I remember I had this mee goreng craving during my pregnancy. I would demand for mee goreng for lunch or dinner every single day for the first three months! I would say it was kind of a good thing because after that, I am cured of this crazy obsession with mee goreng.

I still love mee goreng but not to the point of ‘I must have a plate now’ on a daily basis. Still, I wouldn’t mind trying out really, really good mee goreng and the one I am going to write about is just that.

The mee goreng at a corner coffee shop in Tanjung Bungah

This stall is located at a coffee shop called Chuan Foong at the junction of Jalan Chan Siew Teong and Jalan Batu Ferringhi. You can get the exact location here. I know there’s a huge nasi lemak sign there but I didn’t see any nasi lemak stall there and anyway, it’s not what we are there for! A friend had gushed about this mee goreng hawker stall quite a lot so we decided to give it a try.

Here’s what got my friend so excited about:

Mee goreng

Now, being a mee goreng junkie (well, er, a former junkie at that..I’ve reformed..really..sort of…), I am quite sceptical with any recommendations of mee goreng stalls. I find most quite bland and even the famous Bangkok Lane mee goreng does not suitably impress me. It is still pretty good but not as good as it used to be.

So, let’s get back to this hawker stall in Tanjung Bungah. It is relatively unknown but it sure do has quite a steady stream of customers, mostly those staying nearby. It is open from 2pm until 7pm but on the day we went, it is sold out by 5pm.

Get to the review already..

Okay, okay. My finaly verdict is that I love it! Before I go on, the type of mee goreng I like must be spicy, with just the right amount of sauce and fried to perfection, as in not too ‘wet’ or too dry. Of course, it must be delicious and makes me want to go for seconds.

Well, this stall met my expectations and I almost ordered seconds but I didn’t because I just had lunch at 2pm and a heavy tea break at 3pm is a bit too much. Anyway, the mee goreng style is different from the Bangkok Lane stall’s style. It does not have so much of the red coloured sauce (I don’t know what to call it as we always called it ‘kuah’ only). If you like mee goreng, this is a great stall to try out especially if you are in the area.

Rating: 8/10

Price: $$(RM3.80 per plate)

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This recipe for stir-fried spicy brinjal is actually my grandmother’s recipe and after tasting it and learning a few tips from her, my Personal Chef started trying his hand at cooking it. Well, if anything, he aced it. So, this recipe today is partly my Personal Chef’s recipe and partly mine as I try to emulate his style of preparing this particularly simple dish.

Stir fried Spicy Brinjal with dried shrimps

So, here’s the recipe for this dish which we usually eat with plain steamed rice. Of course, you can even eat it as it is or as a side dish.

Stir Fried Spicy Brinjal

Ingredients

1 brinjal

3 tbsp dried shrimps, soaked and drained

2 tbsp paprika chili powder

3 tbsp diced garlic

2 tbsp butter (for a healthier option, use olive oil although the flavour would not be as fragrant)

3 tbsp Dark Soy Sauce

2 tbsp Light Soy Sauce

Instructions

1. Slice the brinjal thinly like this

2. Heat up the wok.

2. Add in the butter

3. Get your diced garlic and dried shrimps ready.

4. Add the garlic to the butter and sautee.

5. Sautee the garlic till fragrant before adding the shrimps

6. Stir fry the garlic and shrimps mix for a few minutes, then add in the chili powder. Stir and make sure that the shrimps and garlic are well coated with the chili powder. By now, the spicy aroma should be quite strong.

7. Finally, add in the brinjals

8. Stir fry the brinjals for a while and then add in the sauces.

9. Continue to stir fry the brinjals to make sure it is well coated with the sauces

10. If you prefer it to have a slight crispiness to it, then stir fry for another few minutes more. If not, remove from heat and serve hot.

And here's the stir-fried spicy brinjals

The shrimps actually gave it a nice salty and aromatic flavour while the butter gave it a richness that you can’t get with olive oil. Of course, the chili powder gave it the spicy tinge. However, I didn’t use a lot of chili as my son could not eat ‘too spicy’ food yet, so that’s why you could hardly see the chili here.

The stir fried spicy brinjal is actually an easy and simple dish to prepare as the whole cooking time takes between 10 to 15 minutes only!

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Now, I suddenly have a stockpile of blog posts which I have not written and posted. I have recipes of desserts and main dishes and reviews of food places and restaurants and the roadside coffee shop. AND I’ve been tagged and meme’d.

