Sum Sook Restaurant - Bukit Tengah

 Based on how unappetizing this dish looked ,we really never expected the unlikely combo of sweet sharp lime sauce and tofu that's been deep fried till so dry, it looks all wrong , could turn out to be  winner .

This plate of Kerabu Tauhu just proved that. So addictive that after the first careful nibble , we began fighting over it. 

Kampar Fish Jelly Restaurant - Jalan Aziz Ibrahim

There are many people from Perak working and living in Penang. Hope that explains the popularity and proliferation of joints selling staple Perak favourites such as pakcham kai and Kampar fishballs.

Having patronised this shop from the first time they set up shop near Bayan Bay , I can tell you the changes they have undergone. 

First up is the workforce. Today , there are lots of foreigners who can communicate in English here. In the beginning there were more Chinese staff. 

This batch is very efficient and so hardworking to boot , I am sure some girls will be eyeing the more capable ones already. 

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 !

Nona Bali - IJM Promenade

Have consistently been putting it off . Been so reluctant to step foot there , I swapped destinations so many times already . 

But ah , this is where the social media steps in. It really does wield a strong influence on us . We do care about other peoples likes and dislikes , even if they're complete strangers . 

That's why you're here reading this. We are voyeurs who like to see other peoples life experiences from a safe distance.

 Coming down to me , when I see a flight crew come home all the way from the middle east and one of the first restaurant he hits is a Balinese joint , I want to know what I've been missing .

Uncle Jang , Vantage - bibs and tissues needed

A lot of mothers were dragged in here for Mother's Day and while I needed no persuasion  , I was rather surprised by the communal pojangmacha feel to the restaurant.

There is one stark difference other than the foreign workforce and that's the bright, half bibbed aprons hung on every chair

Chou Yang - porridge to stave off the heat and excess

One minute it's raining , next minute it's hot. 

Hot Bowl - Rangoon Road

One street behind , is where you can find the Lorong Selamat Char Koay Teow lady . The lady has a temper so famous she even made Anthony Bourdain laugh when she gave him a sound shelling . On the street behind Lorong Selamat, is Rangoon Road , where yet another bad tempered species plies his trade .....this time the male version.

Everybody thinks he has male menopause syndrome , but me , I think his ass is on fire , since he can't sit down properly due to the fact that his curry mee paste is so fiery it probably welded his um , back bottom down there openings together . There's got to be some leftovers some time and he's bound to get a taste of his own medicine more times than us paying customers.

And because there is a pony tailed girl in here with....surprise ! a bad temper too , I quietly confine myself to snapping a picture of the menu. 

Il Bacaro - the menu you cannot possibly miss

We were here because frankly , I think I understand why Italians scoff at American pizza. Nah. Truth is , I just wanna have a bite of a pizza as unforgettable as the one we ordered for room service at Casa Del Rio. 

Ever since that , my life , my pit-za life has been one empty plate

Yummy Yam basket at Hooi Wang

If only you could smell and taste this.

Hooi Wang's version is super addictive to the very last white beehoon on the plate. The beehoon has been deep fried into puffs to absorb the delicious sauce that runs out once you start eating the basket itself which is made from yam . Prick away and you will find that the insides are as yellow as a pumpkin which makes it even more intriguing . In most establishments , the basket is just for decorative purposes , not very appetizing, but one bite of this and you will see all the chopsticks steadily picking away at it.

There are at least 3 varieties of mushrooms , crunchy celery , snowpeas , brown squid , baby corn ooohhh....so , so good. 

Bee See Heong - another version of Chinese Curry Prawns

Sure , you' ve seen the brand of Chinese tea before but have you seen the teapot ? Well I haven't . The leaves inside are good on first pour , gets bitter midway but has no flavour when you add a second round of hot water , so I'm pretty sure this is a mix we're getting .

Nasi Kandar Line Clear - Penang Airport

You won't find me in the Line Clear outlet in Georgetown. Don't like the servers , there's a horrible queue, plenty of smokers , rats everywhere and most important of all , they can't even get my teh tarik drink right. Next, there's the ongoing family saga, fight for the business, with guns involved and raids conducted, woooo...darned stupid risk for innocent diners to take.

