“Master Huang”, a label telling you which chef prepared this dish so that you can complain to the right chef in case the food suck. This is one of the uniqueness I found in Xuan Xin – a new restaurant (opposite of SenQ store) opened in Queensbay Mall.

The first thing appeared in my mind was the $$ judging on the grand interior. We flipped through the menu and found out that there was set meals available for 2 or 4 persons.

During my first visit, three of us ordered “4 pax Set Meal” (RM59.80++) which included soup of the day for each individual, 1 x vegetable, 3 x main course selectable from a page, and maximum of 8 bowls of rice. The restaurant assumed that each customer would consume two bowls of rice. Personally, I ate three bowls.

Note that even though you have only three persons, you are eligible for 4 bowls of soup of the day based on the package you ordered (e.g. 4 pax Set Meal).

You can select one vegetable of your choice from the menu. We selected 芥兰 Chinese Broccoli during our first visit. Too bad it was kind of old and chewy.

Time for some main dishes. 豉油皇干煎虾 Pan Fried Prawn with Soy Sauce – The prawns were fresh. The only thing missing is someone to peel them off for you.

豉椒炒鹿肉 Sauteed Venison with Black Bean Sauce – Venison is famous with its tender meat. This venison even though still tasted good, was a bit old.

南乳斋煲 Stewed Mix Vegetable with Preserved Bean Curd in Claypot – WOW! This one was too salty! This was the only item we could not finish eating that afternoon.

The restaurant also served dim sum. 蟹皇蒸烧卖 Steamed Pork Dumpling  ”Siew Mai” (RM5.00++) tasted similar to those in morning dim sum restaurants. Note that this item is ala-carte.

The same applied to 莲蓉芝麻枣 Crispy Sesame Balls (RM4.50++). 

With such a price, I rather went for something special, such as this 炫升蟹皇粥 Xuan Xin Crab Yolk Congee (RM16.80++). This was one luxury porridge which was made of crab yolk and meat, making the porridge became orange colour. Tasted good but a bit sweet to my liking.

Perhaps the item we enjoyed most during our first visit was 咸香脆莲藕 Crispy Lotus Ahizome with Salted Egg Yolk (RM8.00++).  The price was reasonable as well.

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Jiak Wong (食王) Bak Kut Teh is very common in northern region. Back to my hometown in Sungai Petani, there were two stalls having the same name. The same applies to Bukit Mertajam. I am not sure whether or not they have any relationship. Thinking of comparing those in BM, I visited 食王 (槟城) Good Master (Penang) recently.

According to locals, initially there was only one Good Master in BM. Then, one of the assistants went out and open another shop opposite of his master’s shop (Don’t ask me why he didn’t open far a bit). Old shop is called Good Master (Penang) BKT, while new one is called Good Master (Mutiara) BKT. If you dunno Chinese, you will be confused on who is who as both signboards just indicate “Good Master BKT”. I believe that they still maintain good relationship even though are competitors now.

Another way to differentiate them is to look at the air-conditional. The one with big venting pipe exposed is master’s restaurant.

You can, of course, customize the BKT. The soup was similar to the one in Sungai Petani – dark with moderate herb taste. The portion could be considered medium for two persons (for me, I can finish the whole clay pot). They were OK to refill your BKT soup as well. I need to visit the Mutiara shop in order to differentiate them.

The Chinese Lettuce (玻璃生菜) we ordered was disappointing. It was just too plain.

Good thing was that you can choose between yam and white rice. In Penang island, yam rice was usually quite limited. I visited this shop at 7:10pm and they still had the “stock”.

Here’s the price list:

Extra Small – RM7.50
Small – RM14.00
Medium – RM23.00
Big – RM33.00

Vegetable – RM6.00 (Big), RM4.00 (Small)
White Rice – RM0.80 (Big), RM0.50 (Small)
Yam Rice – RM0.90 (Big), RM0.60 (Small)

Sitting face to face, both Good Master Bak Kut Teh can be confusing sometimes. I ate three bowl of rice that night. Unfortunately they did not have dry version of Bak Kut Teh in this shop. Will try the Mutiara version next time  to compare the food and service.

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If you were a chef, what you will do after retiring? Some may just sit at home and play with kids. For Derek, this is not the case. Hidden in one of the villages in Kulim is a resident house converted to western restaurant, namely Derek’s – Passion for Food. I was told that the chef was once a hotel chef in Penang island.

