By CK Lam

Da Ban Chinese Restaurant is renowned for serving Szechuan cuisine as well as steamboat. Its location in Jalan Zainal Abidin, stuck between Jalan Macalister and Burma Road, has a huge gold and black signboard on its facade.

A man-made bridge after the main entrance leads us into several dining areas. This fairly large air-conditioned restaurant has its interior decorated with Chinese furniture and bamboo plants.

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Tags: Bamboo Plants, Burma Road, Chili Padi, Chinese Cabbage, Chinese Furniture, Chinese Herbs, Da Ban, Da Ban Chinese Restaurant, Delicious Dish, Duck Tongue, Fish Broth, Fried Fish, Garlic Sauce, Jalan Macalister, Lotus Root, New Straits Times (Life & Times), Pork Belly, Pork Roll, Red Chili, Red Snapper Fish, Spring Onion, Spring Onions, Szechuan Cuisine, Szechuan Peppercorn, Wolfberries

* This article was published in the New Straits Times (Northern Streets) on 12th May 2011.

Lameizi Restaurant in Bayan Lepas is famed for its spicy Szechuan-soup (ma la) steamboat. The soup is filled with dried chili, with a layer of chili oil floating on top. Besides this signature soup, there are several other tasty soup bases to choose from — chicken, old duck, pork knuckle, tom yam and fish. The clear chicken soup offers a welcome throwback for those who prefer a more traditionally-flavoured steamboat stock. Each of the stock is boiled for hours for it to acquire its natural sweetness and flavour.

The steamboat at Lameizi is cooked on an infusion plate, which is faster than the conventional potable gas stove or charcoal pot. We choose to have a sectioned pot with the old duck soup on one side, and the sour vegetable fish soup on the other. The sour vegetable fish soup was rich and sourish and includes plenty of salted vegetables (kiam chye).

Combination pot of sour vegetable fish soup (RM28) and old duck soup (RM10.50)

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Tags: Bean Curd, Beef Tripe, Button Mushroom, Chili Oil, Chopped Garlic, Duck Soup, Egg Mix, Fish Balls, Fish Soup, Jade Blossom Restaurant, Krystal Point, Lameizi Restaurant, Lameizi Restaurant Nagore Road, Meat Ingredients, Natural Sweetness, New Straits Times (Life & Times), New Straits Times (Life & Times), Raw Egg, Raw Meat, Red Chili, Soup Base, Steamboat Ingredients, Steamboat Restaurant, Szechuan Soup, Szechuan Style Steamboat, Tasty Soup, Thin Slices, Tom Yam

This is one of my few lunch venture into Restoran Nasi Padang Minang, which is located in Transfer Road. The place is crowded with customers, with tables for sharing especially for lunch. The array of dishes displayed was extremely inviting, with a selection of fish, meat and fresh vegetables which were all prepared with spices in ways that offer a range of flavors.

The appetizing spread at Restoran Nasi Padang Minang

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Tags: Ayam, Beef Lung, Daun Kaduk, Dendeng, Dendeng Daging, Fermented Soybean, Fish Meat, Flavors, French Beans, Fried Beef, Fried Onions, Lemon Grass, Mackerel, Minang, Nasi Padang, Nasi Padang Minang, Padang, Paru Goreng, Penang, Red Chili, Sambal, Sayur Lodeh, Soybean Cake, Spicy Taste, Spongy Texture, Sumatra Indonesia, Tempeh, Transfer Road, Wild Pepper Leaf

Teik Seng, one of the popular Chu Char stall in Penang has made its way to a new outlet to cater for its increasing number of customers. Opened its door for business on the 8th April 2010, the new outlet is just a few doors away and very close to its previous site in Carnavon street.

*Update 25/04/2010: This restaurant recently has a new signboard, with the name of the restaurant changed to TekSen Restaurant. No worries, it is the same owner and shop!

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Tags: 8th April, Asam, Assam Curry Fish, Barbeque Pork, Beancurd, Carnarvon Street, Carnavon, Char Siew Bak, Chewy, Chili Padi, Chili Sauce, Chinese Herbal Tea, Chu Char Stall, Cili Padi, Cold Beverages, Jin Beng Coffee Shop, Kankung Sambal Belacan, Penang, Penang Chu Char, Red Chili, Sambal, Sambal Belacan, Shrimp Paste, Side Windows, Signature Dishes, Signboard, Smoky Flavor, Soy Sauce, Spring Onions, Stingray Fish, Tamarind, Teik Seng, Wide Choice

Firstly, I would like to wish all readers and visitors of What2seeonline.com a very Happy Chinese New Year! May the coming year be blessed with prosperity and happiness for everyone!

Now Penangites have a good reason to hit the beach with the opening of Sigi’s Bar & Grill On The Beach. This new beach front restaurant at Golden Sands Resort along Batu Feringgi went through a major makeover replacing the former Sigi’s By The Sea. It is set for a re-launch on the 10th of March 2010.

This stylish and casual new restaurant have many new changes, focusing on improving their customers expectations. It included choices of dining; in privacy in the private room, patio, air conditioned dining hall, or in the upper deck dining area with an excellent view of the beach front and sea.

