Lok Lok at Pulau Tikus Market, Penang

Lok lok is basically food  on skewers where you dip in boiling pot of stock to cook it and then savour it with your favourite sauce, mostly satay/peanut sauce, and few other different chili sauce. Some even have sweet/hoisin sauce. Very similar to the satay celup in Jonker Street Malacca, except that it’s not being celup-ed into satay sauce.

There are infact many lok lok stalls in Penang but this is usually the packed one. It’s not because it’s the cheapest or taste better, but perhaps it’s because everything is laid on the table and they will replenish the ones finished and the variety of different items, from fish balls to seafood, meat balls to sausages, vegetables and many many more…

See for yourself… hebat or not? :D I like it this way.. more convenient… rather than have to stand up and go get your choice of skewers from the stall… back to your seat.. or stay by the little truck and everyone fighting to dip into the small pot.. here… everything is in front of you…

Variety of skewers… pricing at average of MYR1.00 per stick. Dip it in the pot of boiling stock until it’s cooked, served with sauce of your choice… but be careful… it’s piping hot!

They serve fresh oysters too… at MYR2.60 each..

Little oysters skewers, cockles, cuttlefish with convolvulus, ham, fish balls, deep fried wantons, broccoli, mantis prawns meat, Taiwanese sausages with few different sauces to choose from, and you can also order other hawker fares from other stalls… go check them out :D

Glutton Square (2nd Street), Sg Petani

To many staying in Sungai Petani, “Jee Kay” (2nd Street) or “Hao Jiak Kay” (Glutton Square) as we called it, is somewhere we are all familiar about… somewhere we have been for hawker food since we were young! I remembered that when I was little, my defaulted order was always the wanton noodles… one thing is because, I am a very shy person.. I don’t dare to go to any stall and place an order… so whatever my siblings eat, I’ll follow suit… so I don’t have to go make an order… mom once threatened me if I do not go order myself, then fine, be it that way, let me starve then! gosh… I was so upset, I forced myself to order the food, and walloped everything (I usually don’t eat the vege and the pickled chili but i downed everything that night), and say no word at all…  silent tantrum… now to think back… what’s the purpose i did that.. siao right? My mom would be so happy I did not waste anything… haha..  kids~

Anyways, besides plenty of hawker fares to choose from, it actually brings back a lot of great schooling memories… I used to hang out there for tea with my school mates, my babes and other friends from different schools for makan and chit chats…. missing the great times a lot… 

My all time favourite is the Jawa mee! It’s a must order whenever I’m there… well… for me, it’s the best, compared to the ones in Penang… but.. my Penang friends somehow do not know how to appreciate it… haha… perhaps they are very much used to the plain tomato sauce soup noodles (Penang Jawa mee)

Yellow noodles with the thick soup (made of potato based tomato gravy), sliced fried beancurd, prawn fritters, prawn crackers, boiled eggs,  topped with grounded peanuts and lime juice…

May May.. I know you want this :D muahahahahahaa…. *evil grin

The lor bak stall with it’s signature “bomb”.. yam balls with salted egg yolks… I don’t really like that one though… haha… first timers will be curious… my friend ordered it.. so that explains why it’s there in the plate… but they have pretty extensive choice of lor bak to choose from…

Barbequed pork slice bread… yummy! it’s a normal bun with bbq-ed pork slice, dipped in egg and flour mixture, i think, and deep fried to perfecto… crispy and so yummy… it has got different fillings to choose from, bbq-ed pork slice, pork floss or the chicken curry….

 

Fresh sugar cane juice… non diluted ok.. :D

Shaved ice, with “o gio” also known as aiyu jelly… perfect on hot sunny day!

This is like only a quarter of it…. many other yummy food available… the laksa… the claypot rice… the wanton noodles… the poh piah/spring rolls, nyonya kuih-s, the herbal tea drink, yong tau foo, chicken rice.. hokkien noodles, the fried chicken, and many many more!!

