Durian outing...

Had an enjoyable durian outing with a few friends last Friday. Ate a few nice species such as Lin Fong Chia, 604, Ang Heh and a couple of others at a durian stall located on Jalan Paya Terubong on the way to Balik Pulau. Among all the species, I enjoyed LFC the most as the flesh was pretty thick and creamy with a tinge of bitterness in it. Great durian outing!

                                         yummy flesh...

                                          Lin Fong Chia durian...

Have a grest durian season.... 

nasi dagang...

My first post for 2012 and it has to be about food...what else...hehe...
I first discovered nasi dagang (picture above) when I was working in Kelantan in the late 70's and early 80's. Really fell in love with it...as it was I something I had to have especially in the morning almost every day. The dish consists of glutinous rice served usually with chicken curry, salted fish, hard-boiled egg and dessicated coconut. It's yummylicious alright. You could easily find a stall selling nasi dagang almost anywhere in Kelantan. But back here in Penang, finding one is like looking for a needle in the haystack. Until I came across this cosy food outlet in Gurney Plaza. The Little Nyonya Cuisine which is located at the basement of the shopping complex serves wonderful nasi dagang which comes with delicious thick and just-spicy-enough chicken curry. It's just like walking down memory lane each time I savour the dish at that place.
If you haven't tasted nasi dagang before...why not check it out and see whether you like it or not?
Happy food tasting!

Pulau Tikus and its good food...

Pulau Tikus...my favourite town on the island of Penang. I always get a nice feeling whenever I'm in that area. Besides being near the sea...Gurney Drive is just a stone throw from it...it also boasts of nice hawker food in the various coffee shops found in the town. One of them is Swee Kong Coffee Shop which is located on Solok Moulmein just opposite the Pulau Tikus Police Station. I usually go for three things whenever I go to that coffee shop...the hokkien mee (Penang's prawn noodles), fried wantan and the original apom balik. The hokkien mee has a nice prawn-flavoured soup and is normally sold out before 9a.m. I like the fried wantan because of its crispiness and its adequate fillings and the apom balik is authentic to me because it is cooked in claypots and of course tastes original and nice. Check them out if you happen to be in the area.

yummy hokkien mee at Swee Kong...

the crispy fried wantan...

and of course the original apom balik...notice the banana leaf below it...supposed to add flavour to the apom...



Happy food hunting and as usual have fun always!

nice weekend

Had a great time last week...went to Hard Rock Hotel, Batu Feringgi to listen to Strollers 2 belting out hits from the 60s and 70s. It was like taking a stroll down memory lane...more so with this band cos the drummer, Hussein is the original member from The Strollers who were very popular in the 60s and 70s. How could I forget their hits like "Do what you gotta do", "Silly Joke", "Midday Sun" and "Just As I Am"? Anyway before we went to the hotel we dropped in at Guan Guan Cafe located just after the Parkroyal Hotel for an early dinner. Food was okay except this time it was a bit too salty for some of us. But most of the time the food is nice. You can check out...its inchi kabin (fried chicken marinated with a certain spice), garlic fried squids, prawn omelette, sambal fried kangkong and its spring roll (my favourite).

@ Guan Guan Cafe

Strollers 2 @ Hard Rock Hotel

lew and yours truly with hussein and desi (both in the

middle), drummer and leads/percussion respectively

say "rock on"!

The same weekend also attended the opening ceremony of Galeri Seni Mutiara (2nd gallery) at the invitation of our artist friend, Mr Koay Soo Kau. The gallery is located at Lot No.2 & 4, First Floor, The Whiteaways Arcade, Lebuh Pantai, Penang. Below the gallery is OldTown White Coffee. It was nice catching up with an old friend. Check out the gallery if you happen to be in that area which is slowly being 'refurbished' to bring back its past glory.

with Koay Soo Kau (the guy in white shirt)

partial view of the gallery on Church Street


the gallery is above OldTown...

