Friday, October 31, 2008

4 meals in Penang

I had a hit-list for my most recent trip back to Penang - it came up to the proportion of about 10 meals in less than 2 days - not that impossible, no? But sadly, I squeezed in no more than 4 and a half.

Lunch on day one was at Mom's Kitchen, Tanjung Bungah. Thai food's a must on any break, in Thailand or Poland. This place came with strong recommendations from Fat Tulip but it fell way, way short of expectations.

Somtum - purely perfunctory.

Seafood tomyam - watery, bland, more canned mushrooms than seafood.

We had ordered this under the impression that it was Kai Yad Sai (pork stuffed omelette) and it turned out like an omelette one would blindly fry up in stupor for some homemade hangover nosh. Like, WTF? Needless to say, I am not going back to Mom's Kitchen.

Dinner was a visit to good old Yaw's (formerly Top Top) - Chicken Minced! I had been drooling over pictures recently from a handful of Penang blogs that I simply had to have it!

Supper, after copious amount of alcohol at MS', at Intan Nasi Lemak in Taman Free School. Carbs after midnight, gahhhh! I am such a gangster when I'm drunk!

This place opens only late at night and attracts a healthy crowd of those who simply cannot wait until the break of dawn for their nasi lemak fix. The makcik is very generous with her ikan bilis, piles it on your plate like it's going out of fashion.

And finally, what's a trip back without some home-cooked goodies? Mom's the best!

Mui choi kau yuk (stewed pork with preserved vegetables). Luscious!

Giant tiger prawns, with just a hint of salt and garlic

Sambal petai with an inordinate amount of tamarind juice. Stinkin' lovely!

And that's a wrap! Till next time, when the list gets revisited again...

14 comments:

-j- said...

the tiger prawns looks good!!! very very good!!!

Allie said...

The tom yam looks so bland. Don't even need to taste it to make sure it taste bad. :-p

Wow! really lots of ikan bilis ler! Keng! Will die of salties? Hehe

Anonymous said...

You do have delicious food on your holiday back home. Your mom's tau yue bak and prawns looks yummy lor...

Ciki said...

where's the add of the restaurant again?

J2Kfm said...

oooh .... sambal petai. sour and spicy stinking goodness.
homecooked ones got that special something eh?

cariso said...

Hmm....guess I need to on hold my hunt to Mom's Kitchen uh?!

worldwindows said...

You left the best for last. Though not very good with curry esp. the aftermath, I still like the petai very much.

minchow said...

Duckie, it tasted even better! :-)

Allie, actually it was a bit too much ikan bilis for me - every mouthful of rice was so...crunchy!

CK Lam, only get to have mom's cooking once in a blue moon - makes it the most highly coveted meal in town!

Ciki, haha, add of the rotten Thai place, the nasi lemak stall or my house?

J2kfm, I could have petai everyday really. Homemade even better!

Cariso, perhaps they excel in their other dishes, like the sour pork leg. Maybe you can try those and compare notes?

Worldwindows, hmmm I wonder how else one would consume petai if not with plenty of spice? Care to share?

Anonymous said...

Wah, your mom's pork and prawns looks very good. I think I prefer your mom's kitchen than that Mom's Kitchen with Thai food.

email2me said...

There's no way you can compare mom's home cook food with restaurants ....

The taste will be never the same. I guess outside they use MSG and our mom didn't.

minchow said...

Foong, haha, yes, the real mom's kitchen trumps commercial Mom's Kitchen!

Email2me,no comparison whatsoever! Sad thing is, I can't have home cooking all the time, it's a rare treat!

Anonymous said...

oh wow, the omelette does look cooked in a very cincai way

Steven Goh said...

old Yaw's (formerly Top Top)Chicken Minced is a must to try. I had had that just on last month and the standard still maintain, thumbsup :)

YewSuan said...

Hi
Can i know where is the nasi lemak Intan @ free school ?
I loved nasi lemak and i recently found one at BAtu Lanchang
Nasi Lemak Liverpool
Thanks n Cheers
Carole Tan