Red Chopstick Restaurant

The Red Chopstick Restaurant has been around for over three years now at I-Avenue in Bayan Lepas.

Ginger tea

According to owner cum chef, Peck Siang, who is an avid cook, when the restaurant first opened, it was intended to be a dessert house of sorts. However, her customers started asking for food to go with the desserts so she slowly added more food items to the menu.

The restaurant now serves up to 200 items at any one time in its menu, which is very extensive and commendable for a restaurant its size. There are claypot dishes, rice sets, nasi lemak, mee suah, tomyam, asam laksa, prawn mee, curry mee and spaghetti, to just name a few.

Oriental-themed decor and interior

When asked about their specialties, Peck Siang excitedly proclaimed that their line of desserts are a must-have, which she said are all home made. You can opt for the more traditional desserts e.g. cendol or go for her special creations e.g. the Sago Moey with Red Bean & Green Bean Ice Bars, Oldies Pungat etc.

They also do delivery within the Bayan Lepas area for a minimum of 8 sets with no delivery charge. We ordered the delivery sets for the family before and they were indeed good. There is a variety of sets to choose from and if you are spoilt for choice, try the sets with satay kajang. You can't go wrong with the satays as they are pretty good.

Picture credits

Peck Siang is always adding new items to the menu, the latest being the Banana Leaf set. You can expect her to always innovate and come up with creative dishes for the restaurant. When asked why the name "Red Chopsticks", she sheepishly said that red is her favourite colour ;)

We ordered their claypot with rice sets - Wine Chicken set (RM9.90) and Indian King Curry Squids set (RM9.90).

Wanton Soup with local Sawi (RM4.90)

Cendol Ice with Jackfruit (RM5.90) and Sago Moey with Red Bean & Green Bean Ice Bar (RM5.90)

Red Chopstick Restaurant
Ideal Avenue
1-1-5 Medan Kampung Relau 1
Jalan Tun Dr Awang
11900 Bayan Lepas, Penang
Tel: 016-440 3938
http://redchopstick.resources-site.com/

Eng Loh Coffee Shop & Budget Hotel

Eng Loh has been around for a long time and has remained one of the more famous coffee shops in Penang. It is located at Lebuh Gereja, near the Pinang Peranakan Museum. You won't miss the green and white exterior of the building.

There is only a number of hawkers stalls at the Eng Loh coffee shop but I have to say all of them are pretty good. You have the curry mee, loh mee and hokkien mee, chicken rice, char koay teow, koay teow thing, dry koay teow, wan tan mee with special ingredients and Indian rice.

The Eng Loh coffee shop is also famous for its drinks. I personally find that the drinks served here are thicker and have more oomph.

Teh Peng (Iced Milk Tea)

The coffee shop has received good reviews in local dailies and is featured in Rasa Rasa Penang.

One particular stall that deserves to be mentioned here is the wan tan mee stall. It's specialty is wan tan mee with special ingredients e.g. wine chicken, chicken with musroom, curry chicken etc. The wan tan mee has its own followers and has also been featured in Rasa Rasa Penang.

Wine Chicken Wan Tan Mee (RM4.60)

Koay Teow Thing (RM3)

The Eng Loh coffee shop owner also came up with the creative idea of selling Western breakfast sets and special toast bread e.g. the Taiwan bread. The Taiwan bread is actually a thick piece of toasted bread with margarine, peanut butter and peanut chunks. My grandma absolutely loves this.

Breakfast Station

Eng Loh Coffee Shop & Budget Hotel

48 Lebih Gereja 10200

Open: 7 am to 6 pm

Closed on Sundays and public holidays

Tel: 2623342, 2615525

Have You McValue LUNCH™-ed This Week?

12 Noon - Sudden craving for McDonald's food

12:05 pm - Checked the i'm lovin' it! McDonald's® Malaysia website to confirm if the McValue Lunch™ promotion was entitled for the delivery. Gleefully delighted that it was and called the 24 hours McDelivery™ number 1300-13-1300.

12:15 pm - A lady at the call centre picked up my call. She asked for my phone number and location and checked the nearest McDonald's outlet. Ordered the New Choices on the McValue Lunch™ menu i.e. the Big Mac™ set (RM7.95, original price RM10.10), Spicy Chicken™ McDeluxe set (RM7.95, original price RM10.45) and our all-time favourite Apple Pie (RM2). Was told that my order was to be delivered in 30 to 45 minutes.

12:50 pm - Got a call from the McDelivery™ guy with good news that my McValue Lunch™ was already at my door step!

1:10 pm - Savoured and enjoyed our tasty Big Mac™, Spicy Chicken McDeluxe™, french fries, apple pie...

The above account shows how fast, convenient and value-for-money it is to order a McDonald's McValue Lunch™ meal. My order was delivered in 30 minutes and the total bill came to RM24.60 including 5% Gov tax, RM3 for delivery and RM1 for upgrade from carbonated drink to Milo, 20% cheaper than normal.

Other choices on the McValue Lunch™ menu:
McChicken RM 5.95 (Original price RM9.25)
Filet-O-Fish RM5.95 (Original price RM8.95)

McDonald's McValue Lunch™
12 Noon to 3 pm
Monday to Sunday
Comes with french fries and carbonated soft drink

McDonald's has taken active step to include nutrition information on the box. The chart shows the number of calories in a McDonald's food item compared to the average daily intake for a healthy diet.

P/S: I am blogging about my McValue LUNCH™ experience to win the latest iPHONE 3G!!! Check out the site and spread the word.

