Planters Lounge at E&O Hotel Weekend Getaway

I'm sure most people have heard of Sarkies Corner at E&O Hotel Penang but I would presume not many have heard of Planters Lounge that is located on the 6 floor of the Victory Annexe wing of the hotel. The reason is that Planters Lounge caters exclusively to staying guests of the hotel as the only way to reach the floor would be with a key card at the lift. Of course, if you have friends staying at the hotel, they can surely bring you to have a great dinner there.

Thus it was with delight that we got to sample dinner here and its really a nice place as being on the 6 floor, we get a birds eye view of the surroundings and actually the view is amazing overlooking the Strait of Malacca. The menu here doesn't offer the sun and the moon in options, but really have focus and works very well for almost everyone. I really prefer such a menu as it shows that the chef here has taken the effort to streamline their offering and only gives the best choices available (it also means the ingredients are fresher)

Thus, do keep a read on this post, about the food, and of course there are some photos of the beautiful scenery as well. Cheers.

This was their pure fruit juice. Its 100% fruit juice smoothie and it tasted great. I would say, it would have been perfect if they have moved to a slow juicer where the consistency is so much better, and much more flavorful too. Kudos to the staff for making a strawberry smoothie for my daughter on request as it was not on the menu, yet they happily obliged and it tasted great! These are the kind of service which I truly appreciate and admire.

Well, so did I tempt you already with the smoothie? Well, before showing more yummy foods, here are some photos of the lounge itself. This is how the entrance look like, nice.

No Eyed Deer Restaurent ~ A hidden gem in Penang

On my endless food hunts, I was guided to No Eyed Deer Restaurant which is located on the 1st floor of the shop lots at Prima Tanjung along Jalan Fettes. Frankly from far or as I have been driving along this road, I have seen the sign board to this place but just have never thought of stopping by.

So as I reach the place, the first thing I asked the proprietor (Ken) was why the place has such a unique name :) Well you can see the reasoning at their website http://www.noeyeddeer.com/ 

The next thing to ask was what is great on the menu. Since there was 3 of us including my daughter, we decided to order something that everyone can share out abit and sample here and there. So do read on to see what a great find this is, and this is the GPS coordinates so that its easy to spot too!

N5.451014, E100.305138

They serve dinner daily except on Tuesdays which they are close. They have lunch servings on weekends too!

BeerBQ Bistro at Precinct 10 Penang

I guess I could count my lucky stars that I got a chance to join some other food reviewers to attend a food tasting at BeerBQ Bistro located at Precinct 10, Penang. Its located at the same row as SOHO and Nueve and right at the corner, giving it ample seating area outside the bistro as well.

As I entered the bistro, the lighting is soft from the glows of the chandelier and there was a few tables that were already busy digging into their food and beer of course! Good sign. They have both a ground floor and also an upper sitting area which is ideal for those with a group or large family as it is very cosy and private, just nice for a small gathering or function. For beer lovers, they definitely have a good selection of premium beers from stouts to lager to ale! I'm no beer expert but the owner really knows her hops and barley. So what makes this place different than your typical diner joint that serves beer? I'm sure I lost count how many places actually have similar menus so this is what I feel make them a little bit unique. 

As you flip their menu, you will see that they try to pair their food with different beers! Yes, I'm sure you have heard of wine pairing so now in Penang, you have beer pairing! Its not an easy thing to achieve I must say as you really need to understand the many subtle tastes of the different beers with the way the food is cooked. So as I go along in this blog entry, I will be also telling you how it goes with the different beers. As always comments are very welcomed!

Jack's Place - For some nice Western Food

Well, had a chance to have some western food at a diner place called Jack's Place. Again, did not bring my GPS with me but this was near some shops up North in Singapore. Its not too far away from Ang Mo Kio as I recall. So they have set lunches and also ala carte. For the set lunch, its quite worth it as it comes with a soup, main course, dessert and coffee or tea. A complete meal I guess. So below if about my experience at Jack's Place in Singapore!

My main course which is stewed lamb shank! You can see that the meat is already falling off the bone!

Chez Weng @ Precinct 10, Penang

I guess I was labeled as fast and you are in for this invited review where the fastest respondents got invited for a food review at one of the latest restaurant in Penang which is Chez Weng! No its not a typo but "again" a French word meaning place, aka, Weng's Place! How catchy right?

So Chez Weng is located at the new hood haven which is Precinct 10 located in Tanjung Tokong right beside Island Plaza. With a simple design and eccentric deco, this is probably going to be another happening place. Read on to find out more!

The simple yet chic interior. There is also a bar area

Chicago Rib House : New Menu for Pork"Fection"!

