The place that I’m recommending on this post is somewhere under the tree. To go to this place you need to go to St. Anne’s Church first which is on your left. Keep driving straight and after 2 traffic lights turn right on the second traffic light which will divert to Jalan Rozhan. From Jalan Rozhan, keep driving for another 1km and you will see there are many people dining under the tree.

The name of this place is called “Ji De Chi” and it means (Remember To Eat)

There were few specialties there, the most famous would be the drinks and dessert stall which offered some unique desserts not commonly available elsewhere.

Besides the drink and the dessert stall, the laksa stall was also one of the recommended stalls, though there were something which I felt too awkward when they served.

If laksa is not your cup of tea, you could opt for dried or soup Hokkien Mee as well as Jawa Mee.

For the drinks and dessert corner, they have the following items:

• Leng Chi Kang with fresh fruits
• ABC (Ais Bandung Kacang)
• Ai Yu Jelly
• Sweet and Sour Ice

Each dessert costs RM2.00 for Small and RM3.00 for Large.

Leng Chi Kang with Fresh Fruits is a very new concept in town where you will see watermelon, honeydew and leong fun in the dessert.

The Ais Kacang with usual bandung (red color syrup) and diluted milk is very common everywhere.

Instead of that, you can try the ABC with Gula Melaka (coconut sugar) instead. The strong taste of gula melaka with refreshing ice almost melted in the mouth which reminded me of ABC at Melaka.

The list of food available for the Hokkien Mee stall is as below:

• Dried/ Soup Hokkien Mee
• Jawa Mee

Small – RM2.50, Big – RM3.00 (add ribs – RM4.50).

People always say dried hokkien mee at B.M is the best, which I have no doubt with this statement. I feel that the dried hokkien mee here is one of the top ranking ones.

Besides the dried hokkien mee, the jawa mee was equally good as well. The prawn crackers were very fresh and crunchy. The gravy was not too sweet which was perfect for my taste bud.

Other than the Jawa Mee and Dried Hokkien Mee, Laksa is also available at this place. However, the awkward thing which I mentioned just now was on the chili sauce which had been added to the Laksa soup. The chili sauce was similar to the one normally served with chicken rice. I was not too comfortable with this new fusion of Laksa. Anyhow, minus the chili sauce the taste of this laksa was still acceptable.

Overall, most of the food here are very creative. Some really made a creation out of the conventional way of serving it. Other than that, some turned out to be another failed ‘project’. I personally love to dine at this shady place away from the hot sun. The price of the food here is very reasonable. The drawback is not much parking space available for the patrons.

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

Operation hours: 1:30pm – 6:30pm (Tuesday and Wednesday OFF)
Contact: -
Address:Jalan Rozhan, 14000 Penang.

However, I was invited by Criz to visit a new opening of bak kut teh shop which is located at Bukit Mertajam. The exact location of the shop is at Pusat Perniagaan Maju, Bukit Mertajam. If you are heading from Penang Bridge, the abandoned Mayang Mall is on your right. Head straight and you will see Wah Lee Electronic on your left, turn left to the junction and you will see Lorong Maju 2 on your right. Move another 20 metres ahead and you will see Shin Ki Xiang on your left.

Shin Ki Xiang Bak Kut Teh shop is branched out originally from Klang. The owner is also originally from KL and he is a professional in preparing bak kut teh. There are two options of bak kut teh, the soup and the dry version. The taste of the soup base was very normal. However, the dry type is the one that I wanted to emphasize.

There are many varieties of tea available. From Qiu Xiang Cha Wang (秋香茶王) and Xiang Pian (香片), to Ju Bao Cha (菊堡茶) and Tie Guan Yin (铁观音).

The original and usual soup based bak kut teh tasted like the one at Padang Brown or Lau Fu Zhi. It had the taste of herbs and was also thick in flavour. For those that love spare ribs, they were well cooked until the meat was not too lumpy. Accompanied with the soup were fried bean curd, meat balls and pork ribs.

