Hansang Korean Family Restaurant @ Novena Square 2 Part II

Lunch time at Novena Square 2. Lunch promotion ranges from $9.90++ to $16++. Too bad it wasn't Thursday, or else I'd try Gom Tang 곰탕 (beef bone soup).

daily lunch promo menu

Tried the jajangmyun on previous visit, so ordered half ginseng chicken soup for this time round. The set priced at $16++ comes non-refillable side dish, one rice, a drink (coffee/tea) and a 'dessert' (which turned out to be cookies). For samgyetang 삼계탕, one could only choose white rice or mixed grain. If ordering from ala-carte menu, one could have the option of stone pot rice.

Shared a small order of pancake of the day, which was really assorted fried stuff coated with pancake flour.

pancake of the day (small) @$15++

The assorted pancakes had zucchini, mushroom, pancake, prawns and pumpkin. Dainty dish.

half samgyetang (ginseng chicken) @$16++

mixed grain rice

Ginseng chicken soup was flavourful on its own. The salt was meant more for the chicken flesh. Found a small slice of ginseng inside and a gingko nut. Quite tasty, the ginseng. Comforting to eat rice and soup. It was a very filling meal.

However, coffee was forgotten and had to remind the staff twice before it appeared. Coffee was quite likeable and 'dessert' was just crunchy cookies.

coffee

Payment at cashier was slow, as the service staff seemed to be more focused on doing something else.

For visit #1, you may wish to click on this link.

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.