Desmond disappears....1...2...3... *poof*

Hello, avid fans of OnlyFoodie!

Our dear beloved Desmond... some of you might have noticed... that he sort of "disappeared" from OnlyFoodie for quite some time now. Thank goodness we have not made a police report about his disappearance...yet. Haha.

Where is he??? Could it be that...

1. He "si pan" (think : the runaway bridegroom) with some hot chick?
2. He is price Skimming
3. He never existed at all and all along Desmond is our imagination?
4. He's on an extreme diet - aneroxia - not eating and that's why no food posts to blog about
5. He is quitting OnlyFoodie (oh, drama! drama!)

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Des says "wait...wait... be patient-lah, tiu!"
(Entau bo, our Desmond? Girls, you're lucky! He's still single & available! LOL LOL LOL!)

Well... ACTUALLY....

His router "kaput-ed", died and bitched on him and that's why he is having trouble onlining now. He's getting a new router soon, I guess. Unless you wanna speed up the buy-a-new-router-process for him, SMS to 012-9761xxx and donate RM____ amount that you wish. Hahahaha. Bank transfer? Maybank preferably. Transactions like - cash, cheque, bank ins, and credit card accepted! Hahahahhaa.

PS: Actually, Des told me to post a notice about him not being able to online cause of his spoilt router, and look at what has been posted! Hehehehehe =P

Cheers,
Rachael

Crave for some Ice Kacang?

Ice kacang without durian ice cream

With the hot weather these days, one will crave for Ice Kacang.... it's cooling and yet sweet and nice, satisfying your appetite too.

Ice kacang with durian ice cream

Today, I'm going to recommend you an old school style Ice Kacang that we had last week. OK. At this point, you must be thinking - Ice kacang is ice kacang la, where got old school and what nots one??? YES I TELL YOU! There's a difference. This old school style of Ice Kacang is different from the ones you have. To have a taste of it - come on over!

2 bowls of ice kacang to be shared among us 3 - 1 with durian ice cream, another without durian ice cream. Old style bowl, old style spoon - everything so old style!

This old school style coffee shop is located along Komtar, Penang Road. It's not the same road as the chendol one. It's on the other side of the road and it's nearer to Komtar. This coffee shop is indeed a very old one. It's been there since the 1940's or 1950's till now and it has never been renovated (I think, looking at the settings and condition). The special thing about it is : the table and chairs. It's so old school, don't you think so?

Chern Ta & Graeme. Old school tables & chairs

Besides Ice Kacang, this shop is very famous for its durian ice cream too. It's 1-of-a-kind-delicious.

Durian ice cream anyone?

Food gossip : Somewhere last year, an australian old man, on his deathbed, craves for the durian ice cream from this coffee shop cause he said it's the best that he has ever tasted. (He used to be stationed in Penang while serving in the Army last time during/after WW2). So, the ice cream was packed then sent to him, but unfortunately, he passed away before the ice cream reaches him.

When you're at Penang Road, remember to go for the Chendol, Ice Kacang, and Lor Bak. At night, there's 1 famous nasi kandar stall too, somewhere opposite the police station at Penang Road.

Where's the best place for Chendol in Penang?

If you're new to Penang, you'll be asking around for where to go - best place for Chendol. There's only 1 place for Chendol (the best one) in Penang... which is the chendol stall at Penang Road. It's located beside a kopitiam lane. Last week, Me, Graeme & Chern Ta went for a bowl of the famous Chendol.

When you're there, you'll see 2 chendol stalls right opposite each other! It's confusing! Beware of the fake one, and go for the genuine one only. (unless you want to taste the fake & then the genuine one).

What to do when you see 2 chendol stalls and not knowing how to identify which one is the real one?
1. Take a good look at the stall. Go for the one that has and shows a picture of Phua Chu Kang & Rosie eating chendol at the stall.
2. Another option is to stand there, and wait. Wait for awhile and see which stall is flocked with customers. (the imitation one, don't really have customers one)

Still confused? OK. Let us here, OnlyFoodie show you the picture of the stall, lest you get confuse and go to the wrong stall. You see a pic of Phua Chu Kang & Rosie?

Penang Road Famous Teochew Chendol

The chendol costs RM1.80 for a normal bowl. (that was before the price of fuel increases to RM2.70 per litre la, now for the latest price, I don't know di. LOL). It's nice, the santan, red beans, green thing, etc. And the best of it all? You stand at the roadside while eating your bowl of chendol!