Till the next posting, rock on always...

breakfast at winter warmers

Those who know me well will know that I'm a Subway breakfast loyalist (ahem!). Have been there regularly for breakfast (and actually dinner as well) since they offered their breakfast set from 8am till 11am daily. Initially the outlet at Juru Auto City was quite empty at times but today it's a different story altogether especially for the breakfast hours at weekends. It's now normally full of people and today wasn't any different. The place was packed and the queue was rather long when I arrived at the Juru outlet...and all my favourite seats were already taken. So I decided to pop in next door at Winter Warmers which also offers its own breakfast set
(The Croissant and Sandwich set served with coffee or tea)
(The view outside Winter Warmers at Juru)

The breakfast set is also offered from 8am(I think) till 11am. It comes in two choices...the Croissant or Sandwich set. Both choices offer a tuna, chicken or egg filling and is served with tea or coffee...free flow. The Croissant set is priced at RM7.90 while the Sandwich set is priced at RM6.90. Both sets taste equally nice and if you sit outside you can also enjoy a nice view of Auto City and watch the world passing by while you you sip your coffee or tea. A good place to relax and chill out on a lazy Sunday morning....check it out guys!

Have a nice Sunday!

Teluk Intan Chee Cheong Fun

I know it's been a long time since my last posting...guess I must have been bitten by the lazy blogger's bug. Anyway I really want to share this item with you guys as this chee cheong fun (picture above) from Teluk Intan is tasty and so different from the normal one. It is filled with either minced pork or dried shrimps and is eaten with pickled chilli without sauce!

A former student of mine who is now teaching in Teluk Intan bought two packets for me last week and I really enjoyed it especially with the green chilli. (Thanks CK.) You can add your own chilli sauce if you want to.

So if you are in Teluk Intan, check out Liew Kee (Ah Lek) chee cheong fun at 725, Jalan Hill, Teluk Intan. The business hours are a bit unusual though...from evening till early morning! And of course while you are there, don't forget to drop by at the famous Leaning Clock Tower of Teluk Intan.

Have fun!
Teluk Intan chee cheong fun with the pickled chilli.

of siTigun and good coffee...

Finally managed to drop in at siTigun cafe/coffee house to check out the coffee there. This place was highly recommended by a friend (LPC) and I must say that I absolutely agree with him that the coffee at siTigun is simple awesome. We tried out the ice-blended mocha and it tasted deliciously nice. We also ordered the tiramisu which was simply yummy-rummy with a distinct rum flavour. The outlet has a very laidback feel...a place where you can enjoy good coffee, tasty snacks and food...and the right ambience for a good conversation. It has free wifi too if you need to connect with the cyber world. It is located among a row of heritage shophouses on Jalan Nagore just after the New World Park in Jalan Macalister. Check it out if you are looking for a place with good coffee. Note: It is closed on Mondays.the facade of siTigun coffee house...

the signboard along the five-foot way...

the great tasting ice-blended mocha...

the yummy-rummy tiramisu...notice the cocoa powder sprinkled on the top layer of the cake...
the Holland fries served with mayonnaise mixed with mustard...

And before we left the place we also 'ta pau-ed' some muffins(vanilla walnut) and croissant...and they all tasted nice as well even when eaten at home.

Mmm...another simple joy of life...

Till then...enjoy your holidays and have fun...as always!

a very random post on...what else but... food

Food talk...just to share with you guys...this place called No Eye Deer serves nice and tasty fish and chips and chicken kapitan briyani rice. The place is located just opposite the Island Plaza in Tanjung Tokong where Fatty Loh chicken rice used to be. It is situated on the first floor of the 2-storey shopping complex sited there. The fish n chips is a bit different as the chef uses siakap for the fish and the chicken kapitan briyani is yummy...provided of course if you like curry. And you also get to enjoy a nice view of Jalan Tanjung Tokong from where you are dining. Go check out the place if you hapen to be in that area...the signboard of the cafe-bistro...

the view outside the cafe...

the tasty fish and chips...

and of course the yummy chicken kapitan briyani...

And talking about food...am going for my fave nasi lemak at Kapitan Kopitiam in Seberang Jaya now. Signing off from Starbucks Sunway Seb Jaya...adios and as always take care...

of SS, Hard Rock Hotel Penang and TGIF

Gosh...we are already midway through the 10-day Hari Raya break...time REALLY flies when you are having a good time. Have done most of the things that I have planned for the break with a few more to go before school reopens 0n 28 Sept 09. Anyway had a great start to the holiday by checking out SS Juru on Friday night. Still kinda finding it hard to believe that SS would come to the mainland...guess that proves that anything is possible these days... Anyway found the place to be just like the one at Upper Penang Road...in terms of decor esp the orange colour and even the layout...just that the one at Juru is much more spacious...and the music was great...Nice place to chill out...SS at Juru...

