Anjung Indah Lookout @ Balik Pulau, Penang

After the satisfying asam laksa meal at Balik Bulau, we headed back to Georgetown via the scenic route of Jalan Tun Sardon heading back to the Relau - Paya Terubong junctions. The drive was pretty challenging as the road is winding coupled with the incremental gradient. However, this is the better road to head back Georgetown as the Teluk Bahang route offered an even tougher drive.

Approximate after 15 minutes of drive from Balik Pulau, there is a lookout area offering an aerial view of the west island of Penang. As per the road signage, the place was named as Anjung Indah. However, we did not able to spot a proper signage of the lookout area. The lookout area is located along the Jalan Tun Sardon.

The view of the west island of Penang

There were some stalls too offering food beverages and some local fruits at the lookout area. However, there were only a mere three stalls were on business during my visit considering the large area projected for the stalls. I supposed there will be more stalls opening during the weekends and especially when the seasons of the local fruits.

Ample of place for car park

Seats under the tree

Without doubt, the lookout area is part of the gazetted area to preserve the natural forest of Penang. Hopefully the green lungs will not give place for development in the future and will remained for as long as possible.

Strict rules

There were this staircase leading to the higher part of the lookout area to offer an even better panoramic view of the Penang west island.

Staircases to aid going to the upper part of the lookout

There were seats and table erected for those who love to picnic at the park. Even though it was sunny, however it was not hot thanks to the canopy sheltering the sun light and also the presence of the strong wind.

Built for the picnic spot overseeing Jalan Tun Sardon

The highest cliff at the at Anjung Indah

Emo-ing at the cliff=p

Panoramic view of where I was standing at the cliff

I particularly enjoyed the strong breeze blowing at your face. Coupled with green surroundings, it did offered a relaxing session from the bustling city of Georgetown. The only drawback was that the accessibility to this lookout area where one have to go through the winding road before reaching here. Apart from that, it is all well worth a drop by after some asam laksa treat at Balik Pulau.

Balik Pulau Asam Laksa @ Nan Guang Coffee Shop, Penang

Balik Pulau which literally means at the back of the island is a small town located at the secluded part of Penang. 35 minutes away of drive from the Georgetown, this town is indeed famous for it's durian plantations. Ask any of the Penangites, and most if not all will no doubt agree to it.

The secluded town in Penang

Former Balik Pulau wet market

When it comes to food, Balik Pulau has their very own history too. It was the asam laksa history that stretches back to 1970s. Back then, the Balik Pulau Laksa was dominated by the Khoo family. However, following the deceased of the wife, Mrs Khoo, the business was then discontinued and was later picked up by by Mrs. Ewe, the neighbour of Khoo family who inherited the secret recipe of the asam laksa. Mr.s Ewe then fine tuned the recipe and even went on introducing another version of laksa which contains cocunut milk, named as the Siam Laksa. After decades of being in the business, Mrs. Ewe finally called it a day on 2004, passing on the recipes and business to John who happened to be their friend.

The laksa stall is located at Nan Guang coffee shop, a corner lot of the shop right in front of the T junction road of Tun Sardon Road and Balik Pulau Road. It is hard to miss this shop, with the infamous landmarks are the Balik Pulau market on the left side coupled with a big green signboard right in front of the coffee shop.

Nan Guang Coffee Shop

My first time being here was back in 2004 with my uncle. However, back then, the laksa that I tasted was operated in the now defunct Balik Pulau wet market. The taste was so memorable, even it has been more than 6 years since I last tasted it. I am unsure whether was this the laksa that I tasted 6 years ago.

The laksa stall

Business being run overseeing the Balik Pulau road

Since it was on the weekday, my bowl of laksa was served almost instantly. The crowd was neither packed too, offering a quieter and cozier ambiance for laksa indulgence.

