Weekend KFC

This year marks my daughter's first year to school and today is the first birthday party of her classmate she attends. It is also the first time for us as parents to attend a birthday party organized by Aussies although later I found out that they were originated from New Zealand. 

Anyway, I learned that there are many differences between Aussie and Asian birthday party. Aussie party emphasizes on activities for the kids while Asian party is more on serving food for the parents. As we are accustomed to Asian culture we assumed that there would be plenty of food at the party. And that's why we went without having our lunch first. 

I was offered tea upon entering the host's house and I saw they were making beautiful sandwiches. I thought that was a good start and couldn't wait for the feast to begin. But then I realized that tea was what I would have for the next 2 hours or so. Series of games were planned for the kids and I was glad that my daughter enjoyed it very much. But food was no where to be found. So I thought I could see it as a great excuse for me to be on diet as I think I'm overweight. So no complain even food was still not served after 1.30pm although we didn't have lunch before we came.

It was quite interesting to experience different cultures once in a while. To see how other people celebrate. Food is not necessarily the only thing that attracts people together like what we Asian like to believe. After all, today's party was organized for the kids, not the parents. The party was planned for the kids to have fun and spend quality afternoon with their fellow classmates. While the food focused Asian party is designed in such a way to to take away the attention from people to food. Some just keep eating without socializing with anyone.

Anyway, I think a balance between the two would be best because by 2pm my stomach started complaining by making noises and I would just grab anything within my field of vision and stuffed it inside my mouth. I didn't care if it was just tit bits, it was good enough to satisfy my hunger. When the sandwich was out, I was like just handed over to me and I would take good care of it. Of course I did that in my mind, I wouldn't want to embarrass myself. 

In short, it was a great party as my daughter was enjoy every moment of it but we the parents were a bit hungry-lah. I once read that some people get fatter while on diet. It is because they starve themselves so much that they eat even more whenever they dine. This was exactly how we felt today. We were thinking of KFC for dinner! Only KFC could save us from our craving for food!

So KFC was what we have for dinner tonight.

We ordered the Streetwise Feast: 6 piece original (my special order of just drumsticks and thighs~~yum!); 4 nuggets; 3 crispy strips and 2 boxes of chips (I still think McDonald's chips are better) for $19.90.

Due to our starvation, this beautiful golden brown drumsticks and thighs were turned into bones in no time!

Today's lesson, don't ever go on diet, if not you would end up eating KFC everyday!

However, it is not too bad to pamper yourself and have some junk food once in a while!

Spice Express

It was recommended by a friend the day before that we decided to check it out yesterday. Yesterday wasn't the most beautiful Sunday as it rained in the morning and looked as though the whole was going to be cloudy.

Drove for about 30 minutes to this place and I thought it better be good! The area was packed with cars trying to find a parking spot as this is this place is sort of a mini Chinatown considering the number of Asian restaurants around. It was lunch time after all and this was the kind of situation that you would expect. 

Anyway managed to finally parked our car after a few rounds of circling in the vicinity. Went straight for this place called Spice Express that was recommended to us as I said before. Business was so good that people were already sitting outside the small restaurant and more people were seen lining up to make their orders through the cashier.

It must be our lucky day as we managed to find a spot right at the pathetic corner in front of the counter.

This is the queue during lunch time at Spice Express

First up was Mango Lassi and hot Teh Tarik; perfect for the cool weather yesterday. 

Hot & Cold - Teh Tarik with Mango Lassi

Of course you can never find any Teh Tarik here in Perth that could match anything at home as there is only instant ones available here. But it was good enough just to imagine I was at home. Mango Lassi was always good wherever I have it. To me it is like a drink that could never go wrong.

Fried Spiced Chicken - $2.00 per piece

Next came the delicious fried chicken wing although not spicy enough for me. It was a good entree as we were waiting for the mains to be served.

Then there was this mutated Apom called Egg & Cheese Appum that was probably invented to satisfy the local Aussie market who love cheese. That's probably why it is spelled Appum instead of Apom! Its appearance did look very alien to me with coconut milk and orange colored sugar. Personally, I am not a fan of this particular dish.

Egg & Cheese Appum - $6.50

But somehow my little one seemed to think otherwise.

Then we had the usual Nasi Lemak and Egg Thosai.

Nasi Lemak - Coconut rice with egg, anchovies, peanuts, cucumber and homemade sambal $7.50

Egg Thosai $8.50

We were told by another customer that shared table with us that they only serve Roti Prata on Thursday evening. That is probably the only downside that I couldn't have Roti Prata yesterday.

