CRIZ BON APPETITE

Although I do get my Mum the best food around town frequently, it was a special day yesterday to bring her out for some live-on-the-spot dinner. After all, it was Mothers’ Day and she ought to be treated like a queen. We ended up having Japanese food at Nippon Yataimura which is located in Pulau Tikus, Penang. From the exterior, it looked like a normal restaurant. As we stepped inside, it was totally another world by itself with lanterns hanging everywhere on little roofs just like in a village. Now I got it why they had named the shop as “?????”, meaning Japanese House in a Village.

There were just too many choices available in this restaurant with even a specially created 9-course set meal priced at RM48+ just for Mothers’ Day but we ended up ordering some other set meals with a few dishes from the Ala Carte menu. Let me share with you the set meals that we had ordered. One of the set was Saba Syioyaki (RM25). This is one of the most ordered fish dish in Japan where a small mackerel was grilled to perfection while maintaining the moisture within the fat. The fish had a nice grill and with a squeeze of lemon juice and grated daikon (mild flavored white radish), it was good.

Next were two sets of teppanyaki (???) style dishes. One of them was the Teppan Chicken (RM20). The dish came with some iron griddled mixed vegetables with some toasted garlic slices. The chicken slices were good with their special sauce and they tasted a bit like the spicy version of sate.

Teppan Salmon (RM24) was the other wonderful dish as the sauce was somewhat unique. It was slightly sweet and mildly spiced up. Even with the crisped sensation I had, the fish managed to retain its juice. It was beautiful.

Something caught my eyes in the set menu and I ended up ordering Pork Mayonnaise (RM20). The dish was real creamy with the flavors coming from the mayo and a hint of Lea & Perrin sauce. This dish was cooked with lots of sliced big onions. This would be good if taken with rice.

The above four sets came with side dishes such as a bowl of beautifully steam Japanese rice, Salad, Miso Soup, Chawan Mushi and fruit cuts. The Salad had a mildly gingered chili paste. The Miso Soup was thickly flavored with some tofu cubes and chopped spring onions in it. The Chawan Mushi (Steam Egg) came beautifully decorated and was silky smooth with a few chopped chicken meat pieces within.

Other than the above set meals, we also tried the Seafood Fried Rice (RM22). The dish came with freshly cooked squids, prawns and fish fillet. Although the taste of the rice was nice, I found it to be wet for my preference. It could be due to my liking for “wok hei” (high heat cooking) style of plain white rice rather than the usage of Japanese rice.

The next dish which was the Fish Ball Ramen (RM13) may look plain but one sip into the soup and you would yearn for more. The soup was richly flavored with a hint of fresh prawn juice. It was just like the Dobin Mushi I had at Penang Times Square. Even the portion of ramen served was rather filling. The dish came with fish balls, sliced wood ear fungus and some spring onions.

We also ordered some of the dishes from the Ala Carte menu and one of them was the Ocha Soba (RM13). We had a small serving of cold noodles served with cold soup, raw quail’s egg, spring onions and chopped fried garlic. We indeed left the quail’s egg untouched. One reason was that it was raw and the next was the 3640 calories it will bring into our bodies. The noodle was springy and blended nicely with the soup but somehow I still prefer the Tenzaru Soba I had at Penang Times Square as the soup was more flavorful.

Next side dish was the Agedashi Tofu (RM6). It was nothing special with some pieces of fried tofu garnished with nori (Japanese seaweed strips), spring onions and daikon, served in a pool of soy sauce but the tofu cubes were indeed silky smooth.

The Ishiyaki Kinoko Nomori (RM18) was my favorite amongst the rest of the side orders. The shiitake (Chinese black mushroom – ??) and enoki/enokitake (golden needle mushrooms – ???) mushrooms were stone-cooked so perfectly with their special sauce while maintaining the fragrant mushroom taste. The gravy for this dish tasted great with my rice. Both mushrooms are believed to be great antioxidants.

The most wonderful dining experience in this restaurant was their free flow of green tea, either cold or hot at no extra cost.