Like this :
Me, Chern Ta & Graeme

Here I am, strongly recommend you to try out the best chendol in town when you're in Penang. After eating, you can take some old school photos too, of rows of old style shophouses, Komtar, pedestrians, etc... Like this : (vain Chern Ta)

(no, this coffee shop is not the one that sells chendol)

foodie - Rachael Lim 007 (james bond! lol)

Supper at Greenhouse

On day 2 when Chern Ta & Graeme's in Penang, we went to Greenhouse for SUPPER! When Li Ching's in Penang last year December, we went to Greenhouse for supper too! I introduced raw fish to Li Ching, Chen-Xing, Chern Ta & Graeme it seems. Hahaha.

No, the auntie is not the spokesperson/model for the Yee Sang Kai Chok stall. haha

This was what we had - Loh Mee, Hokkien Mee & Raw fish

Hokkien Mee

Loh Mee

Raw Fish

Chicken

The hokkien mee taste is different now. It's not that nice like last time anymore. But the loh mee is still not bad... The best is - raw fish! The raw fish is marinated and served RAW! The best thing is.. it doesn't have the raw smell or taste at all! It's a very special chinese dish! Where to order this dish in Greenhouse? You see the Yee Sang Kai Chok stall picture above? That's the stall to order! =)

Oh we are great eaters! You know why??? That's cause we had supper AFTER dinner! Our dinner was belanja-ed by my family; like a "Welcome to Penang and Hello Rachael's friends". We had... 9-10 dishes which UNFORTUNATELY we forgot to take pictures of it! :( *boo hoo hoo* We went to somewhere at the end of Batu Feringgi and ate... deep fried squid rings, lobster cheese thermidor, steamed prawn in some style, normal style fried brocolli, fried tin kai with dried chilli and some sauce, fried crabs in some special style with duck eggs, steamed fish in Teochew style, another type of prawn which I forgot what type it is already, and a few other dishes, which I FORGOT! HELP CHERN TA! GRAEME!

foodie - Rachael Lim 006

What to do when you're at Balik Pulau...

The stall and the Laksa uncle

When in Balik Pulau in Penang... One MUST go and have a taste of the very, very famous Balik Pulau Laksa.

The Balik Pulau Laksa is located in the new big market building. Before that, it's somewhere at the roadside. The road stalls are all forced to move into the new big market building, which all the food stalls are very inside and it's not that easy to find. You have to ask around if you're new there.

How do you get to the famous Balik Pulau Laksa?

Simple directions : Follow the road signs and - Go to Air Itam - Go straight along the road - you can see Penang Hill from a far and a round about nearby - turn left - follow the road (Paya Terubong) and then halfway the hill when you see a small junction, turn right - Follow the roadsign - Balik Pulau all the way! Do take note that you have to go round quite a number of hills, get to see nice breath taking calm sceneries and all along the way for a 9-11KM journey from Air Itam! It's about 30-45 minutes drive from town.

A bowl of Assam Laksa - RM2.50

We got ourselves a bowl of Assam Laksa each. Assam Laksa is a sour fish-based soup. The main ingredients for assam laksa include shredded fish, normally kembung fish or mackerel, and finely sliced vegetables including cucumber, onions, red chillis, pineapple, lettuce, common mint, "daun kesum" and pink bunga kantan (ginger buds). Assam laksa is normally served with either thick rice noodles or thin rice noodles.

To get the authentic, real and taste every bit of the laksa soup and noodles, I recommend you to order a bowl of laksa WITHOUT prawn paste ("hae ko" in hokkien). With prawn paste, it kinda alter the original laksa taste. What's prawn paste? It's prawns shredded and made into a thick and sweet prawn paste with other preservatives. You see the darker dark brown love shaped spot on the bowl of laksa? Yep, that's prawn paste. Oh, uncle Laksa loves me! Look at the heart shape prawn paste design! Hahahahha. (damn perasan)

Lemak style laksa (forgot to tell the uncle NO "hae ko" again!) - RM2.50

After Me, Graeme & Chern Ta had our own bowls of Assam Laksa, we ordered another extra bowl of laksa to be shared among us 3 - Laksa Lemak. Laksa lemak is a totally different type of laksa compared to Assam Laksa. No, it's not curry either. Laksa lemak is also known as Nyonya Laksa and is a type of laksa with a rich coconut gravy. As the name implies, it is made with a rich, slightly sweet and strongly spiced coconut gravy. Laksa lemak is usually made with a fish-based gravy and is heavily influenced by Thai laksa.