Seriously, finding this place is kind of challenging without GPS. Assuming you come from BKE (Butterworth-Kulim Expressway), take the Lunas/Kulim exit. Wait at the traffic light and turn right. Go straight (2km) until you see Lean Hup market on your right. Wait at the cross road traffic light and turn right. Go straight (2km) and when you saw the first traffic light, turn left (go straight will lead you to Kulim Landmark Central). Drive about 1km and notice a small alley to your left. Turn into it to Taman Keladi. The house is inside with a banner.  This is the exact location.

The house is nicely decorated. It was kind of quiet as well without any background music. We were the only customers that night and all we heard was the fan noise from the ceiling and neighbour’s kids playing sound. You will feel yourself entering a good old housing area (in fact it is).

The menu is simple. Two pages with 16 main courses to choose from.

By adding RM7, you can convert your ala-carte to set meal, which include mushroom soup, desserts (fruits/ice creams), and tea/coffee.

I forgot to ask, but I guess the buns were complementary. The butter was generous and served in a sauce plate. First time I saw this kind of butter preparation.

The mushroom soup was home made. There was a pumpkin soup as well. Maybe I will try it next time.

The restaurant is pork-free. Thinking of trying something special, I ordered Braised Lamb Shank (RM29). It served with ratatouille and mashed potato as side dishes. I thought I only can find Ratatouille in movie. Mashed potato was special as well as it had minced garlic in it. The “milky” taste of lamb was not as strong as expected. The texture was like pork shank. Perhaps the only drawback was that the sauce was not enough.

The Seafood spaghetti cream sauce and herbs (RM18) was defintely a plus! It was creamy and well mixed with herbs. It came with mixture of Dory slices, crab sticks, and prawns. The cream sauce/herbs/seafood ratio was just perfect. You usually only can find this kind of quality food in hotels or fine dining restaurants.

Since I travelled all the way from Penang island to Kulim (took about 1 hour), I might as well fill my tummy to the max. We placed another order – Pan-fried fillet of Dory (RM16).

Dory, by nature, tasted plain compared to other fishes. This was not the case for Derek’s. Dory was slowly fried to golden and topped with home made lemon butter sauce (and almond flakes + herbs), making the Dory fish tasted sweet and sour. Another unique dish.

This is set meal’s tea and ice cream. See the sugar on the right? First time I saw a restaurant gave half bowl of sugar for a cup of tea.

The vanilla ice creams had some peanut topping as well, unlike some restaurants which just threw you a scope of ice cream without any topping.

I was surprised that I could find such a good quality western food in Kulim. Prepared by a retired hotel chef using quality ingredients (including olive oil), this resident-turned-commercial house definitely worth second visit. The host was friendly as well. The place could be hard to find at first so make sure you bring along your GPS with latest Malfreemaps or just ask locals.

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My friends asked me what kind of buffets available in G Hotel – a famous business hotel in Penang town area? I suddenly recalled that I visited the hotel recently (for food sampling purpose only) and nice PR officers passed me a bunch of documents. One of it was the promotion for Sep – Oct 2011. Surprisingly they do have “Buy 1 Free 1″ offer which looks tempting.

Here’s the detail:

Daily buffet lunch is available at RM45++ per person from 12pm – 3pm. Daily buffet dinner ranged from RM72++ to RM98++ per person from 6:30pm – 10pm. I believed that the buffet lunch is quite standard except on Saturday which priced higher (RM58++), and Sunday in which brunch is provided instead (RM68++).

Now, here the details of buffet dinner.

Monday: Shellfish Galore (RM72++) – BUY 1 FREE 1
Tuesday: Asian Fusion Cuisine (RM98++) – FREE FLOW WINE/BEER
Wednesday: European Country Style Cooking (RM72++) – BUY 1 FREE 1
Thursday: Japanese Specialties (RM72++)
Friday: Seafood BBQ & Dinner Buffet (RM88++)
Saturday: Surf & Turf Dinner Buffet (RM88++)
Sunday:  Nothern Indian Cuisine (RM98++) – FREE FLOW WINE/BEER

Sadly, my favourite Japanese n Seafood buffet (on Thu and Fri respectively) do not have “Buy 1 Free 1″ 

There are some restaurants in G Hotel. The buffet area is located next to G Lounge at the lobby. My last visit was 2 years ago during one of my company events on Wednesday night. Definitely things had changed so I won’t comment much over here.

