"Retiree" Hours

Practicing 'pensioner' life..
Relaxing at Winter Warmers Coffee & Tea House..
searching the peace of mind..
and calm of soul..

Though with the tropical hot & humid weather,
sometimes I still prefer outdoor seats..
Enjoying the the natural sunlight & breeze..
the only drawback would be 2nd hand smoke, hazadours to the health..

Been to Winter Warmer once for tea break..
It registered in my memory as a very nice place..
I cant recall what has impressed me..
so am here for my lunch break..
Lunch Set tuna waffle + tea..

Do I have the look of coffee drinker instead of tea?
While taking order the waiter asked me twice
"Do you want to change the drink?"

Winter Warmers doesnt sound like a name for coffee..
I thanks for the offer.
Starbucks just next door. Anytime..



The tuna waffle is BIG ..
I thought of asking my next door patron if he would like to join me.. :-p
Well, that would be awkward thinking,
So the idea stay in my mind till I finished the meal.
It was a delicious tuna waffle..



Enjoying the darjeeling black tea while reading the magazine I just bough..
Once a while enjoying the colorful crowd passing by.
Pretty and handsome. Old and young.

What made Winter Warmers so special?
hahaha...
The waiters are friendly.
They are all waiters.. no sight of waitress.. :-p
Importantly they all have sweat smile and handsome looked. hahahaha
They are humour too and kind hearted..
The way they present themselves..
Very relaxing and sunshine..
(i saw one or two of them so..
i assume all waiters are like that la :-p)

A worthy lunch... :-p

Then, 2 pretty teenagers join me, they sit next table..
I am glad to see there are pple (females) who shared the same thought like me choosing outdoor seat..

Well.. not long my enjoyment turn into 'day'mare..
which ended my lunch break earlier..

One of them is smoker..
seriously polluted my peaceful breeze
so i think we do not share the same enjoyment..

ciao..
A true life..

Okonomiyaki

okonomi == What you want. yaki == Grilled.
Okonomiyaki (お好み焼き) == Japanese Pancake/ Pizza

I have my first okonomiyaki last year when during my last day in Tokyo.
My fren said. Must try!! And...

I like it... or should say I love it.
Since then I have been searching for it in Malaysia.
Sakae Sushi serve this dish. I tried.
But of coz the taste never come close to what I have in Odaiba.

Last week a fren of mine made it and its 'inspired' me to do so..

deng deng.... :)

Then Ingredient

2 eggs + Okonomiyaki flour = batter

mix batter +cabbage+carrot. slow fried at pan

Flip the batter... dont get burn

Heat with Bacon for a while...

garnish with topping , okonomiyaki sauce, Mayonnaise,Katsuo-bushi (dried bonito flakes) and green Onion

Ready to serve.... yum yum ^^

oooppss...too much :-p

Burger Oblong

For ramly burger fan.. New burger in town!! Go hunt it down!

Today I visited the stall in front of my apartment..
I saw the kids (i havent been there for a while.Yes, change owner again) fried different style of meat..
I asked "Itu apa?"
Kid: "Oblong"
"hot long?"
"Oblong, style baru.. ini burger mcDonald.."
"oooo... i c..oblong " i read it from their advertisement in front of the stall..
Yes it definitely looks like the prosperity burger..

It actually more juicy.. they are not stingy on the sauce..
i was awe to see how much he squeezed the source to the burger.. :-p
less spicy... less pepper taste...as compare to McD one..
or shud i said just nice? hahahahaha

it just that may be the source/meat that they used.. got an additional of different "taste"..
overall it is recommended to try.. :)

It costs me RM3.50 for a prosperity time .. :-p

能吃是福 :-)

Drive through Apong Guan

Apong is a type of food. A pancake like.

Penang has a 'very' famous apong selling at Jalan Burmah just beside Union Primary school. and you can place order through phone 016-4093701 or drive through...
but sorry.. no delivery service..

