Leong San Tong Khoo Kongsi

27 02 2007

This is actually more of a photo-post. Khoo Kongsi is one of the Five Big Clans in Penang. The other 4 being Cheah, Yeap, Tan and Lim Kongsi. I wouldn’t have got the opportunity to visit this historical building if not for the Street Festival held last Saturday.

Leong San Tong Khoo Kongsi, or Khoo Kongsi for short, is one of the most distinctive Chinese clan associations in Malaysia. It is well known worldwide for its extensive lineage that can be traced back 650 years, as well as its closely-knit and defensive congregation of buildings and a magnificent clanhouse.

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Looking majestic in daylight. It may appear small because I resized the photo but in real it is as big as a double storey house. Leong San Tong Khoo Kongsi is accessible from Armenian Street, Beach Street and Cannon Street as seen in the panoramic view.

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One of the stone lions guarding Leong San Tong. The lions are a pair, one male and another female.

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Opera stage. It is usually used to stage performances during Chinese New Year in the past and current.

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This was the Administrative building. Shophouses are also situated along the building.

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Observe the magnificient roof designs.

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The building turns into a golden palace when night comes. From what I read in other websites, the clan house was razed by fire once and rebuilt in 4 years. The reason behind the fire was due to its resemblance to the Emperor’s palace. Come to think about it, it does look like a palace, just smaller in size.

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Truly one of the places you must visit in Penang. If you are interested, do visit Kazuo’s photo gallery for more photos.

Opening hours

9.00am to 5.00pm - Mondays to Fridays
9.00am to 1.00pm - Saturdays

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New World Park

25 02 2007

New World Park

I have seen a lot posts in forums and posts by bloggers about New World Park. Despite looking at the photos I never managed to get a clear impression of the place.

New World Park

In case you didn’t know, New World Park is the latest food court in Swatow Lane. I am not sure if it’s owned by the boss of the old hawker centre ‘Sin Se Kai’. In Hokkien, ‘Sin Se Kai‘ means new world. Anyway, in New World Park you can find 2 stalls selling the same dish in different corners.

New World Park

One thing I absolutely love about this place is the vastly available car parks. Previously if you were to eat at Swatow Lane, you need to park at the road side and walk for a distance under the ever hot sun. The car park here charges RM0.50 for the first hour, more than enough time for a nice meal. There are also parking attendants to direct traffic, so parking here is really good.

Ais Kacang

You gotta try the ais kacang here, one of the best in Penang. Do remember to request for an extra scoop of ice cream if you want it to be more special. A normal bowl costs only RM2.50, great for quenching thirst.

Fried Oyster

Fried oysters start at RM5.00. Maybe because I never had fried oyster for too long, it was really really good!

Curry Mee

Curry Mee is good, RM3.00 per bowl.

Mee Sultan

Mee Sultan is a disaster. Compared to Haji Mohd’s Mee Tokun, this plate of mee goreng costing RM4.00 is absolute rubbish. If this can be called Mee Sultan, Mee Tokun can changed its name to Mee Agong already. One taste and I already knew it was fried in a cincai way. Noodles too spicy and the cuttle fish lacking in taste. So my advice is to avoid this stall at all cost.

New World Park

Hope you could get a better impression based on my photos lol. Eating here is a much better experience because of the cleaner, cooler environment. I think the hawkers in ‘Sin Se Kai’ are not pleased. They were usually busy and business was brisk, but now all customers are heading to New World Park.

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Satay Kajang

23 02 2007

No, I didn’t go to Kajang :P The Satay Kajang I had was in Bayan Lepas. What differentiates Satay Kajang from normal satay is the amount of meat, and the peanut sauce. Please pardon the photos’ quality, all taken using my camera phone.

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Many would think that they are a bunch of copycats who borrowed the name of the infamous Sate Kajang Haji Samuri. But they really got their satay and peanut sauce from Haji Samuri. For those of you who don’t know, Haji Samuri is claimed as the best when it comes to Satay Kajang. I have tried it once before when I was working in Cyberjaya and I have to agree that it’s very good.

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Satay Kajang’s peanut sauce is grey-whitish and the chilli sauce is added as much as you like. It is sweet and has lots of peanuts. So nice, I can eat it on its own..

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Here, they only serve 3 types of Satay: ayam, daging and perut. Satay perut is the most left in the photo.. I think it should be beef. The texture is like chicken skin, soft and tender but not fulling. Back in Kajang, there are more choices like fish, deer and rabbit. They also give lots of ketupat.

So my conclusion is, if you are dying for some Satay Kajang and couldn’t travel there anytime soon.. you can get your fix here lol. It won’t taste as good as the real Haji Samuri but for me, it was at least 90% as nice. The stall is easy to find, it is a corner house just opposite PSDC along the houses. Each stick costs RM0.80, which is double the price back in Kajang lol.

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