Penang Eats

This is my most frequently requested list, from friends who know that Penang is my Malaysian home.  Here's a list of places that I have personally dined at and enjoyed.  It may not match many of the known foodie blog posts out there, and that's because this is where locals (not tourists) dine :)

• Cecil Street Hawker Centre | Also known as Chit Teow Lor Ban San (in Hokkien) or Seventh Street Market | A list of my personal favourite dishes are listed in detail here including curry mee, koay teow thng, char koay teow, pasembur, popiah, nyonya kueh...seriously the list is endless
• Winn's Cafe | Authentic northern Nyonya cuisine.  I highly recommend the nasi ulam, otak-otak, salted fish curry and sambal belachan. Be sure to check out the art gallery upstairs as well.
  
• Double Good Restaurant | Chinese restaurant where I host monthly dinners for my extended family.  Skip their set menus and order a la carte instead.  I recommend the Indonesian prawns claypot, steamed garoupa fish HK style, salted egg mantis prawn, braised pork trotters, sweet & sour pork, kailan double style, fuyong omelette
  
• Pitt St Koay Teow Thng | Michelin street food is now a thing in Penang so if you must indulge, this noodle soup dish is a good place to start.  The fishballs and meatballs are all made in-house and the taste and texture is uniquely delicious.  Be warned : the ladies who run this place are loud, really loud. 
• Joo Leong Cafe | Butter toast and half-boiled eggs with local coffee & tea for breakfast.  My family has been coming to this local village shop for decades.  Was surprised when it was discovered by bloggers.  The owners were my dad's mahjong buddies.  It's conveniently located on the way to the Penang International Airport.  
  
• China House | This is my one nod to tourists' favourites. It's worthy of mention for the novelty of having 4 dining concepts under one roof: cafe with delicious cakes, upscale dining, outdoor beer garden and cocktail lounge.  I love sitting in the Chinese garden section of the house complete with it's it moon gate and koi ponds.  A welcome respite from the hot and hectic world outside.

Singapore Eats

Sharing a list of my favourite Singapore eats.  Curated for my colleagues visiting our Singapore hub and I thought why not update this blog as well since it's been a while :)

• Smith St Taps | Craft beer on tap from local and international breweries located in Chinatown hawker centre | 335 Smith St, #02-062, Singapore 050335 | $$
• National Kitchen Violet Oon | Peranakan heritage cuisine at the National Art Gallery of Singapore - historical building previous venue for City Hall & Supreme Court | 1 St Andrew’s Road, National Gallery #02-01 | $$$
• Fatty Wing Seong | Best Cantonese food in town: sweet & sour pork, kung pao chicken, ginger beef, roast duck, chilli crab, steamed fish | 175 Bencoolen St | $$
• Killiney Kopitiam | Home of traditional Singaporean breakfast of kaya toast, soft boiled eggs and local coffee/tea. Established in 1919 | Various outlet : 67 Killiney Road outlet is the original location | $
• British Hainan | The Hainanese are a Chinese dialect group who worked as cooks for the British during the colonial era and created a unique style of western dishes with a Hainanese twist. | Various outlets: 23 Purvis St is nearest city centre | $$
• Warung M Nasir | Indonesian Malay dishes: Beef rendang, ayam masak merah (chicken in spicy tomato sauce), tahu goreng (stir fried tofu), sayur lodeh (veg in coconut curry) are must tries | 69 Killiney Road  | $
• Murugan’s Idli Shop | South Indian steamed rice cakes with chutney and dhal curry. In the heart of Little India. Vegetarian | 76 Syed Alwi Road | $
• Delhi6 | North Indian : Butter chicken, Chicken tikka masala, lamb rogan josh, dhal makhni, tandoor brocolli are highly recommended | 22 Race Course Road | $$
• Le Bistrot du Sommelier | Country-style French : Rillete, terrine, pate, saucisson are all made in-house. Tucked away in a lovely old shophouse in the historic civic district | 53 Armenian St | $$
• Braci | Contemporary Italian Michelin star degustation menu. Foie gras semi freddo is a must try | 52 Boat Quay #05-01 | $$$$
• Jade | Weekend dim sum brunch is a wonderful deal for only SGD55. Advance booking required | Fullerton Hotel - 1 Fullerton Square | $$$

Sensational Saigon

Xin Chao. Welcome to Aunty Jojo's new world in Vietnam.

