In Memory of My Beloved Dad

Not a day passes by without thinking of my dad including this final day of year 2017. My tears would ooze like broken pipe whenever saw his photos over the social media as well as the Photobook I had made for him. It's often heart-wrenching to reminisce about the moments that my dad suffered the pain due to pancreatic cancer. He was used to be so strong and energetic until the long week that he had non-stop coughs accompanying with unbearable abdomen pain. It was 16th June that he had gone to have abdomen ultrasound with an request for CT scan on the next day. When the doctor announced on the bad news that the cancer was metastatic and could easily take up one's toll within 6 months, we were merely able to withhold our tears while my dad remained his calmness. I believed that his heart was turning upside down when received the news, but he still fetched us for lunch and even consoling us that it wasn't the worst case yet.

We decided to get for second opinion from another hospital and the doctor had patiently explaining on the condition with chemotherapy as the only option. However, a biopsy was suggested to be carried out to confirm the tumor condition. The weekend was terrible as we had to continue our celebration of Father's Day, knowing that it could be the last celebration. Dad had the very scrumptious Japanese meal with his favorite eel fish on Father's Day and mom had been willingly to try her very first Japanese dish too. I still remembered the walk we had along the park and I wished that I had been holding his hands tightly on that night.  

After diagnosis and biopsy, chemotherapy sessions were scheduled in July. My dad was a brave warrior whom had faith in the upcoming battles and persevered in jogging every day before the chemotherapy schedules. After Raya holidays, the chemotherapy [Gemcitabine and Cisplatin] was undergone. Side effect i.e. high fever at night with high white blood cells happened after a week that he had his first chemotherapy. The hospitalization period began with my dad's appetite deteriorated after weeks of chemotherapy. It was traumatic when faced several patients surrounding the oncology unit leaving one by one too.The next side effect was skin infection at legs and he had drainage tube to reduce accumulated water in the stomach. It was so devastating to see the pain of your loved one and I never think that it would happen to me at this age. The birthday celebration of my dad this year was the most heart-shattering in which he hugged all of us one by one and told us how much he loved us with his hope for the family.

Due to the tumor market showed increment, he had changed chemotherapy [Abraxane] after a month. It seemed that cancers were under control with tolerable side effects such as weight loss, loss of appetite and terrible oral ulcers. However, those were the signage whereby my dad’s days were numbered unexpectedly in which he became so thin and had fatigue. The nights that spent in hospital accompanying him was unforgettable, the cold surrounding was the sore companion with the sadness accumulated in my heart. He lost the battle on 10th October without the chance of saying goodbye. The date was so perfect that I did not expect it was the last day he lived. The phlegm built up at his throat and he had difficulty to breathe with foods indigestible that evening. I was mourned with pain at the thought that he would be hoping each of us standing by with him even at the last moment. That phone call message was so hardly forgotten. It was like reminding you that with his absence, you had also lost the moment to call "daddy"/ "dad". He was a brave father, willingly to battle in order to see siblings’ graduation. The words of the cancer specialist who treated my dad was repeatedly read every night:

Your father was a brave soul, withstanding the insult of the terrible sickness with such composure and dignity. The disease was very advanced, but he put up a good fight. Please send my regards to your mother. My condolences.

Until now, the daily tasks would somehow trigger remembering of my dear dad fetching me to study, work and several ingrown nails operation. Other splendid moments like waiting at market for mom to finish her bargain of price for vegetables, grocery shopping, our daily dinner, evening chats over the workplaces or politics, piled rantings over the work, drying clothes, etc.  All these good moments were bursting away like soap bubbles. I appreciated that I had the chance to help him for cutting nails with the trust he had in me for carefully trimming his nails. The smile and satisfaction will be etched in my mind. I hope that my beloved dad is resting in peace at painless world now. I miss him so much!

An important life lesson I’ve learned is to value every day. You never know what’s going to happen. You’re not guaranteed another day, so live each day like it’s your last and try your best to keep a positive outlook.