Bread History Coconut Creme Brulee Cake

The Coconut Creme Brulee Cake sounded interesting and unique so we decided to give it a try. It was a Mother's Day special at Bread History.

The cake turned out to be pretty good and the coconut flakes were surprisingly very fresh and fragrant. Price RM39.

Happy Birthday Sis!

Interesting cake box with handy carrier

Bread History
Queensbay Mall
HQ: 04-226-6770

Island Way Sorbet

Orange

Pina Colada

The Island Way sorbet is very different from the normal fruit flavoured sorbet that I have tried. It is very milky, rich and creamy and yet still maintains the low-fat and low-calorie nature of sorbet, being the healthier alternative to ice cream. The texture is very soft and smooth unlike the more icey version of the non-dairy sorbets.

This is good news to the calorie conscious as the sorbet half starts from 50 calories per half a Lemon fruit shell, 56 calories for Mango-Orange and 70 calories for Orange, Pineapple, and Pina Colada. Only the Coconut & Pina Colada sorbet are not considered low fat as they contain coconut milk.

The Pina Colada sorbet is more creamy while the orange sorbet has a zesty and refreshing orange taste. Both are highly recommended.

Another interesting thing about the Island Way Sorbet is it is cupped and served in real fruit shell. For example for the Lemon sorbet, a real lemon that is taken, cut in half, cored out and then filled with lemon sorbet and frozen.

The only setback about the sorbet is it is not widely distributed in Penang and the only place I found so far is the Ma Ma Mi shop inside Jaya Jusco supermarket at the basement of Queensbay mall. The shop is a few doors away from the Eu Yan Sang shop.

*** Updates: I saw an advertisement in The Star that the Island Way Sorbet is now available at all Jaya Jusco supermarkets. That's great news for all Island Way sorbet lovers ***

The Pina Colada sorbet half retails at RM8.50 and the Orange half at RM5.90. Though they may seem a tad too expensive, this indulgence is worth giving a try for, given it's low fat content and excellent taste.

Island Way Sorbet
Ma Ma Mi (Jaya Jusco Supermarket)
LGF-59 South Zone
Queensbay Mall, Penang
http://www.islandwaysorbet.co.za/west/indexcape.html

Manila Place

We decided to give Manila Place a try since we have not tried their food after its April 2007 upgrade to become a semi fine dining restaurant.

The have changed the decor a little to give it a more elegant feel with black leather chairs and soft curtains as partitions. This new decor and setting is cozy and comfortable. The restaurant serves a variety of fusion dishes and desserts.

Since it was just around 5:30 pm and we only wanted a light snack, we ordered the Mushroom Soup in a Bun (RM10.90) which was a chef's recommendation. At first sight, they soup in bun did look quite impressive. Unfortunately, the soup somehow tasted like canned soup and the bun was a bit dry.

We also opted for their tea time promotion with a cake and coffee / tea at RM8.90++. I picked the last piece of New York cheese cake in the cake display fridge and it was indeed very good.

Manila place also offers an extensive array of catering services for buffet or sit down meals at the restaurant, outdoor standing buffets and drop off or pick up catering services.

Manila Place

170-G-43, Persiaran Gurney, 10250, Penang.
Tel: +604-2262005
Fax: +604-3996270
E-mail: mail@manilaplace.com
http://www.manilaplace.com/index.asp

Mom's meal is on the house! - Shangri-La's Rasa Sayang Resort and Spa

I have just received the following Mother's Day promotional e-mail from Shangri-La's Rasa Sayang Resort and Spa.

(Picture from Shangri-La's Rasa Sayang Resort and Spa e-mail)

Happy Mother's Day
Specially for the Lady of Your Heart

The royal lady of your heart dines for FREE when you bring the family to dine at the Spice Market Cafe on Mother's Day. For every three paying adults at the same table, mom’s meal is on the house!*

Sunday, 10 May 2009

Mother's Day Brunch
11:45am to 3:00pm
RM120.00++ per person

Mother's Day Buffet Dinner
7:00pm to 10:30pm
RM120.00++ per person

PRICE INCLUDE FREE FLOW OF HOUSE WINE

Complimentary buffet for children under 12 when dining with parents. (Limited to two children per family)

* Credit card and Exclusive Dining Club discounts do not apply for Mother's Day 3+1 offer

Terms and conditions apply

Reservations/Enquiries:
Please call Tel: (04) 8888 888

All prices are subject to 10% service charge and 5% government tax

Peppino - The Finale

I received the following e-mail from Golden Sands Resort recently. The famous Italian restaurant at the resort, Peppino, will be closing its doors after 9 May 2009 to make way for a new restaurant. In conjunction with the closure, the restaurant is giving free flow of wine with gifts and prizes. Enquire within for details.

(Photo taken from Golden Sands Resort e-mail)

Peppino Italian Restaurant at Golden Sands Resort is turning the final page in its illustrious story. The mainstay of fine Italian cuisine in Penang for over 17 years, Peppino will be closing its doors after 9 May 2009 to make way for a brand new restaurant.

We now invite you to come sample the award-winning cuisine of Peppino and to enjoy its cosy ambience for the last time, before it closes for good. As the restaurant enters its final week before closure, The 'Finale' at Peppino will allow you to order all your favourites from the menu with FREE flow of wine and at the same time there are surprise gifts and attractive prizes to be won.

Come and get a sneak preview of an exciting NEW DINING CONCEPT to be born at the Golden Sands Resort

GOLDEN SANDS RESORT

Batu Feringgi Beach, 11100 Penang, Malaysia.

Tel: (604) 886 1911 Fax: (604) 881 1880

Email: gsh@shangri-la.com

Website: www.shangri-la.com