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Located at i-Avenue is a restaurant called Summer Cafe 夏日小食. Compared to other restaurants, this one is kind of empty early in the evening (around 7pm).

The environment is nice with comfortable chairs. The menu includes meals served with plain rice, fried rice, hand made noodle, and etc. During my visit in August I ordered 芝士海鲜烩蛋饭 (Cheese Seafood Omblete) (RM9.90 Net) which is very nice considering I am a cheese lover. The rice serves with big prawns, squids, fish slices, ham slices, and crab rolls melted in cheese and covered in egg. Tastes yummy.

芝士海鲜烩蛋饭 Cheese Seafood Omblete

芝士海鲜烩蛋饭 Cheese Seafood Omblete

There are some sizzling (hot plate) dishes as well. For example, with little twist on the meal mentioned above, you may order Tepan Cheese and Seafood with Rice (铁板芝士海鲜饭) (RM14.90 Net), in which the cheese now acts as the base on hot plate. The cheese still popping when the dish arrives. Their specialties include toufu, such as Tepan Toufu (招牌红烧铁板豆腐) (RM12.00 Net) serves with big prawns. The dishes are quite presentable in general.

铁板芝士海鲜饭 Tepan Cheese and Seafood with Rice

招牌红烧铁板豆腐 Tepan Toufu

Deep Fried Squid 香脆苏东

Another specialties are their ice blended beverages, which cost around RM6.90. It has a big scope of ice-cream put on top. The “Mix Fruit and Ice Cream” is yummy while “Chocolate Lover” is just average.

雪泡杂果 Mix Fruit and Ice Cream

巧克力情人 Chocolate Lover

Surprisingly, sometime the food may become unavailable, including its specialties toufu and ramen. As a whole, even though the price may be at slightly expensive side, the restaurant is worth trying.

Name: Summer Cafe
Address: 01-01-12B, i-Avenue, Medan Kampung Relau 1, 11900 Bayan Lepas, Penang.
Email: [email protected]
Contact: 016-4357886 (Yeow Zhe Ching)

Located at Queensbay Mall, this restaurant is a high class dining place. Even so, you still need to queue up especially on Friday to Sunday. Perhaps it is due to its famous Shanghai pork dumplings (RM9.00++), which is juicy and tasty. It is a must have when you visit the restaurant.

腊肠北菇滑鸡蒸饭 Steamed Rice with Chicken, Mushroom and Chinese Sausage

狮子头煨面 Stewed Ramen with Braised Meat Ball

养颜红莲炖雪蛤 Red date with chinese woodfrog oviduct soup

北海道带子拉面 Hokkaido Scallop Ramen

There are many ramen dishes in the menu. There are two types of ramen, thick and thin. Once I ordered Hokkaido Scallop Ramen (RM22.00++) and the scallops are really big and fresh. The ramen dishes are usually big so make sure you reserve some area of your stomach and help finishing off your female counterpart’s ramen. The chicken in Steamed Rice with Chinese Sausage (RM15.00++) are tender as well. There are a variety of desserts as well, such as:

Honeydew Sago Dessert: RM8.00++
Red date with chinese woodfrog oviduct soup: RM12:00++
Ginkgo Lotus Tremella Soup: RM12.00++

蜜瓜西米露 Honeydew Sago Dessert

四川排骨担担面 Si Chuan Spareribs Ramen

白果莲子银耳糖水 Ginkgo Lotus Tremella Soup

The management is smart actually. Even though you did not order anything, you will be served and charged with titbits (some nuts costed RM2.00++) and wet towels (RM1.00++ each). A glass of plain water also costs RM1.00.

:stunt:

As a whole, you should visit the place for once-in-a-while gathering due to its nice environment and signature food. In order to stay competitive, Dragon-i should revise their pricing to make it more affordable. A Hong Kong Kai Lan (香港芥兰) which costs RM18.00++ is not everyone’s list. Make sure you make reservation during weekend (see phone number below). It is heard that one or two waitresses are from China and quite pretty.

:love:

Food: 4/5
Value: 1/5
Service: 3/5
Ambient: 4/5

Name: 笼的传人上海拉面小笼包 Dragon-i Restaurant Sdn Bhd
Address: Lot No. 2F-77,78,79 & 81, Queensbay Mall, 100 Persiaran Bayan Indah, 11900 Bayan Lepas, Pulau Pinang.
Tel: (604)6466888 Fax: (604)6467888
Outlet Manager: Deric Tan

You may have seen bottomless drink. How about bottomless ice-cream? Located in New World Park is a restaurant called Mizi. It is a western restaurant. When I first entered the shop I saw one ice-cream fridge containing ice-cream of various favorite. Not sure what it is for so I sat down and start ordering.

Fish Cordon Bleu Set Lunch	Bottomless Ice Cream	Mizi's Signature Mushroom Soup
Seard Norwegian Salmon	Seard Norwegian Salmon (Inner)	Chicken Normandy

I order Fish Cordon Bleu Set Lunch the first time I visited the restaurant. I was told to self-service the dessert which is ice-cream. So while waiting for the main course to arrive I went and “dug” some. I am still wondering whether it is free-flow or not until one day I saw an auntie class dug one mountain of it two times. So I braved myself to dig it for second time after the meal.