Balik Pulau Asam Laksa (RM 2.50)

For me, my definition of a bowl of delicious Asam Laksa would be those that have a thick soup that consisted plenty of fish, reasonably garnished with vegetables coupled with reasonable perking of tamarind stock and topped off with a sweet shrimp paste.

Balik Pulau Asam Laksa
The bowl of Balik Pulau laksa consisted of all the elements of what should be my definition of a delicious asam laksa. The soup was exploding with flavour of the fish, perked up reasonably with tamarind stock and perfectly sweetened with a tablespoon of shrimp paste. On top of that, I particularly loved their rice noodles which consisted of more rice propotion than the propotion of tapioca flour.

For those who does not have a chili tongue, perhaps would worried about getting drinks to cool down themselves. Need not to worry as they served the deliciously refreshing Ambra juice to sooth your tongue and body.

Ambra juice (RM 1.20)
It was also referred to as buah Kedondong in Malay. The ambra juice is being sweetened with sugar syrup before being topped off with a sweet and sour dried plum. Just awesomely delicious and refreshing!

Time for a perfect bowl of Laksa=)

After tasting so many bowl of laksa around, this Balik Pulau laksa remained as one of my favourite asam laksa to date. It was that good that I went for two bowls. Perhaps, I should try their Siam Laksa on my next visit.

Atmosphere: 5/10

Food: 8/10
Price: 9/10
Verdict: Tasted great, and definitely has what it takes to be one of the best Penang Asam Laksa.

Location: The T-junction road of Tun Sardon Road and Balik Pulau road with the Balik Pulau defunct market right beside it as a landmark.

Nan Guang Coffee Shop
67, Balik Pulau Main Road
11000, Balik Pulau
Penang
Business hours : 11am - 5pm daily, closed on every Wednesday except public holidays
Tel : 012 - 428 6235 (Mr. John)

Asam Laksa Joo Hooi Cafe @ Penang Road

After the previous day of disappointment, not being able to taste one of my favourite asam laksa, I returned to Penang Road coffee shop again to test my luck.

Many people would have refer it as Penang Road Coffee Shop even though the actual name for the shop was Joo Hooi Cafe. Located by the busy road of Penang Road, this coffee shop is indeed one of the famous old timer coffee shop amongst the Penangites. Accordingly, it has been here for decades.

The stall is not huge, and the seats are limited. During the weekends, you will find yourself needing to wait for seats should you choose to dine in, especially during the lunch hours.

Traditional settings at the stall

One of the reason to be here is to have a bowl of Asam Laksa. It is getting more famous over the years, and it is now well known as the Penang Road Asam Laksa. At the stall, you could see a huge pot of soup and a those huge baskets containing those noodles and vegetables.

The auntie that operates the Laksa stall

Queues are expected, especially during the weekends. You might need to wait for at least 10 minutes before your it was being served. And obviously, the waiting time is doubled especially during the weekends and on the public holidays.

Penang Road Asam Laksa (RM 3)
This version of laksa is very different from the one served in Ayer Itam. While the Ayer Itam asam laksa soup are more murky, the soup here were way clearer. But nonetheless, the essential aroma of laksa were still maintained. Definitely a bowl of laksa for those who prefer less spicy and less murky version of laksa. The generous servings of crunchy onions and lettuce provides the extra chew and will definitely satisfy your craving for a bowl of laksa!

Just like my previous day experience, I was attracted to the aroma of Fried Koay Teow, again! And yes, I couldn't resist but to order a plate.

Fried Koay Teow (RM 4)
The hint of the soy sauce was too strong. Making things worse, it was all bland and lacked the much needed wok hei. Whilst it came it with four pieces of succulent prawn, it however cannot make up to this awful plate of fried koay teow.

There are other hawker food being served at the stall as well. However, I'd always stick to the asam laksa when ever I patronized this stall. For 5 years and counting, the taste were still as good as when I'm having my first bowl of laksa here.