My Favourite Food Places

Bánh Xèo 46A Đinh Công Tráng

46A Đinh Công Tráng, Tân Định, Quận 1, Hồ Chí Minh, Vietnam

+84 28 3824 1110

https://goo.gl/maps/sdVNKrzcjNT2

Bahn xeo (Vietnamese pancake) is my all time favourite dish. Had to try this place which comes highly recommended. Served piping hot and super crispy with heaps of fresh herbs and vegetables - to make you feel less guilty about having deep fried pancake 😬😊 So so good!

Bánh mì 362

25 Trần Cao Vân, Đa Kao, Quận 1, Hồ Chí Minh 700000, Vietnam

+84 28 7300 0362

https://goo.gl/maps/azcePJU9sMt

My go-to shop whenever I'm craving a good bahn mi.  Love the grilled pork (thit nuong) baguette with all the veggies.  Chilli is counted as a vegetable so be careful to omit if you're not keen on tongue-numbing goodness! Try the lemongrass-lime juice at half price when you order a bahn mi.  The air-conditioned mezannine area is perfect to enjoy your sandwich and watch the world go by.

Banh mi Huynh Hoa
26 Le Thi Rieng, District 1 Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam
https://goo.gl/maps/RXQH7Pn3vXt

Now I know why they call this the best banh mi in Saigon.  It's a giant baguette stuffed with delicious pate, piles of meat, pickles, cucumbers and cilantro.  It usually takes me 10 minutes to finish an average banh mi but this one took me 30 minutes!  My digestive tract was officially closed for 48 hours after that.

Bánh khọt Cô Ba Vũng Tàu

40B Trần Cao Vân, Phường 6, Quận 3, Hồ Chí Minh, Vietnam

+84 28 3823 7356

https://goo.gl/maps/sToV5iXKkBu

Order a mixed platter of bahn khot (mini pancakes) and pomelo/grapefruit salad. You won't regret it. Other local dishes good too. Nearby Turtle Lake has lots of coffee and bubble tea options. 

Nhà hàng Hoàng Ty

70-72 Võ Văn Tần, Phường 6, Quận 3, Hồ Chí Minh 700000, Vietnam

+84 91 482 81 71

https://goo.gl/maps/vtdVGX9e1ZG2

Very unique local Vietnamese cuisine. You will get a pile of rice paper, huge tray of herbs, thinly slices pork/beef, pickled carrots and daikon - and you get to make your own rice paper rolls. The chewy texture of the rice paper and special fish sauce is a delight to the senses. Super healthy and tasty option when you're pho'd up 😬

Quán Bánh Cuốn Tây Hồ

127 Đinh Tiên Hoàng, Đa Kao, Quận 1, Hồ Chí Minh, Vietnam

+84 28 3820 0584

https://goo.gl/maps/tdEAVkvyH7T2

Excellent bahn cuon (steamed rice rolls filled with pork & mushrooms) Similar to Chinese cheong fun but has a very distinctive twist with the addition of fish sauce/chilli dipping sauce. I ordered the Special - 4 rolls for VND48000. The bahn cuon was bursting with meaty goodness. So so yummy!

Villa Royale Downtown Antiques & Tea Room

Level 1, 25 Hồ Tùng Mậu, Nguyễn Thái Bình, Phường Nguyễn Thái Bìn, Quận 1, Hồ Chí Minh, Vietnam

+84 28 3821 0088

https://goo.gl/maps/Y9sGrnU2NnE2

Beautiful quiet spot on the first floor of an old apartment building. If you want to be transported into a dining room of old-world elegance, this is the place to be. Perfect English high tea with proper pots of Earl Grey tea, cucumber sandwiches, salmon sandwiches, cheesecake, lamingtons and scones - with clotted cream and strawberry preserves! Tracy the owner is wonderfully friendly and welcoming.

