Al Shami Restaurant (Arabic Food) @ Bukit Gambir

Last Saturday after watching Chef Michael's Food Truck series on Middle Eastern cooking, I told hubby I that we should go for Middle Eastern food for lunch. The only I knew was located near USM, so off we went.

Al Shami Restaurant serves Arabic food. We arrived around 1.30pm and were the only ones there.

We took our time browsing through the simple menu and proceed to order. Our food took some time to arrive. I suppose this is due to the detailed preparation needed.

For appetizer, we had their hummus and lamb. When the appetizer was served, I told hubby that I couldn't find the hummus. Apparently, the 'designs' you see around the plate is actually the hummus, served with lamb in the middle. This is a new experience for us.

Hummus and Lamb (RM 8)

I ordered the Mandi Lamb which came with a generous portion of lamb (hardly any bones) and rice served with soup and some kind of chilli sauce. The soup is actually the stock which is used to cook the lamb.
I am satisfied with the portion and amount of meat served. Please bear in mind that the stock is on the salty side so careful when you pour them over the rice.

Mandi Lamb (RM 12)

My other half loves kebabs. So he ordered their Shish Tawook. The chicken skewers came with bread and yoghurt, salad and chilli sauce at the side. The chicken was marinated well, soft in the inside grilled at the outside.

Shish Tawook (RM 14)

The total bill came to RM 36 including Arabic tea (RM 2). I think it is worth it for such a huge portion.
I recommend this place if you love kebabs and Middle Eastern food. I will surely be back, this time to try the Doleymiyeh chicken. I am hungry!!!!!

EzyBBQ

If you are staying Penang, chances are you're likely to stay in an apartment or a condo. Some apartments do not have an allocated place to barbeque while some do. While planning a barbeque is easy, marinating and other preparations takes up time. This is where you can utilize the services provided by EzyBBQ. You can order the food for birthdays, celebrations, gatherings or for other special events.

EzyBBQ provides not only raw food, but also cooked food, drinks and BBQ utensils as well. Everything you need can be ordered with just a click of the mouse and they will be delivered straight to your doorstep.
No hassle, no worries! Just eat and be happy:)

You can browse through the menu and select what you want to order. Some of the choices include cheese sausages, moroccan lamb sausages, beef chorizo sausages to name a few. I've tried their skewers and they were fantastic. Do especially try their bacon-wrapped enoki mushrooms or their bacon-wrapped asparagus. EzyBBQ also offers other types of meat; chicken, beef  and lamb as well as seafood and vegetarian items. There's surely something for everyone.

For other food, take your time to look through their website at http://www.ezybbq.com/ or just click here.

You can also check them out at their facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/EzyBBQ?fref=ts

Currently their services are only available in Penang (both island and mainland).

Do check out what others have to say about EzyBBQ at the 'Testimonials' page.

Chillin' at Shaun's

Shaun invited us over to his house for tea last Sunday. The reason we went all the way to Tanjung Bungah was because he invited (obviously) but also because of Spike. Spike, the 8 year old Golden Retriever was really the star attraction of that evening.

We were greeted by happy Spike the moment we arrived. The 30kg (estimate) lovable dog was just super adorable. He seemed to like hubby a lot, literally trying to play and follow him around.

Shaun's mom prepared a nice spread for tea; sandwiches, sushi, chocolate cake, sausages with pineapples and some fish balls.

Although we were all happily munching away, we can't help paying more attention to Spike.

Overall, we had a lovely time at Shaun's place. Spike was rather tired after playing and entertaining us.
Hope to see him again someday.

QE II, Penang

Darling hubby and I were on the search for something soupy and stewy for dinner last night. We went to Via Pre but they were closed for a private function. We decided then to cross over road to scout for food and then we saw QE II. It looked lovely and classy from where we stood at Church Street Pier.

I love dining by the sea. It gives me the romantic feeling and we were glad that there weren't many diners last night. You can opt to sit indoors or outside overlooking the sea. We chose the latter.

So romantic isn't it?

We ordered soup, 2 mains and a dessert and coffee from the menu.

