more love each time

I have more and more love for this place each time I visit. My last trip to Penang was more than 2 years ago so I thought it'd be a good time to go visit my family when Jetstar ran a promotion in early February (S$70++ to and fro!).

I love my hospitable relatives who would bring me round and round for good food and great fun. It's really a joy to catch up with aunties and cousins whom I've not seen for some time, and of course, my cute little grandma too.

I think it's no secret that Penang people love to eat, and it's not hard to see why when there's so much good food around. I feel really blessed to have relatives who know where to find all that delicious food around the island they call home.

One of my favourite aunts (and my cousin) recently opened a new restaurant that offers food of fine-dining quality in a casual setting, and I've been hanging out at their shop everyday for the time I was there. It's located conveniently somewhere within Gurney (to be more exact, it's Pulau Tikus) and it's been opened for almost a month now.

My aunt has been bringing me to this particular kopitiam in Pulau Tikus for breakfast because it's really near the restaurant, and the food's good too:

Having breakfast with the locals

The usual sight on a weekend morning.

Didn't make a note of what this lady was selling, but I'm loving those colourful pails at the bottom! Greatly contrasts the zinc/aluminium gray roof.

And here's some of what I've been putting into my tummy (from this Pulau Tikus kopitiam) during my short stay here this time round:

Popiah - Wetter (deliciously so with more gravy) than what we usually have back home, and you can find shrimps in them too. No traces of annoying coriander leaves make it extra satisfying.

Assam Laksa with a spoonful of hei gor - People usually have a love-hate relationshi p with this one, more hate than love if they're too used to the lemak version that they've been having nearly all their lives. I love it though, because I find the sourish taste (from tamarind) very appetizing (not too fond of the mint leaves though bleagh). I feel very excited whenever I manage to find chunks of fish flakes in my soup. Anyhow, the texture of the noodles used here is totally different from our thick bee hoon; it's softer and much more chewy. It's a pity that I haven't been able to find rice noodles of such texture outside of Penang so far.

Curry Mee - My absolute favourite amongst all the Penang hawker fare I've tried so far. 

Even though it's still coconut-milk based, I find it less lemak than the curry chicken noodles we can find in Singapore. Less on the coconut milk, more on the curry spices. That sort of makes it less cloying on the palette. I love the ingredients that comes in every bowl of curry mee: cuttlefish, cockles, tau gwa, shrimps and most importantly, pig's blood curd! It's such a pity that we've stopped selling that in Singapore now... I never fail to 'catch up' with it in my bowls of curry mee whenever I'm in Penang to visit. 

After having such filling breakfasts, cuzzie brought me out for dessert at Penang Road. 

PCK and Rosie were here too.

Business was bustling despite the hot weather; people didn't really seem to mind standing under the scorching sun to queue or have their bowls of chendol.

A nice, cold treat in hot weather. Yummy indeed, but maybe slightly overrated. Worth a try nonetheless.

And now, a break from hawker fare. Let's look at some of the offerings of my aunt and cousin's newly-opened restaurant.

The shop front. Named after the year my cousin was born in #somuchmotherlylove

It's basically converted from an old house; heard my aunt say that it was in a terrible and run-down condition when they first took over it from the landlord and they had to spend quite a bit on renovation.

The interior, pre-lunch hours. Very simple and down-to-earth setting and atmosphere, but a great place to chill out and enjoy fine food and wine with family/friends nonetheless. 

Cover page of their menu.

They specialize in a range of European-influenced cuisines as that was what my cousin learnt at culinary school some years back. And offerings on the menu include the usual courses like starters, main courses and desserts. I helped out with the menial tasks in the shop (e.g. wiping water stains off the shiny cutlery, plates and glasses, editing the Description of their Facebook page and new menu for the month of May - that's what an English major is good for) in exchange for some of my meals :p

For Starters, I had the Parma Ham and Rock Melon as well as the Niçoise Salad with Tuna Tataki.

Parma Ham and Rock Melon - A dish you can never go wrong with; sweet and savoury at the same time. This version was served with some rocket and balsamic dressing.

Niçoise Salad with Tuna Tataki - Rocket, quail eggs, red radish and sweet cherry tomatoes served slightly-seared tuna slices. 

Other starters that I've tried but forgot to take pictures of were the Mushroom and Minestrone Soups, Rocket Salad with Goat's Cheese and Poached Pear, Pan-Seared Scallops with Leek Veloute and Lemon Froth.

For main courses, I had Beef Tenderloin with Glazed Vegetables, Roasted Potatoes and Red Wine Jus, Linguine with Clams, Capers, Olives and Chili, Fettuccine Pomodoro, Baked Fish with Saute Cherry Tomatoes and Fennel Salad, as well as Braised Chicken with Red Wine and Mashed Potatoes.

In addition, I also had a taste of the ribeye that will be up in May's menu. Tasty, tasty red meat that goes well with those roasted potatoes.

Linguine with Clams, Capers, Olives and Chili

Baked Fish with Saute Cherry Tomatoes, Orange Segments and Fennel Salad. I'd thought initially that the fennel slices were raw onion slices -_-

And finally, for desserts, I tried the Gratine Sabayone with Mixed Berries and Home-made Vanilla Ice Cream as well as the highly popular Chocolate Banana. 

Gratine Sayabone - Someone stole a spoonful of it before I took this picture. This is torched custard made with Italian Marsala wine and mixed berries (underneath!); rich and sweet, but not to excess.

Chocolate & Banana - Textured frozen chocolate made from the luxurious Valrhona, served with coffee-infused crunch, brandy, banana espuma, mint leaves and home-made banana ice cream. This was really good.

Having such rich and hearty foods on a daily basis is quite an indulgence really. I've volunteered my proof-reading and editing services to my aunt for their monthly menus in exchange for more free meals when I visit them again in future. Looking forward to having more great food!

Anyway, if you're interested, you can take a look at their Facebook page here. Do drop by for a meal and say Hello to my aunt and cousin when you visit Penang anytime in the near future too. It'll cost about RM100 (plus minus a little) for a full-course meal and food quality's definitely assured.

My aunt also brought me to try some Penang Bat Kut Teh while I was there.

Bat Kut Teh along Gurney's beach front. There were so many of them and it somewhat reminded me of our very own Bat Kut Teh stretch along Balestier Road.

Gek Hui.

Sour and Spicy Fish Soup with Rice Noodles.

This is what I call chockfull of ingredients; meat-lovers would love this. The soup was really good too!

Headed down to Teluk Kumbar for yet another seafood feast with the rest of my maternal relatives one fine evening. 

Look at the fabulous sky that we were blessed to have witnessed that day:

Lovely colours that make me smile.

Our table. As we were busy eating, mozzies were busy feasting on our poor feet too :(

Fish braised in a big ceramic pot basin. It was so delicious when hot!

We spent the rest of our dinner time cracking lame jokes, asking riddles and making fun of each other. I had so much fun catching up with my beloved cuzzies.

And this is a drawing that one of my talented cuzzies did (it was printed into a postcard and given to me by her mum):

According to her, that's the three sisters in her family; eldest (purple), middle (that's her in green) and youngest (blue). I couldn't help but let out a WOW when I saw it - it's such a beautiful drawing and done by my cousin who's only like what, 15? The kids in their household are really talented - great academic results, they can sing well and paint well too; their mummy must be so pleased with them. I'm sure all of them will make it big in future.

Catching up with the relatives back my my Grandma's place. Times like that make me wish that I'm much closer to them (physically) so we can meet up and do more crazy things together on a whim.

Somewhere in the middle of the trip, I came to the conclusion that Penang to me is about 2 things: Family and Food.

Lubs.