Penang Food, Penang Travel and Penang Lifestyle

Koh Low Wan Tan Mee, Yi Garden Cafe (怡园茶室) – Classical Wan Tan Mee

January 10, 2012 – 9:07 am

Wan Tan Mee (云吞面) is one of the top 5 Penang food that shouldn’t be missed. There will always be a wantan mee stall in any food court in Penang as this is a very common food.

However, there are not many places in Penang that serve good wantan mee. One of the good wantan mee I have spotted in Penang is located at Yi Garden Cafe.

It is not hard to locate Yi Garden Cafe. If you are driving via Perak Road towards Macalister Road, keep driving and you will pass by a traffic light junction of Anson Road. Keep driving for another 60 meters, you will soon see Red Rock Hotel on your left. Keep driving for another 30 meters, you will soon see Lorong Selamat on your left. Yi Garden is just at the corner of the junction.

Yi Garden is famous for many food. However, for lunch time the only food that is famous is wan tan mee at Hong Kei Wan Tan Mee, aka Koh Low ‘tall guy’ Wan Tan Mee. The reason for calling Koh Low Wan Tan Mee is because the owner of this stall is a very tall guy.

Wan Tan Mee – RM4.00, the wantan mee was cooked with slices of black mushrooms, veggie and also some barbecue pork slices. It was then topped with few pieces of wantan (pork dumpling).

The noodle was very springy. The barbecue pork slices were so nice in aroma. The dumpling was very tasty as you will taste the minced meat, spring onions and some chopped water chestnuts. It is the classical type of wantan mee.

Shui Gao – RM1.20 per piece, it is also known as shrimp dumpling. The main ingredient of this dumpling was shrimps, then filled with minced meat, water chestnut, mushrooms and carrots.

The shrimps were fresh and tasty. The bite of the shrimps, minced meat and water chestnut were incredible. It had the combination of hard and soft texture. The shrimp dumplings were also covered with a touch of Chinese fragrant wine.

Overall the taste of the wantan mee was nice. Both the dumplings (pork and shrimp) were delicious. There are plenty of public and private parking lots around. However, the drawback is the price of the wantan mee here is considered one of the most expensive ones in Penang.

Editor’s Review (5 Stars Rank):

Taste
Price
Food Presentation
Service
Overall

Quick Facts:

Family Friendly
Parking
Pork Free
Alcohol
Credit Card
Smoking
Reservation
Private Room
WIFI Available

Operation hours: 12:00noon – 11:00pm (Close on Sunday)
Contact: -
Address: Corner of Jalan Macalister and Lorong Selamat
GPS: 5° 24′ 98.50″ N, 100° 19′ 44.60″ E

stevengoh |

Chinese, Food Asian, Georgetown, Hawker, Lunch, Meal, Penang Food, Serving Style, State Penang |

Comments (1)

Lim Aik Chew, Nibong Tebal – Hidden and Classical Penang Food

December 30, 2011 – 9:28 am

Many people keep asking where to find hidden and classical place for Penang food. Actually there are a lot of well known places around Penang that are not published. For those who followed my previous post, you will notice I had written about Lean Hup Bee, which is also one of the hidden classical Penang kopitiams.

This round, one of the great hidden classical places that I am introducing is Lim Aik Chew which is famous for its fresh water prawn dish. However, to get to this place is not as easy as 1,2,3. For those that have GPS, it would be better for you to use that to navigate to the place.,Else you need know how to get to Jalan Ooi Kar Seng towards Taman Nibong Tebal Jaya. From there keep driving until you come to right junction that leads to Jalan Victoria. Drive along the road and follow the curve to a T-junction. Turn right to Jalan Atas and look out for Lim Aik Chew on your left.

Lim Aik Chew, is a humble coffee shop that has been in business for ages. It is always packed with visitors from all around the country.

If you plan to visit this place during weekends, you need to call to make a reservation. If not you will need to stand and wait for available seats.

