Cheap Cheap Lobster!

Lobster prices are falling all across Australia thanks to the tension between China and the lucky country. Prices are now down as much as 50% of its peak when times are good!

Perfect idea to have Lobster to celebrate this Christmas!!

Father's Day Lunch

We celebrated Father's Day in Melbourne yesterday. With the current Stage 4 Lockdown, all restaurants are still closed to dine in business, so the only choice is to cook at home.

Beautiful Japanese scallops.

Grill Banana Prawn.

Grill salmon fillet on a pan. The skin is to be face down in order to get it crispy.

Flip over once the salmon skin turns brownish.

Final presentation: Grill Seafood Platter with a sunny side up.

A rich salad to balance the diet.

Floating Seafood Paradise

There was one time on our way back from Klang Valley to Penang, we decided to stopped over Tambun which is popular for seafood to have our dinner before heading back to the island.

We tried this particular one which we have never patronize before as it looked promising from the outside with ample parking spaces and presentable entrance.

There were fish ponds lined up along the entrance as we walked into the restaurant. The restaurant was empty with maybe just one table occupied and I thought 'oh no, it must be wrong choice!'. But we were all too tired to drive around and find another place to eat so just decided to bite the bullet and try.

The food in general is below our expectation but oklah, just want to have something before continue our journey home.

Kampai 乾杯 @ e-Gate

After a year didn't been to e-Gate I realized a few changes. For instance Tao is no longer there and I believe that a new outlet called Kampai 乾杯 is taking over its place. Initially I thought that Kampai is a Japanese restaurant due to its name and also a few photos of their food displayed at the entrance. Upon closer look at the menu it turns out that they are actually serving Taiwanese cuisine. 

Since it is new and the outlet was really beautifully renovated, we decided to have a go with it. Their beautiful wall paper which at first glance one would think that they are Chinese poems are actually part of their menu displayed on the wall with different sizes and creative fonts.

However, there is no time to appreciate their interior as we were all hungry and it's time to just order our dinner ASAP.

3 Cups Chicken 三杯雞 RM9.90

Claypot Crab Meat Tofu 蟹黄豆腐煲 RM9.90

Grille Mackerel RM9.90

Taiwanese Roast Pork 烤咸豬肉

Bitter Gourd 鹹蛋苦瓜 RM9.90

The good thing about this restaurant is that most of their dishes are only RM9.90 although they come in small portion. It is a good way to order variety of dishes and have a taste of Taiwanese cuisine in this modest beautiful outlet. 

Location: 

1-01-05 & 1-01-06, Ground Floor, e-Gate, Lebuh Tunku Kudin 2, Gelugor, 11700, Penang, Malaysia.

Operating Hours:

Mon-Sun: 12pm - 2am

Contact:

+604 658 7826

Jade Palace Seafood Restaurant @ Abu Siti Lane

Jade Palace has been around for a very long time and is still standing tall amidst the many competitors mushrooming around the city. The interior of the restaurant is very spacious as they do cater for banquet and wedding dinner. However, you are also welcomed if you just walk in and request for only one table.

This place is perfect for those after traditional Chinese cuisine as the seafood here come in big portion and fresh. You must try their shark fin soup as it is filled with top ingredients and you can actually see the fin's texture! Usually it is not crowded and it is just perfect if you do not wish to squeeze in cramped restaurant and waiting for hours for your food which is especially the case in most famous restaurants. Here, the food arrive fairly quick and you can truly enjoy a wonderful dinner with your family in a much peaceful setting.

 

Shark Fin Soup

Crispy Skin Chicken

Hai Boey Seafood

Tucked deep into the southern corner of Penang Island; facing a beautiful natural bay protected by pristine hills on its side where leaves of coconut trees sway ever so elegantly in the evening breeze and gentle waves wash ashore creating the soothing sound; one can easily find peace upon arriving at this place. If you are unlike the majority of Penangites who are so particularly worried about getting sand into their car; try walk along the beach bare-footed as the fine sand massages your feet to give you natural relaxation. Among the stars that are scattered across the night sky, you will occasionally see blinking lights at the distant sky among the stars amplifying as it approaches you; no it is not UFO; it is the aeroplane that fly towards or away from the nearby Penang International Airport. With less crowd compared to the famous tourist belt of Batu Ferringhi, the beach here is perfect for someone who wish to calm his/her soul and escape from the hectic fast paced city life. Hai Boey Seafood located in a place that reminds one of paradise lost.

The scenery is the perfect appetizer to get your stomach ready for some great seafood that Hai Boey has to offer! Some of the recommended dishes include, salted egg crabs, Thai style steamed fish, deep fried brinjal, stir fried kapar clams, dark soya sauce steamed fish, Nyonya coconut prawn (娘惹椰盅虾), claypot steamed Grouper fish (生煲海班) and stir fried mantis prawn.