I felt that the pricing here is reasonable compared to the quality of ingredients and portion served. After all, I was really filled up with each set meal I had ordered. The service here was good considering that almost all the food came within minutes upon ordering. There are more dishes which I would love to try out next from their ramen (noodles), gohan (rice), sushi (vinegar rice finger food), sashimi (raw cold cuts) and dessert sections.

There is another branch of this franchise restaurant located within Queensbay Mall up in Bayan Baru, Penang. The main restaurant which I had visited in Pulau Tikus, Penang, is located next to a service road along Jalan Burma. If you are coming from Jalan Burma into Pulau Tikus district, you would see a police station on your right. Drive on until you have reached the Jalan Cantonment/Jalan Burma traffic light. After the traffic light, you would see a row of shop houses. Slow down and keep a watch out for a service road on your left. Turn in the service road and you would see the restaurant on your left just next to Teow Chew Meng restaurant. Parking can be quite limited during office hours and weekends. You can either try finding some behind the restaurant or opposite along Bellisa Row. The worst alternative would be within the Bandar Baru Supermarket car park along Jalan Cantonment and walk back to the restaurant.

Name: NIPPON YATAI MURA (?????)
Address: 403-A, Jalan Burma, Pulau Tikus, 10350 Penang, Malaysia.
Business Hours:
12.00noon-2.00pm, 6.00pm-10.00pm (Weekdays)
12.00noon-10.00pm (Saturday & Sunday – No reservation on these days & Public Holiday)
Contact: 604-226 6018
GPS: 5.432746, 100.310593

RATING:
Ambience: 8.5/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 classy)
Food Choices: 8/10 (1-4 limited, 5-7 average, 8-10 many choices)
Taste: 8.5/10 (1-4 tasteless, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)
Pricing: 7.5/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 expensive)
Service: 9/10 (1-4 bad, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)

Popularity: 6% [?]

With the current economy downturn where everyone would be rather careful about their spending (even on food), most people would keep a look out for meals that would be economical and yet fulfilling. One great place would be at Ivy’s Kitchen where other than their home cooked food, they do also provide delicious set meals for as low as RM7.50. That would include a glass of fresh fruit juice (any fruit or vegetables as per availability) and a jelly dessert (Soya Jelly with Longan).

Here are an inside look at all the set meals available in the restaurant:

COMBO A: Chicken Rendang (RM9)

The set comes with a bowl of plain rice served with delicious chicken rendang (dry curry), half an egg, deep fried peanuts & anchovies (ikan bilis), papadam (Indian salty cracker) and mixed cucumber & pineapple salad. The Chicken Rendang was filled with the richness of blended spices and the fragrance from the coconut milk. Cooked almost similar to the style of Ayam Masak Merah (Red Curry Chicken), the chicken drumstick served was tender and juicy and this set got me yearning for more.

COMBO B: Beef Rendang (RM8.50)

The set has the same dishes as Combo A except for the main meat choice, i.e. a bowl of plain rice served with delicious beef rendang (dry curry), half an egg, deep fried peanuts & anchovies (ikan bilis), papadam (Indian salty cracker) and mixed cucumber & pineapple salad. The Beef Rendang was almost similar to the texture and taste of Indonesian Daging Masak Minang (Indonesian Minang Dry Beef Curry) with the fragrance coming from the added toasted grated coconut and blended spices. The cubed beef were indeed tender with all the spices deeply marinated into the meat.

COMBO C: Nasi Lemak (RM7.50)

The Nasi Lemak was slightly different compared to the above two set meals. It had some coconut milk added into the rice, together with some chopped ginger prior to cooking. The steaming hot and aromatic rice combined real well with the dishes such as half a hard boiled egg, deep fried peanuts & anchovies, spicy and sour anchovy curry, crispy fried chicken, fish crackers, fried assam fish (it could be tamarind fried sardine, kembong [chubb/Indian mackerel] or selar [yellow tailed scad/ooi boey] depending on availability) and some slices of cucumber. This is a great bargain meal with so many dishes.

Alternatively, you could also replace the fried fish for this set with your own CUSTOM COMBO: Stuffed Fried Cincaru (hardtailed mackerel) at RM9 or RM3.80 per fish as addon. The fish was fragrantly fried with a strong hint of tamarind, blended chili and finely sliced Kaffir lime leaves.

