What? Another “no camera” restaurant? The door opened at 11:30am sharp so basically you don’t have a chance to snap photos before customers arrival. Anyway, we took most items to our table, decorated, snapped, and shared with you here, including this salmon sashimi which I enjoyed the most.

Kampachi Penang is located in Equatorial Hotel at Bukit Jambul. Parking is extremely expensive (RM5 per entry) but you can fully reimburse it when making payment in Kampachi.

A group of friends including me went there one Saturday afternoon for a gathering. We were lucky enough to be given a VIP room for our gathering. There were tatami and normal table seating as well.

The buffet is only available during weekend (Saturday and Sunday). Lunch starts from 11:30am til 2:30pm at RM65++, while dinner from 6:30pm til 10:00pm at RM89++.

The price different is because dinner has more variety, such as oyster which is not available for lunch.

Above are Yaki Udon and Mussel Teppanyaki. If you asked me how come I got “food in tray” photos above, the simple answer is: Those are photos I took before I was told by a waitress of not taking photo in the restaurant 

Other than Salmon Sashimi, another item I enjoyed most was Idako (Baby Octopus). In Sakae Sushi, the same item was increased to RM8.00 but in Kampachi, it was unlimited (well, sort of. It was a hot item that afternoon and gone before buffet ended).

Of course there were sushi. They looked yummy but I tried to avoid them as the rice could fill your tummy very fast.

Not to forget is tempura which was fried on the spot by chef. Best dip with soy sauce provided while hot.

Above is Seafood Okonomiyaki (Pizza). Personally I still prefer the one in Azuma even though it was pricey there.

Chawan Mushi was rich and tasted good.

Another “main course in a cup” is Tofu Enoki Mushroom Ankake.

If you don’t like raw salmon, there is grilled salmon fish for you as well.

This is on-the-spot grilled Australian beef. I didn’t take beef but according to my friend, it tasted good.

Another item prepared by chef on the spot is Sukiyaki Chicken. The mushroom, grass noodle, chicken, vegetables, and etc were well mixed by the chef.

Takoyaki Octopus Ball. Too bad the filling was minimal.

This is Doraemon’s favorite - Dorayaki with Red Bean Paste or Peanut Butter

Time for some desserts. Above is Oshiruko (a.k.a Red Bean Soup).

The layout in Kampachi was a bit weird such that for some desserts, you need to walk to Sake Bar next to the main dining area. Without noticing it, you may thought that the buffet did not include desserts.

Some desserts were nicely prepared.

We enjoyed eating desserts, including cakes, pudding, and fruits.

My favorite dessert was green tea ice cream, even though it was not as rich as the one in Baskin Robin. Good thing is that you can play around with your ice cream.

At RM65++ (lunch) with unlimited salmon sashimi, Kampachi is worth a visit in weekend afternoon. Of course there are few items which are below expectation but overall food quality is still satisfactory. Make sure you bring along CIMB credit card for 10% discount as well as parking receipt for reimbursement.

You may download one of the buffet lunch below:

Kampachi Buffet Lunch Menu

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1. FoodEx This Weekend!

In Malaysia, durian season starts in June and ends in August. For those who missed it, there are still few options: 1) Get all season lower grade durians, 2) Eat durian candy/cake instead, 3) Try Durian Wrapz (RM5.00) made of D13 at Lucky Dessert.

Located at lower ground floor of Gurney Plaza (in front of I Love Yoo! cafe), Lucky Dessert is a newly opened Hong Kong style dessert stall serving various kind of desserts. Another branch is also available in Queensbay Mall food court. It has a funny Chinese name called Huat Kee (发记)… looks more like a Chinese Choo-Char or Char-Siew stall’s name.

When I first visited this stall, I was thinking, “Where did they get all those durian when it was no longer durian session?”. According to the owner, they use frozen real durian supplied from southern region. The meat is from D13 durian, which is sweet with mild bitterness (微苦带甜). Other than durian wrapz, they also serve “soup” version, a.k.a Trinity Durian Delight (RM10.00) which topped with pamelo and sago. It looks milky but not so once you tasted it.

