Town Steamboat @ Macalister Road

It has been almost a year since my last steamboat for non-CNY (Chinese New Year) purpose. For most people of the olden days, steamboat is only the event for Chinese New Year reunion purposes. Don't know why but if you talk about reunion for Chinese New Year, it has got to be steamboat!

As this tradition still continues its journey, steamboat gathering is nothing awkward nowadays. People would go to steamboat for just a simple dinner or lunch but i find out that most steamboat restaurants operate only at night. Even if they were to operate during lunch, i suspect there will be many patrons as Malaysia weather is too hot to bear, moreover having steamboat when mr.sun scorches strongest during the mid-day.

Town steamboat consists of a very big space. A rough count tells it can cater up to 80 tables with each table having the capacity of sitting up to 5 people. You can do the math! ;)

For RM20.90 per person, there are actually a vast variety of food to choose from comparing with its other counterparts.

mini fountain at its entrance

man-painted fountain (looks real huh?)

  they have a built-in play area for kids 

 1st section: raw meat/fish balls, meat

 2nd section-fried stuff: dim-sum, lok-lok (how interesting to be having this in an already a steamboat place)

3rd section-desert corner: black herbal jelly, mango pudding, ice cream, cakes, fruits

my companion for the night

While such bbq cum steamboat restaurants don't usually last long, Town Steamboat seems to be progressing their way through and really maximising their profit over this business. It has been more than 3 years since their emergence. Another pioneer bbq steamboat restaurant is the one along Nagore Lane, more frequented by teenagers.

The newer one which is more preferable by most diners is the Xuan Xin steamboat whereby you do not need to do the bbq by yourself.

Where at?
Macalister Road, right opposite of UMNO building

Tel no: 04-2297273

The Brewers Arms, Merivale Village, New Zealand

My New Zealand (NZ) 8 days league has finally ended with a drive of 2199km in the south island starting from Christchurch all the way down to Dunedin and back to Christchurch. Readers will be able to read posts about NZ every now and then. This is perhaps the BEST backpacking trip i have ever had.
And to start of the first post from NZ, i shall be blogging about this place named Brewers Arms, introduced by our host at the Best Western Camelot Motor Lodge in Merivale, Christchurch.
This place is the place to be if you want to try out NZ's original recipe i.e. stone grill.

 the Brewers Arms, famous for its stonegrill

 its menu (you can custom-made your stone grill meat)

 this place is packed with people when it's just 6pm!

 water is always FREE in ALL NZ cafes and restaurants (something i compliment NZ for!)

 my friend's steak, venison, lamb and pork stone grill

my custom-made stone grill at $29.50 (pork, chicken, mussel, scallop)

All stone grill comes with a very hot stone at 400 degrees, sufficient to cook a raw meat. This dish also comes very healthily with salad, vegetable and potatoes.

Where at?

177, Papanui Road, Merivale 8014, New Zealand

Tel no: +643 963 1620

Little Oasis @ Prangin Mall

Our initial decision was to dine at JL Gourmet since I have never been there and a colleague of mine has always been praising the food. However, my mind changed after I saw the menu they had. Somehow, i just felt that the ambiance is not up to par with the price that i would be paying.

So, we decided to enter Little Oasis, just right opposite of JL Gourmet, which is on the third floor of Prangin Mall (same wing as where the cinema is located at). To our surprise, Little Oasis actually has more patrons. Its menu consists of both Western and Chinese cuisine.

 new in-store sorbet collections (we were given a free cup to try, see picture below)

lemon sorbet (super sour!!!...but it's free ;p)

 ice lemon tea

 mushroom soup (very creamy)

 ginger fish (RM5.80)

 sweet and sour chicken (5.80)

 chocolate ice cream

For an additional RM3 on any ala carte, you will be given a glass of drink, clear soup and a scoop of ice cream. You can also add RM1 to upgrade your clear soup to mushroom soup instead; which was what we have done above.

Noticed how the chicken and fish were done similarly. The only difference lies in the sauce they gave you. I would say the ginger sauce lacks ginger and the sweet and sour sauce taste a little spicey (ermmm, but it's not hot and spicy though ;p).

We also noticed a lot of patrons ordered western food instead of the ones we ordered. I guess Little Oasis were famous for a reason, but definitely not their oriental dishes.

