You are the champion,Dad!

It was a Sunday yes, but this was not an ordinary day.So my wife and I decided to take a ride to our usual breakfast coffee-shop at Sungai Nibong.We both ordered our Hokkien Mee topped up with the usual drinks we normally ordered.Then it was time to also 'ta pau' for our lunch and so we ordered two packages of nasi lemak.I expected older people to serve us but here were three young entrepreneurs,one taking the order while the others help to 'bungkus' the rice.The last one apparently a cashier,gave a broad smile while changing the Ringgits back to me.I smiled and gave a thump-up!

Then while at Jaya Restaurant,I managed to greet my good friend,Muthu, with "Vhanakham" and he replied the same with hands clasped inwards towards the heart.We normally made it a point to visit the said restaurant for our usual Tosai Masalla or just plain Chapati.He is only below 35 years but running his family restaurant.Visit this restaurant at Jalan Tengah,Bayan Baru for a hassle free Lunch or dinner.They provide good service.

During this time of great recession,more and more young men will be out on the road opening stores selling Nasi Lemak, Roti Chanai or Char Koay Teow or even Ramli's burger.If I am not mistaken,some of them are fathers too,trying very hard to bring food to the table for their family.Let us patronize their stores whether new or small and encourage them to stand on their two feet rather then to accept handouts from the authority!

Happy Father's day to all of you and I dedicate this poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow to you, our Champions:

" A PSALM OF LIFE (WHAT THE HEART OF THE YOUNG MAN SAID TO THE PSALMIST)
TELL me not, in mournful numbers,
Life is but an empty dream ! —
For the soul is dead that slumbers,
And things are not what they seem.
Life is real ! Life is earnest!
And the grave is not its goal ;
Dust thou art, to dust returnest,
Was not spoken of the soul.
Not enjoyment, and not sorrow,
Is our destined end or way ;
But to act, that each to-morrow
Find us farther than to-day.
Art is long, and Time is fleeting,
And our hearts, though stout and brave,
Still, like muffled drums, are beating
Funeral marches to the grave.
In the world's broad field of battle,
In the bivouac of Life,
Be not like dumb, driven cattle !
Be a hero in the strife !
Trust no Future, howe'er pleasant !
Let the dead Past bury its dead !
Act,— act in the living Present !
Heart within, and God o'erhead !
Lives of great men all remind us
We can make our lives sublime,
And, departing, leave behind us
Footprints on the sands of time ;
Footprints, that perhaps another,
Sailing o'er life's solemn main,
A forlorn and shipwrecked brother,
Seeing, shall take heart again.
Let us, then, be up and doing,
With a heart for any fate ;
Still achieving, still pursuing,
Learn to labor and to wait."

Taming the monkey minds with bananas!

If you experience heartbreaks and shaky marriages in London,Glasgow,Manchester etc ,just call PISANG or the Professional Islamic Support and Nurture Group.They believe that the supernaturals or sorcery play havoc on the minds leading to family breakups, stress and depression. What is this so called 'pisang' in Bahasa Malaysia?Well, its just BANANAS in plain simple english!

I read somewhere that eating banana can give one a cool and calming effect to the mind!Don't believe me, then just try one especially the 'pisang tanduk' variety.There are other advantages of eating bananas,let us explore deeper on this issue to quote:

A professor at CCNY for a physiological psych class told his class about bananas. He said the expression “going bananas” is from the effects of bananas on the brain. Never, put your banana in the refrigerator! This is interesting. After reading this, you’ll never look at a banana in the same way again.
Bananas contain three natural sugars - sucrose, fructose and glucose combined with fiber. A banana gives an instant, sustained and substantial boost of energy. Research has proven that just two bananas provide enough energy for a strenuous 90-minute workout. No wonder the banana is the number one fruit with the world’s leading athletes. But energy isn’t the only way a banana can help us keep fit. It can also help overcome or prevent a substantial number of illnesses and conditions, making it a must to add to our daily diet.
Depression: According to a recent survey undertaken by MIND amongst people suffering from depression, many felt much better after eating a banana. This is because bananas contain tryptophan, a type of protein that the body converts into serotonin, known to make you relax, improve your mood and generally make you feel happier.
PMS: Forget the pills - eat a banana. The vitamin B6 it contains regulates blood glucose levels, which can affect your mood.
Anemia: High in iron, bananas can stimulate the production of hemoglobin in the blood and so helps in cases of anemia.
Blood Pressure: This unique tropical fruit is extremely high in potassium yet low in salt, making it perfect to beat blood pressure. So much so, the US Food and Drug Administration have just allowed the banana industry to make official claims for the fruit’s ability to reduce the risk of blood pressure and stroke.
Brain Power: 200 students at a Twickenham (Middlesex) school (England) were helped through their exams this year by eating bananas at breakfast, break, and lunch in a bid to boost their brain power. Research has shown that the potassium-packed fruit can assist learning by making pupils more alert.
Constipation: High in fiber, including bananas in the diet can help restore normal bowel action, helping to overcome the problem without resorting to laxatives.
Hangovers: One of the quickest ways of curing a hangover is to make a banana milkshake, sweetened with honey. The banana calms the stomach and, with the help of the honey, builds up depleted blood sugar levels, while the milk soothes and re-hydrates your system.
Heartburn: Bananas have a natural antacid effect in the body, so if you suffer from heartburn, try eating a banana for soothing relief.
Morning Sickness: Snacking on bananas between meals helps to keep blood sugar levels up and avoid morning sickness.
Mosquito bites: Before reaching for the insect bite cream, try rubbing the affected area with the inside of a banana skin. Many people find it amazingly successful at reducing swelling and irritation.
Nerves: Bananas are high in B vitamins that help calm the nervous system.
Overweight and at work? Studies at the Institute of Psychology in Austria found pressure at work leads to gorging on comfort food like chocolate and chips. Looking at 5,000 hospital patients, researchers found, the most obese were more likely to be in high-pressure jobs. The report concluded that, to avoid panic-induced food cravings, we need to control our blood sugar levels by snacking on high carbohydrate foods every two hours to keep levels steady.
Ulcers: The banana is used as the dietary food against intestinal disorders because of its soft texture and smoothness. It is the only raw fruit that can be eaten without distress in over-chronicler cases. It also neutralizes over-acidity and reduces irritation by coating the lining of the stomach.
Temperature control: Many other cultures see bananas as a “cooling” fruit that can lower both the physical and emotional temperature of expectant mothers. In Thailand, for example, pregnant women eat bananas to ensure their baby is born with a cool temperature.
Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD): Bananas can help SAD sufferers because they contain the natural mood enhancer tryptophan.
Smoking and Tobacco Use: Bananas can also help people trying to give up smoking. The B6, B12 they contain, as well as the potassium and magnesium found in them, help the body recover from the effects of nicotine withdrawal.
Stress: Potassium is a vital mineral, which helps normalize the heartbeat, sends oxygen to the brain and regulates your body’s water balance. When we are stressed, our metabolic rate rises, thereby reducing our potassium levels. These can be rebalanced with the help of a high-potassium banana snack.
Strokes: According to research in The New England Journal of Medicine, eating bananas as part of a regular diet can cut the risk of death by strokes by as much as 40%!
Warts: Those keen on natural alternatives swear that if you want to kill off a wart, take a piece of banana skin and place it on the wart, with the yellow side out. Carefully hold the skin in place with a plaster or surgical tape!
So, a banana really is a natural remedy for many ills. When you compare it to an apple, it has four times the protein, twice the carbohydrate, three times the phosphorus, five times the vitamin A and iron, and twice the other vitamins and minerals. It is also rich in potassium and is one of the best value foods around. So maybe it’s time to change that well-known phrase now: “A banana a day keeps the doctor away!”

PS: I will add one here; want a quick shine on our shoes?? Take the INSIDE of the banana skin, and rub directly on the shoe…polish with dry cloth. Amazing fruit!

After reading this article,so please do not call "PISANG" before ever attempting to drown your culture shocks or whatsoever when reaching foreign land for the first time but just try to swallow some bananas for heaven's sake!

A little of everything-The Rojak!

ladies will swear that they are in seventh Heaven when they see a plate of rojak!It's more a lady's starter dish before the main course is eaten.I have seen many men too indulging in this mouth-watering delicacy though many will swear that its one of the 'must have' for the pregnant ladies!!!

What is this specialty that can make our saliva drool like there is no tomorrow?

Rojak, a Malay concoction comprising of a little bit of green unripe mango,nutmeg,cucumber,mankuang,,pineapple and other local fruits/vegetables mixed with thick Hae Kor( black prawn source)and roasted peanuts.Some enterprising stalls also add in small fried prawns and Ee Char Koay(a long piece of deep-fried ancient bread usually goes best with thick black coffee)

Almost all of the rojak sellers claim that theirs are the best but only an expert can tell where to go for such good titillating fruit/vegetable dish. My friend,Paul from Great Britain,dared not taste the thick prawn source or he would get high from it!For my two children, they must have generous amount of the thick black prawn source spilling onto the fruits/vegetables together with lots of fresh roasted peanuts to make the dish look very appertising!

