Malaysia

Cafes within walking distance from City Square @Johor Bahru, Malaysia

Posted on 16 June 2017 by lendeliz

There are quite a few cafes within walking distance from Johor Bahru City Square, and we tried 2 during our trip.

Faculty of Caffeine

Our first stop of the trip was to chill 😛 We shared a Waffle with Japanese Curry Soft Shell Crab (RM28.90 + 10% service charge + 6% GST as of  Jun 2017), and tried a hot Latte (RM10++), Iced Apple Lemon (RM12++) and Iced Apple Pear (RM12++).

The waffle was pretty normal, but the soft shell crab was really salty 😮

Drinks-wise, the latte was not bad, and the juices were freshly squeezed and refreshing 🙂

Note: Free WiFi was available.

Contact:

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Categories: Coffee/Tea Break, Johor, Malaysia, Travel | Tags: , , , | 1 Comment

Restoran Ya Wang 鸭皇药材烧腊大王 @Johor Bahru, Malaysia

Posted on 16 June 2017 by lendeliz

We ventured to Johor Bahru by bus today!

Lunch was at this popular restaurant, and we made it a point to arrive before 11.30am. It was actually getting crowded already 😮 We quickly got ourselves seated and got some recommendations from the staff on what to eat 🙂

  • 碳烤药材鸭 Herbal Roast Duck (RM22 nett): Apparently this place acted as consultant for the chain 店小二 Dian Xiao Er in Singapore, and we thought the roast ducks were pretty comparable, i.e. tender and juicy!
  • 叉烧烧肉 Honey BBQ Pork & Roast Pork (RM20): We definitely preferred the roast pork with its crispy skin 🙂 We would have preferred BBQ pork with a bit more fats 😛
  • 亚叁妮罗红 Assam Red Tilapia (RM30): This was the clear winner of all the items that we tried! The fish was really fresh, and the assam gravy was oh-so-addictive 😀 I think this was a Today’s Special and not in the menu.
  • 奶白菜 Taiwan White Cabbage (RM18): Pretty standard plate of vegetable, to make us feel less guilty about the sinful lunch, haha 😛
  • 海燕窝 Sea Birdnest drink (RM6.50): We were curious about what 海燕窝 was, and it turned out to be rather crunchy and jelly-like. The drink was perhaps a bit more like 糖水 (sweet soup dessert), and it was quite nice.

Overall, a very enjoyable meal 🙂

Note: Above prices included 6% GST.

Contact:
Categories: Johor, Lunch, Malaysia, Travel | Tags: , , , | 1 Comment

Penang 2016 Itinerary

Posted on 18 April 2016 by lendeliz

2016-04-18 16.44.13-1We last went to Penang back in 2011, where we literally ate our stay away.

This time, we thought that we should try to do things a little differently, though we somehow ended up back at the same places because the food were just so good!

We also tried some new places, with mixed reviews.

Here is our short 3 day 2 night itinerary:

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Categories: Malaysia, Penang | Tags: | Leave a comment

Street Art in George Town, Penang

Posted on 18 April 2016 by lendeliz

2016-04-17 10.22.11We had agreed that we needed to eat eat AND walk walk for this trip, instead of eat eat eat eat 😛 So we did spend half our time checking out the street art in George Town.

Back in 2009, the state government had commissioned 52 steel rod sculptures, to share the rich history behind the street names in George Town. In 2012, the murals came along, and by 2016, there were really plenty to see.

Armed with the free map that indicated where the more popular street art were, plus a bit of Googling, we really had plenty of fun exploring the streets!

Here’s a short video on the street murals that we have seen on this trip (which I have also embedded below)!

Our absolute favourite was the Old Indian Woman mural by Julia Volchkova, Lumut Lane. It was amazingly realistic 🙂

We are now inspired to visit Balik Pulau during our next Penang trip!

Useful websites:

 

Categories: Malaysia, Penang | Tags: , | 1 Comment

Food @Penang International Airport

Posted on 18 April 2016 by lendeliz

We had arrived at the airport early, and after browsing all the eateries at the departure hall, we decided to try out Pinang Kopitiam. We ordered a Penang Laksa (RM10+ 6%GST) and Rojak Buah (RM6+).

