Tea Party

As I don't drink coffee, I have resorted to trying out different kinds of tea to battle the boredom of plain water. It's also a great way to warm up when it gets a bit chilly. At the moment I've got 8 teas in my office drawer:

1. Green tea with lemongrass and lemon
2. Whole leaf Chinese white tip green tea
3. White tea
4. Chai tea (black tea with cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, and black pepper)
5. Lemongrass tea
6. Pomegranate & grape fruit infusion
7. Tamarillo & honey fruit infusion
8. Guarana herbal tea (containing as much caffeine as a standard cup of coffee)

This is in addition to the complimentary tea stocked in the office - English tea, jasmine green tea, and South African rooibos (red bush) tea. On any given day I'd take about 3 or 4 different types of tea - of which I'll limit to a single cup of tea with creamer and sugar. Everything else is taken sans sugar.

I've also got chamomile tea at home for relaxation and sleep aid, but that's not something I need often in a place like New Zealand.

Review: Squids Bar and Restaurant

On the penultimate day of my travel I decided to treat myself to a proper good meal. For 6 days I've existed on Subway sandwiches and hastily cooked pasta meals in hostel kitchens, so enough is enough!

My phone's Ovi Maps GPS application has a Trip Advisor utility that combines tourism reviews with the address, so it can suggest and show me nearby places. Under restaurants it recommended Salt as the #1 place to eat, based on user ratings. So I eagerly made my way there:

I stood near the entrance and inspected the menu posted. No one came to ask me if I wanted a table, so I just walked in and plopped down at a table in the al fresco area overseeing the marina. It could have been a pretty peaceful sight if not for the 5 or 6 kids playing roughly while their parents socialize, uninterrupted by the ruckus.

But the thing that broke the camel's back was being ignored. Passing waiters did not bother to hand me a menu or serve. After 5 minutes I got up and just walked out. I instead dined at the eatery across Salt - Squids Bar and Restaurant. What a great choice!

Continue reading my review of Squids after the jump.

More on Azuma Japanese Restaurant, Queensbay Mall, Penang

(This is an old post that was supposed to go out but somehow did not)

I've flogged about Azuma a few months back. This visit was a simple birthday celebration for a friend, and this was what 3 of us ate. The total bill came up to RM95.90 (we ordered some items that were covered in the previous post). Take note that the proprietors also run Edo Ichi in Island Plaza and their menus are more or less identical.
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Beef Enoki Maki - RM 18

Salmon Tataki Maki - RM 22

Dragon Roll - RM 22

Inverted maki roll

Tamago

Homemade Nasi Lemak

Ahhh... if there was a 1Malaysia dish, Nasi Lemak would be it. This was my first time cooking it, and while the rice needed more sodium, it brought me back home for 6 minutes.

Invited: Kristal Seafood at Jalan Burma, Penang

Kristal Seafood is located opposite Perkeso building in a small shoplot. During lunch time it hosts a popular duck rice shop but from dinner time till early morning (1.45am!) Kristal Seafood takes over. It is your typical choo char place with (literally) hundreds of dishes at reasonable prices. They hover around RM10 for small, RM12 for medium, and RM15 for large. You really can't fault those prices.

They've been operating for over 5 years in the double-storey shoplot. If you are looking for a more comfortable dining area, you can sit upstairs in the air conditioned room. Even better, you can have freshly cooked food delivered straight to your home if you live nearby. There's a minimal delivery charge depending on what you order, and the proprietor says many people order a few dishes to be delivered as an alternative to slaving over the hot stove themselves.

Store front

Kitchen

Delivery service

Downstairs dining area

Upstairs dining area (air-conditioned)

For this invited review we were treated to a great sample of their best dishes. Let's check out some photos and my review of them:

Braised duck in young ginger

Braised duck in young ginger:
The gravy tastes well balanced, with the light spiciness of the ginger coming through but not overpowering your palate. The duck flesh itself is tender and not too gamey.

Tau ju kut ong (pork)

Tau ju kut ong (pork):
It has a nice crispy shell and is very flavorful. It goes so well with steamed rice and the pork quite literally melts in the mouth! I'd have this again.

Fragrant eggplant

Fragrant eggplant:
It's just the right tenderness which is important for me. Some cooks just make it too soft and mushy, while others undercook it. Many brinjal dishes somehow end up quite oily, but not at Kristal Seafood. It has a nice sprinkling of minced pork, and together they make a great combination (if a bit typical and unoriginal).

Dry fried french beans

Dry fried french beans:
If you haven't attended a food review with floggers before, what usually happens is that every one models the dish to their heart's content until the dishes run cold and their memory card explodes. Well, even after all that the french beans here were still quite crispy. It wasn't soggy at all, and a bit of salted fish was added for a well-balanced taste.

Steam fish

Steam fish:
While my dining partners were raving over the great fish texture, I was focused on the very normal soya sauce gravy base. I expected something sweeter and fragrant.

