Queuing at Line Clear Nasi Kandar

Boyfriend is out of Penang Island and the girls have kindly brought me to the Line Clear Nasi Kandar Restaurant that is located at Penang Road. I've passed by this area for many times but I've never noticed this restaurant. Well, I've seen only the big signboard but where is the physical shop? The restaurant is indeed located in the small street, in between of the roadside stalls and shops.

There's a wide selection of dishes that range from fish head, prawn, squid, beef, mutton to chicken. The specialty here is the jumbo sized seafood that is normally not offered in Nasi Kandar Restaurant. I think the Jumbo Fish Head is the most favourite for sharing with family. I've decided to take the Nasi Beriyani that is then topped with fried chicken, squid and long beans. Finally, the most important step is to flood the plate with various curry sauces. Just tell the boss "Banjir" and you'll get the rice in the "soup"... I'm shocked to see my jumbo squid and this plate has of courses cost me a tremendous amount, RM 17.70. Anyway, I've enjoyed the crispiness and juiciness of the fried chicken. The squid is slightly chewy but I'm in over all, quite comfortable with the taste of the Nasi Kandar here. The curry is not really too amazing but it's at least spicy.

We're just in time before the crowd. I think other than the jumbo size, I can't think of any other reason to queue here for the Nasi Kandar.

The Best Bagel in Town, at Mugshot

Despite it's newly opened in Georgetown, the Mugshot has always been overwhelmed with customers each day. It's a small cafe that is located at Chulia Street and it's just next door to the Rainforest Bakery. It's still a surprise that how can this small place be such unique; the greenish plants in the vase or pot, the wooden board on the wall, the metal plate on the suitcase or the pictures of "honour" on the clips. I like every single decorations in the cozy ambient. The best is the Mugshot scene that you can be creative at...

This is a simple cafe with a main counter for customers to place the orders and another side is the coolest spot in the Mugshot, the big and round stone oven that is used to bake the Bagel. The menu is as well short and precise, being categorised only into Yogurt, Drinks and Bagel.

After some discussions and complications between the girls, we've finally agreed to take the Bagel with Cream Cheese. Very crispy at the outer skin, very softy inside the bun and with a layer of cream cheese that is melting in between the round buns; I've definitely fell in love with the delicious Bagel. The Poppy Seeds have been an added point to increase the crunchiness of the Bagel. I'm 100% convinced that the Bagel is supplied by Rainforest Bakery but I'm wondering that I've never able to produce such tasty Bagel with Cream Cheese...

Besides, they've as well made a marvellous yogurt. We've ordered the flavors of Jackfruit & Gula Melaka and Kiwi & Honey. The whitish yogurt has a nice "surface tension" that it's not too liquid and it's still very smooth. The yogurt is indeed quite sour and it's balanced by the sweetness of the Gula Melaka and the Honey respectively. Both of these types of "sugar" are not too sweet and this is definitely a healthy dessert that you'll enjoy without guiltiness. We prefer the Jackfruit & Gula Melaka as it's more special and I like actually the crunchiness of the Jackfruit with the chillness of the yogurt.

I'm impressed by the deliciousness of the Bagel and the Yogurt here, but they're definitely not the expert in Coffee. I'll change to Hot Chocolate on my next visit? I'll definitely be here again for tasting again.

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Dessert Only, at No Eyed Deer

The name is cool, isn't it? Su and Phui Yee have highly recommended the No Eyed Deer that is located at Jalan Fettes, for their desserts. They're praising about how delicious the jelly is and at the same time, arguing about how big the dessert is. Since we're around that area after dinner, thus we've decided to give it a try.

With a strong recommendation from the girls and Phui Yee has insisted to have one for herself, we've decided to order the Coffee Jelly. According to the description, this is a Japanese Jelly dessert that is served with silky fresh cream and syrup and it has been voted the Best Jelly in Malaysia by readers of 'The Star' Newspaper on 23-March-08. We're indeed amazed by the deliciousness of the Coffee Jelly; the aroma and the strong taste of the coffee together with the smoothness of the jelly that are then followed with the fresh cream and syrup, this is really a heavenly dessert that I'll also asked one for myself alone. It's not too sweet, making it a very refreshing dessert to be enjoyed to the fullest.

