Dragon Phoenix Seafood @ Genting Cafe, Farlim, Penang.

I am a regular patron at Farlim/Paya Terubong area due to the night market and sports stadium nearby, while I was patronizing the area, I was amazed by the customer flow of this cafe. Did some research over the internet and was introduced by Sam from Eatoutsam that this cafe (Dragon Phoenix Seafood) serves Cheap and Good Chu Char (煮炒). They do serve a wide variety of dishes and their specialties of the day/week will be written on their white board, which will be placed right in front of their stall. Their way of preparing dishes was more to the Thai style I believe, and most of the dishes were reasonably priced. You can expect some good seafood dishes from Dragon Phoenix too. Its not hard to find this cafe, its facing (or next to) a green organic bread shop (same row as Maybank) and behind the field where the night market is usually be held. You can even find this Lok Lok Rojak stall right opposite to this cafe too. Food quality was overall impressive and you might want to expect a massive customer traffic during weekends at this cafe, but worry not, their serving speed was unbelievably fast and there will be ample parking spaces around the area (although some walk might be needed).

We had one of their signature dishes-- Tom Yam Seafood soup for Rm30. The soup was served using a pre-heated claypot and the soup comes with big and succulent prawns, fish meat, squid, sea asparagus and some clams. The Tom Yam was overall, very appetizing and good to my taste; with a balanced taste of sweet, sour and spiciness. The spiciness was perfectly okay for me, if you wish the soup be slightly spicier, do tell the lady when she's taking your orders. The portion was good enough for us to divide into six small bowls. I just love to enjoy Tom Yam soup with loads of seafood ingredients. Recommended.

Stir Fried Kangkung (Water Spinach) with Sambal/Chilies (Rm6) was very good, however, the portion was somehow too small for me, should have ordered for a bigger one. Anyway, it comes with a few pieces of shrimps. Some of us find this dish was on the sweeter side, but it was fine for me since the sweetness was not too significant to affect the overall taste. The water spinach was perfectly done, as in not overcooked nor too raw, just there to give the right crunchiness. Thumbs up.

Braised Pork Knuckle (红烧猪蹄，Rm27) comes in gigantic portion. We were told that they have two ways of preparing pork knuckles, you can savor their pork knuckle either by braising or frying them (Thai style). We opted for the braised pork knuckle instead. Nicely done, the pork knuckle was so soft and tender. A satisfying bite will be none other than a juicy bite of this pork knuckle. The portion was very huge and I would recommend this dish only if you have five or more people dining together with you.

Next was their Crystal Tofu (Rm10). The smooth and jelly-like Tofu was topped with some sauce which has sliced mushrooms, minced meat together. The sauce was flavorful and works well together with white rice. Recommended.

Claypot Prawns with Glass Noodles/Tanghoon (Rm18). This dish comes with four to five huge prawns and has some glass noodles topped. The sauce was somewhat a bit saltier than I thought it would be and it has a very heavy black-peppery smell. The prawns do not really work well with the sauce and it was just an okay dish to me. 

We actually ordered for Seafood Otak (Rm34) which was written on their white board, but somehow this dish arrived to our table and we were told that this dish was actually their Seafood Otak (Otak means cake made of fish meat and various kinds of spices). We flipped those crabs but the cake-form of thing were no where to be seen. Anyway, this Seafood Otak consists of some big prawns, crabs and some squids. The curry sauce brings some sweetness and has a very strong coconut milk flavor. Unless you are a crab-lover, else I would not recommend this dish although the taste was decent. 

Ratings:

Taste: 7.5/10 (1-3 bad, 4-7 average, 8-10 good)

Price: 8/10 (1-3 expensive, 4-7 average, 8-10 cheap)

Service: 8.5/10 (1-3 bad, 4-7 average, 8-10 good)

Parking: 7/10 (1-3 bad, 4-7 average, 8-10 good)

Service Charge: No

Government Tax: No

Additional Information:

Address: 26-A, Lintang Angsana, Bandar Baru Air Itam, Farlim, Penang.