I too have my 'Rojak king' on the island.Try the Hock Kee rojak stall right at the Mccallum Street flat and tell me what do you think?

Daniel's taste-bug was stirred up by GP Rojak at the Gurney Drive Hawker's complex while Paula's Ah Chye Rojak needs a GPS bearing to find him as he is all over the place!Mohan and wife prefer the Esplanade stall and Jong together with Paula concurred this fruit/rojak stall is rather good but pricey. Anyway to each his/her own but if you find a better rojak starter pack,just page me and I will be there!

Jong's Penang food bash!

Thank you Kensan for the breakfast! I just got back today, persuaded by friends and relatives for food food food. I never miss my hokkien mee in Presgrave St (Snar Teow Lorr). Ask for extra pai-koot or sio-bak, superb. The o-chean(oyster) and tauknua chen are also good. So is its kueh-kark. The wantan mee is also good. I also love the ice kacang.

The pek-kueh tng and heng jin char along Kimberly St are also nice. Too bad we don't have them here in Ipoh.

Amazing you have not visited Ipoh in 10 years? How come, afterall it's only 1.5 hr drive away? My friends and I used to drive all the way to Penang just for the day's food! Once we left at 7 am, returned home at 7 pm and we consumned 11 types of hawker food. We had wanted to eat more but the stomach could not take it anymore. That was years back. Today we are all comparing our middle-age spread, trying not to consume carbs after lunch!

Btw Presgrave St is Snar Teow Lor, not Cheet Teow Lor(7th st) which is Cecil St. That's my territory - I grew up in MacCallum St - Gor Teow Lor(5th st). That whole area used to be gangster haunts but ever since young I will fight to my last breath if anybody ever includes MacCallum St because that's the only one left "clean"! Why? - because that's a street of government/public servants and professionals. We were all so safe, being surrounded and protected by those gangs. They never ever touched us. We were left alone. Imagine walking the dark streets(our lightings were nothing to shout about) late in the night for supper. Not today, can't even walk safe in broad daylight without handbags being snatched!

The ice kacang too is superb!

Kiam-Chye Boey:

We should remember how our elders used to “tapau” every remnance of good festival food on the table to turn them up into favourite of everyone - the ‘kiam-chye-boey’ a chopsui dish in Cantonese it’s called “choy-keok”. Wow I remember how popular they were but today because of health awareness and hygiene to prevent spread of heppatitis, such practice is strongly discouraged and discontinued. Whenever I have cravings for “kiam chye boey”, I’d have to buy the ingredients to ‘artifitually’ churn out ‘kiam-chye-boey’ using half a bird of roast chicken, roast pork, cans of mushrooms, lemon grass, dried chillies, carrots and plenty of kiam-chye and kuah chye! Anyone for this dish? I have a suggestion, can we get Paula distracted from her ’stress’ and pass her this “assignment”? And we will all be there to test it out if she would do a good job of it?!

~jong.-Thanks to youu too for sharing!

Ipoh's hawkers's food anyone?

I have not venture south to Ipoh since my last posting in Manjung several years ago.I still remember briefly that Ipoh do produce good food.So when Bee Chooi calls me to run errand in Ipoh, I grab this opportunity to do what I really want to do that is to sample and revisit as many interesting eating places within the short time frame. Of course,things would have changed after ten years and so far I do some research on some of the foods and drinks Ipoh is famous for. Let's roll on....

Ipoh is famous for its Chinese food.

.Ipoh bean sprouts chicken"芽菜雞" , which consists of chicken meat, assorted chicken innards and bean sprouts boiled in hard water and served with soy sauce and sesame oil. Ipoh's bean sprouts are very fat, short and tastier than those produced outside Ipoh; thus, Ipoh's beansprouts also receive orders from other states. Famous bean sprout chicken noodles include Onn Kee （安記芽菜雞沙河粉）and Lou Wong (老黃芽菜雞沙河粉） Restaurants, both of which are located at the junctions of Yau Tet Shin Street 姚德勝街 and Osbourne Street.

