Soon Lai Seafood

If you are staying around Green Lane, Jelutong and Perak Road areas, then you probably are familiar with Soon Lai Seafood. Fronting an open space with playground (I used to play there when I was a kid), this joint is popular with the people staying around this densely populated residential area.

This place only open for dinner and the crowd usually spill out to the outdoor eating area as the indoor air-conditioned seating will be full fairly quickly. You can booked your seat prior to going there as it can get quite crowded if you go there too late. The good thing about having a playground right in front of it means that you can bring your kids there to have some quality time together while waiting for your food to be ready. 

People usually come here for its crab. You can order stir fried crab with spicy chilli gravy, black pepper crab, steamed crab and so on. However, my favourite has to be stir fried crab with salted egg, nothing can beat that! Some people will go for prawn mantis instead due to less costly but I am never a fan of that creepy little creature.

I must have soup whenever I eat rice as without it is simply too dry. If you also have the same preference, then go ahead and order the spinach soup with century egg and shrimps.  

Stir Fried Crab with Salted Egg

Spinach Soup with Century Egg and Shrimps

Deep Fried Pork Leg

Tom Yam Steamed Fish

Some other dishes you may try include stingray fish Nyonya style, omelet with seafood or bean curd, spring rolls, stir fried brinjal, sizzling hot plate bean curd, marmite chicken and many many more!   

The good things about this restaurant are that the food is delicious, staff service is quick and everything comes at a very affordable price.

Soon Lai Seafood
15, Lintang Batu, Greenlane,
11600, Penang
Tel: 04-6589 799
Opening from 6pm - 12am daily.

Taiwanese Food In Penang

If you are a regular customer to Kocha Taiwanese Delight (台湾古早味) at Burmah Road or Penang Times Square and you are a fan of salty chicken rice (咸鸡饭), then I suggest you to try out 台灣老街 風味小吃 Old Street Taiwanese Delicacies for a more authentic Taiwanese cuisine experience. They have the usual all time favourites like Iced Pearl Milk Tea (珍珠奶茶) @ RM 5.80 and Papaya Milk Shake (木瓜牛奶) @ RM 4.80, Taiwanese noodles such as Old Street Dried Noodles (老街干面) @ RM 6.80, Spicy Hot Dried Noodles (香辣手工面) @ RM 8.90, Spicy Hot Dried Noodles (香辣手工面) @ RM 8.90, other must try dishes includes Three Cup Chicken (三杯鸡) @ RM 10.90, Steamed Sandwich (刈包) @ RM 7.80, Sze Chuan Wanton in Chili Oil (红油抄手) @RM 4.80 and many more.

The owner Desmond Teh, a Penangite who studied in Taiwan, met his Taiwanese wife and decided to open up this little outlet. Food can indeed bring people together and sometimes makes them fall in love as well! You will expect a more authentic Taiwanese food as his other half is a Taiwanese. 

Old Street Taiwanese Delicacies is located along the famous 8-Row (八间) at Jalan Krian, off Macalister Road.

This place is opened everyday except Monday from 11am-3pm (lunch) and 5pm-9.30pm (dinner).

 

2012 Recap

Today is the 6th of January 2013, we have lived passed 21st of December 2012. Perhaps the Mayans were simply ran out of paper on the 22nd December when trying to draft their calendar. Whatever the reason was, the most important thing that is truly relevant to us is the fact that we have survived the end of the world!

Let's recap some of the places in Penang that we have visited in 2012. Click on any items below for reviews:

Chu Char (煮炒)

• Chuan Bee Kopitiam
• Air Itam Curry Fish Head
• Chia Yean Cafe
• Bee Wei Seafood
• Sunshine Bay Seafood
• Sun Set View @ Butterworth
• Beach Corner Cafe
• Loke Sok 

Steamboat

• Sawara

Hokkien Mee

• Swee Kong Kopitiam

Koay Teow Th'ng

• Church Street
• Hutton Lane

Bee Hoon Th'ng

• Hor Chiu Hai (鬍髭海)
• Xiang Xia (鄉下)
• Ho Ping Kopitiam 

Tok Tok Mee

• Gurney Plaza
• Burmah Road

Nasi Lemak

• Sri Weld Food Court

Western Food (Penang Style)

• Esplanade
• Harvest Inn  

Duck Drumstick Noodle Soup (鸭腿面线)

•  Green Lane

Chicken Rice

• Green Lane

Thai Food

• Annathai Kitchen

Coconut Drink

• Abu Siti Lane 
• Esplanade

As we are still living, let's have at least one new year resolution that is dedicated to continue our quest for best food around us!

Chuan Bee Kopitiam

There are over 12,000 prewar buildings within the historic enclave of George Town which was the heart of this UNESCO Heritage City. If you are not local you may not be able to locate some of the best coffee houses (or more commonly known as kopitiam in local Hokkien dialect) that are hidden and scattered around the maze like street network of this heritage town. 

There is one such place located along China Street (Lebuh Cina), it is the road right across and run perpendicularly to the famous Kuan Yin Temple  (觀音亭). 

The appearance of this modest little shop doesn't look very impressive at first. In fact it may even put off many potential customers who wish to be in newer and presentable premises. This is where you always need the locals to bring you to places like these that never appear in your Lonely Planet travel brochure.

Kopitiam in Penang Hokkien means coffee house. However it is unlike Starbucks or Coffee Bean which specializes on variety of coffee. The name derives from the fact that the locals always enjoy their local Penang coffee in places like these where they can also dine in and chit chat with their friends. The local coffee served here is particularly good and I never fail to order a cup. The mixture of bitterness and sweetness is just right in my view.

