CRIZ BON APPETITE

Please take note that the stall has ceased operation in 2008 and the present coffee house has been renamed as Yummy Cafe. What you get from the coffee house and whichever stalls that carry the same name were not the original.

Bak Kut Teh is a popular Chinese soup in which contain meaty pork, simmer with many herbs and spices. This popular soup is taken with white rice or dark oil rice. There are quite a number of Bak Kut Teh stalls scattered all over Penang area. All of them have their own different recipes and thickness of the soup. The one that I like to frequent is situated in a corner coffee shop along Jalan Macalister. The stall is called Lai Lai Bak Kut Teh.

The reason we like to go there is that the owner is very generous with the soup as he will make sure that each clay pot he served will not be out of soup. We ordered our own selection of choice meat, a plate of boiled Cameron lettuce topped with a lot of meat floss, a plate of You Tiao (Yau Char Gwai or You Char Kway from the famous Penang shop) and four big bowls of white rice. Everything cost us only RM27.50 and the amount of meat in the clay pot could easily feed 3 adults. We managed to pack some back for lunch the next day. What I did with that is another story… haha. Could you believe that this portion is meant for only 2 persons?

In fact, there are still many other options you can add into the Bak Kut Teh clay pot as shown in the photo.

The shop is just opposite Red Rock Hotel. If you are driving down from Komtar into Jalan Macalister, you will see a petrol kiosk on your left. The shop is just right after that.

Name: SUPER LAI LAI BAK KUT TEH (Opposite Red Rock Hotel)
Address: 97, Jalan Macalister, 10400 Penang, Malaysia.
Contact: 012-473 1471
Opening Hours: 6.00pm – 1.00am (Closed Thursday)
GPS: 5.416585, 100.323029

RATING:
Ambience: 6/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 classy)
Food Choices: 810 (1-4 limited, 5-7 average, 8-10 many choices)
Taste: 8/10 (1-4 tasteless, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)
Pricing: 7/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 expensive)
Service: 7/10 (1-4 bad, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)

Popularity: 2% [?]

You can do up your own fruit drink within minutes and stop your worries over those preservatives that are available in a packet drink. I love mango as few fruits can rival its succulent and aromatic delights in it. An average size fruit contains about 90% vitamin C and 75% of vitamin A and E. These vitamins are powerful immune system boosters. Let me share with you all a simple yet nutritious recipe.

MANGO MILKSHAKE (serves: 1-2)

225 grams (8 oz) medium ripe mango
250 ml soy milk (vanilla flavored will be ideal)
2 teaspoon honey
1 cup ice cubes
1 stalk mint leaves
Some whipped cream

1. Cut the mango on both side length wise and scoop the flesh into the blender. Try to cut around the pit to get any remaining flesh.

2. Add in soy milk, honey and ice cubes and blend until it becomes puree like.

3. Pour into a tall glass. Spray some whipped cream on it. Drip some honey. Garnish with mint leaves. Serve immediately.

YOU CAN CHECK HERE FOR MORE RECIPES.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Where would you treat your family for lunch on a Sunday? You should try out Sarkies Corner Sunday Buffet Hi-Tea, located in Eastern & Oriental (E&O) Hotel. By paying just RM42++ (adults) or RM21++ (children), you could savor one of the most wonderful spread of buffet lines in Penang, ranging from local delicacies to international favorites.

You may want to know what are the choices of food available in Sarkies Corner? At one corner would be the appetizers which consist of greens, salads, cold cuts and at times sushi. You have the soup section as well. As for the main course, there are so many dishes that stood out amongst the best in Penang, namely the roasted duck, chicken, grilled fish, skewed BBQ chicken (satay), roti canai, curry fish head, etc.

The restaurant provided a generous amount of food and all of them are of quality. I was surprised that they have thick slices of grilled cod fish and salmon, which are considered expensive in the market. They even gave a curry fish head each for those who love this dish.

As for dessert, there would be the local kuih (desserts), fruits, choices of cakes, jellies ice creams and of course our local favorite, Ice Kacang (Shaved Ice). Coffee, tea and juices are free flow.

If you are in for quality food without worrying about your waist line, this would be the most ideal buffet hi-tea in town. Please make reservation days earlier before you go there as there will be large crowds. You can even reach there earlier before 11.30am to ensure a good sitting place. Here are some of the photos of the food that the restaurant was serving.

I am sure everyone knows about the location of E&O Hotel, the oldest hotel in Penang. If you are not sure, you can refer to the map or ask any of the friendly Penangites and they would be glad to show you how to go there.

Name: SARKIES CORNER, EASTERN & ORIENTAL HOTEL
Address: 10 Lebuh Farquhar, 10200 Penang, Malaysia.
Contact: 604-222 2000
Opening Hours: 12.00pm – 3.00pm
GPS: 5.423154, 100.336021

RATING:
Ambience: 9/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 classy)
Food Choices: 8/10 (1-4 limited, 5-7 average, 8-10 many choices)
Taste: 8/10 (1-4 tasteless, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)
Pricing: 9/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 expensive)
Service: 7/10 (1-4 bad, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)

Popularity: 1% [?]

If you are running out of ideas on what to cook for your next meal, you can try out this recipe. It is so simple to cook and appetizing that you may want to have it always. This is my own recipe and you can change the amount of ingredient used to suit your taste. Let’s try out my Spicy Potatoes With Anchovy recipe here.