Asam Laksa: 8/10
Fried Koay Teow: 4.5/10 (non-halal)

Atmosphere: 4.5/10
Price: 6.5/10
Verdict: If you are a fan of laksa, do not missed out the asam laksa! The Fried Koay Teow meanwhile are forgettable.

Joo Hooi Cafe
475, Penang Road
Penang

GPS Coordinates: N 05 25'1.37', E 100 19'49.99'

Loh Mee Fong Sheng @ Lorong Selamat, Penang

My third day in Penang falls on the weekdays. After the strenuous outdoor trekking activities on the previous, I really had a good rest. I woke up at 10am after sleeping more than 8 hours. Since I'm in Penang, my first thought will always be about food, wondering what I should have in this island filled with delicious food.

On my previous visit, I'd wanted to pay a visit to a Loh Mee stall operated by my friend's dad. However, due to some unforeseen circumstances back then, the plan was called off. Finally, this time round, I'd able to visit the stall located at the famous food alley of Lorong Selamat.

I was told that the business hours are from 7.30am to 2.30pm. It was almost 2pm at my time of visit, and presumably the crowd was little because it had passed the lunch time.

The stall offered only Penang Loh Mee. A normal bowl is priced at RM 2.70, while adding on 30 cents each time will give u a bigger bowl to cure your hunger up to RM 3.30.

If you are craving for more ingredients in your Loh Mee, then the Premium Loh Mee might just suits you.

The premium Loh Mee

Like the normal Penang Loh Mee, but the premium one comes with extra ingredients like fish balls, pork belly and pork intestine. A bowl of premium Loh Mee is priced at RM 4.70, well worth it for the amount of ingredients that they have in the bowl.

Premium Loh Mee ingredients

I'd always like to have my noodle to have some added spiciness. Much to my delight, there were chili sauce and garlic sauce prepared on each of the table. You can now personalize your own flavour of Loh Mee that suits your taste bud.

Chili & Garlic sauce

It is important to note that Penang Loh Mee is very different from those being referred to as in Kuala Lumpur. The one being served in Penang, were noodles that was being served on the starchy herbal soup.

Penang Loh Mee (RM 2.70)
The Loh Mee consisted of hard-boiled duck egg and pork fillets. I actually could smell the fragrance of the Loh Mee from a far when the bowl was being served to me. I was hoping that the soup will taste as good as the aroma suggested. And yes, it was good indeed. The soup was full with flavour, with a perfect hint of herbal taste, much to my liking. While the soup may be a little starchy when it was served, it however got diluted as the time passed by, so no worries about starchy soup.

The owner of the stall

It was my first bowl of Penang Loh Mee after a very long time. Reason was that I was terrified by the awful preparation of Penang Loh Mee in Klang Valley. This Fong Sheng Loh Mee brings me back fond memories of Penang Loh Mee. It definitely has what it takes to be one of the best Penang Loh Mee around.

Atmosphere: 5/10

Food: 8/10 (non-halal)
Price: 8/10
Verdict: Very decently priced and delicious, the Loh Mee will surely put a smile to your taste bud!

Kafe Fong Sheng
N0 6, Lorong Selamat
off Jalan Mcalister
10400
Penang

Sin Kim San Hawker Food @ Jalan Rangoon, Penang

There is no need to worry about difficulty in getting food when you are hungry in the middle of night at Penang. There are ample of coffee shops specially open from late night to the wee hours to cater those that have hungry stomach in the middle of the night.

Located at Jalan Rangoon, off the busy street of Mcallister road lied a coffee shop named Kedai Kopi Makanan dan Minuman Sin Kim San. It is a typical Chinese coffee shop that offers a lot variety of hawker food to choose from.

As I was seated, the fragrance of the Char Koay Teow just keep attacking my nose. Since I had not eaten any of it for my current visit, I decided to give a try.

Char Koay Teow stall

It was barely 10 minutes before my plate of Char Koay Teow was served to me.