Phở Hòa Pasteur

260C Pasteur, Phường 8, Quận 3, Hồ Chí Minh, Vietnam

+84 28 3829 7943

https://goo.gl/maps/qDx7zymuHUS2

Seriously, any pho is a good pho. If you insist on a recommendation, this is one of the well-known joints in town.

Nhà hàng Ngon

160 Pasteur, Bến Nghé, Quận 1, Hồ Chí Minh, Vietnam

+84 28 3827 7131

https://goo.gl/maps/8aeQJ82qPMx

An ideal place to sample all the street foods of Saigon in one location. Old villa with charming decor. Good for first time visitors to Vietnam. Hardly go there anymore because I eat real street food now 😉. 

My favourite Spas

Sả Spa

40B Phạm Ngọc Thạch, Phường 6, Quận 3, Hồ Chí Minh, Vietnam

+84 28 3521 0670

https://goo.gl/maps/LDFQiswRJSQ2

Fabulous experience. It was like stepping into the film set of Indochine with gorgeous interior and furnishings. Masseuse was excellent hitting all the right spots. The yogurt and hot chrysanthemum tea at the end added a nice finishing touch. Highly recommended. Tell Vy the manager that Miss Jo sent you. 

La Maison de L' Apothiquaire Spa Saigon District 3

64A Trương Định, Phường 7, Quận 3, Hồ Chí Minh, Vietnam

+84 28 3932 5181

https://goo.gl/maps/fqn9yb8TH7B2

I may have just found my favourite spa in Saigon. Old world elegance meets spa perfection. A canopy of trees lines a path that leads to a beautiful French-villa  that was the home of the architect who designed the Independence Palace. The treatment was very good too. Prices are higher compared to other spas in the city. But it’s definitely worth every VND. 😊

Shopping & eating in Seoul

Showing off my designer handbag that's a birthday present from Li Ki.  We had so much fun shopping in Insadong after discovering indie fabric designers who create the most fabulous textiles before turning them into wearable fashion and accessories.  It was seriously hard to choose what to buy!

Found a cutout of Park Bo Gum - my current favourite kdrama actor - outside a shop selling a brand of cosmetics we had never of.  So of course, we had to get some.  Especially since they gave me free calendars, posters and postcards of this flower boy.

 

Getting a makeover at Klavu beauty store in Myeongdong.  I was reluctant at first, but the very persuasive sales girl who spoke Mandarin, talked me into trying a new look.  Turned out to be a really fun afternoon!  And yes, I did end up buying quite a few new products.

 

Rose gelato in Myeongdong.  Very pretty.  Looks better than it tastes, to be perfectly honest.

Had the best meal on this trip at a mandu (Korean dumplings) shop in the back lanes of Insadong.  So tasty, satisfying and cheap. Just followed the locals instead of the tourists.

Street Foods of Old Delhi

Every first time traveller to India would no doubt be warned about the dangers of bacteria and intestinal parasites which result in "Delhi belly" - a nasty set of symptoms that has ruined many a holiday. Much of the apprehension is focussed on street foods, which while providing an authentic culinary experience on the one hand, also serves as a possible vehicle for contamination.  As I arrived in New Delhi, I too weighed the risks of eating street food but decided to take the plunge anyway - with a proper tour guide - Surekha Narain of Delhi Metro Walks.  Boy am I glad I did! 

It's possible to enjoy the street delights of Delhi as long as one takes some precautions such as:

• refraining from eating fresh, uncooked food (e.g. juices, salads, cut fruits & vegetables)
• buying cooked food from stalls with high customer turnover, where the wares haven't been left sitting out for too long
• bringing your own hand sanitizers & disposable spoons, and remembering to use them before every meal or snack stop
• not judging a stall too quickly by western standards of hygiene, maintaining a high level of tolerance and healthy sense of humour :)

 Aunty Jo Jo enjoying breakfast puri (deep fried bread) and potato curry at Chandni Chowk

As we traversed the ancient alleys of Old Delhi, I discovered some truly unique and delicious foods.  Here are a some of my favourites, in order of preference.