Besides the original soup base bak kut teh, the one that I prefer is the dry type which is quite scarce in Penang. According to the boss of Shin Ki Xiang Bak Kut Teh, the ingredients of dry bak kut teh are marinated for hours and then boiled for than more than 20 minutes. This is to make the  gravy fully absorbed into the meat.

Even the white rice served at Shin Ki Xiang is different. Instead of normal white rice, the steam rice is mixed with fried small onion slices and oil. Very nice in fragrance.

Even the boiled lettuce did not have the normal meat floss or fried lard with oil garnishing. It was just a simple plate of Boiled Lettuce (油菜) with some oyster sauce and fried small onion slices.

Overall, both the soup and dry base bak kut teh here were delicious and up to standard. It is worth a try.

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

Operation hours: 8am – 10pm (Closed at 3 – 6pm)
Contact: 013 – 444 4488 (Ah Seng)
Address:Bukit Mertajam Outlet. No. 2, Tingkat 2, Lorong Maju 2, Pusat Perniagaan Maju Kg. Bharu, Bukit Mertajam.

For this trip, there are 2 selected shops that have been chosen. The first one will be Warung Pak Su and the other one will be Restoran Nelayan. These are the well-known ones. For this post, I will be focusing on Warung Pak Su instead.

Warong Pak Su is easier to get spotted as the location of this stall is at the junction to Kuala Juru from Autocity.

The famous delicacies from Warong Pak Su are Ikan Bakar (Barbecue Fish) and Mee Udang (Prawn Noodle). There are even barbecue clams and barbecue cuttlefish. Due to limitation of our stomach storage, only selected recomended items were chosen.

The surrounding of this place was very peaceful and quiet on the day of our visit. This could be due to the heavy rain pour as well as the odd lunch time that falls during tea time instead.

The fresh clams in the small buckets are waiting to be ordered.

While I was busying shooting around, the stall assistant was warming up the stove for our Satay (Barbecue Chicken Sticks),

Another assistant was starting another stove for the grilled fish.

The Ikan Pangang (Grilled Fish) that we ordered is Ikan Siakap (Barramundi Fish). It was recommended by the owner that these fish are fresh from the sea.

The grilled fish which was wrapped in banana leaves were placed on a fiery hot stove.

While waiting for the Satay and the Ikan Pangang, our Mee Udang (Prawn Noodle) already served on the table. I have the feeling that the owner was aware that we were shooting pictures around that’s why our prawns were presented nicely.

There are 2 ways on preparing Mee Udang. The picture below is the one that is Bandung (Cooked). Mee Udang Bandung (RM10), the taste of the gravy is mild and it is similar to Mee Jawa. However, the prawns are fresh and I can still feel the tenderness and the juiciness of the meat.

The other type is the Goreng (Fried) type. Mee Udang Goreng (RM10) has a more tasty gravy compared to Mee Bandung. For those who love thick gravy and enjoys eating spicy food, this will be a better option.

Not long after, our Satay (RM6) for 10 sticks finally arrived. The chicken is not over cooked and the aroma of lemon grass is very strong. Infact the chicken is very juicy as well. It is a great complement when it was served together with the noodle.

And the finale, Ikan Bakar (Grilled Fish) RM30. It was a big fish, We could hardly finish this fish although we have 4 big eaters here. Anyhow, the fish was very fresh. No wonder the owner introduced this fish to us. Caution, the sauce is hot and spicy but it is tempting when served with the fish. However, the side sauce which has a mixture of soya sauce, onions and Chili Padi (Bird’s Eye Chili) is not as delicious.

Editor’s Review (5 Stars Rank):

Taste
Price
Food Presentation
Service
Overall

Quick Facts:

Family Friendly
Pork Free
Parking
Alcohol
Credit Card
Reservation

Address: 385, MK 12, Bagan Nyior Juru 14000 Bukit Mertajam.
Opening Hours: Sunday to Monday 12.30pm-10.00pm; Friday 11:30am – 10:00pm
Contact: 012-409 0771, 012-493 5771
GPS: N05″ 19.609′, E100″ 24.886′

View Larger Map

Today I am going to explore Bukit Mertajam and this territory has not been explored by many floggers. There are many good eateries at Bukit Mertajam and one of the them is just near to the wet market at Jalan Pasar off Jalan Bunga Raya. The name of this place is called Yoong Kee Restaurant.