Then on Saturday, checked out the Hard Rock Hotel at Batu Ferringhi, Penang. Since it was opening day, we were given a guided tour of the hotel by one of the hotel guides...a pretty gal, may I add...hehe. I like the place...it's a cool place with character. The hotel is adorned with images and statues of the Beatles, guitars and even clothing of rock stars...think Chuck Berry, Elton John, the Temptations... And the pool is simply awesome...being the largest free-form pool in Penang (26,000 sq feet) with it's own sand island...and a kid's playground complete with water guns and slides. But what caught my attention was the rooms at ground level...they have direct access to the pool...yup...open your balcony door and you can just wade or jump into the pool...now that's really cool...And guess what...even the check-in counter is so unconventional...you may even miss it if you don't look carefully...just look out for the lobby bar and you'll know what I mean. And of course...the famed Hard Rock Cafe (though not as big as I've expected it to be...)and the Rock Shop...check it out guys... partial view of the swimming pool...

the giant Chuck Berry guitar in front of the hotel...

guess who's sitting in front of the Hard Rock Cafe?...look closer...looks like President Abr.........

but is it?

notice the rooms on the ground floor that open up directly to the pool...I like that...

another view of the pool...part of the sand island is visible at the bottom right-hand corner...

and of course the Beatles watching over you when you you are swimming in the pool...

Go check out the place guys...and have a rocking time:)

And before I end this post...would like to share these 2 pics with you guys...both items from TGIF Queensbay Mall...the first one is the boneless chicken wings served with crunchy celery which you can eat with the mayonnaise...and the second one is the Sizzling Chicken n Cheese served on a hot plate...the whitish spread on the plate is sizzling cheese...

The taste...yummy...

the boneless Chicken Wings...

the Sizzling Chicken and Cheese...

Till the next post...adios and take care!

time flies...and some rocking news...

Time really flies especially during holidays...yup the mid-term break is over and it's back to work starting tomorrow. But then the Hari Raya break is also not too far away from the corner so am looking forward to that too...hehe:) Well as the title of this post suggests...would like to share some rocking news with you guys...firstly Winter Warmers is now open at Juru Auto City...have tried the Deep Fried Garlic Chicken and the Teriyaki Chicken Rice...and both tasted good to me...and I'm sure you know about its very English ambience...

Then of course if you are a regular visitor to Auto City you would have noticed the orange building that's coming up in front of Maybank Auto World...that's SS which will be opening VERY soon...guess weekend nights won't be the same again in Seberang Perai...
Winter Warmers at Auto City...next to another favourite joint of mine...Subway...

that's SS...which should be opening at any time now...

And then the mother of all rocking news...Hard Rock Hotel Penang with its Hard Rock Cafe will be opening on 19 Sept 09 at Batu Ferringhi...so all you Hard Rock Cafe fans...make sure you make a trip to Batu Ferringhi and check it out...

And before I end this post...couldn't resist sharing the two pics below with you guys...

The delicious baked crabs which we had at Sa Liap Ka...a restaurant in Sungai Bakap...the food there is nice and the price is reasonable...another dish I would like to recommend is the Bamboo Prawns which is now served in a metal trough...I guess bamboo is quite hard to come by nowadays...eat the prawn curry sauce with deep-fried 'mantou'...

And of course the delicious, tasty crispy curry puffs which we bought from a bakery shop at Lagenda Heights in Sungai Petani...the pastry is very puffy and the filling of slightly spicy potato is just nice...

Till the next post...may I wish you well, take care and have fun as always!