Nutmeg juice - RM1.50

To compliment our food, we ordered Nutmeg Juice. Not many of you tried Nutmeg Juice before, I know. It's rather special though, the taste and NOT EVERYONE likes it. Graeme & Chern Ta's first time trying out that drink and they felt that it's weird. I'm ok with it though - cause I tasted it several times before. Haha

FOOD GOSSIP : We overheard the uncle laksa complaining to some of his aunty aunty customers that eversince all of them road side vendors were forced to move in to the new market building, business dropped more than 50%! He was complaining a lot all the way to the aunties about how terrible it is, how a lot of people did not know where to find, and all... LOL. The uncle was speaking in Hokkien & I translated it to G & CT.

PS : There's other places in Penang that's also famous for Laksa like - Peng Hua Laksa (opposite Penang Chinese Girls High School), another coffee shop in Balik Pulau, Gurney Drive laksa (only 1 stall that's quite nice out of like... 10+ stalls?)

foodie - Rachael Lim 005

Late night supper @ Kimberley Street

If you happen to be hungry at night... and crave for dinner or supper... You can always go to Kimberley Street in Penang. Kimberley Street is located near Penang Road. (It's 1 of the turnings of Penang Road).

What food do they offer @ Kimberley Street? Ooh.. plenty! There are a few coffee shops and some stalls along the roadside. What I'm going to introduce you all right now is food not from any coffee shops, but food from the roadside! Roadside food = delicious = ala Penang! Hahaha. It's weird though, to see that roadside food offers the best taste most of the time!

The Koay Chiap stall

This time, for supper, the 3 of us again (me, Chern Ta & Graeme) had Koay Chiap & thong shui for dessert. Straight after dinner, we weent to Chen-Xing's house to pay her a surprise visit and then off we go for supper! Muahahahhaa. The place where we had our koay chiap - we sat outside some shops that are closed at night and with a dark and hot atmosphere and yet packed with people! =)

The big bowl of Koay Chiap

The thong shui stall (it's located right opposite the Koay Chiap stall)

Me & Chern Ta with our dessert

Graeme & his red bean soup

The Koay Chiap consists of meat like - plentiful of pork & duck & a whole boiled egg! The taste.. the soup is cooked with black soya sauce & some herbs. The noodles is not ordinary noodles; its rolled small pieces of flat thin noodles , not the long long ones. It's only RM4.00 for a big bowl!
For thong shui, Chern Ta & I had "geng geng mix with ginko" - RM2.00 whereas Graeme had red bean soup for only RM1.00! The read bean soup is cooked in another style - its not the sticky sticky type with santan, but rather the other type, the watery one.

P.S : Do you know, the stalls have been there for 10 years ++! I remember my parents always ta pau supper - koay chiap or thong shui there when I'm as young as about 6-7 years old! The koay chiap & thong shui must really be something; if not it wouldn't last that long yea?

ARE U FEELING HUNGRY NOW???

foodie - Rachael Lim 004

Seafood at Tambun

Some of you might not know that Tambun; which is a rural area - like a small fishing village at mainland Penang is famous for its cheap and delicious seafood. If you come from KL/Ipoh and on is on your way to Penang or Juru, you will see the signboard showing you the place Tambun. How do you get there?

From Penang : Crossover Penang Bridge - follow the routes - Ipoh/Juru - Ipoh/Kuala Lumpur/Tambun - and just follow the sign of Tambun all the way. It's 30-45 minutes (about 25-30KM depending on which part you come from in Penang) journey. Just go there and go deep at the end. If you do not know the route there, it's better you get youself someone who knows the place lest you get lost halfway.

There are a few nice restaurants to eat at in Tambun. Do NOT go in the ones you see at the beginning of the road decorated nicely. (most of the time you see it's blank. haha). We went to this one, it's at the end of the road one, called Gee Seng.

On May 27th, Chern Ta, Grame & I went to Tambun for dinner.We ordered 6 dishes : Octopus (cooked in the style of "tu bo sui"), Fried Teochew style mee, boiled cockrels (something special one, oops, I forgot the name though), the restaurant/shop's trademark Tau foo, steamed fish in Teochew style and prawns steamed with chinese wine & egg. All these accompanied with chinese tea.

Some of the flies.... yes.. SOME of the flies...

Because this place is a rural small fishing village, do expect flies and some stench at some areas outside the restaurants though. But if it's like 8PM+, the flies would eventually go off. If you're early like us, we reached at near 7PM, we spotted lots of flies! This is the time where we test our immune body systems! Hahaha. None of us got diarrhea or food poisoning after that! *phew* lucky!!!

