Food for Thought: Toh Soon Cafe

One look at this rather nondescript backlane shack of a kopi-tiam and you wouldn't expect much of it.  But truth be told, this kopi-tiam which takes up what little space there is between two rows of shophouses has been serving coffee and toast for more than 30 years to generations of appreciative Penangnites.

The menu is limited - steamed bread, toasted bread, half-boiled eggs, coffee, tea, milo and nasi lemak.  You can consider them specialist in coffee and toast.  You won't see any modern contraption in the tiny kitchen counter which lines one wall of the back alley.  The bread is steamed over boiling hot water while toasting is painstakingly executed by a helper who squats, mesh in hand, before a charcoal filled hand-made oven made from a cut-out drum.

The place is almost always crowded, so be prepared for a long wait.  But you'll be rewarded with a cup of richly flavoured coffee and a plate of kaya toast.  Although some bloggers have commented that the bread was not evenly toasted and the spread too thin, I was happy with what I got.

Don't mind the mis-matched cups and saucers.  What's more important is the offering in the cup.  In my case, the teh si less si was done just the way I like - full bodied tea with just a hint of evaporated milk.

The bread was evenly toasted without being burnt.  It is crispy on the outside but remains soft on the inside - it is not often that we get it done this way in Singapore.  Some of the chain stalls here tend to slice the bread to thin and over-toast it, rending it too dry.

And as you can see from the photo above, there is a generous spread of kaya to make any kaya toast afficionado happy.

It was a pity that we didn't order the half-boiled egg but we'll definitely do so on our next visit.


Toh Soon Cafe
Backlane off Campbell Street
Chinatown, Georgetown

Food: 8
Price: $
Recommended dishes: Kopi-O, Teh Si, Kaya Toast, half-boiled egg

Food for Thought: Some Things Are Different

There are some things that are done differently in Penang. 

Take for example chye tow kway.  In Singapore, this is normally fried with eggs and chye poh and comes in two versions - white (crispy egg batter) and black (with sweet sauce).  But in Penang, their char koay kak is fried in black sauce with egg, taugeh, prawns and strips of sotong.  A good place to have this dish is at New Road off McAlister Road.

Char Koay Kak

When we think chee cheong fun, immediately visions of it drenched in sweet sauce and chili sauce comes to mind.  Also popular is the Hong Kong-style which has fillings of different ingredients like prawns, char siew or chicken strips.  And in Penang, they have what is known as fried chee cheong fun in dried prawn sambal - a dish that is unique to Penang.  It is really delicious and personally I prefer this to char koay teow.  Try it, you'll surely like it.

Chee Cheong Fun in Dried Prawn Sambal

In Singapore we call it orh luak; in Penang, orh chien.  The main differences are the amount of starch used and, of course, the size of the oysters.  They use less starch and more eggs; and the oysters are larger.  Although I am not a fan of this dish, I can still see that the Penang version looks much more appetizing.

Orh Chien

Food for Thought: Old Winston Coffee Garden

It was by chance that we came upon Old Winston Coffee Garden along Jalan Anson while taking shelter from the heavy rain. Since it was about noon time, we decided to have lunch there. A wide array of local food is available there including dim sum, noodles, cze char and bak kut teh.

Siew Mai

Hong Kong Chee Cheong Fun

Ee-mien

San-mien

Bitter Gourd stir-fried in egg

Stir-fired Kai Lan with Dried Fish

  

However, the one dish that really stood out was the Bee Hoon in Herbal Chicken Soup.  This is a 'die die must try' dish when you are in Penang.  The soup is delicately fragranced with different types of Chinese herbs, yet the herbal taste is not too overpowering.  The chicken is tender and still manages to retain its natural flavour.  It was so good that I slurped up the soup right down to its last drop.

Bee Hoon in Herbal Chicken Soup

Old Winston Coffee Garden
Jalan Anson, Georgetown

Food: 6.5 for all other dishes; 9 for the Bee Hoon in Herbal Chicken Soup
Service: 7
Price: $
Recommendation: Bee Hoon in Herbal Chicken Soup

Food for Thought: Cintra St Yu Char Koay

Lebuh Cinta in Penang's Chinatown is home to some of the best foods you can find on the island.  Amongst them is a shop that makes yu char koay, ham chin peng and huay ai chi on the spot and sell them piping hot.

