Frying the Mama Nyonya Style

Located strategically along the famous straits is one factor to boost the pride of this oriental pearl of an island.
Besides the historical value, the different entries of influences and culture have borne the unique identity of Baba and Nyonya.
The fascinating part of an addition to our already varied society is the new culture and the cuisines introduced.

The cross culture of the Peranakan have introduced us to the unique Nyonya cooking styles

Sweet and sourish, the toss of little ikan bilis and sliced onions with the garnishing of the sauce was tantalising to your taste buds; to whet your appetite before the start of a meal


While you stare at your empty plate when waiting for the main dishes to be served


If you are ready to try new things, be prepared to be wowed by the simple stir-frying of this unique vegetable with the slightly spiced belacan with some eggs.

Served with shrimps, this vegetable which tasted like it came from a cross-breed of spinach and pea sprouts was a clear winner.


Choon Piah; rolled up like any normal popiah found in Penang, is lightly fried and served with home made special sauce



To have another side dish to crunch on, the prawn fritters would be a good choice to dip into the chili sauce

Deep fried and lightly battered, this is not to be brushed off as yet another plain prawn fritters that can be found along the roadside stalls.
It was not a piece of fried flour cake with 1-2 miserable prawns; but it was full with the little prawns and the flour layer was really thin.



A home-styled interior; it makes one feel at home when you are seated comfortably against the cushioned chairs, flipping pages of the magazines, and admiring the nice lights and old-fashioned photographs and framed articles on the wall.





With home-cooked chrysanthemum tea to accompany, who could say no to this distinctive nyonya food in home-cooked and motherly style?

Mama Nyonya that is, yet another gem of our Malaysian unique culture.

Mother Duck said quack quack

Five little ducks went out one day
Over the hills and far away
Mother duck said quack quack quack quack
But none of the little duck came back

Mother duck she went out that day
Over the hills and by the bay
Mother duck said quack quack quack quack
And mother duck end up just like that


In a bowl of Koay Teow Th'ng

Famous in Cecil Road market; and some say it's the best in Penang they can find too

I always get extra fishballs...since I don't do duck nor the clotted blood!


This is a rather famous stall in the market and business is brisk; as they start from 7.30am-7.30pm.

However, I must inform you that probably due to their popularity, some of them are acting kind of arrogant.
When you place your order, they may not even acknowledge or look at you; let alone smile at you. It's like your order fell on deaf ears and you're talking to the air.



With the amount of ducks they sell and 'kill' each day, no wonder mother duck can no longer say Quack quack quack quack...

Baby squids on the plate....oh so cruel! ( A Seafood Odyssey)

I am always fond of seafood; and I love fish, prawns, squids, etc.
I know smaller fish which represents that they are young are the best and they have the succulent and tender flesh ever which tastes great when steamed
I know the sweetness of freshwater prawns with a few tablespoons of garlic oil and chinese wine, and even the little shrimps are great when stir-fried with green leafy vegetables.
But Baby squids?
My first time hearing it, and it was one of the special dishes recommended to us though I must say I was imagining a tad smaller normal squid in size.
Imagine my shock when I see these on the plate

These are not just small...as in the dictionary defined meaning of this adjective.
I call this minute-sized!
It was really tiny; and it tasted really crunchy when you bite into them.
Ohhhhh, I felt so evil just doing that....it's no wonder that I refuse to take anymore bites after that.
It was really disheartening to see these poor innocent little babies being put onto the plate at such a young and tender age!
It was rather like anchovies or our typical ikan bilis...it tasted exactly like that, and this was Kam Heong style.....okay, that's it, I beg you please not to ask me how it taste anymore

In case you want a closer look, it is still really this small!


Thankfully, that was not the only food we had as we had the delicious and signature Assam Fish to accompany us

They folded the fish rather delicately; and you can never find the tail which was like partly in a decorative style under the body.
Ouch! It must be painful having to hide and fold those tails!!

The fresh lala were forced out of their hides and to be buried within an avalanche of battered eggs and then, get this....to be tossed onto a hot and sizzling plate.

They must have suffered 1st degree levels of burns....and they were wickedly mocked at when presented to the public in their naked self


Oh my, I start to think that this place is rather sadistic in nature to the seafood I adore *sobs*
I am feeling guilt....deep in my guts and it's written all over my face.
I'd rather much have my green veggies....

Green, crunchy and gently heated in the wok while being tossed lightly

Beats the sadistic nature anytime....

Oh wait, or were the veggies forced out of their stalks as well and being put on the hot wok?

*Shivers*
Eating can be rather nightmarish sometimes....oh my, and it's all those baby squids' fault...or the sadists' faults...yeah, they're at fault!

I'd better say a little prayer for all of them....AMEN

Dinner under a shady big tree

After hearing about this place from all my colleagues and friends and bloggers for the past 3 years when I am in Penang, I finally decided to visit and dine under the famous big and shady tree located in Weld Quay.