Ipoh Sar Hor Fun"怡保沙河粉", which are rice flat noodles prepared in hard water and served in clear chicken and prawn soup with chicken shreds, prawns and spring onions. Famous sar hor fun purveyors include Thean Chun and Kong Heng Restaurants, located along Leech Street 列治街 in the Old Town. Other popular food choices include chicken and pork intestines satay, curry pork skin chee cheong fun, and their custard! Custards are usually sold out around 3pm weekdays and noon on Saturdays and Sundays.

Ipoh Chicken Rice. The famous Ipoh Chicken Rice can be found in Bak Gong restaurant located near the Foh San restaurant in the city centre, open in the afternoon.

Hor Hee noodles 河熹粉. This is a very delicious kuey teow noodles with fish balls and fish pastes. The most famous stalls selling Hor Hee include those located in Heng Heung restaurant next to restaurant Sin Yean Lee in Ipoh Old Town (open only at night), and also the "Gao Peng" restaurant at Chamberlain Road in Ipoh New Town (again, night only).

Dim sum“点心”(fish balls, fried items, dumplings, buns, served in small quantities). Foh San(富山) restaurant, located nearby the tauge ayam outlets, is a famous dim sum restaurant. Yuk Fook Moon Lau(玉福满楼） (open in the morning and also at night), located behind Excelsior Hotel, sells excellent dim sum too. Ming Kok （明阁）, which is just opposite, is the best dim sum restaurant in Ipoh. Also try out or take away the Cha Siew Bao", Chinese pork pao (bun) sold in Yuk Fook Moon Lau. Be warned: Go there early in the morning, around 6am-7am, because it is quite difficult to get a table at a later time.

Beef noodles 牛腩粉 The famous Buntong restaurant sells very delicious beef noodles, beef balls and yong tau foo (stuffed tofu). There are three other restaurants in Ipoh famous for Beef Noodles, run by three brothers originally from the Buntong Village of Ipoh: 1) Kong Meng Restaurant in Old Town Ipoh (morning till noon); 2) Taman Rishah Restaurant, between First Garden and Menglembu (noon till evening); 3) Jalan Theatre, near the Rainbow food court, in the Ipoh city (evening till night).

Chinese restaurants (a favorite place for holding Chinese wedding dinners; but also for casual dining) which serve excellent seafood and meat. The famous ones among Ipoh natives are Overseas（海外天） restaurant opposite Excelsior hotel, Mun Zhong （民众） restaurant in Jalan Pasir Puteh, Pusing Public Seafood Restaurant （布先民众海鮮酒家）on Jalan Verasamy (Try their signature dishes: Pan Fried Prawn in Special Soy Sauce, Sweet and Sour Crab, Shark Fin Soup, and Abalone in Chef's Special Sauce), “Tung Hoi （东海） restaurant in Menglembu & branch in Ipoh Garden South, and Lee How Fook （利口福） restaurant on Jalan Kampar. Two restaurants that serve very good Nyonya (Straits Chinese) cuisine are Yum Yum restaurant at Persiaran Greenhill near Excelsior hotel and A-Ssam House restaurant near Jalan Yang Kalsom.

Fish ball noodles鱼丸粉/yong tau foo攘豆腐. Some of the recommended outlets are Nam Fatt （南发） on Jalan Kampar, Tai Kar Lok （大家乐） - the best one in the city centre near Hotel Excelsior - and also one stall located in Pasar Pasir Pinji (open nights only).

Chow hor fun炒河粉 or Kueh teow basah are rice noodles fried in such a way that it is a little wet with dark gravy (as opposed to the Penang char kueh teow which has no gravy but is fried with egg, prawns or cockles and the Cantonese-style wat tan hor 滑蛋河, which is completely immersed in clear, egg gravy). You can get chow hor fun in all Chinese restaurants in Ipoh. The best chow hor fun can be found at a street stall in the Mengelembu town area and one restaurant near Xin Hup Zi (originating from Buntong; only open at night).

Hakka noodles客家麵. A few restaurants around the city sell delicious Hakka noodles with yong tau foo. The most popular Hakka noodles are offered by Yin Yau Kui at Hugh Low Street (Jalan Iskandar). This shop specialises in noodles rather than yong tau foo. Another lesser known favourite, known to local old-timers is located at Majestic Food Centre at Osbourne Street (Jalan Tahwil Azar). This stall offers much better yong tau foo compared to Yin Yau Kui but Yin Yau Kui's noodles are superior. There is one near the Mun Zhong restaurant in Jalan Pasir Puteh and one in a food court behind the Olympia College or Jalan Yang Kalsom (both open mornings only).

