CRIZ BON APPETITE

Bienvenue à la La France! Est-ce que je peux vous aider? Que voudriez-vous avoir hui? Oops! I have forgotten that I am not in France but I am surely having French food over here now. Haha! By the way, those words meant “Welcome to La France! How can I help you? What would you like to have today?” Why was I mumbling in French when I am right here in Penang, Malaysia? Well, here’s the answer. Please read on.

Have you been to the Northam Beach Café for the past 6 months? You would have noticed that there is a stall selling French food by a young couple. The hubby is a Frenchman whereas the wife is our local Chinese who can speak real fluent Hokkien. One look at the menu and you might be wondering why they are serving omelettes, crepes and Ciabatta or white breads during dinner time. As for the locals, those are for breakfast. For the French, those dishes are homemade food that you can get practically anytime of the day.

How was the food then? I would say I was very impressed with the quality of food served. Although it was not fine dining, it was one of the best French food that I had taken locally in years. The breads were of good quality, so were the crepes which were freshly made on spot. As for price, it was a good bargain for the quality food served. We managed to try out the Marine Provencal (RM9.80) which consists of a long Ciabatta Bread filled with large chunks of tuna fish mixed with Mozarella Cheese and sprinkles with herbs. It came accompanied with coleslaw and Pomme Frite (French Fries). It was marvelous!

As for dessert, we ordered the Crepe Peanut Banana (RM4.80). It has thin soft crepe filled with banana precooked with grounded cinnamon and herbs. The crepe came in pairs with garnishes such as chocolate, grounded peanuts and icing sugar. Well, the French are the experts in decorating their food. This dish is a must try for those sweet tooth people out there. Do you know what is so great about this place? It’s MSG free for a healthier diet and most importantly, it’s tax free!

If you have the opportunity to be there, do also try out their Omelette Fromage, Omelette Jambon-Fromage, Omelette Forestiere and Omelette Primeurs. To get there is real easy. Just drive along Jalan Sultan Ahmad Shah where the Northam Hotel is and turn left into the Northam Beach Café. The stall is strategically located within the dining area.

Name: LA FRANCE @ NORTHAM BEACH CAFE
Address: 58, Jalan Sultan Ahmad Shah, 10050 Penang, Malaysia.
Tel: 604-229 0362 (Northam Beach Café contact number)
Opening Hours: 6.00pm – 11.00pm (Closed Tuesday)
GPS: 5.427159, 100.323522

RATING:
Ambience: 7/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 classy)
Food Choices: 7/10 (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: 8/10 (1-4 bad, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)

Popularity: 1% [?]

Petaling Street or Chinatown as most tourists would call is not only a haven for good bargains of items such as clothes, DVDs, watches, bags and shoes. It is also a haven to please your appetite up to the wee hours of the morning. If you know how to explore further into the many lanes and corners of this street, you will discover many delicious hawker stalls hidden from the main shopping area.

One such stall which I have discovered some years back served the most amazing Hakka Mee and Pan Mee in that area. Not only are the noodle portions quite a lot, they are also cheap. RM3.50 per plate compared to RM4.50 in any of the cafés on the main road. Now you know why I have never stopped visiting this place. The stall also served many other noodles variety such as the Curry Chicken Wan Than Mee which is just as good. Here are the two noodles which we had ordered.

Finding this noodle stall would be quite hard as it is hidden in one of the lanes. If you are walk into Petaling Street, Chinatown’s main entrance from Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock (opposite Kota Raya) and you will reach a crossed junction. Hong Leong Bank is at the corner on your left. Turn left into the road (Jalan Hang Lekir). Walk straight up until you see a lane on your right. There will be a shop selling DVD there. Walk inside and you will see the stall. Next to the stall is a Roasted Chicken/Pork (Char Siew) Rice which is just as good.

Name: PETALING STREET (CHINATOWN) HAKKA/PAN MEE
Address: Jalan Hang Lekir, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Opening Hours: 9.00am – 8.00pm
GPS: 3.144298, 101.698025

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

Popularity: 2% [?]

I have tried so many different versions of Pan Mee from all over Malaysia but this is the first time I had come across this unique version. Normally, Pan Mee will come with minced pork, green sweet leaves, mushroom, black fungus, anchovies, etc but this stall along the rural area of Seri Kembangan served the Pan Mee differently and simple.