Satisfy the Cravings for Japanese Feast @Aoki Tei Japanese Restaurant (青木亭放题）; Sunway Nexis

Maya Angelou said it best, “…people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” A great dinner treat from the head of department for recognizing and acknowledging each members' hard work for achieving sales target in the previous financial year. On that night, it was a celebration of achievements for all! The dinner was held at Aoki Tei Japanese Restaurant; Sunway Nexis. A well-meant gratitude had been expressed by the boss before everyone started to fill up each stomach with food.

Aoki Tei Japanese Restaurant; a good venue for satisfying the cravings for platefuls of sashimi,mix of raw fishes, sushi, seafood drenched with cheese and etcetera. The a-la-carte buffet priced at RM58++ for lunch and RM78++ for dinner. Bottomless drinks including green tea, sake and beers were available at Aoki Tei.

A red Kimono was hanged at the main interior as decoration and above it was the Aoki Tei 's sake.

It wasn't the typical buffet that had full range of dishes served at one side, but Aoki Tei offered ala-carte buffet which was made-to-order. A better way to remain the freshness of food. While there're more than 70 dishes to be ordered, yet each stomach had limited capacity to try all. Here's some of the Japanese feast that we had on that night. 

いただきます!

Umai Chinmi was good to be served as appetizer before starting the feast.

Seasoned octopus was very flavorful, while not many of us fancy with the seasoned jelly fish.

Grilled mackerel fish with salt (Saba Shioyaki) which was served with a slice of lemon to enhance the taste.

Chawan Mushi or Japanese steamed egg

California hand rolls

Top Glass Salad with shredded chickens and assorted vegetables.

It was ordered to balance up the meals as not all would like to be carnivores! :)

Sashimi (5pcs)

The most satisfying feast of tonight was the thick slices of  fresh sashimi. I had eaten 5 thick slices of it and regretted for not ordering one more platter.

Delicious sizzling seafood comprised of tiger prawns, salmon and squid legs topped with cheese.

 Cheese Baked Oysters were very scrumptious and we had topped up few orders after the first try. 

The tasty oyster topped with melted cheese. 

Gani Cheese Fried ordered by the next table.

I was anticipated for unagi yet there's no eel fish served here.

Mini chicken pizza

Well, it's like a heaven for sushi and sashimi lovers where the next table had been serving with jumbo platter and crystal platter. According to one of the eaters, nothing was very top notch about it, but good enough to satisfy one's cravings for sashimi.

Jumbo Platter

Crystal platter

8 kinds of seafood are included in this set and it's definitely worth ordering for feasting since this dish was costed RM199.

Takoyaki - The famous Japanese street food was served piping hot.

The flavorful diced octopus was crispy on the outside.

Prawn tempura with too much batter flours.

The batter was thick, tasted heavy, covered the taste of prawns which was suited my taste.

Soft shell crab hand rolls

Crispy crab, lettuce, Terriyaki sauce and mayo.

I had tasted two hand rolls of this due to the orders were mixed up, yet delightful of the taste.

Edamame beans- great healthy snacks when your stomachs need a rest after filling up with too many meats.

Miso soup (Japanese bean paste soup)

The feedback from the eaters that the miso soup tasted much more flavorful compared to Gyu Suji Nabe.

Inari sushi with salad dressings 

Sake Kurage Maki-Jelly fish rolls wrapped inside-out with salmon and avocado.

Hmm, nothing much special for me but those who didn't fancy of fresh raw food were satisfied with it. Desserts were available with the 4 different flavors of ice-cream i.e. vanilla, matcha, chocolate and wasabi. The matcha ice-cream was too good that I had the 2nd scoop.Mild bitterness with the nice green tea scent.

Chocolate flavor ice-cream was good for sweet-tooth.

Matcha ice-cream here yielded a perfectly sweet with mild bitterness, creamy dessert.

The celebration would not be exciting without the free flow of sake and beers. Raising up the glasses of beers/ sake or cups of green tea to cheer for the good achievement, hoping for the best to the current year! The celebration for those who born in April and May had heated up the party at the end.  

