The location of this restaurant is inside D’ Piazza Mall near PISA Stadium at Bayan Baru. The Wok’s is just facing Jalan Mahsuri which is at the opposite of PDC.

For those who have your company listed under the restaurant’s corporate customers, you will be entitled to 10% discount. However, even for those companies that are not in the list, you will also be entitled to 20% off for any ala-carte order.

Seafood Green Tomyam – RM12.80, the name of this green tomyam was the main ingredient of this dish. It was cooked with prawns, fish fillet and maggie noodle. It was garnished with some mint leaves.

The spiciness and sourness of this soup were up to the maximum level. For those who appreciate spicy and sour flavour, this is a must-order dish. The taste of the soup was delicious. As for me this is a lovable yet hatred dish. The reason being is the “oomph” of the sour and spicy flavour, but it made me sweat profusely.

Wok’s Golden Fried Rice – RM6.80 – Rice fried with egg and butter, mixed with chicken cubes and veggie. It was then finished with deep fried mini shrimps on the top.

The rice was fried till golden. The aroma of pan fried was very nice. To me the taste was still average due to fried rice has never been my cup of tea.

Fried Soft Shell Crab with Nestum – RM25 - The soft shell crab was battered with flour and oat and it was then deep fried to crispiness.

The meat and the shell of the crab was so soft and it blended very well with the crunchy batter. The taste of this dish was neither too salty nor too sweet, it was just nice.

Set Lunch – RM9.80 / Set Dinner – RM12.80. Sour and Spicy Fish Head Bee Hoon Soup. Clear soup with hot, spicy and sourish taste. Cooked together with fish head slices and added with ginger, lemon grass, chili and mushroom slices. It was then topped with some coriander. Besides the main dish, there were also a cup of drink and jelly served together with the set meal.

The soup tasted fishy and the sense of lemon grass was very strong. The taste of sour and spicy was also very strong. The fish head was quite fresh indeed and I really love this soup. The only draw back to this dish was the slices of fish head had many bones in it and needs to be careful when having this dish.

Overall, the taste of the food here was acceptable and the ambiance here was very cozy. There is a private dining area available for those who need privacy. Car park is not a problem as there are plentiful of lots around D’ Piazza Mall. The only problem here is the place is closing soon after April, as the owner claimed that the restaurant is unable to sustain due to the high rental cost.

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: 11:30am – 2:30pm (Close on Sunday)
Contact: 04-642 9536
Address:70-1-27, D’ Piaza Mall, Jalan Mahsuri, Bayan Baru, 11900, Penang
GPS: 5° 32′ 66.98″ N, 100° 28′ 32.14″ E

Although the dinner started on Saturday, 6pm, it was still very hot and sunny out there just like in the noon and many floggers (food bloggers) were busy taking photos on the surrounding.

Strada Caffe serves not only beer and liquor for the people who come to watch football matches…

…they also serve coffee of all ranges for the people who come to this cosy place as a gathering and reunion.

Before the review session began, the owner of Strada had re-emphasized that this place is not meant for fine dining or very delicious food. Instead, this place is more for people to relax, having a cuppa and also some light food.

After the speech, followed by a solo unplugged guitar performance by one of the shareholders.

Besides the usual coffee bean range, Strada Caffe also provides the precious Kopi Luwak or Civet Coffee. Civet coffee, is a coffee made from the beans of coffee berries which have been eaten by the Asian Palm Civet and other related civets, then passed through its digestive tract. A civet eats the berries for their fleshy pulp. In its stomach, proteolytic enzymes seep into the beans, making shorter peptides and more free amino acids.

Green Garden Salad – RM8.90, the dish was mixed with lettuce, capsicums, onions, croutons, sun flower seeds, eggs and smoked chicken. Finished with house salad dressing. The taste of this green salad was very green indeed and was an acceptable starter.

Seafood Chowder in Bread Bowl – RM15.90. Chunks of seafood were simmered with potatoes, onions, celery, real heavy cream and a touch of butter and served in bread bowl. This dish was very special, but I feel that the price is slightly on the high side.

Kung Pao Chicken – RM9.90. Stir fried with kung pao sauce, served with cashew nuts, sunny side up egg, prawn crackers and rice. It tasted spicy and sourish.

Kam Heong Seafood Combo – RM8.90. Stir fried with kam heong sauce, served with prawn crackers, sunny side up egg and rice. This dish was more spicy compared to Kung Pao.

Salted Fish and Chicken Fried Rice – RM8.90. Served with prawn crackers, sunny side up egg and chicken wing. The salted fish fried rice was tasty.

