Teluk Tempoyak is always a nice place to unwind. We were planning on visiting our usual haunt, but totally forgot that it was a Monday... hence 'tutup'. So we decided to hop over to the other side which was the 'Chalet' Ikan Bakar place. It's a smidgen more up scale but still has a nice backdrop and a wonderful evening breeze.

 The ever cheery Ketupat was the organizer this time round.

 Diva Baharom graced us with his presense, we are not worthy...

 Ikan and wifey were the first to arrive.

 'Hassan'... the man with a thousand gadgets was there as well.

Nice back drop as the sun started to set.

I totally salivated over the macro lens Ikan brought along... too bad I suck at manual focus... which explains the wonky shot of my kit lens above.

Saja main main shot.

 Do not mess with the ketupat when he's mixing the bandung...

There were plenty of feline company... very bold they were...

The fried calamari was fantastically light.

Grilled prawns were a tad dry... but ok.

I didn't have the crabs... but they look delectable with bucketloads of roe.

The fish was tender. But the chilli paste could do with some extra kick. Nothing a little chilli padi won't fix.

The aftermath.

Bill came up to a tad more than RM180.

Good company for the evening... priceless.

I've been craving for some good BBQ pork (Char Siew) for some time. But most of the time, I'm let down by meat which is too lean or way too chewy and dry. However, I may have struck gold here. Hidden in a small corner along Lorong Susu, there's this shop called Restaurant First Famous Federal which specializes in chicken and duck rice. Lorong Susu is the road just after the steamboat/grill buffet place along Macalister if you're coming from town.

I didn't really bother ordering any of the chicken or duck (I don't eat duck btw). I went straight for a sizable portion of Char Siew and Roasted Pork. A bowl of 'chai buey' soup comes complimentary which is super sour but power. The rice was rather paltry in terms of portion though...

The first thing which hits you when you bite into a piece of the char siew, is WHOA. Nicely balanced between lean and fatty, the meat is roasted to perfection with the marinade fantastically caramelizing into a sweet, crunchy outer coating which just melds amazingly with the tender meat. It's as close to porky perfection as it can get.

The place is a typical kopi-tiam type setting, humid but not too warm. So don't expect too much in terms of ambience. Just come here for the pork and you will leave with a huge piggy grin. I can't remember when was the last time I ate so much pork in one sitting (wait... I think I remember... it's at Applebees some 3 years ago...). Anyways, all I can say is go for it  ;)

I can't really recall when, but I started to develop an addiction to pan mee (especially the dry type) a while back. Maybe it's the crunchy texture of the black fungus, mixed with a healthy dollop of dark soya sauce and a generous helping of crunchy pork bits which sealed the deal. Whatever it may be, this ranks as one of my favorite noodle dishes.

It's kinda hard to find good pan mee in Penang, and most would agree that the de-facto place to be would be near the flats close to Bukit Jambul. However, I am not exactly a fan of the portions there (even if you specify 大大 in your order, the portion is barely filling) and the al-fresco type setting beneath the trees are just begging the pigeons to unload their bombs while you're busy slurping away.

So, when CL read about this other pan mee place along the Jelutong expressway which received pretty good comments online, we decided to track it down and give it a try.

The aforementioned place is a small shop called I Mum Mum, which is hidden rather deep within the PDC flats at Pengkalan Weld. They specialize only in serving pan mee, but in a variety of styles as well as noodle types (fine, broad as well as 'hand-torn' variety of noodles).

There was only one person manning the actual kitchen, so service may be a little slower than usual. But it's ok since there weren't many tables around, and the late afternoon crowd wasn't that much either. The good thing about this place is although it's very stripped down like most hawker places in Penang, this spot is relatively clean, which is very welcomed.

The first dish which came was the Spicy Pan Mee. This is the dry variety which came with minimal dark soya sauce, additional meatballs and a huge serving of chilli flakes.  There was a heavy hint of Chinese cooking wine, which lent a very appetizing aroma to the dish. It isn't exactly very spicy as expected, so you might want to add more chilli paste to give it more kick.

Next came the Minced Pork Pan Mee with Special Sauce.  This is supposed to be the dry variety as well, but I find it rather generously lathered with the mentioned sauce. It tastes exactly like the usual Pan Mee you get elsewhere, but the sauce have slightly more depth. I dunno wot the chef put into this one, but I really liked it. Plenty of minced pork as well.

Eating pan mee won't be complete unless you have the soup variety as well. So we ordered a bowl of Pan Mee Soup which came complete with the 'hand-torn' variety of the noodles. The anchovy based broth was fantastic, clear yet rich in taste. Unlike other places which taste like water-ed down pork stock. The chewy noodle pieces added a nice texture to the meal which perfectly complemented the crunchy bits of the black fungus.

The final dish which came was an order of Sui Kow (pork dumplings) and some fish dumplings swimming in a bowl of broth. I enjoyed the Sui Kow, which was really fresh and springy. I wasn't exactly too fond of the fish dumplings though... which I felt was a little 'squishy' and bland. But overall, this gave a perfect ending to a totally satisfying meal.

The meal came to a total of less than RM15, which I felt was well justified considering the number of dishes we ordered. With stomachs closed to rupturing, I would say this place provided good food with good value. I will definitely come back again to try the rest of the items on the menu...  ;)

Don't know why... but when you get things for free... it always taste better... lol. Unfortunately, during the 13,619km trip to Bolehland, it kinda 'lost it's shape'. Panas-beb. But who cares? It's still taste as good as it did when it retained it's pristine shape... pure silky velvety ambrosia... yeah... I'm a glutton... so bite me... muaaahahaha...