Where at?

3rd floor of Prangin Mall, same wing as the cinema, right beneath Wong Kok Kitchen

I Love Yoo~~

It is a very interesting name to use, if you pronounce it carefully, it says "i love you". So sweet, right? ;)

They have a lot of branches in KL and Penang. Not sure about other states though. So far, in Penang, you can find "I Love Yoo" at Gurney Plaza (basement, right beside food court), Queensbay Mall food court (3rd floor) as well as Tesco Tanjung Pinang.

Their main dish is porridge, or to be exact, dry scallop porridge priced at RM2.90 per bowl. This is very cheap for a superbly big bowl of porridge. Add on RM1 if you want to add on a piece of "you tiao" (the Chinese like to eat this with porridge, it is actually fried Chinese pastry).

If you want drinks as well, you can get another set at RM6.50 which comes with a tall glass of their very home made soya bean.

Besides this, they also have side dishes of other Chinese-like pastries such as yam balls and sweet potato balls, priced at RM3 for 5 pieces.

I think it is place worth trying and dining in when you run out of ideas for food of when you opt for light meals.

Full of Beans @ Straits Quay

Macaroons, originated from France have been a big hoo-ha recently. Since the introduction of the pastry to KL, people have been talking about it. And it is almost so rare that perhaps you can only get them at KL. However, i was lucky to have came across a blog mentioning the availability of macaroons in Penang and immediately i took the opportunity to try them out. 

If you're coming from the centre of Straits Quay, you will see Full of Beans at the left end of 1st floor (opposite Subway, next to Nyonya Breeze)

Full of Beans is a small shop and is uniquely furbished with comfy sofas and couch. They have their own coffee-making sets (traditional to electronic ones). You can sit by the counter if you want to take a closer look at how they blend your coffee. But i'd rather chill on those comfy cushions.

apparatus for coffee-making (reminds me of the science lab in my school)

There are more than 16 types of coffee freshly brewed from the category of beans; ranging from special blend priced at RM8.50 to Jamaican Blue Mountain priced at RM45 per cup. 

its menu

Alright, I must admit I am not a coffee addict neither do I know much about coffee, so I decided to go with the special blend since it is my first visit to be on the safe side instead of being so adventurous!

notice the unique spoon and brown sugar cubes

So, without much hesitation, I immediately asked them how many flavours of macaroons they have, and they only had 3; chocolate, lemon and berry. I have never been a big fan of lemon, so i ordered a piece of chocolate and berry each. I never researched how big macaroons should although i have always like to plan something before hand but this time, i just decided to let myself be surprised...Somehow, the surprise was in fact a little too "big", i was stunned to see 2 tiny little oreo-like pastry measuring with a diameter of about 2.5cm. 

don't you think they are too cute to be eaten? (RM2.50/ piece)

the pastry cracked immediately after my first bite, does this mean it is not good enough?

This is a very calming and relaxing place to chill out while doing some reading or net-surfing. They also sell books regarding coffee-blending, etc. By the way, i prefer the berry-flavored macaroon to the chocolate one because the chocolate is way too sweet! (p/s: macaroon is also spelt as macaron at times)

The waitress told me they used to serve cream puff and other pastries as well but they stopped. I guess patrons prefer to just drink coffee there. 

Where at?

3A-1-6, Straits Quay Marina Mall, Jalan Seri Tanjung Pinang 3, 10470 Tanjong Bungah, Penang.

Mapo tofu aka braised bean curd with chilli

I love to cook. I have been cooking since the day i knew how to cook! *hahaha* I have done western, italian and chinese cuisines. I have to try baking though. 

My all-time favorite, 1 dish to go with 1 bowl of rice is the "mapo tofu". It is an exceptionally a simple yet affordable dish. The cost of ingredients totals to less than rm3, cooks for 2 portions. 

The ingredients you need for mapo tofu is: tofu, chilli bean paste (better known as "dou ban jiang", 豆瓣醬), fermented bean paste, minced onion and chilli paste (depending on how spicy you want it be). Most people add minced meat into this recipe. You can always improvise your own recipe by putting in other stuff as well, just make sure it is something which blends well with tofu. 