Bao Zhiang Mien – RM11.90. Noodle in house-blended gravy, with minced chicken and 3-colored vegetables. The mixture of the gravy and the cold vegetable didn’t really blend well. In fact, after mixing the ingredients together the taste became cold compared to warm. It is not my cup of tea.

Tomyam Seafood – RM8.90. A choice of bee hoon or instant noodles. The taste was more spicy than sour. This is not my cup of tea either.

The Barista was preparing the brew of latte.

A nice decorative cup of latte.

Different types of decoration on the coffee.

Besides coffee there are many types soda and cocktails available.

Strawberry Kiss Frappes – RM8.90. A very standard strawberry milk shake.

• Fluffy Hot Chocolate – RM6.90, the chocolate flavor is not strong enough. It would be better if the chocolate taste is stronger.
• Choco Banana Frappes – RM8.90, acceptable drink for chocolate + banana milkshake.
• Chocolate Chips Frappes – RM8.90. Rich and nice chocolate chip milkshake.

Anyway, for those who want to get a feel of home sick while dining at the airport terminal, you are always welcome to dine and drink at Terminal 1 or T1 Restaurant and Pub.

Locating this place is not too difficult at all. If you know how to go to Queensbay Mall in Penang, check out the left side of Queensbay Mall and there are new shoplots known as Bay Avenue.

The interior layout of the place is very cozy. However, this place gives the perception of a pub more than a restaurant.

Another distinguish feature here is the uniform of the waitresses and the waiters here. The waitresses are dressed in sweet Lolita costumes. Kawaii neh…(cute). She felt so embarrassed when I told her I want to take her photo.

Whereas the waiter is dressed like a pilot, cool huh? You can be a pilot even if you don’t know how to fly a plane.

Each day the restaurant serves different menu. I went there on Monday therefore I have got 2 options from the Monday menu.

Set Lunch Option:

1. Belacan chicken wings with fried rice, white coffee (cold/hot) or red tea (cold/hot) – RM9.90.
2. Penne Vege Creme, white coffee (cold/hot) or red tea (cold/hot) – RM9.90.

Besides these, there are other set lunch from Monday – Friday, all priced at RM9.90 per set.

The white coffee was quite nice, it is not the same like the usual 3 in 1 instant coffee mix. Instead the aroma of the coffee was strong and thick. I could taste some chocolate inside, not sure if this is Mocha or White Coffee. Anyway it was not too sweet, quite nice for a set lunch coffee.

The main dish of belacan chicken wings with fried rice. The fried rice was acceptable and normal, while the chicken wings was so crunchy and delicious. However the portion was not big enough. As for the side dishes, they had kimchi and also veggie.

Penne Vege Creme, the dish was cooked with penne pasta added with lots of cream sauce, olives and mushroom slices. The taste was delicious and rich. I personally feel that the first few mouths were great but when half way through the meal, I started to feel full due to the rich cream sauce.

Overall, this place serves average and acceptable food. The ambience of this place is more to bistro and pub than restaurant. The waiting time for the food was slightly long, we waited for at least 20 minutes even though we were the only customers there. For those who are on the rush, this is not a suitable place. However, someone told me that CHAR-BOILED LAMB CHOP set lunch on Thursday lunch is great. I have still yet to try out.

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: 10:00am – 3:00am (7 days a week)
Contact: 04-640 8911
Address:Block K-9-1, Lorong Bayan Indah 2, Bay Avenue Bayan Lepas 11900 Penang.

The roti canai stall that I am going to introduce today, is quite well known stall in Jalan Tengah Flat. For those that working at Bayan Lepas Industrial area, this place will not be familiar to most of you. Kafe Sin Kim Sing is one of the breakfast and lunch coffee shop. There are varieties of food selling here during breakfast. However, one of my favorite here is the roti canai stall.

This roti canai stall is just under the stair case that you will not miss when you enter to this coffee shop. Usually there will be an Indian “ah mah” (granny) standing in front the stall  to make the roti canai while taking the order.

It seems like it is a family business where most of them are here to sell the roti canai, they are like 3 generation together. According to the owner, Andy this stall had been operated for a decade.

The price of the roti is quite reasonable, Roti Canai RM0.80 and Roti Telur RM1.50. This is the usual standard market rate after the patrol hike, never the less the petrol already dropped but the price for the food still remain high everywhere.

Normally for me I would order just the plain roti canai rather than roti telur. I find that the plain roti canai is more crunchier and also more pan fried aroma compare to roti telur.

