BY CK Lam

With its multiracial culture, Penang is a melting pot for lip-smacking cuisine. One great example would be the Mamak Mee Goreng, which some label as a “to-die-for” meal of its own. Mee Goreng served in Penang is slightly different from the rest of the nation. Apart from the usual ingredients such as bean sprouts, boiled potatoes, shrimp cake, egg and tofu, dried cuttlefish is also used, which makes Penang Mee Goreng stands out from the rest.

Just the mention of Mee Goreng and most locals will point you to the heart of Pulau Tikus, Penang. The Bangkok Lane Mee Goreng is legendary and people from all walks of life have been patronising this place for decades.

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Tags: Bangkok Lane Mee Goreng, Bean Sprouts, Boiled Potatoes, Business Acumen, Circular Manner, Ck Lam, Dialect, Dried Cuttlefish, Flavors, Lime Juice, Mahboob Zakaria, Makansutra, Mamak Mee Goreng, Mee Rebus, Melting Pot, Noo, Noodles, Penang, Penang Mee Goreng, Penang Mee Rebus, Puffing Billy, Pulau Tikus, Seng Lee, Seng Lee Café, Sweet Potatoes, Taste Buds, Tinge, Tofu, Tomato Paste, Walks Of Life, Wok, Zakaria

BY CK Lam

Hawker food features prominently in the culinary culture in the state of Penang. Across the industry there are always places that constantly make headlines while others tend to be excellent but underrated, and the New Cathay Coffee Shop is classified as the latter.

Located along Lorong Kuching right off the ever bustling Burmah Road, this coffee shop is one of the decent places to sample a plethora of Penang’s street hawker fare. A favorite mostly with the locals, it begins to fill up as early as 7.30 in the morning and is absolutely packed during the peak hours of ten in the morning right through two in the afternoon.

For those opting for a lighter snack, the apom manis (Indian style pan cake) stall right beside the shop is an excellent alternative. Interestingly, the owner still maintains the tradition of using charcoal stoves and clay pots.

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Tags: Apom, Apom Manis, Banana Pancake, Bean Curd, Bee Hoon, Black Coffee, Burmah Road, Cake Stall, Charcoal Fire, Chili Paste, Ck Lam, Clay Pots, Coagulated Blood, Coconut Milk, Coffee Shop, Crispy Edges, Culinary Culture, Curry Mee, Decent Places, Duck Meat, Flat Rice Noodles, Flavors, Food Features, Food Stall, Half Boiled Eggs, Hawker Food, Indian Style, Koay Chiap, Leafy Vegetable, Local Delight, Makansutra, New Cathay Coffee Shop, Pan Cake, Penang Curry Mee, Penang Hawker Food, Pulau Tikus, Rice Vermicelli, Rm3, Roadside Stall, Street Hawker, Toast Bread, Toasty Flavor, Wantan Mee

BY CK Lam

Tucked away in Precinct 10, Sushi Zento has been serving up Japanese meal with pork besides other meats. The restaurant has two seating area, with an outdoor air-conditioned area with cosy setting. The other area has a Kaiten belt which services a number of tables and a teppanyaki section with an open kitchen concept.

Shake Toro Sashimi RM38

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Tags: Amiyaki Sauce, Assorted Dishes, Authentic Japanese Cuisine, Black Fungus, Buta, Buta Amiyaki, Butabara, Charshu Chahan, Chicken Skin, Chives, Ck Lam, Cold Sake, Combination Plates, Delicious Mix, Ebi Gyoza, Flavors, Fried Rice, Hot Plates, Jalan Tanjung Tokong, Japanese Meal, Japanese Pork Meal, Japanese Restaurant, Kaiten Belt, Koshi, Kyu, Kyu N Kim Ramen, Kyushu, Kyushu Ramen, Makansutra, Nigiri, Open Kitchen, Pan Fried, Penang, Precinct 10, Private Functions, Rice Dish, Rice Salad, Roast Pork Belly, Roasted Pork, Rolls Royce Roll, Sesame Seeds, Shake Toro Sashimi, Side Dishes, Soft Lighting, Sushi Dishes, Sushi Zento, Two Choices, Wagyu Beef, Wagyu Beef Teppanyaki, White Rice, Yakitori, Zento

Happy Chinese New Year 2013, Year of the Water Snake!!!

There are so many life’s great things and one of them is having reunion meal with your loved ones. And this year I could not have asked for better with the flying in of my sons, daughter in-law and my granddaughter.