What am I going to do?

Even if I were to blog daily here (which I tried to but did not have the time to do it consistently), I couldn’t possibly fit it all in and sometimes, I’d even forget all about a place I reviewed until I chance upon the pictures while clearing my desktop folders!

Why can’t I just get to the cheap and good yam rice already?

Heheh…alright. I just want to let my blog readers know that I do have plenty of posts coming up, just that I don’t have the time to post it all at once. Slow and steady wins the race.

Now, here’s my review of a yam rice stall in the middle of George Town. Quite a while back, I did a review of yam rice in Bukit Mertajam and how good it is. The yam rice there is really quite good. And now, I am searching for something as good here on the island and found this stall.

Special Flavour Yam Rice along Lebuh McNair

About a few years ago (actually, more like a decade, heheh) we ate at this exact same coffee shop and I was greatly impressed with the food offered. It was also yam rice with side dishes but theirs were with a difference and the tastes and flavours of it stayed with me till now.

However, since we seldom go to the middle of town for lunch (traffic is horrendous!) we had completely forgotten about the place until recently. We went back there and found that it is no longer the same person! The previous stall owner has left and now a new one (well, it’s been there several years so, it’s only new to us) have taken over.  Since we already parked at a perfect spot and walked to the place, might as well give it a try.

Here are some of the selection of side dishes they offer to go with the yam rice

It didn’t look all that inviting and I was really craving the old yam rice stall’s food so my photography suffered…Here are some of the food we ordered…

The 'Tau Eu Bak' or Soya Sauce Pork with Beancurd

Okay, so I was pretty impressed by their braised soya sauce pork. This simple common dish is the best way to determine how good their food is. If they can’t make this simple dish taste good, then all is lost. Well, they passed  with flying colours. The pork were tender and the sauce, thick and sweetish without being too oily.

The yam rice

Since this is a special flavour yam rice stall, of course we have to order the yam rice. They do have plain white rice too but we didn’t order that. Though their yam rice is not exactly GREAT, it is not bad at all. Quite good compared to a lot of other places in town.

The chili-stuffed fish

I don’t really know what it’s officially called in English but I know in Hokkien, it is often called ‘loomba hu’ or something like that. Or could it be ‘rempah hu’? Hmmm… whatever it is called, it the one of the few spicy fish dish that I simply love to bits. Theirs are pretty okay, I finished the fish so that should mean something…

The boiled egg in soya sauce

This is Mr Picky’s special favourite dish. Since he won’t eat the fish and finds the pork too ‘chewy’, egg is the best option for him to go with his rice.

Then, there's the soup

Did I mention we are a bunch of ‘soup people’? As much as possible, whenever having rice, we will order a big bowl of soup to go with it. It is like tradition but for Mr Picky, it is a MUST especially if we are having rice. This soup, called ‘bak kee’ is medioacre at best. Really nothing to shout about. However, we noticed other tables ordering a different type of soup which seemed popular. Shucks. Must have ordered the wrong thing!

And the overall of what we ate

All in all, the meal was pretty good and filling. It may not be gourmet or the greatest ever but it passed muster and is a great place for some quick, cheap lunch. Besides, I learnt that this stall is pretty famous when it used to be along ‘gor teow lor’ (5th road) or to be exact, Macallum Street, and now in this new location they are still getting quite a lot of regulars.

They are open daily between 6am and 3pm.  They don’t have a fixed day off. They will take the day off when they feel like it. Seriously. That’s what the stall owner told me.

Here’s the map to their place.

Rating: 6/10

Price:$$ (RM12 for the above food)

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You know I am not all that crazy about koay teow th’ng. It is more of The Food Critic’s thing than anything. Still, I was curious.

So, to satisfy my curiousity, I tried out the food there.

The Koay Teow Th'ng stall along Magazine Road

The stall itself is unassuming (except for the Chinese newspaper write-up plastered on the stall front) and handled by an auntie. Alone.

It is one of two stalls in a dinky little coffee shop along a row of dreary shophouses

This coffee shop is often ‘overlooked’ since it is tucked amongst other shophouses along one of the busiest roads in town. Still, this stall has its own regulars especially in the mornings and sometimes, even lunch time.

The lone stall owner aka chef cooking up her specialty

She only has two types of soup, clear soup or tomyam soup. The soups could go with flat rice noodles (koay teow), plain instant noodles or maggi mee, plain noodles and vermicelli (bee hoon).

