Cozy in the Rocket... Originally, the Amelie Cafe!

We've heard about Amelie Cafe for so many times yet we've never stepped into the restaurant, not even once. Being reminded on the specialty of this small restaurant, I've urged Attila that we should try out their food. It's no longer located at the Armenian, knowing from a colleague that the restaurant has moved to the right corner between the Armenian Street and the Beach Street. If you know about the most famous wall art of "Kids on Bicycle", that is the piece of wall of that restaurant. It's indeed quite difficult to recognise the restaurant from outside, my advice is to look for the greenish plants and the wooden board of "Cozy in the Rocket". This information maybe useful for you, the address is 262 - 264.

Wandering inside the restaurant, I like the unique decorations that are being used here. A lot of nostalgic elements that brought up the childhood memories such as the metal chairs that I've used during my school time. My eyesight is also attracted by some special signboards and pictures that are hanging on the walls.

The menu is listed on the big wooden plaque on the wall and we've to do the self-ordering at the counter. The menu is basically limited to Salad, Pasta and Dessert but they do sometimes serve the "Today's Special" such as the Risotto. One of the very important keyword is the "Homemade" whereby all the noodles are made by the Chef. We've started with a Pork Bacon Salad with Freslive Tomato. A simple dish of greenish vegetable and Rucola that comes with the crispiness of the slightly burnt bacon together with the sweetness and juiciness of the tomatoes that is then being seasoned only with olive oil, pepper and salt; the taste is marvelous! The salt has brought out the freshness and deliciousness of this Salad.

Attila and I have ordered the Homemade Gnocchi with Pork Bacon 'n' Gorgonzola and Homemade Spaghetti Mare è Monti with Prawns, Bacon 'n' Clam. The Gnocchi is very soft and thus it tends to be stickier than the Gnocchi that I've eaten before. Attila has commented that the sauce is made of good grade of blue cheese yet it doesn't take alike Gorgonzola. Both the aroma and the taste of the cheesy sauce is not as strong as the Gorgonzola sauce that I've tasted yet the sauce is matching the Gnocchi perfectly. It's definitely very delicious! Only a small change that I'll ask for, to have more sauce that the Gnocchi is "swimming" and "drowning" inside the sauce. We've fell in love with the Gnocchi especially it's being topped with the crispy bacon, yummy! On the other hand, the homemade Spaghetti is as well soft in texture as the Gnocchi. It's not so springy as the readily made noodle from the Supermarket but it tastes healthy and it's special because the consistency is a little alike the Oriental Noodle. The prawns, clams, pork bacon and dried chili are great combinations to enhance the deliciousness of the homemade noodle. The prawns are fresh and the meat is compact. I indeed prefer to have more dried chili and garlic in order to increase the spiciness and refreshing taste of the Spaghetti. Only a small disappointment that some of the clams are sandy.

I'm satisfied completely with the Salad and Pasta that I can't wait to try out their dessert here. I've chosen the Varlhonar Chocolate Pot with Ginger Whipped Cream. Combining ginger with chocolate, I find that it's a cool idea whereby the spiciness of the ginger has balanced the milkiness of the chocolate. Anyway, the taste may not be favoured by all customers. I myself as well prefer that the chocolate is more liquid.

The small cafe has surprised me so much with the deliciousness of the food. I'll definitely visit the restaurant again, I can't wait to try out the other Pasta, the Risotto and other desserts as well.

Famous in Penang, the "Aunty's" Char Koay Teow

Either a local Penangite or a tourist that visits Penang, everyone knows about the famous Char Koay Teow炒粿條 or fried rice noodle that is located at Lorong Selamat. This stall is a hot topic among everyone that I know, that the Char Koay Teow here is definitely the best despite the arrogant or bad attitude of the "Aunty". Hmmm... curious!

The famous Char Koay Teow is located in front of the Kafe Heng Huat興發茶室. Just look for the aunt that is wearing a red hat! No guessing, the price is listed on the signboard. We've of course ordered the plates that cost RM 11 each. I personally think that the fried rice noodle is not really expensive because it consists of dried sausages, cockles, bean sprout, egg and 4 big prawns. The "Aunty's" Char Koay Teow has a nice aroma from the char-frying and it's also tasty with a good balance between the saltiness of the soy sauce and the spiciness of the chili paste. Looking to the red colour, mine is requested with added chili! The additional chili is not really a good idea as my rice noodle is more wet and slimy. Anyway, it's truly hot and spicy!

I've decided to try out the Ais Kacang红豆冰 here. The ingredients are just too less whereby there's only a few red beans despite it's supposed to be a "Red Bean Ice". It's a cooling dessert during the hot sunny day but it's definitely not a delicious one.

They provide only dine-in service, no take-away is allowed. The customers are allowed to order if only with a table's number. There's quite a lot of "Don't" yet we've enjoyed the Char Koay Teow here. One small sadness is that we've got a summon for the parking.