Other than durian, another signature fruit is mango. Trinity Mango Delight (RM9.00) is prepared with real mango cube and puree with added full cream milk and some whipping cream. Since mango is seasonal based, sometimes it may taste a bit sour.

Of course, it has Mango Wrapz (RM5.00 per piece) as well. The yellow skin is soft skin and beneath is a layer of cream.

If you prefer something hot, you may try their Durian/Banana Krisp (RM14.00/RM12.00).

Banana Rolls tasted a bit like “Roti Pisang”, except that it is layered with chocolate cake.

Lucky Dessert also has Durian/Mango Rolls (RM6.00/RM6.00) with the skin made of glutinous rice flour topped with shredded coconut. Basically the same content, different skin. I would say it is much depended on personal preference. Personally I still prefer Wrapz series.

Another signature dish is Nutty Ginger Lucky Ball 甜不甩 (RM7.00). It was again made of glutinous rice flour and best dip with nuts provided. Note that the size can be big for kids.

The stall also has some daily special, such as this Lucky Chestnut 养颜栗子茸 (RM5.00). The chestnut is grounded into paste and topped with fresh coconut milk. Note that this HK version tastes plain compared to local version which is usually more salty. Make sure you ask for daily soup choices as this item may not available during your visit.

For those who like to try little here and there, there is a set lunch (RM8.90 with Wrapz/RM9.90 with Rolls) consists of Wraps/Rolls, Lucky Balls, and daily soup.

This item is only available in Gurney Plaza (the reason it is not available in Queensbay Mall is because another stall is selling similar item). Italian Mixed Herb Jell-O (RM12.00) is made of mixed fruits (papaya, mango, watermelon, strawberry, honeydew), black sago, and herbal jelly spagetti (glass jelly). A refreshing item after meal.

The stall also serves some snow ices, such as this Lime Snow Ice (RM6.90) which tastes like good-old-day lime ice cream. The lime juice is frozen in an ice cube before graining so that you will taste the richness of the lime juice in every single scoop.

We also tried Black Sesame Snow Ice (RM6.90). Again, the black sesame was frozen into ice cube before graining. The deeper you dig, the sweeter the taste.  A unique experience indeed.

Dessert shop is not new in Penang island. However, most of them are selling environment rather than food quality. Lucky Dessert is another way around. You may easily miss this stall, but the quality of the dessert is no doubt one of the best I ever tried in Penang. Visit it if you miss durian.

Related posts:

1. Ah Joo Durian @ Sungai Batu

I tried E&O buffet couple of times, sometimes company events, sometimes just with friends. My last visit was two weeks ago with some under “stressed” colleagues. We selected Wednesday since the theme was “Japanese & Chinese Fusion Buffet Dinner” (RM78.00++).

Six of us made reservation one week earlier. Sadly, inside was fully booked. We ended up booked a table outside.

Sitting outside has its own advantage as well, such as it is not smokey at all compared to inside since there are some grill counters inside (of course, unless you sit next to smokers outside).

Anyhow, we arrived slightly early that day and the buffet started at 7pm. We just relaxed at the lobby area, which is just next to Sarkies Corner.

Anyway, I walked in 15 minutes earlier to snap some photos. Luckily the host was friendly enough to let me do so. My last time was not so lucky such that they asked us to stopped taking photos. Above is chawanmushi. Rich in ingredients, such as they did put prawn in it as well.

Maki looked tempting as well. Too bad they would not be my first choice as I could easily get full with those sushi rice.

This is what I am talking about – Shashimi! This is the reason we were there!

Raw oysters! Another reason we were there! For this round, however, they were not as fresh as we expected.

Wasabi, ginger, and lemon are must-have for raw/Japanese food. The right-most item is homemade tabasco sauce.

