Spade's Burger... Re-located & Expanded!

It has been months or it's near to a year... Spade's Burger has moved from Bangunan Lip Sin to the I-Avenue that is located at Bayan Lepas area. The business is expanding and it's improved greatly with this strategic location.

A special concept of "Flow Chart" is developed here whereby the customers can follow the boxes and arrows to decide for either beef, pork, chicken or vegetarian burger. I've not managed to take the picture at the peak hour of dinner. Thanks to Attila for helping me in reading the flow chart, we've chosen the Chick and the Chick Enoki respectively. The Chick is the grilled chicken burger that comes with bacon, cheddar cheese and the Spade's awesome sauce. Mine is added with the Enoki and Shitake Mushrooms and also the caramelised onion. The chicken meat is very juicy and tender that both of the burgers are very delicious. Being topped with a creamy sauce, both of the mushrooms are the added specialty to an ordinary chicken burger. The set that comes with Fries is served together with the Spade's homemade sauce and the mustard. I'm somehow disappointed with the little amount of the sauce.

Spade's Burger is no doubt a competitor to Marshall's Burger. Either one... both of the shops have served splendid burgers to Penangites. If you like varieties, do walk in to the Spade's!

Seafood at the Northeastern

Purchasing the voucher on livingsocial, we girls have decided to try out the Northeastern Seafood Chinese Cuisine東北海鮮館 that is located at Tanjung Bungah. This is a new restaurant that has been opened for quite some time yet we've never stopped by to now.

We're firstly served with the Superior Seafood Soup海鲜羹. The soup looks and tastes alike the traditional shark-fin soup except that it's filled with a lot of Tofu. With or without the black vinegar, the broth is quite tasty though it's not my favourite. The meaty courses are the Pan Fried Talapia Fish with Soy Sauce干煎金凤鱼 and the Pork Ribs长寿骨. The fish is very crispy at the outer skin while the meat is still juicy and being seasoned with the salty soy sauce, we all love this dish so much. The pork ribs are just too fatty whereby my piece of rib is only fat that is without lean meat. It's kind of disappointing as the sauce is actually very appetising.

The next dishes are the Salad Prawns沙律炸虾球 and the Crispy Tofu香脆豆腐. Both of the prawns and Tofu have been coated with a thick layer of flour that I dislike it, despite the crispiness. The last dish is the Stir Fried Spinach清炒香波菜, plain yet healthy.

The voucher comes also with a dessert, the Chilled Longan with Mango Pudding龙眼布丁. I've not touched the dessert as I hate the artificial taste of mango.

The 7-courses meal cost us a total of RM 68. It's cheap and we've really enjoyed some of the dishes. Anyway, the combinations are quite "dry" whereby we don't have much sauces to go with the rice.

Rehearsal for Dad's Birthday at CRC Restaurant

Most of us have never really tried out the CRC Restaurant中华海鲜餐厅 that is located at Jalan Padang Victoria. Brother and I have decided to do a food-tasting on Dad's 64th Birthday, as well to celebrate his growing age for another year!

I've ordered the Longevity Noodle寿面 in advanced and it's indeed quite disappointing to know that the Chef is using the ordinary Wantan Noodle instead of the traditional white noodle. The noodle is topped with the sliced pork, cuttle fish and Shitake Mushroom that are sauteed in soy sauce. The noodle has the correct texture or "biteness" yet it doesn't have sufficient taste as it's not cooked or boiled in the broth itself.

Our favourites for the dinner, the Shark's Fin Soup with Crab Meat蟹肉烩生翅 and Braised Sea Delicacies Clay Pot Style海味煲. There has been plenty of crab meat inside the shark's fin soup while the broth itself is very flavourful. We're sorry if these are real shark's fin yet the dish is really delicious. I opt for the pot of sea delicacies that consists of sea cucumber, fish bladder, dried scallops, Shitake Mushroom and Dutch Pea. The broth is as tasty as the shark's fin soup and I love every single ingredients inside the pot itself.

We've also taken the recommended dish of Curry Prawns Wrap in Fried Dumpling面包咖喱虾. The bread is alike a treasure box that it's empty at the inside and only the thin layer of dough is fried to a golden brownish of crispiness. The curry is thick yet it's just too sweet for me whereby I prefer if it's slightly more spicy to stimulate the appetite. Next dishes are the Steamed Red Fish with Lime Sauce酸柑蒸红狮鱼, Fried Diced Chicken with Cashew Nuts腰果鸡丁 and the Fried French Beans with Sambal Belacan参巴炒法国豆. I like the sourness of the lime and spiciness of the grounded chili that are topped on the steamed fish, it's very appetising!  The chicken meat tastes quite ordinary, it's definitely not one of the good dish that I've tasted before. I dislike the French Beans as well because the ratios of the dried shrimps, chili and Belacan are completely wrong that the dish is not as tasty as I've expected.

