Phuket Part II: Wine Connection Deli & Bistro... Revisit

Attila and I have decided to revisit Wine Connection Deli & Bistro for our lunch, a day before we're departing back to Penang.

I've decided to try the Chef's Specials Starters that is called Avocado & Crab Salsa Salad. The appearance is really stimulating my appetite and the best thing is about the deliciousness. I've never known that Avocado can be an idea for Salad. Not only with a thick layer of shredded crab meat, the chef has also put some fresh bean sprout on top that somehow neutralizing the oiliness of the Avocado.

A loyal customer, my boyfriend has decided to go for the Salami Pizza again and added with some mushroom. I've ordered the Grilled Snow Fish. Stacking in sequences of the mashed potaoes as base, followed by some mushroom, the top is the thick snow fish and lastly being decorated with the white sauce. The sauce is a little milky but it's quite light and with a nice aroma from the herbs.

It may take a year before we'll visit Phuket again and we'll definitely miss the dishes here.

Phuket Part II: Wine Connection Deli & Bistro

One of the most unforgettable taste in Phuket is the Wine Connection Deli & Bistro. The menu is purely about pizza, pasta, fish, beef and dessert only; a simple selection of Western Cuisine. I do quite like the open concept here whereby people are sitting here for a meal or a wine and just watching the folks around. In the restaurant is mainly for the storage and sales section for wine, pork salami and they've a small bakery.

I've decided to try the Memminger Beer, not so bad but it's just not my taste. I'm more interested to talk about the delicious food that we've ordered. Attila and I have decided to have a Ceasar Salad as the starter. I'm not so particular about salad but my boyfriend feels so fancy about the pork bacon. I've to admit that pork bacon is a little bit saltier if to compare with beef bacon and it makes a better match to salad. Another starter that is not to be missed is the Gratinated New Zealand Mussels. This is the first time I learn about Gratinated that it means 'cooking in the herbs-based sauce until it's absorbed and forming a crisp surface'. These 8pcs of mussels are delicious and what is worth more is the pricing of 160THB only!

For main course, I've chosen the Seafood Spaghetti while Attila has decided for the Salami Pizza. The fresh prawn, squid and mussel in the tomato-based sauce; I'm fond of the seafood than the spaghetti as the spaghetti is not absorbing the tomato's taste and it's indeed watery. Salami of pork, this is what my boyfriend has been wondering and eager to have on his pizza. The thin dough skin, a thin layer of cheese and the thin slices of pork salami; every single taste is just perfect of without being too much. Attila has been so so so... satisfied with his Salami Pizza.

I don't want to miss the chance to try out the dessert here and I've taken the Lime Pie. My first impression, I like the white creamy triangle peaks. The strong lime is making the pie tastes so sour but together with the whipped cream, every single spoon is a perfect deliciousness. The sourness of the lime and the sweetness of the whipped cream, they're neutralizing each other while the pie is melting in my mouth.

Having a tasty meal and with the cozy ambient, I've enjoyed every single moments in Wine Connection. This is what I've called it as life...

Phuket Part I: SKAL Restaurant

Finally, I've managed to catch some time to write about the food in Phuket; to recall about the taste that I've had during Songkran Festival...

We've decided to have our lunch at the SKAL Restaurant as they're serving Thai food, fresh seafood and also Pizza; enough varieties to cater for every one's needs. While we're waiting for our orders, it's really enjoyable for us to read and to appreciate the posts and pictures on the wall. Some of the posts are funny and these are the most favourite of mine.

My boyfriend starts his meal with Bruschetta that comes with tomatoes and a thin slice of ham on top. I find it quite nice but my boyfriend comments that original Bruschetta should not consist of any basil leaves. Then, the main course is followed by a Pork Chop. The pork is coated with the bread crumbs and being fried till golden crispiness, then being garnished with red wine sauce and served with fries. The pork chop tastes good except that it may can be a little bit saltier and I'll prefer to have it without the sauce. For myself, I've chosen to go for the Phad Thai. It's a type of Thai rice noodle that is fried with meat or seafood, bean sprout and egg, then to go with lime juice and grounded peanuts. I dislike the Phad Thai as it's kind of ordinary and tasteless, somehow it's out of my expectation. But, I like the idea of having the bean sprout separately beside the plate.

Even though the food is not really very delicious here but the main reason that has triggered us not to re-visit is the slow service. The chef has taken almost an hour to get our food to be served and the worst is the expensive price that we've to pay.

Irish Pub & Restaurant... Finnegan's

We're invited by Jaimey to the Finnegan's Irish Pub & Restaurant as he'll be the host for the '500 for 100 Challenge', an event that is held on every 2nd and 4th Saturday of each month. Finish 100 shots in 100 minutes and if you're the last man or woman standing, here you'll leave with cash RM500. Oh ya, it's 100 shots of Tiger beer! The best thing is we're parking the bike in front of the Irish Pub, on the street of Straits Quay.

My boyfriend has decided to join the '500 for 100 Challenge' but we've to fill our stomach at first. We've ordered the Caesar Salad and additionally an unknown Sandwich with Pork Bacon. The Ceasar Salad comes together with grilled chicken, beef bacon and the hard-boiled egg. Everything in this salad bowl is just nice and the sauce is also delicious except the salted fish. The fresh vegetable tastes weird because of the salted fish bits that have been added in. Talking about the sandwich, I like especially the bacon whereby the saltiness from the bacon just goes well with the normal white bread.

Boyfriend has chosen to give up at the middle of the competition, I guess at around 30 shots?!! Quick shots in a short time is just making him uncomfortable. Our bike's friend Falk has continued till 90 shots that he has given up as well...

Ryoma龍馬 Japanese Restaurant

'You must visit Ryoma for their delicious Sashimi, must!'; My friends have always commented that Ryoma Japanese Restaurant龍馬日本料理 has the freshest Sashimi or the raw seafood in Penang. Sashimi or what is known in Mandarin words as 刺身 is favoured for its freshness, to go with the dipping sauce of Wasabi芥末 combined with soy sauce. The fresher the Sashimi is, the easier for it to melt in your mouth and the tastier of the Sashimi that you can feel.

Definitely, our first dish is the Sashimi Platter and it's served in a big wooden boat. Look at how juicy and fresh the Sashimi are! Our next favourite dish of mine is the Grilled Squid; a big squid that is served with a kind of butter sauce that tastes sweet and yet salty.

A must-to-have for my boyfriend is the Meat Dumpling or Gyoza whereby the prerequisite condition must be made of pork. I do quite like the Gyoza here except that the meat is a little too compact and I think it'll be great if the ingredient is juicier. Next to follow is the Pork Chop. My boyfriend puts a lot of compliments on the pork chop as it's rare to have pork fillet in Malaysia comparing to chicken or beef. Well, I still think that the pork chop is too dry and appears to be a bit hard. We've ordered then the signature dish of Mushroom wrapped in the Beef. I'm not a beef lover but I've indeed enjoyed the tender meat.

Only four of us but we've decided to go for additional dishes of Mix Tempura Platter and also the Fried Mushroom. I don't really fancy about the Tempura here as it's kind of ordinary as any that I've in other restaurants. Talking about the mushroom, I do enjoy the mixture of these various mushroom but I'm not so in love with the thick butter aroma in the sauce itself. It's somehow making me feeling full...

I'm not good in differentiating the grade of a good or bad Sashimi but I do really love the freshness that I've it here. The smooth texture that melts immediately in my mouth... This is what I'll call it as Sashimi.