Penang Again! Best char kway tiao!

Penang!!  Since my last trip to Penang in May 2010, I had not have Char Kway Tiao back in Singapore.  None of the Char Kway Tiao in Singapore can match the standard of the CWT in Penang.  So, I am back again.  We took a half day of on Friday, and took the afternoon flight.  It was supposed to be a "secret" trip, so we had to take leave separately.

Once we arrived, we started to plan where would be our first eating stop.   We wanted to try the legendary "Goggle" Char Kway Tiao.  It got its name as the lady who fried it wore goggles.  I wonder if she wore Oakley, it would be called Oakley Char Kway Tiao?  However, when we reached there at 6pm, it was closed, so we had to find alternatives.  We landed up at the corner coffeeshop which looked good.

Oyster Noodle, a bit like your hokkien noodles, but fried with clams, and served with spicy sambal chilli.  If you like the "wet" style noodles, you will like this.

Oyster egg was different from the Singapore' style, though still yummy because of the chilli and the fresh osyters.

What we ordered for 1st stop:

For obvious reasons, these were not enough for us and we made our way back to the hawker near to our hotel for Round 2!  The chee cheong fun here was served with Prawn Paste, so either you liked it or you hated it.  For me, i still prefer it to be plain.

I had the Char Kway Tiao at the Sunway George Town Hawker in 2010, it was so good that I even packed one packet to eat it in the airport  However, this time it was disappointing.  It was not as fragnant.  It was still better compared to those in Singapore, but it was not as heavenly.  Nonetheless, we finished it.

We were so full and tired after round 2, and we went back to the hotel to rest, to prepare for Round 3!!!

Round 3 was at Gurney Drive Hawker.  It was surprisely not as crowded, maybe we were there past dinner time.

Ah Bom.  Don't know why it is called Ah Bom.  This was like mini pancake, with bananas as filling.  It was best to eat it while hot.

Our verdict was that the Char Kway Tiao here was average, though better than the one we had at Sunway.  Now really looking forward to the legendary "Goggle" Char Kway Tiao tomorrow

Day 2:  Saturday

Rise and shine.  We were all ready for another day of eating.  Before we embarked on our journey, we need to go to the airport to pick Dino.  Our initial plan was to pick up Dino, and to go to Gek Lok Si temple to try the famous Gek Lok Si Assam Laksa.  However, we had to change our plan as we found out that the Assam Laksa was not open in the morning.  We walked around the market and came across a coffeeshop, which look nice enough.  Nice means authentic looking and busy.

Iced Coffee for breakfast

I liked this better than the Char Kway Tiao yesterday.

Carrot cake was average.  It was nicely flavoured, but the carrot cake was too soft and starchy.  I liked the carrot cake in Malaysia because they added bean sprouts.  It gave the crunchy taste.  The WanTon Mee was also different from Singapore.  They used the black sauce instead of the tomato sauce which was commonly used in Singapore.

Right after breakfast, we proceeded to the next stop, the famous "Goggle" Char Kway Tiao.  It seems like that was the only attraction in the coffeeshop, at least 90% of the people there were patiently waiting for their Char Kway Tiao.  Strangely, the auntie frying the Kway Tiao was not wearing Goggle, and some of us wondered if she was an imposter.

The silky Kway Tiao

We were told that we had to wait at least 45 minutes for our Char Kway Tiao.  So while waiting, we kept our mouths and stomach busy by ordering some side dishes.  These side dishes were making equally good business as the CWT as we were not the only one who did that.

Finally, these were the CWT that we have waited for 45 minutes.  It had indeed lived up to its reputation.  The kway tiao was smooth, the chilli was spicy and the ingredients were fresh.  You can tasted the lard too.  Definitely wortth the RM9 and the wait.

We went for a massage break before heading out for our Assam Laksa.  T even went for his RM5 haircut, though it looked the same after the cut.

This was the legendary Kek Lok Si Laksa at Pasar Air Itam.  Not very nice environment and the floor was a bit wet too, but nothing could stop us!

Is this a 100 years old pot?  Perhaps that was why the soup was so tasty.

The next stop was for dinner.  (Note:  Laksa was afternoon tea.  Doubt many had laksa for tea, but we did) We decided to let M had the option to choose, and she suggested a Malay hawker. 

The new beer lady.  She was mistaken as a child, so the beer uncle did not bring any mug for her!  We ended the night with a nice drive to Batu Ferringhi beach and had coffee.

Day 3:

Last day in Penang, need to stuff as much as possible!  We wanted to have Nasi Briyani for breakfast, but alas, the shop was closed, so we went to the nearby Chinatown for breakfast.  We chose the busiest coffeeshop, going by the logic that if there is long queue, it must be good.

Delicious curry mee with internal parts.

Look at how T sucked his thumb after breakfast, it must be very good.

The famous chendol

Before we left for the airport, we made a stop at Gurney Drive, to give E a chance to check out the Mua Chi stall.  We told her that it was her destiny if she had the chance to try the kungfu Mua Chi.  And guess what, it was one of the few stalls opened at 2ish!  She was so happy, beaming from ear to ear.  And T drove to airport in disbelief! haha

Short trip, but totally enjoyable!  Will be back again :)

Cocotte Roast Chicken

Cocotte, a very difficult place to get a seat.  The first time I tried was back in Dec, but the place was fully booked for event.  I tried again after a few months, finally got the table, but it was at the late second seating, which start from 830pm.  A bit irriating, but well, I think I had to reschedule my schedule to fit to Cocotte's schedule.

