The best Hokkein Mee ever

"The BEST Hokkein mee ever!" declared late-bro. No question asked. So we left the house at 6am to fetch the 4 lovely ladies to savor a bowl of this special noodle. One has to go very early in the morning as the queue is long and the stall will usually run out of noodle by 9.00am.

After a good 10 mins wait, a bowl of piping hot noodle was served. We ordered 8 bowls but they served only 4, with the other 4 served 5 mins later. That's the service once would expect at this famous/infamous stall. Despite the crappy service, a taste of the noodle makes everything worthwhile.

The soup is thick with heavy prawn flavour. The home made ground chili paste pack a strong kick to the soup. Noodles are prepared al dente, it's pure perfection!

Swee Kong Cafe
Solok Moulmein
Pulau Tikus, 10250 Penang
Open: 6.00am - 9.00am

Midnight durian feast

Durian season is in and what time do Malaysians usually have their durians? Late at night!

Durian is actually 30% fat and it's either a love or hate affair depending on individual. I can take durian but I loath the after effect which is the burping, heatiness and putting on weight!

For those who love durian, the taste wins all.

One of the popular spot for durian in Penang is at Macalister Road. This little white truck has been parking on the side of the road in evening time since I can remember. We ordered only 2 durians - the award winning 猫山王 and 胡卢. Plus mangosteen to balance the heatiness of the durian. Yin and Yang theory. Notice who are the lovers of durian once the king of fruits is being served?



Durian stall
Jalan Macalister
11400 Georgetown, Penang
Open: 6.00pm till late

Dinner at Ocean Green

Since bro ashes was scattered into the sea along northern beach, OG became the default place to meet and have a meal with friends to reminiscent our beloved. Tonight we have the 4 visiting ladies from Singapore whom bro met in secondary school and had since kept the friendship going till now.

First up was entree - nestum fried prawns. Lovely lovely lovely dish. It's not oily although deep fried, the ginger and salt combination was perfect to enhance the flavours from fresh prawns.

Satay chicken kajang style. Meaning the peanut sauce is coated on the meat without having to dip separately. This is especially hygienic for crowds that brought visitors to share a meal in a typical chinese restaurant setting. The satay is grilled just nice for the meat to be tender and juicy.

Thai style tofu salad. Not quite authentic Thai taste but passable for a dish if someone on the table prefer vegetarian dish. Note: to skip the dried shrimps if this dish is vegetarian.

Oyster omelet. I have no idea who suggested this dish but somehow Kate was googoo gaga over it. I have tasted better but then again, it's an elegant dish to offer to visitors.

Steamed grouper, the meat is thick and sweet, very fresh fish indeed. The soy sauce used was pretty standard but the freshness made up for the overall taste of this dish.

Vegetable broth with scallops - Delicious!

Black pepper crab. Eversince my verneer chipped on me thrice, I have to be discipline to turn down my favourite seafood - CRAB!

And since mom ordered duo flavour crab, my discipline has to be double up! There was none left on the dish at the end of the course so I can only presumed the crab are fresh and nice.

For dessert, we have fruit platter of tropical fruits watermelon, honeydew, mango and jackfruit.

The ladies beat us to pick up the bill, score 1 for the ladies and 0 for us :(



Ocean Green Restaurant & Seafood
Paramount Hotel, 48F, Jalan Sultan Ahmad Shah
10050 Georgetown, Penang
Tel: 04-227 4530
Opens: 12.00pm - 11.00pm

Postscript: A group of guys came to visit us and pay respect to bro at OG. The boys reminded mom and dad of bro and the trip assured them that they have brought up a good kid. Thanks to Andreas, CW, Eric and Won.

Gathering at Yeng Keng

Four ladies paid us a visit and pay last respect to bro. Two of them arrived a day earlier to explore Penang heritage sites, the other two arrived today and we all gathered at Yeng Keng for late lunch.

The cafe offers Nyonya cuisine cum western food. Shirley ordered Nyonya Fried Chicken with mixed vegetable sauce. Sort of a fusion if you ask me. This is the 2nd time I come across fushion of a fried chicken dish. The first was at Delicious for their attempt to fuse Hainanese aka Chicken Merryland. It's just weird!

For me, I ordered the traditional Hor Fun since this was the last dish that bro ordered back in April. Taste good as we walked down memory lane with the 4 ladies.

