Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Spring Gourmet and Dessert


I think Spring Gourmet and Dessert is a fairly new establishment at E-Gate. It is under the same management as Manila Place at Gurney Plaza. For those who do not know, I was told by the waitress that Manila Place is moving to the new wing at Gurney Plaza and is currently under renovation.

Spring serves some simple fare e.g. rice, congee, noodles and desserts. They were enjoying brisk business when I went for dinner on a week night. I ordered based on the waitress recommendations.

Thai Style Fried Bee Hoon RM9.90

The bee hoon was a tad bland and could do with more tom yam.

Minced Pork and Sliced Abalone Congee RM8.90 (Teng Jai Juk / Boat Congee)

I liked the congee texture which was smooth with ham, century egg, salted egg and supposedly sliced abalone.

Red Bean Tang Yuan RM4.50

Double Boiled Green Apple and Pear RM4.90

I actually favoured the Double Boiled Apple and Pear over the Red Bean Tang Yuan. The red bean dessert was a tad too sweet for my liking but I did like the black sesame dumpling.


The meal was nothing to shout about but there are other things on the menu which looked quite interesting so it warrants for a repeat visit. Nevertheless, it was a cozy place for catching up with my bestie that night.

Spring Gourmet and Dessert
1.1.14 E-Gate Lebuh Tunku Kudin
11700 Gelugor Penang
Tel: 04-656200

Sunday, June 27, 2010

Starduzz Home Made Banana Muffins with Sultanahs and Walnuts


*** Please check out my latest post on the latest rebranding exercise, pricing and size of these wholesome muffins *** 


As may have noticed, we are suckers for trying out new food. So when I was forwarded a website of home made bakes, I didn't think twice to call to order.

What initially drew us to the site was the yummy looking cookies adorning the website. When called, Sharon who is the daughter (of the mother-daughter Starduzz team), told me that they only bake cookies during Chinese New Year but recommended their famous banana muffins with walnuts and sultanahs instead. I read from somewhere that their muffins are good so I went ahead and ordered 20 pieces of the muffins (minimum order is 20) at RM26.

P/S: What you see in the pictures are the small muffins which suprisingly are quite sizeable. They also have a bigger version of the muffins.

The muffins were indeed very good with real banana and an abundance of sultanahs and walnuts. Sharon also mentioned that they use SCS butter and not margarine. The whole family gave their thumbs up including our two nieces who especially loved the crunchy walnuts. The muffins were fresh because they were made to order.

Visit the Starduzz website for a list of their home made delicacies, They also bake different types of cakes, pies, tarts etc.  http://www.starduzz.com/

Contact Sharon (012-4239025) or Foong (012-4770962) to place an order. Do give them three days notice in advance.

Banana walnut and sultanah muffin pictured here with my Easiyo home made yogurt. Yummy!
P/S: Look out for my future post on the Easiyo yogurt :)

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Soul Kitchen Trattoria - "food and music refreshing your soul"



What happens when you marry good music and good Italian trattoria food? The answer is Soul Kitchen!

Soul Kitchen is our  latest exciting food find, albeit not intentionally. We were driving around the historical enclave of the beautiful Georgetown city when we noticed the shutters at the good old Green House at Muntri Street open. If you remember the Green House, it was a small yet famous eatery owned by an Australian couple who were living in Penang under the Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) program. Disbelieved, we parked our car and walked back to confirm. And true enough, the place was really open but this time it is a different eatery, it's an Italian trattoria.

"A trattoria is an Italian-style eating establishment, less formal than a ristorante, but more formal than an osteria. There are generally no printed menus, the service is casual, wine is sold by the decanter rather than the bottle, prices are low, and the emphasis is on a steady clientele rather than on haute cuisine. The food is modest but plentiful (mostly following regional and local recipes) and in some instances is even served family-style (i.e. at common tables)." (Source: Wikipedia)

P/S: I don't think I saw wine on the drinks menu but they do have quite a variety of drinks including home made fruit smoothies

Drinks menu

Now let me tell you a little bit about the people behind this new establishment. Soul Kitchen is the brainchild of a Malaysian-German wife and husband team. Michelle Yim and Tonio Neuhaus spent many years in Berlin before deciding to move to Penang island after a chanced encounter with the island a few years ago. They did not finally move here until last year when they found this place at Muntri Street. After months of preparation, Soul Kitchen is finally open a few days ago on 15 June.