;))

As a whole, the food is nice especially those fall under “Chef Specialties”. For example, Seared Norwegian Salmon comes with big piece of salmon inside an edible powder skin. You can easily get full with that main dish (if you still not full, eat ice-cream!). You must try their mushroom soup as well as it is one of the best mushroom soup I ever tried.

The seat is limited so if you would like to go there for lunch, make sure you arrive latest by 12pm or else you may have to wait for a while. The shop is wholly-owned and managed by Mega Rich Delicatessen Sdn. Bhd. and there is another branch in Prangin Mall called “J. L. Gourmet Cafe“.

Name: Mizi bistro
Address: 102-D-6, New World Park, Jln. Burma, 10050 Penang.
Phone/Fax: 04-2272921
Email: [email protected]

Sometimes, after finishing jogging at Air Itam Dam :sweat: , I will have my lunch at Air Itam as well, which is usually referring to Gee Siang Cafe (formerly known as Asian Cafe). It consists of about 20 stalls there such as economic rice, bak kut teh, claypot chicken, fish head beehun, apong, fried noodle, and etc. The food are slightly expensive compared to other hawker centers (most probably it is due to the fact that it is near to a tourist spot). However, I like the environment there as it is hygiene.

海鲜薄饼 Seafood Poh Piah	Pan Mee	Pataya Fried Rice
Belacan Fried Rice	Tomyam Fried Rice	Futo Maki and Sake Temaki
Sushi Set	Kani Special

There are some new stalls setup recently. One of them is “Fried Rice” stall in which the fried rice actually not bad. The Tomyam fried rice served with big prawns while Pattaya fried rice is a fried rice cover with egg. The Balacan fried rice which is mixed with onion, egg, anchovies, chicken, and mango tastes good as well.

There is a Sushi stall there as well and is prepared by a pretty lady :love: (heard got boyfriend already). The sushi is slightly expensive (pretty comes to a price you know!) but is freshly made on the spot. Kind of special considering a sushi stall in hawker center.

Before I forgot, this cafe serves Dim Sum in the morning. Saturday is usually crowded with people starting 8:30am. The Dim Sum is nice. A special thing is there is no “ordering card” used. You just take your Dim Sum, eat, and call to sum up at the end. A traditional way of enjoying food :tea: .

Wikimapia

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

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.

When Queensbay Mall first opened, one of the hot topics people talked about is restaurants inside the mall. T.G.I. Friday is one of them. T.G.I. actually stands for “Thank God It’s”, basically means Friday is a happy day. After analyzing, there is nothing special (such as 50% discount… buy one free one…) if you dine in on Friday. It is just the shop name. In fact, you usually have to queue up on Friday. The management style as well as the menu items are very similar to Chili’s.

Shrimp Martini	Summer Cyclist	Tortilla Fish
Friday's Mushroom	Mud Pie

It had been a while since my last visit to T.G.I. Friday on Dec-2007. However, it is memorable as I recalled that the mud pie which is included in 3 course meal, is tasty and very big. The main dish is Tortilla Fish which is just average in size and taste. The fish fillet is fried with tortilla chips which can be found in junk food section of supermarket. For the entree, I chosen Shrimp Martini and it is kind of unique as it is served in a wine glass with 7 shrimps in it. I was told by my friend that some customers only get 2 shrimps. Nice experience even though it is served in cold. The 3 meal course is RM39.90++.

The drink, especially ice-blended fruit mix, can be too sweet for some persons. For example, my friend ordered Summer Cyclist, a mixture of orange and strawberry juice, and had to add in some water as it is too sweet. We also ordered Friday’s mushroom and it is as good as the one in Manhattan’s Fish Market.

As a whole, T.G.I. Friday may offer cheaper price compared to Chili’s but the dishes may not as big as the later. It is much depended on food you choose from 3 meal course. The choice is yours.

Name: T.G.I. Friday
Address: Lot GF 131 & 139, Ground Floor,
Queensbay Mall,
100, Persiaran Bayan Indah, Bayan Lepas,
11900 Pulau Pinang, Malaysia.
Tel: 04 – 641 3363
Email: [email protected]
Website: http://www.fridays.com.my

I remembered this restaurant’s first outlet is opposite of Bukit Jambul complex. After Tesco acquiring Makro at Sungai Dua (nearby USM), Tutti Frutti moved its outlet to the new location. You can’t miss the restaurant in Tesco Extra as it is just next to the main entrance with clear glass. Speaking of clear glass, it would be better if they make it as semi transparent so that customers have more privacy when dining there.

Wo Tie 窝贴

Le Chicken Noodle 烂鸡面

When I first visited to the new shop, I ordered Le Chicken Noodle (RM6.90) which is noodle served in a claypot with oyster mushroom and boneless chicken. It tastes good even though the Chinese name sounds funny (is called 烂面鸡). The Fried Gyoza (RM7.00), however, is just average and the price can be cheaper.

It had been a while since my last visit (on Sep-2007) to the restaurant so the food may be different now. Most of the time it only has few customers. Most of them are teenagers and USM students. Perhaps it is due to the fact that it is non-halal and lack of privacy since it is near to main entrance. People walked by can see what you are eating through the glass.

Surprisingly it has a good website.

Name: Tutti Frutti
Address: L1-01, Tesco Extra Sungai Dua, No. 675, Jalan Sungai Dua, 11700 Sungai Dua, Penang, Malaysia.
Tel: 604 656 8861
Web: http://www.tuttifrutti.com.my/