Euro Deli - 2 German , 1 Swiss , 1 English

Probably has been years since we stepped through their doors and much has changed .

The seating layout has changed , workforce tapered , but surprise , surprise , some portions are as large yet the prices remain more or less the same !

Outside , locals are seated enjoying a pint or more while inside ,sees spots of Japanese men having a drink with their buddy or alone . Strangely , they're not drinking Asahi but Carlsberg or Hoegaarden .

Unlike them , we're here for the food . Here we go .

 1. Mixed roast . 

Gerostetes Fleisch von er Haxe , Rippchen und Schweinebauch .

Pork knuckle , rib and belly .

Oh man , although the cuts they served me was a little bit on the dry side ( not to worry , there were lots of sticky prime juicy parts too ) , they did not pick this up from the jit tiao lor market and dress it up with some sauce . No , no .

This is as German as you can get in Malaysia and damn , is it good !

Found layers of divine smoked garlic , sea salt , nutty surprises , the delicious different flavours embedded in the crackling skin is best eaten first ( don't leave it to the end or you will regret it like I did as it got tougher since we really took our time to savour every bite ) 

Loved the mash ( think they mixed in some horseradish ) and really appreciated the spiced red cabbages ( ought to do macrobiotic wonders to my sluggish system )

Yes the portion is huge , but German food is really good for your body so eat up , keep active and watch the fat melt away like magic !

Go Noodle House

There is a perpetual queue outside this outlet .

Salmon Steak Bowl - Fish Fest at Yoshinoya Hanamaru

Just when I thought we'd be relegated to just Udon , Beef and Japanese curry  variations forever and ever , the good people at Yoshinoya Hanamaru Malaysia decided to spice things up a bit . 

And Penang has the honour of having 2 out of 3 outlets in the entire country to introduce this brand new menu .

However , given the history of how  Salmon is served ( so unfresh with such an unpleasant smell in this country ) , we approached the promising looking menu with much trepidation .

To think of it , it does seem pretty ambitious at first glance .

Saba Flake Bowl 

Salmon Saba Mix Bowl

Saba Kabayaki Bowl

Saba Fillet Bowl

Salmon Steak Bowl 

That's a whole lot of fish for an outlet that is famed for beef !

Decided on the Salmon Steak Bowl .

Upon scrutinising the pricing , the thought of going 3 levels up to Sushi Tei for our grilled Salmon Teriyaki fix did cross my mind .

MYR 19.80 for a Salmon Steak bowl was a little steep when you compare the 2 outlets side by side .

Sushi Tei is a full serving restaurant while Yoshinoya Hanamaru is a self service place . 

I knew I could depend on Sushi Tei for fresh fish , but having fish in Yoshinoya ? This was going to be a gamble on my part . I'd either love it or live to regret it .

 

Anywayyyyy , the first nibble put all doubt to rest  .

Yes I love it. 

Served in a cast iron pot perched ontop of a wooden pedestal , with a small portion of short grained rice at the bottom accompanied by spring onions , a dab of wasabi , some maddeningly addictive Japanese mayo and a pinch of cut seaweed , 

is the salmon steak .

I'll say , I wasn't at all impressed with the portion . However the creamy taste , seared light smokey sweet sauce put the smile back on my face .

Didn't try all of the other fish dishes since we all have our individual addictions , 

but the fact that the fish is so fresh ,not overdone , with the skin still a little sticky... fatty underlayer intact , you can't go wrong with this for a change , even for someone like me who prefers raw sashimi to a cooked salmon . 

This one's good . All good .

Thumbs up . Gulping my saliva as I recall the flavours . Very nice . Good job !

Location : Gurney Plaza , Penang 

Available in these other following outlets : Sunway Carnival , Aeon Shah Alam .

Little Dragon Puffs in a bamboo steamer - Din Tai Fung

I love the set up of this restaurant . Clean lines , with guzheng and erhu music lilting softly in the background .Slightly spiffy but not too stiffling  , the staff approach is one that maintains a distance , is professionally non judgemental , yet remains attentive and quick to attend to every one of our needs and wants .