COMBO D: Fried Fish Fillet Noodles (RM9)

This set is catered for those who would want a non spicy and soup based meal. You will have the options to choose either Cintan mee (instant noodles), bee hoon (rice vermicelli), tang hoon (glass noodles) or porridge, cooked with a generous amount of choy sum (Chinese cabbage), minced chicken balls and topped with crispy batter coated dory fish fillet. The stock used in the soup was indeed flavorful with a hint of sesame oil, garnished with some fried garlic and chopped spring onions.

The abovementioned combos would come together with a glass of fresh fruit/vegetable juice and a dessert (soya jelly with longan).

On top of that, each combo would be entitled for the below addons at a discounted price:

RED BEAN SOUP – RM1 (Normal Price RM1.60)

ROJAK (Prawn Paste Caramel Mixed Fruits and Vegetables) – RM2 (Normal price RM3)

There are more side dishes and customized meals available at Ivy’s Kitchen. You would have to visit them to check those out but I’m going to share with you some of their sought after dishes.

FRESH GROUPER FILLET PORRIDGE (RM9)

PENANG ASSAM LAKSA (RM5)

POH PIAH CHEE (MINI SPRING ROLLS) – (RM2 each/RM3.80 for two)

Finding Ivy’s kitchen would not be hard as it is located just 3 shop houses away from Jemputree at Jalan Burma but the only problem would be finding your way to get into Jalan Chow Thye as the road had recently being converted into a one-way street. There are actually a few ways to get to the restaurant but I will show you the easiest way to reach there with the minimum turns. If you are coming from Jalan Penang into Jalan Burma, drive all the way to the Jalan Larut traffic light (Giant Supermarket). Keep to your right after the traffic light and look out for Neww BT Café. Turn right into Jalan Arraton immediately after the food court. Drive on until you see a junction on your left (Jalan Irrawadi). Turn into the road and keep a watch out for the third road on your left (Jalan Phuah Hin Leong, Jalan Tavoy and Jalan Chow Thye) for Restoran Ros Mawar which is located at the end of Jalan Chow Thye. Turn left into the road and you will see Ivy’s Kitchen on the right immediately before Isaribi Tei Japanaese Restaurant. Alternatively, you can drive up to 127 Café (next to Jemputree) and park your car in the food court’s car park and walk to the restaurant.

Name: IVY’S KITCHEN
58 Jalan Chow Thye,10250 Penang, Malaysia.
Business Hours: 9.00am-9.00pm (except Saturday), 6.00pm-9.00pm (Saturday)
Contact: 013-433 7878 (Mr. Tan), 016-433 7130 (Ms. Ivy)
GPS: 5.424715, 100.320686

RATING:
Ambience: 6/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 classy)
Food Choices: 7/10 (1-4 limited, 5-7 average, 8-10 many choices)
Taste: 8.5/10 (1-4 tasteless, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)
Pricing: 6/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 expensive)
Service: 9/10 (1-4 bad, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)

Popularity: 2% [?]

There are hardly many restaurants left in Penang that cater for food as good as your mother’s home cooked food, especially those food with a delicate touch of Nyonya cuisine in them. Of course those dishes would be MSG free and pork free as well. Thanks to Carrie for inviting me to such a restaurant in town.

Ivy’s Kitchen has been in business for the last two years and they have been providing Mummy’s style of home cooked dinners and set meals to the public ever since. Unfortunately, not many people realized about its existence as this colonial build restaurant has the simplest dining layout with just a few tables and chairs. Many people would just forgo this place for the ambience but do not forget that some of the great food around town do come from places you would least expect.

Some of the dishes that you would expect would be like the Sweet and Sour Flower Crab (RM50 – based on market price and may differ from time to time). One taste on the gravy and I knew that the ingredients used were freshly blended. Most restaurants would just use some ready made sauces that have high vinegar after taste. The flower crabs were indeed fresh and delicious. You can practically peel pieces by pieces of the flesh fully intact. This dish would be great for those non spicy food consumers although I would prefer to have them to be a bit spicier but less sweet.