Ingredients:
150gms baby anchovy (ikan bilis) – wash and dry
6 pips of onions – blended
1 Tspn chili boh (chili paste) – add more if you want it more spicy
4 large potatoes – quarter and cut into slices
150gms tamarind juice (juice from 2 large lime plus 100gms water)
Salt and sugar to taste.
Some oil

Method of cooking:
Deep fry the potato slices in medium fire in a wok until they are cooked and slightly brown. Dish them out.

1. Leave about 6 Tspn of oil in the wok and with low fire sauté the anchovy until they are fragrant and golden in color. Dish them out.
2. Again with low fire, put in the blended onions. Stir for about 5 minutes then add in the chili paste. Saute until you get the pungent smell.
3. Add in the tamarind juice. Cook until thicken.
4. Add in pinch of salt (not too much as some anchovy can be salty) and some sugar to taste.
5. Put in the pre-fried anchovy and potato slices and stir thoroughly.
6. Serve with rice while it is hot to maintain the crunchiness of the anchovy.
7. Garnish with some tomatoes and celery leaves (optional).

(Serves: 3-4)

YOU CAN CHECK HERE FOR MORE RECIPES.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Many people would just ignore this restaurant as it looks rather old and unimpressive but not the regulars. If you are near that area with your family, you can consider dropping by this restaurant aka coffee shop for dinner. Do try to be there earlier as most of the time the shop would be rather packed. As in most restaurants, the captain would make recommendation and take your orders but here they do provide menu too. That was something I did not expect to see. Most of the food in the menu are Cantonese dishes and contain lots of ginger, rice wine and vinegar. So, if you are not sure of the right combination for your meal, just leave it to the captain (Auntie) to recommend.

The food there can be considered tasty and has a touch of Mummy’s home cook food taste. My friend and I decided to try out the place after seeing that there was quite a crowd each time I passed by that area. We ordered Mapo Tofu, Kong Po Chicken with Cashew Nuts and a plate of Stir Fried Brocolli with Roasted Pork. We did not expect to see the amount of the dishes so much that it could have had fed 3 persons. I made a blunder this time as I changed the tofu from Crabmeat Tofu to Mapo Tofu as this dish combined with the Kong Po contained too much of sourness from the vinegar it has. But, both of us managed to finish up all the dishes with additional order of rice. Overall, we paid RM29.10 for the food with no discount of 10sen at all! I wondered why some restaurant owners are so money faced… haha 😛

You just can’t miss the shop as it is just next to the tallest UMNO Building (Menara UMNO) in Penang. The shop is located just at the junction of Jalan Zainal Abidin and Jalan Macalister.

Name:
SIN TAI TUNG SEAFOOD RESTAURANT (Opposite Menara UMNO)
Address: 130 Jalan Macalister, 10400 Penang, Malaysia.
Contact: 604-2271745, 012-480 1428 (Mr. Ng Kok Beng)
Opening Hours:
5.00pm – 10.00pm, 1.00pm – 10.00 pm (Sunday)
(Closed Tuesday)
GPS: 5.416061, 100.324895

RATING:
Ambience: 5/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 classy)
Food Choices: 8/10 (1-4 limited, 5-7 average, 8-10 many choices)
Taste: 7/10 (1-4 tasteless, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)
Pricing: 7/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 expensive)
Service: 7/10 (1-4 bad, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)

Popularity: 1% [?]

NOTE: Shifted to New Lane shop house (opposite Sunway Hotel Georgetown)

I thought other than the famous stall down in the town area selling Tang Yuan, there were no other stalls selling this yummy dessert, other than on some auspicious occasions. CK Lam from What2See pointed out that there is another stall down at Perak Road area. This stall is selling Hong Kong Tang Yuan, much cheaper than the ones we get from HK Wong Kok Restaurant.

Each bowl of Tang Yuan comes with two filled Tang Yuan (Peanut & Black Sesame) some smaller Tang Yuan and gingko nuts. You can opt for different soup base such as ginger, kooi hua, soy beans or red beans. All the soups are not too sweet. It is suitable for elderly people and children. The filling for the Tang Yuan is blended very fine, so is the red beans for the soup.

The pricing is very reasonable as each bowl cost only RM2.50. Other than serving Tang Yuan, there have a few varieties of Jelly for you to choose from. The shop is close on Monday and Friday. On Friday, you can get them at the Pasar Malam (Night Market) just opposite the stall as early as 6.30pm.

We ordered two bowls of the Tang Yuan with soy beans and red beans soup base. Here is how they look like.

Finding the stall might be a bit troublesome if you do not know the location well. If you are traveling through Jalan Dato Keramat into Jalan Perak, drive straight pass the Jalan P. Ramlee traffic light, straight again at the Sum Sun Primary School, Jalan Free School traffic light. As you pass the traffic light, you will see the Bomba HQ on your left. Move ahead about 400m and you will see another traffic light. The stall is in front of Kafe Aik Hwa right before the traffic light on your left. Parking might be a problem if you are driving a car but you can always try parking at the lane before the stall.

Name: HONG KONG TANG YUEN @ KAFE AIK HWA
Address: Perak Road, Penang, Malaysia
Contact: 019-476 3618 (Toh), 012-594 9892 (Ch’ng)
Opening Hours: 7.00pm – 11.00pm
(Closed on Monday and Friday at Pasar Malam)
GPS: 5.399784, 100.315164

RATING:
Ambience: 6/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 classy)
Food Choices: 6/10 (1-4 limited, 5-7 average, 8-10 many choices)
Taste: 7/10 (1-4 tasteless, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)
Pricing: 7/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 expensive)
Service: 7/10 (1-4 bad, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)

Popularity: 3% [?]