Discovering Authentic Italian at VIA.PRE

It has never come across our mind that we're having authentic Italian food in Penang. The meaning of 'Authentic Italian' to Attila is non-Halal Pizza and it must have the taste as similar as the one that he has ever tasted in Europe. We're now having another authentic Italian restaurant in Penang that is called VIA.PRE and it's located at Weld Quay, diagonally opposite QEII. The restaurant is somehow hard to be discovered as it's hidden behind the white pillars without any signboard. Thanks to Chef Tommes that has shared the information about this place to us. VIA.PRE is a restaurant and it's a deli. There's a wide selection of Salami or cheese that you can buy from here. Every single piece of meat, bread or cheese is freshly prepared or baked whereby their motto is to eliminate from using processed, MSG or flavoured ingredients in the menu. Upcoming plans are to have a longue and a grill here, stay tune! 

Starting of our meal, we're served with a small basket of bread that consists of Baguette and buns that is served together with mixture of olive oil and vinegar. Attila and I like the Paprika bun for its special taste.

Browsing through the menu, I've decided to try the Aglio & Olio Tutto Mare. It's a seafood spaghetti that is cooked with chili, garlic and olive oil. Here inside the spaghetti are the fresh seafood such as clams, squids, scallops and prawns. The seafood is definitely fresh for its juiciness and tenderness. One of the specialty in the pasta is the Bottarga. Look to the grated orangish garnishing on top of the spaghetti! As explained by the friendly owner in his Italian slang, Bottarga is the tuna egg that has been compressed and processed before being grated as a decoration onto the pasta. It's authentically imported from Italy. Bottarga tastes a little alike the salted egg yolk, not too salty yet it has mild sweetness at the end of the tongue.

Attila has chosen to take the Alto Italia Pizza whereby it consists of pormodoro or simply to be known as tomato, the mixture of cheese such as fontina, asiago and gorgonzola and lastly the speck or the pork bacon. I've totally no clues about the various types of cheese yet this thin layer is a perfect combination of taste. The saltiness of the Pizza is enhanced by the pork bacon and the added pork Salami. Attila has been so satisfied with the delicious Pizza but it appears to be a little too salty for me.
Ending our Italian meal with Come Viene Viene (a fantasia dello Chef), chef's composition of dessert that is created on its imgination. I can't spell out every single name of the dessert in this platter but there's a Cinnamon Apple Pie with Vanilla Sauce, a Panna Cotta or the cooked cream with strawberry sauce, an Amarena Cherry that is coated with chocolate and nuts, a chocolate ball, a piece of cookies and a puff. The dessert platter is not really impressed me but I'm hoping to try out on my next visit, if they've Tiramisu here.

It's a great news for Attila to know about the authentic Italian restaurant that can fulfill his appetite in Penang. He's thinking... if he'll further extend his contract in Malaysia.

Official Homepage

East Meets West at Soul Kitchen

It's a regret for Attila if to talk about authentic Italian food or so-called the non-Halal Pizza in Penang. This is something that he has always missed to have after leaving Germany.

Thanks to Franky that Soul Kitchen is discovered as they're serving the stone oven Pizza and of course with the authentic taste or Salami or Ham. Why I'm saying that it's East meets West? The owners of the restaurant are the Malaysian-German couple whom are enjoying their marriage life with fun in the kitchen. The restaurant has in fact existed since years ago yet we don't know about it.
Not a moment for thoughts, Attila has decided to try out the Salami Pizza that consists also the Rocket Salad and grated Parmesan. Isn't it a cool name of Rocket Salad? It's indeed the Rucola vegetable. I've as well asked for a Pizza that is seved with Parma Ham. We've both been so satisfied with the Pizza whereby the thin dough is baked with a very thin layer of cheese that is not too much to drop or to drip, then being topped with the slices of Salami or Parma Ham and is ended by the Rucola. The tastiness of the Pizza is normally made up by the saltiness of the pork meat and this is the main point that Attila has always looked for. I do like the Salami here as it's not getting softy under the high heat.

Soul Kitchen is a small and it's not a luxurious restaurant yet they're indeed good by serving delicious and authentic Italian Pizza to the customers. The hand-written menu, it looks simple yet it's just friendly.
Official Homepage

唐人厝, It Means China House

Two houses are connected back-to-back with the entrance either from Beach Street or from Victoria Street, here comes the China House or 唐人厝. The long and narrow space is a restaurant, a cafe and as well a UNESCO heritage. Every single elements in the restaurant is representing the unique culture of Penang whereby one end is the restaurant that you can sit down for a meal while another end is the cafe that drinks and songs are presented and both are linked by a wide courtyard that is suitable for a relaxing teatime experience. You can walk through the long houses for a sightseeing or to search for a book to read or to surf online at the small corner.

