CRIZ BON APPETITE

savoring the best in town…

BAD MEMORY OR GREAT FOOD?

Posted by Criz Lai On August - 5 - 2008
There I was writing about remembering my childhood days and here I am experiencing the scary signs of growing old gracefully. Do you know what would be the worst nightmare for a food blogger? It is either all the photos turned out to be over exposed, under exposed, and blur or forgetting to take a snap shot of the food that was served to them on the table. Sometimes, it could also be due to the fact that certain owners disallowed taking shots within the premises. My nightmare was none of the above as I got even worst! I forgot to take a snapshot of one of the dishes I cooked last night. Arggh!! Haiz… I think it’s time for me to get some Gingko Bibola to rejuvenate my brain cells. 😛
GINKGOBIBOLA
After having spent so much on restaurants food these few days, I had decided to spend some time in the kitchen to cook some simple meals. Since it was a meal for four, I cooked some cans of rice with some herbs and spices and fried with some butter, eggs, raisins, roasted chicken meat chunks and garnished with fried onions. Bingo! I had my Buttered Roasted Chicken Fried Rice. There’s the BUT here! I forgot to take a shot of this dish. I guessed somehow with the migraine medication I was taking, it made me kind of a blur king. LOL! Anyway, not even one grain of rice was left in the pot. It must have been real good then. 🙂

As for the side dishes, I came out with Deep Fried Prawn Paste Squids (Fried Belacan Sotong). This is a simple yet mouth-watering dish that can be taken with either Thai Chili Sauce or Mayonnaise.

BELACAN SOTONG

The recipe is rather easy. Here are the ingredients needed.

Ingredient:
One box 100gms Nona All Purpose Seasoned Flour (Prawn Shrimp Recipe)
Some pepper
2 Tspn sesame oil
Oil
250gms squids (clean and cut into rings)

Method:

  1. Drain the excess water from the squid. Sprinkle some pepper and add in the sesame oil. Mix thoroughly.
  2. Add in the prawn shrimp flour gradually until all the squids get mixed well. Put in a bit of water to make it into a batter like mixture. Add in a teaspoon of oil and mix thoroughly.
  3. Heat up some oil in a wok. Lower the fire to medium when it is hot. Scoop the ringed squid pieces by pieces with a spoon and slowly put it into the wok. BEWARE! The oil might explode everywhere due to the little amount of water added earlier. You might want to consider laying some used newspaper on the floor. When the squids become golden brown, take them out and put onto a plate laid with kitchen towel to drain the excess oil.
  4. Transfer the cooked squids onto a plate and you are ready to serve.

(Serve: 3-4)

Note: Try frying a piece first to taste the saltiness as some brands of flour do not have salt in the content. If not enough, drip some soy sauce into the batter.

Since both of the dishes were fried dishes, I decided to have another dish with gravy base. Let me introduce you to my Broiled Cabbage with Steamed Meatballs. This is another simple and yet delicious recipe that my demised grandmother used to cook for us.

BROILED CABBAGE MEATBALLS

Ingredients:
300gms minced meat
100gms minced prawns
250gms cabbage (wash and cut into 2” x 2”)
2 Tspn oyster sauce
I tspn Worchester sauce
3 tspn sesame oil
Some pepper
Pinch of salt
5 Tspn corn flour (3 Tspn mixed with water for gravy)
Young ginger (3 slices in strips)
Carrot (6 slices chopped & 6 slices in strips)
Some chopped garlic
2 bowls water (70gms)
Oil
Chinese mushrooms (optional – soak and cut into small cubes)

Method:

  1. Mix thoroughly the minced meat and prawns in a big bowl with one Tablespoon oyster sauce, one teaspoon Worchester sauce, 2 teaspoons sesame oil, chopped carrots, 2 Tablespoon corn flour, some pepper, and a pinch of salt.
  2. Line a big metal plate with some oil. Use a Tablespoon / Porcelain Spoon to scoop the mixture onto the plate. Steam the meatballs under medium fire for 10-15 minutes. Leave aside.
  3. Heat up a wok with 2 Tablespoon of oil and sauté some chopped garlic under medium fire. When the garlic turned a bit brown, put in the ginger strips and stir for awhile. Put in the cabbage and stir fry for 5 minutes. Add in 1 teaspoon sesame oil, 1 Tablespoon oyster sauce and sprinkle some pepper and salt. Stir evenly. When the cabbage looked cook, put in 2 bowls of boiled water. Let the cabbage cook until all turned soft. Add in the strips of carrot. Stir evenly. Bring to boil and add in the remaining corn flour mixture slowly to thicken the soup.
  4. Put in the steamed meatballs and let it simmer for 5 minutes.
  5. Scoop onto a bowl and serve with rice while it is hot.

(Serve 4-6)

Popularity: 1% [?]

SIN HONG KEE SEAFOOD

Posted by Criz Lai On July - 29 - 2008

SINHONGKEE01

If you like to have lots of seafood dishes at an affordable price, you should make a visit to this small restaurant along Weld Quay area. The food served here are quite nice as they are neither too oily nor over flavored as most of the restaurant along that area. I visited that place not long ago with a friend of mine.

We ordered a bowl of Seaweed Soup (RM4) with lots of fish balls and meat in it. Not bad for the taste except that I find it a bit oily on the surface.

SINHONGKEE02

Next on the list was my personal request to the chef – Fried Bean Sprouts (Taugeh) and Pea Sprouts (Dou Miao) with Salted Fish (RM5). The chef did even better than I expected as he added some juicy mushroom slices in the dish. The dish was just nice with the correct amount of crunchy salted fish added.

SINHONGKEE03

The Iron Plate Tofu with Minced Pork (RM6) followed. This restaurant presented it in a different way as they laid the base of the hot plate with eggs before putting in the tofu and minced meat on top. Most restaurants would just knock an egg on top of the hot steaming dish before serving.

SINHONGKEE04

The best of the rest came last. We were served seven juicy and big Spicy Buttered Egg Prawns (RM19) and that got our appetite to boost up further. What I like about this dish is that the prawns were real fresh and the slightly sweet buttered egg was real crunchy. Most of all, the dish was not too oily and the amount of curry leaves and butter used in the dish were combined well.

SINHONGKEE05

Overall we spent RM40.20 on the food which was inclusive of rice (RM2.40) and drinks (RM3.80). If you are driving from the ferry terminal towards the Jelutong Expressway, the restaurant is just before the Shell petrol kiosk on your left. Do watch out carefully as they have yet to replace their signboard after it was spoiled by a heavy and windy rainfall.

SINHONGKEEMAP

Name: SIN HONG KEE SEAFOOD
Address: 8 Weld Quay, 10300 Penang, Malaysia.
Contact: 604-263 5231
Opening Hours: 5.30pm – 11.30pm (Closed Tuesday)
GPS: 5.413372, 100.340570

RATING:
Ambience: 7/10 (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: 1% [?]

KIM MAOU CAFE

Posted by Criz Lai On July - 28 - 2008

KIMMAOU01

I just read about What2See’s review on the all the nice places to eat along Lebuh Cintra but he missed out one nice hawker shop along the way. He was not the first one too as the shop which sells Fried Hor Fun looked just like any other hawker stalls in Penang. Unless the person resides within the town area, he or she would have overlooked the small stall hidden at the corner of the old coffee shop.

My friend and I paid a visit to the shop not long ago, although I had frequent the stall for takeaways all the time. We ordered a large Fried Hor Fun (RM6) with lots of freshly fried grouper meat and also a normal sized Fried Ee Foo Mee (RM4) with big fresh succulent prawns. Although the portions served were quite small, the tastes were wonderful. What mattered most was the freshness of the seafood used at the stall. In fact, majority of the patrons there would order their Snakehead Fish Rice Vermicelli Soup (Lay Hoo Bee Hoon Th’ng). If you happen to be around that area, do drop by to try them out. Here are the two dishes which we had ordered.


