Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Nippon Yataimura

I know this is another Japanese food post; like I have said, I don't know how I ended up having Japanese for a couple of days last week.

Anyway, I got off late one rainy evening and headed over to Pulau Tikus as I had to get something there.
We were looking around; as usual, blindly searching for a dinner place when we finally set our eyes on this Japanese restaurant which had a particularly big cat or raccoon of some sort as their mascot on their signboard.
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I was here 2 years ago to celebrate one of my good friend's birthday and I remembered the food here were priced reasonably with lots of varieties.
Looking back at the menu, the prices seemed to have changed (expected after 2 years:)
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Started off with a cup of hot green tea
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Really soothing during rainy days and after a whole day in the air-conditioned office:)

Our side order of Mixed Vegetables with Seafood (RM10)
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Not bad for my daily dose of yasai:)
However, I was disappointed with the seafood though, I can only find squids!:p

Our Seafood Teppanyaki Set
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The sauce was not bad; slightly similar to Teriyaki.
There was 1 piece of salmon, a couple of ring squids, 2-3 prawns and plenty of mixed vegetables by the side:)

As part of the set, this was the salad
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Miso Soup
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Chawan Mushi which neither of us took...hehe:p
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Fruits
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The front view as you enter the restaurant
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The famous mascot:p
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Sorry for the blurry pics, I was feeling rather cold that night and tired after such a long day!~

Ingolf Kneipe

In conjunction with the famous Oktoberfest festival celebrated by the Germans and Dutch, we went for a German dinner last week, in the one and only German restaurant (that I know of in Penang) located in Tanjung Bungah.
Oktoberfest is this famous beer-drinking festival...and guess what, the funny part was, neither of us drink beer or alcohol though:p
We just wanted to go for German food.

Ingolf Kneipe was the German restaurant which I am sure was no longer news to the local Penangites residing on the island. It was well known for their German dishes which have attracted not only local Malaysians but also tourists staying along the beach area.
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This was my third visit; since I came to Penang and I must say nothing changed:)
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We were almost prepared for disappointment when we were told that most of the tables were reserved:(
Anyway, we were lucky since we were early and the kind owner decided to let us have one of the tables where the guests were expected at 7.30p.m.

There has been multiple awards and clearly this restaurant has been around for some time.
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I ordered an Iced Lemon Tea to start with; RM2.90 if I was not mistaken
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The cutleries; I must say Germans use pretty BIG forks:p
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We waited for about 10-15 minutes for our food to arrive
German food, he ordered the famous German sausages but cooked in Curry style..
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Basically the curry was just normal Chilli sauce with pepper and curry powder sprinkled on it; nothing special.
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Being the fish lover,I ordered the grilled John Dory fillet with buttered vegetables and potato. (It was actually the only fish set they have on the menu, since all Germans are huge fans of poultry and meat)
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It was on the average only and I couldn't finish it anyway, it was such a HUGE portion!!

Anyway, this is a nice place to hangout with friends or if you want to take a shot at German cuisine.

Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Japan Cafe, Gurney Plaza

I have been having Japanese for the past week, don't ask me why, is it my comfort food? I don't think so either, just the usual, do not know what to have and dah, end up having Jap a couple of times:p

So last weekend, while I was out doing some shopping for my daily utilities and also for my upcoming company's annual dinner in Gurney Plaza, we found this little cafe on the lower ground. Not exactly hidden but it wasn't that extravagant in appearance either.
The Japan cafe just presents itself in a homely environment which also at the same time resembles that of a street cafe selling hawker fare and finger food.
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Run by only a handful of people, their manpower was definitely limited to serve customers and hence, moderate speed of service is to be expected.
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A small shop; a partition to separate the dining area from the kitchen
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We ordered the Japanese's famous street food, Octopus Balls for our appetizers.
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It was about RM4 for 3 fishballs if my memory serves me right:)

Topped with fried onion peels, you can see them squirming atop the balls!
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The taste was flurry; and I barely tasted the octopus actually:p
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However, I must say I find these octopus balls unique and credit ought to be given to the guy who was so intense and concentrated on making the octopus balls using the jig which somewhat resembled that of the one used to make kaya balls.
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Our green tea; served in adorable cups like these
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We ordered their Salmon Bento Set
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Isn't this just so adorable? :)
The little figures are actually balled rice!
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I was impressed by the creativity and effort spent on a simple lunch set like this:)

We ordered a side dish; stir fried squids
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Pretty fresh:)

The bento set came with the usual miso soup which was really steaming hot!
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And the dessert; coffee with caramel jelly
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Okay, this was the only thing I find totally ughs...hehe, it was kinda bitter!!

I would say this is an interesting place to explore for affordable and simple Japanese meals!:)
A hidden gem in the midst of restaurants of the Ground Floor of Gurney Plaza

Sunday, October 28, 2007

Wedding Luncheon at Cinta Sayang Golf Resort

We proceeded to the Cinta Sayang Golf Resort after the wedding reception for the luncheon for the groom's family.
This is inside the Rajawali ballroom:)
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The buffet layout in the foyer
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The spread of the food
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The wedding cake
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Ain't it beautiful??:)

And this was what our table of 10 took....hahhaa:D
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Pastries and cakes for wedding reception

On the following morning, it was the wedding reception for the bride whereby the groom will travel from Kedah to pick her up and bring her back to her new home:)
As part of the jee mui team
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Smoked Salmon tarts...UNIQUE!:)
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I love the colours:D

Pineapple tarts
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Choc-a-tart
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So cute:D

Chinese dumplings (mini siew mai)
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Layer cakes
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Sandwiches
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The spread of the food on the table...
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These food were prepared by another colleague's mum...really great job:)
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Look at how happy everyone were eating:D