[Media Invite] Gu Cheng @ 460 Crawford Lane

Located opposite of Jalan Sultan, this place next door neighbour is Tolido Express. Taxi would likely be dropping you at Block 461 Crawford Lane as Block 460 is not so easily located. Gu Cheng serves Penang cuisine and its menu has about 6 mains and 5 sides.

entrance

Do check out Gu Cheng's Hungrydeals (1-for-1 set lunch, and it's a good deal). The food that we tried are assam laksa, prawn noodles and fried carrot cake. Oh my, aren't we taken by that carrot cake. So much so that we had 2 servings!

Penang Prawn Mee ( 梹城虾面) @8.80

bee hoon mee is best combo

The prawn noodles was actually not spicy. Robust with smokey flavours. The sliced pork was nice and thicker than other places. As these are family recipe, it may not taste the same as those you find in Penang itself.

Penang Laksa (梹城亚参叻沙) @$7.80

My favourite noodle dish was the assam laksa. Its flavours, the robust and full-bodied soup and a balanced overall tanginess. Yums! The lady-boss revealed that for this dish, two types of fishes were used. The kembong and sardine. Both typical ingredients for the soup base. When served, a spoonful of sweetened prawn paste (hae gor) is a must.

Penang Laksa (梹城亚参叻沙)

The first impression of the fried carrot cake was of its large chunky pieces. The portion was good for sharing amongst 2 pax as side dish and we spied a few large pieces of prawns. It was topped with hae bee hiam for added taste. What I liked was the piping hot taste and crisp skin. Tasted like this chai tau kway was battered then deep fried. So good.

Gu Cheng Signature Carrot Cake (古城菜头粿) @$8.80

If you're thirsty and wanted something light and healthy, try their signature rose tea drink. For me, I was happy with my sour plum although initially, I was looking for buah long-long drink.

Gu Cheng Signature Rose Tea @$3.00

Another main dish that we tried, was the beef stew. Is this Penang food? Not sure, but it was a rather nice stew. Hearty and tasty. The beef was beefy yet tender. The meat was stewed in Guinness Stout for 12 hours! No wonder. Not to worry, it doesn't have the bitterness of the stout, only the sweetness from the root vegetables and meaty flavours. Thumbs up for this!

Beef Stew (炖牛肉) $8.80

We also tried a number of side-dishes and my favourite would be the lor bak and the prawn paste chicken wings. Worth mentioning is the crispy tofu where the tofu was incorporated with pork and seafood then minced, before deep fried. The achar had lemongrass and had a refreshing taste.

Penang Lor Bak @$3.80 (per piece)

Cuttlefish Kang Kong @$6.80

Penang Otah @$3.80

Crispy Tofu @$5.80 (4 pieces)

Salted Egg Chicken @$7.80

Prawn Paste Chicken @$5.80 (4 midwings)

Actually, the prawn paste chicken is quite pricey with just 4 mid-wings. Now that you have seen the photos, do plan on what to get for that Hungrydeals! Hurry, while promo lasts.

Oh, and there's some kueh if you like to end the meal with something sweet.

kueh kueh

Thank you Hungrygowhere for the invite and Gu Cheng for hosting the tasting. Happy eating!

Gu Cheng

Address: 462 Crawford Lane, Singapore 190462
Business Hours:
Mon to Sat:
11am to 8:30pm

Closed on Sundays

Purrfect Cat Cafe @ Georgetown Penang

This cat cafe has been included as one of the itinerary items during my Penang visit early this month. Moreover, there's one wall mural that's at Jalan Muntri. So it ties in well with the plan. Explore, explore!

store sign

Was there on a Saturday noon. As you walk into the shop, you'll see a display of cakes. Rainbow cake, crepes and more. Upstairs is where you'll find the cats. Downstairs sells merchandise such as tshirts, mugs, pens, cushion covers, soft toys etc that's related to the feline or Penang's famous wall murals.

There's no cover charge to see the cats, but one does need to order something from the cafe before going upstairs. Got myself a sparkling peach drink @RM13+ after GST.

Then, you'll be required to wash your hands and take off shoes before heading upstairs, with the receipt/order chit.

narrow, narrow steps

Once upstairs, slide open the glass door and pass the chit to the staff. There are two dining sections, outer and inner. Inner section is where the cats are. If you have ordered lots of food and doesn't want the cats to 'kacau' or disturb you while eating, then choose the outer area first.

Naturally, I'd sit with the cats. Quietly slides open another door and choose a spot.

where the cats roam

There weren't many cats let loose that day. Only about 6 and all were napping. Cutest things ever, so took pictures of sleeping cats.

all curled up

cute paws

my bro said this looks like garfield

just forty winks

There's only another couple in there, we're just like waiting for the cats to wake up and hopefully, to play with.

grouchy cat: I'm awake, now what?

look into my eyes

The gray cat looks fierce but actually quite amiable, allowing humans to pet its body. It was only mildly curious at us humans.

grooming in progress

There's actually another enclosed area where there are some cats quarantined in there. One managed to climb out of it and started leaping from shelf to shelf. Quite interesting.

assessing the distance

looks like a small leopard

taking picture of someone else taking picture

looking for me?

90% of the cats there aren't interested in humans. They're more curious about things that we brought into their territory.

cat burglar in action: Ooh, smartphone in backpocket? I'll take it

postcard worthy

why so cute?

All in all, it was a fun experience getting up close with the various cats. Nice way to rest the feet after half-a-day of walking, searching for wall murals.

Kedai Kopi Ho Ping @ Georgetown Penang

Had passed by Kheng Pin Kafe but unfortunately, it was too late for lunch and the stalls were actually clearining up. Didnt get to try the loh bak there. Then, stumbled upon this Ho Ping coffeeshop and decided to give it a try.