For those that not preferring sweet, this might not be a good option for you as the dough is slightly sweet, as well as the kuah “curry”. One thing special  about this roti canai is that the crunchiness will still maintain even after my photo session which normally everything will be cold and soften off.

To me the taste of the dough really goes well with the kuah. It really give me the feeling of divine food.

For those that out of idea on where to get breakfast, you might want to consider this. By the way, the advisable time to be here is before 10:30am else you will end up empty handed.

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: 6:30am – 11:00am (Close on Alternate Monday)
Contact: 012-488 0258 (Andy)
Address: Sin Kim Seng Coffee Shop, Jalan Tengah Flat, Off Jalan Tengah. 11900 Penang.

That was my first impression of Canton-i. I was convinced that the price to dine there is not worth the money. However, every time when I passed by this place it was full of people and there were some bloggers who had even blogged about it which then made me curious to give it a visit.

Even on weekdays, this place was packed with people.

Roast Duck Rice Meal (烧鸭饭) – RM11.80. From the menu it looks like just a normal roast duck rice. However, each of the food on this plate has its unique taste. The duck meat was so succulent and came in a generous portion. The skin was crunchy and tasty which made the whole piece of duck smooth and tasty. The veggie had been steamed with oyster sauce and the soy egg was slow cooked with herbs. Even the gravy of the rice was cooked with Chinese Wolfberry Fruit (枸杞子), Chinese Angelica Root (当归) and some other expensive Chinese herbs which made the plain rice tasted good. Unlike our local duck rice which were usually covered with dark soya sauce to make the rice tasty, this Canton-i signature duck rice did not have any drop of dark soya sauce on it. The rice was covered with some of the duck’s juice, even the rice itself was smooth and fragrant. No wonder the price is so high, nevertheless this is still my favorite.

Barbecue Pork Rice Meal (烧肉饭) – RM11.80, also known as Char Siu rice. The meat given was a shoulder cut and had been marinated with a mixture of honey, five-spice powder and dark soy sauce.  The outer skin was shining and the taste was good which is suitable for children and those who can’t take chilis.

Two Combination Meals Roast Pork + Roast Duck (烧味双拼) – RM24.80. The taste of roast duck was similar to the roast duck rice. The roast pork felt like melt-in-the-mouth with its moisture layer of fat and meat. The meat was succulent with a light and crispy skin which was irresistable.

Nice Wan Tan (净云吞) RM11.80. A juicy filling of minced pork and fresh prawns which were stuffed into the wantan skin to make it into a wan tan ball. The result, a tasty, full-flavoured and smooth texture wantan soup.

Fried Rice with Shredded Chicken and Salted Fish (咸鱼鸡粒炒饭) – RM14.00. The rice was fried until the frying heat taste “wok hei” and it was served with meat cubes, salted fish and cashew nuts. To me I personally feel that the price on this plate of rice is sligthly over-priced.

Stir Fried Udon with Chicken and Black Pepper (黑椒鸡炒乌冬) - Rm16.00. The udon was cooked with soy sauce and black papper with chicken cubes, coriander and capsicums. Taste was good but again another highly priced dish to me.

Seven Belle (七仙女) – RM5.00. Nice tea and one of the most affordable drinks on the menu.  The display was very unique where it looked like a flower blossomed in the cup of tea. It was a delightful and refreshing drink, and best of all it was free-flow of hot water.

Hong Kong-Style Milk Tea (港式奶茶) – RM5.50. The usual Hong Kong-style milk tea which can be easily found in any Hong Kong restaurant, except that the tea was quite thick. The attraction is if you order the hot milk tea you will get a cup of smiley face.

Soya Bean Milk (豆浆) – RM3.50. For the non-dairy lover this is another option where you have a smooth and tasty drink.

Dragon-i (龙的传人) – RM12.00. A very colourful and outstanding drink where the blended fruit juice is from the dragon fruit. It was sweet and chilling but the price was very chilling too.

The juicy and succulent barbecue pork were hung up on the display.

The hanging roast ducks looked nice and juicy too.

The chef was not hanging but able to prepare all the good food.

Other than the great food there are nice pastries for sale as well on the front counter.

Overall the taste of the food was excellent, the environment was very feminine yet cozy. The service was fast and prompt, the only drawback would be the pricing.

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: 11:00am – 10:00pm (7 days a week)
Contact: 04-645 6688
Address:Part Of GF-12 & GF-13, Queensbay Mall, 100, Persiaran Bayan Indah, 11900 Bayan Lepas, Penang.