Naturally, we ordered both types of soup. Mine is tomyam with instant noodles while The Food Critic goes for his all-time favourite, koay teow th’ng.

What we ordered...

I like it that she sprinkles some greens on top for garnishing

Another unique thing about her noodles is that she puts eggs in it. How strange is that? I’ve never tried koay teow th’ng or tomyam noodles soup with eggs in it!

She added some instant noodles seasoning into the soup and though the tomyam soup looks kinda pale, it is pretty tasty. It’s not as sour as I hoped but it is good enough and has an interesting flavour due to the addition of the egg and the seasoning. Fortunately, it is not too salty and I’d have to say, it tastes like homecooked noodles. You know, the ones you’d make in the middle of the night where you only need to heat up some water, dump the contants of the instant noodles in and within 2 minutes, you get a bowl of noodles! Of course, hers is much better since she did add some extra ingredients to it.

Now, on to the Koay Teow Th'ng

Just like the tomyam noodles, the koay teow th’ng also has the addition of some instant noodles seasoning. So, instead of your usual koay teow th’ng taste of clear, sometimes oily, soup, you get one with additional flavours and yes, the egg do add a touch of difference to it.

Here's a closer look at the Koay Teow Th'ng

Although most people would consider it ‘cheating’ for her to add the seasoning to the soup, I think it is perfectly alright since the combination of the added seasoning and her own soup concoction makes great flavours and this has kept her regulars happy.

Take a look at the brown bits on top, these are deepfried lard

Like many old-style hawker food, she also sprinkles some crunchy deepfried lard on top of the noodles as part of the garnishings. I know how artery-clogging these are but I have to say, it sure do contribute to the flavour of the soup.

My verdict: If you are looking for something fantastic, you can forget this stall but if you wanna try out a different type of koay teow th’ng or tomyam noodles soup, then you should try this stall.

She has an ingredient that you will either love to bits or hate. It really depends on your taste and whether you like the added instant noodles seasoning (which may contain loads of MSG). It’s not exactly healthy but hey, most of our hawker foods aren’t all that healthy! As for me, I may think of this stall if I have a sudden craving for koay teow th’ng with egg in it or a simple bowl of tomyam without all the jazz.

Yep, this stall offers simple bowls of soupy noodles and though it is not lip-smacking fantastic, it is still much better than some other places I’ve tried before. Do note that the portion is really small, two mouthfuls and then some and that’s it.But then I’d say it is value for money since it is RM2.80 per bowl. This is for a stall smack in the middle of town where prices of normal hawker foods could go from RM3.50 and higher.

The coffee shop is only open for breakfast and lunch during weekdays. It is closed on weekends.

Rating: 7/10

Price:$

Here’s the map to the coffee shop (along Magazine Road):

Location map

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It is not always that I go to a vegetarian restaurant for a meal, not because I have anything against vegetarian food but mainly because of the quality of the food and the tendency for the foods to be swimming in oil. So, I was pleasantly surprised by the exceptionally great food over at Annalakshmi Restaurant in the Temple of Fine Arts. It’s no wonder the restaurant is called the ‘culinary arts centre’.

Annalakshmi Restaurant at the Temple of Fine Arts

As you can see, they don’t have much parking space so you will have to park outside the compound along the roadside.

Annalakshmi Restaurant

The restaurant have this relaxed open air feel to it and though the decor is quite simple, it is warm and cozy enough for a nice, quiet and relaxing meal. It also has a nice garden so you feel as if you are dining surrounded by greenery.

We went on a Wednesday which is buffet day

The buffet line may seem like there’s limited choices but trust me, it is MORE than enough food! Since it is vegetarian, you can’t expect much except for different vegetables and vegetable curries.

As you can see, I took a plateful...a little bit of everything

Instead of rice, I took the chapati. I have this thing for Indian breads so when I saw that they have chapati, I must give it a try. Here are close-ups of the foods:

I like that each table has a tiny centrepiece of fresh flowers

(Top right) The stir-fried cauliflower and potatoes are probably the best I’ve ever tried. The potatoes and cauliflower are probably boiled first then stir-fried with spices. Amazingly, it is not in the least oily too.

(Bottom right) This is the vegetarian version of cucur udang (prawn fritters dish with peanut sauce) so instead of prawn fritters, it is blanched beansprouts, fresh cucumbers, carrots and cubed deepfried beancurd. This combination is mixed with a sweet peanut sauce.

(Left) I absolutely love the chapati I took and it goes very well with the tiny bowl of curry too!

