Mee Sotong by Hameed 'Pata'

Fort Cornwallis in Penang is the old star-shaped fort and as well the largest standing fort in Malaysia. I'm not going to talk about the fort but to talk about the Hameed 'Pata' Special Mee that is found inside the food court beside the Fort Cornwallis. Mee Sotong either by Goreng that is Frying or by Rebus that is Boiling, this is the specialty mee that is well-known here. The price ranges from the standard RM4 till RM6 depending on the portion. If you're not fancy about the mee or yellow noodle, you can as well ask for Bihun the vermicelli or Koay teow the rice noodle.

1st trying on the famous Mee Sotong, the noodle is fried with egg, Tofu, potato, bean sprout and fried prawn cake with their special chili-based sauce to give the delicious red shining colour. The most important step and it's not to be forgotten is the Sotong or Squid that is cooked with the blended chili to create the spiciness and I guess being added with sugar to give the little sweetness and to thicken the sauce. The squid has been cooked till it has absorbed the sauce completely and it's not chewy. Mixing the squid and the fried noodle, both of the tastes complete each other to give the most deliciousness to the tastebud.
I'm totally satisfied with this Indian-Malay style fried noodle and it's a joy for a tasty meal at a low price.

The German at CHEERS Restaurant & Bierhaus

I've been wanted to write about CHEERS Restaurant & Bierhaus yet I've forgotten about this article after storing the images inside my laptop for months. If you're on the way to Tanjung Bungah and after passing by the Marina Bay on your right hand side, you'll notice CHEERS Restaurant & Bierhaus on your right whereby you've to make a U-Turn at the traffic light.

My 1st visit with Attila and the friends, I've been so unhappy because the waiter has totally no clue about the difference between Dunkle or Dark Bier and the Dunkle Weissbier. It's written in the menu as Dunkle but I'm served with Dunkle Weissbier and the most pissed off matter is that the waiter has been trying to argue with me that I'm having the Dunkle or Dark Bier. Besides, he's using a mug to pour my Dunkle Weissbier instead of the standard 500ml tall glass. It's totally unacceptable for me that a restaurant is opened without any clear ideas about what they're serving.
Attila and I have ordered the BBQ Sausage and Pork Ribs for sharing. Frying the slices of sausage with onions in the BBQ sauce and added with grounded black pepper, this is just the very ordinary dish that is called BBQ Sausage here. The pork ribs are grilled in the sweet-based sauce and then being served together with the mashed potaoes. One of the specialty that is quite funny for me is the mashed purple potatoes because I find the sweetness of the potato doesn't match the pork meat. The only grateful fact is that the pork meat is juicy and tender.
This is my only visit to CHEERS because my friends and I have been so dissatified with the knowledge of the waiters and as well with the taste of the food here. For me, whoever that is setting up a restaurant must know clearly and to train the people properly on the food and beverage menu. Oh ya, the menu is almost a copy of Berlin's Bier Houz?

Thai vs Laos vs Vietnam at the Golden Triangle

The Golden Triangle IndoChine Restaurant as its name, the place that has brought the taste of Thai and Laos and Vietnam into the food. The spacious restaurant is decorated with the wooden carving arts, is filled up with the small huts and furniture that are made from the solid wood and is then completed by the soft velvet fabric for the most comfort. They've two outlets at Northern Malaysia, one is at Juru Autocity Butterworth while another is inside Queensbay Penang.

At Juru with our extreme hunger, Attila and I have ordered the Laotian Fresh Mushroom Salad, Seafood Otak-Otak in Fresh Coconut and Cashewnut Chicken. The mushroom salad is a cooked dish of minced chicken meat and fresh mushroom in the spicy and sour chili-based sauce that is then being garnished with onion and capsicum slices. The Otak-Otak is a special dish whereby the mixed seafood of fish, squid and prawn are fried in the blended chili paste and then being added with coconut milk to create the milky taste. The coconut meat is as well mixed to enhance the taste and aroma of the dish before being scooped into the coconut for serving. Our favourite dish is the Cashewnut Chicken as it's very crispy yet the meat is still juicy. The dish tastes a little sweet, it seems that honey is used to coat the chicken with a thin and crispy layer of sugar?!!

Additionally, we've taken the Phat Thai or the fried Thai noodle that consists of the rice noodle with seafood, egg and cabbage. I don't like this noodle as it's very slimy and it does a little weird, maybe because of the chili paste?
Attila feels fascinated with Golden Triangle for its ambient and food. I do enjoy some of the menu here except the MSG (Mono-Sodium Glutamate) or so-called Ajinomoto that is making me feeling very thirsty after every meal.

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The Cantonese Kitchen, Xuan Xin炫昇

Looking for new taste in Queensbay Mall, Attila and I have decided to visit the Xuan Xin炫昇 Cantonese Kitchen that is located at level 2. The restaurant is very spacious with the tidy arrangement of the tables and chairs. The furniture seems to be very elegant and comfortable with the velvety woven fabric.

