CRIZ BON APPETITE

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% [?]

Maybe some of the foreigners may not know what is Tang Yuan but I can assure you that this dessert is very delicious. Tang Yuan is made out of glutinous rice flour mixed with water and form into small balls, either plain or colored. They can also be eaten unfilled or filled. You can opt for plain syrup or brown syrup cooked with or without old ginger slices. The most common filling would be red bean paste, black sesame paste or peanut paste. My grandmother used to fill them up with minced pork, cook them in boiling water and served them with chicken soup and vegetables. I really missed that and could not find anyone else selling it this way. I guessed the recipe went with her as well.

Anyway, Tang Yuan was originally served only during Lantern Festival, Winter Solstice and Chinese New Year. Today, they can be found easily in the frozen food section of any Asian supermarkets around the world. No matter what, I would still prefer those made fresh as they are softer. It has always been a tedious job and time consuming rolling the glutinous rice flour into balls but now you can just get them easily throughout the year. Where would you find the best Tang Yuan shop in Penang? The stall is right in the heart of Georgetown.

Recently, I visited the famous stall to savor the yummy dessert. My friend and I ordered two different combinations just to show you what Tang Yuan looked like. One bowl was filled Tang Yuan in gingered brown syrup whereas the other was unfilled Tang Yuan in plain syrup.

Just look at the fully filled Black Sesame and Peanut Tang Yuan. Don’t they look yummy?

Do not miss the opportunity to try out this wonderful dessert when you are in town during dinner time. The stall is situated by the roadside just diagonally opposite Traders Hotel, Magazine Road as well as Lebuh Lintang leading to Sushi King Prangin Mall. It is right after the second traffic lights on your left if you are coming from Jelutong Expressway towards town.

Name: TANG YEN HAWKER STALL
Address: Magazine Road, Penang, Malaysia. (Opposite Traders Hotel)
Opening Hours: 7.00pm – 12.00am (Closed on Wednesday and Sunday)
GPS: 5.413039, 100.330603

RATING:
Ambience: 5/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 classy)
Food Choices: 5/10 (1-4 limited, 5-7 average, 8-10 many choices)
Taste: 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: 3% [?]

There are also many different versions for the Curry Mee of Penang. You get the salty, sweet, salty sweet, spicy with lemon grass or chicken curry. Some would be cooked with thick creamy coconut milk, evaporated milk, full cream milk whereas some could be of almost clear soup type. Some stalls would also have an array of curry chicken, chicken legs, fish/meat balls, chicken intestines, squids, cuttlefishes, clams, tofu balls, prawns, pig blood gelatin, processed pork skin, long beans, etc for customers to choose.

The one I went to was located along Chulia Street. The crowds there were usually big and waiting for a bowl of noodle would take up to half an hour or more. The Curry Mee soup is not like those selling elsewhere. It has the taste of some curry spices and comes with a big fish ball, garnished with lots of tofu balls, cuttlefishes, clams and pig blood served with a spoonful of fragrant chilly paste. We ordered four bowls and they cost us on RM10.00. Do try this stall out when you are along town area. The Wan Than Mee and Apom stalls there are just as good.

The location of the stall is very prominent. As you move along Chulia Street towards Weld Quay, you would see lots of hawker stalls on your right. The stall is just right in front of a furniture shop. Next to it is the famous Wan Than Mee stall.

Name: CHULIA STREET CURRY MEE
Address: Lebuh Chulia, Penang, Malaysia.
Opening Hours: 7.00pm – 10.00pm
GPS: 5.417892, 100.336595

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

Popularity: 2% [?]

Name: MEE MANJA @ KEDAI KOPI CLG
Address: Lebuh Clarke, Penang, Malaysia.
Opening Hours: 5.00pm – 11.00pm (Closed on Tuesday)
Contact: 016-480 3568 (En. Aman)
GPS: 5.420195, 100.330775

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

Popularity: unranked [?]

What could be better than having a stroll by the beach after eating hefty meals? One great place I would always like to be is along the beach stretch of Esplanade. That is the place where I always get my Vitamin C from the Cut Fruit stall in the food court there. The stall is located right at the recently renovated food court right at the end of Esplanade. One look at the fruits displayed, you would be amazed by how many types there are. You can even see the Vietnamese Purplish Pink fruit which is quite rare. Most of the time you will get only the whitish flesh ones. You can order by the slices or by the plate. A plate of reasonable combination of different fruits can roughly cost between RM10 – RM20.

One thing that I will not miss when I am feeling the feverish sensation or lack of vitamins, I will order the fruit punch there. For just a minimal sum of RM3, you will a cup of mixed juice. Just leave it to the owner there and he will mix and match for you. So far I have yet to taste one cup that has the same taste. As for the one I ordered, I did ask the boss what he put inside. To my surprise, it has 7 types of fruits in it, namely oranges, pineapple, pear, honey dew, carrot, apple and water chestnut. Amazing right? You will even have smoother bowel movement the next day to cleanse your intestine well.

There is only one food court down at Esplanade. You won’t miss it. There are ample of parking spaces available too.

Name: GOH SENG EWE CUT FRUITS (STALL 47)
Address: Esplanade Food Court
Opening Hours: 6.00pm -1.00am
GPS: 5.422822, 100.340688

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: 7/10 (1-4 bad, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)

Popularity: unranked [?]

Do you still remember last year when the FM Radio channel kept on broadcasting where to go for lunch? Well, before they even came out with the idea of banana leaf rice, I have been going quite frequent to this Shusi Banana Leaf Restaurant along one of the famous lanes in Little India. The white hair boss is a friendly person to talk with (provided his wife is willing to cook her mouth watering curries right on time :P).

You can opt for her different styles of cooking which include vegetarian, fish, chicken and mutton curries. The banana leaf rice comes in sets for 3 different vegetarian appetizers and 2 pieces of papadam (wheat crackers) served with hot steaming rice with your choice of curry (vegetarian, fish, chicken and mutton). An average set will cost you between RM4.50 – RM6.00, provided you did not add additional meat dishes. Adding more rice and dhal (potato & bean curry) is free.

We order a set each of the chicken and mutton banana leaf rice and we ate until our hearts’ content. The restaurant will also serve you plain iced water on the house but you can always try out the Indian Yogurt Lassi drink. There are also many other options such as tosai, puri, etc to go with your curries.

Going there would not be a problem at all as the shop is situated between Market Street and Chulia Street. As you move along the one-way Penang Street, you can see the shop on your left. As for parking wise, you have to try your luck in finding one along the busy street of Little India.

Name: SHUSI BANANA LEAF RESTAURANT
Address: 71 Penang Street, 10200 Penang, Malaysia.
Contact: 6016-476 2944 (Mr. Jaya)
Opening Hours: 12.00noon – 4.00pm and 4.00pm – 9.00pm.
GPS: 5.416275, 100.339583

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: 7/10 (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: unranked [?]