Pomfret Fish Curry

Stir Fried Bitter Gourd with Egg

Like many other Kopitiam in Penang, you can find the standard Chu Char (煮炒) menu here like fish curry, stir fried vegetables, fried Hokkien Mee etc. But one dish that you MUST order when you are there is their 金香雞 (pronounced as Kam Hiong Kai in Cantonese) where the chicken is deep fried into golden brown color in their secret recipe spices. I've been trying to find out what are the spices that they use but I was not successful so far.

 金香雞

A Taste of Penang In Sungai Petani

Penang hawker food is world renowned for its flavour sensation thanks to the variety of spices easily available in this part of the world. It is only natural that the demand for Penang food is even greater when you do not live in Penang.

Sungai Petani, the second biggest city of the Kedah state is located just a mere 45 minutes away by car from Penang Island. Take the North-South Expressway after crossing over via Penang Bridge, exit at Sungai Petani Selatan. After the first traffic light, turn left then go straight until you approach another traffic light, you will then find the first kopitiam on your left called Restoran Choon Nam. Look for a stall selling Curry Mee, Hokkien Mee and Lo Mee. To get a taste of Penang when you are living in Sungai Petani, this is the place to go.

Curry Noodle

Prawn Noodle Soup or 'Hokkien Mee'

The chili and fried onion are home made to ensure their freshness and fragrance intact. Each bowl of these delicious and mouth watering noodle soups costs a mere RM3.00! You won't get the same portion of it with that price in Penang Island! The husband and wife team start their business everyday at 7am and will usually sell out all their noodles by 10am! So wake up early and make sure you don't miss out!

Minced Crab & Prawn Meat Ball

Gurney Drive Penang, world renowned for its offering of all hawker food you can find in one location. Tourists and locals flock to this place every weekends just to savour the gourmet delights that Penang is famous for. Penangites who are seasoned food hunters of the local food environment will tend to stay away from the famous roundabout food court due to the higher price that the hawkers charge over there as many tourists patronize the area. 

Therefore, as far as the roundabout food court is concerned, I believe many people have wrote about it and we are not going to discuss it here. We are going to find food the Penangites' way. If you have been to Gurney Drive, you would have notice that there are small eating outlets scattered along the 2.2km stretch from the roundabout all the way to Gurney Hotel. And you would find that you usually come across tourists in these places when they are accompanied by locals. The area I'm talking about is located between Jalan Birch and Jalan Lim Chin Guan just before the Evergreen Hotel if you are coming from Gurney Plaza. There are four small food courts namely: Song River, Public, Carnation and New Zealand. You can find Bah Kut Teh, Seafood Noodle Soup, rice dishes and variety of local hawker food here.

In Public Cafe, there is this stall called Loke Sok Seafood. You can order rice with variety of Chinese dishes and it is value for money compare to eating in a restaurant. I'm not going to divulge the full list of their menu here as I'm only particularly interested in one dish that I never fail to order every time I visit this place. It is the deep fried minced crab & prawn meat balls, or it is called Cim Co in Hokkien. I suggest you order it in Hokkien to avoid getting something else in surprise. The minced crab and prawn meat are mixed together and wrapped up in a roll with bean curd skin ( 腐皮). The roll is then cut into several pieces and then deep fried in steaming hot oil. I also suggest that when you order it, tell the waitress that you don't want the meat ball to be cut in half. It is because from my experience when it is cut in half and then deep fried, it tends to be dryer and the tasty juice of the meat is lost. The price is $6 for 6 pieces, $8 for 8 pieces, $10 and $12.

Buffet @ E&O Hotel

Most people enjoy going out for buffet for various reasons. Some like it because they think it is really value for money especially if they are those who can eat a lot. But there are also some like myself who simply loves the idea that you have so many choices spread out for you from entree through to dessert that you can take your own sweet time to finish them. It is a brilliant concept of giving people tremendous freedom of choice. And the atmosphere is always cheerful with crowd of people that make you feel like you are not just going out for lunch or dinner; but you are actually participating in a feast!

There are many places around Penang Island that offer buffet lunch and dinner in most hotels. Most of them serve good food. But I'm a strong believer that when we go out for dining, it is not just the food that affects our experience. The gourmet experience is the combination of food, presentation, service and environment. And the one place that come straight to my mind is the E&O Hotel in Penang.  

Firstly, you will be spoilt for choice with the huge array of various delicacies spread out in the newly refurbished Sarkies Corner at the E&O Hotel Penang. It is a mixture of local, international and Japanese cuisine. There is the salmon sashimi (my number one favourite), grill dori or salmon fish, grill lamb or beef, roasted duck, fresh oyster, baby lobster,various kinds of salad and sushi, smoked delicacies including the Unagi, deep fried seafood, dessert, tropical fruits and they even have local favourite like Char Koay Teow and curry fish head which I think are pretty good! So in terms of food, I definitely tick the box of approval.

Secondly the presentation is always great especially when you are in a 5 star hotel setting. And now with the new Sarkies Corner that offer a much spacious interior space, presentation wise is above average. 

Thirdly you can expect good service from E&O as they have a name to live up to. However, due to the large crowd especially during weekends, sometimes the crew can be overwhelmed which I think is still acceptable.

Finally, it is the environment that E&O stands out from all of its competitors. Located right at the northern strip of coastline of Penang Island, it offers a breathtaking sea view overlooking Butterworth and as fas as Gunung Jerai of Kedah! The garden along the entire sea frontage of the hotel is well maintained and is a favourite place to take a walk and explore the beauty of the surrounding. With heavenly view coupled with great food and architecture, E&O will remain at the top of the buffet food chain for a long period of time!  

Famous Penang Char Koay Teow

Curry Salmon Fish Head

Fresh Oyster

Grill Saba Fish

Salmon Sashimi