the sweetest PAST. the crumbled PRESENT. the uncertain FUTURE.

Saturday, August 15, 2009

Weekend Trip to Penang =)

Been counting down to this long weekend from weeks ago. 4 days to throw work out of the window and just eat to our tummies' fill. What more do you expect from a trip to Penang?

Shall let the pictures tell the story:-

Masked for protection.

Rented this lau pok car, which cost 80RM a day. Had a laugh driving it, especially whenever we needed to wind down the 'semi-automatic' driver-side window.

Rojak is good stuff - or maybe I was just so hungry.

'Ban Mee' - There's a choice of flat or round noodles, served with dark sauce and shredded black fungus.

Afternoon treat: Steamed yam cake. Now, this is heavenly! Classic example of simplicity is beauty.

Took an accidental detour across the Penang Bridge.

Super heavy traffic.

Dessert before the main course at 9pm at night - There's my fave Almond, Red Bean soup, 8 treasures dessert and 4 fruits something (pardon the direct translation).

And now... The main course! Mee Tai Mak Th'ng with something like Soy Sauce Chicken - That chicken is succulent and juicy, cooked just right. And when dipped into that chilli sauce? Man!

There were 4 halves of boiled egg in dark sauce too - Not a big fan of hard boiled egg but hey, anything goes with the dark sauce and chilli. =p

Penang version of kway chap - The kway is rolled up instead of in sheets like in Singapore. And strangely, it tastes good like this!

A close-up shot of my Almond 'soup' with freshly fried, crispy and thin you cha kway (fried doughsticks) - Don't think I've tried anything as crispily thin and fried just right as this one.

Day 2 breakfast - Dim sum. This huge stall works 'canteen' style in the sense that you get a tray and pick whatever you want to eat, then pay later when you're done eating.

The HK style chee chong fan and the crumbly egg tarts are simply fantastic! In fact, I loved it so much that I 'begged' to return here for our final day breakfast. =p

That's the weekend crowd at 9plus am on a Sunday morning.

Made a trip up to Penang Hill via the 45degree tram in the late afternoon.

See that speck of white just between the 1st and 2nd flag poles? Yeap, that's the tram.

Ran into the train headed downhill twice on our way up. Wonder how they built this thing. Impressive engineering, I must say.

There's a tunnel mid way uphill too.

Welcome to the cool windy Penang Hill.

Do as tourists do - Take a photo with the life-sized 'model' of the tram.

Hindu temple with intricate architecture at the top of the hill.

Headed to Gurney Drive - another must-visit place for tourists - for our dinner/ supper. Fortunately/ unfortunately for us, it was a rainy night, so there wasn't much of a crowd to jostle with.

This Orh Luak doesn't seem to be the famous one judging from the lack of queue, but nevertheless, the taste is just so delicious and so different from the fave stall at Chomp Chomp!

Assam Laksa! Hmm.. Not a great version - didn't tingle my taste buds enough.

Nutmeg and Lime drink - My guide commented that the nutmeg is too diluted. I still like the taste though.

Da bao-ed Muah Chee back for dessert. Penang style have fried shallots on it. Gives it a salty-sweet taste. Hmm. Unique and I kinda like it!

Day 3 - Slept through breakfast and headed to this famous duck rice kopidiam for lunch. Waited AGES and the service was biased towards the wealthier businessmen. Got a little grumpy partially due to the hunger.

Almond Drink - only took a photo of this cuz just tucked into the food straight when it finally arrived.

Drove to Air Hitam side to visit Kek Lok Si temple. Came to the conclusion that religious people love to build their religious buildings on top of hills and mountains probably to test the devotion of their believers.

Different style of architecture from the temples visited in Tibet, HK, Taiwan and Japan. The basics remain though - like 8-storied pagodas in the sprawling grounds.

Impressive prayer hall carvings - plated in gold.

Always a good view from the top.

Strangely and interestingly, the good folk at the temple seem to have commissioned cute animals/ cartoons as benches for the weary to rest their buttocks on. Take a look:-

The Panda

Mickey Mouse - They have Minnie Mouse as well.

Donald Duck!

Thought I spotted a not-so-accurate version of Winnie the Pooh but didn't snap a pic of that.

Next up, took an inclined lift to see the newly commissioned 120feet Guan Yin Statue, housed by an 8-sided pavillion still midway in construction.

Tickets.

The pavillion was still covered in scaffolding with a tower crane at the side heaving materials here and there.

Coming down from the temple, my guide brought us to have the famous Assam Laksa just a 5min walk away.

This version is so much better than the one we had the previous night.

Seeking respite from the heat with a bowl of lime and sea coconut. 2.50RM seems a tad bit expensive though.

Food's prepared bare-handed (is there such a word?) on a 'push-cart' along the street and served on make-shift metal-top tables and stools. I'm sure the Singapore Health Ministry would jump if they ever come across a stall like this in Singapore. But hey, the food's good!

Someone ordering take-away.

Headed to Gurney Plaza to catch a couple of movies and to hide from the unbearable heat. Eyes lit up when my guide pointed out an A&W restaurant on the 2nd level of the complex! Made a beeline for the place immediately. =p

Good ole Root Beer Float served in an A&W mug. =)

Yeap, I'm absolutely delighted with the find. Kinda brings back memories of the good ole Secondary school days when A&W was just a lift ride away.

Of course, what's A&W without their famous curly fries? Hehe.

Caught 'On His Majesty's Secret Service' and 'The Proposal' back to back. The former was a nutcase of a movie which provided loads of brainless laughter, while the later was a romantic comedy, starring Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds. Quite like how the family theme was woven into the storyline and how the old gammie was a blast!

Day 4 breakfast - Dim Sum =)

Tried a couple of new stuff, along with the Chee Chong Fan and the Egg Tarts.

Close up shot of Chee Chong Fan - version 1. You take the plain (white) stuff pipping hot out of a big bamboo steamer and lavish as much soy sauce on it as you want from a kettle, followed by the shallots and the fragrant chilli. Scrumptious. Miss it already. =p

And then, there's this other Chee Chong Fan-like thing, stuffed with chicken (I think), but comes without the copious amount of sauce and chilli. I just mixed it with the version 1 above and woffed both down. ;p

Saw the shrimps in this dim sum and just decided to try it. Have no idea what's it called, but it's definitely to our liking!

Drove about town picking up boxes of various versions of Tamban Biscuits, Tau Sar Piah and Almond Cookies for mommy-dearest. Took less time than we expected and the Sun was maddeningly hardworking, so we nipped over to another famous Teochew Chendol stall for another style of Chendol.

No tables, just chairs, so we had our chendol standing up. Kinda like this sort of back-to-basics thing.

Couldn't take the heat and the temptation of shopping during M'sia's Mega Sale, so decided to head back to Gurney Plaza to check out the bargains. Kept coming across these 'Rest N Go' massage chairs both in Queensbay Mall and Gurney, so decided to give it a try.

Pretty shiok 3mins for 1RM.

Well. 4 days passed in a flash just like that and it was time to head back to Singapore.

Nevertheless, enjoyed the trip despite the sore throat/flu/phlegm and definitely will head back to Penang for the food!

josh, signin off.

Labels: food, travel

02:10;
- vagabond -