For those not familiar with Gurney Plaza, well, there is a place for pork lovers to munch on their favorite type of meat. This is the Chicago Rib House which is located on the ground floor of Gurney Plaza where many of the al fresco dining outlets are located. At first, I thought that they only serve limited pork items but boy was I wrong. Here, they have many great pork dishes that will truly satisfy the taste buds.
I was lucky enough to be invited to try their new menu and I must say, I do not regret attending this review. Do keep reading as I will explain it via the pictures as we go along.

Chicago Rib House
GP-170-G-43, Gurney Plaza
Persiaran Gurney, 10250 Penang
Tel : 04-2290763
Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/CRHMalaysia

The entrance to the Chicago Rib House!

Signs on the doors. Rib House here I come!

And this is the highlight sneakpeak! Pork Ribs in Flaming Kansas City Sauce!

Bora Bora by Sunset, Great Place, Great Food

Who would have thought that there is a quaint special place in Batu Ferringhi that is reminiscent of that of Bali or some far away exotic island? Well, that place is non other than Bora Bora! This cafe/bar/restaurant, is located at the popular stretch of Batu Ferringhi just next to The Ship and Tarbush. The place has both an indoor and outdoor seating area which is great as that mean rain or shine, you can have an enjoyable time here. Was lucky that I got to sample their upcoming October promotion which is quite a deal. 

For their October 2011 promotion, for only RM36, you can get the below :

Starter/Appetizer:

Wild Mushroom Soup 

or 

Bora Bora Papadum with Salsa Sauce

Mains :

Spaghetti Fettucine with Chicken and Wild Mushroom Ragu 

or

Vietnamese Noodle Soup with Beedf/Chicken and Prawns

or

Grilled White Fish with Citrus Lemon Butter Sauce

or

Stir Fried Beef or Chicken served with Rice, Salad, Papadum and Egg

Dessert :

One Scoop Ice Cream

Drinks :

Ice Peach Tea or Ice Lemon Tea

So read on to find out more about this place ya!

Address : 

Lot 415, Jalan Batu Ferringhi, 11100, Penang, Malaysia

Operating hours :

Sun-Thurs : 12Noon - 1.00am

Fri, Sat & Eve of Public Holiday : 12Noon - 3.00am

GPS : N5.47447 E100.24811

Phone : +6012-553-1313

The sign on the beach pointing to this place!

Spaghetti Fettucine with Chicken and Wild Mushroom Ragu

Vietnamese Noodle Soup with Beedf/Chicken and Prawns

Day 1 at Copenhagen ~ on the way for lunch at Nyhavn Harbour, Nyhavn 17 Bar & Cafe

From where I left off, which is at the Royal Palace, we continued our walk around Copenhagen, heading to Nyhavn Harbour. As it was almost 2pm already, the stomach has started making some noise so we decided to have lunch there too. The chosen place was Nyhavn 17, Bar & Cafe which is a shop in bright yellow color and a huge signage. I managed to find their menu at their website here http://www.nyhavn17.dk/wp-content/uploads/file/Menu,%20Juni%202011%20Dag%20skilt.pdf

Well, below are the pictures as I walk through them ya. Enjoy

Along the street you will see lots of different buildings, some really old but some a mix of modern design, mainly glass type.

 Statues seem to be a common item here in Copenhagen

 Bicycle lane, painted in bright blue on the street

Santorini Cafe ~ A review

I'm really thankful for the opportunity that I have been given recently, and thus was invited for this review at Santorini Cafe. Well, even if its an invited event, will still be doing what I have been and that is writing about my beloved food. So, this cafe is located along Burma Road in Penang, its right in between the big aquarium shop and also Little Cottage. So it should not be too hard to locate. On the other hand, parking is abit difficult as Burma road itself doesn't have that many spaces but there is plenty on the side road of Jalan Kedah.
So what does Santorini Cafe serves? Its a mix of local and western food in my opinion. Got to know that one of the owners is from Kampar and they are trying to bring some of their famous fishball mix to Penang. Now my family is also from Kampar so I can pretty much compare to what I have been having since young. Hehehe. This time, I will elaborate on each photo as I guess that is less confusing as we got to sample quite a number of dishes. But it was really just sampling, each person had just a bite or less as there were so many reviewers, but just not that many food :p Do read on ya.

Address : 94, Burma Road, 10500Penang.
Phone : 04 - 2292776 OR 016-4416039


The sign board of Santorini Cafe

 Entrance with many white boards with their current specials

De Title Dining Cabin

Lorong Selamat at Penang is no doubt famous for its hawker food, but since December 2010, there is a new place to get some delicious which is at De Title Dining Cabin. One will easily spot this restaurant as its painted in a bright purple and its a standalone heritage building that is very unique. The owners, have decorated this whole place on their own, and on closer inspection, even every window pane is handcrafted and different.