 Daulat Ki Chaat is a dessert of milk mousse topped with saffron and sugar.  It's a winter specialty in Old Delhi.  What a delightful plate of playfulness!  I only caught a brief taste of sugary milkiness before the pillow of mousse dissolved in my mouth.  This dessert requires a lot of preparation, often beginning with the churning of milk at 2am before setting it in the wake of morning dew. 

Next up we have Til Papri - a confectionary made of sesame which reminded me of some Chinese sweets which were a childhood favourite.  Since it can keep for several months, I bought some to take home.

Khurchan (meaning "leftover scrapes" in Hindi) is a gooey milk candy that is ultra sweet.  It is made by boiling milk, scraping the leftovers from the bottom of the pan and leaving it to evaporate. It's then packed into trays, cut into rectangles and topped with more sugar and julienned pistachios. 

Finally we have dahi balla - spicy lentil balls topped with sweet yogurt and tamarind sauce. The power-packed combination of sweet, savoury, sour and spicy flavours were a little too overwhelming for my palate.  Although I'm told it is the firm favourite of many Delhi-ites. 





We tried a few savoury samosas as well - one fried in pure ghee which was quite decadent and a Jain samosa filled with moong dhal (yellow peas).

I am so happy to have experienced the street foods of Old Delhi and lived to tell the tale!

Canterbury Tales

There is nothing I love more than making new friends and visiting new places.  Thanks to Natasha Pritchard, I got to do both!  Natasha has only recently moved to Kent and kindly offered to drive me to Canterbury on her day off where we had a great time.  Thanks so much, Tash!

Canterbury Cathedral from afar - because I refused to pay the entrance fee of ten pounds!

Canterbury is one of the oldest towns in England with a rich history dating back to Roman times.  The cathedral is the seat of the Anglican Church and the Archbishop of Canterbury.  A pilgrimage to the shrine of Saint Thomas Becket is the backdrop for Chaucer's famous Canterbury Tales - which was the bane of my existence during A Levels. It's charming medieval character still attracts millions of tourists annually.

Natasha & I with our Kentish cream teas

There were two major highlights from my visit to Canterbury.  The first was tea and scones at Tiny Tim's Tearoom.  It's located in one of the oldest buildings in Canterbury with a setting that is quintessentially English. Miss Marple would have approved. The scones were some of the largest I'd ever seen, complete with butter, jam and clotted cream.  Absolutely delicious - especially the apple & raspberry ones.  There's also a ghost room at the top of the stairs open to visitors for free, an offer which Natasha and I politely (and firmly) declined.

The second major highlight was my introduction to Primark - the home of cheap and cheerful clothing. I walked away with a large bagful of clothes for only twenty pounds. Sorry, there aren't any pictures because no self-respecting female shopper is going to bother fiddling with a camera when there are 2-pound shirts and 3-pound tights on sale!

A Sunday afternoon in Whitstable

I grew up on a diet of Peter and Jane books, and those children were always off to Brighton or some seaside town on August bank holiday.  I hadn't a clue what a bank holiday was but I definitely wanted to experience a day out by the English seaside.  And dear 'ol Tariq obliged by driving us to Whitstable on the Kent coast one Sunday afternoon.

Postcard perfect Whitstable

(L-R) Joanna, Martin & Tariq 

(L-R) Martin, Natasha & Tariq

Highlight of the day - Sunday lunch!