Tonio is a music band Manager so that explains his love for music and why music is the soul of this Italian eatery. Tonio and Michelle both loved Italian food so it made perfect sense for them to open an Italian cafe. Soul Kitchen is about good Italian home cooked food and good music.


Michelle and Tonio did a great job to the place. The design is chic with a touch of retro, simple and yet sophisticated. If you have been to the old Green House, you would have noticed that quite a lot of revamp has been done to the design of the place. The setting is relaxed with nice music playing in the background.

Counter

Menu scribbled on blackboard

Their specialties are grilled sandwiches (Tramezzini), pasta and dessert with daily specials. They also have a different breakfast menu. They are mainly targetting the lunch crowd from around the area and more, so if you want to be a little more adventurous for lunch, try Soul Kitchen for a change.

Interesting postcards hanging on a clothsline adorning the wall

A 50s Berlin briefcase with travel guides and books

Iced Latte (RM7)

Papaya Orange Smoothie (RM7)

It was nice of Michelle to advise us against the Banana Apple Orange Smoothie as the banana was not too ripe that day. She recommended the Papaya Orange instead which was an interesting combination.

Special of the Day: Italian Entree - Marinated Capsicum and Eggplant (RM7)

We saw on the menu board that the entree was the special of the day and ordered with Michelle's high recommendation and wow, did we love it! The marinated capsicum and eggplant were fully infused with balsamic vinegar and olive oil, dressed with pepper and basil.

Lemon Chicken Tramezzini with Roasted Balsamic Garlic Sauce (RM10)

A Tramezzini is a triangular sandwich constructed from two slices of soft bread. I read from somewhere that a Tramezzini is the elegant Italian version of the club sandwich. At Soul Kitchen, the sandwich is offered with a variety of fillings and sauces and pressed with a panini maker. The bread is also home made by Tonio and Michelle.

Hubs just loved the tangy lemon chicken with the roasted balsamic garlic sauce. You could tell the abundance of cheese from the way the cheese slowly oozed out from the sandwich. Yummy...

Spaghetti Anchovies (RM9 after the 50% opening discount)

Hubs loves anchovies so we didn't have to think twice before ordering, especially after Michelle gave her affirmation. The pasta turned out to be interesting with a combination of anchovies and raisins. The achovies were the deep fried version cooked with sauce with a lot of similarities to the 'ikan bilis' that you find in our Nasi Lemak. I thought it was nice of Soul Kitchen to localize the pasta dish but I didn't know until later that this is actually a Sicilian style pasta. Toni is quite sure this pasta dish will go well with Malaysians.

Portobello Mushrooms Tramezzini with Sweet Onion Sauce (RM10)

This is my personal favourite. I simply just loved the combination of juicy and chunky portobello mushrooms with cheese and the sweet onion sauce.

P/S: Ask Tonio or Michelle for recommendations on the filling and sauce combination and they will gladly oblige :)

Tiramisu

Tonio mentioned that their tiramisu is not to be missed and we could understand why after we had ours. They make their own mascapone cheese used in the tiramisu. Apparently even their French neighbour gave her thumbs up.

They are currently also running a Dessert Attack promotion with a free tiramisu for every coffee ordered (while promotion lasts)

Creme Caramel (RM10)

Creme Caramel is another dessert high on Soul Kitchen's list of specialties. Hubs simply loved the firm texture of the caramel custard.  

Michelle and Tonio

Forrest, their pet dog

*** Latest updates from Michelle and Tonio (as at 5 July 2010) ***

They have extended their business hours to 9 pm. They are now open from 10 am to 2 pm and from 6pm to 9 pm daily except for Tuesdays when they are closed for business.

If there are customers, they will also extend the lunch and dinner hours (that means they don't send anyone away!).

Please feel free to give them a call to discuss about private or closed functions. (P/S: They already had some groups of travellers coming in at 7 am for breakfast, since they had to leave at 8 am)

Soul Kitchen
102 Lebuh Muntri
10200 Georgetown, Penang
(opposite Hainan Association)
Tel: 04-2613118 / 012-5943522
http://soulkitchencafe.blogspot.com/

Staircase leading to their personal living space


More great photos courtesy of Soul Kitchen:

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