Clockwise from top left: Greenpeas rice mixed with some curry, spice fried long beans,dhall and sour curry

The rice is so exceptionally fragrant and though a tad sticky, I like it. It is probably cooked with ghee and green peas. Of course, when it comes to Indian food, we must mix the rice with loads of curry!

The long beans are stir fried, yes again with spices. It is slightly spicy but not much so and as with most Indian-style stir fried vegetables, it is soft and a bit soggy. Still, I guess it is supposed to be that way as it is sorta like a mix of a stir fried dish and a vegetable curry. I don’t really like long beans but this, I like.

The curry consist mainly of tomatoes and potatoes. It probably has some lime too as it has a sourish tint to it which I think is all good because it takes away the richness of the curry and gives it a fresh taste.

Ah, then we have the dhall. The essential accompaniment to any Indian meal! It is chickpeas curry and my, theirs really is good. One thing, they sure don’t stinge on the amount of chickpeas they used in this curry and it is so thick, I suspect they also added some potatoes to it. Just the way I like it.

Clockwise from top left: Pappadum, more decor in the restaurant, savoury milk rice and shredded carrots

The pappadum is also another common feature in any Indian restaurant and it is usually eaten in accompaniment with the rice and dipped in curry of your choice or as it is. Theirs are prepared fresh and yes, it is not salty and it is so crunchy, it’s almost like potato chips, except better.

The shredded carrots is also another surprise dish for me as it didn’t look all that remarkable but the taste brought a burst of flavours, sweet, sour, salty and definitely delicious!

Ahh..then we have the Indian milk rice. Now, not anyone could stomach this ultra rich rice which I understand is cooked with spices, ghee and milk. Thus, it is sticky and has this fragrant, slightly salty taste to it. It is popularly eaten as a breakfast food but who cares? I’ve not eaten this before and eventhough it is lunch, I simply must give it a try. Luckily I only took one tiny scoop, it is much too rich to be eaten in huge portions.

Their version of Sambhar, mixed vegetables curry with chapati

Their vegetables curry is a bit watery but I guess that’s because it has melons in it. It is mainly turmeric and some spices.

Now, on to dessert…

The Indian dessert

I don’t know what these are called but these tiny squares are very sweet and if you don’t like sweet stuffs, it is advisable to give these a miss. My guess is that these are made with condensed milk, sugar, flour and more sugar…heheheh…I guess it is pretty normal as most Indian desserts are very sweet.

Despite taking so much food, I finished the curries and food I took

Not because I am greedy or anything I took a lot of food for pictures to show you and I simply can’t waste all those wonderful food…

Anyway, I LOVE that the food is served on stainless steel plates and cups. It is a pretty traditional way of eating Indian food so it really gives you the feeling that you are eating a homecooked meal at an Indian household and not at a restaurant.

I would have to say that the food do have that homecooked feel to it and probably that’s why I simply love the food here. Oh, and the reason I finished everything I took is because there is no price fixed to the foods at this restaurant.

Yep. It is a pay-what-you-want restaurant. I’d say it is free but any diner with any modicum of self respect would make some contribution before leaving. You see, they don’t charge diners for the food served here. Their menus (for ala carte days) contain lists of food and drinks BUT no prices. So, essentially, the food is free and the service they give you is exceptionally good too because they are friendly, warm and pretty fast in serving the food or drinks. Of course, if it is a buffet day, it is all self-service.

Most diners (except for the few scum who’d eat and leave without making any contributions) would go up to the counter and donate whatever amount they feel like giving. So, the cost of a meal at this restaurant is entirely up to you. I guess they have this concept because they do quite a lot of charity and this restaurant is probably meant for the poor. However, the crowds we see here are mostly office workers who could well afford to pay for their meals. Fortunately, most of those who eat here do donate some money before leaving.

They have different specialty dishes on different days. They have buffet for lunchtime everyday and for dinnertime, their buffet is on Wednesday and Saturday. Also, the Temple of Fine Arts is known to have performances and shows, outside in the front garden where there’s a stage, regularly so if you happen to go on a day with a performance on, you’d get to experience a wonderful cultural experience.

Rating: 8/10

Price: Free (But do be responsible and DONATE whatever you feel the meal is worth!)

