Though there are many restrictions to beef, there is one good place for beef lovers. In fact, this place serves variety of beef in different dishes and style. The name of this shop is called “Kang Beef House”. It is located at Perak Lane. If you are driving from Penang Bridge to town via Jalan Tan Sri Teh Ewe Lim, you will come to a junction which will turn left to Perak Lane and right to Jalan Jelutong. Take the left turning where you will see the Police station is on your left. Keep driving for another 20 metres and you will see Kang Beef House on your right.

Kang Beef House is located within the town area. It is very easy to be spotted if you are driving via Jalan Jelutong. However, finding a parking space will be a challenge for those who visited this place during dinner time.

Mr. Kang was busy preparing the beef dishes. This beefy business has been passed down from grandfather to father. They were known as the beef specialists.

Crystal Beef Fried Rice (+ Meat Ball Soup) – RM12.80. You might think that this is a very normal fried rice with some slices of beef and some chili and veggie as garnish. However, this is not what you think. There is some meaning for the crystal. The fried rice had the texture of crunchiness rather than the usual rice texture. I have the feeling that the crunchiness of rice is either deep fried rice or dried rice.

Black Pepper Beef – RM15.00 (S), RM28.00 (B), the beef had been sliced into pieces and were fried with black pepper sauce. The tenderness of the meat was soft and the black pepper was not too overwhelming. Although to some the starch might not be enough, but to me the taste was just find and it was delicious.

Crispy Beef Ball (6pcs) – RM4.80. It was quite unique that the meat balls were covered with croutons and flour and then brought to deep fried. Dipping the beef balls with their home made chili sauce was very delightful.

Beef Koay Teow – RM6, 8, 10, 12, 15 is one of the koay teow soup which had a mixture of various beef parts like beef slices, meat balls and some intestines. The bowl shown below was the largest bowl. You can always order for smaller one if you think you couldn’t finish it.

For those that don’t eat beef, there is always other option for you to try out. The Dry Fried Hor Fun Kosong is one of it. There was no pricing available for this dish as they  seldom provide this unless requested. This was a purely vegetarian dish. The Hor Fun was fried with mushrooms and bean curd.

Other than all the dishes above the one which is the most famous here is the Beef Steamboat – RM20.oo each person. The soup base of the steamboat was boiled with radish and preserved vegetable. The taste was slightly sour and salty. It was very suitable to be cooked with red meat.

The ingredients for the steamboat include:

Tenderloin, one of my favorites. Texture was soft and tender, tasted great when dipped in the hot steamboat.

Raw Meat

Beef Intestines

Beef Tripes

Sirloin

Beef Balls

Beef Ribs

Enoki Mushrooms

The preparation of steamboat is very simple. First make sure the water is boiled and then place all the meat inside the hot pot and wait for it to be cooked.

For those who do not want their beef slices to be overcooked, use your chopsticks to dip the meat into the pot for 30 seconds.

Steve Kang, one of the marketers for Kang Beef House. Special thanks for his arrangement of this review.

Overall, the food here is nice and the service is great. This place is specially dedicated to beef lovers. However, the price of the beef is a bit pricey compared to pork and parking is a constraint for 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: 12:00pm – 2:30pm; 4:30pm – 10:00pm (Close on Tuesday)
Contact: 04-2810892
Address:474, Jalan Jelutong, 11600 Penang.

Anyway, back to the main topic. The restaurant which I am going to introduce this round is located at Macalister Road. If you are driving from Komtar to Pulau Tikus via Macalister Road you will see Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Centre on your left.

The Sun, Spring Chamber is located inside Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Center. To be exact it is just beside the main hall.

The big signboard on top of this restaurant is known as @ The Sun. However the entrance signboard says Spring Chamber. Therefore, I am not sure which is the name for this restaurant.

Once we entered the restaurant, it welcomes you with its east meets west decoration. The ornaments were still very reddish and there were Chinese New Year songs playing throughout the dining time.

Other than the oriental style deco, the layout of the table is very Western style.

The welcome drinks were served once our order had been placed. The drink was a combination of Sarsi + 7up with no alcohol content at all. The taste was kinda sweet and it might not be suitable for those who dislike sweet.

The Set Dinner at this place was very reasonable and delicious. For couples looking for a quiet environment while enjoying fine dining, this is the place to be where the set dinners are priced at RM38 Nett (inclusive tax) per set.