After turning off my house lights, I decided to head for Queensbay Mall to check out the situation there. To my surprise, many households participated in this event. There were several apartments near Lip Sin which were in darkness, most units had their main lights turned off. I felt very impressed and proud of our fellow Malaysians who have shown their support towards this activity. Never would I expect to see so much particpation from residential houses. This shows that we are not far behind from our western counterparts who have been very aggressive in fighting against climate change and global warming.

As soon as I arrived at Queensbay Mall at around 9 p.m., all the lightings of the huge signboard were switched off. In fact most of the lightings along the roadside had been turned off as well. A very impressive participation indeed!

In conjunction with Earth Hour 60, I have switched my camera mode to energy-saving mode as well to show my support of this activity .

Inside the mall, most of the shops and restaurants were participating as well. For instance, Quicksilver had set a good example by turning off most of the spot lights and display lights, only left with a few energy-saving lights on. Since this is a well-known brand from Australia, I wonder if it is strongly influenced by its home country where its people has a high sense of environmental consciousness. As we know Australia has started Earth Hour in 2007 where 2.2 million homes and businesses showed their support by switching off their lights for one hour.

Coffee Bean did not miss out the chance to show their support in earth hour too. They have turned off most of their neon lights on sighnboards and also on the outside where patrons were sitting. You could only spot some small dimmed lights inside the coffee house.

It has been a while since I have been to Kenny Roger’s. Honestly, this place has never crossed my mind when it comes to choices of dining places. But this day would be an exceptional case to me as I have gotten a free quarter set meal voucher from my friend. I was standing outside the restaurant and awas glad and excited to see that Kenny Roger’s was participating in Earth Hour too.

The lights on the preparation counter was turned off. They even had candle lights on each table to make the ambience cosy and romantic.

Most of the down lights had been switched off.

This was indeed a very meaningful outing for me as I get to see how our people shared the same mission during that day, that is to save non-essential energy for the sake of our Mother Earth. Hopefully this will be an on-going initiative by the people and not only a one-time event.

They even had candle lights on each table to make the ambience cosy and romantic.

Most of the down lights had been switched off.

My happiness lasted for just a while, when the waitress came to me that I need to wait for 30 minutes for the roast chicken. When I looked at the kitchen table, all the plates were lying there waiting for the chicken to be placed.

After knowing that it would take a while for the chicked to be served, I then called for the waiter to serve our Iced Lemon Tea(RM5.00) as it never came although we ordered since the beginning. Somehow or rather the waiter did not seem to understand us as I had to call for the waiter for the second time for our drinks to be served, but he still looked at me with his blur expression and never came to us. Luckily we were spotted by the supervisor and she was very nice and told us that we need to wait 3 minutes for our drinks.

After long waited, my Round Up Platter (RM8.50) finally arrived. This dish is a medley of 3 side dishes complemented with 1 Kenny’s Home-made Muffin.

My choice of side dishes:

• Golden Corn & Carrot
• Macaroni & Cheese
• Garlic Parsley Potato

Now, please compare the one served in front of me with the one on the website. * sigh

Next is the Roasted ¼ chicken with 3 side dishes & 1 Kenny’s Home-made Muffin (RM15.90). Honestly, I don’t have much to complaint about this. The serving of the chicken is up to standard size, the aromatic rice tastes nice and smells good. The coleslaw is fresh and so does the fruit. No wonder this is Kenny’s signature dish.

After all our meals and dishes were served, I was expecting the muffins to be served. As per my order, I requested for banana muffins.  After followed up with the supervisor, she came back and told me that the Banana muffins were not available at that moment and if I wanted, I need to wait for another 10 minutes again. This is another “potong steam” (disappointment) to me. Indeed, I have ended up having Chocolate and Vanilla muffins instead.

Earth Hour 60 should be a great event that brings the mission to save unnecessary energy to save our mother earth. However, for some service industries they are not only saving on electricity-generated energy but also their human-generated energy as well. All the staffs were seen to be working in hibernation mode except for the supervisor who was up to speed and considered efficient amongst others.

I really hope that they will buck up their services in order to survive in this competative market or else they can save their energy for the rest of their business life.

Upon entering the restaurant, you will get a slight feel of like entering a small European souvenir shop. The interior decoration theme is all Italian. The masks and photos are brought from Italy. Thanks to Penang Tua Pui for organizing this food-tasting invitation and also the owner of  Bravo Italiana Mr. Lim who gave us the chance to feedback on the new menu to be launched.