Usually the tables are arranged until outside of the shop. But still there isn’t enough place for incoming customers.

Kopi-O – RM0.80. One of the main attractions here was the Kopi-O. The kopi-O was very thick and full of aroma. For coffee lovers, this is a must try-out.

Salt Water/ Fresh Water Prawn Cooked in Curry – RM36.00, the curry prawn cooked with fresh water prawns was the main attraction. However due to unavailability we ordered salt water prawns. The prawns were cooked with thick aromatic curry. They were cooked together with herbs and onion slices.

If you get the chance, try out the fresh water prawns as I had been told that the flesh of fresh water prawns were sweeter and the head of the prawns were also bigger compared to salt water prawns. Fresh water prawn were high in demand and were selling like hot cake. If you are late, there will only be salt water prawns as a replacement. The whole dish was full of curry aroma with a combination of hot, spicy and slightly salty taste.

Red Fish in 3 Flavored Curry – RM27.00, the red snapper was first deep fried and then topped with spicy hot curry. The curry was mixed with onion slices.

The taste of the curry was spicy, sour and sweet. Therefore the name of this fish is called 3-flavored curry. The texture of the fish was very crunchy as it was deep fried. The combination of the curry and the deep fried fish was great.

Roti – RM1.60, The bread here was OEM and the portion catered for 4 pax.

Instead of the usual rice with dishes, you can order bread to go with the dishes. The combination was very unique.

Fried Vegetable – RM5.00, slices of cabbage were mixed pan fried with carrot and onions.

The taste of the mixed veggie was very common and it was indeed a regular type of dish that we always order from any restaurants around.

Overall, the taste of the food here was more than good. The way food was cooked and prepared was very unique. However, the price of the food was overpriced, considering the ambiance of the coffeeshop. The parking here will also be a headache as not there were not many places available to park.

Editor’s Review (5 Stars Rank):

Taste
Price
Food Presentation
Service
Overall

Quick Facts:

Family Friendly
Parking
Pork Free
Alcohol
Credit Card
Smoking
Reservation
Private Room
WIFI Available

Operation hours: 11:00am – 6:00pm (7 days a week)
Contact: 04-593 2957
Address:436,Tanjong Berembang, Nibong Tebal, 14310 Penang
GPS: 5° 15′ 07.53″ N, 100° 46′ 25.67″ E

stevengoh |

Ala-Carte, Chinese, Food Asian, Hawker, Lunch, Meal, Nibong Tebal, Penang Food, Serving Style, State Penang |

Comments (1)

Lucky Dessert, Gurney Plaza – The Unusual Way For Dessert

December 23, 2011 – 12:05 am

Where in town can you get the taste of durian when you really crave for it even it is not in season? I am not sure about others, but for me I am a durian fan. I would go for durian if I know there are good ones. Trying out fresh durian is very common. Have you ever tried out dessert which is made from fresh durian?

One of the special places for special dessert is no other than Lucky Dessert. It is not hard to locate Lucky Dessert at all. If you know how to go to Gurney Plaza, head to lower ground level and in front of the food court you will see this Lucky Dessert stall.

Durian Wrapz – RM5.00. The first that I am going to introduce in the list which is also one of my favorites, the durian wrap. The durian flesh was blended, topped with fresh cream and wrapped in a soft and smooth egg and flour coat. The durian was from grade D13 which contained the delightful localized taste.

Keep Reading »

stevengoh |

Ala-Carte, Chinese, Food Asian, Gurney, Halal or Pork Free, Meal, Penang Food, Serving Style, Set Meal, State Penang, Teatime |

Comments (1)

Kopitiam Kheng Hai, Simpang Ampat – Duck Egg Kaya Toast

December 6, 2011 – 3:53 pm

Do you ever feel curious of how is the taste of kaya made from duck egg? How will the color and the texture be for the duck-egg kaya? Will the kaya be more delicious and aromatic?

