Snowflake @ Pavillion

I have always wanted to try Snowflake during my shopping trips at Pavillion. I see huge crowds converging and that can only mean something good is about to be served.

This is the classic taroball series with jelly. Ice is piled below. I loved the taroballs. I love how chewy they are. I didn't like the ice too much though. It was really very hard to melt and most time, I was using the metal spoon as an ice pick. The ice, I ended up leaving while the toppings were finished in record time.

This was the special of the month or week, sorry I forget. But the ice was coconut flavoured. Wasn't too much of a hit.

We moved on to the Sea Amber Jelly. I expected this to be slightly tart and refreshing but it disappointed me as it was too sweet. Not exactly bad, but not to my taste.

Lime Jade Jelly. This had the refreshing tartness I was looking for. However, it was too sour. We found out through the unwielding ice that the sugar was at the bottom and one thoroughly mixed, made for quite a delicious dessert.

While this outlet isn't bad, I just wish they would do something about their ice. It it melted a little easier, like some of the Ice Kacang we have, it would have been perfect.

Snowflake

Pavillion, KL

End of my Penang Food Trail

Well, loyal readers, this is my final post of all things Penang. Today, we visit a rather mundane restaurant in Straits Quay that serves Fish & Chips and everything fishy.

Blue Reef is a chain that seemed to originate from Penang.

Pumpkin Soup. I didn't try this, but I was told it is good.

Grilled Salmon with steamed veggies.

Fish and chips in beer batter. 

Their sharing platter with Mahi-Mahi fish. It's also filled with squid, prawns and scallops.

Overall, the food isn't bad but not something I would consider 'Penang'. The price is reasonable, even for KL standards.

Penang Food Trail 8

Near the Penang Ferry Terminal stands a restaurant called Hai Nam Town.

I have eaten at the place the last time I came to Penang and so far, the food has been pleasing.

Our first two starters of Ju Hu Char and Popiah. I didn't like the Ju Hu Char so much because I think they used some herbs in there that gave me a slight headache. Then again, I could never stomach fragrant herbs too much.

The fried Popiah was deliciously crispy and juicy. The chili sauce it came with was good to pile into the sengkuang as it absorbed every last bit of it.

The mains started to arrive. The first on the table was the Rendang Chicken. Thick, fragrant, spicy and sweet. All at the same time.

The veggies came in the form of crunchy Kangkong cooked in belacan.

By far, I believe this was the best fish head curry of the trip. All those little cut flavours on top added to the overall robust taste of this lovely curry. 

Another version of asam prawns. I spent more time licking up the asam coating the prawns than I did actually eating it. It helped that the prawns were fresh and crunchy.

For dinner, we visited a restaurant that is constantly packed with people along Gurney Drive. Those who have been there would definitely know this place.

Bali Hai is a restaurant with an apt tag line of: If it swims, we have it. The concept is tanks of aquariums holding fresh, live seafood. You can either choose from the tanks and cook the seafood to your choice or order from the menu, like we did.

A steaming plate of stir-fried kai lan was served. 

Our choice of tofu was the claypot version filled with chicken and veggies. The sauce for this was thick, rich and good on rice.

What is going to seafood restaurant without seafood? We ordered a fish cooked in some sort of tomyam broth. This wasn't what I wanted actually. I think the version I had here previously was the 'ala Thai' style which steamed the fish in a clear sauce that was tart and spicy. Lime, lemon grass and various other herbs and flavourings were scattered over the fish. This version was nothing more than tomyam fish. Not bad, but nothing unusual.

Butter prawns. The sauce is just on this side of okay while I wouldn't call the prawns extremely fresh.

Chili crabs was the final dish. The sauce, good, the one crab we ordered, huge.

Overall, the food was decent at Bali Hai but based on the price we paid, it can be considered nothing more than regular. We paid slightly more expensive than what we could have gotten in KL and to me, that makes the food completely unappealing.

Penang Food Trail 7

My trip to Penang seemed to be a whirlwind of eating, food, eating, food... did I mention eating? My cousin took me a Nyonya Restaurant that was every dish a good thing. 

Mama's is a little shop out of a house type building. I know I'm not making sense. Probably because I am still drooling at the taste of food there.