Below are the options for set dinners:

Starter option:

1. Wasabi Mayo Tempura Prawn with Mesclun or
2. Soup of The Day

The prawns were coated with flour and deep-fried. They were then served with cherry tomatoes and topped with wasabi mayo sauce and also thousand island sauce. The taste was appetizing.

The soup of the day was creamy mushroom soup. The mushrooms were chopped into fine pieces and cooked together with pinch of chopped rosemary. The fragrance of rosemay was not too overwhelming while you could still taste the mushrooms.

The main course options:

1. Grilled rib-eye tarragon demi glazed served with mashed potato or
2. Pan fried salmon Kikkoman cream served with boiled potato or
3. Grilled chicken oriental barbecue sauce served with potato wedges

As for the main course, I tried 2 of them. The one below is the Pan Fried Salmon Kikkoman Cream. What makes this dish special is the sauce. It contains cheesy flavor, and yet not too rich which is quite unique for a salmon steak sauce. The salmon was also very fresh.

Besides Salmon, the Grilled Rib-Eye Tarragon Demi Glazed served with mashed potato was also delicious. The rib-eye steak cooked in medium rare served with custom mix sauce which has some similarity to brown sauce was excellent. The meat almost melted in your mouth as you chewed. The steak here is one of the must try in town other than The Ship.

Dessert Options:

1. Carrot Walnut Cake or
2. Chocolate Brownies Cake

This was a very rich and creamy cake. If you feel not enough after the main course, this is the best option to finish off your meal. It was full with chocolate flavor.

Carrot Walnut Cake actually contained both carrot and walnut. The taste of carrot was not very obvious and you can feel the crunchiness of walnut. For those who prefer a less-rich cake, this is a better option.

The finishing of a set meal with coffee or tea is the norm for every restaurant, including The Sun. I couldn’t complain much as I’m a coffee-lover.

Now let’s take a look at the other side of the restaurant. There was an open-air dining area linking to the main hall. This place in Chinese is called “Xiao Lan Ting”, translated as “Small Dixx Square” in English.

The corridor to the washroom is full with old time posters.

This is the beer poster. I wonder how did the “Tiger” poster look like at that time?

Toilet for gentlemen…

Toilet for the ladies…

Very unique place for guy to pee, the antique urine bowl…

Outstanding basin…

Overall, the place is cosy. The food is nice and the price is reasonable. I can’t find a reason not to return to this place.

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 – 10:00pm (Close on Monday and Public Holidays)
Contact: 04-226 5181 (Mr. Ooi)
Address: Sun Yat-Sen Centre, 65 Macalister Road, 10400 Penang.

To locate Ho Town is not very difficult. If you are exiting from BKE and heading to Kulim High Tech Park, take the exit to Lunas and turn right to Jalan Lunas. Keep driving for about 30 metres and watch out for Ho Town which is on your left.

Ho Town is a place to get away from the hassle city. Although this place has the similarity of some of the franchisee style restaurant, they still have their own unique selling point.

They have the Hainanese-style coffee and the aroma was very thick. Coffee, Hot – RM1.80. Coffee, Ice – RM2.00. For those who prefer cold drinks, Mango Ice Blended – RM3.20 would be a refreshing drink to have.

One of their specialties here is chai kuih. It is one of the place in Kulim which sells fantastic chai kuih. There are 2 types of chai kuih, pan-fried type and also steamed type. Pricing as below:

• Chai Kuih (Steamed), 3 pcs – RM2.00
• Chai Kuih (Steamed), 5 pcs – RM3.20
• Chai Kuih (Pan-Fried), 3 pcs – RM2.20
• Chai Kuih (Pan-Fried), 5 pcs – RM3.50

You can opt for ku chai or fried bang kuang as the filling of your chai kuih.

The pan-fried type of chai kuih was very unique as the chai kuih that we had outside mostly are steamed type. This chai kuih had the crunchiness outside, while soft and hot in the inside. With the dip of chili sauce, it was such a perfect combination.

For those that still prefer the regular chai kuih rather than the creative new way of pan-fried chai kuih, the traditional type of chai kuih was also very good as the soft and tenderness of the skin made this dish a signature dish in here.