You will be the one who is asking this question if you have never been to Kopitiam Kheng Hai before. If you had been to this Kopitiam, you will surely know what I meant of toast with duck-egg kaya.

It is neither difficult nor is easy to locate Kopitiam Kheng Hai. It is located at Simpang Ampat. If you take the highway exit from Northern side of Simpang Ampat, turn left to Jalan Bukit Tambun and keep driving for 1 km until you reach at the traffic light T junction. Then turn left to Jalan Simpang Ampat and keep moving for another 20 meters. You will arrive to another traffic light to Jalan Tasek. Keep driving for 1 km until you see Patronas on your right handside, then you are near to the destination. Keep driving for another 200 meters and you will see a row of shop houses on the right where the corner of the shop is called Kopitiam Kheng Hai.

Kopitiam Kheng Hai is not located in any town area or having any popular landmark nearby. However this place is always crowded with people during weekends. A lot of people from different states came to this place for its unique dishes.

The coffee shop here is not only famous for its duck-egg kaya, but it is also famous for its chai kuih (vegetable dumpling). As you can see the owner was busy packing and serving the chai kuih.

The preparation for the breakfast started from firing up the charcoal stove.

Keep Reading »

stevengoh |

Breakfast, Chinese, Food Asian, Food Western, Hawker, Meal, Penang Food, Serving Style, Simpang Ampat, State Penang |

Comments (0)

Lean Hup Bee, Butterworth – Dedicated Home Style Cooking

November 29, 2011 – 10:54 pm

Home style cooking always makes me think of my grandma. I love the traditional coffee shop which preserve the olden days of cooking and food.

One of the places that still serves old style home cooking is no other than Restaurant Lean Hup Bee, 联合美.

Keep Reading »

stevengoh |

Ala-Carte, Butterworth, Chinese, Food Asian, Hawker, Lunch, Meal, Penang Food, Serving Style, State Penang |

Comments (1)

Barkath Stall, Tanjung Bungah – Great Mee Goreng & Mee Rebus

November 11, 2011 – 3:02 pm

There are many suggestions on where to get the best Mee Goreng and Mee Rebus in Penang. Some said at Bangkok Lane, while some even said at Esplanade. In fact, besides those places there is another place recommended by many Penangites.

The mentioned stall is located at Tanjung Bungah. This place is slightly hidden from the main road. If you are driving via Jalan Tanjung Bungah to Batu Ferringhi, you will sure bypass Jalan Lumbah Permai on your left and you will see Maybank situated in one of the shoplots. Keep driving straight along Jalan Tanjung Bungah until you reach Jalan Chan Siew Teong on your left. Turn into Jalan Chan Siew Teong and you should see a coffee shop called Kwong Ban Lee on the far end of the shop houses. Just next to the coffee shop is Pasar Mini Tedjen. The stall that sells Mee Goreng and Mee Rebus is just in front of the coffee shop.

Barkath is one of the few stalls in the coffee shop. Barkath has been operating the stall for 10 years.

Keep Reading »

stevengoh |

Ala-Carte, Dinner, Food Asian, Halal or Pork Free, Hawker, Indian, Lunch, Meal, Penang Food, Serving Style, State Penang, Tanjung Bungah, Teatime |

Comments (4)

Soy & Sesame Restaurant, G Hotel – Ultimate Business Class Dinning

October 23, 2011 – 12:46 am

G Hotel is one of the most stylish hotel in Penang. G Hotel emerges as an urban icon at the hustling and bustling of Gurney Drive. This hotel is specially dedicated to business class clients. One of the attractive and delicate dining spots in G Hotel is Soy and Sesame Kitchen.

Soy offers a scrumptious wide selection of tempting delicacies that are moderately priced. The menu offered here at Soy is a luscious fusion of Asian delights. From the exotic flavours of Vietnam, Hong Kong, Thailand, Taiwan, Korean, Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia. Soy Kitchen is able to cater for about 64 pax.