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2. Buffet Cheat Sheet
3. Thai Buffet at Affordable Price

I am not a beer lover due to fatty liver. Anyway, once a while I will drink “a bit”, especially during Chinese festivals/events or just when tired working. Recently, I re-visited Times Square Penang and found this “classroom” – Z Classroom.

Z Classroom is a newly opened pub + lounge + karaoke + hanging out place offering a variety of imported beers and liquors. It is located same row with Marryborwn and consists of two floors. It started its operation on mid-August.

Ground floor consisting of a bar counter at the center (the guy above is one of the directors – Kelvin)…

… non-smoking lounge at the back (It will convert to smoking zone after 10pm)…

… and tall tables in front (smoking zone). The tables resembled school desks with a drawer, except they were much taller here. Soft music will be played at the background. After 10pm, BGM will change to rock music.

Second floor consists of a VIP room and open area. The VIP room is quite spacious and consists of a karaoke system.

There is also a karaoke system outside. A patron will be around and each table is taking turn for 2 songs before passing to other tables. Second floor is a smoking area as well.

If you are looking for food here then you will be greatly disappointed as this is more toward a drinking place. They did, however, offer cakes at RM10.50 per piece. The favorites are random each day. For example, cakes offered when we visited that day were rum, tiramisu, and blueberry cheese. The cakes are home-made according to the owner and you may call them for take-away orders.

I like the rum cake very much.

For those who can’t take beer, they did have white coffee, mocha, and cappuccino (RM5.90 hot, RM6.90 cold). For me, they were just average since these were not their specialty.

As mentioned, their specialty was imported beers, including (from left to right above): Erdinger Dunkel, Franziskaner, Budweiser, Beck’s, Warsteiner, Konig Ludwig, Asahi, Corona Extra, Lowenbrau Original, and Savvana Dry.

Of course, they did have Carlsberg …

… and Hoegaarden out of dispenser.

Price was displayed on blackboards.

By the way, they are having Octoberfest promotion with Carlsberg. With every purchase of 1 litre Carlsberg Draft @ RM45, you will get one big fxxxing beer glass for free.

They are having Buy 1 Free 1 promotion daily from 12pm to 4pm on Carlsberg products, and Buy 2 Free 1 from 4pm to 9pm. Offer valid until further notice.

If the beers are not your type, they did offer liquors a well.

If you are like me (e.g. cannot take much beer or liquor), they did provide some games there to kill your time.

You can also kill your time by wearing this and get a free Hoegaarden.

Similar to colleges, they did provide a row of lockers for you to keep your belonging and even charge your handphone with power socket provided. I wonder how they ensure that their keys are not being stolen.

As a whole, Z Classroom offers more than things found in classrooms, such as imported beers, liquors, and karaoke. It can be a good place for hangout til midnight. Perhaps the only thing missing is school girls with uniforms. Did I mention that you can actually use Liquid Paper (correction pens) to vandalize on tables without being sacked out of class?

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After posting buffet promotions in G-Cafe of G-Hotel, my friends saw the post and decided to give the Shellfish Galore theme on Monday a try. In our opinion, it was one of the most valuable themes with “Buy 1 Free 1″ promotion (only for Sep/Oct 2011).

We went there on one Friday to make reservation on next Monday but unfortunately only outdoor tables were available. So, we booked the week after instead.

Even though the buffet started at 6:30pm, we reached there at 6:00pm and the host was friendly enough to let us snap photos around while they busy preparing food.

Since this was a shellfish theme, I quickly look for shellfish items. Yes, they did have mussels. Tasted good with lemon, or even better with wasabi!

… and fresh prawns.

Where is oysters? I walked around and found out that instead of putting them in self-service tray, they were served by waiters from a counter.

Instead of prepared in raw, the oysters were rinsed and topped with baked cheese.

Seriously, they were not baked at that counter. The host just wanna control customers’ orders. I must remind you that this Oyster is the hottest item. In less than an hour, the “Oyster Au Gratin” words were removed from the board. I even saw some uncles almost crawled into the counter to get more of them.

