Friday, March 30, 2012

Sea Pearl Lagoon Cafe @ Tanjung Tokong, Penang.

If you are craving for seafood, especially crabs, but pondering where to go (Tambun sounds so far and Batu Maung will be a bit pricey ?), you might want to consider this place as one of your options. Sea Pearl Lagoon Cafe is located at Tanjung Tokong (Ah Wang Cafe is nearby too), from Prima Tanjung, drive straight up to Tanjung Tokong route, drive pass Tesco Sri Tanjung and look for the first traffic light which you are about to turn right into Jalan Tokong Thai Pak Kong, drive straight until you see a Thai Pak Kong temple on your left. To the right side of the temple is where Sea Pearl Lagoon Cafe located. One of the signature dishes in Sea Pearl Lagoon Cafe is definitely their charcoal baked crabs. Their style of cooking the freshly caught seafood was very simple and homely, this place has been in business for years, yet, they have successfully maintained the quality of the food just like yesteryear. Unlike other seafood restaurants, choices are rather limited here. Service was very good and fast here; price-wise, I'd considered it to be very economical and reasonable. There are ample parking spaces outside the cafe and in front of the Thai Pak Kong temple. Do call them for reservation of tables first to avoid disappointment, especially during weekends.




Monday, March 26, 2012

Idealite Wellness Restaurant @ Gottlieb Road, Penang.

Maintaining a healthy lifestyle has been a dream for most of us, however, how many of us can really maintain or improve our eating habits ? With all these mushrooming of health-conscious themed restaurants, sometimes its a real headache on choosing where to go and what to eat. Fear not, Ken has a good recommendation here. Lucky me, I was invited to this Idealite Wellness Restaurant for some sampling, which is located at Gottlieb Road, Penang, right beside Waterfall Hotel and next to Double Dragon Restaurant. They mainly served organic vegetarian food, and one of their mottoes is to invent new menu during 15th of every month. Strive to educate the public about healthy eating lifestyle, they do organize talks in different areas of Penang. They are very particular in choosing the ingredients, for example, they use organic brown sugar (有机黄糖,priced at Rm9.70 per kg), Himalayan Salt (喜玛拉雅山盐,Priced at Rm5.80 per kg) and even quality Olive Oil as their cooking oil. With the use of all these exquisite ingredients, they priced their food at very reasonable prices, and most importantly, with no government tax and service charge (nett price). Parking can be a problem especially during peak hours like weekends.



Friday, March 23, 2012

J.L. Gourmet Cafe @ Prangin Mall, Penang.

Owned and managed under the same management company as Mizi Bistro (New World Park/Tesco Sri Tanjung), J.L. Gourmet Cafe is situated on third floor of Prangin Mall, facing Little Oasis Restaurant, it is pretty easy to locate this restaurant, as it has a very unique displaying stall being placed right in front of the restaurant. It serves western food pretty similar to both of the Mizi Bistro outlets. Price-wise, was just okay, if you opt for the steak or chef's specialties, it will be on the expensive side, but if you choosing the set meal, then its definitely worth the value that you are paying. Service was okay, but I was very unfortunate to meet an uncle which seemed to be very impatient serving me, especially after a few questions from me, would appreciate if he could just give me few more minutes, but oh well....Anyway, the four-course set meal costs Rm19.90 which includes a cup of drink, a bowl of soup, a main course and a dessert. Ala-Carte prices will be stated for your references.



Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Koca Steamboat Restaurant @ New World Park, Penang.

The market for steamboat buffet is expanding in a very fast pace recently in Penang, with the recent mushrooming of all these steamboat buffet restaurants, Penangites are no longer being limited with choices. My recent visit to Koca Steamboat Restaurant, a newly opened steamboat restaurant that situated at New World Park, was very satisfying indeed. Unlike other steamboat restaurants/outlets, Koca serves steamboat buffet dinner in a way more sophisticated way, where there were air-conditioners in the restaurant, and the way of serving was totally different as well. One needs to order the desired steamboat ingredients from the menu given instead of picking up the food at the kiosk or tables, but the restaurant management was kind enough, for first timer, they will actually bring all of them from the menu to your table. If you wish to order for more, then you might opt for second round. The draw back was the food choices were pretty limited, and everything will be in a fixed portion where you can only order plate by plate. Service was a bit slow and the team was obviously lacking of experience in handling the crowd but they were very polite and helpful to customers. Price for buffet dinner is Rm26+ for adult, while set lunch will be Rm12.90 net. To find Koca Steamboat Restaurant, look for Passion of Kerala (few lots away from Passion of Kerala) and Tarn Thai (opposite Tarn Thai Restaurant). All the food found in Koca Steamboat Restaurant are pork free.



Friday, March 16, 2012

Sweet 16 @ Times Square, Penang.