The home cooked meal of Nyonya and Cantonese food prepared by mother-in-law has many ingredients and delicacies which are important signs for the Chinese festival. Here are some of the dishes that we had been enjoying over the years.

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Tags: Amp Nbsp, Assam Prawns, Braised Ginger Duck, Cantonese Food, Celebrating Chinese New Year, Chinese Black Mushroom, Chinese Dish, Chinese Festival, Chinese New Year, Crab Meat, Dried Sole, Festive Occasion, Fish Maw, Flavors, Gong Xi Fa Cai, Happy Chinese New Year, Happy Chinese New Year 2013, Hoi Sin Sang Choi Bao, Home Cooked Meal, Ju Hu Char, Lettuce Leaf, Lettuce Wrap, Lum Mee, Nyonya Cuisine, Nyonya Cuisine, Old Chicken, Pig Stomach, Prompet Curry FIsh, Rich Flavor, Sea Cucumber, Shark Fins, Tao Tay Curry, Torch Ginger, Turmeric Prawns, Water Snake, Year of the Water Snake

BY CK Lam

SMAAK!ZA – “Taste! South Africa” 2012 was in Penang recently for the “Table” sessions.  Held at Maricosa Pacific Rim & Hawaiian Cuisine in Straits Quay, the event featured an eclectic 4 course dinner menu paired with a mini-vertical tasting of among the top award-winning Pinotage wines.

Thomas Ling, principal partner of Entwine Consultancy hosted the event and introduced the lineup of featured wines while Satoru Nakamatsu shared his passionate views behind the mouth-watering Rainbow Nation’s colourful cuisine.

We started off with the Savana, made from Granny Smith apples grown in the Elgin area in the Western Cape of South Africa. This naturally brewed and matured premium cider went well with the Maricosa bruschetta and the Mediterranean mackerel salad which was brought together with many fresh greens, mackerel and pleasantly sharp cheese.

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Tags: "Taste! South Africa" 2012, Amarula Cream, Barbeque Pork Ribs, bloem 2009, British Royal Family, Bruschetta, Cabernet Sauvignon, Capital Of South Africa, Casual Evening, Cloof, Cloof 2003, Cloof 2005, Cooked Salmon, Course Dinner, Elgin Area, Entwine, Exotic Fruit, Flavors, Granny Smith Apples, Grape Variety, Hawaiian Cuisine, Hawaiian Island Chicken, Homemade Bbq Sauce, Hurricane Barbeque Pork Ribs, Island Chicken, Izak, Kid On The Block, MARICOSA PACIFIC RIM & HAWAIIAN CUISINE, Mediterranean Mackerel Salad, Nakamatsu, New Kid On The Block, Pacific Rim, Passionate Views, Penang Wine Event, Pinotage Wines, Principal Partner, Professor Abraham, Rainbow Nation, Salmon and Venus Clam Tajine, Salmon Tajine, Satoru Nakamatsu, Savana, SMAAK!ZA, Stellenbosch University, Straits Quay Penang, Table Sessions, Tajine, Thomas Ling, True Quality, Warm Buns, Wheat Farming, Wine Capital, Wine Industry, Zonnebloem 2010, Zonnebloem Pinotage 2009

BY CK Lam

My enthusiasm for learning about wine was given a boost when I was invited to the Malaysia Wine Fiesta 2012. The event organized by The Straits Wine Company (of the Billion Frontier Group of Companies) was held at Precinct 10, located at Tanjung Tokong, Penang. More than 400 wine enthusiasts turned up at the event.

“Tickets were sold like hot cakes since the event is being publish. We are glad to organize event like this as it help to bring up a new healthy drinking trend in Penang” Sean Teoh, Billion Frontier Group of Companies Group Vice-President said.

Billion Frontier Group of Companies owns a number of up-market restaurants and bistros including Bed, Sixty9ine Mansion by The Sea, Mois, Nueve, Sushi Zento and Red Karaoke.