However, the overall experience was great; at least we could feel at home with this kind of lunch. Picture speaks a thousand words, I let the following photo describes our overall rating of the place:

Operating Hours:

Wed - Sun: 9.00am - 3.00pm

Closed on Mondays & Tuesdays

Address:

41 Hulme Court,

Myaree, WA 6154

Australia

Contact: 9330 3687 / 0434 027 381

Wonderful Halloumi

Coming home beautifully cooked and decorated fine dining style candle light dinner. For once the entree took the attention away from the main course. At first I thought I was eating chicken which turned out to be Halloumi cheese. The texture and taste did feel like chicken anyway. When put on top of the soft and tender base of eggplant, the combination of texture tasted wonderful.

Next came the main course which was my favourite grill Barramundi.

You can always enjoy fine dining at home and no need to spend a fortune in some classy restaurant. Savouring the appetizing meals with a glass of chilled white wine was just the perfect way to unwind the day from whole week of hard work!

Ah Hor Koay Teow Th'ng @ Carnavon Street 阿虎粿條湯

粿條湯 or Koay Teow Soup - one of the most under stated hawker food of Penang which is often over-shadowed by other more popular dish such as Char Koay Teow or Asam Laksa. This dish provides an alternative to those who can't take spicy food. It is equally delicious in its own way.

It's at Carnavon Street again but this time it's about Koay Teow soup which is so famous in this part of town that at least 2 stalls are selling the same dish. Now that is competition!

We tried the one facing the main street as we could see many people lined up just to get a table. I thought it must be real good to command such a crowd. Again parking is a headache but somehow it was my lucky day that there was one spot not so far away from the stall. Finding a parking space in Penang is like hunting, you got to be quick before your prey gets away!

  

The name of this modest stall is called 阿虎粿條湯 and I guess 阿虎 must be the name of the boss/chef behind the stall. His Indonesian helper stood next to him could speak fluent Hokkien and that really impressed me.

We were told to take a seat first and she would come and take our orders when she was available. Soon we had our orders taken, waited not too long fortunately as it was around 10am when most people were working in the office.

The picture above was what we ordered, a simple Koay Teow Th'ng with pork livers, fish balls, shredded duck and garnished with spring onion. The soup was sparkling with droplets of oil that made it looked ever more appetizing. RM4.00 per bowl and I believe it is value for money, no complain.

Oh Chien at Carnavon Street

Fried Oyster Omelette (Oh Chien) @ Seng Thor Kopitiam

Wanton Mee @ Seng Thor Kopitiam

When I posted these two pictures on Facebook recently, my friend instantly commented that they are from Carnavon Street. He recognized mainly because of the first picture which is the fried oyster omelette or Oh Chien which this place is renowned for.

We were trying our luck that day due to difficulties finding a parking spot right in the heart of George Town but to our delight we managed to find one right in front of the coffee shop. We parked where we could see our car just in case the 'Mata' came and gave us lottery ticket as our spot was not actually a parking lot.

Anyway, we went in and ordered the Wanton Mee first as I have had it before many years ago and knew that it was good. With the mixture of steamed and deep fried wanton, this dish did not disappoint me and I soon found myself polished the entire plate with my tongue instantly. 

Those who are no stranger to Penang hawker food know that the dish comes in small portion. I was looking at the Oh Chien stall while having my noodle just then and was reluctant to make my order due to the seemingly long queue. I soon couldn't resist the temptation of the famous Oh Chien and ordered one plate after all. Have to wait a while due to its popularity but it came eventually.

The oyster and egg fused together to create this beautiful golden mixture which would made one drools just by staring at it. I gently picked up one piece and slowly moved it into my mouth and my god, it tasted heavenly! The combination of crispiness of the batter with the juiciness of the oyster was simply irresistible. 

These two dishes can summarize what Penang is all about: simple, delicious and money well spent. The downside was I got sore throat after the Oh Chien and have to suffer for the next three days miserably without any hawker food indulgence.

Seng Thor Kopitiam is located at the corner of Carnavon and Kimberley Street, Penang.

CF Foodcourt - 7th Day of Chinese New Year

One of the scene that I can never experience in Perth is the vibrancy of the city after sunset. So I always try to take in this atmosphere as much as I could whenever I am back in Penang.

