Kafe Tuck Sai , Jalan Bukom ( NH )

Kafe Tuck Sai is located off Jalan Datuk Keramat, on the ground floor of a block of medium cost flats .

Fairly easy to have a grand meal on a tight budget here because the food not only tastes good, it's considered cheap too for the portion they mete out.

Yong Pin Restaurant ( NH )

9th January 2013 :

forget everything I said earlier. I ate here today and almost everything was capital FAIL . Only the Tai pau and a peanut mochi dessert wrapped in pandanus leaf passed the test.

Earlier post :

This is not your modern day typical Penang establishment although it spouts a new makeover .

Brightly lit, clean and almost spotless. What more can one ask for ?

Their flavours and recipes are mostly long forgotten but worth many repeat visits for the sake of experiencing the nostalgia of carefully made, good quality food .

Mini Mini Seafood Restaurant ( NH )

It's not easy finding this restaurant with no signboard (again ) especially in the dark but when you do locate it, it is certainly worth the effort.

The star dish, a must have on every visit, is their Pineapple prawn . A truly spicy and sour mouthwatering spectacle that you will never forget.

This is how it will look like when it first comes to your table. There'll be a lot of mint leaves and sliced onions on top.

Prawns are inside. Small bowl contains extra sauce to provide you with extra dragon fire breath.

Tai Lok Mee stall, Chai Leng Park ( NH )

If you love KL Hokkien Mee, this is the only place in Penang that makes the cut .

Have tried one stall in Datok Keramat Road (nowadays fail already) and another in Kimberley Street but both are just too dirty for me to stomach. The rest are just plain ugh ! Totally terrible.

One thing you must remember is that in Penang, the dish is called Tai Lok Mee and not Hokkien Mee.
If you insist on ordering Hokkien Mee, you will end up with a bowl of Har Mee instead .

 

These two handsome chefs are part of the 5 man tag team who run this perpetually busy stall

Morganfield's Feast Platter, Gurney Paragon ( NH )

Hard luck trying to land a table here, if you walk in without reservations .

As opposed to a diner's corner , this place is by and by a drinker's heaven.

Very nice for slouching around on a high stool and getting hit on even .

Berlin's Bier Houz - Business Lunch ( NH )

Set lunches are a great (not to mention cheaper ) way for you to get a feel of the place first.

For $15 ++ you get a main course, choice of either a soup or a salad, plus a soft drink.

Already into week 4 , I only found out about this promo today.

Although the place looks deserted during the day, I am undeterred.

Canai Tomyam Cafe, Jalan Lembah Permai ( U )

Note : fast forward 2014. They have been chased out and replaced by a roti canai seller now. Was told that they have relocated a few doors down but when I tried out the food, the recipes just did not seem right. Tomyam was horrid, omelette terrible.
Well what to say when their chefs are now smoking keretek, an Indonesian ciggey. My guess is that Indons/ Suluks ( yes, they are here in Penang pretending to be Malays) have now resorted to hawking the popular Thai Malay food when they clearly have absolutely zero talent in cooking anything other deep fried fish. Sad case really but don't be fooled.

*********

The general complaint , is that the service here is incredibly slow. Not to worry. We weren't in a rush.

Ordered this huge basket of keropok with dip, to stave off hunger.
Wise choice on our part as other patrons were doing light neck and leg stretches every now and then as if we were all on board a long haul flight.

Alila, Red Garden Food Paradise ( NH )

When I want cheap,good and authentic Thai food cooked by real Thai people , this is where you will find me.

Walk all the way to the back and look for this counter.

Sotong Boat - Gurney Drive ( U )

There I was in Gurney Drive. About to start on this yummy sotong bakar below

When all of a sudden .... whoooshhh......the wind came. "Lai liao lai liao !" the hawkers yelled as they looked in the direction of the roundabout

Things went helter skelter when the sky opened up.

My boat almost overturned, the filmsy sauces spilled blood red ketchups and bits of pounded peanuts onto the rickety plastic table.

