Oh really ?

I absolutely love Libby's.

Fry it with some big onions and place it on top of a plate of hot white rice .

While I have no problem consuming non halal food, to see this recategorised over on this shelf, does come as a surprise to me. Yeah, in Malaysia, even if there's a halal sign from overseas authorities, this is possible. 

No wonder I haven't been seeing some brands like Greatwall ( from China ) . 

Never realised there was an issue until today.

Hokkien mee stall no.6 - Kompleks Sri Selera Bayan Baru

Don't usually add the red chilli to my bowl of hokkien mee but in this case it is neccessary as this version of hokkien mee is so different from what I am accustomed to. 

If you come at the right time, that is when the soup has developed its full , rich flavour , 

you too will return again like what I did here.

Nowadays there are plenty of pretty bad hokkien mee sellers around who put much sugar in the soup you feel like you want to strangle them on the spot . However , when I tried this for the first time , I liked it instantly. More pork slices , kangkung which is extinct in other stalls , more egg slices than elsewhere , slighter bigger portion , still low in price ....pretty happy with this.

Jalan Raja Uda - a nook for great teatime hawker food

You probably know how much I have been groaning and bitching on how bad Penang hawker food is becoming these days .Well ,

I walked away with a most positive experience and my faith in good old hawker food renewed .

Now , I'm not going to make this easy for you. Since it is the tourist throngs,  that spell the death knell to quality hawker food which Penang is so famous for.  Will post up a few photo clues so you can hunt them down if you want. All the hawkers are in the same area. 

First up. 

Cendol. 

If you ask me to go to that famous stall in Penang Road I would rather jump off a cliff. The other day at Gurney Paragon , I had their worst ever bowl of cendol which came with frozen unthawed green noodles . What a disgrace !

Compare with the one I found here. It is perfect ! I love this. The noodles are silky , the gula melaka fragrant and the santan not too jelak with a super cold ice shaving that doesn't go warm before the 5th mouthful. 

Perfect !

Japanese Salmon Yee Sang at Sushi Tei

Yee Sang is also known as Lo Hei, which is a most colourful dish symbolising prosperity , requiring all of 27 ingredients . It's not only fun tossing everything together with chopsticks , this creation by Sushi Tei Gurney Plaza gets the thumbs up from me as the absolute best , most yum yum, Yee Sang I've had all these years. Not too sharp, with the right amount of sour and just the right amount of sweetness, it is spicy , tangy and downright mouthwatering to the last sesame .

Beautiful presentation needless to say. 

Thanadsri Hatyai ( Since 1969 )

We were actually aiming to eat at a similar competitors shop 3 doors away but nobody was finishing soon and that's how we ended up here for the first time. 

The young lady with high bun ( whom I presume is part of the shop owner's clan ) is very humble, very gentle, sweet , friendly and she tries her best to help us with our order in the best way possible.

Double steamboat - a partition of torture

The steamboat is a modern version of the Mongolian hotpot. With the latter, charcoal is used to heat the soup while steamboat relies on gas or electric stoves to do the job. 

Most people do not find this concept appealing .Me too initially, until the day it dawned on me that hey, I actually know how to develop a hearty soup on the spot. While satisfying, the whole steamboat experience isn't very exciting. We need a little spice in our lives.

So last week, we ended up here, where half the excitement lies in that nasty red looking half side. The soups are partitioned and they will never mix, thus you've got the best of both worlds. Crazy  Spicy hell on one side and normality on the other .

The better 3 dish meal

Two lanky white men walked into this crumbling dinner shack on stilts yesterday. I heard one of them say

" Geep mi yor besd " with a big grin, in all good intention. 

The local Mandarin speaking waiter shot him a blank look and started squirming about trying to look like he knew what he just said, without giving the game up.

The taukehsoh ( ladyboss) soon stepped in and asked 

in English 

" So what you want ? Cheeken ? Feeeshhh ? Where gee ? "

They nodded at all three and left the cooking all up to her.

Gee...no they shouldn't have left it to the ladyboss to recommend. Especially when they themselves eat spicy stuff and think you, would prefer less, um, stimulating dishes.

But let's forget those two for a moment and take a look at my meal first.

Butter prawn with slightly crisp egg batter , sugar granules and bayleaf. Tasty but a bit overdone . My biggest gripe is that the prawn was way too small for a dish like this and nobody in the kitchen had the courtesy to warn us beforehand.  

Roasted duck rice - Goh Chew Cafe

A roasted duck meal like this would cost a bomb in Beijing or Hong Kong, ah, but not in Malaysia. Simple, filling and very delicious , this roadside stall is where I get my fix every now and then.

This coffeeshop is not my favourite place in the world, so most times if I don't do a takeaway I will request for my meal to be sent across the street to another premise.