 
The yu char koay is as good as the one in Melaka that I rave about so much.  Even if you don't like them piping hot, it is okay to let them cool down first.  It will remain crispy and not get all soggy like the ones we often find in Singapore.  It is perfect as an afternoon snack with hot coffee or milo.

Lebuh Cintra Yu Char Koay
on Cintra Street (opp De Tai Tong Restoran)

Food:  9
Price: $

Food for Thought: Penang Teochew Chendol

There are now several outlets for the Famous Teochew Chendol clustered around Penang Road and all of them display, rather unbashfully, photographs of Singapore's funny man Phua Chu Kang and his wife.  So which is the authentic Teochew chendol?  A Penangnite told us the original vendor used to operate from a pushcart outside Hong Leong Bank on Burmah Road.  We couldn't locate him but found  another outlet at Komptar.  It is a stylish cafe with a facade of stained glass and colourful pictures of their most popular menu items.

The chendol served here reminds me of the Indian version ala Rex Cinema - those of you who are old enough may remember the famous Indian chendol stall in the cinema's back lane. 

The cafe uses santan that is not so creamy and the chendol has a light greenish hue and is not as elastic.  The upside of it is that it is not so sweet - great for weight-watchers.  Personally, I prefer Chendol 88 in Melaka.

Besides chendol, they also serve ais kacang and other hot and cold desserts as well as some popular Penang hawker fare.

Picture shows a very happy and satisfied darling wife with DPH volunteer, Helen Choy.

Famous Penang Teochew Chendol
Komptar (right under the overhead bridge)
Georgetown, Penang

Food:  6
Ambience: 7
Service: 6
Price: $

Food for Thought: Restoran Sun Yoon Kee Seafood

This venerable old-style cze char restaurant is smacked right in the middle of Penang's Chinatown on Cintra Street.  There is no printed menu.  The owner or one of his helpers will tell you what's available for the day but, on any given day, you can expect to sample several of its signature dishes such as braised Golden Coin tofu, deep-fried fish maw with sea cucumber, deep-fried home-made tofu, chop suey with seafood, and stewed black bean spare-ribs with bitter gourd.  A choice of about 4 to 5 types of double-boiled soups are also available each day.  The choices change daily so regular customers can look forward to something different each day.

Sun Yoon Kee offers home-style cooking, so don't expect any modern interpretation or fanciful presentation.

Golden Coin Tofu

The Golden Coin tofu is pepared quite differently from the way it is normally done in Singapore.  The tofu pieces float in a pool of smooth 'raw egg' gravy with a sprinkling of scallion, carrot and mushroom.  To my relief, the gravy is not thick and starchy which was a plus point for me.  I totally dislike gravy that is overly starchy.  The tofu pieces were soaked long enough to absorb the flavour of the gravy.  I award full marks for this dish.
  

Chop Suey

Although most of us would have thought chop suey to be concocted out of the remains of vegetables, the chef here uses only the good parts of brocoli and cauliflower.  These vegetables are stir-fried with various types of seafood and slices of lean pork.  This was another satisfying dish.

Fish Maw Braised with Sea Cucumber

The dishes seem to get better and better.  The deep-fried fish maw braised with sea cucumber was darling wife's favourite dish.  The shitake mushrooms, sweetcorn, carrot and bits of kailan not only add colour to the dish, but also helps to enhance the overall taste. 

Black bean spare-ribs

Personally for me, the black bean spare-ribs stewed with bitter gourd was, hands down, the best dish.  Okay I may be bias here - bitter gourd is, after all, my favourite.  Still, no one can possibly quarrel with this dish.  Everything about it is just nice.  The spare-rib is tender, the bitter gourd is soft and the gravy is tasty yet not too robust to camouflage the unique taste of the gourd.  This is a 'die die must try' dish.


Restoran Sun Yoon Kee Seafood
35 Lebuh Cintra
Chinatown, Penang

Food:  8.5
Service: 8.5
Ambience: 9 (if you enjoy nostalgia)
Price: $
Recommended Dishes:  Golden Coin Tofu; Deep-fried Fish Maw with Braised Sea Cucumber; Stewed Spare-ribs with Bitter Gourd

Food for Thought: Apong Guan

Uncle Guan is definitely not camera-shy. He is ever ready to pose for photos like he did with our group. In fact, he is sort of a local celebrity having been featured in the local newspaper, magazines and several food blogs, and now in mine!

