Pappa Rich e-Gate Penang

The Pappa Rich kopitiam franchise chain has made its way to Penang shore recently with the opening of its first outlet on the island at eGate.

Pappa Rich, with its tagline The Malaysian Traditional Delights, is a modern kopitiam which serves just about any classic hawker fare you can think of. The menu includes kaya and butter toast, curry mee, prawn mee, cendul, ais kacang, laksa, fried koay teow. nasi lemak, chicken rice, dim sum, fried rice, chicken porridge and the list goes on. If you are awed, wait until you see the beverage and desserts list (see full menu here).

Pappa Rich also serves gourmet coffee using Brewer’s Coffee beans which are roasted in Singapore.

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Brisk business during lunch hours

Dry Curry Mee with Foo Chok & Fish Cake (RM8.90)

The curry mee was flavourful and the yellow noodles were done al-dente and tangy, just the way I liked them. The only setback was the lack of ingedients with some 'foo chok' (bean curd skin) and fish cakes.

The Detox Tea with Honey  (RM6.90)

The Detox Tea with Honey sounded interesting so I decided to give it a try. The menu claims that it is a detox and energy booster herbal tea with a blend of 7 herbs which are supposed to burn fat and boost metabolism with antioxidants. Not sure if it worked but the tea sure was an acquired taste and was a tad bitter and strong for me.

Organic Soya Milk (Hot) (RM5.90)

Kopi (Iced) (RM3.80)

Soya Milk Cendol N Red Bean (RM6.50)

Pappa Cham (Iced) (RM4.90)

Hainan Cham (Hot) (RM3.50)

Pappa Mocha and Ice Cream (RM6.90)

Pappa ABC Special with Durian Ice Cream (RM9.90)

The durian ice cream was good but it was quite impossible to eat the dessert with the shaved ice all stacked up so high.

Roti Stim with Butter and Kaya (RM3.80)

As the name suggests, the bread is steamed and served with butter and traditional kaya. The steaming hot bread was soft and fluffy. I was surprised that I actually prefer the steamed bread over the toasted version. 

Roti Bakar with Peanut Butter (RM3.80)

Steamed Avocado Bun (RM4.80)

The avocado bun sounded interesting but unfortunately we couldn't tell the avocado paste from kaya.

Steamed Home Made Fish Otak Otak (RM5.80)

 The steaming hot otak otak was quite interesting with its soft and smooth texture.

Roti Bakar Susu (RM3.80)

Ipoh Koay Teow Soup with Steamed Chicken (RM9.90)

I personally prefer the Old Town Ipoh Hor Fun as the latter has a smoother hor fun texture. However, I have to say the steamed chicken was quite soft and the serving quite generous.

Dry Koay Teow with Curry Chicken and Foo Chok (RM9.90)

Pappa Char Koay Teow (RM8.90)

Pappa Rich actually did quite a good job with the char koay teow. It was sinfully good. :)

Pappa Curry Laksa Special with Foo Chok (RM9.90)

The curry laksa is what Penangites fondly refer to as curry mee. It was flavourful with quite generous serving of tau pok, cockles, chicken and foo chok.

Chicken Porridge (RM7.90)

Overall, you should have noticed that you pay a premium at Pappa Rich for the hawker fare that you can easily get access to and take for granted in Penang.

To be fair, what you get from Pappa Rich is the convenience of having lots of variety under one roof with a comfortable and air-conditioned ambiance and setting. It is also in-line with the modern kopitiam trend that is fast becoming of Malaysians in the recent years.

Pappa Rich e-Gate
1-01-01 & 1-01-02 Lebuh Tunku Kudin 2, Gelugor
Tel: 04-655 4977
http://www.papparich.com.my/

Mon rods Kitchen 'Nasi Ayam Periuk Besar'

There is a new eatery named Mon rods Kitchen at the new D'Piazza Mall which serves 'Nasi Ayam Periuk Besar' which literally means 'Big Pot Chicken Rice'.

The interior is contemporary, chic and comfortable.

Their specialty is obviously Chicken Rice with some Noodles, Western Food, snacks, toast, and to my surprise, Omega soft boiled eggs as well.

There are four types of chicken on their menu, Ayam Dot Mai, Ayam Panggang (Barbecued Chicken), Ayam Madu (Honey Chicken) and Ayam Kampung (not available when I was there).

Ayam Dot Mai with Tomato Rice (RM5.70)

Ayam Panggang with Chicken Rice (RM5.50)

Kaya and Butter Toast (RM1.40)

Fresh Lemon Tea

The Ayam Dot Mai was deep fried so it was a bit dry. The tomato rice that came with it also lacked of taste. The Ayam Panggang was grilled well and retained the moisture of the chicken and thus was a better choice. It was served with a special spicy gravy.

The kaya and butter toast was quite a let down. I was hoping for something like the toast at Old Town but the bread served here were just the normal bread and was a bit cold and not crispy enough.

I may come back to try the Ayam Madu since I love the Ayam Madu at the nasi kandar joints.

One of the setbacks of this eatery was the time it took for our food to be served. We had to wait for some 30 minutes before our chicken rice was served. The staircase leading to the first floor of the eatery is also very narrow and is the only avenue for the waiters to send the food upstairs thus slowing down the speed of serving to some extent.

Monrods Kitchen

1-67, D'Piazza Mall,Persiaran Mahsuri, Bayan Baru,11920 Bayan Lepas, Penang.

Tel : 04-6307136 Fax:04-6307133

(Address and contact details from Cariso's blog)