The first time i passed by here was last year when i was hunting for some food for my tea break at 5pm and it caught my attention with the crowd.
Then I was being informed that i need to wait very long...
I was a bit stunned. The uncle can make 8 pieces at one time..
so how long could it be?
With small apetite i have,
i said ok i can wait patiently.. I just need 3.

but then soon i learnt the 'longness' when the next customer came to order..
the car along the curb were the customer waiting in line for their order...
and each of them were ordering like 20,50,10,60 pcs and so...
so imagine i was waiting the uncle to make more than 150 of apong then only it will reach for my turn.. which is only 3 i needed..
so that's long, very long...
and i was hungry...

interesting enuff is...
there is another apom stall just few steps down the road...
and it was sorta crowded with cars in front of the stall..
but those were not his customers.. :-)
since i was hungry..
i decided not to wait and to have the apong from the next door..

so..yesterday i got the chance to revisit Ah Guan's Apong..

inside the apong, uncle guan will put 2 small slices of banana and small portion of corn..

mmm.. so how i felt about the apong?
I am not fancy about this apong.
in fact this is the 2nd time i have it..
i would said.. it smell good..
taste smooth in the mouth
the banana taste is strong as compare with the corn..
it is very soft..
my fren who like apong said it tasted different compare to normal one.

BTW, a side note, ... ApOng got a 'funny' meaning in penang... :-)
just like 'kuih' it can mean something different while you talk in Hokkien in Penang...

“One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well.”
-Virginia Woolf

多春 . many springs

多春 (duo chun or many springs) & 青天 (qing Tian or Green Sky) motivated me to wake up early on this fine saturday..

I drove around, and stucked into traffic for about 30min or more in Center of Georgetown..
just to look for 多春 (many springs)..
I almost giving up looking for 'her'
and went to see 青天 (qing tian)..
but 青天 (qing tian) not there yet..
so returning to find 多春 (many springs)

Finally i found it..
I got the direction wrong from PenangTuaPui..
So who is or rather what is 多春 (many springs)?
多春 (duo chun) is a kopitiam name situated at a back alley.
right on the left of Campbell Street after you turn left from Penang Street..
According to PenangTuaPui it serves Nostalgia Roti Bakar..

the parking lots are pitifully scarce overhere..
further more there is a big market near by..
making it worst..
after making 2 rounds..
and i am already very hungry at 10am..
i dont want to repeat my mistake of paying 30RM for 3 bowls of Cendul..
i decided to park into the parking "garage" nearby..
Wow.. first 45 minutes RM3..

pheow pheow...
better be sure that this roti bakar real worth it..
I ordered a cup of Kopi... (yeah kopi)
a plate of roti bakar with kaya..
and a half boiled egg..



When i first bite the roti.. i kinda regretted...
no.. its not the taste.. the taste is just normal..
but the kaya is smooth..
i regretted about the parking.. :-)

It has been a while i didnt take half boiled egg..
Eating with soya source and peper..
it actually tasted not bad though..

though i have limited capacity..
I felt not enuff still with what i have here...
So i ordered another plate of roti..



Actually i like their service..
With crowded of people
The waiter happily explained to me various type of roti they serve..
they home made the kaya and peanut..



This is the reason why it is being described as Nostalgia Roti Bakar



Guess what... I saw a few Malay families patronize here too..
Some of them seems to be regular customers here...

I feel the Malaysian being Malaysian... :-)
I am alone but not alone... They da toi with me.. :-p

Solitude is painful when one is young, but delightful when one is more mature.
Albert Einstein (1879-1955)

Today breakfirst

I learnt there is new place for breakfast in town.
Famous with it Fried roti with egg & others...

Happily my frens and I ventured into Macalister Lane.
Just off Jalan Burmeh on the left if you are from Komtar.
Looking for Sin Seow Fong Lye Cafe.

You wont miss the cafe even you made a wrong turn.
Because it was full house when we reached there at around 10.

While looking for a place to sit..
I found that among the popular food on each table were..
Har Mee, Choo Cheong Fen, Char Kwey Kat and the roti..