But I have to say, compared to last time, it’s not as packed already… losing it’s popularity I guess… and kids now don’t hangout at hawker stalls anymore… they go to bistros, coffee place, cafe and stuffs… sigh.. not like the good old days.. :D

Babes, one makan outing there again someday?

Hakka Mee @ Restoran Kampar Fish Jelly, Sg Nibong, penang

A colleague of mine introduced this place to me.. although I stay only nearby and went to the pet shop and other eateries at the same row, never actually take notice of this restaurant.

They serve noodles with minced meat sauce, and you can order soup with vegetables stuffed with fish balls and other options like tofu, bean curd sheets, other sides like belacan fried chicken and chicken feet..

The available options and all the vegetables are really fresh and green. Stuffed with smooth fish paste which eventually becoming fish balls.

Many greens to choose from, with different sides.

Served ala yong tau foo, in clear soup.

The Hakka Mee(noodles) with minced meat sauce… simple but nice…

Besides Hakka noodles, there are also other different type of noodles to be chosen from.

Fried sides served separately in a small plate, with noodles and the soup with vegetable of your choice…

Fried wanton and belacan fried chicken. The chicken was yummy!

Chicken feet is not bad.. tender with nice fragrant. I can cook nicer ones though.. muahahahaha       

Complete and satisfying meal.. price is okay.. pretty reasonable. It’s usually filled with customers from opening to closing.. so I guess business is doing pretty well!

Restoran Kampar Fish Jelly

66, Jalan Aziz Ibrahim, 11900 Bayan Baru, Penang. (It’s the same row with Teng’s economy fried vermicelli. )

Contact ☎ 012-2861896

Soon Lai Seafood Restaurant, Greenlane, Penang

A friend of mine brought me here for dinner one day.. she says they serve yummy crabs at very reasonable price. Besides crabs, seafood and list of choices from chicken to pork, tofu to vegetables, you name it, they would have it… But since it was only 3 of uc, we did not order too much…. just enough to accommodate our tummy… you can check out Food Galore’s page for more recommendation since this was my first visit and I’ve tried only minimal dishes…

We had steamed crabs with chinese rice wine, garlic, ginger and chili paddy.. Love the gravy… i have this thing with chinese wine.. love the aroma in most cooking… crabs was really fresh, but perhaps a little bit too much chili paddy, the gravy turned more spicy towards the end, it had the hint of spicy bitterness from the chili paddy..

Not sure what chicken is this but it was recommended by the lady who took our order.. it seems to be like house special sauce… and it’s yummy too… gravy goes well with the rice and chicken is tender and not over fried.

Sizzling tofu with eggs.. also nice.. I could just eat white rice with the gravy alone…

Simple vegetable, bigger version of Brussels sprouts or as we called it “chai tnah” or “kana kia”..

Overall, happy with the food and will go back and try the others… looking at the other dishes served at other tables… yum.. salivating~… i wanna go back and try all of them! But do try to go early… or slightly later… peak hours starts at 7:00pm to around 8:30pm.. very crowded with patrons! It does not look like a seafood restaurant though… so you might miss it… It’s located at the same row with Sabai Sabai thai food, but the other end of the row.

Soon Lai Seafood Restaurant

15, Lintang Batu, Greenlane

11600, Penang

Contact ☎ 04-6589799

Business hours: 6 pm -12 am (open daily)

Hard Rock Cafe, Penang

It was the opening day of the Hard Rock Hotel, also Hari Raya Eve. Went to Hard Rock Cafe to check it out for the first time and am loving the life band. Hard Rock Cafe caters more to upmarket, that explains the over priced beverages.. MYR 60 per jug of beer, MYR 60 for a Margarita! One of my colleague went with her Japanese customer and ordered a bottle of Bacardi and a bottle of vodka, cost her around MYR800! One thing I like about this place is it’s not that packed.. they won’t just simply allow patrons in if there is no seats available… so you might see a long queue outside.

I happened to meet an ex colleague, Kevin who is already in there, so I got to go in direct… muahahaha…. a lot of tourist I would say and they were indeed very fun people.. dancing around to the music and songs played by the band. There’s one grandma at one of the tables with her family.. haha… one of the white tourist went to her and asked for high five, and she gave the high five back.. so cute… hahahaha… Went there again on 3rd day of Raya, on Tuesday to try out the food!