Over all, if I remembered correctly, I was quite enjoying their seafood – including prawns and raw oysters. It took some courage to swallow those oysters.

At that time, I was still using my Ricoh Caplio R6 point-and-shoot camera. Some photos looks yummy even with point-and-shoot camera.

There was a satay counter in which they prepared satay on the spot. This is my favourite stall of the night but you need to queue up for quite a while to get your order. They did have otak-otak wrapped in banana leaves and kebab as well.

Some food were quite average but I would say it is much depended on personal’s expectation.

They did have a served ice-cream counter. Simply select your favourite and you will get nice scopes of ice cream. By the way, I recalled PR officer told me that they do have homemade ice-cream nowadays.

If ice-cream doesn’t suit you, there was an ABC counter as well.

They did not hesitated to offer you a wide variety of desserts.

The environment is definitely stylish. By the way, if you wish to go there, it is suggested to park at Gurney Plaza and walk to G Hotel due to cheaper parking fee (RM1 for first 3 hours).

If you asked me which buffet dinner to try, I would say go for Monday’s Shellfish Galore theme which provide shellfish lobster, flower crab, mussel, oyster, clam, and prawn dishes in different styles. With “Buy 1 Free 1″ promotion, each person only costs RM36++.I plan to visit it one day, how about you? Act fast before end of October 2011!

You may download “Dine In Style: September – October 2011″ below! Only available at Now Eating!

G Hotel Dine In Style (September – October 2011)

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1. Japanese and Chinese Fusion Buffet Dinner @ E&O
2. Little Cottage 2 @ Waterfall Hotel
3. Buffet Cheat Sheet

It had been a while since I visited Gurney Plaza. Few new shops were opened, such as Little Nyonya I previously posted and a steamboat restaurant opposite to it – Bar B.Q. Plaza, or better known as buaya (crocodile) shop due to its mascot.

Originated from Thailand (hosts will greet you with “Sawadeekap”), note that this is not an ordinary steamboat + BBQ shop in which you will be provided with a big bowl of soup topped with a small sizzling pan. This restaurant is another way around. You will be provided with a unique big sizzling pan surrounded with soup compartment.

How it work? Basically you will be provided with a jar of clear soup to pour on the pan. The soup will flow down to the “drain” at the bottom, allowing you to put raw ingredients into it. I must remind you that the “drain” is extremely narrow. Due to high heat, soup will be depleted very fast and you have to keep on refilling. Also, the soup is plain at the beginning and it only get sweeter after you BBQing a lot on top of the pan.

Like it or not, you will be provided some pork fat. Don’t eat it as the purpose is to lubricate the pan before you put anything on it so that raw meats will not stick on the pan.

Two of us ordered Family Pork Set (RM41.90) which is for 3 normal humans.There were 2-pax sets but they looked small to me.The set came with pork, bacon, fish fillet, chicken, squid, shrimp, udon, sliced cabbage, baby corn, carrot, lettuce, tomato, broccoli, you mak, and bean curd.

With so many items, you are free to BBQ or cook them in soup. For us, we put vegetables into the soup first to sweeten it. Beware of bacons as they could easily stick on sizzling pan. Frozen pork was sliced to its thinnest. However, we found them a bit tasteless. Maybe not so fresh?

Note that most ingredients were not marinated so they would be tasteless if you just consume like that. The secret here is their homemade BBQ sauce, which tasted a bit like Chinese sweet sauce + satay sauce. The chili, lime, and garlic provided are for you to mixed with the BBQ sauce.

You can always ask for more from waitresses.

Family set came with 3 bowls of white rice. By adding RM1.50, you can convert one white rice to yummy garlic rice. Garlic rice was delicious that you can eat it on its own. However, they were small for me that I can easily order 3 bowls.

Oh ya, did I mention that if you got Jusco card, you will get a plate of fried bacon worth RM7.00 for free. Somehow they were kind of hard.

Unfortunately, they were using disposable chopsticks in this classy restaurant! A big disappointment.

Before paying bill, you can return the wet towels to save some $$.

