vkeong loves good food, travel and photography!
Snack / Dessert
Inexpensive yet satisfying titbits
Ah Hwee BBQ Charcoal BBQ Chicken Wings @ East Coast Park Food Village
Feb 19th
Besides Haron Satay, Ah Hwee BBQ Chicken Wings at East Coast Park Food Village is also quite the awesome. Unlike our normal version of BBQ wings, which are marinated with dark sauce then barbecued to a juicy dark-orangish color and usually burnt on the sides; Ah Hwee’s version is crispy and dry on the outside yet succulent inside. Both versions use the same heat source though: charcoal.
This photo is self-explanatory, you can feel the crispiness of the skin just by looking lol. The evenly barbecued wings with very little charred parts means you get the most meat out of each wing and also being less carcinogenic (although I don’t really believe that consuming a little burnt food would once in a while would hurt)
Ais Kacang Special @ Kafe Sin Se Kai, Swatow Lane
Feb 17th
During this time of the year Penang will be crowded with people craving for a fix of their favorite hawker food. And by ‘this time’ of course I mean Chinese New Year. Today is the fourth day of CNY and the majority of the hawkers are already back to business. Not only tourists from other states want to take this opportunity to visit Penang and eat all day, even a Penangite like me too ah! No choice lah, I work outstation so I am rarely in Penang nowadays.
Anyway, I went around George Town today to start my food hunt and found most of the famous places all crowded to the max. Some really famous ones like the Char Koay Teow at Lorong Selamat and Ah Leng had a minimum waiting time of 1 hour. Wahhhhhh.
For Ais Kacang I know most of the people will choose to eat at New World Park for convenience sake. But finding a seat would be almost impossible, even harder if you’re alone eg. ME! Even if I found a seat, it would be taken by someone else while I queue for my food lol.
I remembered I had a complain about the ABC at New World Park. Although it looked the same, the taste was just not the same anymore. This prompted me to eat at the coffee shop where this famous ABC was originally from – Sin Se Kai just opposite New World Park.
Home Made Durian Ice Cream & Ice Kacang @ Kek Seng Coffee Shop
Jan 21st
Whenever people ask me for places to eat in Penang, Kek Seng will always be one of my recommendations. Old and nostalgic aside (they still preserve the square wooden tables and chairs), home made durian ice cream is a rarity nowadays and fortunately for us it is still available at Kek Seng. Also, their one of a kind ice kacang topped with ice cream balls and colorful jellies is such an eye candy and a nice treat during hot weathers.
At RM3.50, the default ice cream ice kacang comes with two scoops of random ice cream, which could be strawberry, corn or chocolate flavored. So if you want your ice cream to be durian flavored, remember to specify it. Kek Seng does not skimp on the ingredients, as you can see the ice kacang was flooded with sweet corn and red beans.
Then there’s the jellies or agar-agar, one being a little sour and zesty tasting like lemon and the other being a little sweet. My first time having Kek Seng’s ice kacang was three years ago and I am glad to say the quality is still there. However, it still remains second best to me because of the absence of sarsi flavor. Somehow it did not feel so refreshing compared to the other ice kacang due to this.
Coffee Ritual – Great Coffee, Delicious Crepes @ Section 14, PJ
Dec 22nd
This is actually the article or so called review I submitted to BestFoodJunction’s Restaurant Review Contest held earlier this year. Somehow the the magazine either went scammy suddenly, or they simply do not bother anymore, because there was no update on contest. Based on the contest’s rule, I am not supposed to publish this, else I’d be disqualified.
But since the contest is dead now, I guess it doesn’t really matter anymore. Besides, I spent a lot of time and effort writing this piece, and Coffee Ritual is really a nice cafe with great food so I am not going to let this go to waste. Enjoy!
For coffee enthusiasts who want to try something different with their favorite beverage, Coffee Ritual is not to be missed. Located at Section 14 Petaling Jaya, Coffee Ritual is one of the very few places where Single-Origin Coffee is available.
Being a coffee lover myself, I simply had to try it myself and also see how Coffee Ritual sets itself apart from the big players in the market like Starbucks.
Upon arriving we were greeted by the owner, Chin and his wife, the management duo of the restaurant. After being seated, I picked up the menu and started to browse through the listed items. While scanning the menu, I was amazed at how spacious the restaurant was.
Adorned with simple and appealing designs, a few hand-painted drawings of coffee workers were strategically placed on the walls. The interior decorations were complemented with a display of various time-honored coffee makers. To occupy the customers while their orders are being served, an array of magazines for various reading pleasure can be found readily available.
Despite being a simple looking restaurant, Coffee Ritual has more than 40 types of coffee and over 60 potpouri of starters, main courses and desserts to choose from. For those looking for a complete meal, you would be pleased to know that set dinners comprising of soup, beverage, a choice of main course and desserts, are available at a lower than the normal price.
For any set dinner, you may opt to have specialty coffee like Cafe Latte, Cappuccino or Single-Origin Coffee for an additional RM2 – a sort of upgrade from the normal drinks offered. The same rule applies for combo meals, where an additional RM2 will grant you an upgrade to gourmet coffee.
For those looking for a less elaborate meal, they can choose from the combo sets instead, which come with a main course and beverage. Famished and totally spoiled with the choices presented, I had the dinner set while SL had the combo set. I felt it was a choice, since both of us get to sample the soup and desserts later.
For soup, I chose the highly recommended Cream of Fresh Mushroom. It was wonderfully flavorful, what a great opening dish! Bits of diced mushroom gave the soup a body and consistency, resulting in a desired creamy texture.
