Wellness Recipe Organic Cafe

(Sorry for the long hiatus folks. My busy schedule has gotten the better of me. For those who've been back here to check on my blog, thanks for your patience.)

Wellness Recipe is an organic cafe that serves healthy organic food without MSG and low in salt. 

The menu is elaborate with set meals and ala-carte items. The items are mostly vegetarian but for those who can't live without meat, read this: Wellness Recipe also serves organic chicken, so fret not. You can even opt for the Hakka Lei Cha, Nasi Ulam, Asam Laksa or Korean style Hot Pot, amongst others (check out the full menu here).

I bought two vouchers from Groupon so we made our maiden visit to the cafe a few weeks ago to claim the vouchers before they expire. 

I paid RM9.90 for each voucher for a choice of Yin Yang Spaghetti or Mushroom Fried Rice or Tom Yam Noodles and Barley Green Honey Drink (voucher value RM21.70) 

We immediately liked the cottage inspired decor with green hues and cozy ambiance. We opted for the spaghetti and fried rice and paid extra for the signature Organic Chicken and an additional glass of bitter gourd honey drink. 

Wellness Recipe promotes wellness juicing programmes so there is a host of interesting fruit beverages on the menu.  

We truly enjoyed the meal especially the fresh and whole ingredients used. This is what I call good wholesome food minus the guilt. 

Barley Green Honey Drink (RM5.90)

Mushroom Fried Brown Rice (RM13.80)

Bitter Gourd Honey (RM4.90)

Wellness Signature Organic Chicken( RM18.80)

Yin Yang Spaghetti (RM13.80)

Wellness products for sale

Dr Yoshide Hagiwara's Barley Green

Wellness Recipe Cafe K-5-1, Bay Avenue, Lorong Bayan Indah 2 11900 Bayan Lepas, Penang Tel:+604-646 4505 / Fax:+604-643 8119 Operating hours: 10am - 9pm (Mon - Sat) http://www.wellnessconcept.net/v4/greencorner_wellnessrecipe.html

New ie Cafe at ie Organic and Healthy Food Centre

ie Cafe which is part of the ie Organic & Heathly Food Centre recently opened its doors for business at the D'Piazza Mall on 9 June 2010. It is the new branch of the original shop in Pulau Tikus.

ie Cafe currently serves organic and healthy set lunch which is available on weekdays (menu changes daily), ala-carte items (fried rice, spaghetti, meesua tao etc.), Easiyo yogurt, afternoon tea sets, fresh juices etc.

ie members enjoy 10% discount.

Open kitchen

According to the menu, intensive heat with high flames destroys nutrients in food especially vitamins B and C thus the reason why ie Cafe has adopted the slow cooking and low fire method.

Set Lunch (RM9.90)

I ordered the set lunch which came with curry chicken (with organic chicken), 8 multigrain rice, stir fried spinach, seaweed tofu soup and sugar cane drink. The set lunch is available from 11am to 2:30pm from Monday to Friday.

Sugar Cane and Soya Milk

Enjoying brisk business during lunch hours

Menu

Chicken Spaghetti (RM11.90)

Hubs ordered the chicken spaghetti. All tomato, potato, spaghetti and chicken are organic ingredients.

The menu is rather limited for now but it sure felt good to be eating healthy and wholesome meal.

Organic Mocha Blended (RM8.90)

They whip up pretty awesome mocha blended here. Thick and strong flavours.

This cute little cafe is designed with a semi-cottage feel and is decorated with personal items bought by the owner when travelling overseas.

Kids Corner

We have also tried their afternoon tea set on a different occasion. It is available from 2:30pm to 6:00pm and is priced at RM18.90 for two pax (RM11.90 per pax). The set includes organic tea, homemade biscuits, scones, fruits, sandwiches and cakes.

Wide array of organic and health food products

Organic foods are made in a way that limits the use of synthetic materials during production. For the vast majority of human history, agriculture can be described as organic; only during the 20th century was a large supply of new synthetic chemicals introduced to the food supply. This more recent style of production is referred to as "conventional." Under organic production, the use of conventional non-organic pesticides, insecticides and herbicides is greatly restricted and saved as a last resort. If livestock are involved, they must be reared without the routine use of antibiotics and without the use of growth hormones, and generally fed a healthy diet.[citation needed] In most countries, organic produce may not be genetically modified.