It is not famous for fine dining, in fact it is a far cry from your idea of luxurious dinner with plush dining chairs and fine tablecloth as it is a made-up stall located by the roadside and under the big tree facing the jetty.

The seafood, vegetables are all displayed on the 'rocks' at the main stall and you will be required to order here, right in front of the fresh stuffs where you can pick and request the style it's cooked.


My favorite garoupa, tastes good when it's steamed.
Oh my, I feel so evil having these thoughts when I face them...guilt, guilt guilt!


Upon ordering, we proceeded to the seating place next door (they have 2 outlets) and this part was where the drinks stall is located.

This place gave me the old kopitiam kind of feel (funny me, of course when it is indeed an old kopitiam *smacks forehead*)
But really, colonial pre war style and all

We ordered our drinks and paid upon arrival of the drinks.
Just wondering, is this the policy or is this a different stall?


I was also surprised when they served us the appetizers!
That was really a different dining experience at a roadside Chu Char stall:)


Dip the crackers (Papadam-like) into the nasi kandar-type of gulai and eat!


Our food came in a jiffy; and I noticed they serve all in one tray at the same time.
It explains how they could possibly not mix up the orders; since we were a little anxious when we were making our order and the young chap didn't seem to write it down after all the questions and answers tug with us.
Well, as long as our food arrives and cooked exactly as we have instructed, I am happy:D

Squids stir-fried with dried chilies (Kung Pow Sotong)

Really huge cuts of the squid rings!

Stir-fried vegetables (Emperor Vegetables/Ong Teh Chye/scientific name: Basella Alba)

One of my favorite vegetable!:)

Of course, the steamed Garoupa was delicious (RM25)

This has always been one of my favorite steamed fish; and must be steamed with plain soy sauce.
When the chap asked me whether I want plain or Teochew style, I immediately answered plain! Of course, you must be kidding me, plain is simply the best for this fish - trust me *winks*

Okay, I feel guilty, my quirk is, never ever let me face the fish's head whenever I am dining with fish. It's just a very odd feeling I get and then I may just lose my appetite


Total damage of 3 dishes was about RM39. Price is higher than what most of you had since we took fish.


Overall, food was good and price was not too bad either.
It is really a nice place, except for parking; but we were assured by the lady that they have it taken care of (I wonder what she meant)
You can't miss this place, and do not be surprised by the outlook, the food here is good!

Lunch @ Salsas

It has been pretty hot these two days; during our supposedly long weekend break.
The hot weather is motivating enough for us to hop into any air-conditioned restaurant for lunch and chat our afternoon away.
Since we have not try the much acclaimed Salsas in the town area, this was exactly the place we hopped into; with all our senses, hoping for a simple and nice lunch.

They offer the set lunches with different variety priced at RM13.50, RM15.50 and RM18.50.

This place has a rather nice ambience and one will definitely feel very comfortable here with the choice of soft fabric used on the tables and chairs


Most of their tables are suited for a group of people and gatherings.


Bread and butter which was served while we wait for our food to be served

The bread was not as soft as it look, do not be deceived.
It was rather hard; possibly toasted prior to serving


The set lunch comes with fruit juice of the day or the typical iced lemon tea
The fruit juice for the day was mango

The iced lemon tea I ordered


While waiting

Cooking with all senses; I definitely hope that the food is good:)


You can opt for either the soup of the day or salad (why do they make you choose for everything?)
The soup of the day; Mushroom soup

The soup was rather diluted and did not even have a hint of mushroom in it; rather disappointing.



The salad with balsamic sauce and a light sprinkle of olive oil

It was rather a bad combination and I find the salad rather unappetizing

Our mains finally arrived; we both chose the RM13.50 sets
Seafood spaghetti


And my Grilled Dory fish


To be honest, they both turned out way below expectation.
I don't think we brought high expectations along with us, but somehow the food was just rather disappointing for us.


The spaghetti had only 2 prawns and had mostly clams (Lala). The taste was rather bland as well.


The dory fish was also quite bland in taste; the texture of the fish was rather thin and the fried batter was poorly done.

The serving of the vegetables was kinda oily; enough said.

Too bad the food didn't turn out so good, was I unlucky or did I harbour too high of a expectation after reading all the good reviews?
Or perhaps I should try the higher-priced sets?
Well, I thought that restaurants will maintain their quality no matter the type of sets?

Anyway, maybe it's the price, maybe it's me:)
I may give them another try the next round with their other set meals.

The desserts came; it was a 4-in-1 dessert

Looking pretty nice on the plate; there's the ice cream in raspberry which was rather like cough syrup in taste, a mini chocolate sponge cake with choc chips, a butter-sugary cake, and a spoonful of fruits


Nice presentation but that was where the nice part ends.

They all tasted on the average only :(

I am still thinking of whether I want to try another round....:)
Maybe I should...maybe it's just not my lucky day this round