According to the local people here, they start to have their dinner as early as 5pm and by 11pm they will be already in their bedroom having fun. I am not sure how true it is but by the time I arrived there by 7pm this place is already packed.

This restaurant is just located opposite “White Man” (白人) Rojak Bukit Mertajam. You are allowed to dine at the kopitiam which serves White Man Rojak while order the food from Yoong Kee Restaurant from the opposite road.

“White Man” Rojak was published in a local newspaper with their secret recipe “shrimp paste” (rojak sauce).

I could not see any “White Man” at the stall when I ordered rojak.

We had rojak as appetiser before we started our meal. Other than the usual mixed fruit they also mixed with deep-fried dough sticks which I felt it has spoilt the rojak’s taste as the dough sticks had strong oily taste.

After 5 minutes of waiting, finally our dishes arrived. Our first dish was the red snapper cooked in bean sauce mixed with spicy and sour flavour. This particular type of fish is fresh water fish and not everyone knows how to get rid of the muddy smell from these fish. However, the chef managed to get rid of the smell by cooking it with ginger and garlic. This is one of the many ways to eliminate muddy smell and to bring out the freshness of the fish.

Our second dish was the steamed white promphet in “Teow Chew” style. The fish was steamed with tomato and also salted vegetables. The sweetness and the tenderness of the fish shows that the fish is very fresh like just caught from the sea.

The next dish, Fried Chinese leek flower with bean curd. The side ingredients included prawn and squids. This dish is simple yet the taste is nice and it complements the taste of all the fish and meat that we had.

Next is winged bean (four-angled bean or kacang botol) fried with prawns in spicy and sour flavour. Another simple yet nice dish. 

Minced meat steamed with tomato and ginger with additional garlic sprinkled on top. This tasted like our usual home cooked dish.

All together there were 5 dishes with 2 x fresh fish, 2 x vegetables and a minced meat and it only came up to RM110 for 6 pax. You could only get this price in Bukit Mertajam, if it were in Penang, it would have cost us RM150 and above.

Overall the food here is acceptable, the fish are all very fresh and they are good at preparing it. The vegetables and meat are very normal and give us the ”mom’s cooking” feel. For fresh food at affordable price, this is the place that you must visit.

Operation hours: 10:00am – 12:00(midnight), rest at 3pm – 6pm
Contact: 04-539 8764 (Mr. Seah)

Editor’s Review (5 Stars Rank):

Taste
Price
Food Presentation
Service
Overall

Wikimapia’s GPS location link and map:

http://www.wikimapia.org/#lat=5.3625156&lon=100.4604328&z=17&l=0&m=m&v=2

Back to my interest which is again eating, today is a Cendol shop at Desa Permai, Bukit Mertajam. If Penang Street Teow Chew Cendol is number one in Penang Island, this will be the best in B.M Town and Prai. 

This particular shop rest on Monday. The price for a bowl of cendol is RM1.50 for dining-in, while take away is RM1.60. Not sure why take away is more expensive. May be they incurred the cost of plastic bag?

The Indian auntie who prepares cendol in front of the stall, while the boss sits at the counter for money collection. At least, this shop didn’t make use of Indonesians or Banglas to take care of his stall. They really have a high spirit of ”cinta Malaysia” (love Malaysia) by hiring local staffs.

The shop also sells Laksa which I feel it’s just a regular laksa, so didn’t talk much about that. Below is the picture of the cendol with freshly brewed icing and also pandan slices. This is so refreshing on a hot sunny day.

The cendol came with optional glutinous rice or with extra cendol pandan slices, with this option I feel that it is unique compared to the cendol in Penang which usually does not offer that.