Now, the outlet at the airport, of course it's not only much more pleasant to dine in, if you have spotted the chef doing his QC and giving his underling a hard time, you want to blow him a kiss and thank him for upholding the standards that earned them fame . 

You see this order ( our order of course ) and you'll immediately think it's suicide right ? 

1 cabbage, 2 squid, 1 beef, 2 different types of chicken ( 1 fried, 1 curry ) plus rice and drinks .

Damage : RM60 with change

Think about it. Clean , airconditioned premise, less people, fussy cerewet chef in da house. Me, I will return, even if it's this expensive. No smokers, good tea, quality Nasi Kandar, spicy as hell aromatic curries . Fantastic !

Location : Arrival floor, Penang International Airport

What 70 ringgit can get you at East Coast Grill - Red Garden

Did you see the headlines in the papers today ? 

Yes we're all getting fed up with hawkers giving us nothing in our RM4 bowl or plate of noodles.

Sometimes I feel like it's more worth it to eat at restaurants since you now need 4 bowls to feel full which is ridiculous really. Work that out by 4 pax and I'm sure you'll agree with me.

 There are many grill joints in Penang named East Coast, on the island but not all of them serve good food.

This one's different.

This whole feast cost us a grand total of RM70. Here's what we enjoyed. Some of these shellfish dishes were featured in a post before this.

Cargas Cafe - fret not, they are staying put

Worried over news that some premises in Pekan Bayan Lepas were given 30 days notice to move out, he went to ask the boss for his number.

" Don't worry , they're not going anywhere . They won't be affected by the development of a new flyover "

At this point I want to thank all the gods in the universe that I can think of, for this piece of good news

Disgusting looking Malaysian Chinese hawker dishes that are good for health

When I'm feeling under the weather I load up on gross 

looking Chinese foods.

This hawker on Kimberley Street sells duck porridge and 

after eating a whole bowl , whatever latent heat that is trapped in my liver is expunged almost instantly.

I can feel it escaping from my back and there is a general feeling of relief from that.

Seoul Garden Sunrise Tower 2015

Not that I'm complaining about the price....

Free School fried fritters

Actually I don't understand why other operators just cannot get this fritter recipe right. All you need is a small dose of kapor or lime powder which has by now proven to be carcenogic if eaten regularly. Why we eat such things well, I really have no answer for that other than we used to trust others whenever they told us certain foods were good for us. But now that we know better we still get drawn to them like moths to a flame. Yellow noodles, wantan mee, canned fried dace, luncheon meat...all equally bad for us still we love eating them.

So anyway, that's what this stall is famous for. 

Fried fritters. 

You can get yam fritters, yam with niangou fritters, sweet potato fritters and banana fritters.

Hock Chicken Rice - Tanjung Bungah

Most Penang TAR students would know this chicken rice stall. Initially located in a small shack by the roadside, when development engulfed the area, they have since relocated to the Tanjong Bungah wetmarket makan area.

All the pictures you see below was the meal we had. 

All in Rm16 only.

1. One generous plate of chopped chicken together with one par boiled liver plus spring onion garnish that's missing eleswhere

Pizzaiola - Lot 33 Sub Basement, Prangin Mall

There's food with showmanship going on at Pizzaiola.

Restoran Nelayan Terapung Ujong Batu

After procrastinating for like forever, we finally make it in here.The restaurant belongs to the local fishermen's association and serves to aid their side income by giving their family members job opportunities in the kitchen

Nando's - limited edition monopod stick

Gasp ! Monopod sticks can be found all over the place in Rome right now but this is really something else altogether.To get this limited edition selfie/wefie stick, you'll have to act fast and go check out their new menu. 

We choose "Gang 0f 4" solely based on the attractive price, which is RM95 not inclusive of taxes . I have to admit that I didn't even look at the menu items properly and was pleasantly surprised ( actually very excited ) when our server presented this to us. 

Waaaaaaa!!!!! So niceeeeeee !!!!!!