'live' from lagenda heights...sungai petani

Yup...the August mid-term school holiday has begun...and that means you can forget about deadlines and get to do all the things that you enjoy doing. And that's exactly what I'm doing right now...blogging 'live' from Lagenda Heights in Sungai Petani...hehe. Actually came to SP with family to visit a good friend staying in Bandar Puteri Jaya. Sungai Petani does bring back a lot of memories 'cos my wife and I stayed here for a few months in the mid-80's. Back then it was quite a sleepy hollow but today the town has really grown. And right now I am in Lagenda Heights which is just outside SP town. The place is really cool...neat and tidy with residential houses, a shopping mall, shophouses and lots of F n B outlets...something like Auto City in Juru. Had dinner at Cennai Curry House which serves delicious Indian cuisine and our favourite dish there is the Briyani Chicken set. It's our second visit to the restaurant. You should also check out the Hariyali Begum Mint drink which has a nice n strong minty taste. And of course I am blogging at where else but OldTown Kopitiam which is sprouting like mushroom everywhere. Have posted some pics below to do the rest of the talking...please excuse the pic quality which is not so good as they were taken with my handphone.



OldTown Kopitiam...Lagenda Heights...which provided the free wifi...it's Monday night but the place is bustling with people...mmm...enjoy life la...

the Village Mall...

Chennai Curry House...where we had our dinner...check it out if you do come to SP

ah...the yummy delicious chicken briyani set...

Red Island Cafe...related to the one in Penang...I guess...there's one just opposite One-Stop Midlands Park in Pulau Tikus

Love n Freedom Restaurant Leisure Bistro...whataname...if you are curious as to what they serve...check it out the next time you are in SP.

Guess what...Winter Warmer's will be opening an outlet in Auto City soon. Read about it in my next post. Till then...enjoy your holiday...and more importantly enjoy your life. Take care:)

visitors...

Had two visitors in school today...Jeslyn and Lina. Both are doing fine in the fields they have chosen. To both of you...Jes and Lina...all the best and remember to do whatever you have chosen with passion.

jeslyn and lina...

makan trip to ipoh

Yesterday, eight of us went on a day-trip to Ipoh to savour some of the culinary delights the town has to offer. And glad to say that we were not disappointed. Our first stop was the Foh San Restaurant which by the way has moved on to a bigger place on Jalan Leong Sin Nam. It's actually just a short distance from it's old location. The new place is big occupying at least 5 shoplots...with a nice ambience for a dim sum restaurant...but more important the dim sum was as usual tasty and delicious. One item which kind of aroused our curiosity was the dumpling with 'lo mai kai' filling plus shreds of turnip...refer to pic below.

at Foh San...

the old Foh San restaurant...

and of course...Foh San at its new premises...awesome...that's what i call progress

ah...delicious dim sum...

the dumpling that got us curious...


and voila...the mystery is solved...

After a delightful breakfast it was time for a nice cup of white coffee at Nam Heong coffeeshop located in the old part of Ipoh City. This coffee shop is supposed to be the place where Oldtown white coffee came from. The coffee was good...rich...thick and creamy. Anyway we noticed that the shop had many hawkers selling a variety of Penang hawker delights like Penang char koay teow, laksa, hokkien mee and so on...We were quite impressed by the char koay teow and hokkien mee...esp the aroma floating in the air and we told ourselves we must give it a try the next time we are in Ipoh. After Nam Heong we went across the road for another cuppa...at Sin Yoon Loong coffeeshop...just to compare its coffee with that of Nam Heong and I must say it tasted nice too...though not as 'kau' as NamHeong's.

Nam Heong coffeeshop

the white coffee at Nam Heong...

just opposite Nam Heong is Sin Yoon Loong...

the white coffee at Sin Yoon Loong...

Next we moved on to Kek Look Tong...a limestone cave just after Ampang. The cave is quite big complete with all the interesting cave formations. I like the place because it's very serene and cool. And behind the cave you can find a very nice lake with limestone hills as its background. After resting for a while there...actually we were waiting for the dim sum to be digested...we went to our next stop i.e. the Sun Yeong Wai Restaurant which is well-known for its roast duck. And again we were not disappointed as the roast duck was excellent. I'm no fan of ducks but this one was really good and yummy..

the entrance to Kek Look Tong...

stalactites and stalagmites...

the serene lake behind the cave..

Sun Yeong Wai which is well-known for its roast duck...

ah...notice the roast duck...its head...I mean...

And finally after the sumptious late lunch...we moved over a few doors away to Yee Hup to shop for some its famous biscuits especially its charbroiled hiong peah. Soon after that we headed for home...

Yep...it was definitely a great trip...mission accomplished...and my overall verdict...without a doubt...'HOR CHIAK'

Have a great day!