Business Hour: 12pm to 2:30pm; 6pm to 10pm. Daily.

Contact Number: 604- 828 6263

Goku Raku Ramen @ Gurney Paragon Mall, Penang.

In the recent festive month of December, 2011, there were 2 new shopping malls(Precinct 10 and Gurney Paragon Mall) with a lot of Food and Beverage outlets opened in Penang, I had my attempt on Sushi Zento at Precinct 10 earlier ago and I always wanted to try this famous Goku Raku Ramen which has gained its good reputation via the outlet in Mid Valley Megamall (Kuala Lumpur). Recommended by a lot of food bloggers (based in K.L.) about their thick and creamy Ramen broth. Summarized from their official website, " The pork, chicken and fish mixed broth were simmered to perfection for 48hours to bring out its exquisite taste". The newly opened Penang outlet is situated at Gurney Paragon Mall, which located along Gurney Drive and a few steps away from Gurney Plaza. You may park your car at Gurney Plaza and walk to Gurney Paragon Mall if you are unfamiliar with the new building. Service was so-so during my visit, the employees seem to be so confused with their work, wrong orders sent to my table and I requested for their WiFi password, but the waiter seemed to be ignorant (telling me in an unclear and simple manner) and I had to ask for a second time. Price-wise, is slightly on the higher side, moreover, they are charging 10% service charge and 6% government tax.

Had their Ultimate Tonkotsu Ramen (Rm21.90 for large/Rm16.90 for small). There are 3 choices of soup available, namely the normal Tonkotsu soup, Shoyu Tonkotsu (Japanese Soy Sauce) soup and their Miso Tonkotsu soup. Among the 3 choices, I find Miso Tonkotsu soup has the most unique and delicious. All of the soup mentioned above share common characteristics, which are thick, rich, creamy and flavorful. Each bowl of Ultimate Ramen comes with a big piece of Seaweed, one whole hard boiled egg, bamboo shoot and 2 slices of their Char Siew (Japanese Roasted Pork). Portion was okay only for the large bowl of Ramen, order small only if you are a small eater. The Ramen was normal only in my opinion, I have expected something more chewy and springy, but it turned out to be normal only, nevertheless, their Ramen broth was one of the best I ever had. Recommended for Ramen Lovers!

As for drinks, they are pretty pricey as well, particularly their Ocha (Japanese Green Tea, Rm2.90 cold). They were just ordinary Ocha to me, similar item is much cheaper in other Japanese restaurants. One of my friends had their Honey Lemon Tea (Rm4.90 for warm) and he was not happy with the thinly sliced lemon (shown in the photo above) which failed to bring out the flavor.

Chili powders and chopped garlic will be provided on every table. Customers can add any extra chilies or garlic they like based on their preferences.

Ratings:

Taste: 7.5/10 (1-3 bad, 4-7 average, 8-10 good) * Based on their Ramen only*

Price: 6/10 (1-3 expensive, 4-7 average, 8-10 cheap)

Service: 6/10 (1-3 bad, 4-7 average, 8-10 good)

Parking: 6.5/10 (1-3 bad, 4-7 average, 8-10 good)

Service Charge: Yes 10%

Government Tax: Yes 6%

Additional Information:

Address: Lot 163D-1-05, Gurney Paragon Mall, Pesiaran Gurney, 10250 Penang. (walk straight until you have passed Pacific Coffee, you should be able to locate Goku Raku Ramen right after that).

Business Hour: 10am to 10pm, Daily.

Contact Number: 604- 226 0961

Website: www.gokuraku-ramen.com

Goku Raku Ramen Facebook Page

Saturday High Tea Buffet @ Naza Talyya Hotel, Tanjung Bungah, Penang.