Here are the restaurant details:

Annalakshmi

The Culinary Arts Centre of The Temple of Fine Arts

Opening hours: Lunch (11.30am – 2.30pm), Dinner (6pm – 9.30pm)

1, Babington Avenue

Tel: 04-2288575 / 2274155

Email: contactsavi@hotmail.com / gravy_ravi@yahoo.com

It is closed on Mondays.

They also offer catering services.

Here is the direction to the place.

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Anyway, I made my first visit there recently when a friend suggested we go there as we happened to be in the vicinity and my car is already parked somewhere nearby. So, here’s my review of what I found in this expensive restaurant.

The Spice & Rice Restaurant and Bar along Light Street

I am going to include a lot of pictures to fully describe the food I tried here…

Spice & Rice Restaurant and Bar decor, drinks and starters

The restaurant has a contemporary style decor with some Indian decorations on the wall. The owner made full use of the heritage nuances of the building and the end result is a tastefully decorated restaurant. The environment is classy and yes, it has that expensive look around it compared to other Indian restaurants, especially those in the nearby Little India.

For drinks, I ordered Mango Lassi (RM8) (Mango yogurt drink) and I have to say, it is pretty good and not as sweet as I would expect (although I did mention to the waitress that I want it with less sugar). The drink has that rich yogurt flavour without being too sour and mix that with the fragrant mango flavour, absolutely delicious.

We ordered Cheesy Fish Cutlets for starters (the round meatball-like dish) but before our starter came, we are served with the Indian appetizer, pappadum with mint sauce.

Pappadum with mint sauce

We only get one piece each and the pappadum is not as salty as I expected because I’ve tasted quite a lot of salty pappadums in other Indian restaurants.

Then they serve our starter: Cheesy Fish Cutlet

Cheesy Fish Cutlet (RM12 per plate)

As you can see, it is deepfried with oozing cheeze in the centre. It is served with the traditional sauces of mint, chili and a sweet and sour sauce. You can’t really taste the fish flavour here as it is overpowered by the mixed herbs that it was minced with before it was fried. Then of course, there is the cheese!

Next, are our ‘main course’. We ordered  quite a variety of food: Tandoori Paratha (RM6), Garlic Naan (RM6), Chicken Jalfrazi (RM18), Binjal Salan (RM14), Sambhar (RM10), Tandoori Chicken (RM14), Butter Naan (RM6), Chapati (RM3), and Vegetable Pilau (RM14).

Some of the main dishes we had: Tandoori Paratha and Garlic Naan on the plate with Sambhar, Chicken Jalfrazi and Brinjal Salan in the background

The Tandoori Paratha which is made of wholemeal flour (in the second basket behind) while the Garlic Naan (in the basket in front) is made of plain flour and baked. I have to say there is a reason the restaurant is called Spice & Rice…their breads aren’t good at all. We regretted ordering so many types of bread (all four type!) the moment we tried these two. The paratha tasted like it was a prepackaged frozen one which they merely reheated and it has the consistency of a thin cardboard. As for the naan, it is supposed to be with a bit of crispiness but instead, it was a bit rubberized, very difficult to cut up to eat. The same goes for the butter naan and chapati.

Luckily the curries: Chicken Jalfrazi, Sambhar (mixed vegetables consisting mainly carrots and potatoes in a mild turmeric curry) and Brinjal Salan are good. In fact, the chicken and brinjal curries are exceptionally good! The chicken jalfrazi is a very rich and thick curry full of spices, onions and chillies. Be warned though, there are only several pieces of chicken in it and it is pretty spicy so it may have you reaching for the waterglass. The Brinjal Salan is almost the same flavour as the chicken but less spicy and though I don’t really like brinjals, I liked this curry!

Clockwise from top left: Chicken Jalfrazi, Sambhar (top left) and Brinjal Salan, Brinjal Salan, topping up the breads with the curries and Chicken Jalfrazi

Next, we look at…

The Vegetable Pilau (vegetable rice) and Tandoori Chicken

Now, we know why the place is named Spice & Rice…the Vegetable Pilau (RM14) which is rice (Basmati rice) cooked with vegetables is really good. It is fragrant with the right amount of spices. Best of all is that it has a tinge of oil that was just the right amount as it gave the rice this rich flavour without being too oily.

The Tandoori Chicken (RM14) is seasoned with yogurt and spices before grilled and served with mint sauce and lime. Frankly, there is nothing remarkable about it, I’ve tasted better ones.

