Antics of the middle eastern female tourist in Penang

Arab tourist season is supposed to be long over already , yet today , I witnessed one of the most amazing sights in my life .

This girl was given the liberty to drive around the island in their rental car with her loved ones and her exuberant excitement was so apparent and infectious I just have to tell you about it .

She smiled so wide , grinning from ear to ear , completely enthralled by this precious moment we all take for granted .

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 ) !

Bella Italia

Now aren't we glad we have a clutch of all time favourite expat restaurateurs on the island , especially when travel nowadays means more risk than pleasure .

 To rekindle the cosy little Italian diner experience , I can think of no place better than Bella Italia on Bellisa Row .

Hong Kee Wan Thun Mee - bamboo kungfu for ultra springy wantan mee

Update : the problem with this operator is , it can be quite unhygienic . There , I've said it . If you go please make sure you either keep your eyes wide open or half shut .

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Was very direct with the noodle man , when I saw him .

" I've been waiting for you for a really long time to resurface already "

( they were the original hawkers at the formerly famous corner kopitiam called Yi Garden Cafe on Macalister Road , you see )

Yoshinoya Hanamaru - Gurney Plaza

If you didn't know that they've been open for a month already , well , you'd better get a move on down because , I don't know about you , but even though I think it is probably halal , the meals are quite satisfying to me !

Kim Poh Roasted Chicken & Duck Rice - Golden Triangle

In Penang , it is common knowledge that there is a coded number for ordering a combo of roasted meats at the local roaster .

You let the order taker know you want a 3 or a 4 in Hokkien , and then something like this will arrive at your table . Without costing you an arm and a leg at a swankier joint , this platter of roasted pork , chicken and duck comes with a price tag of less than 20 ringgit . 

Hong La Jiao Steamboat - deadly , very deadly

Though we arrived close to midnite , the restaurant was running full  .

Open till 4.30 am , I consider this a necessary service that caters to the many hungry night owls in Georgetown who otherwise would have to make do with the same ole boring mamak or fastfood .

New ckt sifu in town

Found a new evening ckt place in town and to me, it is nothing short of amazing .

The saltier , spicier type of ckt that makes your saliva thicken and curdle ....regular ckt fans will get my drift .

Only one flaw , the intriguing looking chef with light eyebrows, is a one man operating show, who doesn't seem to be able to cope if more people turn up . 

Nasi Kandar Imigresen

 Is there ever a bad plate of nasi kandar to be found in Penang ?

Yes and no .

Depends on your preference really . Some places serve dishes that are oiler and greasier than the rest , some can make you instantly fat in one plate ( I'm not kidding , I avoid those places like the plague ) and then there's the old school type ....reminiscent of those who migrated down to KL and set up shop around the old Batu Road area ....

Nasi Kandar Imigresen .

( these days , they use commercial curry powders so purists....walk the other way )

Best Porridge - new chu cha place in town

From the shop name , we thought we'd come across a new Teochew Moi place where a big variety of dishes to go with plain boiled rice porridge , are the order of the day .

So there we are looking at the food on display in the glass case when 2 ladies coax us into entering by showing us the chu cha menu .

Yosakoi Parade - Penang 2016

If you were there when the event kicked off , you would have wandered right smack into these cutie pies from the Japanese community living in Malaysia , carrying a mini Mikoshi , a sedan for carrying deities between Shinto shrines .

Come , see the fountain on Codrington Avenue

Glued onto a spotted signboard near the traffic lights in Bayan Baru ,just before a hospital , I sometimes wonder why our society acts so prudish , when signs such as this , ,seem to indicate otherwise .

Soon to be a privileged view

The stretch of beach along Bayan Bay is quite a sight . Waters are shallow and there's a cluster of fish farms next to Jerejak Island . Years ago , I put a hand held fish net in and to my surprise , caught some fine krill .

However , this is how Penang is developing today . 

The view is just as stunning but I seriously will not dip my foot in that dirty water.