One of the group photo I liked the most.

ごちそうさまでした!
ありがとうございます!

Address:
Aoki-Tei Japanese Buffet Restaurant
Unit D-GF-05, Sunway Nexis
Jalan PJU 5/2, Kota Damansara
Phone number: 03 61436868- Table booking recommended

Appetizing Pasta @ The Morning After Coffee Company, T6 Light Grey Mall,Sungai Buloh

Every working day, I usually anticipate for the lunch hour for meals and a 30-minutes walk with dissociated minds. The long lunch hour during Friday is the best moment for ranting or chatting before working productively for the rest of the day. Sometimes, I hope that the hustle and bustle of work life open doors to new ways of thinking yet the change is still needed to be self-initiated.

Anyway, last Friday was special in which we left office earlier to eat lunch and switch gears. It's the first departmental lunch for welcoming new bosses and new joiner to the team. The place to have the lunch session was pre-booked at The Morning After Coffee Company; a hipster cafe located at T6 Light Grey Mall in Sungai Buloh.

The rustic and industrial theme decoration of the cafe with an exposed brick wall stating the cafe's name.

Above our heads, there's a big lamp which looked like from operation theater's. *Just kidding*

The menu was provided once we were seated and we promptly placed in the orders. I shall not share much details related to the work. Therefore, let's see the pasta we had ordered. Each pasta was made to order with nice firm at each bite. The pasta here were worth to try, each platter of pasta came with a large portion with generous amount of ingredients.

Grilled Chicken Pasta in Creamy Pesto Sauce
Grilled chicken breast meats and sun-fried tomatoes smothered in a creamy pesto sauce with pasta.

The Signature Soft Shell Crab pasta with Neapolitan sauce and rocket salad
The pasta with the highest price was served and its high-stacked presentation had gained the attention from most of us.

The pasta was scented with lemon grass and tossed with tomato and garlic in a spiced prawn oil. The tangy sauce was quite similar to bolognese pasta's and well-matched with the large portion of crunchy deep fried soft-shell crab.

 Spicy Aglio Olio with Grilled Prawns and Zucchini 
My choice of spaghetti with salivating prawns and sliced zucchini. For the 1st dining experience for the Italian cuisines, I usually ordered their simplest yet classic Italian pasta recipe. As the name suggested, the pasta was cooked with olive oil, grilled prawns and speckled with chili flakes. It's appetizing with the spiciness jazzing up the taste department. Well, I was delighted of my choice of meal with many plump, fresh, and juicy prawns on pasta.

Nice presentation of the food

Creamy Beef and Mushroom Pasta
The pasta topped with generous amount of sauted mushrooms and beef slices, tossed in classic creamy carbonara sauce.

Smoked Salmon Pasta

This pasta would be great for those who like to eat salmon slices and spaghetti enriched with tomato sauce.

A massive platter of pasta smothered in some kind of luscious sauce made one overwhelmed with happiness to end this weekend. It was delightful to have department lunch once awhile, to satisfy stomach and to socialize :)

Address:
After Morning Café at T6 Light Grey Mall

9, Jalan LGSB 1/1,

Pusat Komersial LGSB, OffJalan Hospital,

47000 Sungai Buloh, Selangor

Chinese Cuisines @ Restoran Lee Hong Kee (李雄記酒家) and Jeff Lee Kitchen (鲜味馆)

Both Lee Hong Kee Restaurant and Jeff Lee Kitchen are located in rural area of Kampung Baru in Sungai Buloh. As most colleagues have recommended on the Chinese cuisines, we have decided to have family dinner at the mentioned restaurants during weekends in April. As both restaurants are having most positive reviews from Trip Advisor as well as food patrons' blogs, we were having high expectation towards the food as well as dining experiences. Here's my unbiased reviews of both restaurants beginning with Lee Hong Kee Restaurant.