Other than oysters, they did offer other valuable items from that counter, including Mantis Prawn in Pai Tee (even though I didn’t taste of Mantis Prawn in it).

Prawn in Pita Pocket. The prawns were marinated with sugar.

Sautéed Clams with Pasta. It took 3 minutes to prepare this small dish.

They even offerring out-of-menu items, including this Lobster Fajitas…

… and chicken which was prepared on the spot.

By the way, don’t forget that there is an outdoor area in which you could find more stalls, including…

… curry mee stall (it tasted just average perhaps lack of some non-halal ingredients)…

… and mee goreng (also just average perhaps lack of crispy prawn biscuit/cake).

Even though the theme is “Shellfish Galore”, there were many “non-shellfish” items such as western breakfast (as shown above), vegetables, chicken, duck, fish, beef, and etc. I am lazy to go through each of them so I just briefly mention some which were intereting.

First is the roasted duck with plum sauce. Make sure you take their plum sauce.

Grilled Fish with Mixberries Salsa

Roasted Duck Salad

They did have some maki as well and they disappear very fast as well.

On the table is a monster size wasabi. Not only it is good for maki, but also good dip with mussel.

Desserts are one of the selling point of G-Hotel. Most items were home-made (or hotel-made?). I did not have opportunity to try most of them due to the fact that I focused more on main courses. Some items were very tempting even by just looking on them, including Strawberry Mousse above.

Summer Pudding

Chocolate Fudge Cake

… and fruit jelly.

Not to forget is “dessert in a cup” randomly displayed on the counter. They are always nice to eat.

Finally, time to pamper myself with three scopes of ice cream. It has four favors to choose from that night, including chocolate, strawberry, mint, and vanilla.

Where did I get that O-ring topping? They are generous enough to provide you a whole rack of DIY topping.

Most people did not aware, but they did offer ABC from the same stall as well. You can ask them add one scope of ice cream on top.

With only RM36++ per person, Shellfish Galore buffet in G-Cafe is definitely worth trying. Unfortunately it ends on October so you still have two more Monday to go. The only item they did not offer that day was flower crab which we only realized after returning home. Regardless on which buffet theme, make sure you arrive on or before 6:30pm to avoid any disappointment. Early birds catch the oysters.

Related posts:

1. Buy 1 Free 1 & Free Flow Wine/Beer Buffet @ G-Hotel

Poon Choi 盘菜 is a Chinese dish which is usually expensive (at least for me) and can be found in most fine dining Chinese restaurants. Thanks to being a low paying slave, I never had a chance to try it until last weekend when a group of friends gathered together at one of the Choo Char restaurant in Paya Terubong – Zi Zai Restaurant 自在饭店.

Zi Zai means easy and freestyle. Yes, you no need to perform heavy make-up and wear low cut dining dress to visit this restaurant. It is just an open air Choo Char restaurant located opposite of famous Ah Chui Seafood restaurant. Parking should not be an issue here.

One should not be confused Poon Choi with “Buddha Jumps Over the Wall”  (佛跳墙) as the later usually consists of  rare seafood, even more expensive, and stew in sealed pot for days. Poon Choi is originated from poor Chinese villages and is usually served in a metal basin. It consists of common ingredients as well as some luxury seafood items (see leaflet at the end of this post for history of Poon Choi).

Taking the Poon Choi we enjoyed last weekend as an example, it consists of 13 items: abalone, Fu Zhou fish ball, peeled prawn, broccoli, duck, chicken, fish maw, pork belly, fish fillet, yam, jicama, sea cucumber, and mushroom.

To enjoy this dish, one should consume it layer by layer starting from the top (this is not a “lao sang” anyway). Soup on top usually tastes plain but the deeper you dig, the greater “kick” the soup will be. A portable gas stove will be provided to keep the food warm.

The restaurant starts offering Poon Choi less than a year ago after motivated by customers. Poon Choi in Zi Zai Restaurant comes with two sizes – RM258 for 4 to 5 persons and RM400 for 10 persons. The RM400 basin comes with one whole duck +  4 full chicken drumsticks. It comes with free flow of rice and herbal tea. By the way, the restaurant is doing promotion till 31-Oct-2011 such that each customer entitles for one free glass of herbal tea even you are ordering ala-carte.