Drive towards the Penang International Airport from the city, once you passed the airport; keep going straight until you hit a road sign that points left to Gertak Sanggul. Turn left into Gertak Sanggul and you should be able to see the Hai Boey signboard after about 5-10 minutes.

 

Some prefers the luxury of classy fine dining restaurants with piped in Jazz music and all those artificial settings; but what makes a magical dining experience is to be able to spend quality time with your family in a simple, modest natural settings where you can find a peace of mind and recharge.

Stir Fried Crab With Salted Egg @ Sembawang

There are many different ways to cook a crab and the most common three are either baked, steamed or stir fried (炒螃蟹). For the stir fried way, there are many varieties as well, you can choose to stir fried the crab with cheese, black pepper, chilly and many other spices depending on where you go. But my all time favorite is to stir fried the crab with salted egg (咸蛋)!

I first came to know this when I stumbled upon a very modest food court in Singapore. I like the smaller scale of this food court as it is not very crowded compare to other food courts located in shopping malls all across Singapore. And this wonderful dish was sold at a crazily affordable price at the Broadway Food Centre, Sembawang, Singapore. It is surrounded by HDB flats and within walking distance from the Sembawang MRT Station and Sun Plaza, this place is easily accessible. If you stay in one of the HDB blocks around the vicinity, you can just take a relax stroll to this place and order two crabs for just S$25! 

The flesh of crab itself already has great taste, but when its natural sweetness combines with the saltiness of salty egg, it is simply magical! This is the wonderful thing about cuisine, it is all about the combination of tastes to take the fabulous dish to the next level so that people simply can't get enough ot it and desire for more! Cooking is much like composing music; when different notes are put together, a new melody is created. Cuisine is indeed an art!

Besides the melting pot of tastes, the end result of a dish is also very much depends upon the way it is cooked. Sometimes inexperienced chef who overcooked the crabs would make the flesh sticks to the shells and taste dryer at the same time. To make someone completely satisfies with his dining experience, first the environment of the place has to be comfortable, the food is well presented, delicious and finally it must not be a hassle while eating it. If you were to spend half of the time struggling to get the flesh out of the shell, do you think you will enjoy it? This does happen to some other places I have been to but not for this stall in Sembawang. Although stir fried, the flesh can still be easily separated from the shell while the juiciness of it was retained at the same time. When you have finish devoured all the flesh within the shell, you will find yourself licking the gravy around every single shell that has it, it was much more 'finger licking good' than KFC. It was that good! 

Ah Keat Seafood @ Penang Time Square

January 2014 UPDATE: Ah Keat Seafood is no longer operating at Penang Times Square. Their previous premise is currently under renovation by James Foo Western Food.

Ah Keat Seafood original shop is located along Jalan Raja Uda in Butterworth which enjoys very good business from customers especially in the mainland area. They are actually there for quite a long time and the food and business is very good indeed. They are famous for their variety of rare seafood such as crabs, horseshoe crabs, prawns, mantis prawns, giant grouper and other delicacies. Among their signature dish are stir fried mantis prawn with salted egg, lemon steamed lala, lobster fried with cheese and many more.

Following their success in Butterworth, they have decided to expand their business to the island side of Penang and have completed their extensive renovation works at Penang Time Square. Most people are amazed at first glance of this premise as it occupies a huge area (formerly Soju bistro) on the ground floor. It has both inner as well as semi-outdoor dining area. The interior decor is very chic and delightful and the tables are arranged in a very comfortable distance from each other. In general, the first impression of the place is great, coupled with their already good reputation at Butterworth, most people wouldn't think twice to step inside this restaurant.

Unfortunately your excitement will stop right there as you will soon find out that it takes ages for your food to be served. And when it is served, the food is poorly prepared as the chefs have been rushing to push out the already delayed orders for most tables. There were a family sitting besides us who got too frustrated they left without waiting for their food to arrive. Ours took about an hour to arrive, stop short of us being collapsing out of hunger. I know that everything happens for a reason and out of curiosity I asked the cashier what went wrong when I paid the bill. She apologized and frankly told me that their kitchen was too small. That's it! They have focus on maximizing the dining area so that they can accommodate more customers and neglected the importance of the kitchen. 

Anyway, the delay could also be due to management issues. To be fair, let's give them some time to sort things out as they just open for business this week. Things can get rowdy in the beginning before getting better. Given their success in Butterworth, I believe that they can work things out soon. Other than the long wait, everything else is satisfactory.