I like one cool idea here whereby white paper and crayons are readily prepared for us to start drawing. It's a great pastime while waiting for our food. Look at my artistic skill ;)
Out from the simple menu, Attila has decided to take the House Made Lamb Sausages with Cous Cous Salad and Warm Feta Dressing. I hate lamb but the added herbs and spices have somehow reduced the 'smell' in the minced lamb meat. The saltiness is just nice that we do think that the sausages are special.

I've decided to go for the Beef Short Ribs with Sweet Potato and Roasted Garlic Puree and the Salad that consists of Marinated Eggplant, Cherry Tomatoes and Baby Spinach. The size of the 'short ribs' is kind of too big that I've hardly finished the portion. Anyway, the meat is very succulent and tender that it's so flavourful with the marination sauce. In fact, my favourite is the sweet potato puree that is neither too sweet nor too salty and I think this is a cool idea to replace the regular mashed potato.

China House has existed for quite some time in Penang yet I've taken such a long time to discover this place. I'll definitely revisit this place for its various selections of dessert.

M or Michelangelo's

Trying out another Italian Restaurant at Gurney Plaza, it's the Michelangelo's. Not to our surprise that it's an Halal Italian food in Penang, yet Attila and I have decided to give it a try. I do quite like the dining area that is providing different styles of tables and chairs, ranging from the velvet chairs with round tables to the wooden PVC chairs with rectangle tables.

I've decided to go for the set lunch that comes with an appetiser, main course, beverage and a dessert. The first to come is the Caesar Salad that consists of lettuce, hard-boiled egg, crouton or the re-baked bread, beef bacon and Parmesan cheese. I'm not so fancy about this salad as I don't like beef bacon so much that it's neither salty nor flavourful. For the main course, I've taken the Spaghetti Marinara Sizzlelini whereby the tomato-based seafood Spaghetti is served in the sizzling hot pan. The prawn is not so fresh but I do like the sauce and the 'chewiness' of the Spaghetti. I've to say that the Spaghetti here is delicious.

Attila has chosen to take the Pizza with Beef Pepperoni and hard-boiled egg. The Pizza looks quite delicious ya?!! Both of us have banned the Pizza here because it's tasteless. Beef Pepperoni by itself is already not so salty and additionally, the Pizza dough is as well tasteless. We're wondering if the chef has forgotten to add salt.

My set lunch is ended with a cup of coffee and a Lime Ice on the Mango Sauce. It's kind of disappointed that the coffee is not strong. The cold ice is very delicious and refreshing but Attila has indeed enjoyed it more than me because I don't like mango.








It's a disappointment as Michelangelo's is not serving authentic or real Italian food yet the Pasta here is quite delicious. We'll revisit here for the Spaghetti instead for the Pizza.

WATERVIEW By the Lakeside

I've been nagging so much that Attila has never brought me to their 'Quaterly Party' at Danok, by the Thai border. There, the place that he has praised for the beautiful lake view together with a nice food in peace. Finally, here I'm brought to... WATERVIEW Restaurant. I do quite like the cool idea of this restaurant whereby dining tables are setup independently under the roofed hut and customers can sit or lay down comfortably on the pillows while waiting for the food to be served. Another special to highlight is, the food will be brought to you by the boat.

Our first order is of course the Seafood Tomyam Soup. The colour of the soup looks so appetizing and it's in fact delicious. The blended mixture of chili and spices are mixed so thoroughly into the soup to give the strong taste and spiciness. I've to say that the Tomyam is really very spicy. Followed by is the Grilled Fish that is served with fresh vegetable and grounded chili. No doubt that the meat is juicy but the chili tastes weird and it has indeed ruined my appetite over this dish.

The main character for the night is the Grilled River Prawns. The prawns are big or I'll say that the heads are very big and the prawns have long claws. I don't like the chili so much and I've indeed enjoyed more the natural sweetness of the fresh prawn.

The next dishes to follow are the Grilled Pork and the Fried Rice. The pork is quite solid or it's a little bit yet the meat is tasty. It's served with a kind of sweet sauce that is not really impressing as I prefer the saltiness of the pork. The fried rice is very salty for me but it's favour by my German boyfriend. Oh ya, another dish is the Fried Mixed Vegetable in Oyster Sauce. It's kind of too oily and nothing so special about the taste.

I'm happy that I've the chance to visit WATERVIEW Restaurant in Danok. The food is neither very great nor very delicious but I do enjoy the nice view and it's indeed a nice place for you to relax down for a meal.