Char Koay Teow (RM 3)
While it doesn't taste as great as how the fragrance suggested, it however did enough to persuade me to finish it. The slices of Chinese sausages and pork lard did add some extra flavour to it, but it would be better with more soy sauce.

Next, I was tempted by a stall that sell Tom Yam satay.

The Satay stall

I ordered five sticks of the Tom Yam satay without knowing that it was actually that huge. Thankfully, I did not ordered ten sticks or else we will be facing difficulty finishing them.

Tom Yam Satay (RM 1 per stick)
Opposed to the typical satay, this satay does not come with the groundnuts gravy. Instead, it was drizzled with Tom Yam thick gravy. It was spicy and had a very strong hint of lemon grass. The satay was so huge and consisted of only chicken meat minus the fats that you could feel your stomach being filled up just after having two sticks.

When I was heading back to my table after ordering the satay, I passed by this stall that is selling Chinese dumpling or plainly being referred to as bak chang. Being curious, I went closer to have a look. As I was surveying the prices on the board, I was being persuaded by a passerby auntie to try them because the taste was guaranteed to be good.

Tangling Bak Chang stall

They are many type of bak chang to choose from but I opted for the premium bak chang after much persuasion which costed a whopping RM 5.50. What makes this bak chang premium was that it consisted of scallops and salted egg yolk.

Premium Bak Chang (RM 5.50)

Initially, I thought of taking away the Bak Chang because I was already quite full. However, a second thought prompted me to change my mind and hence the opening ceremony of the Bak Chang.

Fillings in the Bak Chang
The Bak Chang consisted a lot of ingredients within namely pork cubes, salted egg yolk, scallops and chestnuts. It was full with flavour. However, the glutinous rice was on the softer side and would be better if they were firmer. But nonetheless, I find it worthy for the amount that I'd spent and did enough to satisfy my craving for it.

Overall, I was satisfied with the food being served to me on that day. Whilst it was not great, but the decent food will surely put a smile to your hungry stomach at the wee hours.

Fried Koay Teow: 5/10 (non-halal)
Tom Yam Satay: 6/10
Chinese Dumpling / Bak Chang: 6.5/10 (non-halal)

Atmosphere: 4.5/10
Price: 7/10
Verdict: A decent Penang coffee shop with a lot of hawker food to offer in the wee hours.

Kedai Kopi dan Minuman Sin Kim San
Corner Lot, Jalan Rangoon
off Mcallister Road, 10400
Penang

Chili's Grill & Bar @ G Hotel, Gurney Drive, Penang

Whilst I had patronized Chili's for numerous times around the Klang Valley area, this would be my first time dining Chili's in Penang. Perhaps lots of you will wonder, why Chili's when there were so many other hawker food to choose around. Well, you can't be celebrating your friends birthday by the hawker roadside right? While it is not wrong to do so, but somehow I supposed a better ambiance might fits better into the celebration.

There were not much of choices being offered around Gurney, and we agreed on Chili's after passing by it. A good call, and it has been a while since my last visit to Chili's.

Chilis at G Hotel

I suppose this is the only Chili's available in the Penang Island. Just like the Chili's in the Klang Valley, it was crowded as usual. But a point worth noting here is that it was on a Sunday dinner, hence I'm unsure about the crowd level on the normal days.

It is well-known to people that Chili's did offered bottomless juice drinks. Pei Yee ordered the apple juice while I fancied something new, the guava juice.

Bottomless Juice Drinks (RM 8.95)

We started off with the famous Triple Play platter which consisted three of the Chili's favourite starters. Indeed, this has always been my favourite appetizer whenever I patronized Chili's.