Restoran Lee Hong Kee (李雄記酒家) 

Lee Hong Kee Restaurant offers call-in booking service and able to extend the booking service for 15 minutes on the appointment date (time). It's best to arrive on time to avoid disappointment as it's as crowded as the Jeff Lee Kitchen. The relocated Restoran Lee Hong Kee was very spacious with high ceiling, therefore the noise level was much reduced although the restaurant was packed with food patrons.

Chinese Barbecue Pork (Char Siu Pork) 

The grilled pork with a sweet-and-sour marinade was the first dish to be served. We had requested for more meaty type and quite satisfied with the barbeque pork as it's well marinated and crunchy.

Signature claypot bean-curd
The home-style bean curd with braised peanuts, minced meats and broad beans.

Stir-fried sweet potato leaves
The sweet potato leaves were stir-fried with garlics and chilis. The portion was big and flavorful.

Deep fried tilapia fish with petaiNothing was more stunning at the dinner table than serving a whole deep-fried fish with sweet-sour sauce and generous amount of petai. The combination with fragrant petai and fresh tilapia was interesting for us as we used to order steamed fish, this dish happened to be the 1st runner dish after Barbeque Pork.

Sweet and sour pork chop 排骨王Hmm, sweet and sour pork chop was also one of the recommended dishes here yet it's unsavory for me.


The Standing Chicken (栋笃鸡) was the prominent dish that attracted food patrons from other states. To me and my family's dismay, it was just a roasted chicken serving in a "standing" position. The disposable plastic gloves and a pair of scissors were provided, but you may request the waiter to chop it for you. Being the lazy eaters, we opted for the latter option to taste the dish.

Photography of the "standing chicken" would just nice for satisfying readers' curiosity. Upon  was rather dry and almost tasteless. It could be the reason why the chili sauce and mixed salt (MSG) being provided as well. We were quite disappointed with this famous dish of Restoran Lee Hong Kee and thought it would be marinated with herbs.

We footed the bill for about RM170 and the overall dining experience was still good except for the roasted chicken that had failed to pamper our taste-buds.  

Jeff Lee Kitchen (鲜味馆)

The restaurant has 2 adjacent shop-lots with another shop-lot next to two doors. It's located at Kampung Baru near the wet market. Jeff Lee Kitchen does not allow table booking service for less than 10 persons per table. The business could be too overwhelming where the staffs were quite rude to speak with even on the phone.

Upon arrival at 6.30pm, it was a rainy day and we were quite shocked to see long queues in front of Jeff Lee Kitchen. Without hesitation, we approached the cashier counter to have our list of foods to be ordered. We had been requested to wait outside of the restaurant and the staff will call us when there's any vacant seat. We waited for 15 minutes and foods were served after another 20 minutes.

Deep fried tilapia fish with petai
The combination of sweet and sour sauce with pungent petai complemented the flavor of the deep fried tilapia fish. The portion of the fish was considered small for 7 of us.

The signature bean-curd with minced meats.

 Claypot Lou Shu Fun

The claypot of lou shu fun (also known as silver needle noodles) was served next, coming with minced pork ad topped with an egg. Stirred and mixed the raw egg and noodles for smoother and thicker gravy. It's one of the dishes most had raved about, yet my family and I just felt it's a decent dish but not the top notch food that worth a thumb-up yet. Overall, it's well stir-fried lou shu fun and this claypot of noodles costed around RM40.

Stir-fried sweet potato leaves

Signature Crispy Pork Belly

As the roasted duck was out of order, we had been recommended to try their signature crispy pork belly. It appeared to be the only dish that we liked. The pork belly were well marinated and crispy.

The tables here were packed to each other, giving us the uncomfortable dining experience. The environment was very noisy and bursting. The after-meal experience became worse when one of the food patron broke a glass and the family left speedily on the spot. The waiters came out to clean the area and found a dirty pampers left under the table. It was most probably left by the family that we saw just now.