The owner also offer additional FREE service that allows his guests to place their business cards on the notice board. It is a way of free advertising for public. 

Those who feel your life has been threatened, no worries. Police officer is very near by. I even see the police station business card stick at the notice board. 

Overall, the taste of the cendol is good but still I find that Penang Street Teow Chew Cendol is the best. However the creativeness with glutinous rice really adds some additional points to this stall.

Editor’s Review (5 Stars Rank):

Taste
Price
Food Presentation
Service
Overall

The place that I have been this time is on the middle way from BM market place to St. Ann Church where it’s near to the Taman Berjaya. Wikimapia GPS location as below:

http://www.wikimapia.org/#lat=5.354696&lon=100.469638&z=18&l=0&m=a&v=2 

The first stall that I am going to introduce is the Curry Mee cum Koay Teow Theng cum Squid stall. Anyway, this stall is famous for the curry mee. Check out the newspaper cutting infront of the stall.

The color of the curry mee is quite red. However, it is not as hot and spicy as it looks to be. If the level of spicy can be rated from 1 to 5, I will place it at level 2. The taste of the curry mee is different from Penang as the coconut milk is very mild and the soup is a bit sweet. Overall the taste of this curry mee is very delicious and you don’t have to worry about the price, all the food in BM are much cheaper than in Penang.

Editor’s Review (5 Stars Rank):

Taste
Price
Food Presentation
Service
Overall

Check out that Jawa Mee auntie, looking at me like one kind of freako. Grrr…. on my next few posts I will write about life as a weirdo food blogger. As usual, every time I take picture at certain food stalls, people will look at me as if I am a foreigner or weirdo. However, I will still move on as this is my passion. I want to let the world know all the nice food that I have tasted or the other way round. By the way, this aunty’s stall also has a newspaper cutting.

Anyway, the fried jawa mee is just nice, the fried combination is neither over cooked nor raw. The taste of this mee can fight with the Indian Aunty in Jelutong. I feel that if this mee if served with sotong (squid) the taste will be even better, as this is a bit too plain. Although this auntie looked down on me still I will not deduct her mark for services.


Editor’s Review (5 Stars Rank):

Taste
Price
Food Presentation
Service
Overall

Below is one of the stalls in Bukit Mertajam Market Place selling some plain yet can be extended in different taste - Lou Shi Fun (Mouse Tail Shaped Noodle) Soup. The actual location of the place is at the front of Chinese Opera Stage.

The operating hour is from morning 7am – 7pm and it is closed on Thursday. It is a very simple place but the taste of the food here are all very nice and the price is very cheap. If you have read my previous Roast Chicken and Roast Pork Rice post which I have posted before, it’s just the same.

If you look closely at the soup, it is very clear like water, however the taste is very nice. The ingredients included pickled mustard, minced meat and sliced meat. Of course the main ingredient is the lou si fun and it’s understood that this noodle is handmade and you will never get it from outside.

For those who want to add some spices, there is a mug of chili paste on each table that you can add into your noodle. The taste will become very different. Another best thing on eating at this stall is that the soup is bottomless, you can request for refill anytime and the boss is more than willing to top up for you.

Editor’s Review (5 Stars Rank):

Taste
Price
Food Presentation
Service
Overall

The stall of roast chicken and roast pork rice that I am going to introduce is a very classical and traditional stall. According to local folks this stall has been here for more then twenty years and it has been passed down from generation to generation.

The rice is prepared in a short “cylinder” shape, with the slices of roast chicken and roast pork on top. The rice is served together with the gravy which makes the rice spacial. It’s not the usual gravy that we have tasted in Penang.  

The bowl which contained the rice previously was now used to serve with vegetable soup. For only RM2.80, you could enjoy this set of roast chicken and roast pork rice which I find this to be very reasonable. We won’t be able to get such deal back in Penang Island. 

Editor’s Review (5 Stars Rank):

Taste
Price
Food Presentation
Service
Overall