Penang comes to life after dark where some of the streets in the city will be converted into makeshift hawker centres the locals would go to have a snack or two. We went to CF Foodcourt at Weld Quay on the 7th day of Chinese New Year 2015 (年初七) for dinner because I knew that it is going to be full of people and lots of delicious food to choose from. You could taste great food and feel the energy of the city at the same time. And to my surprise there was a live performance on that day which made the whole evening even more meaningful.

The crowd was impressive at CF Foodcourt.

Live performance - a bonus.

Hawker centres and foodcourts are the kind of place where people from all walks of life would unwind and gather in the evening either with families or friends. It is our public place to socialize with others. It is a place with no restriction to race, social status, gender or age. How much more democratic could it be? And it is definitely very affordable to most people. You don't have to fork out a fortune to have an enjoyable evening. I guess that is the most unique and attractive aspect of dining out in Penang.

Dry Fish Head Bee Hoon

Fish Head Bee Hoon Soup

Tom Yam Bee Hoon

This is the stall where we ordered from - check them out!

Despite the exodus of talents out of the country in recent years due to our current volatile political situation, Penang somehow still manages to retain its charm and it has never been more obvious than during the Chinese New Year period when the entire state is in celebration mood. In fact we could also say that it is because of so many people are now living outside the country and the one thing that they look forward to every year is to be able to go back to their hometown to be with their family. That is why the population of Penang balloons up multiple times during Chinese New Year because of people coming back from all corners of the world. There is nothing more wonderful than being able to hear Penang Hokkien spoken by everyone around me whenever I'm back.

It is the simplistic and easy going lifestyle of Penang which has continuously attracting people from all over the world to now stay long term on this magnificent island. I'll always be proud that Penang is my home.

Why You Can't Resist Penang Food

Do you ever wonder why Penang food is so good that you want to go back for more? Why is it that you find yourself patronizing the same stall over and over again if not on a weekly basis? And how come you can never find authentic Penang food elsewhere except on the island itself?

There is no single answer to those questions. First of all, have you realized that Penang hawker food always come in smaller portion compare to elsewhere say KL or Singapore. You may complain that Penang hawkers are calculative or stingy but I believe that is one of the reason that makes Penang food so irresistible. All good things are rare to find and that's why gold is so precious while rubbish is worthless. By serving the food in smaller portion, we could savour its taste more explicitly. It is the emphasis of quality over quantity. If it's portion is too big then you find yourself trying to finish up the food instead of completely immerse yourself in your palate sensation. 

The next reason why Penang food is so unique lies in the professionalism of its hawkers. Yes, you heard me, Penang hawkers are professionals! Have you realized that most Penang hawkers only sell one dish? If they are selling Asam Laksa then you won't be able to order Char Koay Teow from them. It is the skill and home made recipe that have been passed down by their previous generation that they want to upkeep and be faithful to their cuisine. The complex combination of ingredients and spices, the texture of the noodles, the amount of time and effort of preparation works all culminating into a small bowl of beautifully presented dish. These people are even more professional than the so called 'professionals' in suits that patronize their stall. 

I have always think that hawkers are under-appreciated by the general public because people only look up to careers with social status such as engineers or lawyers. But these engineers and lawyers would still have to sit by the roadside and wait for their food. 

There are many people trying to sell Penang food elsewhere. In fact you can find Penang food in all corners of the world. It is good to share our cuisine with the rest of the world but most of the times it doesn't work. If you try it you will know that the taste is not the same. There are two major reasons for that. Firstly, our wonderful spices are not easily available in other parts of the world. Secondly, they sell too many different dishes and thus lack focus on the food they serve. Some even mix dish from Singapore or Indonesia but their shop's name is about Penang food. 

Anyhow, let's get back to why Penang food is so unique. Besides the portion of the food and the professionalism of the hawker, there is this beautiful settings of heritage George Town that acts as the perfect backdrop to anyone's culinary experience in Penang. Everything seems to fit flawlessly - old buildings, narrow streets, casual lifestyle, street food and organized chaos. And you can find food anytime of the day from early morning until even after midnight. Penang people eat 24 hours a day and the food scene in George Town never sleeps.

You can't experience all these in big cities. You have to go into huge shopping centres in Singapore to eat 'street food'! Just imagine that, having street food inside a modern building instead of by the street, it is hilarious! 

So these are the reasons which I believe contribute the authenticity and uniqueness of Penang hawker food. I hope the same spirit will continue throughout future generations and not be washed away by rapid modernization of our society. Until then, just find a good spot by the roadside and enjoy your bowl of noodles!