So again with photos photos photos… haha… coming up! I made full use of my camera okie.. :P

This was the scene of the first night I went… pretty happening.. and guess what… If you count from right hand side, the stripe shirt guy, the white shirt guy and the third, black shirt guy… he is actually the Hong Kong TVB actor… I don’t know his name actually… but hm… he’s Dr.J, Ray’s manager in King of Snooker (one of the latest TVB drama series)

Full house… and we got the table directly in front of the stage.. wahahaha… good place!

The same lighting as the hotel’s entrance, smaller version…. above the stage..

Save cost kot.. they uses hotel’s napkin….

Menu was okay, selections not bad… they serve food like Friday’s and Chilis concept… bottle water cost at MYR6.00 per bottle, MYR8 after 10:30pm. Same goes with the lemonade, soft drinks, iced lemon tead, cannot recall, around MYR8.00 each, an extra MYR2.00 to MYR 4.00 after 10:30pm. I had the fizzy lemonade..

Starters up… Jumbo Combo MYR 48.00, quoting the menu, a delectable array of our most popular starters that’s big enough to share. Includes Santa Fe Spring Rolls, Hickory-Smoked Chicken Wings, Onion Rings, Potato Skins and Tupelo Chicken Tenders. Served with four different sauces for mixing and matching

The onion rings was crispy, chicken wings was nice, potato skin was okay, spring roll was urm…not enough filling, got salad outside to make it up though and chicken tenders was okay too… overall, not great, but just okay… enough for4 person… ideally 3…

The choice of main was Hickory Smoked Bar-B-Que Combo, comes with either Duo Combo MYR55.00 and Trio Combo MYR62.00. Quoting the menu again, Your choice of Bar-B-Que Beef ribs, Bar-B-Que Chicken or Bar-B-Que Beef Brisket. Served with seasoned fries, ranch beans, and fresh coleslaw. Duo means two of the 3 choices, or trio, all three of them. Beef brisket wasn’t available, so we had to go for the Duo Combo, chicken and ribs. This is not nad too.. both chicken and beef were tender and evenly seasoned. Portion is actually quite big.. I think it’s a quarter chicken and just 2 pieces of beef ribs. Enough for 2, or a big eater can finish everything up alone. Haha…

This order though was a mistake.. it’s actually the same dish in Jumbo combo… in bigger serving with celery sticks with dressing. My friend did not notice it… Tupelo Chicken Tenders MYR18.00, quoting the menu, boneless seasoned and breaded chicken tenders, served with Honey Mustard and Hickory Bar-B-Que sauce on the side or tossed in our classic rock, Heavy Metal or Tangy Bar-B-Que sauces with celery sticks and blue cheese dressing. I’m not sure what sauce it came with but it did not taste exactly like the one in the combo platter though… sauce was too sourish, flavour was too strong I had to swallow it and down it with my drink… I prefer Friday’s… they have a dish something similar…

Fresh Apple Cobbler, MYR 20, is says in the menu, A country favourite, served warm with vanilla ice cream, topped with walnuts and caramel sauce, is good and sweet tooth people will surely like it… problem is, it was served together with the main… so what do I eat first? Main first and let the ice cream melt beyond recognition, or just end the meal with my dessert and put the main aside? Aih… next time must tell them, desserts last, when I ask for it ok? I thought they would know, cos the crew didn’t ask if I would like my desserts serve early or later. But I don think I’ve eaten any walnut lo…

Overall meal was okay… and definitely priced for the up market. I saw the next table lady had 10 oz burger… gosh… the burger patty is really huge, fat and juicy… perhaps next time… must share though…

Finished our meal and while waiting for the band to start at 10:30pm, take photos first la.. :D

The life band is good, I like them a lot… there are a few numbers that I personally like , Dancing Queen, American Boy, Hatin’ at the Club and a few others… vocals are good… makes me wanna just stand up and dance.. muahaha… My friend told me they are available every night at 10:30pm except for Mondays…

Hard Rock Cafe Penang is actually not that big, it has got dining area, the bar and upstairs seatings over looking the bad and pool tables.. not as hebat as the ones in LA or San Fran though, my sis says got car revolving at the ceiling inside the cafe… Worth going for the band though…

Rock shop is available in the cafe itself too, selling Hard Rock Cafe merchandise only, and another Rock Shop, walking distance from the Cafe and Hotel, a small bungalow selling both hotel and cafe’s merchandise… Shop can be seen from the main road..