Besides chai kuih, they served spring roll (3 pcs) – RM2.90. Crunchy, hot and spicy were what I could describe when placed in to my mouth.

Overall, this is a great place for snack with great chai kuih and spring roll. It is an excellent getaway to be for tea time, with free  WIFI access.

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: 9:00am – 10:00pm (daily)
Contact: 04-484 1010
Address:No. 295, Jalan Mewah 8, Taman Mewah, Lunas, Kedah, Lunas
09600 Kedah

The location of this place is at Chai Leng Park, Prai. If you are driving from the Penang Bridge to Chai Leng Park, you need to make a U turn on the flyover before entering to  Chai Leng Park. Once turn left to Chai Leng Park, make another left turn on the first exit. Keep driving until about 300 meters and you will see Leng Heong Coffee Shop just on your left and Lekker Claypot House is just located at the shop.

Lekker Claypot House (美味砂煲之家) is the only stall selling food at this coffee shop. Either you can order claypot chicken rice or curry fish head. Both dishes are famous and delicious.

Claypot chicken rice, one of the signature dishes at Lekker. (RM4.50 Small, RM8.00 Medium and RM12.00 Large). The claypot chicken rice had generous portion of chicken, Chinese sausages, salty fish, onions and the rice was well mixed with evenly colored rice. On top of the rice was placed with an egg which covered the rice. The taste of this claypot rice was simply delicious.

The aroma of the curry fish head (RM15.00 and above) was very strong and the spiciness was moderate. The taste of the curry was slightly creamy and was cooked with lady’s fingers and garnished with onions. It was a very seductive dish. For those who are unable to stand the hot and spiciness, do remember to prepare more tissues.

Besides claypot rice and curry fish head, there was also a plate of boiled lettuce with oil garnishing. It was just a simple plate of Boiled Lettuce (油菜) (RM3.00 Small and RM5.oo Big) with some oyster sauce and small fried onions.

Overall, this place is very famous and is packed with crowd. Parking might be a concern for patrons. Nevertheless, the food here was delicious. If you want your food to be served fast, either you beat the crowd by arriving before 11:50am for lunch or 2:30pm for tea time.

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: 12:00noon – 2:30pm; 5:30pm – 9:30pm (2nd week of Tuesday Off)
Contact: 016-456 8073
Address:121, Jalan Chai Leng, Taman Chai Leng, 13700 Perai 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.

(Stefanie Chuah, Miss Malaysia/World 2009, Runner Up)

However, there is a break away which can fulfill all the requirements above.  Packing up a few dresses which include your swimwears, prepare RM180 for the ticket and heading to Pulau Payar.

There are only 2 places that able to depart to Pulau Payar, one is Langkawi and the other one is Swettenham Pier, near Penang port.

It is indeed quite a long journey to depart from Penang port to Pulau Payar. The duration of travel takes approximately 2 1/2 hours. My advice, prepare some snacks and breakfast for your journey would be a wise choice.

Instead of sleeping during the whole journey, you can always walk to the deck of the boat to have a wonderful view back to Penang. What a beautiful island, from far.

If you are feeling tried after watching scenery, you can always take a short nap during the journey. Remember to beware of your outlook, someone is dripping saliva when sleeping.

The boat will drop you at the Pulau Payar platform upon arriving. The platform is quite big and stable.

At the side of the platform, you are allowed to snorkelling within the safety range to enjoy underwater coral and fish.

Fishes gathering around you once you step into the water. This underwater pictures are contributed by Waco Chan.

We were told by the safety guards that they always see naked ladies swimming at the island nearby, which I am very doubtful of.

There is also an underwater observation on the platform that allows you to enjoy the underwater world if you are not used to snorkelling.

There are many fishes under the sea which I am not sure of the species too.

There was also a mermaid who followed us to Pulau Payar for the modeling photo shooting session. Her name is Stefanie Chua, the winner of Miss Malaysia/World 2009 Runner Up.

Special thanks to Patrick Soon, the owner of Studio Moon Spell for the great arrangement so that I have the chance to brush up my shooting skill.

After first half, lunch was served at 12:30pm. There were 20 over varieties of food available to choose from. Anyway the taste of some of the dishes still have room for improvement.

After the lunch break, the second half session was to Pulau Payar Marine Park, to reach there we were taken a ride on a small motor boat.