KIMMAOU02

KIMMAOU03

You won’t miss the shop as it is at the junction of Lorong Kampung Malabar and Lebuh Cintra. In fact the stall is the row as the famous Rice Dumpling (Bak Chang) shop. Although the shop is located at the heavy traffic area, you can easily find ample parking space along Lorong Kampung Malabar.

KIMMAOUMAP

Name: KIM MAOU CAFE
Address: Lebuh Cintra, 10200 Penang, Malaysia.
Opening Hours: 5.30pm – 10.30pm
GPS: 5.418497, 100.333672

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: 8/10 (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% [?]

KRISTAL SEAFOOD CAFE

Posted by Criz Lai On July - 3 - 2008
Where would you go for some hot steaming homecooked food after working late in the office or had just arrived from a long tiring trip from outstation? Most of the time you would just end up at Mamak stalls or McDonald’s to grab your meals as majority of the good restaurants and famous hawker stalls would be closed by then. Well, I had that experience myself as I had late dinner dates with a few friends of mine. By the time they have finished their work (especially those from malls) and refreshed themselves, it would be almost 11.00pm at night.

KRISTAL01

You might get some stalls still selling rice/porridge but their food were precooked and left on the warmer for hours. What I needed was some freshly cooked dishes with rice. I have searched for this type of service all over Penang and managed to find barely a handful scattered at different districts of the state. One of the coffee shops worth mentioning would be the Kedai Kopi Kristal Seafood located right in the heart of Pulau Tikus. Not only do they serve their customers right until 2.00am, they also provide delivery services right to your doorsteps. What impressed me most was their internet/WIFI ready access in their shop as this extra service is extremely rare in Penang coffee shops.

The charges for the food here can be considered reasonable with a meat/vegetable dish in the range of RM6, RM8 and RM10 whereas seafood dishes would be RM10 and above based on the market rate. My friend and I spent barely RM32 on the food and drinks, not forgetting the extra helping of rice we had ordered. It was a waste that there were just the two of us. If there were more, we would have tried out their impressive arrays of steamed fish and spicy prawns. Here were the basic dishes that we had ordered.

HONEY CHICKEN (RM8)

KRISTAL02

FRIED JAPANESE TOFU WITH PACIFIC CLAMS (RM8)

KRISTAL03

FOO YONG TAN (RM6)

KRISTAL04

PRESTEAM RADISH SOUP (RM5)

KRISTAL05

I did also find out that there was another room upstairs with air-conditioning and KTV that can cater for a small gathering of 50 persons or more. It is real easy to find the shop as it is situated along the main road. Just refer to the map below for directions.

KRISTALMAP

Name: KRYSTAL SEAFOOD CAFE
Address: 224-B Jalan Burmah, 10350 Penang, Malaysia.
Tel: 604-227 2218, 012-438 3962, 016-445 6882 (Mr. Y.K. Lim)
Opening Hours: 6.00pm – 2.00am
GPS: 5.430064, 100.313351

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: 2% [?]

HOCK LYE SEAFOOD VILLAGE

Posted by Criz Lai On June - 23 - 2008

HOCKLYE01

Whenever we thought of having seafood by the beach, we would always think of Teluk Bahang, Batu Ferringhi, Tanjung Bungah, Gurney Drive, Gertak Sanggul, Batu Maung without knowing that there is another shop right in the heart of Georgetown overseeing Penang Bridge. Hock Lye Seafood Village has been operating their present shop for almost one and a half years and many Penangites do not even know that it even existed.

My friend and I decided to drop by the place after seeing the roof sign many times as we were using the Jelutong Expressway towards Penang Bridge. The restaurant is actually hidden behind some shoplots / flats within the Gat Macallum Street area. Although the restaurant specialized in seafood dishes, we only managed to order a few mixed dishes to be taken with rice. There were also many varieties of noodles served.

