Azuma Japanese Restaurant, Simple Lunch @ Queensbay Mall Penang

 My wife and I decided to have a simple lunch at Azuma this afternoon and was surprised that their menu has been changed (so called new menu). What I found glaringly new was that the menu now has been reduced but the prices has gone up! Some items such as their previously affordable and highly recommended sashimi moriawase has gone up in price. It used to be RM70 but new price is RM88! Thats like 20%+. Everything on the menu has gone up in pricing (as far as i remember la) so what used to be an affordable yet good quality Japanese place just let me down a little.
And news that petrol price is going up this midnight surely doesn't spell good news for September. Anyway, back to the lunch. We had a salad, rice and appetizer and hopefully you guys will enjoy too!

This is the fried rice with mushroom. The rice was nicely fried but frankly, RM7 for a small bowl is not exactly cheap ya.

English High Tea at 1885 Restaurant, E&O Hotel Penang

High Tea, that is not something one mentions much in Penang. Not sure if its because there is just so much food places or chillax hangouts but for a proper high tea, one can surely check out 1885 Restaurant. Here, they serve high tea at its best and basically how one goes about it is that they would first select the tea which they like (and mind you, they have over 10 types of tea choices) and then the waiters would bring the tea as well as the tray of food goodies to the table. They really provide lots of unique utensils, and the utensil which I have never used before definitely has to be the tea leaf strainer. This little gadget helps prevent the tea leaf from dripping into ones cup and I find that kind of unique, as drinking chinese tea, you always have some tea leaf falling into the cup.

Another item which they will bring is their own made (can't use homemade as this is afterall not a home) strawberry jam and also clotted cream (this one is imported)! The amount of food, frankly, is alot. There is a tiered sandwich tray set, scones and then a desserts platter. I mean, I would seriously be able to skip dinner (or have a very light one) after enjoying such a high tea.

Do check out the photos, and in a way, some photos are not that bright as I was seated not at a window seat. Cheers!

Preview, this is the desserts tray!

Breakfast at Sarkies, Family Weekend Getaway at E&O Hotel Penang

Most people would go to Sarkies for their ever popular lunch and dinner buffets but how many actually go there for breakfast? Well, on the weekend while we were staying there, having our breakfast at Sarkies was probably the most reasonable thing to do (well we could also have breakfast at Planter's Lounge but we had dinner there the night before).

Well, we were at Sarkies about 8am and surprisingly, there were many people already enjoying their breakfast. Well, the spread as always was pretty luxurious and definitely maintains the Sarkies tradition. There were many items that would whet ones appetite, and even their Char Kuey Teow counter was already opened! Some of the more surprising twist was that there was alot of local influence in this breakfast and there was Nasi Lemak and even Roti Canai. I'm sure this is great especially for the tourist visiting Malaysia as they will get to sample some of our local breakfast too. Check out the pictures!

Muffins of assorted variety

 Lots of fresh breads and pastries

Enjoying the Pool at Victory Annexe, E&O Hotel

From the previous post about E&O Hotel, this one is more about their infinity pool located on the 6th floor of the Victory Annexe wing. There is a very nice infinity pool here which overlooks the Straits of Malacca. These are some shots during the evening and also the next morning! As this was on the 6th floor, it was very cooling from the constant breeze and very relaxing just lounging on the chairs. What a great way to spend the weekend.

Mooncake & International Cuisine Promotion ~ Eastin Hotel Penang September 2013

Its coming into the 8th Month in the Chinese Calendar and as most will know, this is the time where the Mooncake or Mid Autumn Festival is celebrated! This year, it will be on 19th September 2013 and Eastin Hotel Penang in conjunction with their KL peers, have decided to bring in their signature mooncakes for Penangites to savour. To keep things simple, they have prepared only 6 flavors and frankly to me, this is more than enough. Main point is keep it simple and keep the quality high.

The flavors are Red Bean, Jasmine Cheesy Citrus, Low Sugar White Lotus, Precious Black Wolfberry Lotus Paste, Pure Lotus Double Yolk and Supreme Mixed Nuts which range in price from RM17 to RM20 each. The mooncakes are already available and one can call to make reservations in advance to avoid disappointment (+604-6121128 Swez Brasserie)

At the same time from September onwards, Swez Brasserie will be having an International Cuisine theme for their buffet and this features a more global tastes with dishes inspired from Germany, Japan, Mexico and even Thailand. There are a variety of great Appetizers, Main courses and Desserts to choose from and I'm sure diners will find something to their liking. Do check them out!

 6 Flavors of Mooncake!

The mooncakes have a thin crust layer and lots of  filling! The fact that its not very sweet makes it even more delectable! This is the Red Bean and Double Yolk version.

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.