It is located in Wanderlust Hotel, 2 lanes away from Dunlop Street, and 1 lane away from Mayo Street, where the famous Black Sheep cafe is.  The overall mood was very relax and homely, not your classly fussy french restaurant.

Starter:  Pig's Trotters.  Not your typical german's style, but still yummy.  Fried til crispy on the outside, and soft in the inside. 

This is the famous organic chicken - Poulet Roti.  The selling point was that it was a hormone free chicken and marinated for 2 days.  It was served with roast baby potatoes and spring vegetables.  The chicken was roasted to perfection, crispy and fragant, yet the meat was still juicy and tender.  I thought that the portion for the baby potatoes was a big small to complement such a big chicken.  Other than that, it was a hearty meal, enough for 2-3 people to share.  I was so full that I did not even had dessert.  Highly recommended.

Cocotte
Address:

No. 2 Dickson Road
Singapore 209494


Opening Hours:
Lunch:
1200hrs – 1430hrs
(Last order 1400hrs)

Dinner:
Mondays to Thursdays
1830hrs – 2230hrs
(Last order 2200hrs)
Fridays to Saturdays
1830hrs – 2300hrs
(Last order 2230hrs)

Shanghai March 2011

I had not been to Shanghai since 2005.   This time, thanks to a workshop, I had the chance to visit Shanghai again.  It was also a good chance to catch up with my friend D, whom I had not met since 2005.  Gosh!  His son was already so big.  As i was there for a workshop, I did not have a chance to walk around, other than the Bund where we had our dinner.  The Bund looks different after the renovation for the World Expo.  The road seems to be wider.  I enjoyed Shanghai's weather in early March, cool in the day and a bit cooler in the night (about 2-9 degrees).  The only thing that i did not enjoy was my stomach.  I had stomach problem on the 2nd day and it was really painful.  Somehow when I went to Shanghai, I would return home sick.  Was it me or the water or the air??  Maybe I should not try again for the 3rd time. 

Team Photo:

Buffet Dinner @ Tiffany Cafe Furama Hotel Singapore

Another bad buffet experience.  So bad that though I had my camera with me, I did not feel like taking photo.  The food display was bad.  There was only 2 live station, one BBQ squids which have been cooked, and the other was a noodle station.

Sushi felt like those in Carrefour.  The cooked food were nothing fantastic too.

Place was quite empty, other than a big group of army boys.  The table and seating arrangement were bad too.  Tables were arranged in rows, it felt like a canteen.  To make it worse, it was very cramped.  If you are too fat, you probably cannot walk to your seat without distrubing your neighbour from the next table.

Please, if you have the money, save it up for better place.

Worst Buffet in Singapore?

I had one of my worst buffet experience when i went to Triple 3 in Mandarin Singapore.

On a Saturday night, it was priced at $98+++ per person (I did not know the price before I went there as the venue was chosen by my friend V, V did not know the price too!  V chose it because he had vouchers)  We only got to know the price when we saw the bill!

Like other 5 stars hotel buffet, there was a decent selection of food. 

Japanese:  Sushi and sashimi counter with the usual suspects.  I asked for some salmon belly, and the chef prepared a total of 6 slices for me.

Japanese II:  Tempura counter, freshly fried.  Prawns and vegetables tempura, and they have the japanese tapoica (the purple colour ones). 

Japanese III:  Teppanyaki.  Beef, Bean Sprouts, Prawns and Mushrooms.  Average, though I applauded the less use of MSG.

Italian:  Pasta, prepared freshly on the spot.  You can choose your ingredients, seafood or ham.  It was alright, though the pasta felt like the mass market, don't expect any homemade pasta.

Indian:  Currys, Naan, Briyani, Papadum.  I skipped most of the curries as they did not look appertising.

Chinese Roast:  Roast Duck and suckling pig.  Disappointing.  The skin of the roast duck and the suckling pig were more hard than crunchy.  The chilli lack lustre.  There was also noodle soup, though I skipped that too.

Seafood:  There was lobster with black pepper.  Actually I think that they were cray fish. 

Roast:  Beef and Ham.  Alright, edible.

Sweets:  Quite a big range including ice cream, but nothing striked home.

Overall:  3/10.  Highly not recommended, especially with such a hefty price tag!

Lleno @ NEX Singapore- Toothache experience

My colleague Banana was singing praises about this place, so I chose this place when meeting T and N since we were nearer to Northeast.

Lleno is derived from a Spanish phrase, means ‘to be full of praise / full house. It served quality modern culinary fare ‘European cooking techniques with an Asian twist’. I reached there at 7pm, surprised to find that there was only 1 table. T arrived on time, and we proceeded to order while waiting for N.

We had the escargots with mushrooms as starters. A small appetizer, there were only 4 of them. They were de-shelled, and served on the mushroom. Quite good, though I still prefer those served in a shell.

The next dish was the Hake Fish, surprising small piece, probably the same size as my palm. (Minus the fingers).  Definitely not enough for a big eater.  The fish was fresh but a bit too salty.

The last challenge was the ribs.  It came in 4 big pieces, so it passed on the quantity.  However, it failed terribly on the quality.  It was too tough, and after chewing one piece, my gums ached.  I thought I was the only one, and upon asking, i realised that I was not alone.  Probably age is catching up.  Such ribs are only for the young only.

The sweet was Earl Grey Tiramisu.  Quite special, though I found it too sweet for me.

I ended the nights felling nostalgic with a bad toothache.

Highly recommended NOT to go.