Everyone's happy with Uncle Guan's famous apong.

Having been in the business for 47 years, Uncle Guan turns out miniature apong (pancakes) with clockwork precision.  Here, Uncle Guan shows us the correct way to slice bananas. Without looking at the banana, knife or his hands, he is able to cut the fruit into equal thickness at supersonic speed. 

The preparation

Then he adds 2 slices of banana for each apong followed by a small dollop of canned corn.

Almost done - you need to be really patient.

Here is the finished product - piping hot and delicious apong balik.

The finished product - best eaten piping hot.

Even with his stealth and dexterity, there is usually a very long wait - we waited almost 60 minutes for our order to be ready.  But it was worth every second of the wait.

Waiting patiently in line but no one's complaining.

Apong Guan

Location: Burmah Road (opp shop by the name of 'thinkdisplay')

Direction: From Komptar Complex, follow the direction of the traffic until you reach the stretch after Penang Plaza.  Apong Guan's mobile stall is on the left hand side of Burma Road opposite a row of shophouses.  Look out for 'thinkdisplay'.

Price: 40sens per piece

Food for Thought: Chef Hide Yamamoto

Last year, we celebrated darling wife's birthday at renowned Chef Hide Yamamoto's newest restaurant at Marina Bay Sands.  The restaurant is one of the 2010 Global Chef Award Recipients.

Darling wife posing with the waiting team

Born in Japan, Chef Yamamoto was trained mainly in Italy and France.  He has graced kitchens such as the legendary Roger Verge in Provence, Chez Nouz Hama in San Franciso and The Jockey Club at Washington DC's Ritz-Carlton Hotel.  He holds the esteemed distinction of serving three generations of Presidents - Reagan, Bush and Clinton.

In 2005, Chef Yamamoto became the first Executive Chef of the Mandarin Oriental in Washington DC and later returned to Japan to be appointed as Chief Executive Chef for Mandarin Oriental Tokyo.

The MBS branch is Chef Yamamoto's fifth to date, but his first and only in Singapore.  The MBS outlet is a multi-concept 128-seat restaurant. It is divided into four main sections offering different menus and experiences - sushi, robata, ramen and teppanyaki. The restaurant also boasts a very well-stocked saki bar.

Since it was a special occasion, we settled for Chef Yamamoto's S$350++ per head Teppanyaki Dinner Course consisting of 8 dishes including Grilled Lobster, Grilled Whole Abalone in the Shell, and Grilled Wagyu Beef.  For this course which is the most expensive on the Teppanyaki menu, Chef Koji Nagashima was assigned to attend to us.  We had our own teppanyaki counter, our own Japanese chef and three service staff to pamper us throughout the meal.

Suffice for me to say that every dish was excellent.

Seafood Platter

The platter of seafood, our first dish, comprising wild salmon, octopus and sweet shrimp was not only a delight for the eyes but a feast to our palate too.  I must say that the cut of octopus was the most tender and juiciest I have ever had in Singapore. 

Sashimi - Threadfin and Fatty Salmon

What followed was a small serving of the highest grade sashimi - two thick slices of fatty salmon and 2 slices of Threadfin.  They were so fresh that they simply  melt in your mouth.

Live lobster

The dishes just got better and better.  The live lobster (which was on display before our eyes while we were relishing the freshness of the sashimi) was grilled to just the right degree.  While the meat was firm it did not have that dry chewy texture as a result of over-cooking.

Abalone in shell

After the lobster, we were served each a whole abalone in its shell.  I would have preferred it to be a little undercooked but our attending waiter advised that the Japanese like it chewy.  Nevertheless, we enjoyed the freshness of the shellfish. As in the lobster dish, Chef Koji has very ingeniously used the natural fluids from the shellfish for marinade, thereby enhancing the full oceanic flavour.

Wagyu beef

Selection of grilled vegetables

After the abalone came the wagyu beef which was the highlight of the entire meal.  It was served on hotstone and had on its side a selection of grilled vegetables.  Both darling wife and I exceedingly enjoyed the beef which was cooked expertly to perfection.  Chef Koji has chosen the best cut which had been hung for several weeks.  We have eaten wagyu beef at different restaurants in Singapore but this is by far, the best.