The next would be the Nyonya style of Gulai Tumis Chinese Silver Pomfret (RM62 – based on market rate). Although most restaurants would use Black Pomfret (or cheong) in this dish, Ivy’s Kitchen decided to use Chinese Silver Pomfret (Tao Tay – the most expensive fish of the pomfret family which would cost about RM55 per kg) instead for this dish. I guessed you would have to preorder this fish prior to dining there as the local pomfret would not always be so commonly available in the market. The gravy was richly filled with the sour taste of tamarind, the colors and spiciness of blended chilies, turmeric, onions, chopped ginger flower buds, lemongrass and a few more leafy herbs. Although the fish was fresh (but a bit overcooked due to a bit of hiccups at our side), it was slightly sweet to my taste bud. I think the cook should take note that fresh fish should not be cooked prior to the complete arrival of the customers, especially when it was such an expensive fish. Moreover, a lighter hand in the application of sugar (or none due to many health conscious consumers nowadays although I understood that it was a way to replace the sweetness by not using MSG) would have to be taken note seriously.

The Assam Prawns (Tamarind Prawns – RM20 for 10 prawns) was indeed a favorite amongst some of us as it was fried drier than what you would get elsewhere and with a bit of crispy sensation on the shell. The dish was marvelous except that I would still prefer my food to be a bit less sweet but then you would not get that extra crispy fragrance without sugar right? Well, another thing the restaurant should take note would be on the marinating time for the prawns. The inner taste was a bit bland as the tamarind did not soak into the flesh. My advice would be to have the prawns slightly slit at the back. The restaurant should also reconsider the price for the prawns (RM20-25 per kg in the wet market). I felt that it was a bit pricey considering that I can get five 3 times larger prawns cooked elsewhere at less than RM25.

I love the next dish which was the Fried Beancurd with Leeks (RM12). The savory dish came with sliced carrots, big onions, leeks and many prawns (same sized as the above dish which I would like the management to reconsider the price compared to the quantity of prawns served in this dish). The dish had all the necessary tastes for a perfect dish. Maybe the cook can consider adding a bit of gravy when all the dishes served would be of a drier based.

It has been quite some time since I had Tofu with Seaweed Soup (RM15). The soup in fact has lots of ingredients added in on top of the tofu cuts and seaweed. The other ingredients included sliced carrots, fish balls, cabbage, minced chicken balls and prawns, garnished with fragrant garlic oil. The soup was rich in flavor with the seaweed enhancing further the taste. I would personally prefer a bit more of clearer based soup added for this dish.

No homely meal would be complete without the serving of a vegetable dish. We were served with a simple yet nutritious Fried Snow Pea Shoots with Bean Sprouts (RM10). The fibrous snow pea shoots  (dou miao) combined real well with the smooth bean sprouts and these were just fried with some oil and soy sauce, garnished with some fried garlic. To enhance the color and taste of this dish, a little carrot and ginger strips would make this dish beautiful. Maybe adding a bit of fried salted fish, fried dried sole fillet or even fresh seaweed strips would make the dish more flavorful.

The dinner ended with a Fruit Platter (RM12) which consisted two freshly cut mangoes, half a papaya and some longan.

Finding Ivy’s kitchen would not be hard as it is located just 3 shop houses away from Jemputree at Jalan Burma but the only problem would be finding your way to get into Jalan Chow Thye as the road had recently being converted into a one-way street. There are actually a few ways to get to the restaurant but I will show you the easiest way to reach there with the minimum turns. If you are coming from Jalan Penang into Jalan Burma, drive all the way to the Jalan Larut traffic light (Giant Supermarket). Keep to your right after the traffic light and look out for Neww BT Café. Turn right into Jalan Arraton immediately after the food court. Drive on until you see a junction on your left (Jalan Irrawadi). Turn into the road and keep a watch out for the third road on your left (Jalan Phuah Hin Leong, Jalan Tavoy and Jalan Chow Thye) for Restoran Ros Mawar which is located at the end of Jalan Chow Thye. Turn left into the road and you will see Ivy’s Kitchen on the right immediately before Isaribi Tei Japanaese Restaurant. Alternatively, you can drive up to 127 Café (next to Jemputree) and park your car in the food court’s car park and walk to the restaurant.