Well..My comment of the food...

Char Kwey Kat arrived first..
and actually we were waiting for it to arrive..
Too long q...too many orders..
A lot of tauke (bean sprout) that was the first thing I noticed..
My opinion is the dish is a bit too wet
and lacking of the chai pui taste..
which is the main taste of char kwey kat..
it was quite big plate for 2.40RM.
but i still prefer the kwey kat @ Lip Sin Old Market..

Then came the fried roti with egg..
it has some sugar sprinkled on top..
1 slice costs about 1.20RM.
It was actually ok..
Not as oily as i tot...
i seldom eat this..
but my fren commented it is quite nice






I have eaten once 'pale' Fried kwey Tiaw at Sunway..
Most probably the uncle forgotten to put some dark soya source..
However it tasted nice..
Well, today char kwey tiaw..
Yes, it was 'pale'..
base on previous experience i wasnt really sceptical about it at first
But disappointingly not only it tasted overly burnt...
but no taste but burnt!
my fren commented it is carbon char kwey tiaw..
RM3.50/plate







I wasn't really too fond on Penang Choo Cheong Feng except the one at Old Lip Sin Market (again?)
But you could see each table sure has a plate at least of these thing so i ordered a big one for share..RM2.40.
The Her Kor taste is just too fishy, and strong smell..
well otherwise it wont be called as her kor right?
Anyway I still prefer the aunty selling outside old lip sin market..
and my frens still prefer the one at Little Genting at Glugor..
but i will say if you are going for the 'feng' then yes it is a lot softer and smoother..
but surely not the souces..






I din have the picture of the kwey kat..
coz at that moment I never tot of writing this entry..
in fact i took all the photos half way through the meal...
when I decided to make a comment here... :-p

Seriously a lot of pple are having breakfast here...
Let me know what you think if you have the chance to try there...

Koay Kat

I never have Koay Kat before I moved to Penang.
Coz the outlook like Koay Tiaw.
So I thought this Koay Kat so thick sure not tasty.
And furthermore my hometown doesnt has.

So what is Koay Kat?..
Chunks of rice cakes fried with eggs, bean sprouts and chye por (preserved vegetable bits).

Here is picture of Koay Kat.. (my hp take nice photo too .. hahahaha)



I am not sure when/where was the first time I have it..
But now I addicted to Koay Kat.
My favorite Koay Kat is at Taman Lip Sin old market. Lebuh Nipah.
Market below my apartment.
Very Convenient..
The uncle stall is right opposite the market entrance..
Next to a bread stall.
As long as if am in Penang over the weekend I will have Koay Kat as my breakfast..
You just cant resist the temptation deliciousness of the Koay Kat from the uncle..
Some of my friends have introduced me to the Koay Kat in front of Heng Yi School at Burma Road.
I tried twice...
I still prefer Taman Lip Sin Uncle's Koay Kat..
I think Heng Yi one is kinda spicy and dry for me.
I brought my housemate along and tasted the Heng Yi's..
My housemate has the same thought as me..
However, I brought my Muar fren to eat Tmn Lip Sin's Koay Kat..
To him it is OK taste because he said Muar has nicer one..
Muar is also famous with food.

My housemate had ta-pao the Taman Lip Sin's Koay Kat all the way back to Batu Gajah for the family..
Well... the brother said Batu Gajah has nicer one...
I don know... but so far I like it...
You can try... let me know if you like it..

PreCook

The Koay Kat Uncle very Pai Seh when i wanna snap his photo... finally "click" got one.... :)

KoayKat Uncle

Fish Hot Pot (Hu Lor)

My fren wanted to eat Fish & Steamboat in so little time.
So I remembered Starview's Hor Lor. 1 stone 2 birds!
I have been there once early this year for a gathering lunch.

This is my 2nd visit there for Hu Lor it tasted a lot nice that my 1st visit.

Hor lor is 1 of the starview famous dishes.

So what is Hor lor?



