Showing posts with label Penang. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Penang. Show all posts

Monday 2 January 2017

Friday 2 December 2016

Disproportionate dilemma



Since I've lost a little bit of weight 
recently , I've had to hunt for a new pair of jeans .
Which was when I found out how unproportionate my current shape is .
My booty can still stop traffic , my midrift is just 3cm less ( which is not much ) , but my legs have gone down a dramatic 2 sizes .

Thus , if I can put my leg in one side of the pants , I might not be able to pull it past my mid thigh section . If I did manage to do it , I'd probably crash right through the dressing room partition and land on a poor unsuspecting victim next door , whom , who knows might snap a pic of me in my state of undress and plaster it to be immortalised all over the internet for all eternity . No thanks .

Sigh ......



Sunday 27 November 2016

Design Village - my first walkabout


We're gonna kepochi around Design Village .
Notice that it is spelt Design and not Designer .
Hope you get a hint of what to expect from that .


Friday 25 November 2016

Black Friday haul



Got some pretty good buys off the rack from the Black Friday sale today .

GAP's was the best if you ask me , since I was already eyeing some items already . Was kinda expecting this sale , thus I did my legwork days ahead of time , you know , just in case , and I'm so happy that my hunch was right ( that explains my abstinence from writing here heh heh )
In order to get the 50 % discount , one had to comply and purchase 5 items
Discount was storewide so that was pretty awesome , just that you'll need to comply with the 5 item purchase .

There were tons of ladies inside Sephora as they were lopping 20% off everything except for the usual off limit items .

There was a 50% discount at Esprit , Charles&Keith , Aldo ,Topshop and Dorothy Perkins too . But I was pretty turned off by the conditions as well as the very limited merchandise on offer . Worst discount title has to belong to Levi's ( better don't give lah , if you don't mind me saying so ). 

Worst service staff awards go to that surly bob haired girl with too much whitening makeup in Mango Queensbay Mall as well as the abang in Timberland Queensbay Mall also . These 2 ate a lot of bittergourd apparently . Sucks to be around these 2 personnel . Smiling is not in their reportoire unlike the super awesome Sam ( the tudung girl ) at Gap QB . I love her . She's such a nice and warm person . 
Best sales person ever = Sam .

Wanted to check Dr.Martens and Mark&Spencer but I was totally beat so I don't know if the last 2 retail outlets had any good stuff or not .




One thing you gotta know about me is that I'm not an online shopper. I still love dragging my ass through the shops , scouring through racks , physically rummaging , finding unlikely gems in the least likely places .

Sunday 20 November 2016

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 .


Monday 14 November 2016

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 )



Wednesday 9 November 2016

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 .


Tuesday 8 November 2016

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 .



Saturday 5 November 2016

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 
 . :)




Friday 4 November 2016

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 .


Wednesday 2 November 2016

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 .



Sunday 30 October 2016

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 .



Wednesday 26 October 2016

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 !



Sunday 23 October 2016

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 .



Monday 17 October 2016

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 .


Saturday 15 October 2016

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 .


Friday 14 October 2016

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  .



Monday 10 October 2016

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 !


Tuesday 4 October 2016

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 .