According to the owners, this place is called De Title as it means that there is no food that can't be prepared. Sounds interesting right? So read on ya.

On entering the restaurant, one will be greeted by large and small tables all decked out with high back chairs. Classic indeed. The decor is modern chic and even the interiors are purple as it gives a more relax and romantic mood. Many lovely decors adorn the place with blings all over. Hhehe. As one moves to the back, this is where there is a mini buffet spread which one can have by just doing an add on to their meals. Here one can have unlimited drinks, soup, biscuits, bread and even desserts like ice cream and home made jelly. They believe in going green with the idea that you eat how much you can and not waste the food. This is surely a great way moving forward, great food with thoughts about the environment as well.

Then there is a staircase leading to the upper floor. The purple wall here is decorated with many colorful photo frames, which is nice and interesting. The room above can be booked for functions or gatherings and can fit 15-20 person easily. Not bad :)

Now on to the food ya. Well, they specialize in local, western and some italian mix. So its pretty interesting to note that they try their best to present the food as original as they can.

On the menu today, I first tried their free flow mushroom soup. I have to say, this creamy mushroom soup is pretty good. The flavor is strong and they also put quite alot of blended mushrooms in it. They also prepare a jar of their toasted bread (croutons) and you can add in as much as you like! Sweet move, and to top it off, a few twist of the pepper grinder and voila, a very delightful mushroom soup.

Next that we got to try was their chicken ham pizza. When it first arrived, it looked very appetizing as it had a thin crust. Then there is a good amount of cheese all melted so lovely over the pizza. On biting into it, it was juicy with tomato paste and the chicken ham. More surprisingly was the crust. It resembled a thick crispy roti canai! Its really a nice pizza to snack on.

Then I got to try their cheese bake rice and also cheese bake pasta. The one with rice comes with pieces of chicken in a cream sauce underneath the cheese. As for the pasta, it was all covered in tomato sauce and this is a vegetarian version. I would say, I thought it was ala Kim Gary, hehe, but they have their unique taste to it and good thing that they are not stingy with the cheese.

After the cheese bake, we got to sample their noodle menu. The first to arrive was their stir fried seafood oriental. Udon noodles were used and it comes with various seafood condiments. Not too bad, slightly spicy taste to it. As we move along, up pops a plate of their Pasta Aglio Olio which is also vegetarian. It has mushrooms, corn and and seasoned with chili flakes and olive oil. This was probably the only dish which I felt let me down for the day. The spaghetti was very dry, and there wasn't much flavoring other than the chili flakes. Hopefully this one can be improved upon which I'm sure the chef will.

Next up were the more hearty meals of their grilled chicken and also their fried crunchy chicken. The chicken drumstick is used and its first deboned. For the grilled version, the chicken is grilled nicely and then its served on top of mashed potatoes with coleslaw at the side. There are a few sauce that is available, namely butter garlic & spicy BBQ. Very interesting sauces to try. For the fried crunchy chicken, this firstly reminded me of KFC's hot and spicy with the batter coating on the chicken! But its way crunchier than what KFC has. I kind of like this chicken and one can also choose the many different sauces available.

Besides chicken, they also have fish instead, cooked in a similar grilled or deep fried. I have to say I preferred the chicken as I felt the cooking method suites it better and gave it more flavor.

As for dessert, we were served their signature Angels and Demon (I hope I got this right) and its their version of a chocolate lava cake with vanilla ice cream. This was really good, and the chocolate is very thick, just nice to go with the cold vanilla ice cream.

For those who likes to try new places, new food with a great ambience, do give De Title Dining Cabin a try. According to the owners, you can even request for your very special customize menu if you so desire. So don't hesitate and give this place a try.

Address : No 97, Lorong Selamat 10400 Georgetown Penang, Malaysia.

Opens daily except Wednesdays, 12noon-3pm, 6pm-9pm

Map of Lorong Selamat :

The restaurants exterior - can't miss it
Their lovely decor

The Enjoy Corner

Homemade Jelly

Cookies!

Stars?
Mural on the floor! How creative.
Wall o frames!

Mushroom soup with croutons

Chicken Ham pizza on special crust

Cheese bake rice and pasta

Stir Fried Spaghetti Seafood Oriental

Pasta Aglio Olio
Grilled and Deep Fried Chicken

Grilled and Deep Fried Fish Fillet
Dessert : Angels & Demons

The 2 owners cum chefs!