Penang Lor Bak.

 Lor Bak is marinated pork - roll in thin soybean sheets and then deep fried. Usually served with a small bowl of Loh (a thick broth thickened with corn starch and beaten eggs) and red chilli sauce and  together with a platter of fried Tofu, prawn fritters, century egg, fresh cucumber wedges-a good appetizer.

Thanks to my friend Eddie for these delicious home made Lor Bak from Penang.

Eddie is a Penang guy but now stays in Kuala Lumpur.


On his occasional trip back to Penang with his wife-they will pre-order these delicious home made cooked Lor bak from a local household by the hundred.

As the Lor bak are cooked, I just heat it up in a microwave oven for about three minutes and it was ready to be eaten.

Lor bak-well marinated-chunky cubed pork-sweet and fragrant with just the right amount of 5 spices powder-one of the best that I have ever eaten !

RESTORAN BALI HAI SEAFOOD MARKET.

In the night, the neon, twinkling and glistening colorful lights of Restoran Bali Hai along Persiaran Gurney, Penang draws you like "A moth to a flame".
The restaurant is quite unique with a huge tree growing out through it's ceiling in the middle of the dining area ( Good preservation's practice).
Thatched Attap roof decor make the place feel like a mini resort with a relax ambiance.

The restaurant's tag line "IF IT SWIMS WE HAVE IT" fitted them perfectly. At one side of the restaurant, there were many decks of glass aquarium filled full with live local and exotic seafood.
It is a place to tuck into fresh local and exotic seafood and Chinese cuisine with friends or family in a relaxed atmosphere.
The restaurant's location is 5 star with a sea front view and parking is ample along Persiaran Gurney.

The outside view of the restaurant-so enticing!

Decks of aquarium filled with live seafood and colorful tablecloth.

The mighty tree in the middle of the dining area.

Garouper, Geoduck, River Prawns and Crabs- (center) F**** gave a thumbs up for a delicious dinner.

Kam Heong La La (Clams) was fresh with a tangy and fiery flavor from the sweet bean paste and bird's eye chillies-Rm12/

Claypot Taufoo with assorted Seafood and vegetables- flavorful and the gravy was perfect with White rice-Rm15/

Assam Tilapia fish-the meat was white and fresh with a firm texture-Assam (tamarind juice) gravy was absolutely delicious- garnished with aromatic Mint leaves- Rm 26/

Salted Duck Egg Crabs-the meaty Crab cooked with Duck egg was flavorsome and fine in texture-the best part was devouring them bits by bits with our fingers and licking up the Duck egg coated shell, too!-Rm66/

Total bill:Rm165
Location:90-90A-90B-90C-90D,
Persiaran Gurney, Penang,
Tel:04-228-8272.

KEDAI KOPI NEW CATHAY

Kedai Kopi New Cathay is a corner coffee shop located along Burmah road off Pulau Tikus, Penang. It is a famous eatery with many stalls that offers nearly all of Penang hawker's delicacies. There are a few shady trees besides the shop that provide shade for those who like to sit outside.
As it was a Sunday, the place was packed to the rim and we waited for about ten minutes for a table.
The prices of food range from Rm3/-Rm4/.

The main entrance.

Hokkien mee-needs no introduction-with Rice Vermicelli, Water Spinach, Beansprout, strips of lean Pork, prawns, half a hard boiled Egg and some deep fried Shallots plus extra Chillies on the spoon-the broth was well prawn flavored-one of best that I have tasted in Penang.

Inside the shop-my two nephew engrossed with their Gameboy while waiting for the food to be serve.

Char Kueh Kak-fried Radish cake with fat crunchy Beansprout and Chinese Chives-drier than the one I had at McAlister road with a smokey flavor and a bitter aftertaste (some pieces were burnt).

Laksa with Rice Vermecelli served with Long Bean, Prawn, Tau Pok, coagulated cubed Pig's Blood, Cockles-a bit diluted- was not "lemak" but surprisingly spicy with the extra Sambal Chillies paste.

Pan Mee-my "Ang Moh" sil Hannah does not want any Green-just Mushroom, minced Pork and crackling Ikan Bilis (deep fried Anchovies)-she said that the mee was smooth and the taste was OK.

Char Koay Teow-with some cockles and prawns-was quite plain but tasty!

Loh Mee-it was different from KL-served with Prawn, strips of lean Pork, sliced Fish cake and complemented by a topping of Coriander leaves, deep fried Shallots and clear tasty broth-a very refreshing and flavorful meal.

Wanted to taste the famous Apong but the queue was too long, so we ordered Banana, Raisin Pancake to round off our meal-the crust was crispy and the inside was soft and filled with sweet Raisin and sliced Banana-sweet and fruity flavor.

MUMMY FANG OTAK-OTAK

A bespectacled lady interrupted me with her sales pitch about her famous takeaway Otak-Otak while I was enjoying a plate of Chak Kueh Kak at Sin Seow Fong Lye, McAlister Road, Penang.