The Hot Pot fish soup is very tasty although a bit oily. There are Taufu inside the soup. This Hot Pot cost RM55 depending on the fish. I forgotten what fish we were having. The serving shud be just nice for 3? because it was too much for us (2pax).

So here is Starview Restaurant. Located at Jalan Burma. Right beside Chow Tian Yan Aquarium.

Co'm Viet The Hidden Vietnamese Restaurant

Introduce you a Vietnamese Restaurant at Pulau Tikus, Penang.
I just went there for dinner today.

Here some photos taken with my handphone...
I like it all. 2 thumbs up... .

Started with the starter.... The northern style spring rolls (RM10). very fresh and juicy... with the source... it is real appertizer.... hahahha... think about it i am feeling hungry again....

  

Then come the main courses.. teng teng... :) 

   

Yeah 2 hot pots........ we were greedy.....
We have duck hot pot with their special source.. it taste slightly spicy due to the spices they used i guess (may be ginger) it is exotic but the taste is special and nice...

 

another hot pot is eels.... it taste spicy with thick gravy...  at first i didnt really get a good taste of this eels because i hv the duck first... but my housemate loves it...

 

she said it is nice to eat with rice.... somehow i slowly gain back the taste..but i still prefer the duck... i don really a fish taker... =p

Then we were really greedy and ambitious. We ordered a noodle....Vietnamese cold noodle....
Yes it is nice... sweet and sour with just nice the fish source... very healty & delicious... slurp slurp.... i need supper....

 

Thats the end of my dinner.... Need to mention... their beef is real tasty...
their duck ..i don feel like i am eating duck... the meat is so tender and soft.... well of course the eels are fresh and soft... 2 persons eat.. we paid around RM66 for everything..
Quite a satisfy dinner... of course RECOMMENDED....
I will definitely go back there to try something different... may be the pork leg hot pot...
By the way the Menu is without picture....=p

Oh.... the restaurant name.... Co'm Viet...
19, Lintang Burmah 10250 Pulau Tikus, penang
04-226 7786..

it is behind Bee Cheng Xiang Ba kua... so turn in to the junction at Bee Cheng Xiang..go straight.. on ur left....

 

and....
the toilet is nice too... =p

 

Durian . 开斋

It is durian season now...
Pre-durian season...
Yesterday i met the uncle who sold me good durian last year...
He told me that next week shud have more durian coming...
However cant resist the durian hot...

My first durian for 2008... =)
I aint durian mania..
somehow...
I bought 2 today.... 

My Penang Top Pick 2

Ming Le Yuan (闽乐园）

Location: Jalan Tengah, Sg Ara. Opposite Pondok Police Sg Ara

Last Visit: 28 Jun, 07 Number of Visits: 1

I recommended Rangoon Road’s Wang Zhao Jun’s Sour and Spicy Fish Bee Hoon. Now here in Sg Ara also got one…I think it is tastier and nicer. Less spicy. It is a “zhu char” so far I have tried the soup and ho farn…the hor farn also nice and special. RM6/bowl for the bee hoon soup.

My Penang Top Picks

Of course it is about foods...what else...it might not be the best, most delicious, cheapest...but it could be the services as well.... could be the worst..

Steamboat at Raja Uda.

Location: Raja Uda

Last visit: May,2007 * Frequency: 1 * HoChiak:

Visited once…I am missing the soup…*slurp**slurp*

Tau Hu Hua

Location: Penang Free School Roundabout. 9pm if you are from Mcdonald. A blue color lorry park at the road side in front of the shoplots.

Last visit: May, 2007 * Frequency: 2 *

I actually can felt that the ta hu hua is very smooth. How amazing is that.

Asam Laksa

Location: Small village @ Batu Maong.

Last visit: Jun, 2007 * Frequency: 1 *

I hardly eat Asam Laksa in PG. However I eat more Asam Laksa before I came to Penang.

Now I think this is the best in Penang.