I'm a huge fan of energy drinks. Heck, I down at least two or three bottles a week to perk me up from a really drowsy morning. Works way better than coffee. I also make it a habit to try various different brands whenever I'm outta the country.

Here're my opinions on some local brands; as well as some not-so familiar ones.

1. Black Fury (available locally)

This one is manufactured by Silver Bird. I luv energy drinks which comes in this long slim can profile. On a scale from 1 to 10 (10 being sipek powderful), I would rate this one a 6. Easy to drink and not too sweet.

2. Sting (available locally)

Sting comes under the Pepsi Co umbrella. The first thing which hits you is, "MARDER... THIS THING IS SWEET!!!" But that isn't exactly a bad thing. The pick me up rating would be at a rather potent 7.

3. Red Bull (available locally)

Who isn't familiar with this famous Austrian brand? My brand of choice. Easily avaible in both cans and mini bottles, this is pure liquid adrenaline. Potency scale would be at 7 and a half. And eye opener this is.

4. Livita (available locally)

Taisho IS the grand daddy of energy drinks. And you can always count on the Japs to overdo things. I had my first taste of Livita during my high school days while burning the midnight oil. And this vile liquid kicks ass. On a scale of 10, this would weigh in at a whopping 9. Unfortunately, all this potency is a double edged sword. It sometimes gives me gastric if drunk on an empty stomach.

5. Vault (available in U.S.)

Coca cola was the one who came out with this rather peculiar concoction. It isn't exactly an energy drink per se... but it sure works like one. This high powered soda does gives you a mild kick somewhat similar to energy drinks, but the wonderful thing about it is that it taste super duper yummily refreshing. On the power scale, it would come in at a respectable 5. Not bad for a soda.

6. Full Throttle Fury (available in U.S.)

I tried this one solely because I was attracted to the blood red can. It isn't exactly a very potent energy drink, but due to it's rather large serving, you get a pretty big wallop in the ass by the time you're done with it. I'm not exactly very fond of gulping down such big portions, so I would rate it at a 7. Still... it looks like Sinanju on a can... so extra 1 point for it... woot.

7. Carabao (available in Thailand)

When I saw this bottle, I had to try it no matter what. The logo is a sipek cool skull of a dead buffalo. HOW BADASS IS THAT??? Unfortunately, when I downed this energy drink, I didn't exactly get the usual buzz I was expecting. So I would say it isn't exactly very powderful despite the bad to the bone image. A 6 at most. Sorry Abhisit Vejjajiva... this one just won't do... it needs more Thai black magic...

Brands I'm looking forward to try in future :

These are what dreams are made of.

Yet again... any random act of kindness always bring a smile onto my face...  ;)

Except this time it was slightly more upmarket... hahaha...

There's nothing more uplifting than sinking your teeth into a fresh batch of Big Apple Donuts.

Light and airy, with a gazzilion different toppings to choose from, even the crabbiest dude alive will smile.

Yum ^_^

As much a Penangite as I am, I'm a little embarassed to say I that I have hardly tried real Indian food. It's not that I don't like the cuisine... it's just that I don't really have that many frens who're able to recommend me places and the types of authentic Indian food which are available. I'm a little apprehensive about going to a place and dumbfucked when asked to order because I have absolutely no idea what to choose from. Which is why I ended up being more of a Nasi Kandar kinda fella since everything is spread out right in front of my face and I can just point at what I want.

However, last Friday, I had the opportunity to do so when my colleague, Sir Sunshine asked whether we would like to tag along, since he was going down town to get his laptop fixed. And the all knowing Kolaboner-Marko suggested that we go banana leaf for lunch; as according to him... it's highly recommended. So the five of us, including ikan and the little pony, crammed into Sir Sunshine's lancer and headed north.

The eatery is called Veloo Villas (I think) and it is located at Lebuh Penang, near the banking street at the Jetty. And it isn't exactly a big place, so you might need to wait a little before you can get a place to sit.

The place is suprisingly clean, so no worries here. And it was jammed packed during lunch time. We managed to get a place in the back section of the shop, which was kinda close to the kitchen.

The standard banana leaf spread is mostly vegetarian; consisting of white rice, a spinach based chutney, some lentil based chutney and a crunchy bean based condiment which was both sourish and sweet at the same time. A single papadam completes the dish.

You can use your fingers to eat, or you could request for a set of fork and spoon. All of us went for the latter except Marko, who seems to blend into the place like water is to the sea.

Service was fast, but it would help if you knew a little of the Indian language to ask for additional condiments. And that is exactly what we saw. Marko started signaling for attention then asked for  "Pullengge arisi", and some "Colly" as well as "Minet". He then told us that it's brown rice, some chicken curry and fish curry respectively.

Four jaws then dropped to the ground...

Anyways, this banana leaf rice dish is rather nice. The curries are more towards the mild spectrum of spiciness, so it should be safe for most ppl. It's a nice medley of flavours, and each complemented the rice perfectly. The rice and curry are free flow, so feel free to top up your portion if you think you need more.

Once you're done, remember to fold you banana leaf; by bringing the top portion down to the bottom edge. This is to tell the shop owner that you had a satisfying meal and will come back again. If you don't feel it's good, and the food is lousy... fold it the opposite way, and he'll get the idea.

Cool.

It was a nice lunch outing, and a real eye opener for me. I will definitely come again if given another chance. And thanks Marko, for treating us this round. The next one is on me...  ;)