With pubs and BBQ restaurants mushrooming in Automall of Karpal Singh Drive, chances for us to have a decent coffee in a cozy cafe is minimal to an extend that Automall should be renamed to BBQMall in our opinion. Just before we decided to bid this adult playground goodbye, we bumped into Monopoly Social Exchange Lounge. (GPS: 5.39834,100.32915)
Wonton is also known as Bian Rou in the mainland of China and is Fujianese’s hundreds year specialty. Do you know that the skin is actually made of meat? Yes, the fresh minced pork is pounded for 3 hours before forming into paper-like springy wrapper. PUTIEN Style Bian Rou Soup (with Vinegar) 傳統扁肉湯 (加醋) (RM9.90/pax) is a must-try in the new PUTIEN, Gurney Paragon Mall (GPS: 5.43585,100.31112).
In George Town, Penang, if you fold one’s eye and let him/her walk, there is a high chance that he/she will walk into a cafe (if yet to be hit by cars). Yes, cafes are everywhere in the heritage city. Myarte Cafe (GPS: 5.41882, 100.34094), however, is rather special for us.
With new designer furniture and refurbished interior, one hardly notices that the famous hotel next to Komtar was once known as a business hotel called Traders Hotel. Welcome to the new Hotel Jen Penang (GPS: 5.41361,100.33028) with younger and more elegant look. We recently revisited it for one-of-its-kind Chinese New Year dinner course meal.
Reunion dinner is a traditional Chinese culture in which all family members gather together one day before Chinese New Year. Other than returning to hometown, in modern society, an alternate option is to have reunion dinner outside, such as Eastern & Oriental Hotel’s Chinese New Year Steamboat Buffet Dinner (GPS: 5.42333,100.33583)
Oriental Red Seafood Market (GPS: 5.39569,100.32404) is not the usual Seafood restaurant in the neighborhood. With no prix fixe menu, diners are given the flexibility to handpick their own desired Seafood from the Seafood counter. The Seafood comes in a wide variety, with some fresh and some frozen. Selected Seafood will then be cooked by the dedicated team and served in way of Nabe (Japanese Hot Pot). It is noteworthy that the special broth for the Nabe is authentically prepared in Japan and air-flown to the restaurant.
Time flies and it has been one year since we first reviewed Mellowcup (GPS: 5.43203,100.30176) – a cafe in New Bob Centre, Gottlieb Road, Penang specialized in gourmet coffee. Recently, we re-visited it again for its new menu. Is the food getting better? Let’s find out…
Don’t worry, no one is harmed (including chef and the building) in the making of this photo. As a matter of fact, squid, king prawn, minute steak, lamb chop and Bratwurst Sausages are scrummy when grilled with charcoal. This is just a highlight of the upcoming Christmas Buffet at SPOON of G Hotel Kelawai (GPS: 5.43560,100.31005).
While nitrogen ice cream is trending in Malaysia, some ice cream parlors merely focus on presentation. Merry Me (GPS: 5.43586,100.31114) at Gurney Paragon Mall, however, is an exception as the homemade ice cream is not only nice to look at, it is even better to taste with.
You may have seen Chinese tea houses scattered in busy streets of Penang. How about Japanese tea house? Located in narrow lane of Lorong Toh Aka is Komichi Tea House (GPS: 5.41383,100.33651) operated by a Japanese daughter, and you can’t go wrong with a tea house with green tea from owner’s farm.