The botak hill has attained an hour glass shape and while the rest of the importees will argue that progress is good , to board up a beautiful view such as this is just plain wrong .

Update : today's The Star newspaper carries this article. Defelle definitely fell for the bait . 

www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2015/12/23/project-okayed-this-year-not-2013/

The apartment next door that beat a whole shopping complex

Each Christmas and Chinese New Year , I always look forward to the seeing this apartment block on Kelawei Road , all decked out for the festive season .

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. 

Hokkien Mee 1173 - Permatang Tinggi

Some people call this Ah San or Ah Shan hokkien mee but I would rather refer to it's address 1173, because you'll need it. 

Locating the shop, is no easy feat .Wedged inside a Chinese New Village enclave , where roads are narrow and challenging to navigate and decipher , we actually got some help from local folks at the local town hall to show us the way .

Coming all the way , having gone through all that trouble to finally arrive at the right place , was worth it. 

Requested for additional ingredients such as a whole egg and one chicken feet and the hearty , filling portion just blew me away  .

However , if you are from the island , you need to know that you will probably find this salty . But if you are say, from KL or Ipoh , you might agree that the very tasty prawn and pork broth brewed together with a lethal dose of pounded dried chillies , is what one would refer to as ....Mee Yoke. 

Small portion with additional ingredients .

Delicious .

Golden bananas from the foothills

It has been a really long time since I'd seen these. A blight free , bruise free , fine specimen. 

To think , they were right under my nose all this while but because I have been looking in all the wrong places , it took me this long to find this local species at it's absolute finest.

Called Pisang Mas , or Golden Bananas , these are not your usual Cavendish or Montels . The skin is a thin membrane which when peeled seems almost translucent , but the flavour inside is so robust , they must have surely come from a misty hillside where cool winds and clear brooks ramble alongside a fertile lush trail .

Priced at around MYR 7 for this comb alone , yes it is indeed exhorbitant . But again , by virtue of being almost perfect , I returned again to load up on another comb just before the shutters went down .

" By the way , where did these originate from ? " I enquired

" These are from the foothills " replied the trader while pointing towards Penang Hill. 

No wonder they are so sweet as if a barrel of sugar was injected into each fruit .

Bow wow

Oh the stray dogs in Penang , they lie in the middle of the road like this. Without a care in the world or the fear of being run over . Except this one is different.

He decides to take an OKU zone, my goodness. 

Superchampz - a short parent report

That I am parent to a most negative teen is not something I wear as a badge of honour. 

In fact , I do not even know if I should tear my hair out as the once upon a time sweet angel erupts ever so often out of sheer stress.

Thought long and hard about it ah , but it took a post on facebook that said 

" Free Seminar " for me to sign up without blinking or even thinking.

Honestly , I did not know what to expect. What I did have was a little tiny window of hope. 

I googled , found a video and liked what I saw.

However, the protests began. Followed by the furrowed brows and indignant response to having a leisurely Sunday doing ABSOLUTELY NOTHING disrupted. 

" You are going to attend this. If you do not go ......"

Yes you see , it has boiled down to this.

This normally non Tigerish mum to a Lion cub turned into something else today.

Good , cub guard is down or so I thought. But just to be sure I asked , no , I stated in no uncertain terms that I expected the cub to be on the best behaviour today or elseeeeee. I will turn into a Pontianak just you wait and see. 

We walked past this banner without incident.

Does your mother like ice cream

We went to that favourite makan place of ours again today. Placed our orders and then they waited for the food,  while I booked seats. 

My personal Thor , first brought over the drinks , then went back to wait for the food. Somehow today , his meal was ready in a jiffy and so the dear koochi moochi was left waiting for our remaining sets.

The waiter started a conversation with him.  Took a while but by the time he came back he said this to me....

He : " These Banglas are desperate "

Me : " Oh ? Why ? What happened ? "

He : " He was asking me questions about YOU " 

Me : " Like whaaat ? "

He : " I don't even want to remember "

" We were talking, talking , talking when all of a sudden , he told me his shift time "

Me : " Aaanddd ??? "