The lobster bisque was good, with chunks of lobster meat. This soup consists of lobster purée, white wine and cream served with bread and olive oil-vinegar dip.

Lobster Bisque (RM 16.00)

For mains, I had their classic lasagne while hubby had their lamb-shank osso buco.

The lasagne was awesome. The rich filling of beef Bolognese, bechamel sauce and parmesan on the lasagne sheets tasted so good.

Lasagna Classica (RM 28.00)

The most expensive dish we ordered, yet mouth watering and absolutely delicious is the Lamb-shank Osso Buco. The well marinated lamb-shank is served with risotto and vegetables. The meat was very tender and full of flavours. FYI, Osso Busco is a specialty dish from Milan, Italy.

Lamb-shank Osso Buco (RM 42.00)

We ordered tiramisu for dessert. I can't tell if this is the best tiramisu around but this is not bad. There's some caramelized nuts that accompanied the tiramisu.

Tiramisu (RM 12.00)

I did not take any picture of the coffee, but the house roasted coffee (RM 10.00) was good according to my coffee-lover hubby. The total price came up to RM 125.30 including 6% GST and 10% service charge.

We had a lovely time at QE II. The place is serene overlooking the sea, the food was awesome and the ambience was perfect for a romantic night out.

Top One Cafe @ Beach Street

We stumbled upon this place on our way back from church. I must admit I have not tried any Indian restaurants in Penang so far, so this is my first.

We ordered the 2 vegetarian sets, chicken tikka and chicken veruval and a nescafe ice. The bill came up to RM 20.50. The chicken dishes were quite spicy which I absolutely like. In my opinion, the chicken veruval at Kesavan, Taman Universiti (Skudai) is still the best. The rasam was not bad, not too sour as compared to some restaurant but lack spices.

Can't be any happier eating Indian food!

Will I come back again? Most likely yes..someday:)

Celebrating Chinese New Year 2014

What is Chinese New Year if it's not spending time with your family and relatives?
I'm glad and I feel blessed to be able to spend time with my family in Penang.
Here are some pictures taken on the first day of CNY.

Tried several times to get Brownie to look at the camera but he didn't want to. This is the best shot we got =P

Family Photo

Cousin Jesamine and Alvin

My second cousins (Joanne, Daniel, Caryn and Eileen)

My other half

I know..we really do look alike:)

This cute poodle belongs to my cousin and his name is Mickey

I know I'm the cutest!

Chinese New Year 2014 (Reunion Dinner)

Gong Xi Fa Cai!!

At the point of writing, we are now celebrating the 3rd day of CNY.

My parents have gone back home and now I finally get the chance to recap events happening the last few days.

I decided not to take leave from work the day before CNY, so I went to the office and literally did nothing there. Most of the people has already gone back to their hometown. Those who were at the office were Penangites or celebrating their CNY in Penang. Anyway by 3pm I was already agitated and bored so I texted my boss that I am taking 2 hours off work.

Back to the reunion dinner, this year we stayed away from steamboat and bbq. Instead each of us prepared one dish and we bought the Thai tomyam from a nearby restaurant. I just can't resist having something spicy for reunion dinner which is why I bought the tom yam. It was awesome!

Mixed Vegetables prepared by Evelyn

Arrowhead or suku/ngaku/chiku (they all refer to the same thing just different dialects) are only sold during CNY. I was told that this year they are expensive. Well, this is one of my favourite dish which I only to eat during CNY. Mom cooked this Hakka style with leeks, lap cheong (Chinese sausages) and minced pork. Delicious!

Arrow head (suku/ngaku) prepared by mom

Daddy said that this dish was good. I think that's a real compliment since daddy hardly comment on anyone's cooking. I have Rasa Malaysia to thank for this recipe. You may get the recipe here. I omit Maggi seasoning and used lots of Chinese cooking wine and I marinated the beef 1 whole day.

Mongolian Beef prepared by me

Pak Hussain's Tomyam Campur

4 dishes for 5 people..we were full to the brim. The whole family dinner took about 45 minutes and after that dad, hubby and me even had the chance to bring Brownie for a 30 minutes walk.