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).

Evergreen Laurel Hotel @ Gurney Drive, Penang

Located at 53 Persiaran Gurney, it was about 40 minutes ride from the Penang International Airport. On weekdays evening, expect heavy traffic and it'll take probably 15-20 minutes longer. Taxi fare from airport would be about RM50. There are private cars awaiting passengers and those are cheaper by RM10 although one ought to be careful.

Evergreen is one of the older establishment along that area. Not the best, and not the worst one either. Don't quote me, this was what one of the hotel staff told me. Haha!

Check-in was a breeze and a deposit of RM100 was required, refundable at check-out. However, on the day of my stay, the hotel was experiencing an issue with their airconditioning. "No aircond for the time being till it is fixed." That did dampen the mood of the guests quite a bit!

'premium' king sized bed

desk and sofa area

deluxe sea-facing view

Sunrise was approximately at 713am, so went out the next morning to catch it. Weather was a little hazy.

sunrise

good morning

The sea is at the opposite side of the hotel, and the pedestrian path was popular with joggers and people out doing their morning walk. It was a Friday that felt like a weekend. Holidays feels so good!

walking

waves rushing onwards

no flowers to smell, so will just watch the birds

slow down and enjoy the view

On days like this, I'd like some dim sum please. Coincidentally, found one about 10 minutes walk from the hotel.

dim sum for breakfast

variety of steamed dim sum

fried stuffs

Did a take-away back to the hotel. Amusingly, the shop doesn't provide any disposable chopsticks as they didn't stock any.

coffee

assorted dim sum @RM15

century egg with fish and pork paste

yam puff with char siew

Skip the brinjal and handmade fishballs as brinjal was too hard and fishballs were too mushy. This dim sum shop seemed to fare better with fillings that include pork and prawns, and deep fried. Yam puff was half-half as one tasted good but the other had fillings that tasted bland. But its exterior was well-fried and crispy.

Manbok 만복 Chinatown Korean BBQ & Steamboat Buffet Restaurant @ Chinatown

Was invited to try Manbok, located at 279 New Bridge Road. Took bus #143 and alighted after Chinatown Point. At the bus stop, turn right and walk along the pathway. Its name Manbok 만복 can be translated as 万福.

korean buffet, 가자 !

Buffet is priced at $29++ for dinner, with free beer promo for each diner if you come in groups of 4.

table for 4 pax, with grill plate, smoke suction and small stove for steamboat

Here are some pictures of the BBQ and steamboat ingredients.

ingredients for budae jigae (army stew or steamboat items section)

seafood items (clams, mussels, prawns, squid)

meat galore~

free flow soft-drinks

The uncooked meat section was interesting. First time seeing beef brisket and beef plate in this section.

first plate - brisket, short-ribs, marinated pork collar and pork belly

pork belly and short-ribs in progress

The beef short-ribs were well marinated, though a tad sweet. Nice to chew on.

kimchi to break the monotony

While waiting for the meat to grill, one could also enjoy the cooked food that's quite well prepared by their Korean chef. Fried chicken wings? Oh, yes.

sweet sauce coated fried chicken wings

fried rice

kimchi pajeon

japchae

The fried rice has just abit of heat to spice it up, very zhichar styled and loaded with small shrimps. Had it while it was still hot. Yums. Chicken wings were fried till outer skin was crispy, and coated with sweet sauce. As usual, am biased towards chicken wings. The tiny-cut kimchi pancake was likeable too.

one plate is never enough

Korean beer

The cooked food section may see its selection changes on a monthly basis. According to the restaurant owner, this is to give diners something new to look forward to during their subsequent visits.

spicy seafood stew

more meat, please

Bottled makgeolli is available and it's really easy to drink. Big bites of grilled meat, and big gulp of makgeolli!

big sips of korean rice wine 막걸리

eat, drink and be merry

If one had a bottle too many, a pot of budae jigae may help to settle the tummy a little. The soup was a light clam-based stock, available in a plastic jug to do a self-service top-up at your own table. Add own guestimate of pepper paste to the steamboat pot, and the usuals for budae jigae: spam, sausages, instant noodles, cabbage, mushrooms etc.

gently slide in raw egg onto the army stew

voila~ steaming hot pot of budae jigae

For desserts, there's fruits and mini ice-cream tubs.

icy cold choco ending

Overall, pretty good value for money especially the *free beer promo. Adequate selection of cooked food with some choice items, and since it's a buffet, one could eat as much meat that they can. I'd pick the marinated pork collar, pork belly and beef short-ribs.

Thank you HGW for the invite and Mr Tan, for hosting us.

Manbok Chinatown Korean BBQ & Steamboat Buffet Restaurant

Location: 279, North Bridge Road, Singapore 088752
Contact No. ： 6557 0939
Website：http://manbokinc.wix.com/manbok