Ikan Bakar & Nasi Lemak at Teluk Tempoyak

Thanks to JH Lew for joining us in our wet chemistry family, here we go to Teluk Tempoyak for a celebration; on his treat. It's been a long time that I haven't returned to the stall for the famous and delicious Ikan Bakar or Grilled Fish. Correctly to say, people are hunting for the Adnan Bin Hassan Ikan Bakar & Nasi Lemak here.

Once we've arrived at our destination, we've ordered directly Ikan Bitalang, Ikan Siakap and Ikan Jenahak. I'm not an expert in fish but I know that I prefer Ikan Jenahak and Ikan Bitalang. The meat is more compact yet still tender and juicy if comparing to the soft Siakap's meat. How the Malay chef grills the fish is; the fish that has been halves will be grilled together with the banana leave on the fire. This is to leave behind the fish with the nice aroma from the banana leave. Don't eat the burnt and bitter skin as it's harmful to your health! You can choose the sauces that you like while I myself like the one with onion and cili padi. Additionally, we've ordered the Ketam Bakar or the Grilled Crab. Look to the big foot, how full is the meat inside!

Of course, it's must to have the Nasi Lemak with Sambal that costs us RM1.50 per person. The rice is not too rich with coconut milk yet with the sufficient moisture, it goes well with the spicy sambal.

Besides, we've ordered a Kerang Masak Cabai from the Gerai DRN. The kerang or the shells are very fresh even though I don't really enjoy the taste. I guess because the sauce is a little bit too sweet and it's not spicy. Also, it's too watery.

It's really a delicious trip that I've enjoyed every single dishes here.

Try the Homemade Curry Puff at Eighteen Wine & Dine

I've written about Eighteen Wine & Dine at the early of 2011. I've been wanting to try their homemade curry puff. Yup, they do serve curry puffs here; choices of chicken, sardine or tuna. It's just my curiosity to taste the lovely puffs and the chance comes that I'm treated with the chicken curry puff, on the house... during a gathering session with Su and Elaine.

We're served with the Chicken Curry Puff, it looks yummy ya! The light puffy skin is crispy and inside is stuffed fully with the mixture of curry potatoes and chicken meat. Look, the chicken cube is very big! Also, there's one small quadrant of hard-boiled egg inside. The seasoning is very light, really the homemade taste that it's not salty. I do quite like it but I'll prefer if they make it to be spicier ;)

If you somehow like curry puff, do try the one here...

Hawker Food at Northam Beach Cafe

It's a good idea to have a meal at hawker centre if to talk about variety that I can have. A great thing about Penang is the various hawker centres that you can find over this small island. One of it that I've managed to capture some images is the Northam Beach Cafe诺登美食坊.

You can walk around to hunt for your favourite food in this hawker centre, regardless of Oriental or Western taste. One of the delicious food that my boyfriend has ordered, is the 'Kam Heong' style Fried Squid. This dish is having very little sauce whereby the squid is fried with the dry chili paste, dried chili and dried shrimps till the spiciness and saltiness are completed absorbed. The only request I've will be to reduce the onions as I'll prefer to enjoy the fresh squid. Next order is the Grilled Mixed Meat Platter that consists of deer, pork and rat, I guess. I don't know exactly the meat that I've chosen but the taste is definitely sucks because it's extremely too sweet. The taste is weird that it doesn't suit the meat at all. I'm sure that my boyfriend and I have banned this stall... sort of Korean Grill?!!

I myself feel disappointed with the Seafood Popiah. Firstly, I don't find any special seafood taste or to say that it has no difference from the normal Popiah in any stall. Secondly, the popiah is too watery that it's tasteless. Luckily, we've the next compliment about the Crepe. I can't recall the exact name but the crepe is garnished with icing sugar and stripes of chocolate sauce on top while the inner ingredients are made from the cinnamon apple. I love this dessert because it's not too sweet whereby the icing sugar and the cinnamon are balancing the taste of each other. It's a good choice if you're craving for a good crepe.

Do visit the hawker centre sometimes. It's a good choice if you're asking for variety...

