* This is a reproduction of my article published in New Straits Times (Northern Streets) on 29th October 2012

BY CK Lam

Bayview Hotel Georgetown’s Revolving Restaurant presents a Thai dinner buffet to go with its 360-degree, bird’s eye view of Penang island. Laden with appetisers, hot dishes and desserts, the buffet table offers an exciting blend of flavours.

Diners can choose from the many varieties of refreshing salads and cold dishes. On display are grilled beef salad, green papaya salad, Thai clam salad with young mango, Thai glass noodle salad, Thai pomelo salad and leaf -wrapped savoury morsels (miang kham). The last is a riot of fragrances and textures from the combination of daun kaduk, onions, chilies, roasted peanuts and lime.

Leaf wrapped savory morsels (miang kham)

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Tags: Bayview Hotel Georgetown, Bayview Hotel Georgetown Revolving Restaurant, Beef Salad, Birds Eye View, Buffet Dinner, Chicken Egg, Cold Dishes, Deep-fried Cat Fish, Duck Meat, Egg Dishes, Fish Cake, Flavorful Broth, Fried Catfish, Glutinous Rice, Green Mango Salad, Green Papaya Salad, Grilled Beef, Grilled Beef Salad, Hot Dishes, Jack Fruit, Miang Kham, New Straits Times (Life & Times), New Straits Times (Life & Times), Noodle Salad, Peach Cake, Penang Island, Penang Thai Food, Pla Samlee Dad Deow, Pumpkin Custard, Refreshing Salad, Refreshing Salads, Revolving Restaurant, Roasted Peanuts, Sago Gula Melaka, Steamed Pumpkin Custard, Sweet Desserts, Thai Buffet, Thai Buffet Dinner, Thai Clam Salad, Thai Dinner, Thai Fish, Thai Fish Cake, Thai Fried Rice, Thai Pomelo Salad, Thai Tako, ThaiGlass Noodle Salad, Water Spinach

BY CK Lam

Penang is bursting with restaurants and hawker food stalls but some of the most outstanding are those in inner George Town, particularly along Kimberley Street. It is where the crowds go for a variety of flavours and indulgences.

The area is overwhelming with hawker delights. With most stalls and eateries beginning operation at night, just a walk up and down this historical street will bring you face to face with some of the best hawker food! Enjoy such fare as koay chiap, economy fried beehoon, char kway teow, sweet boiled Chinese desserts, lok-lok and kway teow th’ng.

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Tags: Ah Seng, Almond Milk, Bean Curd, Best Hawker Food, Chinese Dessert, Chinese Desserts, Ck Lam, Dried Longan, Duck Meat, Economy Char Beehoon, Fried Crullers, Fried Noodles, Gingko Nuts, Kimberley Street Duck Koay Chiap, Kway Teow Th'ng, Leng Chee Kang, Light Snack, Lok Lok, Lotus Seeds, New Straits Times (Life & Times), Noodle Dish, Oil Paper, Penang Street Food, Red Bean Soup, Rice Noodle, Rice Noodles, Rice Vermicelli, Salted Fish, Soya Sauce, Street Food, Sungai Ujong, Sweet Bean, Sweet Dessert, Traditional Home of Desserts

BY CK Lam

Located on the ground floor of Eastin Hotel in Penang, Swez Brasserie is offering all things French for the month of May. Senior sous chef Daniel Tan and pastry chef Franco Ho will each prepare a variety of savory and sweet dishes for the Fabulously French Cuisine buffet.

Savory and sweet dishes by senior sous chef Daniel Tan and pastry chef Franco Ho

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Tags: Carre d’agneau Provencale, Crab Bisque Soup, Creamy Sauce, Creamy Soup, Duck Meat, Eastin Hotel, French Cuisine, Fruit De Mer, Hotel In Penang, Hotel Penang, Lively Taste, Mediterranean Seafood Soup, Mint Sauce, Mother's Day Celebration, Orange Sauce, Pastry Chef, Puffed Pastry, Rack Of Lamb, Roasted Duck, Rosemary And Thyme, Salade De Fruit, Sweet Dishes, Swez Brasserie, Vol Au Vent

BY CK Lam

The traditional dish of Yee Sang dish is part and parcel of the Chinese New Year menu and this year, Sesame in G Hotel is serving its  Dragon salmon yee sang. The colorful dish has an assortment of shredded vegetables, jellyfish, salmon and dragon fruit and is served with swirls of sweet and lime sauce.

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Tags: Aromatic Sauce, Black Moss, Chinese Angelica, Chinese New Year, Ck Lam, Colorful Dish, Creamy Soup, Dragon Fruit, Dragon Salmon Yee Sang, Dragon’s Salmon Yee Sang, Duck Meat, Fish Lips, G Hotel Penang, Gingko Nuts, Honey And Wine, Honey Dew, Honey Dew Pudding, Lime Sauce, New Straits Times (Life & Times), New Straits Times (Life & Times), Rice Dish, Rich Gravy, Salted Egg, Sesame, Sesame Restaurant, Set Dinners, Steamed Tilapia, Traditional Dish, Vanilla Ice, Vanilla Ice Cream, White Fungus, Winter Melon, Year Of The Dragon, Yellow Bean Paste

It’s about Nyonya food in a casual environment for Chinese New Year!