As for the eatery opinion of mine, the food was not up to scratch and more expensive (RM 195) compared to the Restoran Lee Hong Kee. We had a raging thirst all night after the meal and it was a terrifying experience guessing how much Monosodium Glutamate was included in the dishes. Well, the overall dining experience here had fallen from my expectation. It's probably my last visit to Jeff Lee Kitchen even though I would like to try their minced pork egg noodles.

Address:

RESTORAN LEE HONG KEE (formerly known as RESTORAN LYJ)

No.3, 5, 7 & 9, Tingkat Bawah, Jalan Kati GU 19/G,

Kampung Baru, Sg. Buloh,

40160 Shah Alam

Malaysia.

Tel: 03-6140 2678 / HP: 016-667 4810 (Mdm Nin / 阿珍)

Jeff Lee Kitchen

Lot 4133 Jalan Perkhimatan(Opposite the market)

Kampung Baru Sg Buloh

47000 Selangor Te; 03-6156 1817

Penang Food Trails- List of Penang Delicacies that I Tried

Penang Island, the birthplace of my dad which is quite often being visited since my aunts are still residing there. Apart from that, a short stay in Penang during each school holidays, year-end in 2009 as well as occasional trips to Penang with friends/ loved ones have contributed the gastronomic journeys which are remarkable and worth to be listed for reference. When any visitor comes to Penang, the first thing that he/she will wonder is why there are so many eateries serving different type of cultural cuisines -from Nasi Kandar, Jawa Mee, Loh Mee, Hokkien noodles and etc. It's proud to say that Penang is another great place to hunt for delectable delicacies due to its wealth of street foods apart from Malacca.

So, have headache in choosing where and what to eat in food-obsessed Penang Island? From char koay teow, loh mee, asam laksa, Penang Hokkien mee (prawn noodles), lam mee till rojak and etc.,there're so many foods to be tasted and tried in Penang. Given the amount of variety existing in Penang’s hawker scene, there is definitely room for many other unlisted savory that more preferable by others. Here's my gastronomic adventures in Penang Island, covering most of the street foods I had tried so far. Alternatively, you could check out some of the blog posts listed in Epicurean Journey of Penang for details. 

1. Asam Laksa

Penang asam laksa had been ranked seventh in a list of the “world’s 50 most delicious foods”, published by CNN before. Thick broth cooked with poached mackerels, tamarind, chilies, shrimp paste, lemongrass, pineapple slices, onions and cucumbers, carrying a balanced medley of sweet, sour and spiciness. The thick rice vermicelli remained bouncy and addictive enough to be eaten together with the spicy-sourish broth. I would say it's one of the must-have dish whenever come to Penang. Few popular asam laksa stalls included Asam Laksa Stall at Pasar Air Itam ( on the way to Kek Lok Si) and Joo Hooi Cafe@ Lebuh Keng Kwee (Penang Road Famous Teochew Chendol).

Address:

Joo Hooi Cafe (愉园餐室)
Address:475, Jalan Penang

Penang Asam Laksa @ Joo Hooi Cafe

Asam Laksa Stall at Pasar Air Itam 

2. Penang Hokkien Mee/ Prawn Noodles

Another delight from Penang Food Paradise that worth mentioning is Hokkien Hae Mee/ Hokkien Mee. Pork ribs and fresh prawns were used as the base after the prawn shells had been boiled for a few hours giving it a rich, meaty flavor. The hokkien mee was usually garnished with crispy fried onions, shallots, lean pork slices, water spinach,sliced egg and shredded prawns. Some may rave that this simple soup-based noodles could be easily gotten from other states in Malaysia. After trying so many stalls in KL, the best Hokkien Mee I have had still from Penang. Most Penang Hokkien Mee in KL was rather blend.

One Corner Cafe 和喜茶室 Penang Hokkien Mee would take you queuing up for the steaming bowl of hokkien mee for almost 45 minutes to 1 hour. Another famous hokkien mee stall is normally named as Pulau Tikus Balai Polis Hokkien Mee by locals located at Kedai Kopi Swee Kong. The exact stall name is Lean Huat Hokkien Mee. The one I tried from Macalister Road may not be the best prawn noodles I had tried, but it's much flavorful compared to those I had in other states.