Taste of Thai in Butterworth; Khuntai Restaurant

I've been so forgetful lately that I remember only my food, but not the signboard of the restaurant. I guess it's time for me to get a better camera, to motivate myself for more and sharper images... I'm introducing Khuntai坤泰 Restaurant that is located at Permatang Tengah, Butterworth; for its Thai food. It's not difficult to 'detect' this restaurant because you'll find a lot of wooden huts outside the restaurant area.

The first dish that I've chosen is the Seafood Tomyam冬炎海鲜; what a sharp red-colored soup! The soup is thick and sweet from the Tomyam paste yet it's very spicy with plenty of Cili padi. I love the flaming spiciness in my mouth but the thick soup is making me full gradually. Additionally, the seafood such as the prawn and squid are very fresh that I enjoy the tenderness and juiciness in the meat. Secondly, my boyfriend and I have decided to go for the Claypot Glass Noodle with Prawn砂煲虾冬粉. The glass noodle is very tasty with the sweetness and aroma from the dark soy sauce. Coupled with sufficient saltiness and the fresh prawn, I have finished almost the whole pot by myself.

My next recommendation is the Steamed Lemon Sotong柠檬蒸苏东. The taste is very refreshing from the lemon and garlic. Additionally with the Cili, the spiciness will start to burn at the end of your tongue. I'm happily enjoying the sweating due to this hot soup but pity my boyfriend whom has to suffer with me ;)

The next order is the Deep Fried Prawns with Starch炸虾团. Usually I've fish cake in Thai restaurant but only prawn is available in Khuntai. The prawns with starch is crispy and with some chopped prawn meat inside, the taste is appealing from the natural of the fresh prawn. The last dish is requested by my boyfriend, the Fried Chicken Tendon香脆鸡筋. You'll like this dish if you enjoy the chewiness of this 'rubber' tendon, but definitely not me.

I'm unsure if these are authentic Thai food and if I'll re-visit this restaurant again... But to now, they've some dishes here that suit my taste.

Address

Curry Fish Head at Restoran Pen Mutiara

Thanks to JH Lew for joining us in our team and here we go to Restoran Pen Mutiara, on a treat from our boss. It's located in the LKIM building at Batu Maung area; famously known as Ikan Bakar and Curry House.

Our main dish is the Curry Fish Head; what a giant sized fish head! The curry is a bit stronger in sourness and this gives a refreshing taste, especially goes well with the fresh fish head. Luckily, the big fish head doesn't taste hard and yet the meat is juicy and tender. I do quite like the curry fish head but the spiciness and the aroma are not appealing to attract me. The next main dish is the Cabai Prawn. This prawn dish tastes very sweet instead of spicy that I'm expecting from its name 'Cabai' or Chili. Another seafood that we're having is the Fried Squid. The squid is coated with a thick layer of flour and that makes it tastes hard. The squid itself is also dry.

Recommended by a friend, we've ordered the Ayam Masak Merah. I guess I'll not order this dish again because other than tasting sweet, I hate the red coloring that has dyed my white rice into red. The last dish is definitely a vegetable and we've chosen the Stir Fried Kangkung. Again it's funny that the taste of the chili is so little and the vegetable is too oily.

The dishes here are not to say very great but the fish head tastes quite nice. At least, this is the one that can fulfill my appetite towards curry... in Penang island.

Koh Lipe Part III: Lekka Lipe

Lekka Lipe, somewhere that you can get the Gelato Italiano in Koh Lipe. Gelato is Italy's ice-cream that it's apparently lower in butterfat and sugar content.

This Gelato shop is owned by an Italian lady whom is very outgoing and I love her lovely smiles. Honestly speaking, the price of the ice is similar to any famous brands that you can find in Malaysia; Häagen-Dazs or Baskin-Robbins. One great fact about Italiano Gelato is the low sugar content that doesn't make me feeling too sweet. You can choose from the various homemade flavours and here is my cup of Chocolate Peppermint with Strawberry. I enjoy the original sweetness from the fresh fruit so much...

It's a satisfaction to enjoy a cup of ice while walking on the street in Koh Lipe...

Koh Lipe Part II: SPIDERMONKEY Bar & Cafe

Why SPIDERMONKEY, why not SPIDERMAN? My boyfriend has started to laugh about this question that has been thrown out by his girlfriend, me. No explanation is given and thus, I guess that the owner likes spider and monkey ;)

Just kidding as I've no clue about the WHY?!! This place is serving Western and Thai food and a very important remark is 'we use bottled water to wash all our salads and to make all of our ice'.