Both of us spent RM59.30 that day. As first glance, if you are not a big eater like me and like to enjoy BBQ in a less oily environment, or simply dating with friends, Bar B.Q. Plaza is the place for you. Pricing wise could be a bit expensive if compared to some competitors of buffet style. This is more toward unique experience, rather than filling up your tummy. Their green tea and Chinese tea are free flow. Make sure you bring your J-Card (and chopsticks) for special offer.

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1. Jurin Express @ Gurney Plaza
2. Pastamania @ Gurney Plaza
3. New sweet and spicy restaurant in Gurney Plaza

We on-hold Ipoh review for a while as a friend of mine asked me to post photos on a new restaurant I found in Gurney Plaza – The Little Nyonya Cuisine, which uses the same shop lot previously occupied by Taiwan Food at basement (Yes, they closed and moved back to Midland One Stop).

The restaurant name sounds familiar to me. Yes, it is the same restaurant I previously visited in Time Square Penang (I boycotted Time Square anyway). We went to this Gurney Plaza branch during one weekday’s lunch and surprisingly the restaurant was full few minutes after our food arrived. Maybe “new toilet bowl nice to shit”.

Two of us ordered a lot of food, in which we almost had difficulty in finishing them. First of all, we ordered Nyonya Fried Garoupa Fish Fillet 娘惹炒石斑鱼片 (RM18++). It tasted like Kam Heong style.

Of course, not to be missed was the Yu Wu Chay (Oh Ah Chai) 鱿鱼炒 (RM13++).

It came with lettuce and “satay sauce” for you to wrap the shredded turnips and dip with the sauce. I like this dish.

Nyonya Curry Chicken 娘惹咖哩鸡 (RM15++) seems popular here so we ordered one as well. Hmm… a bit too sweet. Tasted like those curry chicken we received during baby’s full moon.

Otak-Otak 窝达 looked tempting in the menu as well so we ordered one at RM4.50++. It consisted of minced seafood in it. Again, it was a bit sweet.

We couldn’t stop ordering until we did a mistake. Thinking it was just a bean curd, we ordered another “otak-otak” instead – Deep Fried Otak Beancurd 炒特制窝达豆腐 (RM9++). The skin was fried into golden and crispy, but we were too irritated by having two “otak-otak” on the same day.

Instead of ordering plain rice, we asked for something special – Nasi Lemak 椰浆饭 (RM3++). This is a dish you can eat it on its own (Oh Gardenia~).

Personally I ordered another coconut milk product (another mistake) – Melaka Nyonya Cendol  马六甲娘惹煎蕊 (RM3.80++). Tasted average. I missed my Durian Cendol. Oh~

Lemak, lemak, lemak! We should order less since most items consisted of coconut milk and was too sweet, making us feel irritating quite easily. The lunch costed us RM77.10 for 2 persons. At first glance, this could be a place if you are looking for some Nyonya cuisine in shopping mall. Service-wise could be a bit messy since most waitresses were still new. Make sure you don’t order too much as food could be irritating due to coconut milk and sugar.

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1. Pastamania @ Gurney Plaza
2. A crocodile in Gurney Plaza
3. Ko-Fu Loft @ Gurney Plaza

Enough of soya bean! Time for main course! Located at a walking distance were two Nga Choi Kai (Bean Sprout Chicken) shops opened side-by-side – Lou Wong (老黄) and Onn Kee (安记). I had visited Lou Wong last time so this time I paid Onn Kee a visit.

Maybe it was due to raining day or maybe it was after lunch hour, I easily found a table in the restaurant. Feeling thirsty, I ordered a kumquat (金桔) drink. Tasted good and I almost finished whole glass before my order arrived.

I ordered a chicken drumstick (RM9.80 overall bill). Compared to Lou Wong, it was less oily.

Bean sprout came in a separated plate. Sadly they were not as “fat” as I expected. Looks like almost identical with the one in Lou Wong.

According to locals, the best Nga Choi Kai is not in Ipoh town, but outside of it. I sort of agree after visiting Lou Wong and Onn Kee. They just don’t stand out as “must-revisit” places. Perhaps they are too commercialized and become a tourist spot. Illegal parking boys are also an issue there.