Chillis and chilli sauce and another one, grounded chilli with vinegar & garlic

Utensils

Some shell thingy that we ate. You have to take the toothpick to scoop it out. Tastes like lala. Well, to me la, cause shell things to me tastes like lala's. Hahaha

Octopus cooked in "tu bo sui" style

Steamed fish

Fried Teochew style mee
Steamed prawns with chinese wine & egg

The restaurant's trademark tau foo (oops, realised forgot to take a good pic of it until Chern Ta took the last piece! LOL)

Do you know how much all of the food costs??? Only RM62.50!!! Really, no joke! 6 dishes & a pot of chinese tea & ice some more! Hahaha.


Tastewise, it's edible and not bad. Lots of customers too from everywhere; Butterworth, Penang, Johorians, KL, Ipoh... etc etc...

foodie - Rachael Lim 003

korean claypot noodle

ok, last time i introduced Shin Ramyun, this time, another product from NongShim. Korean Claypot Noodle!! this is also an instant noodle, cooking method as easy as ABC~

Mixed all spices into boiling water~

cooking method~ jus follow!

easy rite???

Gombak fried banmee

well, now i am enjoying my 4 months summer break.. well, i jus feel that this holiday a bit too long d, more n more spider net on my body~ sien! although this is jus the 1/16 weeks... omg!!

well, i goin to intro u all this food, gombak fried ban mee! lol... i am sure that some of u are confused now..

(ah beng: eh foodiehase, u think we dunno what us ban mee ar? dun tipu us eh!! ...what the xxxx ban mee is this!)

basically i also dint know where this name came from~ jus all my families members calling this way since last century~
Erm.... it doesnt really looks like a mee rite? haha... but it is very delicious!!!! normally 1 piece wont be enuff for me, at least 3~ lol..

first of all, u ll have to get some flour, shallots, peeled shrimps, sliced red chillis and some pepper powder. All together mixing with water.





ready some oil in ur frying pan pour in appropriate portion and smoothing to a bigger surface.

and fried it to gold-brown colour~ DONE

enjoy ya~!!!

walao... u see... so easy!!!! hahaa...

Char Koay Teow in Penang

Today I'm going to introduce you - Lorong Selamat's Char Koay Teow. I bet most of you guys have heard of Lorong Selamat in Penang. For a better view of what's inside a plate of char koay teow,

Char Kway Teow (Char Kuay Teow )literally “fried flat noodles”, is basically flat rice noodles with prawns, cockles, egg, bean sprouts, Chinese chives, and chili paste fried over very high heat. Sometimes, slices of Chinese sausage are added. The best Char Koay Teow is usually fried with pork lard, which gives that extra aroma to the dish.

The version of Penang Char Kway Teow is sometimes added with duck’s eggs (for richer taste) and crab meat (for sweetness).

Penang = Char Koay Teow + Lorong Selamat

Let me start of with Lorong Selamat's Char Koay Teow. On Thursday (May 29th), the 3 of us - Me, Chern Ta & Graeme went for a plate of Lorong Selamat's Char Koay Teow for brunch after visiting and touring the famous Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion.

Last time, the famous Char Koay Teow in Lorong Selamat is under another coffee shop. However, later on, the Char Koay Teow lady boss realises the profits that she's able to make if she owns a coffee shop herself. (meaning, not only she earns her char koay teow money, but also for drinks too). Then, tadaa! Her own coffee shop - Kafe Heng Huat!
If you were to go to Lorong Selamat, there's about 3-5 coffee shops just beside each other and also opposite each other. All selling almost the same food. Do not get confused people, over the best Char Koay Teow. It's at Kafe Heng Huat at the corner.

Why? It's simple : We recognise the aunty Char Koay Teow's famous goggles and hat.


Us 3 ordered a plate of Char Koay Teow each alongside with chinese herbal tea. A normal plate of Char Koay Teow is RM6 and the portion is little but the prawns are XL in size (3 prawns). It's pricey though, but it's good cause it has the fragrant aroma that you can't find it in any other plates of Char Koay Teow.

Char Koay Teow without chilli. Both chilli and non-chilli is deliciously delicious!

Compare the plate of Char Koay Teow with the one in SA? It puts the Char Koay Teow from SA in disgrace! LOL

PS: This is a non-halal dish

All the above are char koay teow fried with chicken eggs. There's a few famous stalls in Penang that fries char koay teow with duck eggs (they say it enhances the taste). I'll try it out soon & let you people know bout it aight!

foodie - Rachael Lim 002