Unless you got a black hole in your stomach, you should feel full with just one Poon Choi. That day, however, there were other popular ala-carte dishes as well for us to try out.

Chinese Lettuce (油麦菜) – RM10. OK! Up to the standard.

Balacan Chicken 马来煎鸡 (RM16) consists of all chicken wings and drumlets. They were nicely fried. Not too hard, not to salty. Just perfect.

Assam Prawns 亚参虾 (RM32) – It consists of about 16 prawns. A bit dry I would say. Best dip with sambal provided.

It had been a while since I last enjoyed La La 拉拉 (RM15). This is a seasonal dish and sometimes the La La could be small. It was fried with home-made sweet and sour sauce and best consumed with rice.

One thing to praise on is this Bean Sprouts with Salted Fish 咸鱼豆芽 dish (RM12). They actually did peel off top and bottom of bean sprouts before serving, a preparation which usually can only be found in fine dining restaurant (e.g. when eating sharkfin soup).

Located at less popular area, Zi Zai finally had it own specialty which hopefully not only attract locals, but also tourists as well. It is getting harder to find a Poon Choi in Penang without stepping into air-conditioned fine dining restaurants and being “slaughtered”. Zi Zai, in this case, is an exception. Come with two sizes, 13 ingredients, and free flow rice, it probably fill your tummy to the max. Note that the restaurant only open during dinner time and one day reservation is required for Poon Choi.

Hereby I would like to thank to the chef cum restaurant manager – Hock Chai for his generosity. Despite of his heavy duty (and heavy weight), he did actively involve in Facebook. Do add him or visit Zi Zai page if you like.

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Last time, whenever my friend asked me for a good place for steamboat, I could just recall those open-air steamboat+BBQ places around town areas. They were relatively reasonable, but you definitely 101% need to take bath after the meal due to oily environment. Since early this year, my friends and I found another “steamboat” place – Lolipot.

Lolipot is located at one of the shop lot rows next to Eastin Hotel, Penang. Assuming you came from Queensbay Mall, turn left at the junction with Eastin Hotel sign. Turn right when you see a gated car park.

Most tables have four “holes” for four persons, that is, an individual pot will be provided for each person. Having said that, one of you may need to share the pot if you come in odd number. Alternatively, you may sit along the conveyor, just like eating in Japanese restaurants.

Below the table is a temperature control and it is easy to operate – Off, Low, and High.  Set to high when shabu-shabu and set to low when you wanna enjoy food slowly.

For the soup, you can choose among clear, Tom Yam, or milk rice wine (牛奶米酒). They do have monthly special soup as well but you need to top up some $$. I always order milk rice wine as the base soup. During my recent visit, the wine taste was not as strong as previous, so I asked them to add more rice wine FOC.

One good thing is that their home-made chili sauce is quite delicious. I always asked for more. However, it may not as spicy as some will expect it to be. Last time, a kind host added some chili flakes for me.

Speaking of the waitresses there, last time it used to have many pretty girls working there while waiting for their SPM result to release. Some were very nice to chat with. My last visit in August all girls were gone and replaced with males. Duh~

About the ingredients, most ingredients are available on conveyor. I like to put yum and corn on the cob into the soup for long cooking so that the soup will become sweet.

There are also a lot of “balls” on conveyor, including: spicy otak fish ball, curry ball, cuttlefish ball, cheese ball, chicken cocktail, scallop cake, salmon fish ball, Shantong ball, mushroom ball, and crab ball. Most of them are packaged items.

Few items I liked on conveyor included mussel (in my opinion, the most expensive item on conveyor), eniki mushroom, and fake abalone slices.

Of course, not to be missed is pork slices for shabu-shabu.

I also tried their thinly sliced lamb, but could not take too many as they used to have one strong taste.