Organic food production is a heavily regulated industry, distinct from private gardening. Currently, the European Union, the United States, Canada, Japan and many other countries require producers to obtain special certification in order to market food as "organic" within their borders. (Source: Wikipedia)

ie Organic and Healthy Food Centre

Wide selection of breads and cakes

ie Cafe at ie Organic and Healthy Food Centre
Address: 70-1-19 & 3-19, D′ Piazza Mall, Jalan Mahsuri, 11950 Bayan Baru, Penang, Malaysia.
Tel: 04-6452079
Opens from 11 am to 8 pm (cafe until 6 pm)
Closed on Sunday

Chin's Stylish Chinese Cuisine

Grand entrance

We found Chin’s Stylish Chinese Cuisine from My Food My Love’s post. I immediately called to make a booking for the two of us to celebrate the birthday of yours truly. :)

Before we went, we had one reservation about the place and that is the parking issue. Our fear was confirmed when we were asked by a “jaga kereta” or parking attendant to pay RM5 for parking at an MPPP lot by the road side opposite QE2 (at close to 9pm). We had to fork out the sum requested for fear that he will induce harm on our car, or worse still, on us. :(

They have a few set menus to choose from ranging from RM88++ per pax to RM218++ per pax. Sam Chin (the restaurant owner Dave Chin's son) was patient with us and actually recommended the set for us (RM88++ per pax) and explained each and every dish on the set menu.

Chic and stylish decor

The décor is chic and stylish just as the restaurant name suggests. I absolutely loved the large framed paintings hung on the ceiling and ambient lighting from the grand chandeliers. The view from the restaurant is great and we actually caught a glimpse of the Superstar Pisces (which recently made Penang its home port) as it was leaving the pier for the open sea for its 2D / 1N cruise.

Excellent view from our table

Dave and Sam Chin with famous TVB actor Ron Ng

Waiting area after the grand entrance

Cabinet displaying beautiful hand painted plates

Chin's menu

Love at First Sight tea

Bar

Beautiful chandelier and great ambiance

Hot Appetizers

Heavenly Blessed Joysticks

Sesame Prawns on Toast

Smoked Chicken

Cold Appetizers

Garlic Cucumber

Crystal Bean Noodles (Approximately 1cm wide transparent noodles made of mung beans. The texture was springy and chewy and excellent when served cold)

Delicate Tree Fungus

Century Eggs in Grilled Red Pepper

Cold Appetizers

Specialty – Chin’s Aromatic Crispy Duck.

The aromatic duck (not to be mistaken with Peking Duck) is deep fried and shredded into small strips at the diners’ table. It is served with pancake, cucumber, spring onions and sweet sauce. According to Wikipedia, the crispy aromatic duck was created by the Chinese community in the UK in the latter half of the 20th century and is served by most Chinese restaurants as a signature dish on the menu, thus explains why it is Chin’s specialty.

Beautiful hand painted plate

Main Course

Steamed Frog Leg in Bamboo Tube Pepper

Sauteed Hot & Sour Chinese Cabbage

5-Colour Unpolished Organic Fried Rice

Cumin Mutton Skewers

Spicy Hot Poached Fish (Shui Zhu Yu)

Beef Tenderloin in Hot Stone Oil

Beef tenderloin cooked in hot oil at the table

Dessert

Jasmine Jelly / Sea Coconut / White Fungus

Even though the restaurant was running on full capacity that night, the service was most of the time prompt with just some slight hiccups which was quite excusable. Sam Chin was all apologetic about it so kudos to him for making his customers feel special. :)

Above and over all else, I will definitely recommend this place for a one-of-a-kind Chinese / Cantonese / Szechuan / Fusion dining experience in Penang. I had the opportunity to talk to the man behind this unique establishment, Mr Dave Chin himself and was told that he has tried searching for a restaurant with this concept in some countries in Asia e.g. Singapore but has yet to find one.

The only thing to be prepared for is, just like most Szechuan / Hunan cooking, some of the dishes could be a tad oily for some to palate.

Chin’s is actually not officially open yet and I think is currently only available via advance booking only so please call to book to avoid disappointment.

Check out Helen Ong's post on Chin's here.

Chin’s Stylish Chinese Cuisine
Tanjong City Marina

Church St Pier (Next to QE II)8A Pengkalan Weld

Georgetown, Penang
Tel: 04-2612611 / 012-4716128