Name: IVY’S KITCHEN
58 Jalan Chow Thye,10250 Penang, Malaysia.
Business Hours: 9.00am-9.00pm (except Saturday), 6.00pm-9.00pm (Saturday)
Contact: 013-433 7878 (Mr. Tan), 016-433 7130 (Ms. Ivy)
GPS: 5.424715, 100.320686

RATING:
Ambience: 6/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 classy)
Food Choices: 7/10 (1-4 limited, 5-7 average, 8-10 many choices)
Taste: 7.5/10 (1-4 tasteless, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)
Pricing: 7/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 expensive)
Service: 9/10 (1-4 bad, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)

Popularity: 1% [?]

It seemed like there are more and more restaurants and food courts opening within the last one week. The latest being Metro Café which was opened on 1 May 2009, located just within a stone’s throw away from Northam Beach Café. Walking through the pathway leading to the dining area, there were many accessories stalls selling costume jewelries, t-shirts and souvenirs. With a few vacant stalls left within it premises, it gave me the first impression that it would be just another of those food courts with many inexperienced cooks.

Although I did not manage to test out all the food stalls there, what I had for dinner yesterday were quite satisfactory to my liking. The first dish which was Chicken Shiogayaki (RM8.50/set) proved that there still existed some good and experienced cooks in Penang. The set dish came from a Teppanyaki stall and it had some juicy pieces of chicken meat pan fried with their special ginger sauce and onions, served with plain rice and salad. It was indeed delicious as the meat was somewhat like teriyaki chicken with a stronger taste of ginger. I will surely comeback to try out their other dishes such as Unagi, Ika Teriyaki Pepper, Salmon Terikyaki, Tori Karaage and many more.

I even got to order Vietnamese Rolls (RM3.50 for 2 rolls). That’s real cheap. The roll came with a leaf of lettuce, finely stripped cucumbers and carrots, glass noodles, chopped chicken meat, fresh prawns and Chinese celery leaves, wrapped in a hot water softened bánh tráng (rice paper). These were served with additional Chinese celery leaves and their specially prepared chopped garlic and chili sauce. The only hiccup was that they should have given more of the sauce for dipping. Other than that, the dish was refreshing and healthy. From the culinary skill of the finely stripped vegetables, the cook had indeed traveled to many countries for the last few years. Two of the dishes which caught my attention and I would try them out next would be the Crispy Aromatic Duck Meat served with Chinese Crepes and special sauce (RM11) and their Crispy Black Pepper Chicken Sticks (RM6).

Instead of ordering the normal Claypot Chicken Rice (RM4.50 with egg), I opted for the Claypot Stewed Pork Rice (RM5.50 with egg). I actually hesitated when ordering this dish after seeing how many English spelling errors the stall had on their menu. Is it Claypot Pork Rips Rice or Claypot Pork Ribs Rice? Indeed the dish was not up to my expectation. I was expecting freshly stewed pork slices but what I had was canned stewed pork. The fatty portion on the meat was so powdery soft and with the “chemically” preserved juice added into the rice, it had a weird rosy after taste. Although the dish had some Chinese sausages and egg added, it lacked the wok hei (high heat cooking) fragrance that any claypot rice should have. I guessed not many stalls would add some Shaoxing wine onto the cooked claypot of rice either.

When I saw the next stall selling Gurney’s famous roasted chicken, I was sure that this was the branch of the famous Song River Café Roast Chicken. I lost my battle against the temptation of trying them out. Instead of ordering the Roasted Chicken Drumstick (RM5 each), I ordered their Roasted Chicken Wings (RM3.60 for two wings) instead. The delicious and juicy wings were well roasted until golden brown and the skin had that beautifully crispy sensation. A thumbs up indeed!

