5th Penang Food Blogger Gathering @ Jurin Express, Gurney Plaza

After the 4th Penang Food Blogger gathering which was back in August 2009, the recent 5th Food Blogger Gathering was just held at Jurin Express, Gurney Plaza.

Jurin Express, currently this is the only one outlet in Penang which is located at the 2nd floor of Gurney Plaza’s new wing.

The surrounding of this place is very cozy with large windows panes for you to enjoy the nice view of  Gurney Drive and also all walks of life outside the mall.

Very Japanese-style menu.

The gifts provided by the organizer, Jason and Gill from Gourmet Garden and also Criz from Crizfood.

I realized that nowadays most of the Japanese restaurants seem to have modern and stylish chandeliers.

The price for the set meal for each blogger was RM50. However, I find it value for money as the portion was very big and can easily feed the stomaches of two.

The drink of the day was free flow of Hot or Cold Honey Green Tea. The taste was very special with the additional touch of honey to the green tea.

There were 3 types of appetizers:

• Tempura Kani
• Sushi Combo
• Sushi Fried Maki

Tempura Kani, this is the sushi roll with crab stick as the filling, coated with tempura skin. The taste of this dish was crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside. It goes well with the Japanese sweet sauce and also some mayo.

Sushi Fried Maki, for this dish the nori rolled sushi is placed in in an extra layer of vinegar rice which has been topped with mayo and ebiko. It was a very appetizing starter. Actually, after tried out the 3 starters, we already felt very full and wanted to call for the day 🙂

Sushi Combo, a set of colorful sushi rolls. This dish combines all types of sushi. I just love the taste of hand roll sushi here as the sourness of the vinegar was not too heavy and also the compression of the rice was not too over. However, the taste might be vary from person to person. Some prefers the vinegar to be stronger and also the rice should be more compressed and sticky.

As for Set Lunch, there are 4 varieties of set lunches as below. These sets are only available during festive season, they are not commodities for daily:

Set A: Ginmutsu Teriyaki (Deep fried cod fish in sweet sauce), Chicken Ban Ban (Boneless fried chicken chunks served with Japanese sauce and mayo), Ebi Tempura (Deep fried shrimps in batter), Yaki Tamago (Sweet omelette), Garlic Fried Rice and Miso Soup.

Set B: Salmon and Tuna Sashimi, Unagi (BBQ Japanese eel), Tamago Kikurage (Black fungus with chilies), Yaki Tamago (Sweet omelette), Garlic Fried Rice and Miso Soup.

The salmon and the tuna slices were very fresh, but some food blogger claimed that the salmon and tuna were not fresh as they were a bit watery.

Set C: Salmon and Tuna Sashimi, Spicy Salmon (deep fried and topped with spicy sauce), Kakiage (Deep fried shrimps, squid and vegetables in batter), Yaki Tamago (Sweet omelette), Garlic Fried Rice and Miso Soup.

Set D: Karubi Beef (Stir fried beef with onions), Nama Ika Teriyaki (Grilled cuttlefish in teriyaki sauce), Karaage (Deep fried soft shell crabs), Yaki Tamago (Sweet omelette), Garlic Fried Rice and Miso Soup.

Desserts given to us were green tea ice cream with red bean.

Gill was showing the sponsored chili sauce and requested us to give comments after trying out.

Some of the food bloggers were chit-chatting while some were busy taking photos.

Some were ready to be served while some were staring blankly at each other.

“Here, let me pass you my name card”, Amanda was showing to Cheryl Wee, while her husband and Alvin were sitting wondering.

Chan Lilian was checking on her son if he was still intact.

Cariso was showing off her goodies while Mr. A was watching her from the opposite.

Lay Min was busy shooting while Kok Ann was checking on the goodies.

Criz Lai is planing to get a Lumix semi-pro camera like Sam’s, while Criz friend, Beh was looking elsewhere. Waco Chan was reading the menu.

The two beautiful girls Eunice and SY from Food Promotion got shocked when I took their photo.

Daisy, the owner of restaurant, was my ex-colleague and she is now the lady boss of Jurin Express while I am still at nowhere. Sigh.

Say cheese…. In present:

• Daisy Lee (boss) & hubby
• Alan Choong & Amanda Teoh
• Eunice, SY, Kelvin Tan
• CW Chan
• Criz Lai
• JK Beh
• Cheryl Wee & hubby
• Kok Ann, Lay Min
• Sam Ong
• Gill & Jason
• Steven Goh

(Not in photo – Carrie & partner, Lilian Chan & son).

Overall, the ambience here is very nice and cozy. The sushi rolls, tempura kani and most of the bento sets here are great, the green tea is very special compared to the usual plain green tea elsewhere. However, some of the dish like Set C is too localized and the dessert is just another OEM ice cream instead of  an impressive capture for the ending.

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: 11.30am-10.00pm (7 days a week)
Contact: 604-227 7112
Address:170-02-59/60, 2nd Floor, Gurney Plaza (New Wing), Persiaran Gurney, 10250 Penang