Taipei 10 十号台北 @ E-Gate, Gelugor, Penang.

Located at E-Gate, Taipei 10 is a new addition offering an extensive Taiwanese-Chinese menu—from rice and noodles to stir-fried dishes. While the variety is impressive, we found the food quality rather average. Air-conditioned seats are limited, though there’s additional al-fresco seating available. Might work if you're after convenience and a quick fix, but don’t expect anything exceptional. 

KOGI Korean BBQ @ E-Gate, Gelugor, Penang.

With a name like KOGI (means "meat" in Korean"), it lures a horde of Korean BBQ lovers and the place is often packed and crowded on weekends. The casual Korean restaurant is relatively new but has already gained an appreciate following; apart from the BBQ meat platers, KOGI also churns out familiar Korean delights that any Malaysians can relate to... for example, the Korean Rice Cake, Bibimbap, Korean Pancakes etc. The pocket-friendly price tag is probably another reason why the place rose to be a popular spot at E-Gate. While we enjoy the hospitality and food at KOGI, we did not like the absence of BBQ exhaust hood... in which our clothes were tainted with the BBQ smoke stench. A piece of advice: if you are visiting in a big group, do make advance reservation. 

Mott 9 Restaurant 九號公館 @ E-Gate, Gelugor, Penang.

Found right next to The Seven Restaurant  and under the same management team, Mott 9 Restaurant 九號公館 is one of the latest additions to E-Gate. Though both restaurants are sitting next to each other, both offer different menu. The Seven offers a Hunan-inspired menu while Mott 9 has a slightly localized Chinese menu. It would be easier for Penangites to relate as most of the dishes are familiar and can be found in any established Chinese restaurants. The price points however, are slightly on the higher side; also, the tables are not as well-spaced as we would have hoped... so it feels like a little cramped dining over there. 

The Seven Restaurant and Bar 七号笼门 @ E-Gate, Gelugor, Penang.

A new venture by The Six group-  The Seven Restaurant and Bar 七号笼门 at E-Gate Udini has a fresh new concept- marrying authentic Hunan and Cantonese dishes with local elements... making them friendlier to local palates. The newly opened restaurant can be found right next to Coffee Bean at E-Gate, with bold Chinese interior decor. The menu is big and offers a wide range of Chinese dishes... while retaining some of their previous signature dishes (such as Ramen). There were some hits and misses for the dishes but given the comfortable dining atmosphere, affordable price points and family-friendly menu, this place is still worth a try (especially for family eat out). 

Her Xin Yuan's (合心圆) Mandarin Oranges @ Tesco E-Gate, Penang.

With the auspicious Chinese New Year is around the corner and to justify the occasion, many are starting the gifting season with Mandarin Oranges. However, many of you might have realized that the quality of the Mandarin Oranges imported by the bigger brands has deteriorated. Seeing this as an opportunity, Her Xin Yuan (合心圆) is proud to present their very own brand of Mandarin Oranges, exclusively in Penang.

Her Xin Yuan (合心圆) is a whole new brand started by a group of young and talented Penangites in strive of offering quality Mandarin Oranges/ Lokam at affordable prices. All of their Mandarin Oranges/ Lokam are imported from Yong Chun (永春), China. The team has carefully inspected the entire process ensuring top notch quality Mandarin Oranges are ready to be delivered to their customers. Interested parties can head over to the kiosk at Ground Floor of Tesco E-Gate (Lebuh Tunku Kudin) from today onward until 29th of January 2014 (the booth will be available from 10am to 10pm everyday). For more information, kindly follow them on their Facebook Page. Online ordering is also possible via their Facebook Page. 

Soft Opening of Kampai Restaurant @ E-Gate, Penang.

Last Saturday (18/01/2013) marked the soft opening of Kampai Restaurant by Tao Authentic Asian Cuisine, and I was very honored to be invited to their media launching. Kampai Restaurant is located at the place where the previous "Tao Restaurant" located, at E-Gate (opposite to Tesco) Penang. The word "Kampai" simply means "Cheers" in Japanese and it has been very common for Taiwanese to shout "Kampai" instead of saying it in Mandarin or local dialects as they are so getting used to the mixed culture resulted of  the colonialism happened decades ago. Having the concept of offering the "upgraded" version of Taiwanese "Chu-Char" to Penangites, Kampai Restaurant offers more than 100 dishes of Taiwanese Stir-Fried dishes at very affordable prices. Most of the dishes are priced at Rm 9.90 following the market rate in Taiwan (NTD 99). The restaurant has a very homely ambiance as the owner wishes to let diners feel that they are actually enjoying their alcoholic beverages at Izakaya (居酒屋 or pub in English).

