnel standing around for some reason or another.
Probably to prevent insistent drivers from bulldozing in.

Looks like the entrance to the r & r is blocked

Confirmed

How to get in ?

Bad luck if you desperately needed to use the toilet...

Hmmm.... wonder where the flood is coming from

With the school holidays round the corner and the rain showing no signs of letting up , hope PLUS solves this problem ASAP.

D' Portuguese Cafe & Restaurant - Authentic Kristang Flavours ( PF)

At first glance, it looked like another ordinary makan stop

But take a second look ....

Xuan Xin Restaurant - Gurney Plaza ( NH )

Every dish here, bears a sticker with the name, of the respective Master who concocted it.
Most dishes start off nicely, only to turn unbearable before you're even halfway through .

Lotus root fried with mok yee, snowpeas and carrots. Although everything had a nice crunchy texture , it was a sad case of taste overload.
Too much wine, fermented red bean overdose.

3 quarters left uneaten.

Stay foodless near Taiping NSE or else ...

I'm not sure if you remember this tragic, real life incident. A family had sent their daughter to the airport in KL, as she was going to study overseas. Their car stalled somewhere along the NSE northbound outside Ipoh.
They stayed put inside their car and were hit by an oncoming vehicle. The whole family perished.

Present day.
It was after midnight. As we were approaching the first entrance to Taiping, our car suddenly made a funny sound and to our utmost horror, gave up speed . Quick thinking hubby was able to avert any untoward accident. He safely steered it towards the side of the highway .
Bearing that tragic incident about the family above, in mind , I ordered everyone out .
As we stood outside waiting for help to arrive, we noticed across the road, another driver had just abandoned his car and was running into a palm oil estate. Not sure if he was a criminal who was pursued by cops or if he had been spooked, but he left his car door open and never returned the whole time we were standing there.
From where we were standing, the kids could hear a sort of light hiss every now and then. I didn't hear a thing neither did hubs. They were creeped out by that.
Help soon arrived in the form of the PLUS peronda who helped tow our vehicle to the toll plaza. Other than being a little shaken up, we soon found out that the timing belt had snapped. Caused considerable damage which luckily we were able to cover ( talk about great timing) with something I had just won .

Anyway, a few months after that , I read a letter to the editor in a local newspaper. The Indian lady related, that in the same area where our timing belt had unfortunately snapped, her small son suddenly became possessed and started talking in another being's voice.

What she related next,gave me the creeps.
She said that both she and her husband had driven into Taiping, in search of a temple to help rid their son of whatever was inside him.
The priest adviced her that the area she had just travelled was 'dirty' and the incident happened because she had carried some food containing meat in her car and 'those beings' had been attracted to it .
If you wanted to avoid trouble and you had no choice but to pass the area after 7pm , the rule was to ensure that you transport no cooked food in your car, he said to her.

Shit. So that's it. On the day our belt snapped, we had packed some food (yong tau foo) back from KL. Damn. That explains a lot of things.

From then onwards, we have never EVER tapaued any food back . Unless it was before 7pm. But I'm not one to take chances.
So no more foo chook, no more beef noodles,no peah,no mee, no porridge, no nothing.
Everything we want to eat, we consume on the spot either in Ipoh or in KL. No tapauing allowed. No tumpaing to buy things like bak kua either. Forget it.
My car stays meatless and foodless as far as possible, whenever we travel up north from KL .