Wendy ' s at Sunrise Tower - first visit , 3 trips

" Is there no back up ? "

that was the question going through our minds .

" The system is down " 

said the staff . 

Nobody was getting any burger . You either wait or you give up and walk out .

I know it is tough to be caught in their shoes , but what made it pretty heartless and annoying was the fact that they made light of the situation by jesting around and smiling a lot .

 Highly inappropriate when the mood was deathly and ombre amongst the patient followers .

Me thinks they really ought to thank the heavens these were all young not so vocal customers , some of whom had waited patiently from 11 p.m .

Any person above 50 would have created a ruckus , maybe even banged their fists on the counter , but I'm not 50 yet . On top of that I still have the public temper of an angel at the moment so I did not complain since hey , I was one of the last people to walk in before they decided to prevent new walk ins from entering by barricading the door . 

They had to use manual calculators and written chits just to give us our orders so I think that was good of them . That they didn't just shoo us out the door like that , for those of us who refused to budge .

Some gave up . I walked in at a little after midnight and was prepared to wait half an hour so hum....

See these faces below , now these are all  patient and hungry souls so willing to endure the teething hiccups and wait without raising their voices nor complaining . These customers below are real angels I tell you . 

Apparently there were 3 power trips ,so I don't know if it is their wiring or the building or what but I consider myself lucky for snaking into first position at the 2nd counter that was opened specially for one about to rage young man ( not in pic ) ( he declined , I think he's probably gonna rage about it online as he had asked for the manager's name )

Disturbing kopitiam operator trend in Penang

There is a very disturbing trend going on , in the Penang kopitiam scene these days .

Partly caused by the rising rental and council bylaws , restrictions and Unesco stipulations , 3 things , 3 trends , 3 after effects , are happening today .

This is so glaringly obvious and yet , the PCCC feel they need to conduct a study over why this is happening . Sometimes I really wonder if they ever live on the island or only dine in CRC and the like .

Reference to PCCC : http://thesundaily.my/node/406805

Reality Penang

It's not very often that I share a facebook page of an individual .

However what this person has recorded using a drone , is so now , that you have got to see for yourself , especially if you call yourself a Penangite but only come back ( I say come back because I actually live here , now , every day except when I am travelling )

, yeah but only come back once in a while .

What in the cloud is that ?

The weather right now is so cold due to the non stop rain , that I've made myself an instant Cup Noodle to keep myself warm . 

At the same time , I'm going through my stash of quick fire snapped pictures . You know , those you anyhow take , just to record the moment .

I saw what you did yesterday mister

To the motorbike rider who drove past the Penang YMCA yesterday , I saw what you did mister .

Your good deed is not the first I have seen . And good deeds are not just done by Cina Bukits* like you only but other Penangites too . 

Yet somehow , your selfless act triggered a chord in me . Made me more determined to chase you , just to jot down your registration plate .

It was yesterday too that one Mandarin speaking young Chinese woman, handed me 2 parking coupons which still had some hours left on it .

Sadly , I did not take note of her car number plate but tq hey miss thanks a bunch . I hope my huge , big , warm smile beaming back at you was bright and rewarding enough to make you feel good for the rest of the day 

 . :)

Wild Boar Curry in my Chap Fun

Found a new chap fun economy rice place today . This wasn't your regular mediocre run down place . 

Everything was fresh , clean , the oil was of good quality and best of all , the taste was so darned good !

In spite of all the current price increases , this enormous plate below cost only RM 5.40 only !

My goodness .

Chneh Chim - the mangrove crab that swims in seawater

Today , we're having crabs ( yes finally ! ) Chilli crabs to be exact . 2 numbers . Oh yeah .

While we weren't particular about the species they were going to cook for us , it turns out that it was going to be one rarely seen on Penang island but regularly sold in this corner of the mainland .

Known as Ketam Nipah in Malay, if one were to rely on individual fishing enthusiasts snaring these in overnight traps set up along the river , supplies could be erratic on certain days . If the species is available at all times , then it is best to check if you are eating locally farmed or imported ones . 

Currently sought after as a cure for dengue where only the soup is drunk and the meat discarded , we are having none of that .

You can have all of the sauce and we will relieve you of the burden of finishing the flesh , thank you very much .

Plan b. - no prawn behind The Big stone

There is a Malay idiom that goes something like this 

" Ada udang di sebalik batu "

Literally translated , it means 

" There's a prawn behind the stone "

What that means is that one should be wary and expect a motive or trick preceeding an act or offer of goodwill or in this case a fat bait cast outwards that seems to good to be true .

