By CK Lam

Having started off more than a decade ago in Penang, Shanghai Ding House of Dumplings is still drawing in the crowds, with many going for its noodles and dim sum.

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Tags: Attractive Price, Bamboo Steamer, Bean Sprouts, Black Sesame, Black Vinegar, Chicken Bones, Chinese Wine, Delicate Skin, Delicious Fish, Dim Sum Menu, Dumplings, Egg Tarts, Fried Radish Cake, Ginger Soup, Glutinous Rice Ball, Hearty Bowl, Juicy Meat, Laksa, New Straits Times (Life & Times), Noodle Dish, Oyster Sauce, Prawn Ramen, Prawns, Rich Broth, Savory Dishes, Shanghai Ding House of Dumplings Pulau Tikus, Shanghai Ding House of Dumplings Queensbay Mall, Signature Dish, Xiao Lung Bao, Yunnan Fish Noodle

BY CK Lam

Poon choi or Big Bowl Feast is an indulgent affair with layers of ingredients in fragrant gravy. It is believed that this traditional dish originated in China, and the name of the dish came from the distinctive basin-like pot in which it was cooked and served.

There are only a handful of places serving this dish in Penang and one of them is Zi Zai Restaurant. Our group of 13 made our way to the restaurant  in Paya Terubong to try its traditional poon choi.

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Tags: Big Bowl Feast, Braising, Broccoli, Chinese Cabbage, Chopsticks, Feast, Fish Balls, Fish Maw, Flavours, Frag, Goodness, Hock, Lam, Mushrooms, New Straits Times (Life & Times), Oyster Sauce, Paya Terubong, Penang, Poon Choi, Pork Belly, Radish, Rich Gravy, Roast Duck, Sea Cucumber, Sesame Oil, Snapper, Soy Sauce, Traditional Dish, Treasure Pot, Yue, Zai, Zi, Zi Zai Restaurant

* This article was published in the New Straits Times (Life & Times) on 19th January 2011.

Ivy’s Kitchen is offering an alternative from the common Chinese meal for this coming Chinese New Year festive season with a menu sprinkled with several tantalizing Nyonya dishes. This restaurant is offering two different menus, priced at RM388++ and this special menu at RM688++. Both the food menus boast a wide range of dishes filled with auspicious meanings for this special day.

Traditionally the Chinese New Year banquet is kicked off with the Yee Sang. This dish of raw fish, crispy cracker and colorful ingredients which are symbolic is eaten with a coarsely ground peanut, plum sauce and lime juice dressing.

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Tags: Chicken Meatballs, Chinese Meal, Chinese New Year, Chow Thye Road, Cod Fish, Colorful Ingredients, Deep Fried Chicken, Dinner Price, Festive Dish, Food Menus, Glutinous Rice Ball, Ground Peanut, Ivy’s Kitchen, King Prawn, Lime Juice, New Straits Times (Life & Times), New Straits Times (Life & Times), Nyonya dishes, Oyster Sauce, Pacific Clams, Plum Sauce, Pork-free Restaurant, Raw Fish, Salted Fish, Sea Cucumber, Stewed Assorted Mushroom, Vegetable Dish, White Fungus

Looking back at the post, it seems like it has been a while since I blogged about Bak Kut Teh in Penang. I was recommended to try out a Bak Kut Teh stall in the folds of Jalan Terengganu recently. It was indeed a different style from the Penang local version. It is the Klang Bak Kut Teh!

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Tags: Amp, Array, Bean Curd, Business Hour, Chopped Garlic, Chuk, Compliment, Cuts Of Meat, Dark Soy Sauce, Different Cuts Of Meat, Different Style, Fats, Garlic, Hot, Hubby, Kut, Lean Meat, Lettuce, Oyster Sauce, Penang, Penang Food, Pi, Pig Intestines, Pig Stomach, Pig Trotter, Plain Rice, Pulau Pinang, Red Chili, Red Chilli, Side Dish, Side Dishes, Signature Dish, Smooth, Soy Sauce, Spare Parts, Spare Ribs, Spice Powder, Taste Buds, Terengganu, Vege, Vegetables

The Singaporean food hunters of the Canon Singapore Photography & Food Trip in Penang had the craving for the island’s best Char Koay Teow and went all out to try it! The first stop for the day was the famed Ah Leng Char Koay Teow. This famous stall is located in Kafe Khoon Hiang with its frontage facing Dato Kramat road and its side to Dunlop Road.