 Crowds of people make their way through the event

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Tags: Arrays, Batu Ferringhi, Bed, Bfg, Billion Frontier Group of Companies, Bistros, Champagne And Wine, Cheeses, Ck, Crowds Of People, Cuvee, Deutz Champagne, Entertainment Industry, Fiesta, Fine Wine, Flavors, Food and Beverage, Frontier Group, Glass Wine, Group Vice President, Guide Booklet, Honig, Hot Cakes, International Wine, Joel Payne, Katarina, Korta, Large Crowd, Malaysia Wine Fiesta, Malaysia Wine Fiesta 2012, Malbec, Mois, Nueve, Penang, Penang Road, Penang Wine Dinner, Penang Wine Event, Penang Wine Events, Precinct 10, Programme Guide, Red Karaoke, Regional Wine, Showcases, Sixty9ine Mansion by The Sea, Sushi Zento, Tanjung Tokong, Tanjung Tokong Penang, The Straits Wine Company, Tikus, Tokong, Tourist Districts, Villard, Wine Bar, Wine Company, Wine Consultant, Wine Enthusiasts, Wine Fiesta, Wine Labels, Wine Lovers, Wine Makers, Winemakers, Wineries, Zento

BY CK Lam

Since 1993, Feringgi Grill has been nominated by the readers of Malaysia Tatler as one of Malaysia’s Best Restaurants for its exceptional cuisine and service. The restaurant with its exquisitely prepared modern grill cuisine, wide range of vintage wines and fine cigars was recently listed in first annual “101 Best Hotel Restaurants Around The World” by The Daily Meal, New York.

Today, the restaurant is helmed by German chef de cuisine, Matthias Tretbar, who focus on grilled dishes. He has 12 years of experience working in his home ground in Munich, West Germany before moving to Muscat, Oman in the Middle East and most recently in Bangkok, Thailand.

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Tags: Balanced Meal, Bangkok Thailand, Best Restaurants, Chef De Cuisine, Chef Matthias Tretbar, Curry Butternut Cappuccino Soup, Degustation Menu, Dijon Mustard, Feringgi Grill, Fine Dining, Flavors, German Chef, Green Salad, Grinded, Hotel Restaurants, Malaysia Tatler, Muscat Oman, New York Today, Oxtail Ravioli, Penang Hotel, Poached Halibut, Prawn, Pumpkin Seeds, Quail Egg, Rasa Sayang Resort, Seared Tuna, Shangri-La’s Rasa Sayang Resort and Spa, Sunflower Seeds, Tiny Size, Tomato Powder, Vintage Wines, Wasabi

BY CK Lam

Tucked in the heart of George Town’s Noordin Street is Little Kitchen @ Nyonya. The charming restaurant housed in an old two storey shophouse with a distinctive heritage façade, serves home-cooked Nyonya dishes.

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Tags: Acat Hu, Bird Nest, Charming Restaurant, Ck Lam, Delicious Gravy, Distinctive Heritage, Dried Prawns, Fish Stomach, Flavors, Fresh Seafood, Ginger Tea, Gravy, Hangings, Heritage Area, Kaduk, Kua, Laksa, Lebuh Noordin, Lightings, Little Kitchen, Little Kitchen @Nyonya, Lor, Masak Titik, Nutmeg Juice, Nyonya Baba, Nyonya Cuisine, Nyonya Peranakan Cuisine, Penang, Penang Nyonya Food, Pengat, Peranakan Dishes, Perut Ikan, Pickled Fish In Tumeric VInegar, Pig Liver, Proprietor, Pungent Flavors, Rempah Hae, Rm10, Shophouse, Shrimp Paste, Stomachs, Three Generations, Titik, Tu Kua Lor Bak, Ulam, Unesco Heritage, White Radish

BY CK Lam

Chef Chiam Choon Heng is back in his hometown here. A group of us had a wonderful dining experience at the Sesame and Soy restaurants in G Hotel, sampling fusion contemporary and traditional Chinese cuisine from the set dinner menu.

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Tags: Bean Curd, Beef Dishes, Bird Carvings, Chef Chiam Choon Heng, Chef De Cuisine, Chiam, Chicken Meat, Chinese Parsley, Ck Lam, Codfish, Crab Meat, Dried Fish, Fish Maw, Flavors, Fried Prawns, Fusion Contemporary, G Hotel Penang, Lime Juice, Magical Touch, Mango Sago, New Straits Times (Life & Times), Persiaran Gurney, Pomelo, Refreshing Course, Shrimp Mousse, Signature Dishes, Sole Fish, Soy and Sesame, Special Recipe, Stewed Wagyu Beef Cheek, Stuffed Fish, Stuffed Fish Maw, Taste Buds, Traditional Chinese Cuisine, Wagyu Beef, White Radish