120 not the same

There used to be a time when MYR 120 could fetch you a great feast in a nice restaurant .

Well , this still looks impressive but when you dig in you start to question yourself .

Why ? Why do you now have to add on Gst onto my bill ?

And why is there so much lambbbbbehhh ???? So little chicken ? And so much bread ?

Lebanon - Tanjung Bungah

Two petrol guzzlers parked outside the entrance .

You don't get more middle eastern than this. 

Works like a charm in drawing guests like moths to a flame....

....electric flames that are encased in soothing lamps just about everywhere you turn.

The effect is no less gorgeous even if it is made from plastic. 

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

Kovil Sri Maha Mariamman - Fire Walkers on the pit

The heat was already unbearable from where I was standing, thus I couldn't possibly imagine how people would be walking barefoot across those hot coals. Yet later on, men, both young and old would be doing exactly that without skin peeling off their soles

Entourage for a Hindu Goddess

Looking at the tiny umbrella and elaborate flower structure on a sedan from the back, one might be inclined to think that they were in Bali rather than Penang.

In the run up to the actual firewalking event, the Goddess was taken on a walkabout to invite and escort a bigger entourage back to the temple grounds

Firewalking festival - amazing scenes from Tanjung Bungah

If not for the banner proclaiming the firewalking event, I would have thought that I had walked right smack into a mini Thaipusam street carnival.

Still, I almost fainted when I turned around and saw this man wielding a huge blade / sickle with a lime at the tip

Mouthwatering Jackfruits - Tg Bungah night market

It's not easy trying to get the fruit out from it's compartment and not get a layer of sticky gum all over it.

Requires a fair amount of skill to do so. 

That's why most prefer to buy it from traders .

Besides, one fruit holds so many seeds, it's quite impossible to finish .

I thought I'd eaten it all, but this batch, hawked by these traders at the Tanjung Bungah pasar malam,

knocked me off my socks !

Bear in mind that the brilliant, almost fluorescent yellow colour you see, is not touched up.

All natural !

Can you believe it ?

Kapah served in bamboo - Sunshine Bay (NH )

While Kapah is a shellfish that is available in abundance all year round,
in the old days however, December used to be the bonanza time ( so I was told ) that locals took a sieve to the beaches and hauled home enough bounty , to even have it pickled.

We're at Sunshine Bay tonight and it's packed to the brim .

Lots of returnees back home for Christmas, Gurney Drive is jammed to the brim, as if it were CNY.

Having eaten here numerous times, I was game for something new this time.

Hokkien Mee - Menara Asas ( NH )

Update Jan 2017 : we just found out that this original famous Hokkien Mee stall has shifted to the Tg Bungah wetmarket foodcourt . Best to go and get your fix early in the morning .
The stall inside this kopitiam is no longer the same operator .

*************

Original post from 2012 :

While a lot of people swear that this is one of the best Hokkien mee stalls on the island today, so far,  it hasn't managed to lure out of state visitors to make a beeline here.... yet.

We placed our order with one of the two sisters and sat right at the back.

The stall is on the left hand corner of this photograph

Hillpark Roasted Chicken Rice (NH)

In Malacca they have rice balls, but I've never seen anything like this until today....how'd they come up with this shape ? Looks like a tent or some sort of Cappadocian cave dwelling.

Weird but cute.

The rice is not your usual chicken rice kind of rice...instead it's very garlicky,fluffy and dry.

Take a closer look.

Summer Garden Food & Bistro, Vale of Tempe (NH)

What makes this restaurant so arresting and stand out from all the rest, is this cascading wall of water at the entrance.

While the inside is no less elegant as it is cozy.

View from the wine bar.

Sunshine Bay Seafood Restaurant ( NH ) - New Location

Sunshine Bay Seafood Restaurant, built it's reputation by serving up generous and delicious portions of super fresh seafoods at very reasonable prices.

This is their new location with bigger,better ventilated seating space than when they were operating from Kedai Kopi Sin Eng Huat .

Their signature dish, prawn tomyam is a feast for the eyes .

Served in a real coconut husk bowl,it contains 8 medium sized succulently sweet prawns, cooked in a tangy, fiery thai influenced soup,of lemongrass rolls,topped off with pretty sprigs of mint to complete the picture.

Sri Ananda Bahwan- Tanjung Bungah ( PF )

Nobody else is as successful on this row.

Many restaurants have come and gone but Sri Ananda remains the one, that draws a wonderful mix of local and international customers,both day and night,to enjoy a cheap Indian meal in a tropical beach hut garden like atmosphere.

I really like their ghee tosai.

No doubt it's a little oily,but it's kueh kapek crispy,fragrant, comes with 4 different dips and is large enough to be shared by two.