Now, for my verdict. Eating at Spice & Rice is a truely different experience as it is obviously a restaurant meant for the well-to-do with a beautiful setting and a high class feel to it. I have never been to an expensive Indian restaurant and this is a first for me. We all know how easy it is to find cheap and good Indian restaurants at Little India which is only about 15 minutes’ walk away from this restaurant. You can check out a few pages of Spice & Rice’s menu to see for yourselves:

Spice & Rice Menu of the rice they have

Spice & Rice Menu of the type of vegetables they have

Spice & Rice menu of the types of chicken they have

It is a good thing that their curries are good or else I would have given this place a lower rating due to the highly overpriced food they have. Portions are pretty small and if you are a big eater, each dish is only enough for one person. So, if you in a big group, it is advisable to order a plate of rice each and then the several types of curries to share.

By far, it is the most expensive Indian food I have ever eaten in my whole life! For all the dishes above which is just nice for the three of us, it costs us RM132! That comes up to RM44 per person.

And another thing, their service is especially slow and food takes a very long time to serve. That’s why I have so much time to take so many pictures! So, if you are in a hurry or it is your lunch break, it is advisable not to go there as our meal takes us almost two hours. That’s because we spent most of the time waiting for the food to be served!

Rating: 7/10

Price: $$$$

If you want to give this place a try, here’s the map to the place and the restaurant contact information:

Spice & Rice Restaurant & Bar

Light Street

Tel: 04-2618585

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First, we stop at the local market…

The local market near Chaweng

There they sell quite a variety of local Thai food, most of which are grilled or deep fried.

A stall selling grilled bananas on sticks

Grilled bananas on sticks

It may seem a bit weird but it actually tasted quite good. After grilling it till it turned brown, they squash it (but did not really flatten it) and then serve it with thick coconut milk. We bought a couple of sticks to try, the bananas were grilled to perfection. It has a crispy ‘skin’ and sweet, soft, mushy fillings. I didn’t even try it with the coconut milk. It is good as it is! It’s only 10Baht per stick.

Then there is this stall…

Grilled chicken and catfish

I love catfish so naturally I could not resist this stall which sells grilled catfish at only 30Baht each. And yes, the catfish is grilled to perfection…nice crispy skin and soft, almost buttery flesh. Yummmm….Good thing that it was not over-seasoned with salt as we found that Thai food tend to be quite salty at certain places.

Ah…then we come to the Fear Factor type of fare:

Deepfried crickets and grasshoppers

Yep…these are real insects..err…real, dead, deepfried, crunchy insects. They also have:

Deepfried worms

I don’t know what type of worms these are but these are also deepfried to a crispiness. So, did I try some?

I simply can't pass up the opportunity to eat deepfried insects and worms!

Yep, I bought one scoop of crickets and one scoop each of two different types of worms. It’s only 10baht per scoop. And I polished everything. Save for my son, who’s game to try anything as long as his mummy is eating it, nobody else in our group dared try these unusual food. So, were these gross or nasty? Not at all! The crickets were merely crunchy, not much taste to it since it doesn’t have much flesh. As for the fat worms, it has a creamy, nutty flavour with a crunchy skin. Nope, it does not taste like chicken. I’d say it tastes much better. Heck, I would probably have bought more if it weren’t so salty! Yep, other than using basil leaves liberally in frying these critters, salt must have been damn cheap because it is literally covered in salt.

They have those large grasshoppers too but I don’t know why, it just looks a bit scary so I didn’t try those. Perhaps when we go to Bangkok (next year), I’d try it out. Maybe.  Now, on to other foods…

Ninja Crepes Restaurant along the Chaweng stretch

The funny thing is that this restaurant doesn’t really sell only crepes but all sorts of local and international food! So, don’t be deceived by its name. And no, they don’t serve dogmeat, that dog there is the resident professional floor cleaner and food begger. It goes around fixing its imploring, liquid brown eyes on unsuspecting patrons to get some scraps and anything that falls on the ground accidentally or intentionally, it promptly polishes off.

Okay, okay, on to the food here:

The kitchen where the 'chefs' whipped up wonders with the wok and pans

Crispy deepfried pork ribs

These are the best I’ve ever had before. The skin is so crispy and crunchy, you can even hear it crackling as you bite into it and amazingly, it is still moist inside and the flesh is still tender. A must-try! Of course, the dog enjoyed the bones from this dish so it can be said, we polished off everything on this plate with the help of the dog.

The rest of the dishes we ordered

We ordered tomyam soup, green curry and two types of stir-fried vegetables (asparagus and kailan). We also ordered the Thai dish, ‘paad thai’ (fried flat rice noodles). And the dishes are all eaten with fragrant steamed Thai white rice.

