Yer...Why Winter Warmers always like this one?!

Winter Warmers Coffee & Tea House @ Queensbay
I was happily entering the newly opened Winter Warmers at Queensbay on last Friday, who knows......it's another 'warm' experience again. (Previous posts at Winter Warmer – our WARM experience! and Winter Warmer Set Meal ).
In summary, they couldn't cope with the stream of customers (at ~2pm). Mind you, I observed same 'face' (management) as Gurney Plaza's outlet one.
1) Dishes were uncleared on the tables unless you called them to do so.
2) Repeated times to request for ordering.
3) There are simply too many partitions and obstructions in the restaurant that the waitresses /waiters could harldy notice you especially during such 'cannot-cope' situation.
4) I saw a number of tables requesting to leave immediately if the dishes they ordered were still not prepared.
5) I saw one of the persons in charge kept on apologizing to the customers for their late delivery of dishes and etc.
6) He showed you a very 'discouraging' look when you walked up to him to ADD order.

It was having Jasmine tea 50% discount promotion for members.
Jasmine Blossom (Orig price RM9.90 -50% = RM4.95)


Jasmine Milk Tea (Orig price RM9.90 -50% = RM4.95). Hmm...this one tasted better than the above one.
Mango Chicken Rice (RM13.90 - 10% = RM12.51)







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Hop over to Yer...Why Winter Warmers always like this one?! for full view of this post.

Matsuki Japanese Restaurant （松本日本料理）

Matsuki Japanese Restaurant （松本日本料理） @ Cantonment Road, off Gurney Drive.
Japanese restaurants with affordable sashimi price and above average quality are getting less and less. Therefore Matsuki still carries weight even though I have explored lots of Jap restaurants.
Just imagine over here we can still order Teriyaki Chicken Set at the price of as low as RM12+!!
Complimentary appetizer with green tea.

Sashimi Mori Sakura (Special mixed raw fish) RM40+

At Azuma this type of sashimi set (although not exactly the same combo/standard) easily costs you RM70+.

Here's the complete ala carte sashimi menu of Matsuki for your reference.
Ala Carte Sashimi
Sashimi Mori Special (special imported mixed raw fish) RM70
Sashimi Mori Fuji (Special imported & local mixed raw fish) RM58
Sashimi Mori Sakura (Special mixed raw fish) RM40
Sashimi For One (mixed raw fish) RM22
Shake Sashimi (raw salmon) RM35
Maguro Sashimi (raw tuna) RM28
Amaebi Sashimi (raw sweet shrimp) RM32
Ika Sashimi (raw squid) RM15
Suzuki Sashimi (raw red snapper) RM10
Saba Sashimi (raw mackeral) RM12
Tako Sashimi (raw octopus) RM18
Akagai Sashimi (raw arkshell) RM50
Hokigai Sashimi (raw shell) RM50


Unagi Set (B.B.Q Japanese eel with special sauce) RM30+  (more......)

Hop over to Matsuki Japanese Restaurant （松本日本料理） for full view of this post.

Tree Monkey of Tropical Spice Garden (Invited Review)

Tree Monkey @ Tropical Spice Garden, Teluk Bahang.

Last Sunday we in a group of ~20 pax (consisted of food bloggers and Penang bloggers) were invited and treated by the boss, Mr. PattKhor and the person-in-charge, Ms Wisakha, through coordination by Warren, CK Lam and Criz.

Let's move on to explore what you could expect from the Tree Monkey!

Tree Monkey is a "Back To Nature" alfresco restaurant. It has just started its business recently on 30th Jul 2010 as a pork-free restaurant. It serves North Eastern Thai, Asian and Western cuisine (vegetarian is also available). Their chefs are from North East Thailand. The herbs used in preparing dishes are taken from the Spice Garden itself.

Tree Monkey is located beside the Tropical Spice Garden. Use this entrance and take a few minutes hike up and that will lead you to the restaurant.

Green. Wood. Peace in Rustic Garden.

It is a great place for those who like to to hang out in rustic and tranquil ambience. One who knows how to appreciate the art of wooden structure building should find this place interesting too as this restaurant was built without using nails. Their wooden furnitures are also imported from Chiangmai, Thailand.

