Breakfast or Lunch? Our Brunch at Outskirt of Medan

Asking the local driver of what the breakfast that Indonesians is having, we’re recommended with the Nasi Soto and being brought to the Restaurant Bahagia that is located at Tebing Tinggi Desa Kota Galuh. It must be a mis-communication with the Indonesian waitress that we’re swinging between English or Malay; is this seriously a portion of breakfast for 3pax?

We’ve ordered the Nasi Soto Ayam, a coconut-based chicken soup that is to be eaten with white rice. It’s quite similar to the Thai Green Curry Chicken except that it's not spicy and very creamy. The broth is basically boiled with the chicken bones as it contains very less chicken meat and I somehow dislike the strong "chicky" smell. It's quite tasty but the milkiness is really killing my stomach. Our brunch has turned into set meal that comes together with Curry Chicken, Assam Curry Fish Head, Curry Fish, Fried Cabbage, Water-Boiled Vegetable, Fried Anchovies with Peanuts, Prawn Crackers and Chicken Soup. The curry chicken is slightly milky yet it's thick and the spiciness has enhanced its deliciousness. The prawn crackers are quite dry but that makes up the crispiness. These are the only dishes that I can eat repeatedly.

  

Both of the curry fish dishes taste weird as I'm unsure if it's spicy or bitter while the fish is not fresh that the meat is very hard. The only difference between the curries is whether it’s sour Assam or non-Assam. On the other hand, the anchovy is just too salty. The rest of the dishes taste ordinary, edible without causing any issue to the stomach but none is near to the border of deliciousness!

The meal is quite expensive that it costs us a total of Rupiah 296400 that is equivalent to about RM 82. I will not spend again for such quality of food, it's not worthwhile!

9 Houses into 1? The 1881 Chong Tian

The first and only Chinese heritage hotel in a 130-year-old building, this is where the 1881 Chong Tian is, located at Jalan Pintal Tali. I think that this is the most exclusive gateway to the culture, history and luxury that brings together the accommodation, food and art. It's not only a hotel, lounge or restaurant but also a museum that is presenting the most authentic antiques from the various dynasties in the Chinese empire.

Again with the Groupon voucher, we've decided to try out the Nyonya cuisine that is served at their Chong Tian Restaurant中天樓. The 5-course meal consists of Deep Fried Assam Prawns, Chicken Curry Kapitan, Stir-fried Mengkuang, Braised Pork Knuckle in Soy Sauce and Kiam Chai Boey Soup.

The prawns are not so well absorbing the taste of the Assams whereby I think that the sourness is not sufficient to bring out my appetite towards this dish. The Curry Kapitan is not as creamy or as authentic as I've ever tasted but I can definitely accept the taste and I like biting the tiny chopped dried shrimps in the sauce. The Stir-fried Mengkuang or turnip is too thick or rough in the slices and the taste is not really very appetising because it somehow seems to be lacked of "something" that it's not as delicious as what has mom cooked. Anyway, the cuttlefish has still given sufficient saltiness to the dish that the turnip is still quite tasty to be eaten with the lettuce and Sambal. The best dish of the night goes to the Braised Pork Knuckle in Soy Sauce whereby the sauce is very delicious and appetising to go with the white rice while meat is very tender and as soft as the stew is. The only improvement that I may ask for, is to boil the pork meat longer in the sauce that it's able to absorb the soy sauce completely. The last dish is the salted vegetable with duck meat or the Kiam Chai Boey Soup that I find it's slightly too sweet. I'll prefer if it's spicier and more sour.

Ending with the meal is the Mixed Fresh Fruits. The meal is definitely enough for us as sharing and the meal comes also with steamed white rice for each, to fill our stomach. Based on the quality of the food with the price here, I think that it's worth for a re-visit...

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Seafood at the Sunshine Bay

The girls have always wanted to bring me to the Sunshine Bay Seafood陽光海鮮煮炒 that is located at Tanjung Bungah. If you're coming from Gurney's direction, it's located on the small hill after the steep road that is on the left hand side whereby it's opposite of Harmony Residence at Tanjung Bungah. Not able to make it with the girls but I've finally here with the bikers for a gathering dinner.