Related posts:

1. Ipoh Makanthon 1: Poh Piah and Chicken Hor Fun
2. Ipoh Makanthon 2: Tau Fu Fah
3. Ipoh Makanthon 3: Tau Fu Fah (again)

When I mentioned “the best” restaurant, there must be another “not-so-best” restaurant (NOTE: It still much depends on person’s taste bud). Funny Mountain soya bean was actually not the first soya bean stall I tried in Ipoh. The first stall I tried there was Lai Kee 黎记, which is a stone throw away. To be fair, I revisited this stall on the same day I visited Funny Mountain just to compare the taste.

I first visited this stall back in Mar 2011, in which I follow my friend’s new Honda City for long distance test drive. Don’t ask me when I am going to change my 19 years old car. I just can’t afford it.

It was still raining. I ran into the shop. Surprisingly I was the only dine-in customer. I sat down, ordered a bowl of White Sugar Tau Fu Fah and…

WHOA~ it was really a FULL bowl of Tau Fu Fah (unlike Funny Mountain which was only half bowl with the same price)! The Tau Fu Fah tasted smooth and soft (even not as soft as Funny Mountain). However, the soya taste was not as strong as Funny Mountain.

Did I mention that they do have three type of sugars? White sugar, Melaka sugar, and Ginger sugar.

My friend told me that the soya bean drink was not bad as well.

Rumour said that it was Ipoh’s water quality that some food tend to be better in this place, including soya bean. A selling point of Lai Kee Tau Fu Fah is that they do not use gypsum powder (石膏). Even though it tastes not as great as Funny Mountain, the portion is generous. Quantity versus quality. The choice is yours.

Related posts:

1. Ipoh Makanthon 2: Tau Fu Fah
2. Ipoh Makanthon 5: Hor Hee
3. Ipoh Makanthon 1: Poh Piah and Chicken Hor Fun

Don’t play play with this stall. Even when raining, people were queueing up buying their soya bean drink and paste (a.k.a Tau Fu Fah 豆腐花). Not only people queueing up, cars were also queueing up as well. As a result, they provide “drive-through service”. You park your car there, waiter will come, take order, and deliver soya bean drink/paste to your car.

Feeling thirsty, I ordered a bowl of Tau Fu Fah (RM0.90) and consumed it at limited space there. This was really a small bowl. However, the paste was extremely smooth and soft. The moment I put it into my mouth, I coma for a while as the aroma surge into my brain.

Yes, even though it is a small bowl, this is perhaps one of the best Tau Fu Fah I ever tried. Smooth, soft, and fragrant. With customers holding cameras and queueing up, you can’t be wrong that this is a famous soya bean stall. Don’t worry if you can’t find parking as they provide “drive-thru service” as well.

Related posts:

1. Ipoh Makanthon 3: Tau Fu Fah (again)
2. Ipoh Makanthon 5: Hor Hee
3. Ipoh Makanthon 1: Poh Piah and Chicken Hor Fun

After leaving Taiping, it took another hour to reach Ipoh. Instead of continue eating, I stopped by Perak Cave to pray for better career (I really need that). Then, I drove around Ipoh town looking for a coffee shop. I stumbled upon this restaurant, in which its appearance told me that it had some famous food inside.

My instinct was correct this time. The restaurant had a few hawker stalls. One of them was Chicken Hor Fun 鸡丝河粉 stall. Many customers ordered it so I ordered one normal bowl (RM4.00) as well.

Hmm~ not bad. The base soup + chicken slices tasted like steamed chicken my family usually prepared during religious events (mean less Ajinomoto). Some might find it too plain but for me was okay. Koay Teow was smooth as well.

Another item most customers ordered was Poh Piah served by an old auntie. I ordered two pieces (RM3.60 for two).

The portion was considered generous compared to most Poh Piah found in Penang. This Poh Piah also stuffed with fried dry shrimp. Even though it was fragrant, you should consume it carefully as the minced shrimps were hard (versus turnips).

Finally, not to forget ordering one Ipoh famous white coffee.

At first glance, this is an old coffee shop you should try when visiting Ipoh. The shop is famous with its Poh Piah, Hor Fun, Laksa, and Satay (even though I did not see people selling Satay that day). Parking is a bit difficult and usually you have to park few streets away during weekend (make sure you buy some parking coupons as well). After this second breakfast, I was full again. Time to find new place and walk again.

Related posts:

1. Ipoh Makanthon 4: Bean Sprout Chicken
2. Ipoh Makanthon 5: Hor Hee
3. Ipoh Makanthon 2: Tau Fu Fah