One Corner Cafe 和喜茶室
Address: 2, Jalan Bawasah (Behind Penang Plaza) 10050 Georgetown, Penang.

Lean Huat Hokkien Mee

Hokkien Mee @ Macalister Road

Penang Hokkien Mee @ 虾面之家 at Lorong Selamat

Penang Hokkien Mee in Kedai Low Eng Hoo @ Lorong Selamat.

3. Mee Rebus /Mee Goreng

I am not fancy of yellow noodles which normally have alkaline taste. However, mee rebus/ mee goreng from Penang is often marked down in my list when I visit to Penang. The mee goreng possess all the flavors to tingle the taste buds i.e. sweet, sour and spicy. The spicy stewed cuttlefish/ squids, mashed sweet potatoes, fried tofu cubes, crispy fritters, bean sprouts,crunchy fried shallots and slices of cabbages are the main ingredients of the mee goreng, The tomato gravy furnished the noodles with sweetness while the chili paste contributes spiciness accompanied with a slice of lime adding a hint of sourness to this irresistible dish. The best one I have eaten is from Seng Lee Coffeeshop; Bangkok Lane. Gerai Makanan Batu Lancang's mee goreng is also very delicious in which the sweetness of mashed potatoes is perfectly matched with the spiciness of the fried noodles. 

Address: 270 Jalan Burmah at Seng Lee Coffeeshop

Mee goreng with squids and chicken slices 

Mee Rebus /Mee Goreng @ Gerai Makanan Batu Lancang


Mee Rebus /Mee Goreng @ Gerai Makanan Batu Lancang
A plate of reddish noodles served with a handful of marinated squids and topped with an egg.
This is another version of mee goreng offered here with more tomato gravy [ wet mee goreng ].

4. Char Koay Teow

The popular Penang delight which one would not miss when come to Penang. The sloppy, flat white noodles are fried in iron cast wok with oil, minced garlic and soy sauce, then topped with prawns, bean sprouts, egg and cockles. The fragrant Penang Char Koay Teow might be the most Penang delight that require more skills as a delectable char koay teow depending on the 'wok hei' producing a good balance between savoury, sweet and spicy flavor imparting the noodles.  Heng Huat Café-Red Hat Lady's Char Koay Teow at Lorong Selamat remain popular and the price of a plate of char koay teow had increased to RM10 during my last visit in year 2016. I still haven't tried the famous yet not-so-expensive char koay teow at Siam Road.

Lorong Selamat Char Kuey Teow (Red Hat Aunty Stall)
Address: Kafe Heng Huat ,108, Lorong Selamat, Georgetown

Char Koay Teow@ Lorong Selamat


Lam Heng Cafe; Macalister Lane

5. Duck Meats Koay Teow Th'ng

Kim Lee Coffee Shop's duck meats koay teow th'ng is one of my favorite Penang delicacies. The silky smooth, thin and flat rice noodles garnished with sliced duck meats, fish balls, fried crispy onions and chopped scallions.The nourished full-bodied soup have been boiled for hours, flavorful till you might have finished sipping all. You could request no internal parts for your bowl of duck meats koay teow th'ng. Koay Teow Th'ng from Kim Lee Coffee Shop is often full-house with food patrons particularly due to its strategic location at market and popularity of the koay teow th'ng. The duck meat were much tender yet both portion was rather small.

Koay Teow Th'ng@Kim Lee Coffee Shop

Koay Teow Th'ng@ Lebuh Melayu

Closer look of the koay teow thng

6. Duck Kway Chap

Kway Chap;a handmade flat and silky rice noodles served in a herbal broth. Braised duck meats, innards, and boiled eggs were served together with the kway chap. Porridge is also available apart from the flat and silky rice noodles. For me, it looks like duck meat koay teow th'ng with the obvious difference is the herbal soup base. The famous duck kway chap shop which would be Restoran Kimberley. The duck meats are properly braised and tender while the herbal soup is flavorful without bitterness.It is then garnished with coriander leaves and fried onions.