Had some difficulty trying to communicate with the staff as he kept explaining things in Malay, and we had to catch several key phrases and clarify in English. But he sure was very friendly and helpful! When he served the laksa, he asked if we wanted something, but we could not understand. Then he went “Penang flavour. Don’t know? Nevermind, I show you”, and he came back with the prawn paste, which was the saviour of the dish! Ooohhh wooo! The noodles might have been a bit overcooked, but the prawn paste made the gravy very flavourful, and we thought it was better than the other version that we tried.

They were very generous with the prawn paste for the rojak as well, and I particularly enjoyed the tart green mango mixed with the sweet sauce.

This was such a pleasant find at the airport 🙂

Of course, we have always heard how KFC in Malaysia is so much better than that in Singapore, so we simply popped opposite and ordered a 2-Piece Chicken of original flavoured chicken (RM9.20 nett). The meat was succulent and juicy. But we can’t really tell if it’s truly better than Singapore’s because we have not had KFC in Singapore for such a looong time… Haha… 😛

Pinang Kopitiam:

  • Location: Lot L2-FB5B Departure Level, Penang International Airport, Bayan Lepas Penang, Malaysia
  • Contact: +60 012-4292580
Categories: Dinner, Malaysia, Penang | Tags: , , , | 1 Comment

Coffee On The Table @Lebuh Pantai, Penang

Posted on 18 April 2016 by lendeliz

What a hot day it was!!!

After trekking to 2 different locations before managing to find some food souvenirs, we went to Coffee on the Table opposite Ghee Hiang to hide from the sun.

Our last cafe in Penang does 3D latte art (additional RM3) for their coffee and chocolate drinks, both hot and cold (additional RM1).

We got ourselves a Iced Cafe Latte (RM14.90+ 10% service charge) and Iced Hazelnut Chocolate (RM16.90+). Pretty pricey 😮 But we were feeling too cui to go anywhere else.

The coffee was way better than the chocolate. The hazelnut chocolate had a strange cloying artificial sweetness, and very little chocolate taste to it. At least the coffee tasted like what it was supposed to, haha.

The free WiFi here was kinda spotty for a while, but was ok for the rest of our chillax session.

But we were most impressed with their 3D latte art which they could do it in iced drinks as well, something we have not been able to find in Singapore!

Contact:
Categories: Coffee/Tea Break, Malaysia, Penang | Tags: , , , | 1 Comment

Ming Xiang Tai Pastry Shop 名香泰餅家 @Gat Lebuh Armenian, Penang

Posted on 18 April 2016 by lendeliz

We had came to this place twice, the first time it was far too crowded for us to want to wait to buy any food souvenirs, so we figured we should return here to check out what is so good about this place. We came back on Monday, and it was empty (including no one queuing to take pictures with the ‘I-Want-Pau‘ mural just outside the shop) 🙂

While trying to decide what to buy home, we figured that we should try out the patries first, since there were seats available. We got ourselves the 2 most popular items, the Rickshaw Egg Tart 三轮车蛋挞 (RM2/pc), and the Salted Egg Yolk Pastry 咸蛋酥 (RM1.90/pc). We plonked ourselves at a table with the air-conditioning blowing at us 😀

The egg tart was still warm, and it was filled with flaky goodness that was made of many layers of thin pastry. The fillings were not overly sweet, and the combination was awesomely delicious (dare we say better than Tai Cheong’s)! Very worth the money, but probably too difficult to fly home with it still retaining its freshness.

The salted egg yolk pastry was quite disappointing though. It was super sweet with very little egg yolk, and we could barely distinguish the taste of egg yolk from the very sweet lotus paste. We ended up not buying anything and went back to the Ghee Hiang, the bean pastry place to get our souvenirs instead.

Contact:

  • Location: 26 Armenian Street Ghaut 10200 Penang, Malaysia
  • Website: www.facebook.com/MingXiangTai1979
  • Contact: +60 4261 9887
  • Hrs: 10am – 9pm (Mon-Fri), 9am – 9pm (Sat-Sun)
Categories: Coffee/Tea Break, Malaysia, Penang | Tags: , , , | 1 Comment

Trois Canon Cafe 三炮台茶餐廳 @Lebuh Campbell, Penang

Posted on 18 April 2016 by lendeliz

Mr J told us that his cousin has opened a cafe here, so we thought that we should pop over to show some support 🙂

Tried the Philly Cheese Steak Bun 费城芝士牛仔包 (RM5.50) and Tomato Based Luncheon Meat & Egg Macaroni 餐蛋通粉 (RM6.50). For drinks, we shared a Iced Hawthorn 山楂水 (RM1.90). We had initially wanted to try one of the sets, but alas, egg tarts were already sold out by the time we arrived just past 1pm.