I've a wonderful gathering dinner with my family. They do have some signature dishes that I've really enjoyed with. Anyway, the food is still the more secondary if comparing to the chit-chat session with my parents. I hope that they've enjoyed it as much as I do and of course "Happy Birthday, Papa" or "生日快乐, 爸爸".

Selling Egg Tart on a Trishaw

Have I ever mentioned that I'm fancy over egg tart? I've always been asking "where the delicious egg tart is"... It's indeed one of the recommended and famous egg tart in Penang. It's called Ming Xiang Tai Pastry Shop名香泰餅家. The history of the brand starts from the year 1979 and it has then developed into a confectionery nowadays.

The Trishaw's Egg Tart三轮车蛋挞 is the bestseller of the shop. It gets the name as it's being sold on a trishaw in the old time. The egg tart is made of the puffy pastry skin and being filled with a smooth layer of egg custard. The speciality of the egg tart here is the egg filling that contains ginger. Too bad to say that I dislike their egg tart as the strong taste of the ginger has indeed superseded the creaminess of the egg custard. Despite the pastry is puffy yet it's not the puffiest or lightest I've ever tasted and I still think that the skin should be made even thinner. Besides, the pastry is separated from the egg!

This is the egg tart stall that is the nearest to my house. It's also one of the most famous in Malaysia, especially for the customers that are searching for localities. Anyway, this is not and I think it'll never be my favourite choice for egg tart.

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Don't Just Eat, Eat to Taste... at Indies

If you pass by Tanjung Bungah, it's quite easy to notice the Indies that is located just opposite the Drive-Thru Starbucks. The business is currently extended to 24hours whereby they've setup a huge signboard that you can spot the restaurant immediately, if only you're coming from the direction of Batu Ferringhi.

It's Deepavali yet gladly to say that we're still able to get our seats and also the service. Attila has ordered a Garlic Naan while I've taken the Chicken Briyani. The Naan is very soft that I believe it has just been freshly made on the day. It's served with a green mint, curry dal and also a sweet chili sauce. They're all delicious except that Attila dislike the coriander in the mint sauce. I like especially the dal that is not too thick yet it's sufficient in taste. My Briyani Rice contains raisin, cashew nut and being served together with a piece of curry chicken, yogurt onion and also pickles. The rice is tasty except that it's cold, the thick curry sauce goes well with the rice while the meat is tender, the yogurt onion and pickles are appetising; I personally think that the Briyani is real good.

We've also the side dishes such as the Lamb Satay, Chili Chicken, Sambal Sotong and the Mushroom Masala. The mutton is very tender and there's sufficient marination to cover the strong smell of the lamb that this is the 1st time that I'm not only able to give compliment to the mutton but also able to share the mutton with Atiila. I dislike the chicken for the weird taste of the sauce. The Sambal Sotong is one of the best that I've ever eaten. The sauce is very delicious while the squid is very tender, it's fresh and it's not the chewy rubber! The Masala sauce tastes good only whereby I find the sauce is indeed a little powdery. Anyway, it's a delicious dipping sauce as it's thick and strong in taste.

It's great that Indies is serving delicious Indian food. We're both happy for our choices of the dinner. Just a small alert based on my friend's experience, the service maybe slow that you're getting your drink only at the end of the meal despite after few reminders and the waitress is sometimes very unfriendly.

Heaven Gate is just at the King Street

A dinner treat to Attila as his special birthday present, I've decided to try out the Heaven Gate that is located at the King Street. Surprisingly that this restaurant has existed for years and it has been awarded in Tripadvisor, but I've not noticed about it. The pillars, the walls, the tables; everything is painted in white colour as if the pure heaven. I've not captured any images inside the restaurant as I do not wish to provoke the anger of other customers.

Attila has decided to go for the set meal that includes a soup, an aperitif, a main course from the a la carte menu and a dessert by paying an additional charge of RM 35. We've started with the Wild Forest Mushroom Soup. It's very special as the soup comes with a prawn dumpling or the Ravioli. The soup is full of the minced mushroom, I like the "bite-ness" and it's delicious! The dumpling is slightly too strong taste with the taste of the black pepper yet the tenderness goes nicely with the thick mushroom soup. Followed by is the Pan Seared Diver Scallops whereby the scallops are topped with the mango salsa and sided by the salad that has been tossed with soy sauce and honey. The scallops are sauteed with the correct temperature that they're still juicy and succulent while they've been completed with the special topping that is made of mango, coriander and chili. The dish is very appetizing.