To start, we've ordered the Roasted Duck Congee金牌烧鸭粥 and Hong Kong Stir-Fried Hor-Fun港式干炒河 with Beef. I hate the ugly smell of the duck and the meat tastes awful. The duck meat seems to be very not fresh with its very soft texture. Well, the plain congee is quite flavourful even though without any seasoning. Attila and my favourite is the Hor-Fun that has a little 'burnt' smell by absorbing the aroma of the soy sauce completely. The beef is tender that it just fits the chewiness in the mouth. We're both satisfied with the Hor-Fun even it's quite oily.

Additionally, we've shared the Sauteed Venison with Satay Sauce沙爹炒鹿肉 and Sauteed Scallop with Celery and Fresh Lily西芹百合炒带子. Venison meat has been an ordinary dish among Malaysian Chinese nowadays. People like the Venison meat for its tenderness and as well it's neither as chewy as beef nor as tasteless as chicken. I've to admit that the Satay sauce with its Asian taste has increased the specialty of this dish. It's kind of an innovative idea to fry meat in Satay sauce. For me, the last dish is not really amazing as the scallop doesn't taste very fresh while the fresh Lily doesn't taste special anyhow.

The dishes are prepared by different chefs such as Master Chuan全師傅 or Master Huang煌師傅. It's kind of disappointment that I don't really find any special taste or deliciousness out from these Masters. The only interesting thing that we've learnt here is the 'Call Buttons' that enable us to ask for waiter or to get our bill without any shouting. Anyway, Attila and I have somehow lost our interest or motivation to revisit this place again.

Healthy Snack at Tutti Frutti

The modern society nowadays is talking always about healthy lifestyle, to eat healthily and to live healthily. Tutti Frutti Frozen Yogurt has been a hit that has bloomed up among the old and youngsters that are searching for healthy snack. This 'Help Yourself' concept of frozen yogurt is charged at RM5.30 per 100gram.

Standing in front of the wall that is equipped with the vending machines, just pull down the handler for your flavours of yogurt that range from the plain, chocolate, strawberry, kiwi to coffee. Then, decorate the yogurt with various toppings such as fresh fruit, canned apricot, chocolate chips, almond nuts, marshmallow, gummy bear or go for strawberry and chocolate sauces. Alternatively, Oreo crackers or grounded Oreo and chocolate egg rolls are available as well.

I like the idea of frozen yogurt in Tutti Frutti. Mix & Match, this is your way to create your creative and favorite frozen yogurt. This is not the only frozen yogurt in Penang or in Malaysia now and I may not have the most interesting or 'appetizing' pictures, but do try it out ;)

Imported Ramen at Goku Raku

Standing in front of Goku Raku Ramen or 極樂, Attila and I are wondering if to have our Japanese lunch here. Then, the waitress attends to us and says that 'Our Ramen is imported from Japan and it's originally from Japan'. To our curiosity, it's a must for us to try the Ramen here.

Attila has been so excited to find his favourite pork meat as various dishes in the menu. We've decided to order Gyoza or pork dumpling and Buta Katsu or simply the deep fried pork chop that is served with special egg sauce, as our starters. The mixture of minced pork with parsley inside the dumpling is juicy yet the skin is too crispy. We both agree that the thin dumpling skin is not completing the tastiness of the meat. The pork chop is a little 'deeply' fried that it's a bit dry but the taste is enhanced by the creamy egg sauce with its saltiness. The sauce by itself is very appetizing.

Our greediness has urged us to share a bowl of Mini Don and a bowl of soupy Ramen. The Mini Don is in fact the mini bowl of rice and we've chosen the Kobuta Meshi or pan-fried pork cubes with sauce on the rice. I love this dish so much because the pork meat has been 'stewed' that it becomes so tender and juicy by absorbing the soy sauce completely. One piece of pork, one spoon of rice; it's indeed the most wonderful moment. Besides, we've taken the Ultimate Ramen in Tonkotsu soup. The Ramen is served Char Siew, egg, black fungus, bamboo shoot, seaweed and being garnished with spring onion, leek and fragrant garlic oil. The soup is somehow too salty for me, yet to my surprise is the tender noodle. It has indeed reminded me about the packet Ramen that is imported from Japan, it's just the original taste.
The meal at Goku Raku is a total satisfaction for us. The most to our remembrance is the Kobuta Meshi and the Tonkotsu soup. I do remember as well that I don't dare to try the egg because of its uncooked and watery egg white. But, we'll come again...

By the Roadside at Patong Beach of Phuket

It's our yearly bike trip for Songkran Festival in Phuket. Once a year, we're playing with water crazily and indulging ourselves into the water war.

Walking along the Patong Beach area and here I've decided to try out the local pancake by the aunt that is with her portable store. You can ask for different ingredients for your pancake such as nutella, chocolate, caramel, banana, coconut, pineapple or any mixture of these. I've ordered the small banana nutella that costs me 60Baht. The soft pancake is not really very delicious as the nutella paste is too little. Yet, I like the sweet banana that has indeed made-up the whole taste of the pancake.
Walking along the roadside with the pancake in my hand, this is just my snack before the dinner.