The green curry is exceedingly good too. It is creamy and with just the right amount of spices, tasted absolutely great. The reason it is green is because of the basil they put in it. As for the tomyam, order it only if you like it sour. Their tomyam is quite sour but it is also good.

Now for the paad thai, I wouldn’t say it is all that good but it is okay. Still edible and once mixed with the chili flakes, ahhh, heavenly. Spicy with the smooth, almost springy texture of the flat rice noodles.

Ninja Crepes is probably the cheapest restaurant along the whole Chaweng stretch where almost all of its restaurants charge sky-high for all types of food. Of course that is because Chaweng is the most lively, crowded and popular spot in whole of Koh Samui. Anyway, at Ninja Crepes, the dishes are priced at 50baht and above. Not bad for a restaurant along Chaweng. Other restaurants, prices start from 100baht per dish or more. Oh, by the way, it is located right opposite the Buri Rasa Resort.

We were not satisfied and wanted very local food, much like the ones in the local market we happened to stumble upon. So, we went to Lamai, the second popular stretch in Koh Samui and found this:

Roadside hawker stalls selling local Thai food

Now, this is what we are talking about! Who goes all the way to Koh Samui, Thailand and eat boring restaurant food when they have stalls like this offering infinitely more interesting, full-of-flavour food? And that’s not all, it is cheap too! Prices are 30Baht per plate onwards! It is located very near the Lamai Night market so it is pretty easy to find.

So, there. That concludes my food tour of Koh Samui. We only went for a very short trip so we did not really have an opportunity to try out more food in different places here.

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So, imagine my delight when I discovered this corner coffee shop in Island Park…

Island Park Restaurant

It is open daily for breakfast and lunch only. They have about six to eight hawker stalls. Amongst the good ones are the Char Koay Teow (Chinese style fried rice noodles), pan mee (handmade rice flour noodles), mee goreng (Indian fried noodles), char hor fan and wan tan mee. They also have hokkien mee and chicken rice stalls.

Char Koay Teow

Where else in Penang can you find a plate of good char koay teow for only RM2.50 per plate? And the portion is not exactly one or two mouthfuls too.

The RM2.50 per plate of Char Koay Teow

It is good and we often tar-pau (pack back) this back for breakfast at home.

Mee goreng and pan mee

The Mee Goreng is RM2.80 per plate and yes, the Pan Mee is also RM2.50 per bowl. Most of the food in this coffee shop starts from RM2.50 per plate and rarely costs more than RM3.50. Of course, I wouldn’t say the food here are exceptionally good but most of it are quite, quite good, better than some of the highly expensive hawker food in popular food courts.

I guess the reason the food is so cheap is because it is right opposite a school (SMK Chung Hwa Confucian) so perhaps these are student prices…although I would think that for students, RM2.50 is still quite a lot but then nowadays, we never know.

Rating: 7/10

Price: $

Click here for directions to the coffee shop.

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Mutriara Coffee Shop in Bukit Mertajam

Apparently, this hawker stall (it is right behind the colourful umbrella) is quite well known and is open only for breakfast and lunch. It is usually sold out by 3pm.

In the background is the hawker stall selling yam rice and soup

Their yam rice is the right consistency, nicely cooked and delicious with the taste of yam and sauteed dried shrimps. They put just the right amount of sauces to give it a nice rounded flavour.

The yam rice and soup

Sorry, the picture quality isn’t that good because I didn’t have my camera with me at that time and had to resort to my camera phone.

A closer look at the yam rice and the soup

The soup consists of mainly pork – meat and innards – but the best part is that it is not as oily as one would expect from a soup consisting mainly of pork. Also, they cooked it with some pickled/ salted vegetables so the soup has a nice, sourish tang to it, giving the soup even more flavours and cutting out the too ‘meaty’ taste of the soup.

Rating: 7/10

Price:$$$ (RM4.80 per serving for one person)

Here is the location map to the coffee shop.