Yep , when I saw this offer on facebook just now , I stared at it for quite a while before I starting scanning the comments section for some spirit sterilising input .

There was none .

So I called up the outlet and enquired about the timing . Oh boy we had to rush . Last call was around 9ish and we had half an hour to battle the jam in Gurney Drive and get there .

Henry Restaurant - Bukit Panchor

We had a choice . Between Heng Lee or Henry just a few doors down .

Heng Lee has Southern Thai chefs ( which could mean that foods would have a lot of sugar thrown in ) while Henry seemed to attract silver haired  customers . 

At around the same time , a car full of Ah Beng and Ah Lian occupants spilled out and rushed towards Henry . That decided it then , we would follow suit  . 

The instant they sat down , a humungous platter of crabs was served . Talk about fast service . I guess they must have placed their order via telephone first .

Anyway , the man who took our order was patient as well as polite . Other really good thing I noticed about this restaurant is , they're not stuck up in the least and won't pull a face if you want to order less or have just a one dish meal .

However , when the first of the 2 dishes arrived , we took one look at the size of the prawn and thought to ourselves ....

" die already , sure kena chop wan " 

Inside was 6 numbers of medium sized ( pek heh )prawns , plus one big slice of fish , a few pieces of squid and okra in claypot curry

Boy were we wrong .

When we got the bill , this was listed as RM 30 only !

Ampang Yong Taufu in Penang

 Many years ago ( not so good with recalling exact numbers so I'll put it around 10 years ago ) , I found this stall at a foodcourt just behind the Shell station at the Tun Dr Awang roundabout in Bayan Lepas .

Beside them was the Sabah Pan Mee operator which became so successful that today they have taken up an entire shoplot a few doors down from the Kampar fishball outlet near the Queensbay roundabout .

Eyah ....kindly read that again . That is Penang today for you . People come from everywhere and they offer all that familiar hometown comfort foods to outstationers who now call Penang , home .

Nee wayyy , after a long goose chase I have finally , finally , fiiiiinally located them tucked away in Taman Sri Nibong at the second kopitiam just opposite Goh Teo Kee .

Waterfall under a flyover

 So glad I went for my spa session yesterday and really so thankful that the weather was just so beautiful for me to snap pics of 

because whaddaya know , it's been pouring the entire day today .

Anyway , we went ahead and carried on as usual despite the strong winds and all that .

As we were making our way towards the airport , past the Tun Dr Awang Roundabout , this " waterfall " appeared right under the flyover .

The water didn't go through the downpipe but instead it flowed out from the expansion joint .

CHI The Spa - Rasa Sayang

It was blazing hot one minute with scattered showers the next but that did not matter as whatever the weather is like outside , this spot provides the perfect refuge for you to leave it all behind .

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  .

Nepalese cooks ....what next ?

Would you believe it if I told you that this entire Malaysian Chinese meal , was cooked by Nepalese chefs in Penang ?

It was good , tasty and wholesome yet I still cannot get over the fact that a good number of them can cook better than today's local hotel chefs and many of us women .

Geez.

Whatever laws the Penang state government has put in motion , it's useless as these foreign chefs seem to be an increasing fixture in the chu cha and dimsum kitchens . 

First it began with the Thais , then Banglas , followed by a regretful period of terrible cooks who should NOT be given any licence to cook from ( 2 countries which I don't want to name because one of those are known to be super siew hei ) and now omg , now we have the Nepalese entering the fray  . Fast learners who can deliver the desired results !

Ah Soon Kor Har Mee - Carnavon Street

Never have I come across old Japanese men patronising any local Hokkien Mee stall until just now .

The soup though teeming with rich prawn flavour is so much more oilier than other versions of Hokkien Mee on the island , that it looks so wrong  but of course it tastes so darned good lah otherwise why you think the Japanese would eat it , no ? 

Even then , notwithstanding the fact that I am one of his fans , I was still very surprised to see with my own four eyes that Ah Soon Kor has managed to snare at least one foreigner in his apron .

BreadKing - M Mall

Had my first taste of Bread King's sausage bun and yummy donuts at their E-Gate branch .

At the time , we were hungry yet in such a rush , so we ate one of each on the spot and raved over how divinely soft and scrumptious they were . Following day , we decided to takeaway more items , but by the time we got back , the flavour had sort of changed a little bit . Which was not only disappointing but also caused me to

 think of their products as grossly overpriced unless one managed to get them hot from the oven .