Handmade ramen with seasonal vegetables

To complete the meal, we had the special handmade ramen in concentrated miso soup served with seasonal vegetables.  To be honest, we were both quite satiated by this time to really be able to enjoy the ramen, which I am sure would have, otherwise, been much better appreciated.

Red bean with glutinous rice ball

No meal is complete without a good dessert.  Chef Yamamoto's red bean with glutinous rice ball was typically Japanese but with a French twist.  Two precious pieces of French marron made all that difference to an otherwise common dessert.

Vanilla parfait for the birthday girl

At the end of our meal just before I asked to settle the bill, our dedicated service team presented wifey with a vanilla parfait topped with a candle and a 'happy birthday' choclate wedge.  Everything was done very tastefully low key without too much fanfare.  We really liked that. 

Hide Yamamoto

Marina Bay Sands

8 Bayfront Avenue #02-05

Ambiance:  8.5

Service:  9.5

Food: 9.5

Pricing:  $$$$$

Recommended dish: any of the Teppanyaki dinner course; Wagyu beef

People and Places: Archanes, Crete Island, Greece

Archanes has won some coveted European awards including the 2nd best restored village in Europe and 1st in long term development prospects. Strolling through the village, it is easy to understand why - the streets have been newly stone-paved, there are splendid displays of blooming flowers, fruit trees and plants in the yards, terraces and balconies of the houses. All of these make walking around Archanes a delight to the senses.

After a hearty lunch at a local bistro, we began our exploration of the village on foot. The exterior surfaces of the buildings are dyed with watercolors in ochre and terra sienna tones, a dye that gives nuances in warm red. These colors exude an overall warm tone.

What makes Archanes so very charming, however, is its inhabitants.  The villagers welcome visitors with wide open arms.  We were busy taking photos of a typical Cretan village house when its owner came out and invited us in.

We entered the house through a courtyard filled with flowering plants and fruit trees. The various rooms surround this central courtyard which functions like an open air living room, against a backdrop of colorful blooms.  The courtyard is the hub of the house where the family gathers for meals and entertain friends and visitors.

Although we had planned to stay for just a few minutes, Elena succeeded in persuading us to stay for tea and meet various members of the family.  We were completely bowled over by her warmth and hospitality.  When we finally bade farewell, she offered us a parting gift of pomegranates - a symbol of wealth and good luck - harvested from their own tree, no less.

Holidays are not about just the sights, food and shopping.  It is experiences of kindness, love and generosity like what we encountered in Archanes that make holidays extra special.

Getting to Archanes:
We got into Archanes from Heraklion by bus.  Regular buses depart from Bus Station A (near the port) every half hour in the early morning and thereafter every hour on the dot.  The bus will pass the Knossos Palace, so it is possible to cover both Knossos and Archanes as a day trip.

Food for Thought: Chicken Rice

Chicken rice is most commonly associated with Hainanese cuisine. It has its roots in the well-known Hainanese Wenchang Chicken. Surprisingly, many who have eaten the original recipe in Hainan Island feel that the Singapore version is much more tasty.

The traditional method involves boiling the entire chicken in a bone stock. To achieve the perfect texture for the rice, a separate rich chicken stock is created specifically for cooking the rice thereby producing its full body flavour.

The Hainanese prefer using older and more plump birds to maximise the amount of oil extracted for use in preparing the dish. However, over the years, the newer Cantonese version has adopted the use of younger birds to produce more tender meats to cater to the taste of the new generation Singaporeans.

I am glad to have found two chicken rice institutions in Singapore that still retain the traditional methods of preparation. They are Yet Con and Nam Kee.

 Nam Kee's chicken drizzled with a combination of oil and soya sauce, making it really tasty and delicious.

Nam Kee's char siew is enhanced by a home-made sweet sauce.

Besides its very well-known chicken, Yet Con is also famous for its roast pork served with preserved salted vegetables.

Yet Con's famous Roast Pork served with preserved salted vegetable

Yet Con's chicken with its ample fats makes the meat tantalisingly smooth.

Nam Kee Chicken Rice

201 Upper Thomson Road (opp Sin Ming Plaza)

Yet Con Chicken Rice

25 Purvis Street