Also not available on conveyor is prawn. You have to call waiters/waitresses for the item. You can order another plate of pork/lamb/beef/prawns every 15 minutes.

They used to have welcoming appetizer when I visited them early this year but now it seems no longer available.

Lastly, don’t forget there is an ice-cream corner. The ice-creams they used are just from normal brand, anyway.

I visited Lolipot a couple of time since Mar-2011. As a whole, it had a cozy and less oily place for steamboat (or should I say shabu-shabu)? Pricing-wise was a bit expensive (RM30++) compared to some competitors around here but I don’t mind paying extra RM10++ just to get an air-conditioned and clean place for steamboat. It is always good to make reservation first. If BBQ is not your primary concern, you may considered Lolipot. They also provide membership in which members will entitle for 10% discount.

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Dessert houses are blooming in Penang island. Most of them emphasized on taste (e.g. sweetness) and appearance (e.g. served by pretty girls) rather than the desserts’ nutrition. Sweet-i, however, is an exception.

Located opposite of Tesco Extra near USM, the owner previously operated at the road side (in front of Toto shop). Now, the stall is moved to the front, inside a double-storey terrace house next to main road.

Finding parking is a bit depend on luck. It is one-way road and you should park your car as soon as you found a parking spot on your left. Note that the shop open from 5:30pm til 10:30pm and close on Monday. If you went there during lunch hour you will be disappointed.

Even though the shop is called “Sweet-i“, most items are not sweet at all as they emphasize on “less sugar”.  Below covers most items they sell.

If you want something light, you may try Sha Shen Red Dates Medlar White Fungus Winter Melon Soup (糖炒参冬瓜红枣枸杞雪耳) – RM4.50 (each packet), RM4.80 (each container).

Alternative, you may try Lily Bulbs, Red Dates Fungus Coralline Algae (海燕窝百合红枣雪耳露) – RM4.50 (each packet), RM4.80 (each container). Same price, different ingredient.

Gingko Barley White Fungus Fu-Shu Soup (白果薏米雪耳腐竹) – RM3.50 (each packet), RM3.80 (each container). You may see similar item in some coffee shops, but this one definitely richer with addition of white fungus.

Those like ginger should try Ginger Dates Coralline Algae (姜枣海燕窝)- RM3.50 (each packet), RM3.80 (each container).

Lotus Seeds Gingko Nut Red Bean Soup (莲子白果陈皮红豆沙) – RM3.30 (each packet), RM3.60 (each container) reminded me of red bean soup my mum used to cook.

If you prefer something gravy, you may try Kelp Red Bean Cream Soup (生磨海带红豆湖) – RM3.00 (each packet), RM3.30 (each container)

Black Sesame Soup (生磨香浓黑芝麻糊) – RM4.00 (each packet), RM4.30 (each container) is one of my favourites.

Groundnut Cream Soup（生磨香甜花生糊) – RM3.00 (each packet), RM3.30 (each container).

Black Glutinous Rice (Bubur Pulut Hitam) (黑糯米粥) – RM2.00 (each packet), RM2.30 (each container) is perhaps the most presentable dessert with surface art made of coconut milk.

Pumpkin Sago Glutinoous Rice in Coconut Milk (南瓜诺密椰香西米露) – RM3.00 (each packet), RM3.30 (each container) is my favourite as well.

If you don’t like red bean, you may try Green Bean Sago Sweet Potato Soup (番薯西谷米绿豆沙) – RM2.70 (each packet), RM3.00 (each container).

Third item I like is Tapioca Jelly BoboChaCha (香草薯粉条么么喳喳) – RM2.70 (each packet), RM3.00 (each container). Unlike other Bobo ChaCha, this one won’t feel too stuffy.

Ice-blended version is very suitable during hot day.

Or if you just want to have drink, they have Chrysanthemum Tea 夏枯草桑叶菊花茶 [清肝降火] RM2.00 and Longan Tea 枣仁菊花龙眼茶 [ 失眠熬夜者饮用] RM3.50. The first one has cooling effect, while the later good for insomnia people.