The first dish that we had was soup of the day - Mixed Bean Soup (RM6). The soup is cooked with baked beans, chick peas and also pasta. The soup was full of beans and the portion was very generous. The soup of the day is by rotation and the preparation depends on the ingredients, for more information please call to the restaurant to find out.

The starter soup was then followed by another starter called Bruschetta (RM8.80). On top of the toast is covered with thick layer of cheese and juicy tomato cubes which was very appetising.

Spaghetti Carbonara (RM24), pasta spaghetti sauteed with mushroom, beef salami, egg yolk, parmesan cheese, white wine and cream. The taste of the pasta was excellent and but again the portion was very big. For those who plan to have lunch, please prepare your stomach for more spaces.

Baked Oyster Vesuvio (RM28 for ½ dozen) is a filling dish with baked oyster topped with fresh marinated tomatoes, sweet pepper and melted cheese.

Scallops Glatine (RM28 for ½ dozen) is another baked shell-seafood. Each scallop is topped with mushroom, cream and Mozarella cheese. The display is very exclusive and indulging. The taste is rich and creamy with the scent of freshly baked Mozarella cheese. In my opinion, I prefer scallop than oyster as the baked scallop tasted fresher.

Italiano’s combination (RM39.80), Mozzarella Australian steak & seafood with fresh Italian herbs and extra virgin olive oil. The prawn was fresh and big in portion ad the fish was nice as well. However, there is still room for improvement for the steak. The meat was too well done and it has lost the tenderness and juiciness. Perhaps I am too choosy when it comes to steak.

Salmon Simone (RM28.00), marinated fresh salmon fillet with orange basil sauce. Salmon has always been my favorite when it comes to fish. I love the freshness of the salmon and although the sauce was a bit sweet it actually blended well with the salmon.

Lamb Shank alla Milanese (RM32.00), braised NZ lamb shank with fresh Italian herbs, garlic, tomato, mushroom and red wine. Due to the lamb is cooked with red wine for long hours, the texture of the lamb has become soft and juicy. In fact there is no smell of “goat”. For those who loves lamb but afraid of the smell, this is a must-try.

Pizza Rustica (RM33.00), The pizza is covered with Anchovies, capers and classic pomodoro sauce. However, our response on this dish is not that good therefore the owner has planned to take it off from the menu.

Pollo alla Cacciatora (RM22.00), whole leg chicken with basic ingredients – extra virgin olive oil, green pepper and wine. Another dish that is not really appreciated by most of us. It might be out from the menu too.

Caffé Romano (RM14.00), this drink has a great combination of vodka and coffee as the base and vanilla ice cream and orange juice topped the drink. You will need to stir the drink to have an even combination. It is a drink that will wake you up and knock you down at the same time.

Tequila Key Lime Pie (RM8.90), the taste of the lime is really refreshing while the tequila on top of the cream makes the taste stronger. Is a good dessert to be ordered if you feel there is room for more food in your stomach.

Tiramisu (RM12.80), for some people they love to taste the cream more compared to the ladyfingers. As for me, I love the bite of the ladyfingers which have been soaked with coffee liquor. Overall, the tiramisu is just nice for me.

Chocolate mousse (RM8.90), the soft and creamy chocolate mousse is one of the signature dishes in this restaurant. The taste is not too rich on the chocolate and the mousses just melts in your mouth.

Strawberry panna cotta (RM8.90). Last but not least, one of the most satisfying dessert I have ever had. Normally, when it comes to panna cotta “pudding” I will feel a bit resistant as it always gives me the feeling of too rich and heavy. However, my perception totally changed when I had the first scoop. This was then followed by one after another that I just couldn’t stop myself. No wonder the owner told us that dessert is always the final weapon of the whole course meal as when the customer tasted good dessert they will be fast to forget the bad things that they initially found on the main course.

Overall, the taste of the food is irresistably good and is large in portion. We have suggested to the owner to reduce the portion of the course to suit Asian appetites else the leftovers will be a waste.

Most of the nice pictures on this post are prepared by Albert Yap from CamoStudio the expert in photography, videography and editing.

Editor’s Review (5 Stars Rank):

Taste
Price
Food Presentation
Service
Overall

Quick Facts:

Family Friendly
Pork Free
Alcohol
Corkage Charge
Credit Card
Reservation

Operation hours: 11:30am – 3:00pm; 6:00pm – 10:00pm (Close on Sunday)
Contact: 016-486 6399 (Limmie) / 012-590 4239 (PS Ng)
Address: 01-01-11, Complex I-Avenue, Medan Kampung Relau 1, 11900 Bayan Lepas, Penang.

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