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Tags: Ah Leng Char Koay Teow, Amp, Array, Business Hours, Canon, Canon Photography, Canon Singapore, Chai, Char Koay Teow, Ckt, Cockles, Duck Egg, Dunlop Road, Flavors, Flavours, Frontage, Hiang, Honolulu Club, Hunting, Ieatishootipost, Jino, Keropok, Koay Teow, Ku, Kway Teow, Lady Owner, Leng, Leslie Tay, Lorong Selamat Char Koay Teow, Main Attraction, Mantis, Mixture, Noodles, Oyster Sauce, Penang, Penang Food, Penang Hawker Food, Photographers, Photography, Prawn, Prawns, Pungent Taste, Rm5, Satisfaction Feeling, Seniors, Singapore Food, Singapore Friends, Singaporean Food, Singaporean Friends, Soy Sauce, Umami

Restaurant May Foong is an old establishment in Bagan Dalam, Butterworth, Penang which is famous for its Ipoh Hor Fun, Steam Chicken (pak cham kai) and Prawn Dumpling (wanton). It is located nearby another famous dim sum eatery, Sweet Paradise Restaurant.

The Hor Fun has the smoothness and silkiness in it, exactly like the ones we had in Thean Chun coffeeshop in old town, Ipoh. There are two version, the dry ones and the soup ones. The dry ones are served with some light sauce instead of the usual black thick sauce. The soup is very clear and tasted the same as those in Ipoh but only lack the redness appearance.

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Tags: Array, Bagan Dalam, Butterworth, Cham, Chili Sauce, Coffeeshop, Dim Sum, Food Restaurant, Garlic, Herbal Tea, Ipoh Hor Fun, Kampong, Old Town, Oyster Sauce, Paradise Restaurant, Penang Food, Penang Restaurant, Prawn, Shrimp Dumpling, Smoothness, Sweet Paradise, Thick Sauce

There are many varieties and flavours of porridge in town but lately we were recommended to try out the frog porridge at a shop located in Datuk Keramat Road, Penang which was set up three months ago. Their main menu is frog porridge with three different portions – small, medium or large all served in claypots. They also have other dishes besides porridge.

We had a medium pot of frog porridge (tin gai zuk) RM20. The porridge is very fine and smooth and comes with generous amount of frog pieces. It is topped with chopped spring onions, dash of sesame oil and strips of fresh ginger.

Apart from the porridge, they also serve eel and frog with kiong choong (spring onion and ginger) or spicy kung poh (dried chilies). These dishes makes a good complement with plain porridge or plain noodles, and similarly comes in three different portions too. We went for the medium pot of spicy kung poh eel (RM20).The eel which is stir fried with the ginger, onions and dried chilies really give a kick to the taste buds.

I ordered an extra bowl of plain noodle which cost RM1.20 to go with the eel. I find it a bit expensive for the plain noodle.

Another side dish of boiled lettuce with oyster sauce and bah hu (floss meat) RM4.

This meal is slightly expensive because frog and eel is considered exotic meat but we did enjoyed this tasty meal recommended to us by K.Leong.

This is their first outlet in Penang island with existing outlets in Kampung Baru, B.M. and Raja Uda in the mainland. You should hop over here for some steaming hot porridge which is specially fantastic taken on a rainy day.

Updates ! The addresses for their two other outlets…

3215, Jalan Kampung Baru
Taman Tampoi Indah
Bukit Mertajam
H/P 012-4786368

6172, Ground Floor
Jalan Ong Yi How
Raja Uda
Butterworth
H/P 012-4919099

Tags: Bukit Mertajam, Chopped Spring Onions, Eel, Flavours, Floss, Kampung Baru, Keramat, Medium Pot, Oyster Sauce, Penang Island, Plain Noodles, Porridge, Rm1, Sesame Oil, Side Dish, Spring Onion, Tampoi, Taste Buds, Tasty Meal, Uda

This is the delicious and tasty hot bowl of fish soup.

We had the hotpot together with two other dishes…..Steamed Chicken with oyster sauce and the very appetising dish of Brinjal with ‘sambal hei bee’ (chilli dried prawns).

Overall a nice and satisfying lunch….

Tags: Brinjal, Burma Road, Decades, Dish, Fish Soup, Fried Fish, Generous Servings, Lor, Lunch Time, Oyster Sauce, Penang Restaurant, Raw Fish, Restaurants In Penang, Sambal, Signature Dishes, Tofu, Vegetables