Lastly, if you are looking for something to fill your tummy, you may try Black Bean Chinese Yam Brown Rice Porridge (黑豆山药糙米粥) (RM4.50) which consists of Lotus Seeds, Kelps, Mushrooms, and Pumpkins as well. All natural and no Ajinomoto. It may taste plain for meat lover like me but you can always add soy sauce.

The owner, Mr Soon, is busy serving customers even before the official working hour.

As a whole, if you are looking for a dessert after dinner or just want to have a healthy dessert, Sweet-i is the place. The owner is very friendly and is able to recommend some desserts for you. Anything healthier you have you cook it yourself.

They do provide delivery service to FTZ now. Kindly visit sugarboss.foodtok.com for more information.

T&C

• Minimum purchase of RM 12 per delivery
• Payment made by cash only upon delivery
• Delivery hours: 2.30 pm – 4.30 pm (Tea Break)
• Last order: 1.30 pm (Tea Break)
• All desserts are only served at room temperature
• Requests on cold/hot tong sui couldn’t be catered
• Only available on weekdays except Mondays
• Current delivery area only covers the Factory area of Free Trade Zone (FTZ), Bayan Lepas, Penang Island
• Daily menu please refer to http://sugarboss.foodtok.com/

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It is raining session recently and it is good to enjoy some warm soups for dinner – such as Tom Yam soup. Cherry Blossom used to be a famous Thai restaurant in town which operated more than 10 years ago. Is the Sungai Ara branch as good as before?

Personally I didn’t visit the one in town before. Heard that the Sungai Ara branch was not bad as well. My first visit was back in April during colleague’s birthday. The place is a bit hard to find as it is not at the main road. It is a resident-convert-to-commerce kind of house.

It has the same management with the Thai restaurant on top of Bukit Genting. Having said that, there are some nice decorations around.

Unlike Bukit Genting, the dining area here was air-conditioned with background music.

Ordering was quite straightforward. The menu only consists of two pages and most items only have three sizes (small/medium/big). Note that the portion is not big. Two of us can order four items excluding rice, drink, and dessert.

Usually rice in Thai restaurants is based on headcount. This restaurant, however, allowed you to choose between a single bowl (RM0.90) or one bucket (RM9.00). I just noticed that the single bowl price had increased 10 cents to RM1.00 compared to the one shown in menu. Huh!

We ordered a jar of Loh Han Koo 罗汉果 (RM9.00) during one of our visits. Per cup is RM1.20.

Eating in Thai restaurant without ordering Tom Yam is a sin. There are two kind of Tom Yam here – red and white, and both tasted good. We ordered (red) Tom Yam Seafood (RM16/RM21/RM29) during our first visit.

Red tom yam was spicier than white tom yam, which was more sour. Ingredients-wise, both are almost the same – lemon grass, Chinese parsley, tomato, dried chillies, small chillies, onion, mushroom, Kaffir lime leave (泰国甘叶), and blue ginger (also known as Thai Ginger). That’s the reason why I like Tom Yam in Thai restaurant – fresh ingredient (rather than just using Tom Yam paste).

Definitely the food is presentable with nice “Chicken” bowl with little charcoal below to keep the food warm.

My friend like Kerabu Mango (RM8/RM10/RM13) as the onions were not strong at all.

Kerabu Squid (RM10/RM13/RM15) was unfortunately too sweet (otherwise it tasted excellent). They put too much sugar and I even bit some hidden in squid. Also, beware of small chillies mixed among Chinese parsley. We carefully took them out first before enjoying it.

Fried Kangkong (RM10/RM12/RM14) was another famous Thai cuisine. The kangkong in this restaurant was very crispy. Again, the onion chunks on top were not strong at all. Too bad it was another sweet item (maybe it fried with sugar).

Green curry chicken (RM12/RM16/RM21) was not bad. Best served with rice.

Otak-otak (RM16) only consists of one size. It was basically seafood warped in aluminium and was just plain spicy. Maybe with additional of banana leave and charcoal would be better.

