I-Steamboat City, Lorong Selamat, Penang

I-Steamboat City is located at Lorong Selamat and based on their name, one would expect that they only have steamboat on the menu. I was equally surprised to learn that they open even for breakfast and their steamboat menu only starts from evening to the whee hours of the night (they open till 3am).

They surprisingly have pretty decent set meals for the day and interestingly enough, they even have fried chee cheong fun.

Now what they are abit different than others when it comes to the steamboat part is that they create alot of the meatballs themselves. Yeap, there are over 15-20 varieties and depending on which set you choose, one can sample a good choice. The steamboat is either based on ala-carte or buffet but the buffet only have selected meatballs on offer at any one time. Another good thing here is that there are a few soup varieties to choose from (but I found the Tom Yam and the salted vege soup the most appealing).

Do check out the photos, ya.

The shop front!

 The signboard for whats good for the day

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.

Gartien Pineapple Cakes Mid Autumn Festival Limited Edition Packaging Launch!

I have been an avid fan of Gartien Pineapple Cakes and have previously blog about it and for this coming Mid Autumn Festival, Gartien has collaborated with Penang based artist Ms Li Jynn to create a limited edition packaging for this delectable Pineapple Cake.

The original artwork was created by Ms Li Jynn for civet cat awareness and it was based upon during the night of Mid Autumn Festival, the civet cats are planning a feast of Freedom! Thus it is hope that Gartien will be able to bring everyone a great feast this coming Mid Autumn Festival and celebrated with joys, with Gartien. This is why, with Gartien, you get a little piece of Penang to bring home too!

The limited edition packaging was launched at Kafe Goh Kaki and it was a cheery atmosphere with a bunch of great MC's, happening spokes person and of course the creators of Gartien and also the artist herself! Guests were invited of course to try out the Pineapple Cakes and of course the highlight was the unique packaging. I understand that there is probably about only less than 2000 boxes of this available thus hurry to grab one box today at Gartien's showroom at 68 Lorong Macalister! To avoid disappointment, do call +604-2290068 to make your reservations.

 Check out the very unique packaging! Its a great gift for Mid Autumn Festival

Flavors of Malaysia at Eastin Hotel Penang ~ August 2013 Promotion

Right after Hari Raya and their Ramadan themed buffet, Eastin Hotel Penang is surely not resting as they have now prepared the Flavors of Malaysia theme for their August promotion at the Swez Brasserie! This series of buffet strives to highlight some of the culinary delights that is somehow so deeply rooted in us that is almost like comfort food for the soul. The buffet encompasses some good variety of favors and it covers the food from appetizers, main courses and even Malaysian styled desserts.

Thus, one will find Penang Famous Pasembur, Kerabu Mee Hoon and even Sup Ekor for appetizers, followed by Ayam Percik, Kambing Masala, Rendang Tok Kelantan, Nasi Hujan Panas and Johor Laksa for mains, and finally there is the delectable Bubur Cha Cha and Ais Kacang for desserts!

Do catch this great chance to sample some of Malaysia's culinary delights all at one place for the month of August. Its also priced reasonably from RM48++ for adults and half price for children. 

Hmm, some spoon samples?

Checking out the desserts first

E&O Hotel Heritage Wing ~ A glimpse of the past

Before I continue on about the Victory Annexe and all the fun stuff there, I would like to take this chance to share abit about what E&O Hotel, about their Heritage Wing where it all started. This is more of a photo blog entry, just sharing some of the many interesting things that the hotel has to offer. I would say that for those looking to experience the ultimate in a heritage hotel, nothing beats the Heritage Wing. The rooms has largely remained unchanged since the beginning of the hotel and there are many features that has been brought over to the Victory Annexe such as the special tile patterns in the bathrooms. So do scroll on to see and have a glimpse of this special hotel.

The seating area at the lobby. Pristine furniture at its best.

E&O Hotel ~ A Weekend Getaway staying at the Victory Annexe Corner Suite

Since March 2013, the Victory Annexe wing of the E&O Hotel in Penang has been opened and I really have to thank my lucky stars that I was invited to a weekend at their corner suites with my lovely family. The very mention of E&O will have people equating superior top notch service and classiness all bundled as a neat package. When I got to know that I will be staying at E&O Hotel for the very first time, I couldn't sleep waiting for the very weekend where we will have a family getaway. Even though its still in Penang, but I can say that after checking in to the hotel, there really isn't any need to leave! 