I was somehow attracted by the cheaply priced online voucher deal at Groupon few weeks ago, as such, I've decided to buy some and thinking no harm trying since the vouchers were considerably cheap. The normal price for this Saturday High Tea buffet was Rm34.70 (inclusive of government tax and service charge), but I have bought it at Rm16.90 only, do note that senior citizens and children are required to pay Rm12.90 only. In case you are wondering where is Naza Talyya Hotel, its located at Tanjung Bungah, right behind Viva Dim Sum Delight, you will have to take a turn into the small road and walk until the end. Ambiance was decent as the restaurant has a breath taking scenery- facing the sea of Tanjung Bungah, so does a nicely designed swimming pool. Diners can opt to have a swim at the swimming pool too but you are required to notify the restaurant manager first during booking. Food choices were very limited, but the overall food quality was consistent and rather satisfying. The waiters were attentive in providing service and my overall dining experience was a enjoyable one but I find it so-so only if I were to pay full amount for the buffet, however, its extremely worth the value if you are paying as a senior citizen.

As for the entree of the day, I had this Cream of Mushroom Soup, it was the only soup available too. The soup was very not too shabby in my opinion, at least they were not using the instant or powder form of mushroom soup to entertain us. There was not too much mushrooms if you'd asked me.

Since it was a weekend high tea buffet, some "special corners" were set up as well, offering some freshly made pancakes and toasted bread. One needs not to cook their own pancakes, a chef will be there to cook for you. However, its up to you to choose your own desired fruit jam or honey to go with the pancakes. The pancakes were decent and they were a bit warm the moment I had them too. Thumbs up for that.

For appetizers/salad, the choices were limited, basically I had all of them on my plate already, some of the worth mention ones are fruit salad, garden salad with spaghetti, and potato salad. Apart from the garden salad with spaghetti, other appetizers were okay. The garden salad with spaghetti was bad in my opinion, bad texture with some bland fresh greens, even the dressings failed.

Move on to the main course, there were a total of four types of main course in total, namely Fried Noodles, Stir Fried Mixed Vegetables, Curry Chicken and Sweet N Sour Fish Fillet. White rice was available too, most of the main course were decent but the one the Sweet N Sour Fish Fillet is something one shall not miss. The crisply deep fried fish fillet were well marinated, with a hint of curry powder, you can opt to top the fish with some of their Sweet N Sour sauce. The fish fillet were very fresh and perfectly done, I had nearly two plates of them. 

One of their "special corners" was offering Prawn Noodles a.k.a Hokkien Mee. Unlike the pancakes, where a chef will be there to cook for you, you will actually be cooking this noodles yourself. The soup was heated all the time, you just need to pick your ingredients and boil them with some hot water and add some soup instead. The overall taste for this bowl of prawn noodles was okay, of course, below par if you are comparing to those famous prawn noodles stalls/outlets. 

As for desserts, I had some fresh fruits only as I was too full for cakes or kuih. As mentioned, the choices were limited, even for the cakes/kuih, there were two types of puddings available (white and green colored), two types of Nyonya Kuih, and some sort of butter cake. As for fruits, papaya, watermelon, and some unripened pineapples slices were provided. 

Coffee, Tea or ME ? Apart from the standard set up of providing coffee or tea, they do have some rose syrup flavored drink and some Sarsi syrup flavored drink too. There was free flow of Nestle ice cream too, but I was not bothered to try them out.

Ratings:

Taste: 6.5/10 (1-3 bad, 4-7 average, 8-10 good)

Price: 6/10 (1-3 expensive, 4-7 average, 8-10 cheap) *Judging based on the normal price of Rm34.70 for adults*

Service: 8/10 (1-3 bad, 4-7 average, 8-10 good)

Parking: 6/10 (1-3 bad, 4-7 average, 8-10 good)

Service Charge: Yes 10%

Government Tax: Yes 6%

Additional Information:

Address: No. 555, Jalan CM Hashim, Tanjung Tokong, Tanjung Bungah, Penang. 

Business Hour: 1pm to 4pm, only on Saturday. *Based on the Saturday High Tea Buffet*

Contact Number: 019- 478 2015