The surrounding of the beach was very clean and picturesque.

You can see through the sea bed with its crystal clear sea water.

In fact, you can see dozens of fish swimming by.

The only drawback at this place is they have stopped the shark feeding session. As the life guard claimed there were too many casualties and also accidents happened. This program needs to be terminated. Therefore, not much sharks can be seen around nowadays.

Overall, this is a great place to relax and get away from the bustle city. There are many species of fish around and it was very comfortable to walk under the soft white sand beach. Other than the quality of the food that needs to be improved, the rest is up to standard.

I was told by one of my friends that dining at Suffolk House Restaurant during dinner requires about RM100 ++ per pax, which is a bit out of my budget. Even the set lunch is about RM70++ per pax. However, it is so coincident that I dropped by to this place on a sunny afternoon to check out the location. It was a great finding for me to learn that teatime for 2 persons is for RM64++. At first I thought it is out of my budget again until I checked out the quality of food they served, it is worth the money.

It is not hard to get to this place. If you are following Jalan Scotland from town area, Union High School is on your left. Keep moving for another 4oo meters and you will realise a small sighboard written “Suffolk House 100m”. In front of you will be 2 junctions that turn to Jalan Air Itam and also Jalan Masjid, follow the signboard and use the Air Itam exit and turn left at the next turning. Follow the signboard of Suffolk House all the way and you will eventually reach the destination. By the way, the last part of going to that place is slightly secluded. You have to keep driving although it looks like a private housing estate.

Suffolk House is also known as the first “Great House of Penang” and is said to have been built by Sir Francis Light, the founder of the British Settlement of Penang. However, there are still a lot of arguments that the house is built by other person.

The main selling point of dining at this place is not mainly about food. However, it is the ambience and also the feel of dining at a restored place which maintains its rich historical values.

The surrounding of this place is very peaceful and quite. You can feel the breeze from the trees is like whispering lullaby to your ear.

The main entrance to the restaurant looks grand and supreme. They still maintained the old structure of the mansion. The restoration to this place took more than 3 decades to complete.

Classic chandeliers at the dining area.

A good collection of wine and the bar counter outside the room.

The classy English-style private room.

The open air dining area for high-tea.

Set Tea For Two @ RM64+
Selection of tea:

• Earl Grey
• English Breakfast
• Green Tea
• Mint
• Camomile Fruity
• Darjeeling

Platter provided:

4 x Scones with strewberry jam & cream
2 x Smoked Salmon Sandwich
4 x Cucumber Sandwich
2 x Chicken & mushroom pie
2 x Cheese Cake
2 x Chocolate Cake

I was told by the waiter that the tea bags are imported from UK and there is no way to get it in our usual supermarkets. The English Breakfast tea is the usual and most common type of tea for those who prefer old-style black tea. While fruity camomile is the unique type of tea with fruity taste.

Besides the 2 pots of tea, the cakes and pastries listed above were served in a small platter.

First layer of platter, cheese cake with strawberry on top. It was very soft and fluffy. The cakes may look small, but they were very filling and rich when you finished it. The same goes to the chocolate cake.

The second level of platter contained scones and chicken mushroom pie. The scones were heated up prior to serving. The fre and the pie was also very crunchy with the standard chicken mushroom stuffed inside. The scones also came with fresh cream, strawberry jam and also butter to go with it. The combination was heavenly.

As for the ground layer, there were 2 slices of smoked salmon sandwich and 4 x cucumber salad sandwich. The salmon was very fresh and tasty while the cucumber cooled off our body temperature.

Overall, dining at Suffolk House Restaurant is not mainly for the food, but for the environment and dining experience. It’s not always that you will dine in an elegant and high standard restaurant.

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: 12:00noon – 2:00pm (Lunch), 2:30pm – 6:00pm (Tea Time), 7:00pm – 10:30pm (Dinner). (7 days a week)
Contact: 04-228 3930
Address:250, Jalan Air Itam, 10460 Penang.

Looking for a place which serves more than just Penang food and which is less crowded yet with plentiful of parking space? A place which is romantic enough to spend some quality time with your special ones and where the food is great and price is affordable?

It is not easy to find such place with all the requirement above. However, this  time I managed to discover this place which is Brown House. The location of Brown House is very easy to be spotted. It is located just opposite 1-stop Midlands Park Complex in Pulau Tikus.

