Penang : Makan Makan

29th July - 1st August 2011. Written by Xin Li.
Penang, Malaysia

Penang is indeed a food paradise. No wonder people kept going back to Penang just to eat. In fact, spending more than 3 days in Penang, I realized that the food is actually more exciting than the sights itself.

OLD TRATTFORD BURGER
Lebuh Chulia

If there is another burger I must have, it is definitely from this roadside stall along Lebuh Chulia located at the junction before turning into Love Lane. While this is not one burger which the patty speaks for itself, it is a simple and addictive burger that would be the perfect snack.

Their burger is just chicken patty, sliced cucumbers, shredded lettuce topped off with cheese, mayonnaise and some yummy tomato sauce. The combination is ambrosial.

The fries were decent too.
Price: 3.50 RM



LITTLE PENANG STREET MARKET
Upper Penang Road

It was a Sunday and there was a makeshift market at Straits Quay near the Eastern and Oriental Hotel. The stuff sold were apparently homemade food ranging from curries to cakes. The market itself is a monthly event and takes place on the last Sunday of every month.

We decided to have breakfast here and settled on the nasi lemak.

It wasn’t fantastic, the rice for example was just plain rice but I’m fine reminded me of those days when we have lunar festival celebrations in secondary schools when the teachers would prepare their own moon cakes for sale.

Website: Little Penang Street Market
Price: 8.00 RM

SOYA SOYA CAFE
33-2-83, Prangin Mall, Penang

Located within the huge Prangin Mall, one of the few decent malls in Georgetown, this beancurd stall offers a variety of sweet syrup to go with the beancurd.  There are also a myraid of flavoured beancuds such as coffee and carrot and all kinds of toppings from cartoon jellies to pearls.

I particularly enjoyed the beancurd with Lavender Syrup, with its flowery tones and added depth to what would be just sugar and water. It makes the whole beancurd seemed different in a good way.

Price: 3.50 RM

ENG LOH KOPITIAM
Jalan Gereja / Church Street, Penang
Opening hours: 8am-3pm (close every Sundays)

Having read about Roti Taiwan on some food blogs, my curiosity brought me to Eng Loh Kopitiam. The Roti Taiwan is just toasted bread with peanut butter spread over it and topped with crushed peanuts. Nothing impressive and I still wonder how it got its name.

If you prefer something more familiar, there is always the American Breakfast Set (3.50 RM) or kaya toasts.

Price for a Roti Taiwan : 3.20 RM

SANTORINI CAFE
94 Jalan Burma , Georgetown , Penang, 10050 Pinang , George Town, Malaysia

Named after Santorini in Greece, you might probably be expecting some Greek cuisine but no the Greek influence just ends there unless you could the blue and white colour scheme of the interior as Greek.

For starters, we had the Mushroom Soup, which was competently prepared. It was creamy with distinguishable mushroom flavours instead of just stock.

The Potato Salad (5.00 RM) was rather dull. It’s more like potatoes with pepper on it. On one hand, I enjoyed its simplicity but I was kind of expecting more.

However the main course was what that made this meal a good one, the Oh! Mama with Rice (8.00 RM) is a claypot braised chicken with soy sauce dish. It was mildly sweet and the sauce was slightly thick, making it an excellent complement with the rice. The chicken was very tender. My only complaint was that I found ants in it. Nonetheless, it was that good that I didn’t complain.

There was also a jelly dessert. I have no idea what it was. The soup and dessert were included in the set. Personally, I kind of enjoy the food here and the atmosphere, it was casual and I could spend a long time in this café chatting with my friend. Perhaps the cafe is not about the visuals or cuisine of Santorini but rather the atmosphere.

Website: Santorini Café
Price for 1 Person: 13.80 RM

EDELWEISS CAFE
38 Armenian Street, Penang, Malaysia

In contrast to Santorini Café, Edelweiss Café is more upscale (and it shows in the prices of their food). The café has a Swiss name but the interior is what you would expect from a Straits Chinese shophouse. On their menu however, you can find several “Swiss” dishes like rosti, cheese fondue, Curry Sausage etc.

Nonetheless, it is a beautiful café and history aficionadas would love the décor here, with old clocks, vintage posters and photographs as well as antiques adorning every corner of the café.

Both of us had the Kurt’s Speciality (29.00 RM after tax). It is a Swiss Curry with Boneless Chicken cooked in a Light Creamy Curry Sauce served with Rice, Pineapple and Mango Chutney.

This was kind of unique. For the first few mouthfuls, the curry came across as bland and tasteless (well it is a light curry) but as you continue eating it, the curry flavours kind of accumulate and this curry has a mild sweetness to it. The chutney adds a kind of fruity dimension to the dish and the chicken was quite tender. I kind of like it.

To our surprise, we were also offered some rambutans on the house.

Website: Edelweiss Cafe
Price for a meal: 29 RM