7.  Char Koay Kak

Char Koay Kak is definitely different compared to char koay teow, it refers to fried radish cake. The raddish cake or carrot cake is made of rice and corn flour, basically tasteless and being flavorful after cooking with seasoning, egg, bean sprouts, chai poh (菜圃), dark soy sauce and chili. Despite being soft and silky smooth in texture, it’s somehow tasted like char koay teow except that it has no cockles. The stir-fried carrot cake pieces from Char Koay Kak by Eoh’s sisters at Seow Fong Lye Cafe; Macalister Lane. is very delicious and aromatic.

8.  Cendol

Cendol is a cold and sweet dessert comprised of shaved ice with coconut milk, green jelly noodles, palm sugar, red beans, glutinous rice, sweet corns, attap chee (palm seed) and etc. The popular stall in Penang is Penang Road Famous Teochew Chendol @ Lebuh Keng Kwee and you just have to follow the crowds to sample the cendol here. The bowl of cendol would be the best refreshing drink to quench the thirst. This roadside stall has operated since year 1963, being a well known cendol (chendul) stall that most tourists will drop by to purchase this dessert. Let's scoop hearty helpings of cendol from Penang now!

Penang Road Famous Teochew Chendul
Address: 475, Jalan Penang, Georgetown

9.  Rojak

Rojak is a traditional Asian fruit and vegetable salad. The ingredients such as cucumber, pineapples, turnip,guava, raw mangoes and other fruits are mixed together with the thick prawn sauce, then it's topped with squids/ cuttlefish, prawn fritters, shredded peanuts and fried bean curd. The one I used to eat is at Joo Hooi Cafe due to its convenience to satisfy cravings of cendol and asam laksa. The rojak here does not have cuttlefish/ squids and contain most fruits.

10. Popiah / Seafood Popiah

Popiah are similar to spring rolls, most filled with shredded vegetables (turnip, lettuce, cucumber and carrot slices) with peanuts/ fritters to give the popiah filling extra crunch and fragrance. Joo Hooi Cafe 愉園茶室 is probably the cafe where you could get all kinds of Penang savory including asam laksa, rojak, cendol and popiah too. The popiah here is just so-so as the one I got from neighborhood is much better. However,  the thin and moist handmade popiah skin complements the popiah filling perfectly.

Popiah at Stall 17 of Padang Brown Hawker Centre is different from most eateries. Shredded omelette, shredded crab meats and fried shallots accompanied with an abundant serving of popiah fillings are served in a warm gravy with robust crab flavour. A scrumptious seafood popiah where you would find it interesting to be tasted.

Gerai Padang Brown/ Padang

Address: At the corner of Perak Road and Anson Road, beside a green field and directly behind Datuk Keramat Police Station.

11. Pasembur/ Cheh-hu

Pasembur/ Cheh-hu is a Malaysian-Indian salad consisting of cucumber, potatoes, bean curd, turnip, bean sprouts, crackers, prawn fritters, spicy fried crab, fried octopus or other seafoods and served with a sweet and spicy nut sauce. The Chinese version pasembur stall is located next to the seafood popiah stall at Padang Brown Food Court is the stall which I'm used to visit. The sauce is semi-sweet and tasty to dripping the jellyfish slices, bean curds, cucumber slices, bean sprouts and etc. However, a quick dining process for pasembur is needed before everything becomes soggy and sauce be liquidized.

Pasembur @ Padang Brown

12. Penang White Curry Noodles

The thick, spicy, fragrant, coconut-rich curry shall be familiar by all Malaysians. The main difference of Penang white curry noodles compared to other states' is the condiments where most of curry noodles from Penang contain cuttle fish,congealed pork blood,cockles,soft bean curd puffs and shrimps/ chicken slices/ pork slices where as other states' containing meat balls, bean curd skin, long bean/ bean sprouts, BBQ pork slices or chicken slices. Of course, the accompanying sambal or chilli paste is the key importance of the white curry noodles.