The open space dining floor.

Bloggers were busy taking photos around the restaurant.

Great food and hospitality offered with ~80 pax of capacity and WiFi equipment in this restaurant make this a cool place for either family dining or couple dining. Alcoholic beverages are available too (RM30 per bottle corkage charge).

This is monkey that you may spot in the surrounding of this restaurant if you are lucky. I didn't spot any on the day that we went. Argh!

WELCOME DRINK: Sunset Paradise - RM10.00 (only available from 6.00pm-7.00pm). This is a special drink prepared for us, not in the menu yet.

A refreshing tropical fruit mocktail. I could taste a mixture of orange, pineapple and lemon in it.

MEAL 1: Thai Tapas (choose any types of appetizers served with sweet chili sauce)

8pcs @ RM30, 12 pcs @ RM45, 16 pcs @ RM60 (max 4 pcs on each item)

(There are 12 options on this menu - Thai Toast, Money Bag, Herbs Chicken, Spring Roll, Pandan Chicken, Otak-otak, Mussels Salsa, Lemongrass Stick, Prawn Sarong, Prawn Sabai, Thai Fish Cake & Darling Crab)

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Hop over to Tree Monkey of Tropical Spice Garden (Invited Review) for full view of this post.

Caffe Strada (Invited Review)

A bunch of us were invited to Caffe Strada last Sunday. The restaurant owner stressed that Caffe Strada is not a FINE DINING restaurant but rather a place to get together with family or friends, for spending quality time and having a simple dishes or two.

Appetizer

Green Garden Salad (RM8.90)
-Lettuce, capsicum, onion, croutons, sun flower, seed, egg and smoked chicken, served with house salad dressing.

Seafood Chowder in Bread Bowl (RM15.90)
-Chunks of seafood are simmered with potatos, onions, celery, real heavy cream and a touch of butter. Served in bread bowl.

Asian Delights

Kung Pao Chicken (RM9.90) (more......)

Hop over to Caffe Strada (Invited Review) for full view of this post.

台北 Taipei 101 台湾料理 Taiwan Cuisine

I was attracted by GuangMing and friends' recommendation - 'cheap'  BUT is it good?! Let's review and see.

I believe this is related to Mommy Wang as the back of their menu book was having the imprint of this wording. The Queensbay Mommy Wang outlet also has changed its name to 台北 Taipei 101 台湾料理.

招牌珍珠奶茶 (Pearl Milk Tea) RM3.50. Normal light pearl milk tea. Not consistent in the pearls' texture from my two different visits. Once was having hardness in core and another time was very soft.

木瓜牛奶（Papaya Milk Shake) RM3.90 . Use the real papaya to blend therefore you can taste the healthy, rich and thick papaya juice.  Impressed.

招牌甘梅地瓜（Sweet Potato with Plum) RM4.00

Deep fried sweet potato then sprinkled with sour plum powder. One of the light snacks that impressed me too.

醉鸡砂煲饭 (Drunken Chicken Claypot Rice) RM8.90. (more...............)

Hop over to 台北 Taipei 101 台湾料理 Taiwan Cuisine for full view of this post.

Viva Dim Sum (東 城 點 心) (Invited Review)

Last Sunday (8.8.10) an invited review was extended to us at the ex-Sea Horse food court, beside Penang Chinese Swimming Club. It has now changed its name to Viva Local Food Haven (東 城 饮食中心）.

This Viva Dim Sum (東 城 點 心) serves Hong Kong style dim sum which you can find their varieties as illustrated below.

A graphic illustration showing you the correct way to eat xiao long bao. This will ensure that one will not waste any drops of juice from the xiao long bao. (more..............)

Hop over to Viva Dim Sum (東 城 點 心) (Invited Review) for full view of this post.

Jalan Tengah '王昭君' ('Wang Zhao Jun')

I always regard this as my 西南区‘王昭君'. It serves almost the same dishes as the original 王昭君 @ Rangoon Road.

Oyster Noodles

Tao Kua Char Suan Na (more.......)

