04 October 2009

Jalan Jalan Cari Makan – Penang!!

Here in Malaysia we’re really lucky.. we have among the most number of holidays in a year, thanks to our wonderful mix of different religions and cultures..

Most recently we celebrated Hari Raya Aidilfitri.. After a long month of fasting(for the Muslims, I on the other hand just enjoyed the wonderful food from the Ramadan Bazaar..), Hari Raya is supposed to be a celebration of forgiving each other and enjoying time with family.. this year it fell on a weekend so i had a nice long 4 day break from work.. what better way to spend it then to make a trip up north.. to the food haven of Malaysia, maybe even the WORLD!! PENANG!!

Unfortunately, the day before my planned trip i was struck with a bout of food poisoning..but was that gonna stop me from going!! no way jose!! haha.. so we set of at around 4.30am to beat the traffic and we did, reaching Gurney Park apartment where we woke Jeremy up..

Penang Bridge at 7.30ampenangbridge

Apartment view from Gurney Plaza:gurneypark

1st meal on our trip was Dim Sum at Zim Sum, along Anson Road, landmark being KDU college..

restoran zim sum

As you can see it was absolutely packed.. you have to wait for someone to leave before you get a seat.. The food wasn’t too bad but I had just recovered from food poisoning so didn’t really eat much here..we all know what dim sum looks like so no pics..:)

Morning faces:

jeremy Jeremy

Kar HoeKar Hoe

Alan YapAlan Yap

yanyanHappy Hungry dearie..:)

We made a visit to the Wat Chaiyamangkalaram Temple off Jalan Kelawai next..

reclining buddhaReclining Buddha

After which we felt a bit hungry again so we headed for something that would potentially help me get my appetite back.. 

chendulPenang Road ‘Best I have ever eaten’ Chendul!! yumyumchendol

Its actually located along the side of a road so you have to stand and eat unless you are willing to pay a table charge of rm0.50 per bowl at the 2 coffee shops nearby, personally i feel the owners of the coffee shop are kind of ‘lan si’ so i rather just stand beside the chendul stall and enjoy it along with all the many other customers..

While there we also ate another ‘Best i have ever eaten’ food..Assam Laksa!! unfortunately this stall is located in the coffee shop behind the chendul stall, you will see an old lady serving bowls of assam laksa, so you have to order at least 1 drink to sit at their tables..

assam laksaPenang Road Assam Laksa

I was never a fan of the dish but once i tried this stalls version, im addicted.. really an appetite ‘grower’.. nice amount of sourness and just perfect amount of fish as not to make it taste fishy with a little hint of sweetness from the herbs and ‘hae ko’(prawn sauce)..Delicious!!

For tea we headed for a little know place along Jalan Tamil for its Jawa Mutton Satay!! not hard to find.. its located off penang road so once along Jalan Tamil just look out for this guy..

SW Srimanis@ChowrastaIndonesian Michael Jackson??mutton satayMutton Satay and Nasi Himpit(known here as Lontong)

The satay is excellent, unless you dont fancy mutton.. What makes this different from local satay is the sauce.. The sauce here is prepared when you place an order and is made using a special type of roasted peanuts mixed with chilli and soya sauce and hot water.. and a wedge of lime is squeezed over just before eating.. nice tangy, spicy and savoury..

indon satay sauceSauce in the making

After all that food, we headed back to the apartment for a short nap(we were really stuffed and tired) before heading out to dinner.. And be warned.. the following pictures are known to cause salivating and craving for seafood!!

Bali Hai Seafood along Gurney Drive was our destination(I know, i know, tourist place, but the food is undeniably good).. Their motto, anything that swims, we have it..:)

Tanks of SeafoodTanks of Soon to be SeafoodSpider CrabsSpider Crabs Emperor CrabsEmperor Crabsgrouper2 HUGE Groupers..HUGE!! DSC02623 More about Bali Hai here..

That is the end of the 1st day of our food trip.. For the second day im going to just post pictures of the food we ate..

Breakfast:DSC02650Beef Ball Noodles

This shop serves one of the better beef ball noodles i’ve eaten.. different from my favourite beef noodles at KL but this version is more a clear soup and only comes with beef balls and your choice of noodles, no meat slices, tripe and etc.. very ‘clean’.. nice for breakfast as its not heavy and the chili sauce that comes with it is really good too.. Located at Ho Ping Coffee Shop along the main road Penang Road..

Lunch:

DSC02403Lorong Selamat Char Kuay Teow

There are quite a few famous places for this dish in Penang, but my personal vote goes to this stall.. their version is just perfect.. not too dry or wet.. 1 setback though.. you normally have to wait around 1/2 to 1 hour for a plate of it due to it being so popular, but the same can be said about all the famous stalls in penang.. difference here is that they actually inform you when you order..

Tea:

After we tried to go to Bukit Bendera and were told that we would have to come back at 8pm as all the tickets are sold out till then, we went to have the Chendul and Satay above again, testament to how nice it was.

Dinner:

Seafood at Tanjong Tokong. The food here is sooooo delicious that I feel it deserves a separate post to do it any justice..

3rd Day we had 1 meal before we embarked on our journey back to KL..

IMG_1831Tandoori & Cheese Naan

This is the main reason i go to Penang.. Kapitan @ Gurney Tower.. The Chicken here is oven cooked to absolute perfection and as you can see the portion is quite big.. and the naan here is very nicely done.. its soft and fluffy and more importantly, they are not stingy with the cheese.. The Briyani here is also very nice.. cooked in a claypot with just the right amount of spices and a piece of either lamb/beef/chicken on top.. prices here are reasonable too.. they also have a branch along Lebuh Chulia but i have not been there yet..

Well that would be all for this trip.. hope you enjoyed it.. so look forward to future food trips ya..^^

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