As I can't be staking out their premise all the time , the dining option at M Mall is exactly up my alley .

Nope , I'm not talking about the bakery , rather , it's the existence of an open kitchen that's got me all excited .

Prepared fresh and served piping hot with quality ingredients one would expect to come out of a 5 star hotel instead of a mall bakery , this certainly isn't our first visit .

We're back for the Mushroom Soup Set served with a whole loaf of garlic bread that is still warm by the time it gets to our table , I swear that this is as good as French pumpkin soup .

Maneki-neko murals at Mall ' s Cafe - Prangin tomyam paradise on level 3

Somehow , Southern Thai tomyam seems to smell and taste better when served within air conditioned premises .

There's no way you are not going to get your appetite worked up when you pass by the shop . The aroma is enough to floor you .

That's how , even though Prangin Mall seems to be on the decline after the exit of their anchor tenant , the 4 main tomyam players on the 3rd floor , still manage to draw in all of us sadistic makan freaks .

I'll show you the first outlet . My personal favourite.

1. Mall's Cafe .

The ahbeng ahlian chop shop where I once scoffed at a Korean guy who popped in but was so shocked when he drank up every last bit of the soup without breaking a sweat .

Respect !

Was surprised to see that they now serve their tomyam maggi in nicer ceramic Maneki - neko bowls . Not only that , the entire shop is filled with Lucky Cat murals too .

Dinner at Bella Italia

Long , long time ago , there was this Italian who asked me if I had any favourite Italian dishes .

Naive as I was , I mentioned Pizza Hut . He roared so loud with laughter and then proceeded to admonish and correct me very gently that Pizza Hut was Americano then in the next breath , insisted that I when I had the means , I had to go visit Italy one day ( which I did eventually ) , as they had the best food in the world . 

Sardinia was mentioned but I never got round to doing that as I am and always will prefer the megacity loop. 

One day maybe I will get round to doing just that .

Anyway , it took the last trip for me to finally "get it" .

That real Italian cooking is indeed delicious , not plain or odd .

After learning how to appreciate their cuisine , that in itself presents another problem . I am no gazillionaire so thank gawd there are expats who can whip up something close to that, near my tramping ground .

In that retrospect , I find myself growing more and more fond of what is dished out at Bella Italia down in Bellisa Row , the reason for this post .

Tonight is the first time we're enjoying dinner here and I notice that there is at least one diner who took pains to dress up .

We ask for the customary pizza . Not the usual Quatro but a Pepperoni pizza this time . The base is so scrumptious I find myself slowly turning my nose up at American pizzas nowadays .

Because he was more in the mood for something different , we did exactly that and ordered an Antipasto .

Buttery button mushrooms , lightly smoked generous slices of salmon wrapped around lettuce with a wedge of lemon dangling on top , two very fresh and juicy mussels baked in cheese and mouthwatering tomato paste , ham , baked eggplant layers , more vegies and chicken ....I tell you what , if you love their Quatro Pizza as much as I do , this is like having part of it on a plate . 

Delightful sample pieces yet won't burn a big hole in your pocket .

CRC Penang - small table in a big restaurant

It's a big restaurant and we're such a small party of people that I'm really worried if we're gonna be ignored . 

So we decided to arrive early .....like really , really , really early and yes , since we were so obviously visible , the kepala ( head ) of the ladies squad personally attended to us . Phew !

Still possible to get a 3 to 4 course meal under RM 39 in Penang

Over the course of 5 days , we visited 2 popular chu cha outlets .... Thiam Seng near Juru and Kiam Hooi just outside  Georgetown .

 Tastewise , Thiam Seng and Kiam Hooi may be world's apart. However price wise , these two can put a smile on anybody's wallet .

In these 2 places , we did not spend more than RM 39 ( drinks not included ) 

From a hygiene point of view , don't look over at the kitchen area of Kiam Hooi and don't say I didn't warn you that the crowd is a little rough over at Thiam Seng .

Have no pictures for our delicious 4 course meal at Kiam Hooi , but just so you know , we had Belacan Chicken , miniature lala fried in taucheo beans and cili padi , a portion of plain fried green bayam as well as one double boiled soup . Yummy yum yum !

Below is the 3 course meal we had at Thiam Seng .

Soft pork ribs , in house tofu , a large portion of salted fish vermicelli .