Being a 5 star hotel, expect all the amenities like their beautiful infinity pool looking over the Straits of Malacca or the many restaurants that are available. There is Sarkies Corner and the Planters Lounge which is located at the new wing of the hotel. Then there is also a fully equipped gym room and I'm just waiting for their up and coming Spa to be completed. Besides these perks, the E&O Hotel management really wanted to highlight the history and significance of the hotel and thus, there is a mini "time machine", alright, its a mini museum, that relates the many wonderful and colorful journeys that they hotel has been through, as well as their many distinguished guests! There are families who continue to visit the hotel for over 3 generations, which I personally found amazing. 

As I took so much photos, I will focus my blogs about the hotel into a few parts, especially when it comes to the food. This post is very much about the Corner Suite, which measures over 120 square meters (yes you read it right). Basically its as large as the apartment I'm staying in and it feels just amazing walking into such a well detailed room. Thus, do read on to have a look at this place, which I have to stress, its all about the details!

When you step into the room, you just go WOW! 

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!

NEW YORK 2013 ~ Full House Cafe @ 97 Bowery Street

It seriously amazes me when I can actually be in New York yet have some really great and authentic Chinese dinner! I mean, this place called Full House Cafe on Bowery Street was really pretty good where they have a good selection of dishes and the place has a very modern look and design and you just feel comfortable eating here. The prices are also very reasonable and its worth a visit for those craving some good Chinese food in New York.

Plate of offal with hot spicy chilli and peppers

Marinated jelly fish. Simple and nice

Eastin Hotel Penang, Buka Puasa Dinner ~ Sharing is Caring

Its now the month of Ramadan and I guess for everyone, its a time to reflect and also of course for those foodies, its like a month long of food paradise with all those Ramadan Bazaars hawking some of those delectable once in a year food items.

On the 12 of July 2013, I was thankful and very happy to be invited to join Eastin Hotel Penang for their Buka Puasa Dinner Celebrations. Now, there is your typical dinners but what sets this dinner apart is that the staff of Eastin Hotel Penang took their time, and put in alot of effort to share it with the less fortunate! I enjoy food reviews, but I just love it when it has added meaning to it. This year, Eastin Hotel Penang is celebrating it with the orphanage childrens from Rumah Jagaan Nasyiatul Aisyah all the way from Balik Pulau. Its one thing to invite someone, but when the team at Eastin planned, arranged and even sacrificed their time for this, my hats of to them! I really had a good time, and I sure these less fortunate felt all the love on this very night!

Frankly, I so happy to be writing about this that in some ways, I felt that the food was secondary for the night. When someone is happy and feeling joyous, the sharing environment you are in, everything just taste nicer doesn't it. I'm sure it was like sugar coating for those children, and I can feel their excitement in the air! Ah bliss! I do hope to see Eastin Hotel Penang continuing this very honourable tradition and just before I forget, the staff actually also made a very handsome donation in kind as well as presented goodie bags to the kids! Well done I say again (not sure how many times I repeated this!). This is exactly why I have my blog named as such, TheLifeIsGood when you have the right company.

So, back to the Ramadan Buffet spread. At RM85++ and running the entire month of Ramadan, this buffet to me is a steal. Its probably one of the most authentic of Ramadan Buffets available and I was really surprised to see the number of items being served. From the many unique curry dishes (there was ostrich and rabbit meat) and some very traditional rice with herbs which was just wonderfully flavored. 

Then there is the whole roasted lamb, grilled fish with sambal and their signature, Gearbox Soup! Besides these specials, they did not skimp on other items and had fresh oysters, pasembur and even their signature smoked duck breast! I mean, with so much to choose from, the list goes on. Thus scroll through this post and get your saliva drooling. Cheers!

Candy for the young and old. Well its for the chocolate fondue

Georgetown Festival 2013 ~ Penang

Its been a fabulous month of celebrations in Penang for the Georgetown Festival 2013 and my family and I stopped by on the 6th of July, on the eve of the anniversary to have a look at some of the festivities. It was a crowded night at Jalan Masjid Kapitan Keling and Armenian Street and the crowd was awesome!

We reach about 10pm and there was still a huge crowd and it was time for the street performance of the various cultural groups. We witness the amazing lion dance as well as the Indian traditional dance troupe and it was amazing as one performance was happening right after another.

This post is just some of the pictures of the place, and the 7th of July is the last day of the month long celebration and if you have never been there, don't miss out. The events are all happening around Armenian Street so do check it out! There is lots of information booth and volunteers around so don't worry if you don't know where to go! Also check out their website http://georgetownfestival.com/

One of the best lion dance performance I have seen!