Ordered assam laksa and an ambra sour plum drink.

assam laksa @RM4 and ambra juice @RM2.50

The assam laksa was very nice. Definitely one of the better eats. Thick gravy that's sourish sweet, tasty and flavoursome. Only grouse, was that the cucumber and onions were not julienned into smaller strips. Instead, it's quite slipshod knife-cut into a size that's rather big for assam laksa.

yummy soup, with thicker than usual laksa noodles

Ambra juice was refreshing but abit diluted here. Saw plenty of people eating loh bak from this coffeeshop. Wondered if it's any better than the one at New Lane.

This coffeeshop is pretty near the CAT free shuttle bus stop #8.

CAT shuttle bus stop

Red Prawn Durian @ Penang

Was walking back to the hotel from town centre and passed by this durian stall. Weather was scorching hot that day. A truck has just came in and men were unloading baskets and baskets of durians. Was just watching them when the lady manning the stall asked if I'd like to eat durians. Remembering that one of Penang specialty durian is Red Prawn, I requested for that.

red prawn durian @RM30 for this size

closer view

Its flesh was feather soft with slight bitter-sweet taste. Seeds were small. This stall is after New Lane, and before Glow Hotel. It's operating off a cart with makeshift tables and chairs at the road junction.

boss of the durian stall

Boss was very friendly, and whenever I passed by that few days, he'd asked if I'd like more durians, or just have a pack of water.

Penny Char Koay Teow @ Macalister Road Georgetown Penang

Thought I'd get to try the famous Lorong Selamat char koay teow since the place that I was staying at, was just 2-3 minutes away. Destination was Kafe Heng Huat, home to the stall of the 'Goggles Lady'.

Was thinking of having a late lunch to avoid the lunch crowds. Hmm, guessed 'lunch' has no fixed timing for tourists who came to try a bite of famous foods.

overflowing queues at 3+pm

Surveyed the grounds and the whole coffeeshop was filled to the brim with eagerly waiting patrons. Mostly were tourists. There were two woks firing away the orders. One by the goggles lady wearing the red beret and the other fried by a man. Spied the ingredients, and indeed there were large prawns all awaiting to be thrown onto the hot woks. Both chefs were frowning as they were frying away. Mood seemed foul.

Asked the assistant if I could take-away a packet. Answer was negative. No take-aways allowed. Ok. Then asked if I could order a plate. She frowned even more and stated that current waiting time is more than an hour. Her boss could be heard shouting away in the background barking out orders. And so, the quest to taste this famous char koay teow ended there and then. Didn't want to wait more than an hour in a hot stuffy coffeeshop.

Ended up at the Yi Garden Kafe, the coffeeshop next to the main road and had Penny Char Koay Teow instead. The ckt stall had a sign that proclaimed it as the winner of 'The Battle of Penang Hawker Masters 2012'. Prices starts from RM5.50, add 50cents for duck egg and for extra ingredients (加料), that'll be extra ++. Mindful of cholestrol, I asked for regular chicken eggs fried and 'geh liao' for the extra prawns.

Penny Char Koay Teow

char koay teow with added ingredients @RM8

Got my late lunch in a short while. The secret ingredient to that plate of char koay teow, was lots of deep fried crispy lard. And, truly quite a lot! Prawns were big but unfortunately, overfried.

Glow Hotel @ Macalister Street Georgetown Penang

Stayed at Glow Hotel for two nights, during the recently concluded Penang trip. Nice little boutique hotel that's nearer to town. Taxi fare from Evergreen Laurel Hotel, Gurney Drive to this area costs RM17.

Was greeted immediately by the bellman once he sees the guests walking into the lobby. Bags taken, welcome drink presented while waiting for the frontdesk to process the check-in.

refreshing glass of nutmeg drink

Stayed at the 7th floor, and near the fire exit. Noise from outside, for example, closing of doors could be heard clearly from within the room. Floor was abit dusty.

super single

open wardrobe area

view from window

bathroom and shower area

Room was minimalistic, and there's no toothbrush nor toothpaste provided so remember to bring your own. Other than that, it has the basic necessities.

Found a lollipop on the bed with a handwritten note, as a welcome gesture by the hotel. Nice.

sweet

Breakfast was included, and I had the expectation of simple toast bread served with bread/jams, but Glow Hotel provided more than that.

bread counter with butter, jams and kaya

fried pasta, sausages and sambal for nasi lemak

cut fruits (watermelon, honey dew), hard boiled eggs, bread butter pudding, baked beans and porridge

nasi lemak section

It was nice having a bowl of comforting salted egg porridge in the morning. There was only one staff manning the breakfast buffet area and when he is not busy, he'll even bring your coffee/tea to your table. 

salted egg porridge with fried anchovies and topped with spring onions

Glow Hotel is about 2-3 minutes to Lorong Selamat, less than 10 minutes walk to New Lane (Lorong Baru) eating area and about 15 minutes walk to Chowrasta Market.

Next to the hotel, is a coffeeshop that opens day and night. In the morning/noon, there are stalls selling koay teow soup, char kway teow, breakfast set etc while during the night, one could get bak kut teh.

Opposite road of the hotel (right side), one could find a shop selling tau sar piah and other pastries. The pastries were quite good. There's also a nasi kandar shop but didn't try. One could also get to the famed Ghee Hiang head office at Macalister Road, by turning left from the hotel. However, it was quite tricky to cross the busy roads.

If one would like to travel further, you can request the hotel to get a cab for you. There are private car drivers sitting at the coffeeshop, so exercise your own caution and judgement if you choose this alternative. A ride to Armenian Street cost about RM15 per trip. Otherwise, the nearest free CAT shuttle is at Chowrasta Market (bus stop #12) or Komtar (bus stop #9).