Drat ! Had to sprint for cover.By the time I was in the car the sotong was limpish and not as crisp as when it would have been when it was hot. Damn it.

Hong Lin Restaurant ( NH )

I want to rave on and on about this restaurant

The staff here is quite friendly especially once they find out that you are Malaysian .

Butter Cuttle (PF)

While we were at the Avenue of the Stars, waiting for the world reknowned Symphony of Lights show to start, a most delicious smell filled the air .

We followed our noses and it led us like hungry moths towards this musical rolling orange flame. Cute cartoon !

We place our order with this chap who's trying very hard to keep his cool and look undisturbed

Lok Yuen Beef Ball King (NH)

We came here because it was still open past midnight. Packed to the brim even. Barely any place to sit.

By right should be good right ? I mean they even have the balls to say they are king of exploding beef balls. Take a look at the extensive menu. Impressive.

Dai Pai Tong Treasures ( NH )

I intially approached this street food sold on almost every corner,with much scepticism but was immediately blown away by the very addictive, eardrum busting, extremely spicy sauce . Yum ! Can't put it down once you start.

Since it was love at first bite, I got adventurous and decided to try out this threesome together.

Curry fishballs, Curry Offal and a variety of fishpaste items without the curry

Tsui Wah Restaurant , Lai Yip Street

Tsui Wah and Shui Wah are 2 different restaurants although they may sound the same.

This is another famous restaurant which I tried for the first time . I loved the food here so much I ended up patronising it every day that I was here on holiday.

As with almost every good, average priced makan place here, again, we had to line up to get in.

Nobody seems to mind the scaffolding.

See ? Packed to the brim.  Full house. Amazing how the staff fits everyone in .

Look at the amount of outlets they have scattered all over Hong Kong, Macau and China.

At first I was a bit miffed that they recommended the Malaysian curry to us.

Feeling rather haughty we went ahead and ordered the beef with rice just to see why it was a bestseller here.

The beef comprised of tender meat,brisket and tendon, while the curry was different but in a good mouthwatering way.

He tried to recall and said that it reminds him of Ayam brand chicken curry.

Frankly, it's mildly hot, builds up slowly and is worth a try at least once.

The instant I sunk my teeth into this chicken, I made up my mind to come here for a daily fix. The skin is so smooth and melt in your mouth silky, it's yellow and I could taste a hint of rock salt on top.

The dips were tasty even the thick soya sauce. The sliced vegies were sweet pickles ( I have eaten something similar in Balakong before) , the rice is fluffy while they change the soup serving everyday.

Delicious !

Bowl of sui kau dumplings. Although quite gigantic and packed with ingredients this was ok only . Didn't feel inspired enough to repeat this on the other times that we came.

He fell head over heels in love with their fishball noodle soup.

And ended up eating this each time I returned for the chicken rice.

Their rich milk tea too is the best.

A lip smacking, satisfying experience just like in the cute picture.

Bill.

Worth every cent.

Village Coffeeshop - World's Deadliest Tomyam

When we heard another patron holler for a Pink Lady today, we followed suit.  This ended up in front of us.

Stirred the leong fun jelly, syrup, evap milk, canned sweetcorn together.

It's basically an icey cold hybrid between air bandung and a rich ice kacang drink.

Super cold,super nice refreshment for a super hot day.

The drink acts as a kind of tongue extinguisher,in case you go ahead and order the world's deadliest Tom yam served here.

Seriously, if cannot stand chillies , this is NOT advisable.

Even if you do, Village's tom yam will give you a reeducation on what HOT really means. 

The spiciness of this dish is on a pyscho scale, meant only for the suicidal.

But I still like to get a little risky and put my life on the line, every now and then.

Cooked with instant noodles, quails eggs, meatballs, mushrooms .

Of course, you can always opt for the plain soupy version with fish meat and other 'safehouse' ingredients.

Not to worry.

