KEN HUNTS FOOD: The Leaf Healthy House (绿叶坊) @ Penang Street, Georgetown, Penang.

Friday, September 6, 2013

The Leaf Healthy House (绿叶坊) @ Penang Street, Georgetown, Penang.

More and more healthy concept cafes and restaurants are sprouting out to suit the needs of the health-conscious group these days. Choices are rather limited in Penang when it comes to cafes or restaurants that serve pure vegetarian foods; straight down the road of Penang Street, across the T-junction from Water Drop Tea House; The Leaf Healthy House is a healthy-concept cafe which serves vegetarian food. Prices are considered reasonable in Penang's context. Most of their dishes are naturally flavored as they do not believe in over-seasoning, hence, they might be rather bland and unappetizing for some. However, these down-to-earth dishes are healthy and suitable for those who prefer to lead a healthy lifestyle.

With any order of main course, simply top up Rm 3.90 for a drink and salad OR dessert. Mushroom Spaghetti (Rm 8.90) is a noteworthy choice and it was the only dish that resonated among the guests. Cooked al-dente, the Spaghetti was tossed with Carbonara Cream sauce, together with Shimeiji Mushrooms and sprinkled with some Dried Raisins, as well as blanched Broccoli and Cauliflower. The well-executed cream sauce was rich and creamy, with a hint of sweetness; well complementing the Spaghetti. As I was expecting the dish to be bland, this flavorful dish has exceeded my expectation with surprise.

Next was their Japanese-style Spaghetti with Organic Miso Sauce (Rm 8.90), this enticing dish comes with some Shimeiji Mushrooms, Edamame (Japanese Green Peas), blanched Broccoli and Cauliflower as well as sprinkle of shredded Dried Seaweed. A pity that the sauce was too watery and unable to complement the Spaghetti as expected, it turned out to be rather bland. This dish carried a hint of sweetness, not too much on the Miso flavor. It would be ideal if they can make the sauce thicker and possesses stronger Miso flavor to enhance the flavor to the brim.

Spinach Spaghetti with fresh Spinach Sauce (Rm 8.90) was not something can be acceptable by all. The leafy green flavor inherited from Spinach was rather strong, something similar to Basil. The sauce has a hint of sweetness but not too creamy. I was not a fan of this dish.

We also had a side order- Vietnamese Hand Rolls (Rm 5.90) which consists of Brown Rice Vermicelli, Lettuce, Capsicum, Black Fungus, Vegetarian Meat Floss, the sauce was somewhat Basil or Mint sauce. The soul to this dish was the sauce which turned out to be a disappointment. It lacked of the sour element which lightens up the whole dish. Fortunately, there were some Vegetarian Meat Floss which have added some flavors to the Hand Rolls. The Vietnamese Spring Rolls I had at Water Tea Drop House was much better in my opinion.

Yogurt Fruit Salad which comes together with the set meal special (top up Rm 3.90 for every single order from main course). The Yogurt Fruit Salad gives a standard satisfactory but to my dismay, it was not chilled enough.

Organic Soya Milk (which comes with the set meal specials too) was slightly too sweet to my liking, similarly to the Yogurt Fruit Salad, this Organic Soya Milk was not chilled enough, nevertheless, good enough for you to quench your thirst under a warm and humid weather.