The building is a big mansion with huge parking space.

Ground floor, the common dining area which is fully air-conditioned.

First floor, with private rooms as well as open-space dining area.

Main Courses:

Pork Chop – RM17.90, this is one of my favorites. Although it may have the plain Jane look, but the taste was definitely not plain. The pork chop was marinated with lemon grass and spices. It was than deep-fried and served with fries and salad. The crust was very crunchy while the meat was very soft and juicy. Therefore, never judge a book by its cover.

Kampong Nasi Lemak – RM7.20, other than the “plain look” pork chop, Kampong Nasi Lemak is also one of the tasty dishes. The curry chicken had a very strong curry aroma, while the level of spiciness was not too over whelming. It was a great combination with the coconut milk rice (nasi lemak), anchovies (ikan bilis), half boiled egg, fried peanut and spicy condiment (sambal).

Hanoi Roll (5 pcs) – RM11.90, These are the deep-fried spring rolls stuffed with meat. It went well with the chili sauce provided. It was a nice and delightful starter.

Puff Pastry Chicken Stew – RM12.90, the best part was the hot and crunchy pastry, when dipped into the soup it became semi-crunchy. The taste of the soup was not as thick and rich as the usual chicken mushroom soup. It was a fusion style of soup and definitely a pleasant starter.

PHO Beef – RM10.90. Compared to puff pastry chicken stew, I still prefer the chicken stew. Although this is an authentic Vietnamese food with tasty beef slices.

Braised Pork Ribs with Nuts – RM10.90. The pork ribs were braised until the meat turned soft. It had a nice aroma from the nut which were boiled together with the ribs. Still puff pastry chicken stew is my favourite.

Ee Chee Lou Fun – RM10.90, exclusively Hong Kong style, rice pagoda on shark’s fin soup. The shark’s fin soup was the usual one that we tried had at any Chinese restaurants while the rice was fragrant rice. There is a slight drawback on the shark’s fin as it was slightly overcooked and the texture became too soft without the bouncy “Q” feeling.

Baked Macaroni Cheese – RM12.90. Nicely baked macaroni and minced meat, it mixed really well with the paste. However, if you are a cheese lover you may not enjoy the mild cheese slices used on this dish.

Starters:

Potato Skin – RM11.90, the potato filling was removed and potato skin was used to stuff in minced meat with potato paste and topped with cheese. The drawback is also same as the baked macaroni cheese - the misuse of cheese type.

Arabian Toast – RM3.60, the unique factor was on the toast itself while the kaya and butter was just the usual stuff. The toast was crunchy and with some sweetness on the toast itself.

Potato Wedges with Paprika – RM6.90, The potato wedges were dipped with paprika powder which tasted like curry powder, then topped with mayonnaise. The taste is acceptable as starter.

Hot and Spicy Chicken Wing – RM11.90, this hot and spicy chicken wing has the taste of KFC, very suitable for kids who love crunchy and spicy chicken.

Honey Chicken Wings – RM11.90. For kids that don’t enjoy spicy food, honey chicken wings is another option.

Drinks:

Curacao – RM7.20, one of the very unique drinks. The color of the drink was blue with some lemon slices. The taste was surprisingly good as I thought all the while drinks with such color will have the taste of detergent. But not for this one.

Full Moon – RM7.20, it looked like the moon was on top of the white cloud. This ice blended drink is to wake someone up when he feels sleepy. It was sweet and sour. It is also a preferred drink for ladies who care about their diet.

Other varieties of drinks are also available as below:

• Ice Honey Lemon – RM3.60
• Ice Lemon Tea – RM3.60
• Ice Jasmine Tea – RM3.90
• Ice Traditional Coffee with Milk – RM3.30
• Ice Milk Tea – RM3.30
• Strawberry love – RM7.20

Overall, this is a very new and uncrowded place. For those who always travel outside and need a place for shelter or internet access, this is the place for you. Certain food are very good and the price range with such ambience is acceptable.

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: 12:00noon – 11am- 1am (7 days a week)
Contact: 016-494 4972 (Cynthia)
Address:2, Brown Road, Pulau Tikus, 10350, Penang (Opp. Berjaya Hotel & 1-stop)