Most Penangites will be too busy manouvering around their volcanic bowl of death , and will turn a blind eye to your sheer cowardice.

The deep fried sandpiper is another must order here.

Good if you need to catch your breath.

As eating the Tomyam is like running like the wind away from a man eating tiger, on the edge of a jagged cliff.

Total : no more cheap nowdays. Cost us $34 for 3 bowls of noodles and 4 small sandpipers. Not inclusive of drinks

Location : Weld Quay

Chowtime : Lunch to 10pm

Directions : Turn left from the ferry terminal, go straight.  Towards the end of the clan jetty area, keep a lookout on your left for a green signboard.

Bee Hooi, supper time

It's 10pm and business is still going full swing 

The assam laksa is my favourite.

I think they use a certain amount of sardines here, but I don't mind because they're extremely generous with the vegies such as mint, cucumber,lettuce, bunga kantan and onions.

Yum !

Popiah sold by the same seller has a fantabulously thin membrane for the skin .

Filled to the brim with sweet turnips, chopped omelette, carrots and very tasty filletted small prawns.

Never dunk mine in sauce. The operator obliges.

A bowl of Loh Mee.

Doesn't really need introduction as this stall is already famous.

Hardly draws a huge crowd because the opening hours are reliable, supplies never run out and fans pour in slow and steady from evening till night.

In case you don't fancy such sticky noodles, you can try out the tender Chicken feet that are also sold by the same person.

Something different for a change.

Location : Pulau Tikus

Directions : from Berjaya Midlands hotel, go towards the direction of town. Pass by a church on your left. Look out for a Hong Leong bank on your right. The coffeeshop is on your right

Chowtime : 6pm to 11pm

Duck rice in New Lane

Sometimes I wonder how come our many excellent roast duck rice stalls, are hardly featured on the must try list for tourists . 

Every neighbourhood on the island, has at least 2 stalls that specialise in this, with operators coming from as far as Kulim to tempt islanders tastebuds .

New Lane is no exception.

There are two rivals here, operating on the same street, opposite one another.

Although I prefer the younger man's juicier, more tender version, hard luck. He's sold out.

Thus here I am today, at the stall run by this older guy .

Check out the bottom left corner .

See how many duck heads there are ?

Eaten by Penangites not tourists .

My order.

Duck drumstick and breast meat $10 only for the entire plate.

Super cheap .

The thing about this older guy's version is, it is best to eat it on the spot .

Try not to take away, as the meat starts to get very greasy the longer it stays wrapped .

Where's my rice ? Who needs rice ?

Look, you're in New Lane.

Take the duck to a bowl of Curry Mee, together with not one but TWO spoonfuls of sambal, so you are guaranteed to spit fire.

Dragon breathing hot.

Extinguish the heat with a cooling bowl of Si Koh Thng

Location : Duck rice and si koh thng -entrance of Maxim Cafe, New Lane .
Curry Mee- the first stall on the right row, nearest to Maxim Cafe.

Directions : from Traders Hotel on Magazine Road, take the middle road at the intersection and heads towards Sunway Hotel Georgetown. The road is right in front of this hotel.  

Chowtime : the younger man who operates from starts at 5.30pm, the older around 7pm. Both sell out in 2 or 3 hours.

( U ) Satay Ah' Basri - Bayan Lepas

I have to say I was a bit apprehensive before stepping into this satay outlet.

From the outside it looked like a cafe but once inside it resembled a fast food outlet .

Oh oh.

On top of that, it was also clean, brightly lit,with sweet, well mannered staff....hmmm.... I was truly prepared for the worst.

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.

( U ) Nameless Tomyam shack, Tanjung Tokong

Update : Closed down due to the development in Tg Tokong
------------------------------------------------

This is another tomyam shop operated by a Thai-Malay husband and wife team.

Always friendly and obliging, they even help cook fish, that local villagers bring to their shop, for a small fee.

Tanjung Tokong Rempits often hang outside this pathway for a drink and a smoke.