Salted chicken or Yim Kok Kai 盐锔鸡. The chicken is baked in salt in such a way that the skin and meat is so delicious that you will finish it all. Whole chickens are wrapped in "oil paper" and then baked in large woks filled with heated salt. The restaurant that sells salted chicken is Aun Kheng Lim Restaurant, located at Theatre Street, opposite Martell house or near Bak Gong restaurant in the city centre. It is so popular that you must call to order before you drop in. Tel: 05-254 2998.

Roasted duck 燒鴨. The duck is roasted in such a way the skin of the duck is so crispy, smells great and tastes delicious. Recommended famous restaurants that sell roasted duck: Yeong Wai （楊威） restaurant in Greentown Business area and Tuck Kee （得记） restaurant in Pasir Pinji, Ipoh. There's also a restaurant called Kedai Hong Kong in the Tasek area. The chef famously studied his duck preparation in Hong Kong. A couple of ex-staff have opened their own duck restaurants in adjacent restaurants.

Curry noodle 咖喱麵. In old town Ipoh, Sin Seng Fatt （新成发）, which is located near Kong Heng restaurant in Market Street, sells very delicious curry noodles. The curry paste of the curry noodle is so good that it's packed and sent to franchises in Hong Kong. They have a franchise at SS2, Petaling Jaya, Selangor. (open mornings and afternoons only). Another famous shop known to the locals is Sin Chuan Fatt (新泉發) on Jalan Pasir Puteh, which is known for its very spicy and thick curry paste, fried chicken and pork to go with the noodles. Lesser known are the restaurant facing the roundabout beside MGS secondary school (open mornings and afternoons only) and a coffee shop called Sin Chuan Fong （新泉芳） on Hugh Low Street.

Prawn mee 蝦麵 or Hokkien mee. This is the same as Penang's Hokkien Mee. This noodle soup tastes spicy and sweet. Recommended for prawn mee is the roadside stall on the road between Yik Foong complex and Super Kinta shopping centre (open from night and until early morning).

Sze Chuan food 川菜. There is a very good Sze Chuan Restaurant located in Fair Park. (There is only one, along the way from Ipoh General Hospital to Ipoh Indra Mulia Indoor Stadium.) They serve some very authentic Sze Chuan-style dishes that can only be described as heavenly. Don't forget to order the deep fried "Man Tou" “馒头” or Chinese "Pau", Cheong Chang Arp (sauce-layered duck), Sze Chuan fried long beans, Taufu cooked Szechuan-style and Tong Por pork meat. These are signature dishes at this establishment.

Chinese Vegetarian Food 素食店. There is one restaurant, Restaurant Sin Meng Kee 新明记, in the city centre that offers good Chinese vegetarian economical rice. It has many dishes in its menu. Main shop located at Jalan Dato Onn Jaafar and branch located at Jalan Lau Pak Khuan, Ipoh Garden and Kinta City food court (open morning until evening).

Claypot Chicken Rice 瓦褒鸡饭. This is a hot and delicious. Ipoh's famous exponent of this dish is located in the Bercham village area, at Lorong Bercham 4, opposite the Old Bercham wet market (open only at night).

Chinese-style Satay 沙爹. This is skewered meat seasoned and flavored with spices and served with cucumbers, onions and a chunky peanut sauce. Please note that the Chinese-style of satay (compared to other satay) contains pork and is thus unsuitable for Muslim tourists. The preferred stall is in Thean Chun Restaurant, Ipoh old town (open mornings and afternoons).

Malay/Indian Food

Laksa Perak 叻沙. This is a noodle dish which is similar to Penang's famous Asam Laksa but with a different taste. Laksa in Ipoh tastes a bit sour and spicy but not as sweet as Penang's Laksa. The ingredients of the noodle soup include prawn paste. There is one very good Laksa stall in Farlim, Ipoh (opposite the Setapak driving institute, on the way to Mengelembu from Ipoh; open Sunday afternoons only). The other one would be the Laksa stall in Kong Heng Restaurant.

Cuttle fish 鱿鱼雍菜, served with kangkung or water convolvulus vegetable and a sweet and spicy sauce on top of it.

Soup and fried rice. Try Darus sup in Tawil Azar stalls in Ipoh town-simply delicious. The best soup in Ipoh.

Samosas. There are great samosas and other great foodstuffs to be found in Little India.