It was time for dessert and I spotted a stall with lots of dragon fruits being displayed. With no photos or English descriptions on the menu, I thought it was just another fresh fruit cuts stall. Instead, it was a great discovery of a new type of dessert in town. The Red Dragon Fruit with Sago (RM4) was something that I did not expect to see. Normally, most people would use white fleshed dragon fruits and these would be cheaper as the fruits would not be as sweet as the red ones. The dessert was unique in color and it was just a simple combination of fresh cut red dragon fruit served with shaved ice, some spills of evaporated milk, syrup and topped with springy sago. The sweetest was just nice for me and the slightly sour but sweet dragon fruits made the whole dessert perfect.

Another order which I had made through this stall was not listed in their menu but the hot dessert was another good experience. It was Tang Yuan Fu Chok Yee Mai Soup (RM3.50 – Glutinous Rice Balls in Beanstick and Barley Broth). It came with two large sesame filled rice balls and three plan rice balls. Although the tang yuan were not as soft as I would expect, the broth was rich in flavors. It was thick and not so sweet at all.

I would surely revisit this café for a better judgment on the overall food as there were still many stalls I had yet to try out such as the Portugese Barbeque, Popiah, Bak Kut Teh, Laksa, Rojak, Thai Salad, Satay, Koay Teow Th’ng, Fried Money Bags and many more.

If you are coming from Jalan Burma into Jalan Pangkor or Jalan Kelawei or Persiaran Gurney, just drive straight into Jalan Sultan Ahmad Shah. Keep to your left and you will see the Metro Café signboard in blue. The café is actually a few houses before the Northam Beach Café.

Name: METRO CAFÉ
Address: Jalan Sultan Ahmad Shah, 10050 Penang, Malaysia.
Business Hours: 5.00pm-12.00midnight (tentatively – it might be 24 hours later)
GPS: 5.427937, 100.321358

RATING:
Ambience: 7/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 classy)
Food Choices: 7.5/10 (1-4 limited, 5-7 average, 8-10 many choices)
Taste: 7.5/10 (1-4 tasteless, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)
Pricing: 7.5/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 expensive)
Service: 9/10 (1-4 bad, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)

Popularity: 3% [?]

NOTE: This restaurant has ceased its operation at Penang Times Square.

Thursday was the opening day for two new restaurants at Penang Times Square. Needless to say, most people would have known about the delicious ice creams served at Swensen’s. In fact, they have added some new local dishes that did look real impressive in terms of photos and pricing with the same “buy one eat the next one free concept”. The other newly opened restaurant would be Bukotsu Ramen House with a simple dining layout downstairs and a Japanese styled “sit-on-the-floor” concept upstairs.

Since I’m a spicy food lover, I have decided to check out the Volcano Ramen (RM12.90). The texture and springiness of the ramen was good. The dish came with an almost curry noodles type of soup (except the taste of lemongrass), rich in flavorful stock, with a slice of the pinkish Japanese fish cake, half a hard boiled egg, a few large slices of BBQ pork (char siew), bean sprouts, chopped spinach, corn kernels, chopped spring onions and a spoonful of chili paste. The chili paste was somewhat like the Korean chili paste, chili hotness minus the oil. It was supposed to be a spicy hot dish but I found it to be real mild. Moreover, the portion was too little as a main dish for the price paid. Even with the side order (one discounted side order allowed per bowl of ramen), I did not feel full at all.

The side order was Pan Pan Chi (RM2 in a smaller portion compared to RM8 for a larger serving from the ala carte menu). This is in fact a cold dish. The smoothness of the chicken slices was great, combined with the tenderness and juiciness of each slices. The dish has sliced cucumber with dressing that tasted quite like concentrated miso paste and garnished with some roasted sesame seeds. This dish would be beautiful as starter.

The next order was the Chicken Teriyaki Bento (RM16). At least the price for this dish quite justified with the dishes ranging from miso soup, appetizer (kimchi), salad (finely sliced cabbage/purple cabbage and carrots with sesame oil and fish sauce, served with cucumber slices), chicken in teriyaki sauce, Japanese rice and dessert (fruit cuts). As for the soup, I prefer it to have a stronger miso flavored broth. The kimchi was normal as it contained more vinegar and was not as spicy as it should be. The salad was fine but it was nothing real special on the dressing. The chicken slices, cooked in teriyaki sauce has the quality of a good dish but it was too diluted to my liking, especially when I tried to dip my not so compact Japanese rice pieces. The chef should have made them more compact to avoid the rice to loosen wildly when use chopsticks. The fruits were just watermelon and papaya.