It was a picture perfect day in Whitstable and we enjoyed a brisk walk along the pebbled beach watching sailboats and swimmers.  As it was late in the day, we scrambled to find a place for lunch.  We were turned away at two pubs before stumbling on lucky no. 3 -  Shepherd Neame The Duke of Cumberland.  What a gem it turned out to be!  The kitchen was five minutes away from closing but stayed open to cook us an amazing meal.  Never has a "roast and three veg" looked and tasted so good.  For only 15 quid each, we had a seafood paella, roast lamb, roast pork & crackling for mains.  The vegetable dishes - Mediterranean salad, roasted pumpkin, courgettes & fennel - tasted divine.  It was a superb meal in a garden setting with great beer, a good band and a friendly dog.  How's that for a perfect pub!

Kaiseki

"Kaiseki" is a traditional Japanese multi-course dinner, which Kyoto is well-known for.  This is the highest form of food art, with perfection on every plate - both in terms of sight and taste. Words will add nothing to this highly sensory experience, so please just sit back and enjoy the pictures.

Our beautiful hostess and ryokan owner, Mrs Yoshimura, dressed in a traditional kimono, presented each kaiseki dish.  She explained the use of seasonal ingredients as well as the sequence in which the dishes were to be eaten.  I was (and still am) in total awe of her grace, feminine manners and ability to kneel and bow with perfect precision!

Dish 1 (Clockwise): Radish in sesame sauce, anchovy, fish jelly, fish paste, snail

Dish 2: Sashimi

Dish 3:  Grilled prawn with yuba (Japanese yam)

Dish 4: Sawara (Spanish mackerel) with pickled ginger shoot

Dish 5: Tempura of fish, lotus root, okra and shitake mushroom

Dish 6: Sliced conger eel and pickled cucumber salad

Dish 7: Rice & miso soup 

Dish 8: Dessert of peeled Kyoto grapes and kiwi fruit

Bento Heaven

After just 2 days in the seaside town of Atami, we city girls decided we'd had enough of the countryside and took the first Shinkansen (bullet train) to Tokyo.  After wandering around Shinjuku and Harajuku for half a day while filling up on Starbucks coffee and green tea lattes in between, we headed back to Tokyo Station where this lovely photo was taken.

Once inside the station, we were looking for somewhere to eat when we stumbled into basement 1 of the Daimaru store and discovered BENTO HEAVEN!

..

From appetisers...

...to sushi bentos

From salads...

...to croquettes and all manner of fried meatballs

Not forgetting the sashimi bentos....

...and tempting tempura

This dizzying display of delicious delights left us speechless and it took several rounds of surveying and sampling before we finally decided on what to pack for dinner.  All three of us agreed that it was definitely the highlight of the day and worth making a day trip into Tokyo for.

Southern Cookin'

No trip to New Orleans is complete without mentioning the delicious food found in the South, and as a self-respecting blogger, I just have to come up with my own personal list of favourites. This list is purely based on a personal measure called "satisfaction per calorie" so, here goes...

 

 

No.1  Fried Green Tomatoes with Grilled Shrimp from The Creole Grille & Bar  -  This is the first time I've ever had fried green tomatoes and it was to die for!  The crispy battered tomatoes topped with spicy grilled shrimp, egg salad and tartare sauce really made my tastebuds sing for joy.  If this is Southern cookin', I'm happy to do more Southern eatin'  :)



No. 2. Catfish Platter and Potato Salad from The Creole Grille & Bar - I used to laugh when I heard Southern chefs on the Food Channel say, "If we're not sure what an ingredient is, we just fry it!".  Now, I realise why.  They sure know how to fry up a delicious plate of anything.  Including this catfish platter.  It was so good, especially when paired with home-style potato salad. 

No. 3 Duck Po' Boys from Crabby Jacks - When a local waitress tells you that the po' boys from another joint is better than her own restaurant, you don't ask questions.  You just punch in the address into your GPS and head there straight away.  That's how we discovered the best po'boys in New Orleans.  The soft french bread was just the right consistency to soak up all the duck jus, while the pickles and mayonnaise added just the right contrast to the shredded duck meat that was bursting out of this sandwich.  Yumm...