Food courts. If you just want to eat a variety of good Ipoh food in just one place, go to Anika Selera or Gourmet Square and Woolley Centre in Canning Garden. Try bubur cha cha (at the first drinks stall counting from the Woolley Centre) and seafood in Aneka Selera (Toong Koo Theng) 冬菇亭. Try the Marmite Crab or the sweet & sour crab and the fried balitong. Also try the ABC dessert (Ice Mix 杂雪) in Woolley Centre. It is made up of a bowl of sinfully delightful mixture of red bean, cendol (green strands of pandan flavoured rice flour), jelly, peanuts and palm seed kernels topped with shaved ice, rose syrup, evaporated milk and corn. For the more health conscious, there is a fruit variant you can order. The other two great food courts are Rainbow City food court opposite Sam Tet primary school in Ipoh and all the street food stalls in Mengelembu old town (all opens at night only). You can find a lot of choices of good Ipoh food in these food courts.

Note that it is quite difficult getting a table at many coffee shops during weekdays and especially on weekends and holidays, so try to go early, not at busy times.

Drinks

Ipoh White Coffee, which are coffee beans specially roasted (with palm-oil margarine). Its colour is similar to that of cappuccino when served with milk. The best can be found in the few coffee shops located opposite the Kinta Heights flats in Ipoh's old town such as:

• • Nam Heong Restaurant (Distributor of "3 in 1 Ipoh Old Town White Coffee")
  • Xin Yun Loong restaurant (Open mornings and afternoons only)
  • Xin Yuan Hoong and Xin Yuan Foong (All open mornings and afternoons only).
  • The aroma, taste & texture of the original thing is definitely superior compared to the commercially-packed sachets or the Ipoh White Coffee sold elsewhere. These coffee shops are likely to be crowded during teatime, especially on weekends. Food-wise, you can get fried noodles/vermicelli, satay, congee, kuih, etc. at these coffee shops. Also order tasty toasted bread with kaya (coconut jam) and butter to complement a good cup of white coffee (known as a "Yin-Yang" toast). Nowadays you can get a good cup of white coffee in coffee shops around Ipoh city.

• Tau Fu Fah (豆腐花), or soybean curd. It is claimed that Ipoh or Kinta Valley water makes this drink tasty. This drink is good for the body after travelling on a very hot day. The soya bean is fresh, sweet and smooth. Once you are drinking this soya bean curd, you can feel the smoothness and freshness of the soya bean smoothing down through your throat. It is served steaming hot with pandan syrup. The stall named Kei Foong, or Funny Mountain in English, is located at Osbourne Street (Jalan Tahwil Azar), near Restaurant Foh San. It has a drive-in delivery service. Also try the following delicious varieties:
  • soymilk only
  • soymilk mixed with cincau
  • soybean curd with soymilk.

The Funny Mountain shop is open from 10.00am to 7.30pm. Tau Fu Fah and its variants can also be found in stalls by the roadside in various places.

• Tong Sui (糖水), sweet dessert drink that will definitely refresh your body on a hot day. The most famous, located at what locals call "Tong Sui Kai" (糖水街) or Desert Drinks Street, is opposite Sam Tet Primary School (noon till late night). The most popular tong sui at this place would be black sesame (芝麻糊), mo mo cha cha and red bean (红豆沙). Also recommended is one located at Restaurant Cha Yong, behind Pizza Hut in Ipoh Garden South. Another few stalls are located in the Ipoh Stadium's food court and in a food court near the former Ocean (now The Store) supermarket.
• Anyone game to join me in my adventure to Ipoh?
  

Fine Dining in Penang?

I come across an interesting article from the Business Times Singapore which should be of interest to fine diners as a whole to quote:

"PENANG, Nov 15 — Yes, there's more to the Penang food scene than its famous char koay teow. Here's a guide to boutique restaurants and fine dining along the heritage trail.

When was the last time you went to Penang specifically to eat at a fine dining restaurant? Is there even such a thing as a fine dining eatery in this hawker capital of Malaysia? It's precisely because Penang is so strongly associated with mouth-watering char koay teow (even the patois spelling is different), assam laksa, wantan mee (with thick black sauce), prawn noodles (Hokkien mee) and nasi kandar (Indian-Muslim curry rice) that no visitor or overseas-based Penangite in their right mind would think of anything else the moment they reach the island. Even on a three-day, five-meals-a-day eating trip, you would only scratch the surface of what Penang's hawkers have to offer.

Besides, Western-style dining has always been “second-class” where the local palate is concerned. Considering that whatever Western food being served was usually second-rate and found in touristy spots like Batu Ferringhi, the reputation wasn't exactly undeserved.