Yogurt and ice cream yogurt can be pretty commonly found in Penang, but its definitely my first time when it comes to ice blended yogurt. Out of curiosity, I've decided to check it out. Get to know this outlet from their Facebook Page, during this period of time, they are doing their opening promotion, where one is entitle to a buy one free one promotion (up to 4th of March only). Ice blended yogurt is not the only thing that they serve in Sweet 16, snacks such as Rojak (Malaysian Fruit Salad), deep fried chicken cutlets, deep fried potato fritters etc...Flavored drinks are also available. It is very easy to locate Sweet 16 at Penang Times Square, the new shop is just located right beside to Face To Face Noodle Shop and few shops away from Taiwan Ko Cha Bi. Choices-wise, are pretty limited, but what makes it special is their toppings. Add on each type of topping for Rm1, the toppings available are very special and unique, some of the not-so-common toppings are Yogurt Popping (some ball-like thing that consists of yogurt) and Ai-Yu. For the ice blended yogurt, one may opt for the ala carte (with no toppings) OR the combo (choose any three toppings).



Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Stone Age Cafe @ Bukit Mertajam, Penang.

Themed restaurants are always a hit among the younger generations, especially with the appetite-boosting, attractive and creative interior designs. Introducing Stone Age Cafe which situated at the new business area at Bukit Mertajam, Stone Age Cafe is a themed restaurant/pub/cafe which had their interior designed into a "Flinstone" era, rock tables and chairs, huge rocks/pebbles as back ground, pictures of Machrie Moor as wall papers. It was way beyond your imagination, its like travelling with a time machine which leads you back to thousand years ago. Apart from the impressive interior designs, Stone Age Cafe has something really creative to offer as well. Their signature dishes are mainly the "stone grilling" or known as "hot stone cooking" where the food will be placed on a scorching hot stone and let it grill to perfection. If you are not a fan of their "stone grilling" menu, no worries, they have more to offer, from western cuisine to local cuisine, even the staff there recommended their Tom Yum soup to us. Service was very impressive, the staff were friendly enough, as for parking, its very easy either, there are ample parking space right in front of the restaurant. Prices of the food are slightly on the higher side and it comes with service charge too.



Friday, March 9, 2012

Ah Wang Cafe (Tea-Time Toast) @ Tanjung Tokong, Penang.

Hidden in one of the corners of Tanjung Tokong (from Prima Tanjung, drive straight up to Tanjung Tokong route, drive pass Tesco Sri Tanjung, and look for the first traffic light which you are about to turn right into Jalan Tokong Thai Pak Kong, it should be surrounded by some low-cost flat), Ah Wang Cafe is rather a hidden gem in Tanjung Tokong, it is a small cafeteria that serves home-made kaya(Coconut Jam)-butter toast and Hainanese coffee to satisfy your taste buds. The place is well-known by the residents nearby, and even some kaya-enthusiasts. The business hour of this cafe can be quite problematic, as it opens from 1.30pm until 6pm only, and closed on every Sunday, so tea time (ideally at 2-3pm) can just be the perfect time to savor this heavenly delicious kaya-butter toast with the uniquely brewed Hainanese Coffee. Price-wise, I'd considered that to be very economical, there were three of us and the total damage was just Rm12.30. Our orders were as follow:



Monday, March 5, 2012

Charmy Snow Ice @ 1st Avenue Mall, Penang.

**This eatery has since closed down.**

Finding yourself a decent dessert at 1st Avenue Mall is no longer a tough job, especially with the recent mushrooming of yogurt stalls and ice cream outlets in 1st Avenue Mall. There was this Charmy Snow Ice located on Cloud 8 (8th floor) of the Mall, right beside Next Stop and next to ChatTime. Did some research over the net, Charmy Snow Ice is actually an international brand which serves snow ice/shaved ice and has been distributed over many countries. However, Charmy Snow Ice does not actually serve ice cream alone, their signature dessert is actually shaved ice, unlike those shaved ice which I previously had at other Taiwanese Dessert outlets, the shaved ice in Charmy Snow Ice was much more smoother and finer, you will barely feel a thing when you put a spoonful in mouth, you will only notice the difference when the ice starts to melt. About my experience at Charmy Snow Ice, limited seats (only 5-6 seats available) is definitely one of the main problems, additionally, the service was a bit slow too. Price-wise, was slightly on the higher side, as the portion was just okay and nothing much was added into the ice, just mere flavored syrup (top Rm1 for extra toppings).



Friday, March 2, 2012

BW Tom Yam Noodles @ Asia Cafe, Air Itam, Penang.

I am pretty sure that most of you have at least heard of a famous Tom Yam stall operating at night which located at Raja Uda area (Joo Heng restaurant OR known as the Tom Yam right beside Kwong Hwa primary school), its rather troublesome for us Penangnites, particularly for those who are living in the island. Worry not, the famous Tom Yam stall has opened another new branch in Asia Cafe (opposite to Air Hitam's monument), which is two minutes drive from Penang Hill and Kek Lok Si. This stall is currently operating by the second generation from the main outlet at Raja Uda, with taste and price remain unchanged. The only thing changed was the variety, it has lesser choices compared to Raja Uda's. Another major disadvantage was the operating hour, you can find this stall operating from 5:30pm to 11:30pm, while the main branch at Raja Uda operates until late night, which most of the customers come around that time. And of course, the waiting time at Raja Uda's outlet was and ALWAYS is insanely long (it took them more than ONE hour to serve during my previous visit) and the environment was not that ideal (lack of ventilation) either, you would not find all these problems here in Asia Cafe, especially in terms of waiting time (mainly due to the customer flow), it took less than ten minutes for my bowl of Tom Yam noodles to arrive.