Dobin Mushi (RM8) would be a must order for soup lovers. The soup has been double boiled for more than 24 hours and it was rich in flavor. It came in a cute ceramic teapot with a nice teacup and a slice of lime. In the teapot was some chicken slices, a prawn, carrot slices, a pinkish Japanese fish cake, mushrooms, ginkgo nut and some chopped spring onions. I prefer this dish to be taken in its original form although adding some squeezes of lime juice did give it a bit of sourness plus reducing the strong aroma of the chicken soup.

Shochu Cheese Cake (RM7 for two slices) was served as dessert. Shochu or soju as it may also be called in the US export market is actually a distilled beverage made out of barley, rice or sweet potatoes starches. It has a 25% alcohol volume. It has a nutty taste compared to the fruity taste of sake. I found the cheese cake to be far less in the taste of shochu. It was too mild with the overpowering taste of milk with a less cheesy taste. In fact, the dessert had too much of gelatin added, thus it was rather hard. Moreover, too much of butter had been added to the digestive biscuit type of base and it was too salty to my liking. Maybe margarine would be a better choice to firm up the base for this dessert.

Green Tea Ice Cream (RM3.50) was served free just for the opening day. The ice cream came with some sweetened boiled kidney beans and some pine nuts. The kidney beans were just nice for my sweetness but it would be better if they were to be a bit softer. The pine nuts were nicely roasted but the ice cream to me tasted a bit too artificial. Although it was creamy and smooth, it has a strong taste of commercially produced green tea powder. Let’s hope the restaurant would look into a better alternative or solution to this dessert.

Iced Green Tea (RM1/glass) was served free flow for the day.

The best way to reach the shop would be by using Jalan Magazine (Traders Hotel). Drive into Jalan Dato Kramat (2nd junction at the right of Gama Supermarket) until you have reached Penang Times Square on your left. Find a parking space along the road or within the allocated parking bay. Just walk into the mall and go to the open space area with all the fountains. The restaurant is located at the same row with Marrybrown, Tsuruya Sushi Bar and a few shops away from Swensen’s and Roti Bakar Kopitiam.

Name: BUKOTSU RAMEN HOUSE
Address:
Lot BPC-G-7, Ground Floor, Penang Times Square,
73 Jalan Dato Keramat, 10150 Penang, Malaysia.
Business Hours: 11.00am-10.30pm
Contact: 604-227 0053
GPS: 5.412683, 100.326141

RATING:
Ambience: 7.5/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 classy)
Food Choices: 7.5/10 (1-4 limited, 5-7 average, 8-10 many choices)
Taste: 7.5/10 (1-4 tasteless, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)
Pricing: 8.5/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 expensive)
Service: 9/10 (1-4 bad, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)

Popularity: 4% [?]

For the younger generations of Chinese, some of the traditions and customs during pre-wedding day and wedding day may have been forgotten or replaced by the modern way of simplicity. As for some older generations who would like to upkeep and preserve the tradition, they may somehow face difficulties in sourcing items for the two family’s gift exchange custom as most of these items would have been long gone through modernization. On top of the normal “lai see” (??-red enveloped gifts in form of money or jewelries) and/or a roasted pig, a few other items would include certain type of biscuits and cakes. Not many bakery and confectionary shops in Penang, Malaysian, would produce them today.

Luckily, the newer generation of Penang’s traditional biscuits maker, Leong Chee Kee Biscuits, had decided to carry on with the tradition with the production of the traditional wedding biscuits and cakes. Mr. Leong How Keng (?????), 53 years old, has been learning from his deceased father, Leong Chee Kee as early as 7 years old, mastering the skills and techniques to make great tasting products. He had even improvised on certain of his products to suit the taste bud of today’s generation.