Other than the normal kneaded dough for the noodles, it comes with three other options such as spinach, purple sweet potato and pumpkin. Each bowl will come with lots of sweet leaves (Sauropus androgynus, sweet leaf bush, sayur cekur manis, sayur Sabah), deep fried stuffed fu chok (soy bean skin) with fish paste and some garlic oil, accompanied by crunchy anchovies and chili paste. This is one of the best chili pastes I have ever tasted as it was cooked along with blended dried shrimps. Each bowl only cost RM4 which is considered cheap. Here are the three special noodles (we did not order the original version at all). My recommendation – The Spinach Noodle

It might be hard for those people from outstation to find this small coffee shop within the inner part of Seri Kembangan. The stall is situated in a village area and only locals will know how to find this place. Fortunately, I managed to get the address and search for a map that will lead you there. Happy hunting!

Name: PO CHOI PAN MEE @ LIN CHIN COFFEE SHOP
Address: No.6 Jalan SK 5/2, 43300 Seri Kembangan, Selangor, Malaysia.
Contact: 012-233 2498
Opening Hours: 7.00am – 3.00pm
GPS: 3.029634, 101.704302

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

Popularity: 2% [?]

Ma Zhi or steamed blended glutinous rice mixed with pounded peanuts, sesame and sugar is one of the tasty desserts available in Malaysia. Hot steaming glutinous rice is cut into small cubes and coated with a mixture of the three pounded ingredients mentioned above. Certain stalls, especially those in Penang will garnish the Ma Zhi with fried onions.

I have came across a stall down in Kuala Lumpur’s Chinatown (Petaling Street) selling a different version. Madam Tang has been selling these yummy desserts for years there. The Ma Zhi comes in different colors and flavors. You can have it original (RM3.50/box) or you can have the mix flavors (RM5/box). The flavors available are apple, banana, grape, kiwi, lemon, lychee, mango, orange, pineapple, ribena, strawberry, black glutinous rice, or pandan. With so many flavors available, it is up to your luck to taste what are the mixed flavors.

If you are in for a new experience, this is a must try if you are around that area. As for my personal preference, I somehow missed the Penang’s original version with fried onions as it is softer and warmer than the one in Chinatown.

Finding the stall would not be hard. Walk into Petaling Street, Chinatown’s main entrance from Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock (opposite Kota Raya) and you will reach a crossed junction. Hong Leong Bank is at the corner on your left. Turn left into the road (Jalan Hang Lekir) and you will see Madam Tang selling this delicacy on the left.

Name: PETALING STREET (CHINATOWN) MA ZHI
Address: Jalan Hang Lekir, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Opening Hours: 11.00am – 8.00pm
GPS: 3.144533, 101.697972

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

Popularity: 1% [?]

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% [?]

This is one type of hawker food that you would not find anywhere else in Penang – the Oriental Chicken Mushroom Hor Fun. The stall has been operating there for two generations ever since it moved over from Jalan Siam. Most of the patrons are regulars as the stall is way out of the view from the main road. You can either order it dry or soup with Hor Fun, Bee Hoon or Mee. Both will come topped with yummy, tender juicy chicken meat, mushrooms and wood fungus.

What make this dish unique is that the boneless chicken meat cubes, mushrooms, wood fungus are stewed until all the herbs and spices had gone right into the meat. One bite and you will taste the mild herby taste of Dong Quai (Chinese Angelica or Female Ginseng), a traditional herb used in some Chinese dishes for strengthening the blood circulation, gynecological ailments, fatigue, mild anemia and high blood pressure. Women should know better how this herb will help. 😛

Price wise, a small bowl will cost RM3.00 and a big one RM3.50. Here are the two big bowl of the Hor Fun that we had ordered. If you plan to eat something heavier such as dinner, Tuck Sai Café does provide ala carte dishes with rice. The dishes are quite tasty but the pricing for the food and drinks could be pricey a bit.

If you are moving from town area along Jalan Dato Keramat towards Greenlane / Air Itam, you will see the Dato Keramat Police Headquarters at the traffic light. Drive further about 800m and you will see a big Nasi Kandar shop on your left. Turn into the road, Jalan Singapura (next to the road, same stretch as the Nasi Kandar shop is Honolulu Bistro & Café – formerly an old cinema) and turn right into Jalan Bukom. The stall is prominently located on the ground floor of the Sri Pelangi Apartment on the right.

Name:
ORIENTAL CHICKEN MUSHROOM HOR FUN @ TUCK SAI CAFE
Address:
Ground Floor, Sri Pelangi Apartment, Jalan Bukom, Penang, Malaysia.
Opening Hours: 6.00pm – 11.00pm (Close Sunday & Monday)
GPS: 5.411768, 100.319059

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: 8/10 (1-4 tasteless, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)
Pricing: 6/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 expensive)
Service: 6/10 (1-4 bad, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)

Popularity: 1% [?]