My favorite bowl of Penang curry noodles is usually dined at Lorong Seratus Tahun Curry Mee
(Address: 55 Lorong Seratus Tahun, George Town, Penang Island, Malaysia). The chilly paste could be added depending on own spice level.

Penang Curry Noodles from Lebuh Melayu

13. Nyonya Kuih Muih

Nyonya kuih; a Pernakan delicacy which is famous in Penang and Malacca. Nyonya kuih come in different shapes, colours and textures. The bite-sized treats of these Nyonya Kuih would be definitely great for breakfast or tea time. Kuih Bengka- purple color, kuih kosui, glutinous rice topped with sweet kaya, kuih talam and many more are my all-time favorite. I normally had my cravings of Nyonya Kuih Muih from Bayan Baru Morning Market -next to Sunshine Square and One Corner Cafe.

Various Nyonya kuih

kuih bengka made of yam, kuih kosui, blue glutinous rice with kaya, kuih talam(pandan and coconut layered cake)

Kuih kosui is best matched with the shredded, salty coconut flesh

Ang Ku Kueh ( a kuih that looks like  red tortoise ) from Eaton Kuih Centre comes in big size and we like the soft filling of smooth sweetened mung bean paste. The freshly made Ang Ku Kueh tasted the best on the same day as steaming it on the next day will cause its skin becoming too soggy. Well,  I hardly resist to keep it for the next day.

14. Chee Cheong Fun

Seow Fong Lye Cafe has one of my favorite Penang style Chee Cheong Fun. It is not hard to spot this stall as you could see a long queue most of the time. The name of the hawker is Lim Mei Fong if I ain't mistaken. She put a spoonful of sweet and slightly spicy shrimp paste dazzling over the rice rolls after pouring a dash of sesame seeds, shrimp paste and chili paste.

The sauce was so pungent that its aroma flew into my nostrils.

Just a simple dish yet it made remembrance after eating. 

15. Fried Oyster Omelette / Oh Chien

Fried Oyster Omelette is a culinary treasure among the list of popular street foods in Penang. It could be a normal dish where we could get from other states but somehow those I have tried in KL or other places are found to be over starchy, sticky or gooey and lack of fresh oysters.  I still prefer fried oyster omelette from Penang and the famous one you could try is at Kedai Kopi Seng Thor (Address: 160, Lebuh Carnarvon, 10100 Georgetown, Penang)

16. Pastry

The Penang specialty biscuits should not be forgotten and it's conveniently packed as souvenir or tasty snack from Penang Island. There are many bakery shops which sell Tambun biscuits with the famous biscuits brands as Ghee Heang 義香餅家 and Him Heang 馨香餅家 which I have written a detailed blog post regarding my all-time favorite pasty from Him Heang. Read more : http://lovewinter19.blogspot.com/2015/08/tambun-biscuits-him-heang-burma.html

The another famous bakery shop in Penang i.e. Ming Xiang Tai has become our recent stop-point to take away their pastries. I love their egg tarts very much, crunchy thin outer layer and soft and rich egg flavor. The salted egg puff and kaya puff from Ming Xiang Tai are worth the try too!

17. Penang Yam Cake (Or Kuih)

The yam cake, or more affectionately known to locals as or kueh is one of the usual local delicacies sold in most hawker stalls in Penang. The texture of this steamed yam cake is very soft and being made of yam cubes. The yam cake in Penang is usually topped with generous amount of deep fried shrimps, shallots, white sesame,chili slices and scallions, providing a boost of flavor and fragrance while eating. Penang yam cake is usually served with the shrimp paste and chili paste. My cravings for Penang Yam Cake is normally fulfilled at One Corner Cafe and Lam Heng Cafe. 

Simple yet delicious

List of foods will be continued, covering loh mee, lam mee~