Nestum prawn

Nestum prawn:
This is another must-eat. It was the first time I noticed cooks mixing in eggs with the Nestum, to marvelous effect. The body of the shrimp has been shelled but the head is left intact. This is great because the prawns were deep-fried to the point you could eat the whole thing as it is without having to remove the skin (thus negating all the egg-Nestum goodness).

Spices deep fried tofu

Spices deep fried tofu:
As you can see, Japanese tofu was used and it is fried with chinese black mushrooms, minced pork, and salted fish, then poured over a freshly cooked omelette. Great accompaniment to rice.

Kam heong mantis prawn

Kam heong mantis prawn:
This has a little of a spicy kick, and is great to go with beer (according to the others). Once again, the main recurring theme of their food is "not too oily", which I'm only too happy for.

Marmite chicken

Marmite chicken:
Ahh, a truly classic choo char dish. I wonder who had the idea to slather yeast extract on fried chicken? The sweet and sticky dish is always welcoming to me, and the chicken prepared tonight is very tender (if lacking the crispiness of the mantis prawn before this).

Horseradish soup

Watercress soup

Lotus root soup

Soups:
Lastly, we were served with 3 different types of common home-cooked soups. At only RM 5 per small bowl, it's a fantastic deal if you are craving for some heartwarming liquid (that is not beer)


Getting there:
GPS Coordinates: 5.43074,100.312813

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Kristal Seafood
224-B, Jalan Burma, Pulau Tikus, 10350 Penang, Malaysia.
(Opposite Wisma Perkeso)

Tel: 04-2272218
Mobile: 012-4383962
Mobile: 016-4456882

Contact Person: Mr. Lim

Operation Hours: 4.00pm – 1.30am

Piha Beach Cafe @ New Lynn, Auckland

As I previously wrote, we visited Piha Beach and took a brief stroll around. It was just the right time for lunch after that so we stopped by the quite-recent Piha Cafe. According to my kiwi tour guide and Lonely Planet, the opening of this cafe has been strongly resisted due to fears it'll "commercialize" the area. But it's been suggested that it's actually due to a businessman protecting his monopoly on the area.

Whichever it was, the cafe was successfully opened in 2009 and it's enjoying very brisk business with its average-tasting fare and spotty service.

Sustainable architecture (solar panels, large windows) and plenty of alfresco areas

The inside is cool even if it's a little hot outside

The self-ordering counter

It was a busy day when we went and our waiter told us so. Yes, even though there is a self-ordering counter up front, we had a waiter come take our orders. Unfortunately the kitchen proceeded to mix up our orders and serve those who came later, first. This is always a sore point for any customer, no? I've already ranted the same thing with Carnavon Street's Duck Rice.

'Cab' (cabinet) food

Since our waiter advised us that the grill is backed up, we ordered from the cabinet. Each item costs $9.50 and it's basically pre-cooked food that's been kept in the fridge and waiting to be microwaved. It's pretty pricey for things that barely qualify as entrees.

The grill

Pumpkin risotto - lacks kick



Blue Cheese pie - not bad



Bacon and avocado focacia - average but fresh

Now you know how to help stranded whales - pasted on the wall

They sell products geared towards surfers - so don't get your mind in a knot with 'sex wax'

Getting there:
GPS Coordinates: -36.952978,174.472632

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Black Canyon @ Jusco Bandar Perda

Couple of months back I went to have dinner at Black Canyon. Pretty surprised that the food was quite good! But the green tea latte tastes so artificial that I don't recommend it.

Anyway we ordered from their value set meals which come with a free bowl of tom yam soup. While devoid of any squid or shrimp or veg, it tasted pretty darn good!

I'm not sure what marinade they used for the chicken thigh, but it was so good I ate the whole skin, which I almost never do (even for KFC!).

Worth a try if you are shopping there.

Matsuki Japanese Restaurant

Due to a major upheaval (I'd consider moving countries a pretty major one) my blog posts will be a bit brief so bear with me!

Matsuki is one of the oldest Japanese restaurants in Penang, situated in Pulau Tikus near a traffic crossroad. Come here for the rustic ambience and good value set meals. Although set meal prices are the same for both lunch and dinner, you get an extra scoop of Haagen-dazs ice cream if you come during lunch hours.

Ample parking in front

Simple but relaxed ambience

Japanese decorations add some flair

Wakatori Set (RM 18) - deep fried chicken with unagi sauce

Sukiyaki Chicken Set (RM 18) - thin sliced chicken and vegetables in claypot with sweet sukiyaki sauce (beef also available)

Location
GPS Coordinates: 5.433503, 100.312816

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Carnavon Street Loh Mee and Char Koay Teow

Just a short post today. It's my last day of work at my current company and I'm busy clearing things out!

Most have their favourite Loh Mee and Char Koay Teow stalls. I'm sharing one of mine, both situated under the same roof at a corner coffeeshop along Carnavon Street, near Prangin Mall.

They are open in the mornings for breakfast.

It comes with lots of pork slices and spare parts. Ask the uncle to hold the spare parts if you are not keen.

3 medium sized shrimps with duck egg