KEN HUNTS FOOD: Baby Claypot House 炭烧煲仔记 @ Lip Sin, Penang.

Friday, October 13, 2023

Baby Claypot House 炭烧煲仔记 @ Lip Sin, Penang.

In today's fast-moving society, traditional Claypot Rice cooked over coal fire is fast disappearing but this new spot in the Lip Sin Neighborhood- Baby Claypot House 炭烧煲仔记 is bringing it back to life. As per the name suggested, Baby Claypot House focuses on Claypot Rice but the menu also features other Chinese stir-fry dishes; there are also various toppings available for add-ons. The place is not air-conditioned and merely like a local Coffee Shop, the price points are 20-30% higher than normal Claypot Rice stalls. More like a place for novelty experience and not worth the trip all the way there for this. To find Baby Claypot House, simply locate the main entrance of Pan Palace Plaza, the same building that houses Sunshine Lip Sin and Red Tea House Dim Sum.

Claypot Chicken Rice (Rm 9.50/ small + Rm 1.60 Egg)

Claypot Spare Ribs Rice (Rm 18.80/ medium + Rm 1.60 Egg)

Blanched Bean Sprouts (Rm 7.50/ small)

Stir Fried Bitter Gourd with Egg (Rm 12/ small)

Fortunately for us, we did not have to wait too long for our orders to arrive. We tried both classic Claypot Chicken Rice and the popular Pork Ribs. Both were alright but they lacked the coal-fire aroma, as though we were having ordinary stove-cooked Claypot Rice. Extra charges imposed on the addition of Salted Fish, which we were a little underwhelmed. We did not want to pay more for that bits of Salted Fish and there were none by default. So there were some missing elements in the Claypot Rice. For the portion, we thought the price is a little high (considering there's extra 6% service charge). To be fair, the Bean Sprouts were good... in fact, better than their Claypot Rice. There was a hint of Bonito aroma so they may have used Japanese Soy sauce in this dish. Same goes for the Stir Fried Bitter Gourd with Egg.