Another one size item was Clay pot prawn (RM19) – consisting four prawns cooked with glass noodle (冬粉) in black pepper sauce. I had similar item back in my hometown, but it was true clay pot (instead of metal wok above) with added raw eggs. The sweetness from eggs makes the glass noodle tasted even better. With the price I’d better order Otak-Otak.

Stuffed Omelette Thai Style (RM8/RM10/RM12) tasted a bit weird. Even though it looks dry outside, it was wet inside. It was too sour to our liking.

So far, items above have one thing in common – full of  herbs. It is standard Thai cooking style but  may not suitable for kids. You may order some appetizers, such as Puncha (Stuffed Crab Shell) (RM3.50 each). My friend who like “little kawaii items” said this one tasted good. Maybe they tasted like fish cake.

Pandan chicken (RM1.50 each) was another “jiak beh ba” dish. Fortunately, they were not too oily compared to other restaurants.

Finally, we ordered Tab Tim Grob (RM2.00) – a famous Thai dessert with water chestnut and jack fruit. Too bad, the last time we went there, the jack fruit was too old and water chestnut was tasteless. The coconut milk was also almost staled. Duh!

According to my friend, the quality was dropped compared to 10 years ago. Personally I feel that the food was too sweet by adding too much sugar (maybe can ask the cook to put less sugar next time). This also caused the food less authentic. Lack of customers may also cause the freshness of ingredients to drop. Other than that, prawns are basically fresh and the serving is fast. They also provide a cozy and relaxing environment to enjoy Thai cuisine near industry area. Parking is also not an issue here.  Did I mention that it is pork free as well?

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Another laksa stall I frequently visited in Balik Pulau is the one at Jalan Bahru, or better known as Laksa and Hokkien Mee house since they are selling both items at their resident house during weekend at a reasonable price of RM2.80 each.

Yes, they only open on Saturday and Sunday from 12:30pm – 5:30pm. 12:30pm for me is a bit late for lunch but sometimes they do sell early if they finish setting up stall earlier.

Getting there could be a bit difficult for first timer. You may use Google Map tool below this post for direction. If you have latest Malfreemaps just type in “jalan bahru” or use the coordinate on the map below. It is at the right hand side of the main road among resident houses.

There is a stall selling loh bak (a pick ‘n’ mix of variety fried snacks) in front of the laksa house.  

Price varies depend on the items you selected (e.g. the one you saw above is RM6.50). Personally, I like the fried prawn biscuit (“heh ji”) as it is good to dip with laksa soup.

See that fish cake roll stuffed with crabmeat stick and seaweed? I like that one as well. Perhaps the only item to avoid was the “Tao Kua” (豆干) as once we tried it and it was stale.

Let’s go to the laksa. The laksa is quite sweet even without prawn paste. The prawn paste was separated on the soup spoon but I feel that it is unnecessary as the sweetness just perfect without the prawn paste.

Compared to Eric’s Place Laksa, the soup was thicker and richer with fish mince. Each bowl was also RM0.20 cheaper here.

Their hokkien mee was not bad as well. Nothing fancy here. Just home cooked hokkien mee soup topped with pork slices, fish cake, frozen prawns, a slice of egg, and fried onion. More original, less Ajinomoto.

Of course, if you are used to “Hokkien cham Loh” type or like to add extra ingredients (e.g. pork legs, intestine) into hokkien mee, this stall may not suitable for you.

The drink was served by another household next to the laksa stall. You may see one auntie carrying a plate full of drinks from her house to dining area. During peak hour, ordering drink could be dissapointing. Either you have to take whatever auntie has on her plate, or wait for next round of “distribution”. They did have “leng chee kang” also (RM2.30).

As a whole, if you are looking for one of the best laksa in Balik Pulau, you should try this stall. There are many photo shooting opportunities around as well. Make sure you arrive early to avoid disappointment.

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2. Laksa with Pai Tee @ Balik Pulau