The first dish that came was the Thai Style Homemade Tofu (RM8). This is a must to try as the tofu was real smooth accompanied by lots of dried shrimps, cili padi, onions and mint leaves.

HOCKLYE02

Next was some Spicy Deep Fried Squids (RM8). It came with a saucer of mayonnaise. Common but it was great!

HOCKLYE03

Golden Fragrant Chicken (RM8) followed next. Chunky pieces of chicken meat were dipped in frying flour and stir fried with lots of curry leaves and mayonnaise. It tasted crunchy and nice. I would recommend that the dish be eaten fast as it will become soggy after too long.

HOCKLYE04

The much awaited Cereal Buttered Prawns (RM20) finally came. Eight big prawns cooked perfectly to our liking and they were real generous with the amount of cereal given.

HOCKLYE05

Overall, the food were good and we paid RM50 for the dishes, 4 bowls of rice and 3 glasses of their Homecooked Lo Han Guo drinks. I was surprised to find out that they do also serve lunch from 11.30am until 2.30pm daily. Next visit, I would try out their meat crabs as I saw almost all the tables ordered that. The crab must be good.

Just remember that the restaurant is behind some shoplots within the Macallum Street Flats area by following the map I have drawn out. Do enjoy your experiences there.

HOCKLYEMAP

Name: HOCK LYE SEAFOOD VILLAGE
Address: 130A, Jalan C. Y. Choy, Bridge Street Foreshore, 10300 Penang, Malaysia.
Tel: 604-262 7524, 012-525 1874
Opening Hours: 11.30am – 2.30pm 5.30pm – 10.30pm
GPS: 5.404451, 100.330689

RATING:
Ambience: 7/10 (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: 1% [?]

KOPITIAM SOON LEE

Posted by Criz Lai On June - 2 - 2008

SOONLEE01

As you know, I was down in Selangor for a few days and I was brought by the boss/cook of Restoran Goh Teo Kee (Pg) to one of the best seafood restaurants that I have ever been to. I must admit that the food there tasted even better than most seafood restaurants in Penang. Kopitiam Soon Lee is just located a few minutes’ drive away from Mines Shopping Fair / Mines Wonderland / MIECC. The success for this restaurant lies in their secret sambal (chili paste) recipe.

Seven of us went and we ordered 6 dishes which comprised of Grilled Lamb Chop, Spicy Stir Fried Squids and Clams, Steamed Chicken with Ginger and Dong Quai, Grilled Sting Ray and Stir Fry Brussel Sprouts. In fact, the squids tasted so fresh and tender that we ordered another plate. I would highly recommend this Spicy Stir Fried Squids dish.

With the amount of food, the price paid can be considered real cheap. Here are the breakdowns of the total cost for the meal (RM144.30 including rice and drinks) for 7 persons. Grill Sting Ray (RM19), Steam Chicken with Ginger and Dong Quai (Chinese Angelica or Female Ginseng) (RM26), Spicy Stir Fry Squid (RM15 x 2), Spicy Stir Fry Clams (RM15), Grilled Lamb Chop (RM15), Stir Fry Brussel Sprouts (RM10) and 5% Government Tax.

SOONLEE02

SOONLEE03

SOONLEE04

SOONLEE05

SOONLEE06

SOONLEE07

The super nice shop is located about 5 minutes drive away from Mines Shopping Fair. Just follow the map towards Seri Kembangan and you will not get lost. Your effort in finding the place will surely be rewarded with the best seafood in Seri Kembangan.

SOONLEEMAP

Name: KOPITIAM SOON LEE
Address:
No.21-1, Jalan SP 2/1, Serdang Perdana,
43300 Seri Kembangan, Selangor, Malaysia.
Tel: 603-8941 5144
Opening Hours: 10.00am – 1.00am (Closed Tuesday)
GPS: 3.032387, 101.707853

RATING:
Ambience: 7/10
(1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 classy)
Food Choices: 8/10 (1-4 limited, 5-7 average, 8-10 many choices)
Taste: 9/10 (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% [?]

VIDEO

TAG CLOUD