But things have been changing over the past couple of years. Now that Penang's George Town has been recognised as a heritage city by Unesco, it looks set to follow in the footsteps of cities like Hanoi with their boutique restaurants.

In fact, such developments have given Penang a new cachet beyond that of “koay teow paradise”. It's now hip to be in Penang, especially when conservation and cuisine add up to a totally different cultural experience. So, if you can tear yourself away from your second plate of koay teow, we show you how to get the best of food and history as we guide you along the heritage trail.

The High Court and Port area

The Sire Museum Restaurant (4 King Street, Tel: 04-264-5088) tops the list of restaurants to check out in Penang, especially if you're an antiques buff. The food there is fusion — think Asian spices and herbs in continental dishes — and done very well. The restaurant is worthy of a fine-dining tag, even if prices are steep by Penang standards. The whole building has been lavishly restored and would have been more authentic if it didn't have Vietnamese paintings in the front room. After lunch or dinner, you can spend over an hour looking through the impressive collection of antiques from the Yeap Chor Ee estate. Yeap was one of Penang's leading tycoons and philanthropists.

This part of town isn't very far from Penang's Little India, but if you want Northern Indian food rather then the more pedestrian Southern Indian, there's Spice & Rice (1 Green Hall, www.spicenrice.com.my, Tel: 04-261-8585), right opposite the handsomely rebuilt High Court. The building used to house the North Malaya Chinese Textile & General Merchants Association in the late 19th century. The Indian restaurant serves both Northern and Southern Indian fare, and the tasty dishes are fairly authentic. We tried dishes like mutton rogangosh, hydrabadi murg and aloo gobi (from RM14 to RM22) and scooped up all the gravy with our prata-like garlic and butter naans.

For Hainanese food with a view, Hai Nan Town (Tanjung Marina or Church Street Pier, 8A Pengkalan Weld, Tel: 04-263-8633. www.hainantown.oomph.com.my) is one of the best in town and is located at a newly built waterfront marina. Enjoy the sight of Penang's traditional ferries going in and out of the ferry terminal while you tuck into curry kapitan, assam prawns (tamarind-coated prawns), and fish head curry. Give the ju hu char (stir-fried jicama and dried cuttlefish) a miss because it's not as good as the Peranakan version, but the sambal kangkung (water morning-glory fried in sambal chilli) is among the best in town.

Around the E&O Hotel area

For some of the best fusion fine-dining fare on the island, 32 at the Mansion (www.32atthemansion.com, Tel: 04-262- 2232) — just look out for the house number — is a must visit. The restaurant is housed in an original Italian-style mansion built in the 19th century, and has a bar/lounge as well. The interior and decor is drop-dead gorgeous, especially the dining area in the conservatory where you can look out to the sea. The owners of 32 were the early pioneers of stylish dining in Penang, and they also run the trendy Beach Blanket Babylon down the road, at the refurbished Garage, an art deco building which used to be the Wearne Brothers' garage that serviced British Leyland automobiles like Austin, Morris and Jaguar, belonging to the rich and famous in colonial Penang. You can of course also pop in for an English afternoon tea at the E&O Hotel, built by the Sarkies Brothers in 1884 who later set up the Raffles Hotel in Singapore.

The Armenian Street enclave

Armenian Street is the heart of the heritage movement in Penang. More than a decade ago, conservation wasn't hip but just a battle fought valiantly by non-governmental organisations. But once these organisations started to make some headway, the first wave of state-supported heritage restorations began in Penang, with the restoration of an early Achenese mosque to an upper class Muslim residence (The Syed Alatas Mansion). Sun Yat Sen's base in Penang is also housed here, and the street has three clanhouses, including the poster clanhouse — the Khoo Kongsi — which is hidden away in Cannon Square.

A street once dotted with karang guni businesses, the restored shophouses have been converted into art galleries, architects' and lawyers' offices and a few “heritage” restaurants. Colonial Restaurant and Nanyang Cuisine have Hainanese food but the fare isn't very consistent so you might be better off sampling the hawker food at the corner coffeeshop opposite Yap Kongsi which has a wide variety of stalls.

But if you want to take a break from local specialities and have some Austrian fare instead, check out the Edelweiss Cafe (38 Armenian Street, www.edelweisscafe.com) which is packed with antiques and designed to look like the kopitiams of old — complete with Czechoslovakian-made coffeeshop chairs and marble-topped tables.

