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Even though slightly isolated, next to Jusco foodcourt (near to car park exit) is a Japanese restaurant called Nippon Yataimura 日本屋合村. Yataimura 合村 means whole village. It is wholly owned by Oh Sushi Two (M) Sdn. Bhd. and should have some outlets in Kuala Lumpur as well. I visited this restaurant in one Tuesday (26/Aug/2008) and surprisingly there are only few customers there. During Friday lunch hour, you may ended up queueing out there.

Nippon Yataimura View from Dining Table	Nippon Yataimura Menu	Nippon Yataimura View from Dining Table
Nippon Yataimura Menu	Half Ramen & Temaki Combo

The ambient is nice as each dining table is surrounded by fake bamboo so that you have more privacy there. There are lanterns installed on the roof as well. The service is slightly poorer as I enter without people entertaining. I sit there waited for few minutes and there is still no people coming to take order. F*! Eventually I walked to the counter and asked for it. I ordered “Half Ramen & Temaki Combo” which served with a bowl of ramen (very small), chawanmushi, salad, California temaki, unagi temaki, and fruit. Not much special compared to the one I ordered at kissA Koyotei. There is even one sashimi set costs RM116.

When I made payment that time, the cashier received a call from his cellular and he actually accepted it and talked to the phone while entertaining me… what a multitasking manager (who else dare enough to talk to the phone like that).

As a whole, the ambient is nice but the service could be better.

Food: 3/5
Value: 2/5
Service: 1/5
Ambient: 5/5

Name: Nippon Yataimura Japanese Restaurant
Address: LG-83, Queensbay Mall, Bayan Lepas, Penang.
Tel: 04-6468763 Fax: 04-6465763

驰名海南卤面 Hainanese Loh Mee

清香蒸饭（蒸鱼）

When I worked in my first company, there was once my lunch partners and I travelled from mainland to Penang island just for a food, 观音亭卤面 Loh Mee. What so special about this food? It is actually yellow noodle mixed with pork, fully boiled egg, etc and served in soup made of five spices (五香粉) and egg york. You can add some side orders such as chicken legs, pork hands, and extra eggs. You can find Loh Mee stall in many coffee shop but the key of different is on the soup itself.

The shop is at Pulau Tikus. If you travel from Midland Park (in which Adventist Hospital is on your right), continue travelling until you see the shop at one corner on your left (see Wikimapia link below). There are other stalls there also if you are not in the mood of having Loh Mee. There is a new stall in which you can order a variety of steamed rice + main dish. I ordered steamed rice with steamed fish but the fish slices are super thin and few. A “No No” for big tummy like me.

Wikimapia

Last Friday (19-Sep-2008), I had my lunch with my friend at HK Wong Kok, Queensbay Mall, Penang. Friday is a good day for restaurants there as many factory workers and slaves like me like to go there for slightly “luxury” lunch. Many restaurants had been queued up so we quickly picked HK Wong Kok even though it is almost full as well.

We ordered the following items and luckily the wait was not long:

沙参玉竹马蹄露水 Chestnul Herbal	招牌炒饭 Salt Egg Fried Rice	正宗香港波罗包 Po Lou Custard
招牌鲜虾云吞面 Wanton Noodle	上海菜肉锅贴 Pork Chinese Dumpling

元肉冬瓜水 Logan Winter Melon (RM3.90) – A herbal drink served chill.
沙参玉竹马蹄露水 Chestnul Herbal (RM 3.90) – A herbal drink served chill.
招牌炒饭 Salt Egg Fried Rice (RM9.50) – A tasty fried rice mixed with chicken, vegetables, salt eggs, and prawns.
正宗香港波罗包 Po Lou Custard (RM1.50 each) – A must try side order when visiting the restaurant.
招牌鲜虾云吞面 Wanton Noodle (RM8.30) – Another specialty of the restaurant even though the noodle is kind of small for big tummy like me.
上海菜肉锅贴 Pork Chinese Dumpling (RM6.00) – A tasty dumpling stuffed with pork and vegetables.

Definitely the price is at higher end. There is even a fried rice called “Rich man fried rice” (有钱人炒饭) which costs about RM16.90 excluding 10% service tax. With the same price, you most probably can eat 4 plates at hawker stall until enter ambulance car. However, you should try their custards especially the Po Lou Custard as recommended by my friend. I also noticed many people order custards at a counter in front.