vkeong loves good food, travel and photography!
Posts tagged Penang
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.
Azuma Japanese Restaurant @ Queensbay Mall, Penang
Jan 10th
On Christmas Eve me and my brother went to Azuma Japanese Restaurant at Queensbay Mall for dinner. I specifically chose Queensbay because it was one of the places I used to hang out a lot when I was still working in Penang, I wanted to see how much changes had taken place since then.
Well it seemed like quite a number of restaurants and cafes had established themselves in the mall, which is a good thing because I seriously felt that Queensbay lacked choices when it came to food. But I still don’t understand why they wouldn’t do anything about the open air car – the road condition is still bad!
While I am not entirely happy being having to work in Singapore because of the deterioration of quality of life, earning Singapore dollar means I get to spend more comfortably when I return to Malaysia. My brother is not much of a sashimi fan so I only ordered for myself – Kiku Sashimi @ RM35 that consisted of 8 pieces of assorted raw fish.
The sashimi was fresh and quite thick sliced, obviously something I am very happy about. I enjoyed the salmon sashimi the most and I think I am gonna order just that next time. Maguro is juicy but the texture is just not as great as salmon’s while I find Tako just too rubbery for my liking.
My brother had a piece of Unagi Kabayaki all to himself. RM22.
There was a promotion for pan fried salmon so we had one of it as well.
Lean Gaik Hokkien Mee @ Chai Leng Park – Avoid it
Jan 3rd
If you happen to chance upon Lean Gaik Hokkien Mee at Chai Leng Park, all I can say is avoid it. Years ago when I was doing my industrial training at Perai, I went there once or twice before and decided that their Hokkien Mee was above average at best, didn’t really like it at all.
One of the reasons Lean Gaik is popular is because they let you add additional stuff into your usual Hokkien Mee like roast pork, mantis prawn (now no more) and Teochew fish balls. This proved to be an effective crowd puller back then.
Yesterday, I was at Chai Leng Park and decided to give them another try given that one’s taste bud could change over time. Turned out that I still didn’t like it and worse still, I hated it even more simply for two reasons: Hiring of Indonesian maids to prepare the food and excessive use of MSG.
Penang Curry Mee @ Taman Sri Rambai – Standard Dropped
Dec 2nd
Taman Sri Rambai’s night hawker center used to be the place to go for one of the best Penang Curry Mee in Bukit Mertajam. It has always been a favorite of mine and I never fail to have a bowl whenever I go back.
However during my last visit I noticed some changes that I didn’t like. For example the prawns are now served with shells and they were not as fresh as they used to be. They tasted like the reared types instead of those caught from the sea. The sweet, succulent prawns that added much points to the curry mee is no longer an attractive factor. If you’re a long customer of this curry mee stall you will definitely know what I mean.