Ivy’s Kitchen is offering two Happy Chinese New Year menus to usher in the Chinese New Year festive season. Priced at either RM488++ and RM688++, the menus come with a wide range of comfort Nyonya dishes, free flow of rice and ‘Tee Kun Yeam’ Chinese tea.

We had the pleasure of enjoying the RM488 menu consisting of nine dishes – kerabu pomelo, fish assam pedas, kari kapitan chicken, prosperity salty duck soup, chicken roll, assam prawns, assorted mushroom in mix vegetable, joo hoo char and soya bean jelly with longan. The kerabu pomelo has pomelo, chili padi, coriander, Chinese chives and plenty of ginger flower. The taste was appetizing with offerings of sour and sweet notes and heat from the cut chilies.

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Tags: Assam Pedas, Assam Prawns, Assorted Mushroom, Casual Environment, Chicken Meat, Chicken Roll, Chili Padi, Chili Sauce, Chinese Chives, Chinese New Year, Chinese Tea, Duck Meat, Duck Soup, Fish Assam Pedas, Happy Chinese New Year, Herb And Spices, Ivy'S Kitchen, Joo Hoo Char, Kari Kapitan Chicken, Kerabu Pomelo, Kiam Chai Ark Thng, Lettuce Leaf, Moist Chicken, Prosperity Salty Duck Soup, Red Snapper, Soya Bean, Style Dish, Sweet Notes, Tangy Flavor, Thng

* This article was published in the New Straits Times (Northern Streets) on 5th September 2011.

Over the last few months, several Chinese restaurants marked their opening on Penang island, and the latest to go full swing is Ming Garden. Located in Penang Times Square, the restaurant is decorated in a modern Chinese style.

The efficient supervisor comes over to introduce what the menu had to offer as soon as we were seated. As with most Chinese restaurants, the supervisor verbally listed out the popular and signature dishes. We chose several dishes to go along with their signature Peking duck and braised goose web.

The crispy Peking duck is a house specialty

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Tags: Accolade, Bean Curd, Bean Sprouts, Braised, Chinese Mushroom, Chinese Restaurant, Chinese Restaurants, Chinese Style, Duck Meat, Freshly Cut, Full Swing, Goose Web, Ming Garden, New Straits Times (Life & Times), New Straits Times (Life & Times), Peking Duck, Penang Island, Penang Restaurant, Penang Times Square, Roast Duck, Shredded Meat, Signature Dishes, Smooth Texture, Sweet Sauce, Thin Layer

* This article was also published in the New Straits Times (Life & Times) on 31st July 2010.

The newly-opened Mandarin Grill brings luxury dining to a whole new level with its beautiful ambiance, delicious dishes and exotic cutlery!

Mandarin Oriental Kuala Lumpur stands tall with the opening of its latest restaurant, the exclusive and contemporary modern Mandarin Grill. Located in the heart of Kuala Lumpur, this restaurant is complete with an inbuilt fireplace, elegant interior and floor to ceiling windows revealing a beautiful garden.

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Tags: 1824 Tenderloin, Arugula Seafood Rissoto, Black Angus Sirloin, Cedric Darthial, Chef De Cuisine, Classic Dishes, Culinary Career, Delicious Bread, Delicious Dishes, Delightful Lunch, Duck Breast, Duck Meat, Elegant Interior, Foie Gras Au Torchon, Fresh Fruit Juices, Ginger Chutney, Gratin Dauphinois, Grilling, Laguiole, Lush Greenery, Mandarin Grill, Mandarin Oriental Kuala Lumpur, Manjari Chocolate Ganache, Mesclun, Michelin Star Restaurants, Mild Flavor, MO Bar, New Straits Times (Life & Times), New Straits Times (Life & Times), Pumpkin Veloute Soup, Seared Sea Bass, Smoked duck breast, Smoking, Tomato Salsa, Types Of Butter, Yellow Fin Tuna

Over the weekend together with my blogger friends and photographers, we went around Air Itam to sample-fest some hawker food. We made our way to Kedai Kopi Wah Meng. The coffee shop located across the Sisters Curry Mee is a stone throw away from the Air Itam morning wet market, which itself is full of interesting local flavor.

How about a delicious bowl of Koay Chiap for starters?

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Tags: Air Itam, Apong Manis, Bean Curd, Bean Sprouts, Char Koay Teow, Chewy Texture, Chili Paste, Chili Sauce, Chilies, Chopped Spring Onions, Cockles, Coffee Shop, Curry Mee, Delicious Bowl, Duck Meat, Fried Bean Curd, Hard Boiled Egg, Innards, Kedai Kopi, Koay Chiap, Kuali, Light Broth, Penang Hawker Food, Porridge, Roti Canai, Roti Planta, Soft Texture, Sweet Taste, Wah Meng, Wet Market

First Famous Restaurant in the narrow Lorong Susu is one of the well known places in Penang for its good variety of roast meat particularly it’s Pei Pa Duck. My family does frequent this place for its different selection of roast besides those from Sky & Star Cafe.

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Tags: Array, Barbecue Sauce, Barbecued Pork, Boey, Brown Sauces, Chili Sauce, Classic Steam, Duck Meat, Duck Rice, First Famous Restaurant, Homemade Chili, Hooi, Hot Oil, Kramat, Lean Meat, Lorong, Mr Chan, Pantai Timur Cafe, Pei Pa Duck, Roast Chicken, Roast Meat, Roast Pork, Sky Cafe, Star Cafe, Taste Bud