Makes you feel as if you fit right in , with thoughtful , polite diners that take care not to raise their voice to too many decibels .....my kinda place alright  .

Din Tai Fung - Gurney Plaza

Have put off coming here for months already . 

Well , we finally took the plunge today but alas I have no extra pics to prove that we tucked in at this outlet , because my phone was er ...overtaxed and undercharged .

Thus you will have to make do with just one photo ( updated with photos as we went back a 2nd time ) of this house speciality , the starter ....a kelp, tofu , beansprout and glass noodle pickle which tasted so Taiwanese , I wore a puzzled look on my face till I checked out their facebook page . Which is laughable because I assumed from the set up that Din Tai Fung was Hongkie in origin .

No , Din Tai Fung is a Taiwanese restaurant with fine dining Chinese cuisine that will knock you off your feet , you Alishan bumpkin you ( I'm talking about me ) !

Fajita and the trio

Chili's Fajita dish now comes with dips hung this way .

They're cute and encourage you to dine in a more petite manner . But when it came to me , it was a hands on job .

Set Lunch at Sushi Tei, Penang

Sushi Tei has everything going for it.

Exciting open sushi kitchen, classy looking interior accentuated by massive mirrors and panels, beautiful food, great lighting .

But my goodness, I sincerely hope someone from their Singaporean head office reads this review of mine, because their local ushers and local floor staff have got a huge attitude problem. They absolutely hate interacting with customers and are reluctant to help. 

Luckily I sat in the area where foreign staff were assigned to. Now, these foreigners, on the other hand, were sincerely welcoming and incredibly nice .

Scallop - Q - Gurney Plaza ( PF )

Had my first taste of Hokkaido scallops while in Japan....omg, while that was a revelation, it just doesn't taste the same outside of the country.

Still, let's try this Taiwan franchise out today.

Besides the very attractive kiosk, the owner's bubbly face is one of the draw factors.

 

Check out the prices.

 At $5.80 per stick, it's definitely cheaper than other street vendors in Taiwan itself.

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 !

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.

Max Gourmet,Gurney Plaza ( NH )

Take Note : This Outlet Is No Longer In Operation


Although Max Gourmet has been around for some time already, I'm trying it out for the first time today.

At first we sit outside with the crowd, but then I spy some box seats inside, so we shift inwards.

Chicken Nuggets - GSC Cinemas

Came here to watch Men In Black 3 tonight.

That was just the pretext.

This is the real reason why I chose this place over others.

Chicken Nuggets

Can't get enough of the hard, crunchy, puffed up crust.

Large size please.

We settle into our seats in the cinema hall .

Noom noom noom....until we realise that we've finished them even before the show has started.

A quick run outside for a second order, soon fixes that.

Happens that I was seated next to a girl with 3 kinds of odours. That kind of spoilt it for me.

Till it didn't matter if I thought Josh Brolin's acting was like kayu. Nor that Will Smith's timing seemed a little off.

Everytime she bent forward, she released the heat from the drawers she had soaked for 3 days before washing.

And when she lifted her right arm,every now and then, I smelt car freshener.

She also bought a box of popcorn with her.
I was ok with that.
It was when she opened her mouth to pop one in, that the right side of my body wilted from her garlic breath.

Maybe next time we should get Premier Class tickets.

Either that or she was really Boris the Animals sister in disguise.

( NH ) Hong Kong Kim Gary Restaurant - new look

It's been ages since I've been here. They've closed for renovations for so long, I've almost forgotten they even existed on this floor .

We followed the waitress into the area where the cushioned seats were.

Nando's Cataplana feast, Gurney Plaza ( PF )

Penangites have fallen hopelessly in love with this Portuguese chicken franchise from day one.

Us included.

 We want to try out their signature dish, served in this very cute but strange looking copper/brass like container.

( NH ) Euro Deli Biergarten, Penang

 

How wonderful it is, to be able to watch their progression as the years go by.  I've been a fan, from the time they first infiltrated our supermarkets to the exciting dining options they present to us today.

Take a look at this unbelievable All day long offer .

We don't need convincing since we know, just how smooth the dark Erdinger beer here is.