Nyonya Breeze, Abu Siti Lane, Penang

After a tiring hiking trip to Keracut beach with my sis and her friends, we went to Nyonya breeze to fill in our tummies, having to burn most of the calories along the hike :D

There were 11 of us, so we let Shaun be the tauke (boss) and do the ordering… our kerja (work) is to eat only :P

The menu offering is pretty extensive with daily specials… they have most of the authentic nyonya dish you have learnt from “Little Nyonya”

The door to authentic nyonya cuisine…. the menu laa :P

Utensils and plates neatly placed on each tables

First up.. Ayam Ponteh MYR 12:00 for small serving. Braised chicken with carrots and potatoes in a delicious sauce of bean paste and gula melaka (palm sugar). Substitute the chicken with pork, then you’ll have Babi Ponteh :D My fav dish of the day… it has got this nice flavour with the palm sugar sweetness and the saltiness of the bean paste, both mixed together and viola, i could just eat rice and the gravy alone...

Another famous nyonya dish, Jiu Hoo Char, MYR 8.40, add lettuce MYR 2.40 as wraps. Cuttlefish strips stir fried with pork slices , turnip, carrot, cabbage, onions and mushroom strips. Also known to some ask mangkuang char. The slight difference is there’s more cuttlefish strips used for the extra flavour. However, most commented that the one served here is not as fragrant. to me it somehow has got the hint of bak kua taste… haha.. something wrong with my taste buds..

Acar awak, MYR 7.20. Pickled cucumber, cabbages, carrots, long bean, and it has got french beans too, in spicy tangy mix. I personally prefer my aunt’s :D

Kari Bak Kut (Ribs curry) MYR 14.40. Thick spicy, savoury curry of pork ribs chunks and potatoes. Very rich and this is also one of my favourite except that the pork rib is not that tender, the flavour though is very good.

Egg Belanda MYR 3.60 with servings of 2 fried eggs in sweet and sour gravy of tamarind extract and onions… hmm.. this one I did not try because there’s so many other dishes in front of me :P… it looks good though… haha…

Kiam Hu Kut Tau Hu Th’ng MYR 14.40, salted fish bones and bean curd soup with sprinkling of pepper powder and spring onions… This is not bad… the aroma though is not quite there.. but flavour wise was good, not too salty, just nice with smooth tofu (bean curd) pieces…

Nasi Ulam MYR 7.00. Steamed rice tossed with salted fish , dried prawns, belacan, kerisik (toasted grated coconut) and assorted local herbs. This unfortunate not as good as I though it would… My dad make wan better :P rice was quite dry, sould not really taste the salted fish or the dried prawn.. i mean.. the flavour is just not there… quite bland… my dad will usually add fried selar fish though.. perhaps that add some moist into it…

Digging in… before all dishes were served.. all lapar (hungry) already.. hahaha

Business is a brisk even for lunch, patrons moving in and out. Must be regulars… The place is not as huge.. previously they have an outlet in Tanjung Bungah next to Naza Hotel. Went there before, years back with my parents but could not recall much.. perhaps it wasn’t really great…

This round though was pretty pleasant.. with good company and different dishes to try, would certainly go back to explore the others…

Nyonya Breeze

No.50, Abu Siti Lane, 10400 Georgetown, Penang

Contact ☎: 019 - 443 7104

Lunch 11:30am to 2:30pm Dinner 6:30pm to 10:00pm

Closed on Tuesday except for public holidays