For the main courses, we've decided for the House Specialty Duck and the Traditional Slow Oven Braise Lamb Shank. The duck meat is definitely one of the best dish that I've ever tasted in my life! The whole piece of duck breast is firstly cooked to maintain the smoothness of the meat and the skin is then coated with a thin layer of honey to give it a slight sweetness and a very mild crunchiness. The dish is served together with the Orange Chutney, Saute Green, Mashed Potato and the Port Wine Emulsion. The duck meat is not only juicy but also very tender that is then perfected with the cooked orange, it's very appetizing and delicious! I don't know how to describe it more accurately... it's just marvelous! The sauce that is made of the red wine is another compliment to the duck meat. The lamb shank has been slowly cooked for 4hours that the meat will be de-boned just with a soft touch of the fork. The meat is very soft and it's served with the juice from the lamb and a tomato salsa. The smell of the lamb is very minimum that I myself can accept it but not to the extent of finishing the whole shank by myself.

Ending with the dessert, Attila has chosen the Asian Twisted Mango Creme Brulee while I've taken the Lava Chocolate that is served with the Vanilla Ice-Cream and the Banana. The smooth creme brulee contains chopped mango and it's with a thin layer of caramelized sugar. I hate normally dessert that is made of mango but guess what? I'm impressed and I like this Mango Creme Brulee. It's not too sweet and the mango has indeed added marks to this simple cream. It's cracking and the molten chocolate is flowing down the crusty cake, I'm falling in love with this thick chocolate. The ice-cream is very refreshing as it seems to contain mint.

The food is very impressive and we've definitely enjoyed the dinner to the fullest. Furthermore, the waiter and waitress have been very friendly and helpful by providing some recommendations and explanations to us, throughout the dinner. Regrettably to say that I've just known about this restaurant now. Anyway, we'll sure visit the restaurant again. The only disappointment is the design and condition of the toilet, it doesn't match the fine-dining concept.

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The Private Property... Malihom

It's a private property whereby trespassers will be prosecuted; They serve only the hotel's guests; They take only the private function that is minimum 10 pax and above; this special place is called Malihom. Direction from Bayan Lepas, entrance to the hill of Malihom is 6 km before arriving Balik Pulau. Thanks to Frank for allowing us to join the dinner for his subordinates that we can see this place by ourselves.

 

The way up to the Malihom is very steep whereby the guests are requested to inform in advanced for the arrangement of the transportation. Alternatively, you can drive with the jeep or ride with the bike if you own one that has sufficient engine's capacity. Just be cautious for your safety! The small bungalows or resorts are scattered on top of the hill. Looking either to the city or to the outskirt of Penang, I think here is a perfect spot for both the sunrise and sunset. This is completed by the high tower for the 360 degrees' view.

Based on the policy of Malihom, we're only allowed a maximum 3 types of main courses in order to cater for their hotel's guests. The policy is indeed quite troublesome and inappropriate especially we don't observe any other guests during our visit. The dinner set costs RM 110++ per pax. We're firstly served with the appetiser that consists of Grilled Prawns and Fried Mushroom. The prawns are grilled with the stick alike "Satay" while the mushroom is coated with bread crumbs to give the crunchiness. Nothing special about the taste yet I'm amazed completely by the dipping sauce that consists of garlic, coriander, black pepper, lemon juice and fish sauce. It's very refreshing and appetising that we've decided to keep it for next dish. We're then served with the Pumpkin Soup. The colour isn't alike pumpkin while it tastes a little alike curry with coconut milk. The Garlic Toast is topped with a lot of thyme leaf and I find a little weird with the idea of using sugar to give a little sweetness to the toast.

Our main courses for the night are the Sirloin Steak with Creamy Mushroom Sauce, Pollo En Escabeche Con Chile (Smoked Chipotle Chicken) and Salmon with Balsamic Vinegar served with Salsa & Mash. My first try ever that the sauce is made of Enoki Mushroom. It's very milky yet the taste is not appealing at all that I prefer indeed to use button mushroom for the sauce. The steak is chewy and the whole combinations with the sauce have kind of wasted the meat. The juicy chicken meat is delicious especially with the topping that tastes a little spicy. The Salsa that consists of tomato, onion and orange is very appetising as well. I just dislike the part that the soft tendon is not removed instead. Lastly, the idea of matching the Salmon with Balsamic Vinegar is really awesome except to combine the mash potatoes with Salsa.

To end the dinner, the dessert is the Meringue with Passion Fruit and Fresh Fruit. I personally find that the Meringue tastes weird. Anyway, this is definitely not my favourite dessert ever.

Malihom is a perfect getaway from the busy city. But, being at the center of the jungle means surrounded by the mosquitoes. And for the quality of the food that I've tasted, I'm not motivated to come here again.

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