For this price, they were certainly quite generous with the amount of minced meat and cheese in the cheese steak bun. We also liked that the bun was quite soft. Overall, this bun was slightly on the saltier side though.

The macaroni arrived shortly after we downed the bun. The tomato gravy was tangy and sweet, whetting up our appetite. There was a generous amount of luncheon meat strips, that looked more like ham. The pasta was cooked just nice, and was slightly bouncy, not bad at all.

The iced hawthorn provided a refreshing relief as it was a really hot day today, but I preferred the nutmeg drink to this.

Contact:

  • Location: 165, Lebuh Campbell, 10100 George Town, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia
  • Contact: +60 4264 3168
  • Hrs: 7:30am – 5pm (closed on Sat)
Categories: Lunch, Malaysia, Penang | Tags: , , , | 1 Comment

Café 55 @Lorong Stewart, Penang

Posted on 18 April 2016 by lendeliz

We were checking out another series of street art, and were very impressed with the scale and number!

We were also quite impressed by the heat in Penang, and found the nearby Cafe 55 by Coffee Atelier open.

Hubby decided to try a Black Kim Guan Coffee (RM7, inclusive of 6% GST and 10% service charge), which was made from coffee beans roasted in the traditional Penang style. Not bad for a local coffee.

I decided in the Iced Lemon Tea (RM10 nett), for this place served Gryphon tea which is also easily available in Singapore. The iced lemon tea was very intensely sweet and sour.

We enjoyed the relaxed and cosy atmosphere here, and the not-too-freezing air conditioning that was at the right cooling temperature. Oh, the free WiFi was wonderful too 😛

Do check out the area leading towards the restroom, where there is a small art gallery, as well as an area explaining the history of Kim Guan and coffee.

This place also serves breakfast, pastas, sandwiches, tapas, salad, and desserts. However, we were still very full from our hotel breakfast, so we did not try any food here.

Contact:

  • Location: 47-55 Lorong Stewart, George Town, 10300 Penang, Malaysia
  • Website: www.coffeeatelier.com/cafe.php
  • Contact: +60 4261 2261
  • Hrs: 8am – 9pm
Categories: Coffee/Tea Break, Malaysia, Penang | Tags: , , , | 1 Comment

Restoran Daun Pisang Sri Ananda Bahwan @Penang Street, Penang

Posted on 17 April 2016 by lendeliz

2016-04-17 22.03.44We enjoyed the Indian food at Little India in George Town back in 2011, where we tried vegetarian food at Woodlands Vegetarian Restaurant (loved the Palak Paneer so much that we started ordering this dish whenever we go to Indian restaurants) and delicious tandoori chicken and naan at Restoran Kapitan.

This time, we thought that we should try a different restaurant, and ended up at the Restoran Daun Pisang Sri Ananda Bahwan, as it was the most crowded. There were a good mix of Caucasians, Indians and Chinese patrons, so we thought the food should be pretty decent. In all, we tried:

  • Tandoori Chicken (RM6.50 +6% GST): This was not bad, and the meat was quite tender.
  • Hariyali Kebab (RM7+): The meat was more tough, but still not too bad.
  • Palak Paneer (RM12+ for medium): There was some confusion when the “palak paneer” arrived looking bright orange, when it was supposed to be cottage cheese cubes cooked in a smooth spinach curry. We kept reiterating what we ordered before they returned with the dish that really did not appear very green to us. It was the saltiest version that we have ever eaten 😦
  • Garlic Naan (RM3+): We thought that it was abit undercooked, and the garlic flavours did not come out fully.
  • Masala Tea (RM1.80+): I’m not sure what was the difference between Masala Tea and Masala Milk, for this drink was milky too. It was extremely sweet 😮

It was a rather disappointing meal for us 😦

Contact:

  • Location: 53&55 Penang Street, 10200 George Town, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia
  • Website: srianandabahwan.com.my
  • Contact: +60 04-264 4204
  • Hrs: 7am – 12am
Categories: Dinner, Malaysia, Penang | Tags: , , , , , , | 1 Comment

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