Chak Kueh Kak- fried White Radish cake served on a plate with a piece of Banana leaf was delicious and filled with extra "Chai Poh" (preserved dried Radish), crunchy beansprout and chives but was a bit oily.

She introduces herself as Mummy Fang and claims that her Otak-Otak was the best in town and that it was featured on the Internet (Rasa Rasa, Penang Hawker).
I bought a pack at Rm2/ from her and tried it.
Oh! it was tasty.

She was delighted when I bought 10 more packets from her for takeaway.

Otak-Otak (Spicy Fish Custard)-the ingredients are Coconut milk, Egg, Flour, Turmeric, Lengkuas (Galangkal), Shallots, Lemongrass, Chillies, Fish fillet and Daun Kadok (wild Pepper leaves) wrapped with Banana leaves-cooked by steaming it-the density of ingredients in the Otak-Otak was of equal proportions- the snowy White fish meat was tender and sweet, while the thick gravy was aromatic, creamy, spicy and soft-Rm2/.

Mummy Fang H/p-016-471-0430.

AH SOON CHAR KOAY TEOW-HOME DELIVERY (HILLSIDE)

If you are living around the quiet Hillside's neighborhood in Tanjung Bungah, Penang there are chances that you might have made use of their unique service.
Ah Soon Char Koay Teow home delivery on wheels (Tanjung Bungah area only)- just like what those fast food guys are doing!!

The husband/wife and son (weekend only) team operates from a three wheel motorbike's stall, outside Kafe Huat Heng.
Beside CKT, they have Koay Teow Th'ng, too.

I observed that most customers go more for their CKT which are fried to order. When there is a delivery to be made, the wife or son will take over but some insisted on waiting forthe father because he is the better cook.

Open from 12 p.m till about 6 p.m-customers come and go.

Char Keow Teow-was charcoal fried with lard oil-filled with sliced Chinese sausage, prawn, cockles, Chinese chives, egg, chillies, deep fried lard and lots of beansprouts-fragrant and not too oily-one of my fave in Penang-Rm3.20/.

This plate with no cockle, no chillies but extra beansprouts and Chinese chives.

Location:Kafe Huat Heng,
Jalan Sungei Kelian,
Hillside, Tanjung Bungah,
Penang.

WATERWORLD SEAFOOD RESTAURANT-PENANG

Waterworld is located opposite of the Shangri-la Hotel at Batu Ferringhi in Penang. It is actually a former food court converted into an open air restaurant. Beside the restaurant is a stall cum pub run by an Australian woman, with lots of wines for sale too, plus a pool table for it's patrons. Waterworld's signature dishes are live seafood cooked in a varieties of style. The five of us were recommended by the waiter to try their chef's specialty dishes.

Coconut Cheese Baked Lobster (1.09kg)-meat was fresh, juicy and succulent with a layer of caramelized cheese, dig into the coconut for it's flesh after eating the lobster-rm189/.

Deep Fried Toufu -a signature dish-topped with gravy filled with shrimps and crab meat-Toufu was smooth inside and and the gravy was flavorful-rm12/.

Black pepper Squid garnished with scallion-was mediocre-rm15/.

Stir fried Choy Sam-was green and leafy-to balance off the meat-rm12/.

Fresh oyster-was fresh and of a greyish variety- add a squeeze of lime and Tabasco sauce for extra kick-rm35/.

Deep Fried Squid with chillies and black pepper sauce-this was good, hot, crispy and full of peppery flavor-rm15/.

Total bill:rm285/.
Location:16, Jalan Batu Ferringhi,
PENANG.
Tel:04-885-1544.

BAGAN PRAWN VILLAGE SEAFOOD-BUKIT TAMBUN

We had our lunch here before proceeding to our relative house in Bukit Mertajam for a wedding dinner later in the night. This restaurant is built on wooden stilts by the side of the river's fork leading to the sea. The decor is the usual red tablecloth tables and plastics chairs with overhead ceiling fans and an overhead full of plastic flowers and festive lighting. The way leading into the restaurant have aquariums and tanks filled with live sea fishes, comb shell, crabs, shellfish...etc. There are replicas of the various food for people who do not know what to order. The 15 us, sat on 2 tables and ordered their signature dishes and the best nutmeg fruit juice which i have ever drank.

The view of the forking river and houses built on stilts.

Waiting for the food to be serve

Steamed comb shell with tooth picks to dig up the flesh.

Close up of comb shell's flesh-was tasteless and chewy- have to dip in chili sauce for better taste.

Stir fry hydroponic vegetables (chee por choy)-was fresh, sweet and crunchy

Fried home made bean curd-was crispy on the outside and filled with minced prawn, carrot and some other secret ingredients

Fried glass noodles-made from mung beans-was tasty and full of ingredients.

Fried thick mee suah-a Teochew speciality -was salty based but the other ingredients blends well with it

Sweet and sour crabs-was fresh and meaty but the Thai sauce gravy spoilt the taste

The nutmeg juice.

Total bill:rm202/

Location:672.Bagan Bukit Tambun,
Simpang Ampat, S.P.S,PENANG
TEL:04-588-0541