Sau Tao - XO Sauce Scallop noodles ( non halal )

I'm not into the whole Penang Curry hoopla but I certainly have a craving for pungent  Hong Kong style dry wantan noodles. After I first ate this, I told myself, omg, if I were homesick or longing for some good old Hong Kong noodles, this one will do just the trick. 

Been months since the shelves were restocked and I wasted no time in grabbing some.

Nowadays, the wantan mee sold at the hawker stalls is so suspect....I seriously wonder if I'm gonna die from boric acid poisoning thus I try not to eat as much of the dish. Keep it to a minimum while I gorge on this one.

 

Back at Taste Thai Cuisine - Alma

Fans of clear tomyam , might not like this Southern version. In contrast this one is very oily , very sharp and sometimes very sour too.

But me, I wanted to have what everyone was having so there. After skimming through the gamut of ingredients, I still prefer clear tomyam over this ,anytime.

Still, in case you wanna know what was inside, we ordered a Seafood tomyam ( medium prawns, oyster mushroom, fish meat chunks , squid galangal slices, kafir lime leaves )what was unusual is that there were that marbled shellfish called lala which is abundant in supply in KL, but rarely sold in Penang wetmarkets .

Taste Thai Cuisine - 2nd visit

Two cute little maiden statues greet you at the door.

She must know, that for me return twice in 2 days must mean I kinda like this very Hakka-ish looking , minimalist but very sweet little restaurant already.

Taste Thai Cuisine - Alma

Though there are so many Chinese-Thai restaurants in Prai ,so far I have not been compelled enough to give them a try after a bad experience at a supposedly famous one near Bagan Ajam.

However, I simply could not pass up the chance to try out this place . Being fairly new yet managing to attract a hoard of diners ? Ok, I'm going in.

Shin Mi Seafood Restaurant

The owner used to teach in Kedah before . 

After the tsunami battered this area, he bought over the 100 year old premise , and has not looked back since.

Joyce hokkien mee - Pulau Tikus morning market

The signboard indicates that they've been in business since the 1950's. If that is the case ,I'm just wondering how come most of today's Penang hokkien mee version on the island, has become so corrupted with sugar and all that other etc ingredients.

Tai Buan porridge - Muntri Street

The weather's been so hot lately.

33 Celcius on Sunday.

Dove into this oldie but goodie Moi place to cool down the system.

Am featuring this bowl of humble porridge first because for Moi connoiseurs , achieving a texture of this consistency takes a lot of TLC as well as some secret kungfu .

Green umbrella tomyam stall - Sathorn

You'll find this row of green umbrellas a little way off  after you come out from the Silom underground MRT station .

Very popular with the local ladies, you'll get to see a broad spectrum of them eating here, from nurses, to schoolgirls and even resident tarts from Patpong 

( NH ) Royale Burger,main courses and other memories - Mediteca

 

 

 

They didn't name this the Royale Beef & Cheese Burger for nothing.

 

 

 

 

Two thick slabs of extravagant meats sandwich the freshest salad leaves and most sinful cretches of cheese meant to pop your drawer buttons open.

( NH ) Appetizers & Salads - Mediteca

 

 

I just love how the sun seeps through the balustrades to light up the quaint but chic little atmosphere inside. The appetite is immediately worked up as we gingerly navigate our way through the  simple display counter.
 

 

 

 

Much thought has been given to lend simple dishes such aplomb and character. The potato gratin in the foreground is the most marvellous thing I've had in eons ! Finely sliced, lovingly baked with careful layers of cheese,omg, I'm in heaven.

( NH ) Cold cuts,pickles & cheese - Mediteca

 

 

It's been a long time since I've seen someone pour so much love,dedication and pride into his craft. That's part of the reason why people are raving over Mediteca. Chef Riccardo is the secret ingredient.

Entirely approachable, he's downright serious when it comes to getting the art of making delicious food, just right, for each and every customer that walks through the door. 

The machine you see here is what he uses to personally slice cold cuts as the customers come... one platter at a time.

No precuts left out in the open to dry.

 

 

 

 

Fact is, most Malaysians ( me included )  have never actually been that fond of cold cuts and hard cheeses . Last items to be finished at the buffet table if you ever noticed . But ah,wait, this is where he works his magic.

( NH ) Midnight queue- Air Itam Duck Rice

Update 16th August : 
this is why Penangites are reluctant to recommend their favourite haunts to outsiders. There are too many customers now. It makes the traders head grow very big. Quality is compromised. Standards have dropped. The other night I was here, the pork was not fresh, the meat very salty, I got a hard boiled egg that already went bad, plus the rice was too soggy.

---------

And so, I finally went and did it. Joined the queue for the famous midnight duck rice in Air Itam, that is.

Look carefully at the picture and try to spot the 3 boys in pyjamas. Nothing unusual except for the fact that they're full grown Teenagers !

Have always been very fond of Air Itam because of all it's quirky familiarness but this stall certainly takes the cake.

There are just so many patient people , united in the still of the night , awaiting their turn like a congregation of confessioners at a chapel of food.