Penang Hill

David Brown's Restaurant and Tea Terrace (Strawberry Hill, Penang Hill, Tel: 04-828-8337) is a little off the beaten track — all the way up Penang Hill, to be precise — but it's worth your while to climb up on foot (it'll take anywhere from an hour if you're fit to three if not) or drive up to this faux English cottage (it's new, but supposedly in the cottage style that David Brown, a nutmeg merchant, would have had it built in the 18th century), and enjoy the cool air and hilltop scenery. If you're lucky, the funicular train might be working, but otherwise, hiring a chauffeured car up and down costs only RM80 per car.

The restaurant was opened by the late Peter Lee, who also owned and ran The Smokehouse Hotel in Cameron Highlands which serves arguably the best scones with clotted cream in the country. Everything at David Brown's is typically colonial English, and the food is good although prices are a little loftier than down the hill. Hits include the robust tomato consomme and the spiced mulligatawny soup, while the menu includes English fare like chicken and mushroom pie, fish & chips, and Chicken Maryland (breaded chicken).

If manicured lawns and all that effort to recreate life in 18th century Penang isn't quite your cup of tea, just walk a wee bit up the hill and check out Bellevue Hotel, owned by renowned architect Lim Chong Keat. The hotel which seems to represent the architect's interests and influences — think mystic Bali, exotic animals, architectural innovation — is caught firmly in a '60s-'70s retro time warp but its fascinating view (from the “backside” of Penang Hill rather than the front that faces the city) includes an abandoned building on a hillock which used to be Crag Hotel, also once run by the Sarkies Brothers. Bellevue is for the bohemian naturalist who hopefully has a taste for down-to-earth Hainanese char bee hoon, cooked with gravy.

And if you hang out on the verandah long enough, underneath the bowers of a flowering plant with aqua blue hornbill-shaped flowers, the waiter will point out where the resident wild snake or two are curled up overhead.

Bellevue is almost the complete antithesis of David Brown's, and stays under the radar. For that reason, David Brown's is a breath of fresh air for Penang Hill which has long needed a quaint place serving well-prepared fare — never mind that it's all a bit contrived. It's a blast from the romanticised past, which seems to be the way forward for Penang's dining scene. — Business Times Singapore" unquote.

NO MILK TODAY!

Phew!Holiday ends so fast and before you knew it, it ended!

But what worries me greatly is the food all babies,toddlers and kids associate with- their milk! With ever increasing numbers of babies being sicked, the latest figure added up to 53000 children sickened with tainted milk and with several deaths reported I have decided to research on this phenomena to update all mothers what caused these lovely bouncy baby to be sick. to quote from 'Doctors 2008 blog':

Mixing Melamine and Milk

If you think that only milk and milk products with only Chinese names are contaminated with melamine, the results released by the Center For Food Safety of Hong Kong as reported by China Daily yesterday raised the possibility that the practice may be more widespread.

Of 65 different brands tested, one contained melamine at a level of 1.4 ppm(parts per million), the safety limit being 6.3 mg per kg body weight per day. While the level detected is below the safety limit, it was enough for the authorities to have it removed from the shelves. However, to allay concerns, this product, named as Nestle Dairy Farm Pure Milk (Catering Use Only), was actually manufactured on the Chinese mainland.

The recent outbreak in mainland China was reported widely in the media the last 2 weeks and to date, 53,000 babies are affected, 13,000 hospitalised and 4 have died , and counting..

Melamine - the high content of nitrogen(blue dots) are similar to that of amino-acids which make up protein

Melamine is used in making plastics and is loaded with nitrogen molecules. Because of the high nitrogen content, this makes milk products appear to have a higher protein count as the current methods of measuring protein are based on measuring the nitrogen content alone. Health experts say that ingesting small amounts does no harm, but sustained use especially in babies and children can cause kidney stones and renal failure, as melamine is insoluble in the human body and tends to deposit itself in the kidneys which cannot remove it from the system via the urine.

But why add melamine in the first place? This allows milk to be diluted with water by the unscrupulous and the greedy to give more volume. The ‘protein’ levels are then built up back by adding the protein substitute (melamine).

A burning issue is that, while the NZ government raised this issue as early as March this year, no action was taken by the Chinese government. One of the reasons quoted by some newspapers was that the Chinese government had issued a 21-point plan to all journalists covering the Olympics to avoid taboo subjects, including food safety issues (point 8). A sort of news censorship to put the Beijing Olympics in a spotless stage. I guess I should add the melamine issue as an addition to my series of earlier posts on “Beijing Olympics Face Major Health Issues”…. unquote.