600 CC Taiwanese Restaurant @ Tesco E-Gate, Penang.

When it comes to Taiwanese style of Beef Noodles, I always have this restaurant in my mind, probably due to childhood memories as I used to go to this restaurant quite often with my mother last time. 600CC Taiwanese Restaurant is a chain restaurant which opened its first outlet many years ago at Bukit Jambul Complex (correct me if I am wrong). As of now, 600CC has five outlets (all of them in shopping malls) in total, namely Gurney Plaza, Prangin Mall, Mega Mall, Sunway Carnival and Tesco E-Gate Penang. Variety-wise, they have a lot to offer, but I have no interest on their other dishes as I find most of them are rather pricey. However, their desserts will be worth of trying as I find them pretty special especially their Taiwanese TofuHua (台湾豆花) and their Iced Red Bean Blended Milk (红豆牛奶). To my surprise, I find the quality of the food will be rather inconsistent depending on which outlet you are heading to.

Thai Food at Food Court @ Tesco E-gate, Penang.

Ever wonder if there is anything delicious and tempting enough for you to patron at a food court in a shopping mall ? Well, here is the interesting part, you can actually find something interesting in this food court situated in Tesco E-gate Penang. There is this stall selling authentic, delicious yet inexpensive Thai food but the variety is quite restricted due to the spaces of their stall, they serve Tom Yum and Thai Laksa particularly. Other than those, they do serve appetizers like Som Tam and desserts like Mango Sticky Rice. The best part is the price ranges from Rm3 to Rm6 only. 

Most of the staff (most probably they are Thai) here do not speak Hokkien (a common dialect in Penang) but they do understand basic Malay and Hokkien, however, the lady boss does speak Hokkien and decent Mandarin.

Som Tam ( Thai Papaya Salad, Rm 5) With just Rm5, the Som Tam comes in an unbelievably huge portion. For those who adore spicy food, you can opt to add more chilies (upon request) if you wish to, the Som Tam will be pretty spicy by default. The sourness was just right based on my liking, the dried shrimps were actually the soul of this dish, they gave the salad an unusual aroma and crunchiness. Recommended.

Thai Laksa (Rm 4) It comes with a big portion with a lot of raw vegetables like bean sprouts, cabbage and cucumber. If you are not used to the pungent smell of those raw vegetables, its advisable to request to the waitress to slightly cook them under the boiled water. A few slices of basil leaves will be topped as garnish as well. Basically other than these, there was much ingredients in this Thai Laksa, the soup was quite creamy and rich, obviously the soup was made from coconut milk and cooked together with fish (sardines mostly). Taste was pretty good for me but it was a bit unacceptable for one of my friend who dislike the smell of coconut milk.

Mango Sticky Rice (Rm 5) Freshly cut mango being laid on a bed of soft and tender glutinous rice and topped with a scoop of fresh coconut milk. The glutinous rice was actually a mixture of sweet and salty, the sweet origins from the cooking process where the saltiness comes from the coconut milk I believe. The mango was just okay, probably the season was not right, it would be ideal if the mango is a bit sweeter. Recommended.

Some Thai Dessert (Rm 3) I could not name this dessert but its a mixture of herbal jelly, sago cubes and jack fruits. Its something similar to water chestnut dessert but they differ from instead of water chestnut, this dessert uses sago cubes instead. The taste was pretty decent but the coconut milk was not fresh enough and it could be better if they could use more jack fruits on this dessert but I have no complaints since its just Rm3.

Ratings:

Taste: 7.5/10

Price: 9.5/10

Service: 7.5/10

Parking: 8/10

Service Charge: No

Government Tax: No

Additional Information:

Address: 2nd floor (food court of Tesco E-gate), No 1, Lebuh Tengku Kudin 1, Bandar Jelutong 11700, Penang.

Business Hours: 10am - 10.30pm Daily.

Madam Soon @ E-Gate (Tesco), Penang.

If you have walked pass E-Gate recently you would have notice there is a newly opened restaurant just right beside Tsuraya Japanese Restaurant (beside Old Town) and Sushi King. You will also notice that there is a promotional banner hanging outside, giving you an idea on what they are serving. Basically Madam Soon serves fusion food, from Tze Chuan Noodles, various kinds of congee to local fried rice, or even Japanese way of cooking Unagi. The price ranging from Rm 8 - Rm 15. Aside from all those main course, they do serve some light refreshments too, such as Curry Kapitan with buns. Good ambiance in the restaurant making it suitable for chill outs and business meetings.