Triple Play (RM 25.95)
The platter consisted of Chicken Crispers, Wings Over Buffalo and Southwestern Eggrolls with sauces for dipping. There are 3 sauces to choose from, one tasted like a mayonaise while the other two offered a more tangy taste. The Chicken Crispers were actually chicken fillets coated with flour and being deep fried while the Wings Over Buffalo were marinated chicken wings that being grilled and offered a very tangy and spicy taste. I'd always find the Wings Over Buffalo and the Chicken Crispers are ordinary and this is no exception.
However, just like usual, Southwestern Eggrolls remained as the bomb! It offered a mild crisp on the skin while mantaining it's fluffiness within, and together with the special fillings that blends in well, it will be sure to keep you asking for more!

Next, we had grilled chicken breast as our main course.

Fire-Grilled Chicken & Portobello (RM 32.95)
Fire grilled chicken breasts with a marinated Portobello mushroom served over zesty peppercorn sauce with loaded mashed potatoes and seasonal veggies. I find the chicken breasts were over grilled, resulted to a very rough, dry meat and a hint of burned taste. Only the mushrooms worth being mentioned as they were nicely sauteed and juicy. And yes, the mashed potatoes were still as good the way Chili's prepared them.

Happy Birthday Pei Yee!

The total bill came to RM 88.30 which included two bottomless drinks after 10% service and 5 % government taxes. The price might be a little pricey but I reckon the generous serving of the food made up to it. Minus the Fire-grilled chicken, Chili's would still remained as one of my favourite western food franchise restaurant.

Triple play : 6.5/10
Fire-Grilled Chicken & Portobello : 4.5/10

Atmosphere: 7/10
Price: 5/10
Verdict: Southwestern Eggrolls and their mashed potatoes were still as addictive!

Chili's Grill & Bar Restaurant
G-05, G Hotel Penang
168A Persiaran Gurney
10250
Penang
Tel : 04 - 210 1111

Famous Teochew Cendol @ Penang Road

Talk about the hot weather of our country, we always associate it with chilly stuff to cool our body down. Desserts are great to be eaten on its own but even better if it was served cold especially when the hot weather strikes in. We may have a difference preference for choice of cold desserts. But, not many people will disagree that cendol remained as one of the top favourite desserts among Malaysians.

Located by the alley, off the busy Penang Road and beside the Joo Hooi coffee shop, this cendol stall has been chilling the Penangites for years. The stall was named Penang Road Famous Teochew Cendol and there is no reason as why not to agree with it. Don't be confused with another stall as there is a competitor stall mimicking the cendol under the same name. The genuine stall are usually packed and it is safe to follow the crowd.

The original

I was being introduced to this stall by Iris back during my college time, 5 years ago. After that, I never missed out this cendol whenever I visited Penang. And each time I patronized this stall, the crowd were just as huge as my first visit with people queuing up and ordering cendols.

Crowded especially during the weekends

Obviously, they need a sizeable workers to accommodate the huge orders from the crowd. For this, they have at least 6 workers working like a machine at this little stall.

Workers work like a machine

Even though the crowd were huge, the cendol was being served almost instantly. There are no forgotten orders and this has remained the same throughout the years.

The Penang Road famous Cendol (RM 1.80)
So here we have a bowl of cendol that comes with the kidney read beans. The cocunut milk was not thick but enough to provide the fragrance to the cendols and were perfectly sweetened with the gula melaka. The cendols were soft and silky smooth. They come in a very generous servings and you will find it hard not to have any cendols lingering in your mouth upon each scoop.

Since Penangites are very realistic especially when it comes to food, the existence of this stall for many years proved that it indeed lived up to its billing as the famous and best Penang Road cendol.

Still popuplar with the crowds

I have been here numerous times, even introducing them to my friends and families. And yes, even my mum that do not fancies sweet stuff, gives a two thumbs up to this cendol. It was that good!

Atmosphere: Eat by the roadside or dine in their newly setup shop

Taste: 8.5/10
Price: 8/10
Verdict: Gotta be my all time favourite cendol!

Location: At the alley off Penang Road, beside the Joo Hooi Coffee Shop. This cendol stall is hard to be missed and you could spot a stall selling Asam Laksa right beside it.