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Tags: Arancini, Arancini Balls, Beef Bacon, Braised Oxtail Fettuccine, Caesar Dressing, Caesar Salad, Chocolate Tarte, Classic Shortbread, Culinary Creations, Delicious Salad, Executive Sous Chef, Fried Mushroom, Golden Sands Resort, Golden Sands Resort Penang, Gong Xi Fa Cai, Happy Chinese New Year, John Brock, Local Delights, Onion Jam, Pan-Fried Cod, Poached Egg, Red Chili, Ring Shape, Ring Shapes, Romaine Lettuce, Salt And Pepper, Salt And Pepper Calamari, Shangri-La'S Golden Sands Resort, Sigi, Sigi's Bar & Grill On The Beach, Signature Dishes, Tarte Au Citron, Toma Hawk, Twice-Cooked Beef Ribs

Tho Yuen Chicken Rice Restaurant is an old Cantonese restaurant located in a two storey building at Campbell Street right next the popular sundry shop, Kwong Tuck. Business has been going around for many decades now and the place is still as popular.

This restaurant serves dim sum for breakfast and varieties of noodles, porridge and Chicken Rice during lunch hour. The interior of the restaurant was recently given a new paint job for a cleaner and brighter outlook! I was there during lunch break and the place was filled with customers with some having to settle for the tables set up in the pavement.

One of Tho Yuen’s specialty dish – Fish head steam with noodle

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Tags: Braised Duck and Ginger, Campbell Street, Cantonese Restaurant, Char Siew, Char Siew Buns, Chicken Rice, Delicious Delicacies, Dim Sum Dishes, Dish Fish, Fish Head, Fried Bean Curd, Kow, Lunch Break, Lunch Hour, Natural Sweetness, New Paint, Noodles, Paint Job, Pork Meat, Porridge, Red Chili, Stir Fried, Sui Kow, Tho Yuen, Vermicelli, Water Chestnuts

Love Penang Assam Laksa topped with the pungent hae kor (prawn paste)? I am sure many Penangites and tourist alike love this Penang classic dish for its tangy and sourish taste. My crave for Assam Laksa would have me going all the way out to the Air Itam Market and at times visiting the stall in Gottlieb Road and Johor Road.

All the ingredients for Assam Laksa

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Tags: Air Itam, Air Itam Market, Array, Assam Laksa, Big Fish, Bui, Bunga Kantan, Business Hour, Classic Dish, Coffee Shop, Corner Coffee Shop, Cucumber, Delicacy, Favorite Place, Fish Ball, Fish Balls, Fish Flakes, Fish Meat, Fish Soup, Flower Bud, Fresh Fish, Frontage, Galangal, Going All The Way, Gottlieb, Gps, Hae, Hae Kor, Herbs, Johor, Lai, Laksa, Laksa Penang, Laksa Perak, Lemongrass, Lengkuas, Lettuce, Light Colour, Mint, Mint Leaves, Noodles, Onions, Penang, Penang Assam Laksa, Penang Food, Penang Hawker Food, Penang Laksa, Penang Restaurant, Perak, Perak Road, Pineapple, Prawn Paste, Red Chili, Restaurant Coffee, Rice Noodles, Rm2, Spicy Soup, Sum San Primary School, Sweetness, Tamarind

I’ve learned several interesting foodie facts about Singapore during my recent trip there, and I’ve found out that Fried Hokkien Mee is the popular hit with many Singaporeans. I had the chance to try out two stalls selling this popular hawker food and the one that stands out for me is the Geylang Lor 29 Fried Hokkien Mee.

Singapore’s Fried Hokkien Mee… simply unique and delicious!

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Tags: Banana Plant, Business Hour, Charcoal Fire, Chives, Different Style, East Coast Road, Facts About Singapore, Flavors, Food Outlets, Fried Hokkien Mee, Fried Noodle, Geylang, Geylang Lor 29, Hot Fire, Leslie Tay, Lime Juice, Mr Alex, Mr Alex See, Opeh Leaf, Oyster Omelette, Penang, Pinang Leaf, Popular Hawker Food, Pork Lard, Prawns, Red Chili, Road Singapore, Sambal, Shophouse, Singapore Dish, Singapore Hawker Food, Singaporeans, Staple Food, Thick Gravy

Imagine yourself sitting on the front of a house built on stilts overlooking the sea; indulging in the wonderful flavors of home cooked Thai Food. A group of us food bloggers had such an experience at Lang Sae Lee, located in the Tan Jetty along Weld Quay recently.

Super-appetizing & lip-smacking kerabu awaited us!

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Tags: Array, Authentic Ingredients, Belacan, Chili Dip, Chili Padi, Cold Drinks, Deep Fried Fish, Dish Meal, Fish Cake, Fish Paste, Flavorful Dish, Holy Basil, Kaffir Lime Leaves, Penang Food, Penang Thai Food, Peppery Taste, Red Chili, Rice Dish, Rm4, Soup Noodles, Sweet Soy Sauce, Tan Jetty, Thai Dishes, Tom Yam, Unesco World Heritage, Unesco World Heritage Site, Weld Quay, World Heritage Site