The famous Hainanese Spring Rolls - served with special chili sauce. Somehow the taste doesn't strut a cord with me. Others find it tasty but I just don't like it. It's kind of woody taste for me in fact.

Ichi Kambin - another popular Nyonya dish. At first everyone was hesitate to take a bit as it's afterall FRIED chicken. After the first bite, everyone went for the 2nd piece automatically. Kate fell in love with it and promised to come back for more.

The ladies surprised us with a Tiramisu cake from China House Cafe. It weighs over 3kg which Yumin and SinTing took turn to carry it back to the hotel. For their laborious effort and sweet thoughts, the cake taste EXTRA GOOD!

Inside of the cake, very generous spread of almond on top, the bottom layer sponge cake is soaked with liquor and the cheese filling is whipped smooth to perfection. Everything is just perfect with a cup of hot tea and us ladies just chat and chat away....

Finally the group photo - From left: Shirley, Priscilla, mom, Yumin & SinTing. I love you all ladies!!!



Yeng Keng Cafe & Bar
362 Lebuh Chulia
10200 Georgetown
Tel: 04- 2633177
Opens: 12.00pm - 10.00pm

Tutti Frutti - soy bean flavour

Tutti Frutti has been my little escape from time to time. The self service allow me to release as much as I want or as little, the false sense of being in control. Ha!

Today special release flavour is Soy Bean. Complete ripped off as it taste like Drink Ho soybean but frozen. However... the TF tart made up for the soybean disappointment and the chocolate fudge, peanuts and almond topping are oh just so heavenly.


Tutti Frutti
Autocity, Jalan Perusahaan
13600 Simpang Ampat
Penang
Open: 12.00pm - 10.00pm

Breakfast at 39 Alma

The original shou mein started here at Taman Alma. The elder sister wanted to take the business further by doing franchising, but the deal turned sour in less than a year, resulting in the split of multiple branches in Bukit Mertajam and Prai area. The elder sister's son is now taking up the business, going back to its root which is business in the house - 39 Alma. The famous dish in da house is of course Shou Mien, which is longevity noodle when translated directly. The soup is heavily pork based, the noodles and other ingredients are very common items found in other noodle soups. What made it special is the chili sauce or "sambal" in Malay. Some says it taste like "Lam Mee", I think it has its own special flavour to stand out on its own. 

 Besides shou mein, the shop also sells nice yam cake as side dish. I love yam and love anything with peanuts, so this dish is a thumb up for me.

 

Another good dish is the loh mai kai or steamed glutinous rice. Comes standard with quarter of an egg and chicken bits. This item is purely consignment from another vendor but still, it's a good alternative for time when one doesn't feel like eating a piping hot bowl of noodle soup in the morning and sweat a bucket before even starting work at the office.


39 Alma Shou Mein
39 Lorong Damai 1, Taman Alma
14000 Bukit Mertajam
Penang
Tel: 012-478 2133
Open: 8.00am - 4.00pm
Close: Monday

Black Canyon

Black Canyon is no stranger to those who travel to Thailand frequently. This franchise restaurant has been in the old airport as well as the new Suvarnabhumi Airport. However when across the border in Malaysia, somehow its popularity didn't pick up as well. Nonetheless, it's still one of my all time favorite place to eat.

I will always first order the Som Tam or papaya salad. They uses real raw papaya instead of carrot and the sauce is very authentic as all ingredients come in from Thailand direct. Oh, and the peanut servings is sooo generous!

Mom will always order the seafood hor fun. Upon special request, they will serve you the 4 condiments that is supposed to be eaten with Thai hor fun - sugar, chili flake, vinegar chili and pepper. I tried it before but don't quite like it.

My other staple dish is the Spicy Tuna Salad. Again the serving of tuna is by the chuck,  and the sauce is very authentic Thai.

To end my meal, I will usually have the Thai Hot Tea (Char Ron), served with cute little alphabet biscuit and evaporated milk. Once the milk is mixed in and as you take a few sip, a special sentence will appear on the rim of the cup
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"A drink from Paradise... available on Earth"

Ahhh.... all is worth it.





Black Canyon Coffee
AEON Seberang Prai City Shopping Centre
Ground Floor
Jalan Perda Timur
14000 Bukit Mertajam
Penang