Add some spring onion to garnish your dish and make it more colourful. I didn't put them though because i never like the smell of spring onion. ;)

i used to go to Japs/ Taiwan restaurants and order a plate of mapo tofu to eat with a bowl of rice but now i prefer cooking it on my own :)

Sri Batik Nyonya Cafe (revisit)

A revisit to this Nyonya cafe after more than a year still gives me the same old feeling, unfriendly worker dressed in kebaya costumes. This time, my visit was prompted with the purchase of online voucher of buffet for 2 at 50% (RM9.90). Yes, a buffet at RM9.90 for 2 pax applicable only on weekdays, 12pm-3pm. The original price is RM19.80. As promised in the voucher, there were 10 dishes including white rice. Desert was one of the best things i enjoyed in my entire meal. I was a little unlucky as they didn't serve my favorite kapitan chicken or "jiu hoo char" which was one of the most famous nyonya dishes people could crave for.

Here are what they offered during the buffet:

 white tomyam (too sweet)

 salty vegetable soup

 tofu in sour sauce

 fried vegetable

 fried cauliflower and broccoli

 fried egg dipped in sweet and sour sauce

 pineapple kerabu

 fried kembung fish

cuttlefish curry with ladies fingers and tomatoes

 a new tank of ice cream consisting of 6 flavours

 dessert and drink

 bubur cacar

large crowd busy eating

In less than 15 minutes when the buffet started, the place was almost full. Food was running out pretty quickly. Some people actually dashed to grab the food as if they were suffering from famine before this. And as we were about to leave after a rather-satisfying meal (probably for my eating companions but not me), they brought in another new dish. Guess what? Fried instant noodle with pathetic vegetables and minced pork. *sorry the dish was too pathetic that i decided not to take any picture of it*

Anyway, what more could i ask for RM4.45 per meal? Well, i guess the saying "what you get is what you paid for" could very well be applied in this scenario. But, i am glad i went anyway. Sri Batik revisit number 3? Maybe not any sooner.

Nippon Yataimura Japanese Restaurant (revisit)

If you could still remember sometime last year i blogged about this Japanese Restaurant for it being my favorite place to go. I love its mapo tofu (my all time favorite) as well as its gekikara ramen, my another all-time favorite.
I recently visited its another branch at the basement of Queensbay Mall, just right next to food court and was totally disappointed with what I got.
I am not sure if it was a different branch, different chef cooking problem but my gekikara ramen just didn't taste the same anymore. I used to have this tingling-happy feeling eating it but this visit certainly didn't bring me that. :(
Apart from that negativity, they have a whole new menu though; bigger hardcover book.

 chicken teriyaki set - RM17.90

 katsu nabe don - RM17

my disappointing gekikara ramen - RM17

A very useful suggestion here, if it is your first visit to Nippon Yataimura, you should visit the one at Pulau Tikus. That is the pioneer branch after all.

McD's Grilled Chicken Burger

I guess this is my first post on fast food. Honestly, i am very health conscious (minus the fact that i love spicy and sour food), i seldom take fast food (which is why i will never consider moving to the Western country and meals in my OZ trip caused me so much grief! ;p) and i don't take junk food. Well, not never, but rarely, in fact you won't find a single packet of chips in my home. I also don't take fried food and always avoid over-oily food plus my favorite drink is H20.
However, i do have friends who make it an effort to visit the fast food restaurants at least once a month. I will never understand such rituals. ;p
Not unless, GCB is made a permanent recipe in McD's menu though! :)

GCB also stands for grilled chicken burger and looks almost like McD's yearly prosperity burger except that there is no black pepper and onions! Lots of lettuce, chargrilled sauce and 1 whole grilled chicken thigh sandwiched in between the buns is what GCB is all about.

the burger!!!

quarter-gone GCB ;p

Its ala carte price is close to RM9 after tax while its set is priced close to RM12 after tax. I never drink carbonated drink (another point to my healthy life), so i opt for ala carte most of the time unless when i am craving for fries!

GCB is only available for a limited period (while stock lasts). So, make your way to the nearest McD now and grab your very own GCB!! ^^

p/s: sorry, pictures in this post were taken using mobile's built-in camera as i did not bring out my beloved DSLR for it was meant to be a shopping trip ;)