Recommended by the biker friend, we've decided to take the Fried Mantis Prawn with Pumpkin Sauce. I've never thought about turning the pumpkin into a sauce and surprisingly, it's delicious. It's just a little too salty for me that it must go with rice. The next order is the Fried Fish with Soy Sauce. An ordinary dish, I've enjoyed the crispiness of the fish that has been fried to dark brownish skin and the tenderness of its meat. Another seafood that we've ordered is the Tom Yum Prawn in Coconut. I do quite like this milky based Tom Yum soup as it's not too creamy even though it's not spicy enough for myself.

Besides, we've taken also their signature dishes of Bitter Gourd with Egg and Steamed Vermicelli with Clams. Both of these dishes are slimy type. I find that the egg dish is quite special as the fried egg is not solidified completely and it's alike swimming in the soy sauce. Frankly, I dislike the dish just because the uncooked egg white. The rice vermicelli is a soupy dish that consists of clams and being thickened with egg. It's delicious! Anyway, the dish may not be widely accepted for its stickiness.

The last dish to end our dinner is the Baked Crab that is to be grilled slowly on the fire, in order to create such shiny red shell. The crab is very fresh and the it's tasty despite without any seasoning.

I don't think that the food here is very amazing but I do agree that they've served some signature dishes that are really delicious.

The Vietnamese Kitchen, Que Huong Toi

A Vietnamese kitchen is finally opened again in Penang, the Que Huong Toi that is located at Jalan Jelutong whereby it's just beside the Hyundai showroom. The signboard is actually quite big to be noticeable but I've indeed no news about this new place, if I'm not passing by this area. Highly recommended by Phui Yee, the food is worth for money.

We've decided to share the starters that include Cha Gio Chien正宗越南煎饼, Coi Cuon正宗越南手卷薄饼 and Nghieu Hap Xa正宗越南蒸蛤蜊. They're basically the fried popiah or spring roll, hand roll or the transparent popiah and steamed Kappa respectively. The skin of the fried spring roll is slightly too thick that it's chewy while the minced pork is a little too dry and I don't really like that the over-use of the black pepper. The sweet and sour dipping sauce is very delicious and it's very appetising to go with the fried popiah. Here, I'm definitely prefer the hand roll popiah as it's very refreshing and the sweet-based sauce goes well with the fresh ingredients such as prawn, pork slice, glass noodle and lettuce. The Kappa or the clams are cooked in a clear soup that contains a lot of lemongrass. I like the strong and nice aroma of the lemongrass except the plain clams as they're tasteless.

I've ordered the Mieng Ga越南鸡肉冬粉 as my main course. It's a soupy glass noodle that is served with tender slices of shredded chicken meat. I've enjoyed this clear soup so much as it's very appetising even it's light in taste. Elaine's bowl of Pho Bo正宗越南牛肉粿条汤 is strong in the beefy taste and smell. It's heavier in taste than my bowl of chicken soup. Su and Phui Yee have taken the Bun Bo Hue越南牛肉猪脚米粉 whereby it's a spicy and sour beef-based soup. It tastes quite refreshing yet it's indeed quite weird. The Thai Basil and the lime are meant for the girls, in order to enhance the deliciousness and refreshing taste of the beef soup.

We've decided to try the black and milky Cafe Vietnam越南咖啡 here. I still dislike the sweetness of the Vietnamese Coffee that is indeed quite weird. I prefer Su's glass of Mu Gon+Mu Chom+Hot E正宗越南果肉凉茶. It's actually very sweet but I've somehow enjoyed its special taste.

The Vietnamese food is indeed quite cheap here. We've spent only RM 15 per person for all the appetisers and main courses. It's not the best Vietnamese cuisine that I've ever tasted but this is definitely the most delicious that I've tasted in M'sia as of now...