The View at the Moon

A sunset view point being presented at the Moon. This restaurant cum the bar is located at the Southern of Koh Lanta and it's built on the cliff. The main building of the restaurant is the biggest in size while the small huts are located around in order to accommodate the customers that are stopping by for a meal or a drink. Looking down is the big "stage" of stone while the wide and beautiful scenery of the ocean and sky are just in front of the eyes!

Attila has chosen the Schnitzel Cordonbleu that is made of the pork and being served together with fries and pickled cucumber. The meat is filled with ham and cheese that is then being coated with a layer of breadcrumb before being fried to the brownish colour. The taste is not really great because the meat is too dry while the cheese is not as melted as we're expecting. I've taken the Geng Phet or duck and pineapple in hot curry. The sourness of the pineapple is a great match to the spicy and creamy curry. I'm a little disappointed because the duck meat is just too little and it has been stirred into small broken pieces.

"Mai Tai" cocktail as cooling drink during the sunny day, a good idea instead!

I'm more attracted by the beautiful scenery than the food here. This is definitely a correct place to stop by...

Cook-Kai 曲街 is "Rhythm Street"... in Mandarin!!

Dinner in Koh Lanta, we're heading to the "Fat Monkey" that is located at Klong Dao. We're disappointed as the restaurant is closed for the night. Without any clues in the mind, the driver has volunteered to show us one restaurant that is serving delicious Thai and Western dishes and here we're brought to, the Cook-Kai Restaurant曲街飯店.

We've decided to share the Spring Rolls as appetiser. The spring rolls are filled with minced pork and glass noodle and then being fried to a golden brownish colour of crispiness. The taste is indeed quite weird as there's seasoning in the spring rolls that I'm not fancy at. An appetising soup as starter, we've taken the Tom Yum Goong or the hot and sour prawn soup with lime and lemon grass. It's spicy and I've enjoyed especially the lightness of the soup, it's delicious!

We've ordered additionally the Phad Thai Goong, Moo Phad Katiem Prig Thai and Yam Med Mamaung. Phad Thai is the Thai style fried rice noodle that tastes a little sweet and sour and being garnished with grounded peanut. The thin and flat rice noodle is available only in Thailand and it's actually quite soft. It's a delicious dish that I don't regret that I've ordered it, despite the prawn is not so fresh. Moo Phad Katiem Prig Thai is the stir fried pork with garlic and pepper sauce, very refreshing and tasty! Cashew Nuts Salad with mild dressing of fresh chili and fresh vegetable, this is the Yam Med Mamaung. It's a special salad yet I dislike the strong smell and taste of the parsley that has made the dish to taste a little bitter.

"I want a Pizza", "I want a Pizza"... Attila insists to order a Salami Pizza. This is the worst dish of the night and it's also the ugliest taste of Pizza that I've ever tasted in my life. It's ketchup based and the Pizza is topped with Oregano that has destroyed the cheesy taste of the Pizza. The Salami is tasteless and softy, I can't find a reason to like the Pizza at all.

Cook-Kai is serving quite a delicious Thai meal here but they're definitely not the best in the field that I've ever known. To me, the restaurant is more towards a place for tourists or foreigners but not for the people or food enthusiasts that are looking for delicious Thai food or Pizza.

The Small Hut, Otto Bar & Grill

Koh Lanta has been a new island that is favored by us for a holiday by the beach. The ocean is indeed quite sandy by the beach yet Koh Lanta does have some beautiful diving sites nearby. We've rented a villa with a private swimming pool at the Klong Nin Beach, it's an amazing holiday!

Hungry for lunch, we've decided to visit the Otto Bar & Grill that is nearby our villa. It's not really too near as we've then jumped onto the bike's riding instead of walking. It's a small wooden hut that is filled with shells, bones and ropes. It sounds fishy, isn't it? Other than the wooden tables and chairs, the owner is using a lot of the natural minerals such as the shells or corals to decorate the restaurant.

Starting the holiday with a Mai Tai that is mixed with Bacardi, Captain Morgan, Orange Curacao, Orange Juice and Pineapple Juice. The colour of the cocktail is very interesting and it's indeed quite strong. I'm not fancy over Mai Tai as it's too sweet. Well, we're in Thailand and it's a must to try out the "My Thai"!

Attila and I have ordered the Fried Cashew Nuts with Chicken and Red Curry with Chicken respectively. The cashew nuts with chicken dish tastes alike sweet and sour sauce. It's slightly too slimy for Attila that he prefers if the sauce is not too thick. I'm shocked that the red curry is indeed yellowish? Anyway, I've enjoyed the spiciness while the curry is only slightly creamy that it tastes very appetising. I've finally understood that the "red" represents the spiciness of the curry and it's not really the colour itself.

We've a relaxing time at the Otto Bar & Grill. A nice drink being accompanied together with a nice meal, this is indeed a win-win situation. The guys and girls have enjoyed their burgers or Western cuisines as well...

Directions to Otto Bar & Grill