No. 4  Shrimp & Grits from Mother's Restaurant - This place came highly recommended by our hotel concierge and tour bus guide, so we should have known better.  The decor was rather antiquated which I suppose added to the historical cache of the restaurant.  The shrimp and grits were tasty but not as earth-shattering as I had hoped.  In fact, I thought the turnip greens cooked in bacon was the most flavourful item on the plate, although it didn't look very appealing at first sight.  My sister had the Ferdi Po-Boy, which was filled with roast beef, pulled pork and ham.  The one bite she shared with me was very tasty.

 

No. 5 Coffee and beignets from Cafe du Monde - Given the number of times I've heard this place reviewed on the Travel Channel, I really had higher expectations.  The coffee tasted rather watered down, and although the beignets (French doughnuts) were hot and fresh, they tasted quite ordinary.  Much like "you tiao" (Chinese crullers).  Still, the powdered sugar added some fun to the eating experience as I managed to get a lot of it on my face and jacket, much to my sister's amusement!

 

Top 5 Tasty Treats

I can hardly believe that I've made it to the end of my vacation with nary a mention of food that I've had on this trip! To remedy that immediately, here are some of my favourite finds for this 2011 trip to the US.

No. 1 Shrimp and Hot Links Pasta at Johnny Garlic's at Rocklin, California

I love watching Guy Fieri's "Diners, Dive Ins and Dives"on the Food Network and have been wanting to try his restaurant in Northern California for the longest time. The spicy pasta cream sauce was "MONEY!" as Guy would say. Absolutely delicious and highly recommended. And it's not just because I'm a groupie :-)

No. 2 Country Fried Steak and Pies at Marie Callender's

This restaurant chain serves excellent down home Southern style cooking. The very first thing that greets you when you walk in is rows of pies - apple, blueberry, custard, lemon meringue, pecan and everything in between. Went there for breakfast and had my first country fried steak with eggs and hash browns too. All 1350 calories of it. Gulp!

No. 3 Onion Steak at Logan's Roadhouse, Citrus Heights CA

I was carrying a steak craving from Singapore, and the satisfaction factor was met at Logan's Roadhouse. The juicy 6 oz steak was sandwiched between a layer of caramelized onions at the bottom, and topped with deep fried onion rings. That grin on my face says it all!

No. 4 Deep-fried zuchinni at Paul's Diner, Los Angeles

Here's a perfect way to make your vegetables tasty...coat with breading, deep fry to golden perfection, top with parmesan cheese and dip in ranch dressing! Super yummy and highly recommended anytime you find yourself at Paul's Diner located at Buena Park near Disneyland.

No. 5 The Green Room at Chelsea Market, New York City

A rustic yet chic farm-to-table restaurant at the heart of Food Network's HQ in New York. I enjoyed a deliciously healthy spicy sausage and lentil stew for lunch. I'm sure any of the Iron Chefs would have approved of this hearty dish.

Happy Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is an American tradition that began as a celebration of the harvest when the Pilgrims first arrived to settle in the New Country. It is also a celebration of thanks for everything that God has blessed us with in life.

My sister Julie is one of the chief blessings in my life and I thank God every day for her. Her courage and determination to start a new life in America is an inspiration to me and many others who have entered her circle of friends. She is an amazing cook who has increased her repertoire rapidly from Chinese Peranakan cooking to traditional American Thanksgiving fare in the six years that she's arrived in California.

Our Thanksgiving dinner this year included roast turkey, gravy, cranberry sauce, stuffing with sausages, green bean casserole, cornbread muffins, baked yams and mashed potatoes. Given that we were born and bred in tropical Malaysia, I believe this was a very credible attempt at producing a traditional Thanksgiving spread. Clap..clap..pat ourselves on the back...

However, food is only part of the equation for a true Thanksgiving. The real essence of the holiday lies in the people who come to share in the feasting with you. This year, we were blessed to share dinner with Esther and Albert Hui, a pair of siblings from Julie's church and the Mouas: Jessica, Joshua, Faith and Zachary.