Friday, July 29, 2011

Sumptuous Beriani Kambing (Mutton Briyani) at Puncak Mutiara Cafe, Kampung Pelet, Bukit Mertajam

I never knew about this place until my boss suggested that we go for a dinner trip there after work one day with few of my colleagues… as some could not make it, we proceeded with the plan and drove across the bridge heading towards BKE (Kulim) highway.. She heard about this place from a friend and it was very much recommended for the mutton dishes offered.

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We left the office slightly after 6:45pm, and the journey was a breeze.. no jam on a Monday evening! I could not remember in exact on the directions, but it was like head thru BKE toll, pay MYR 1.60.. take the left lane right after, you’ll see a big sign stating Kubang Semang, up to the sorta flyover, take the right turn….and down from the flyover.. then a few number of left turns.. hahaha… you’ll pass few malay eateries offering tom yam and sorts… then there’s chinese grave yards on the right hand side… some shophouses… there was like pasar malam on that day.. and one of the shophouses on the left.. there’s this shop name Butik Ina.. it’s easy to notice because of the big shop banner sign.. urm.. but 3 of us noticed it like separately and were puzzled on the choice of graphic… anyways, then you will see another sign to another seafood restaurant.. “Zhu Ling Village Centre”.. apparently, it’s a Thai food place which also comes recommended.. Will go try there one day… and right after that you will see a big sign stating “Kampung Palet”, turn left and go all the way through the narrow road, you will then reach the destination… hohoho… there’s a big parking space and there weren’t many cars when we arrived at 7:20pm.

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It’s a big place with different types of seatings available… huts with tables and chairs… huts with platform and a table where patron get to dine malay style.. sitting on the platform floor instead of chairs… air conditioned area… function rooms…

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Individual huts….

P1500032-1  The platform, verandah style for the malay kampung dining experience…

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I went for a fast stroll after placing our orders… only managed to get few photos before the sky turns to dark…

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Pathway from the entrance… with individual huts.. many of them! Banners of their dishes were displayed as well..

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They have few farms, the rabbit, goat and the ostrich farm in which I did not manage to visit as it was getting dark.. another round perhaps…

P1500043-1 Entrance to the air conditioned area…

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Shortly after, food was served… first up was the Nasi Beriani Kambing Grill (Grilled Mutton) MYR23.00.. don’t be fooled by the photo cos the serving was not as small as it looks.. the rice portion was big.. with 4 pieces of grilled mutton… served with dalca and air asam… It does look a little dry though.. my colleague who had it commented that it was okay, but there were some part of the meat that were a little overcooked and hard…

P1500051-1 But as for the mutton, it was fresh, the rice is slightly different with the other beriani I’ve had because of the stronger taste of the spices used.

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Next up was the Nasi Beriani Paha Kambing (mutton/goat’s thigh) MYR18.80, also served with dalca and air asam… my boss had this and she commented that the thigh was very soft and tender… she does not need to struggle with the thigh and by only pulling the bone, it comes off easily, clean.. that’s how tender it was.. and good thing it does not have that smell….

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And again, like I said earlier, don’t be fooled by the photos… I’m not sure why the portion looks smaller but the fact that it can feed 2 person… it’s very filling…

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I wanted to try the best of both world… so I ordered the Puncak Mutiara Special MYR 19.90. And yes we all ordered briyani.. the menu was very friendly.. it has photos and description of the food and we basically stopped at the first page and started ordering…and there were still a lot of other fares available.. in which we shall leave for another round… anyways, back to my beriani… it comes with ayam kampung kismis (dry curry-like chicken with raisins), kambing masalla (mutton masala), hard boiled egg, dalca and air asam… and it’s a set that comes with fruit juice… A worthy set! :D

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The mutton was my favourite… it was really tender..and yummy too.. the chicken was not bad too, and the generous amount of my favourite air asam.. and this is more of like a drier version of air asam with more tomatoes, onions and all.. compared to the usual more finely chopped ingredients type of air asam we see in nasi melayu stall/ikan bakar.

P1500083-1For sides, we ordered 2 deep fried quails… (burung puyuh)  .. not sure how much it was…

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Satay Set Special… comes with 7 types of satay, 2 of each flavour (ayam, daging, perut, kambing rusa, ostrich and arnab)..we change the arnab though… because we all just couldn’t bear eating those cutu poor bunnies… MYR 24.50 based on the online menu… I noticed that the online menu differs slightly on the pricing… perhaps not a very updated one… oh ya.. they have their own website.. Will share it at the end of this post… satay was good… if only the satay sauce was thicker…

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Yummy satay with succulent meat…

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Patrons starts to come in only slightly after 8… visited by people of various races…

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The place is clean, nicely maintained and all lit up during the night.. each hut has a little fan as well…

P1500113-1 The drinks preparation counter.. nice, big and clean… chek out their drinks menu… it’s a whole long list!

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Dine, kampung style.. on a verandah with atap roofs..

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Fish pond filled with koi-s…

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Cashier counter…

P1500129-1 So, check out their website for more information. Be warned.. it it filled with mouth watering photos… and oh ya.. they also have Ramadhan Buffet promotion voucher that entitle a 20% off per pax at MYR39.90.  Normal walk in customers are charged MYR49.90. Delivery and catering service also available, for wedding, parties and functions as affordable price.

Puncak Mutiara Cafe
Lot 179, MK 3, Kampung Pelet,
14400 Bukit Mertajam,
Pulau Pinang.
Tel No: 604 - 522 8502 / 522 8503
Fax No: 604 – 5228501
H/P No: 012 - 5175503 / 012 - 206 5003 /012 - 286 5363
Email: query@puncakmutiara.com
Website: www.puncakmutiara.com
Business Hours: 10:00am to 2:00am

*just in case my directions explanation were not that good, here’s the GPS coordinate :P
N5.41517° E100.45613°

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