Besides, we've also shared a Tiramisu. It's quite disappointing as this Italian dessert is not prepared in its genuine taste. It's too sweet whereby I think that it's lacking of the aroma and the taste of the Espresso. Only one small positive comment on the "balances" between the mascarpone cream and the finger sponge, whereby I've always preferred such thicker layer of cream than the cake.

The girls are not really recommending the main courses here. Anyway, from the quality of the dessert, I'll consider to try it at least once.

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Hainan Seafood at Pang

Passing through Tanjung Bungah, the restaurant has always been overwhelmed with gorgeous cars such as Brabus or Audi. I've always wondered about what the special about Pang (Hainan) Seafood訪(海南)海鮮 is. Thanks to Su that she has purchased the Groupon voucher for 1kg Crab that costs RM 39 only, this has been a valid reason for us to visit the restaurant.

Choosing from the picture, we've decided to go for the crab with Sweet & Sour Sauce酸辣螃蟹. The crab is not so fresh that it seems to be the frozen type whereby it doesn't contain any "crabby" smell. Anyway, the sauce is quite delicious and it's good to go with the Fried Man Tou煎饅頭. On my request, we've ordered the Salt & Pepper Mantis Prawn椒鹽蝦蛄. I like the combinations of salt, pepper and chopped chili that have definitely added an appealing taste to the Fried Mantis Prawn. But, it's my mistake that the frying has killed the freshness of the meat and the flour coating will become very oily if we leave it too long in the air. This is applicable to the Fried Squid炸蘇東 as well. It's surprising us that the small plate of crispy fried squid costs RM 13.

We've also taken the Asam Prawn亞參明蝦 and the Steamed Red Snapper清蒸紅皂. The sourness of the Asam is very appetising but the prawns are not very fresh. This is definitely not the best Asam Prawn that I've ever tried before. The fish is not really very fresh whereby the meat is not so juicy or tender while the sauce is slightly too sweet for me. I prefer if the sauce for the fish is stronger with the saltiness of the light soy sauce.

Other than the seafood, we've ordered the Hainan Spring Rolls海南春卷 and a plate of Fried Brussels Sprout清炒菜膽. The spring rolls are crispy and they go well with the dipping sauce that is garnished with sliced onion and chili. Anyway, I'm not really fancy with the spring rolls as the 5 spices五香粉 is too much that the strong taste has covered the sweetness of the turnip. Luckily that the vegetable has been done correctly and I do enjoy the freshness of the Brussels Sprout.

The taste of the meal is acceptable but we girls think that the seafood here is actually quite pricey. It's not worthwhile for $$$ as we don't really get a superb and fresh seafood here.

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"Bottoms Up" at Kampai

Tao is closed down and this location at E-Gate is replaced with Kampai乾杯, a Taiwanese fast-fry台式快炒 and seafood海鮮 restaurant. My 1st impression, the restaurant looks like the hawker stall by the roadside with the signboards of the menu that are hang on the wooden wall. I'm not motivated till Attila claims that the food is actually quite delicious here.

"Chef's Recommendation" in the menu and Attila has tried it, we've decided to take the Crispy Pork Intestine酥炸肥肠 and the Taiwanese Roast Pork烤鹹豬肉. I object the pork intestine earlier as I don't eat "pig's spare part", but surprisingly that I can accept the taste of this dish. The pork intestine is filled with spring onion and it's to be eaten together with the salt and pepper. The meaty intestine is smooth and springy while the outer skin is very crispy; the mouthful of taste includes the saltiness, spiciness and oiliness that has not been overdone. The roasted pork is served with ginger with lime and salt with pepper. I find that the pork is slightly too chewy due to the thick layer of fat but the taste is indeed quite special, from the dipping itself.

Looking to our orders, the boss has recommended the Steamed Egg with Seafood海鮮蒸蛋 and the Fried Scallop with Pineapple. My personal opinion, the dish is special as the steamed egg is hidden under the seafood soup. Anyway, the seafood is not really fresh and the dish is tasteless as the Chef seems to have forgotten the salt. The scallops are fried in the sweet-based dark soy sauce and this dish is as well sour from the pineapple.

The dishes are indeed quite ordinary here. But, they do have some good dishes for recommendations. No harm to try it out, to know if you'll like it.