Hop over to Jalan Tengah '王昭君' ('Wang Zhao Jun') for full view of this post.

Young Heart Super Valued Package (Invited Review)

Young Heart serves a wide range of healthy food and drinks. You can read from my previous posts I, II, III.

We ordered : Carrot Juice, Apple Mint Apple Juice, Honey Lemon with Sea Coconut (with aloe vera), Chamomile & Chrysanthemum Tea, Honey Lemon with Aloe Vera.

全天候超值优惠套餐 (超过15 样不同菜式任你选择)
SUPER VALUED PACKAGES (With 15 over specially selected dishes (meat, seafood & vegetables) to choose from)

2 人套餐 (3 菜一汤 + 2人饭面) @ RM39.80
2 Person’s Package (3 Dishes + 1 Soup + Rice/Noodle) @ RM39.80 Only
(Soup of the Day, Seasonal Vegetable, Any 2 Types of Dishes, Rice or Plain Noodle.)

Homemade noodles (more......)

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Azuma

After a long pause since last year story telling X , there we went again to Azuma to compensate the LOSS of hope I had in Tsuruya a few days ago.

This is the August Promotion Set.

Gindara Amakaraini Set (RM19.80)

Pan fried cod fish with spicy teriyaki sauce, served with baby mushroom miso soup, steam egg, spinach, rice with small dried fish, salad and fruits.

The pan fried cod fish was well done, tender inner with crispy outer. However I found that the teriyaki sauce was too heavy (sweet).

Unagi Yanagawa Don (RM18.00) = Eel with veg and egg on rice (Medium= RM18)

Oh, now only I realized this dish got sizes one, either you go for medium or large. This unagi don is a good choice if you do not wish to have other side dishes in bento order.

Sashimi Moriawase Take (RM70.00)

Assorted sashimi (7 kinds) - consists of red tuna, salmon, octopus, prawn, hokkigai and shiro maguro. (more.....)

Hop over to Azuma for full view of this post.

*我接受唔到囉!* Tsuruya & Khunthai

During the first week of August, I was treated at these two restaurants which I found out to be under my expectation.

Firstly, it is Tsuruya Japanese Restaurant @ E-Gate.

The set dinner menu is full of meat (chicken, pork and beef) dishes. I couldn't find something more towards tempura-sashimi combination type that attracted me. The mix and match choices are not versatile enough, compared to other Japanese restaurants.我接受唔到囉! All of us had a pretty hard time in deciding which item to order.

Nabe Kaisen Kimuchi Tofu Set (Claypot Kimuchi Tofu with Seafood) RM28

80% tofu with limited seafood items. If not mistaken, er........only clams?!

Kushi Katsu & Kare Raisu Set (RM26)

Stewarded deep fried pork cutlet, jap curry rice. SHE said such combination made her 'jilak' after halfway eating through.

Tempura Soba (RM18) . This one is from the ala carte menu. SHE complained it was simply too plain, no taste?! (more.............)

Hop over to *我接受唔到囉!* Tsuruya & Khunthai for full view of this post.

Island Way Sorbet

I was recently given this as my dessert after dinner - Island Way Sorbet, a dessert from South Africa.

The sorbet is 95% fat free, made from natural ingredients and does not contain preservatives or colorants. It is packed in the natural shell of the fruits and you can choose your favourite flavour.

See the making here at "Island Way Sorbet Corporate Video" .

I only managed to try the three flavours below.

Red Apple Sorbet - Apple sorbet frozen treat in the natural fruit shell of an Apple.

This one is crisp, juicy, sweet and having slight sourness, exactly tasted like a real apple. I love this flavour the most!  

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Kangsar Road Koay Teow Thng

Koay Teow Th'ng @ Tong Hoe Kopitiam, Kangsar Road.

Duck Meat Koay Teow Th'ng (S = RM2.50, M = RM3.00, L = RM3.50)

This is the BIG (RM3.50) serving. One glance at it, you can see that this BIG one does't add much in ingredients but koay teow and noodles only.

Duck meat, fish ball and duck blood.

Pork ball too. (more................)

Hop over to Kangsar Road Koay Teow Thng for full view of this post.