If you yearn for yam rice (but too lazy to go all the way to BM), you can cook it at home because it is actually quite simple to make. Here’s a

Recipe for Yam Rice

Ingredients

2 cups rice, washed and drained

250g yam, cubed

4 dried shiitake mushrooms, soaked and then sliced thinly

5 tbsp dried shrimps, washed and drained

half clove garlic, peeled and diced

4 shallots, peeled chopped thinly (optional)

cooking oil

2 pandan leaves, knotted

3 cups water

Sauces

1 tbsp oyster sauce

1 tbsp dark soya sauce

1 tbsp light soya sauce

1 tsp sesame oil

1/2 tsp sugar (or to taste)

1 tbsp chicken stock

Instructions

1. Heat up some cooking oil in a wok. Sautee the garlic till fragrant and add in the dried shrimps.

2. Continue sauteeing for awhile, then add the mushrooms and yam and stir fry till fragrant.

3. Add in the rice and the sauces. Stir fry for a while more and then remove from heat.

4. Pour the stir fried ingredients into an electric rice cooker and add the water and pandan leaves. Cook the rice as usual. If you are using the microwave, reduce the amount of water by about half cup and cook as usual.

5. For the shallots, heat up some oil in a clean wok. Then deep fry the shallots till crispy. Remove immediately.

6. Once the rice is cooked, sprinkle the deep fried shallots on top and it is ready to serve! You can also add chopped spring onions and coriander on top.

For the soup, I am assuming they use this recipe but still, this soup is worth a try even if it’s not the same:

Pork Belly and Vegetable Soup

Ingredients

500g pork belly and innards, chopped (you can replace with pork ribs if you are squemish about eating the innards)

100g salted mustard green

1 tbsp white peppercorn

50g white cabbage

Water (about 4 ltr)

Instructions

1.Season the pork with some salt for about 30 minutes and then wash it and drain.

2. Heat up some water to boiling and then blanch the pork to remove the scum.

3. Heat up a pot of water to cook the soup.

4. When the water is boiling, add in all of the ingredients (except cabbage) and then lower the heat.

5. Let the soup simmer for about an hour or two. Taste it and add in salt to your taste if it is not salty enough.

6. Add in the cabbage when the soup is almost ready and then let it simmer for another 30 minutes or so.

7. Then it is ready to serve hot with the yam rice!

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Steamboat

The best part about having a steamboat meal is that we do not even need any cooking skills! Heheheh…however, if you want a tasty base soup, you will need to boil a huge pot of soup first.

Boil a huge pot of base soup for the steamboat

Usually, we’d boil the soup over several hours in the day before using it for the soup base for steamboat. Since, we normally have steamboat meals during dinner, it is best to prepare the soup around noon.

Here’s a simple recipe:

Soup Base for Steamboat Recipe

Ingredients

2 whole chicken bones (carcasses), best to remove the fat and thoroughly clean it out

3 stalks spring onions

water

salt

pepper

sugar

Instructions

1. Heat up a potful of water till it boils.

2. Add in the chicken carcasses and spring onions. Add in seasoning of a dash of salt, a dash of pepper and a dash of sugar.

3. Let the soup simmer over low heat for up to 3 hours.

The soup is now ready for the simplest, easiest meal of steamboat! Just remember to stock up on loads of fresh, raw ingredients to place into the steamboat. You can use an electric cooker for the steamboat.

Raw food you can prepare for the steamboat:

Some of the raw food you can prepare for the steamboat

Green, leafy vegetables

Deboned chicken fillet, sliced thinly

Fish fillet (best to use red snapper or garoupa)

Prawns

A variety of fish balls

Black fungus

Button mushrooms, sliced

Fresh Shiitake Mushrooms, sliced

Golden Needle Mushrooms

Cuttlefish, sliced thinly

Squid, sliced thinly

Crabs, halved

Boiled quail’s eggs

Beancurd sheets

Sea cucumber mushrooms, sliced

Now, for the feast!

Switch on the power, heat up the soup and dump the raw food in

You just need to pour the hot soup into the cooker, turn on the power to high and then dump in some of the raw food such as prawns, chicken, fish balls, crabs and mushrooms. Cover it and let it come to a boil and everything will be cooked and ready to eat! You can now start scooping out the ingredients and the soup together.

If you can’t do without some carbs, prepare some noodles and vermicelli to dip into the hot boiling soup and you will have your very own noodles / vermicelli soup.

Just repeat the process with the rest of the ingredients. Steamboat meals take a lot of time so it is great to spend time with family or friends while having this meal. Remember not to overcook the squids and cuttlefish or else you’d end up with rubbery treats. You will find that at the end of the meal, the soup would have taken on a thick consistency and the taste, absolutely out-of-this-world. That’s why the soup base for the steamboat does not need much seasoning!

Enjoy the steamboat feast.

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