The mood is more towards Asian food and I've ordered a Paad Thai and Seafood Tomyam Kung without Coconut Milk. Paad Thai is a type of rice noodle in Thailand that is fried with some seafood, Tofu and mixed with some grounded peanut. It tastes sweet and the nice aroma comes from the peanut. I don't really like the soft and sticky noodle, especially the sweetness. Talking about the Tomyam Kung, the spiciness is just nice for my level except that the lemongrass taste is too strong whereby it tends to create some bitterness at the end of the tongue.

As always, my boyfriend has chosen the Salami Pizza again. The chef has been using the black olives as the topping and also the Shitake mushroom instead of the button type. The strong smell of Shitake mushroom has created a weird taste of mis-match between Oriental and Western. My boyfriend doesn't enjoy the pizza here because he hates the thick layer of cheese.

I personally prefer the food in La Luna but SPIDERMONKEY is also a recommended place to dine-in, especially we've enjoyed a nice conversation with the outgoing waitress.

Koh Lipe Part I: La Luna Food & Drinks

Before I've forgotten all my sweet memories about the Koh Lipe Island at the Andaman Sea in Thailand, it's really my wish to share with you about the nice food that I can find on this beautiful island; the blue sky, the clear water and the sandy beach.

The first restaurant that I've visited is serving Italian and Thai food and it's known as La Luna Food & Drinks. A very important point that you'll enjoy here is the remarkable good service from both the restaurant owner and his waitresses. With a gentle and polite manner to take our orders, they've also tried their best to fulfill our requirements.

I've ordered the Spaghetti Con Gamberi Totani Cozze (Seafood); description is tomato sauce with white wine, prawn, squid and mussel. The sourness from the tomato sauce is enhanced with the white wine, bringing a nice aroma and a neutralized taste that goes well with the fresh seafood. If you prefer saltier spaghetti, just go ahead with the Parmesan Cheese. My boyfriend has ordered a Pizza that I can't recall the long name, but it's definitely with Salami. Additionally, the pizza is topped with some mushroom and an egg at the center. The pizza dough is a little bit dry but it's thin and with a thin layer of cheese, my boyfriend enjoys this pizza that will not make him becoming too full. This is one of the biggest satisfaction that he has about La Luna.

It's really no regret to have our dinner in La Luna Food & Drinks that I'm fully recommending this restaurant if you wish to visit Koh Lipe someday... Not only the food and the drink, but also the service that has warmed the heart of the guests to be here.

Where You Feel Hong Kong, at Canton-i

Too many times that I've been in Canton-i, the restaurant that brings you the delicious taste from Hong Kong. Finally, I've managed to capture some pictures for my blog.

My favourite drink here is always the Flowering Red Amaranth水中花篮. As its Chinese name, this hot beverage appears alike the flower basket in the water. The small bundle of tea leaves in the hot water; starting to blossom and release the flower above to the water surface.

My meaty boyfriend has ordered the signature dish of Honey Glazed Roast Pork叉烧皇. The half fats and half lean meat just melts in my mouth; leaving the sweet sauce in between the teeth. The wonderful part is the over-glazed pork that is black yet crispy. The next main dish is the Fried Carrot Cake XO酱炒萝卜糕. The carrot cake is fried till golden brown with some crispiness; then being fried together with the seafood, bean sprout, egg and the most important is the pickled radish that gives a nice aroma and saltiness to the carrot cake. One small imperfection is the adding of too much XO sauce that makes the dish becoming too salty.

Additional side orders that I've ordered are the Steamed Prawn Vegetable Dumpling鲜虾韭菜饺 and the Deep Fried 'Sui Kow'炸水饺. Both of these dumplings consist mainly of prawn meat whereby the first is added with the leek and then being steamed while the 'Sui Kow' is added with some sliced black fungus and carrot before being fried. Different types of dumpling skin, resulted is the soft skin and crispiness when biting.

I've never been to Hong Kong that I can't compare the taste of the food but I've to admit that I enjoy every dishes in Canton-i. One honest statement is that the bill is not cheap...