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

My first post of 2009!

To start off the year, we decided to dine at a new eatery recommended by my friend Liang, called Blue Reef. This restaurant is located in the folds of Lebuh Lembah Permai, Tanjung Bungah, Penang. It serves up fish dishes alongside other western food. As the restaurant has just started a few weeks ago, they kept the menu “light and easy.”  Among the items available currently are the fish, chicken and pasta.

The deco is simple and neat with indoor and outdoor seating’s too. We had ours outdoor as it was a pretty chilling and cool night.

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Tags: Array, Baramundi, Blue Chips, Blue Fish, Blue Reef, Bread Stick, Cheese Sauce, Conscous, Cool Night, Dill Herb, Fish Chips, Fish Dishes, Fish Soup, Garden Salad, Italian Dressing, Mint Sauce, Pan Seared Salmon, Reef Fish, Rm6, Soup Of The Day, Tanjung Bungah Penang, Tomato Confit, Type Of Pasta, Western Cuisine, What On Earth

For lovers of Nasi Briyani, do drop by Restaurant Kapitan at Chulia Street as they serve, I feel, one of the best claypot Nasi Briyani in Penang. There are many varieties and we chose the Chicken Briyani (RM7.00) and the Beef Briyani (RM6.00). The rice flavored with many spices is serve in a claypot and comes with a light curry gravy.

The image above depicts the Claypot Chicken Briyani while the equally superb Beef Briyani is right below – both meats are tender and tastefully marinated while the portion is relatively satisfying.

There were plenty of ready cooked dishes. We chose a plate of pickles and mix vegetable to go with our meal.

Besides the hearty rice, we added a plate of Chicken Cheese Naan costing RM8.50 which comes with some onions, mint sauce, reddish sauce and coleslaw. I personally prefer the Naan that I had in Sri Ananda Bahwan in Tanjung Bunga.

We had a peek inside the open kitchen where they cooked the Naans and the tandoori chicken in the clay oven. The kitchen is filled with the aroma of the grilled chicken.

For drinks, we tried something different. We had the hot Badam Milk (Almond Milk). The pure cow milk is boiled with grinded almond, cashew nuts and raisins in a big kuali. Sugar is added for the sweetness.

Before it is being serve, the milk is “pulled” from one teacup to the other, just like the teh tarik.

The boiled raisins and cashew nuts adds flavor to this soothing and wholesome drink. This is the first time we had this drink and to our surprise, it turns out to be very pleasant indeed.

Just like most Mamak shop, it is open 24 hour and is located at 93, Chulia Street – a block away from the famed Bomba beef  koay teow stall. It has a separate dining area, with upstairs fully air-conditioned. A great place for Nasi Briyani and of course a cup of nutritious Badam Milk.

If you can’t make it downtown, drop by their branch in Gurney Tower (outside Gurney Hotel) and another one near Queensbay Mall.

Click here for the Map Location.

Other food outlets along Chulia Street :
Ecco Cafe
Sky Hotel Roast Meat
Rainforest Bakery

Tags: Almond Milk, Badam Milk, Bahwan, Bunga, Cashew Nuts, Cheese Naan, Chicken Briyani, Chulia Street, Chulia Street Penang, Clay Oven, Cow Milk, Grilled Chicken, Kapitan, Kuali, Mint Sauce, Open Kitchen, Penang, Restaurant, Restaurant Kapitan, Rm6, Sri Ananda, Tandoori Chicken, Teh Tarik, Wholesome Drink

Tags: Baked Cheese, Beautiful Restaurant, Carbonara Spaghetti, Chopped Herbs, Cut Flowers, Fine Dining Restaurant, Freshly Cut, Garlic Bread, Glass Panel, Grated Cheese, Lamb Shank, Mint Sauce, Mirepoix, Red Snapper, Salmon Sandwich, Smoked Salmon, Tomato Concasse, White Glass, Woei, Yeap Chor Ee

The dining area inside is quite spacious and has a lot of decorative items.

It has an open kitchen right beside the counter.

The mains that we ordered were Duck Breast with Black Cherry Sauce for myself and Roasted Rack Of Lamb for hubby. The duck meat was firm and the cherry sauce compliment the meat. The greens were very fresh but we felt the portion was a bit small. The roast lamb was tender and served with brown sauce but hubby requested for some mint sauce instead.The food were very well presented.

After the food, we skip desserts but we did have a cup of coffee. The brown and white sugar were served in containers unlike most places that provide sugar sachets.

We were happy with the service, the food and relaxing environment. Do try out the cakes.

By the way, to call for service is just by pressing a button.

Summer Garden Bistro
No. 2 Lorong Lembah Permai 3
11200 Tanjung Bungah
Penang
Tel: 04 8900977
Business Hour : 11am – 10.30pm daily

View here for the Map Location. (updated)

Tags: Business Hour, Cherry Sauce, Cup Of Coffee, Dining Area, Duck Breast, Duck Meat, Garden Bistro, Green Plants, Hubby, Lorong, Mint Sauce, Open Kitchen, Outdoor Environment, Penang Restaurant, Rack Of Lamb, Roast Lamb, Tanjung Bungah Penang, Tar College, Vale Of Tempe, White Sugar