Wong Zhao Jun

Location: Rangoon Road

Last visit: Mar, 2007 * Frequency: >5 *

Specialties: Sour &spicy fish bee hun, steam fish hor fen, honey chicken & etc. Havent been visiting there for sometimes.

Fried Kwey Tiao

(1) Location: Taman Lip Sin Supertanker (night)

Last visit: May, 2007 * Frequency: >5 *

Near my house and it is not bad...the aunty is good too..=) 

(2) Location: corner of Jalan Penang & Lebuh Campell

Last visit: May,2007 * Frequency: 2 *

Quite good. RM3/pack.  Haha

Indian Tosai

Location:

Taman Lip Sin. Behind Vistana Hotel

Last visit: Jun, 2007 * Frequency: >5 *

Hahahaaa…my favorite!!! Especially eat together with their curry fish source.. SUPERB!! There are ghee tosai as well… …slurp slurp

Pi Pa Duck

Location: Air Itam Mei Shang Cafe (Opposite Nissan showroom).

Last visit: May, 2007 *  Frequency: 2

Quite good & nice. I heard that there is a branch at Taman Pekaka.

Tom Yam

Location: Air Itam Ming Jiang Cafe (beside Nissan show room).

Last visit: May, 2007 *  Frequency: 2

I think so far I eat the nicest in Penang.

Penang Curry Mee

(1) Location: Lebuh Chulia (nite)

Last visit: 11 Jun, 2007 *  Frequency: 1

I normally will go to KL to eat Curry mee. I have phobia with Penang curry mee. But this has change my mind. It is actually quite nice. Every times I pass by there I saw long Q. I passed by there 3-4 times.

(2) Location: Kampung Jawa corner hawkers food court same raw with Public Bank. (noon)

Last visit: 21 Jun, 2007

After I have tasted the Lebuh Chulia Curry mee. Now it motivate me to order. There are different. This stall serve the curry mee with curry chicken meet as well. And the meet very tender and tasty. Here also selling coklat air bandung

Coklat Air Bandung

Last nite, I dinner at Kayu Restaurant. One of my favorite.

In a cheerful mood I ordered my drink, Air Bandung. (A kinda of drink mixture of red syrup and milk).

Just before the waiter went off.. I remembered Cindy told me before there is Ba Bou mix with milk very nice.

So I called the waiter for change. he got confused. He event don’t wanna understand when i want to explain. He called his colleague. I was laughing at the corner. May be they though I was insane. It took them quite long to decide who should come and serve me.

So, now new waiter come.

I asked. “Ada jual air bandung warna coklat?”

He replied “Milo?”

I was actually very, very amused on his replied.I think he realised that...he also smiling happily.

I said no no… not milo…”Air bandung biasanya warna” I was searching for the word pink in malay.

He replied “Merah”

“Ya merah…. Tapi ada air bandung warna coklat tapi bukan milo?”

He shook his head….”Milo ada”

OKOK nevermind…I take normal air bandung then.

Anandra Nasi Kandar

Just now I went to Indian Street with friend to try the Anandra Nasi Kandar.
This is our first time visit.

We dont know anything.
We thought that it is like normal nasi kandar shop where each person 1 plate.
After I ordered just realised actually the dishes that I ordered are for 2.

so it serve as followed.



My friend's nasi serve in banana leave with 3 vegetables.

The 2 dishes in front are the curry lamb and pepper chicken I ordered.



 I ordered a thosai. Normal thosai. Also got veges. (not sure they got it mix up)

There are different type of thosai. got masala,onion,ghee and etc.. ghee thosai smell good and crispy.



 On top of that they serve curries for us. The white souce (coconut) and the bowl beside is for thosai specially.

"Dao" is served as well for thosai.

 

Total bill for the above food.

Everything is new to me..The service is good too. Food not bad.

I saw "Kwai Lou" eating there too. The shop was recommended by my SAP trainer who came from KL. He is an Indian. He actually recommended us to eat shark there. But tonite they sold out. Waiter there speak english.