We started with the Black Fungus Kerabu. The sauce was excellently absorbed into every part.

Lobak. Meaty, fragrant, delicious.

Ju Hu Char. This was good but I preferred the one I had in Precious, Central Market in KL.

I can't really remember what kind of veggy this was but it was a variety I had never seen before. It was fresh, hot and yummy. Interesting and unusual.

Wild boar curry. Yes, you read right. Not something you see on the menu anymore. The meat was not too tough and perfectly matched with the thick, rich curry.

Curry chicken. It was good but I guess compared to the previous dished before it, it just seems normal.

Asam prawn that we ordered at the last minute. The meat was succulent, the sauce a great blend of tart and sweet.

Otak-otak. I always like the Penang version that always punches up the daun limau purut.

It was after we nearly finished everything that I realised I forgot to take a picture of the fish head curry. I can only describe it in one word: Perfect. Nyonya style of slightly sour curry filled with variation of fish meat and fish head parts.

Greedy me had to try their Black Glutinous Rice dessert. It came with a small cup of santan which is supposed to be mixed in. A perfect end to a totally satisfying meal.

Penang Food Trail 6

We tackle another two restaurants today. One for lunch, which is a local coffee shop and another is a restaurant that serves claypot Briyani.

Lunch at a coffee shop behind the office. Nothing too fancy but then again, in Penang, glorious food can be found in the most unusual of places.

The owner makes a good Char Kuay Teow, surprisingly enough.

Foo Yong Egg. Fluffy and good.

I don't really have much to say about veggies as they are always eaten as a source of vitamins.

Belacan Fried Chicken. I can't wax poetic enough about this. Crispy and juicy at the same time.

Fish head curry. This is not the normal KL style curry where it's more santan than anything. It was slightly sourish and deliciously good.

The next was something I have seen in Midvalley and it peaked my interest even if I never really tried it there.

Kapitan Restaurant served something I have tried for the first time, Claypot Briyani Rice. 

The briyani rice was served in little claypots topped with a variety of meats. We chose chicken, which was cooked tandoori style. I can only assume that the briyani was cooked in the claypot prior to being served.

Look at the fluffy yellow rice. Delish.

Penang Food Trail 5

Today is just a mismatch of random hawker fare we had here and there.

First was a trip to Gurney Hawker Centre. Not really a good trip. I like the Leng Chee Kang there due to the little chewy green balls there. Nice texture, like bubble tea. Otherwise, the taste was regular and the pictures was taken by my phone and not exactly satisfactory.

This was a dish of pure indulgence. Fried chicken skin and squid served with regular chili sauce. I loved this. It's totally bad for you but heaven on your taste buds.

I wanted Asam Laksa, and I got quite a forgettable fair of Asam Laksa. Disappointing.

The Or Chien was more starch than egg. One work: Yuck.

My conclusion is that Gurney Hawker Centre is a tourist trap and better fare is available elsewhere.

Working through a public holiday, we managed to find one place that was opened for lunch. Padang Kota Lama had a Malay store that served Nasi Goreng with Ayam. While having Hameed's Mamak Mee there, we have seen a few dozen plates being served. I am pleased to say that the crowd is right. It's a very tasty plate of fried rice.

Sri Weld Hawker Centre's famous Nasi Lemak. They sell from early in the day and finish at around 4 -  5pm. They have a variety of 'fillings' such as fish, chicken, squid and egg. The sambal is excellent and coupled with great coconut rice makes an unforgettable packet of nasi lemak.

Other fare at Weld Hawker Centre. This was another famous fare of curry noodles. I preferred other places but this was good and satisfying by itself.

This fried hor fun was sub standard and pretty tasteless. If you are around Weld Hawker Centre, better to give it a miss.

From then, we head on to Pasar Malam fare.

Mmm... yummy Mee Yoke. The broth had an intense punch of essence of prawn.

This was one yam cake that I love. It had more than yam than flour. So good when dipped in the sweet sauce.

Char Koay Kak. There was enough 'wok hei' to make this quite the memorable dish.

Another bowl of Asam Laksa. I would rate this as 'not too bad'.

We had this Lam Mee near the Peranak Museum. I loved it. It's been a long time since I had Lam Mee made in this fashion.