Two of the uncommonly produced items (unless there are orders for a wedding) would be the Yellow Bridal Biscuits (?????) with lotus seed paste filling and the Red Bridal Biscuits (??????) with red bean paste filling. Both would have the Twin Happiness Chinese character “?” printed on them. Each biscuit would cost RM2.20. Normally, 5 pieces of each color would be packed in a box with the Twin Happiness Chinese character printed on it.

Another one of the gift exchange biscuits would be the Chinese Wedding Cookies (???-RM2.20). It looked like a rock biscuit but the taste of a buttery shortbread cookie. There are many variants to this cookie all over the world. Some may use almonds, walnuts, pine nuts with or without topping. Leong Chee Kee Biscuits only produced the plain ones with the use of flour, sugar and butter. You would expect to get a 5 pieces pack from them.

The next and last of the wedding requisite would be the Egg Cake (???????-RM2.20). The Egg Cake would come in a floral shape with lots of pumpkin seeds sprinkled on top. This would also come in a pack of 5 pieces.

In olden China, most of the Chinese community (except the Hokkien and Teochew) would purchase at least two out of the four items stated above for the inter-family gift exchange. The quantity given from the groom’s family to the bride’s family can vary depending on the financial stability of the groom’s family. It may also be based on the requirement of the bride’s family for the purpose of religious praying on the altars or as gifts to their relatives and friends. The quantity may range from a minimum of 50 pieces each of the items to as many as a few hundreds.

Here are the processes of producing the plain and pumpkin seed egg cakes that might interest you. Both of the eggs cakes were made from the same ingredients (flour, eggs & sugar) except they were baked in different shaped moulds with the options of adding in pumpkin seeds.

Other than being famous for the wedding biscuits and cakes stated above, Leong Chee Kee Biscuits is also famous for its Coconut Tarts (??-RM1 each). With Mr. Leong as the sole baker, the shop would only produce 300 pieces of the tart daily. To avoid disappointment of not having to try out the delicious coconut tarts for the day, booking has to be made in person as early as 9.00am as telephone orders would not be entertained.

The Coconut Tart was indeed delicious as the sugared grated coconut filling has the fresh and natural fragrance. Moreover, the base has the layered texture and the twirl effect of the tart surface required hours of preparation. Each set of the coconut tarts has to be baked twice for that extra taste. The coconut tarts would be great takeaway gifts for friends and family. There’s a secret to maintain the freshness and crunchiness of the tarts… They have to be kept in the chiller prior to eating. As there were no added preservatives, a tart would stay fresh for 5 days or more.

There are also many other types of biscuits and cookies available for you to takeaway. Some of them are as shown in the animated photos below. The more established one would be the Pepper Biscuits (???).

Most people especially those from outstation would get lost trying to locate the shop. I will provide some easy to spot landmarks to direct you to the shop. Firstly, try to drive into Jalan Dr. Lim Chwee Leong and you will see a divider with two arrows (MAP A -straight to Weld Quay and right to Komtar/Prangin Mall). Watch out for the red telecommunication shop on your left and turn into the road (Jalan Sungai Ujong). Drive straight until you have reached a junction (MAP B – Jalan Sungai Ujong/Jalan Kimberley). Drive across Jalan Kimberly into Lebuh Cintra. Watch out for the tall building with the word Wisma Cintra (MAP C). Slow down and keep a watch out for a small lane on your right before Kedai Nasi Ayam Wen Chang (MAP D). Turn right into the lane and you would see a light blue Rukun Tetangga building on your right (MAP E) and People’s Court Association straight ahead (MAP F). Park your car here and you will see a small shrine on your left (MAP G). Walk up to the shrine and towards the end of the row of shop houses and you would see the Leong Chee Kee Biscuits shop (?????).

Another great place for traditional biscuits, cookies and cakes would be a shop handled by some elderly folks along Lebuh Carnarvon by the name of Guangzhou Cake House.

Name: LEONG CHEE KEE BISCUITS
8-C, People’s Court, Lebuh Campbell, 10100 Penang, Malaysia.
Business Hours: 10.00am-6.00pm (Closed Sunday)
Contact: 604-263 9487, 016-401 9211 (Mr. Leong How Keng)
GPS: 5.417408, 100.333939

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

Popularity: 3% [?]