Searching for Pork Knuckle at Nibong Tebal!

We've heard enough stories about Pork Knuckle in Nirong Tebal; How famous it is, how delicious it is... And thus, we've decided to check it out ourselves. The Pork Knuckle is at Swee Garden瑞園海鮮飯店 that is located at the town centre of Nibong Tebal, behind the Maybank.

The Pork Knuckle is fried to give its crispy skin yet with a soft and tender flesh. However, I'm not so impressed by the Pork Knuckle here because the skin is not as crispy as some that I've tasted before and the most important is the taste itself. Somehow, the saltiness is not sufficient to enhance the deliciousness of the Pork Knuckle, especially the meat.

It's a good try for us to taste the Pork Knuckle here but it's just not as tasty as the one that I want...

Restoran NT Cheang Kee; Where We've the Crab Porridge!

On our monthly eating trip, we've decided to go to Restoran NT Cheang Kee璋記飯店 that is located in Nibong Tebal for the well-known Crab Porridge. This restaurant is serving various Chinese cuisine but our must is to try the Crab Porridge.

Here comes the Crab Porridge! The crab is boiled with the porridge and together has been added with plenty of spring onions, garlic and also Tianjin Preserved Vegetable天津冬菜 to give sufficient flavours to the soup. We've asked for the mixture of Meat Crab肉蟹 and Egg Crab蛋蟹 in our bowl of porridge. An important tips is to have Egg Crab because the yellowish eggs from the female crab is giving extra sweetness and deliciousness to the soup. But, not to forget the Meat Crab as well because it's normally bigger in size that the flesh is thicker and more compact. It's a compliment as the crab here is really fresh. To me, it's a good combination of crab with porridge as we're eating not only the crab meat, crab egg, the porridge but also finishing every single drops of the soup.

Additionally, we've tried the Dried Frying Prawn干煎虾 that is fried without any flour coating. The prawn is crispy and with the half shell that has been removed, we can taste the saltiness in the meat itself. Lastly, we've decided to order the Steamed Octopus or what is commonly known as 猪母酸 at Northern Malaysia. The boiling time is important for not to make the octopus being over-hardened and it'll go just nice with chili sauce. Normally, grounded peanuts or sesame is added to enhance the aroma and taste.

Restoran NT Cheang Kee will definitely be my place to return for the Crab Porridge again. I'm crazy about crab and I'm remembering the freshness, sweetness and deliciousness that I've tasted in the bowl...

Charlie Brown Café; Where the Snoopy Is?

I've been begging Attila to bring me to Charlie Brown Café just purely to satisfy my curiosity. A new conceptual restaurant in Penang with Charlie Brown as the theme, I really wish to witness and feel how special that this place can be?!!

Charlie Brown and Snoopy are welcoming you in front of the restaurant. The whole restaurant is painted with the Charlie Brown and friends' pictures, decorated with Snoopy's collection and there's also a small souvenir corner that ranges from photo frames, comics, bags till plush toys. It's time back to the childhood memories.

We place our orders at the counter for a Fried Tortilla Chicken Cutlet and a Creamy Seafood Pasta. The fried chicken cutlet is simply a thick chicken meat that is served with the Mayonnaise sauce. I don't find any special taste, herbs or aroma inside the chicken meat except the flour and the meat is too dry. Talking about the Creamy Seafood Pasta, the Macaroni is cooked with prawn and shell in the white milky sauce. The seafood is not fresh while the white cream sauce is too thin and tasteless.

Additionally, we've ordered earlier a Snoopy Chocolate Tiramisu and a Noisette Chocolate Cake as they seem to be so appetizing. In fact, I don't like both of these desserts that are too moisture and I can feel the 'rough' flour in my mouth.

Charlie Brown Café is kind of a surprise for kids and for adults to enjoy the childhood memories but it'll definitely not my choice for food. It's not a place that I can ask for a taste that I can enjoy of...

Ristorante Bella Italia Pizzeria; Another Try Out for Italian's Taste

While we're on the ride from Batu Feringghi, Attila has just the mood for Pizza. Thus, we've decided to try out the Ristorante Bella Italia Pizzeria that is just somewhere opposite the Rasa Sayang Hotel. The surrounding is kind of quiet and I guess less customer is partly due to its non-strategic location that is difficult for a parking space.

I've placed my order for the Linguine Con Aragosta E Gamberoni that simply means Linguine with lobster meat, prawn and chili in tomato sauce with the touch of cream. I give a 'Thumb Ups' for the fresh lobster meat and the prawn. I'm amazed and happy to have such the big prawns and plenty of lobster meat in my pasta. Moreover, the taste is just nice for me as the sauce is not too creamy. It's somehow the sourness of the tomato and the creamy sauce are balancing each other nicely.

It's pity that my boyfriend is not enjoying his Pepperoni Pizza; another regret for him that he can't find his 'suitable' Pizza in Penang. The two most important requirements about Pizza are Pork Salami and not too much cheese. Bella Italia... has failed in these basic conditions.

Lastly, I've asked for a Tiramisu as my dessert. A very big and thick Tiramisu that tastes quite nice with it's smooth and creamy texture without too much flour, then with the cocoa powder on top to balance the sweetness. The Tiramisu is having a strong coffee taste but without any alcohol inside. Somehow, I guess I myself prefer the Tiramisu at Bravo Italiana.

I'm satisfied with my Linguine but it's kind of sad as my boyfriend doesn't enjoy the same satisfaction as I do.

Phuket Part III: Lamai Bar & Restaurant

We feel so tired on the last night before departing back to Penang. Not to walk further, we've decided to have our dinner at the Lamai Bar & Restaurant that is located just opposite our hotel.

Boyfriend as has promised, we're going for Thai cuisine. On sharing basis, we've ordered the Fried Chicken with Mushroom and Fried Pork with Basil. The chicken and mushroom are cooked in the oyster sauce where it seems more alike Oriental cuisine. The taste is a little bit salty, not too bad but not special either. I myself prefer the Fried Pork with Basil. The minced pork meat is fried with the long beans, chili and the basil leaves that have given a nice aroma to the dish.

The best Thai dish that I've here is the Laab Moo; as well a minced pork dish but it tastes very spicy. It's somehow a must to use a lot of Chili Padi in Laab Moo to create the spiciness and tastiness.

I'm indeed not too satisfied with the Thai cuisine, maybe I miss to have an extreme spiciness such as Tomyam... Anyway, I feel thankful to my boyfriend whom has trying to fulfill my wish that he has risked himself with the spiciness ;)