Tze Chuan Hot And Sour Udon (Rm 11.90). It comes in a big portion and the gravy was way too starchy for me. The gravy has a very strong flavor of Sauerkraut (sour cabbage) which contributed to the sourness which i do not really like and also pretty much of chilies. It has not much ingredients in it but just a few chicken slices and 2 prawns (the prawns were fresh tho). The Udon was okay to me, nothing special about them.

Stir Fried Roast Pork With Rice (Rm 10.90). The portion was okay and quite an amount of chilies was added to this dish. The chilies were hidden until my friend discovered it. The meat was pretty tender and the sauce goes perfectly with the rice although more would be recommended. Was quite disappointed as the pork tasted pretty normal as I was expecting something better and more special.

Curry Kapitan With Golden Bun (Rm 8.90). The buns were fried to golden brown on the outside but surprisingly, they still maintained the fluffiness of the bun. The curry was rather salty but it goes perfectly with the buns, however, other than potatoes, I can't seem to find any chicken meat in it, but I do found some chicken skin. I would definitely prefer a curry with meat instead. The curry was rather spicy, suitable for curry lovers.

Double Boiled Longan With Sea Coconut (Rm 5.90). Its abit pricey for me, considering the serving size. Otherwise, taste should be fine.

Red Bean Paste Dessert Add On Glutinous Rice Ball (Tang Yuan, Rm 5.40). Any dessert can add on with the glutinous rice balls by just paying additional Rm1.50. The red bean paste was quite sweet and full of red beans. Note that its not red bean soup, so the texture can be pretty rough and thick. I also adore the using of Longan where they chopped them into fine pieces and cooked with the red beans; creating a whole new texture. Highly recommended.

Ratings:
Taste: 7/10
Price: 7.5/10
Parking: 8/10
Service: 8/10
Government Tax: No
Service Charge: Yes (10%)

Additional Information:
Address: 1-1-14, E-Gate, Lebuh Tunku Kudin, 11700 Gelugor Penang (Next to Sushi King)
Phone Number: 04- 656 2009
Business Hours: 11am - 10pm daily
Madam Soon's Facebook Page

Miele Yo Frozen Yogurt @ E-Gate Penang

Frozen Yogurt has a been a trend these days, a lot of outlets selling frozen yogurt were opened in most of the shopping malls in Penang over the year. Few reasons that contribute to the success of frozen yogurt are low calories, healthy and most importantly, tasty. All of these reasons suit the generation "Y" girls (80's to 2000) especially for those who love to have dessert and are afraid of gaining weight. Seeing this frozen yogurt as a potential field, a new frozen yogurt outlet has set foot in E-Gate few days ago with a very interesting name-Miele Yo, strive to offer cheaper frozen yogurt compared to other frozen yogurt outlets. Miele Yo tries to offer their customers with more choices of dessert (other than frozen yogurt) too, cheese cakes, cream puffs, chocolate cakes can also be found.

There are 3 types of frozen yogurt available, namely original yogurt, mix berries and special of the month. 3 cup sizes are available too, a small cup costs Rm8.90 with 1 selection of your own preferred toppings. The pictures above shown medium sized cup (Rm10.90) with 2 toppings available. My choices were kiwi and dried cranberries with original frozen yogurt. I was quite regret for choosing kiwi as they were way too sour for me, should have picked other fruits instead. The taste was pretty much the same as those frozen yogurt outlets out there, so for me, its the price that matters....so I would definitely prefer a cheaper ones....

Swan Puff (Rm3.90), the swan puff was supposed to go with strawberries but they weren't available that time, so the staff substituted the grapes for me instead. The swan puff was stuffed with cream, however, the cream was rather tasteless and the puff was quite dried out, as in it has lost the fluffiness that a puff should have. Also, I would prefer those custard cream puffs instead of this fresh cream puff but the presentation was very nice indeed.

A wide range of cakes available too, haven't got the chance to taste them yet, but will definitely come back and check them out soon, specifically the oreo cheese cake since they look tempting and attractive....

 Cozy interior making it a suitable place for chill out and meeting with friends or customers. Friendly instructions were written on the menu board to give you an idea how the ordering of yogurt works. Also, 10% discounts will be given for any purchases of frozen yogurt during their opening week. (30th july - 5th august 2011)

Ratings:

Taste: 8/10

Price: 9/10

Parking: 8/10

Service: 8/10

Government Tax: No

Service Charge: No

Additional Information:

Address: Lot 1-1-24, Lebuh Tengku Kudin, Gelugor, Penang. (Facing the guard house in E-gate, same row as 7-11)

Business Hours: Sun - Thurs, 11am - 11pm; Fri - Sat, 11am - 1am

Phone Number: 04- 655 1700