Hameed Pata Mee Sotong, one of the best | Penang

Fort Cornwallis is Penang's historical landmark and is the largest standing fort in Malaysia. When Sir Captain Francis Light of the British East India Company landed on Penang in 1786 after acquiring the island from the Sultan of Kedah, he built the fort over-looking the sea to defend any enemy attacks and invasions. Since its erection and latter reinforced with bricks, the fort has never been in battle.

Entrance to Fort Cornwallis

Penang state flag and cannon at Fort Cornwallis

For those of you who has never visited the fort, it is open daily from 9am to 7pm with admission fee of RM2 for adults and RM1 for children. After a walk in and around the fort, the best place to fill up the probably growling tummy is at the food court opposite the fort. Look for a sign that says 'Hameed Pata Special Mee'. This is where you will fine one of the best mee goreng (fried noodles) in Penang. Another favourite mee goreng of mine is at Bangkok Lane which I will post about later on.

Padang Kota Food Court opposite Fort Cornwallis

Hameed Pata Mee Sotong

Mee Goreng Sotong (Fried squid noodles)

Mee goreng or mee rebus is what you should order when here. The noodles are cooked in a special squid sauce, bean sprout, potatoes and eggs. I have no idea how they make the squid sauce, but whatever it is, that is the special ingredient to this heavenly plate of noodle; spicy and slightly sweet. This mee sotong is very spicy so I suggest you order a cold drink from the drinks stall next to it. Try the popular coconut milk shake. It will complete your experience of hot and spicy with cold and soothing; an ultimate combination.

Mee Sotong (Fried squid noodles) 

After a simple but satisfying meal, I recommend taking a walk along the esplanade and people watch.

HAMEED PATA MEE SOTONG

Padang Kota Lama Food Court
(next to Fort Cornwallis)
Jalan Padang Kota Lama
10200 Penang, Malaysia
Close on Sunday

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Banana leaf rice at Passions of Kerala | Penang

When it comes to banana leaf rice in Penang, the first place that comes to mind is the original Passions of Kerala located at Taman Brown in Gelugor. They have expanded throughout the years and now they have opened one at New World Park along with many other restaurants.

Entrance to Passions of Kerala at New World Park

Banana leaf rice set (RM 5.50) - vegetarian

It is all about banana leaf rice at Passions of Kerala. Everyone orders this when they come here. The banana leaf rice set is vegetarian. It comes with rice, five types of vegetables, rassam and papadoms; all free flow. After ordering, everyone will be given a clean banana leaf as your plate and some cutleries but traditionally, it is eaten with hands. Then the staff will come round with the choice of plain steamed rice or tomato rice. Another guy will come with the different types of curries and vegetables, all will be lined up above your rice. You will also be given some free bowls of curry on the side to have some on your rice. Don't be shy to ask for more vegetables, rice, curry, or papadoms. Remember, it is free flow. Of course, it is not polite to to ask for more than you can consume. Be moderate about it.

Very crispy deep fried spiced bitter gourd, which I order every time I have banana leaf rice

There are lots of extra dishes you can order to add on to the already pretty complete vegetarian banana leaf set. Lots of other delicious non-vegetarian dishes are on offer for those who needs some meat to fill them up.

Deep fried fish

Masala Chicken

At the end of the meal, it is nice to fold the banana leaf inwards towards you (like above). This means you are you are satisfied and liked the meal. If folded outwards. it means you did not like the food. And if left open, it means you want more.

PASSIONS OF KERALA

Passions of Kerala (New World Park Outlet)
102 Lot C3, New World Park
Jalan Burma
10050 Penang, Malaysia.
Tel: 04-2272550
Operating Hours: Open Daily 11:30am-3:30pm; 6pm-10pm

5 Lorong Endah 4
Taman Brown, Gelugor
Penang, Malaysia.
Tel: 04-6578850
Operating Hours:

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Dolphin watch at Palolem | Goa

The reason we decided to stay at the South of Goa was for a relaxing time and also to see Dolphins. It was amazing knowing that Dolphins were just in the sea a few metres from where we swam. The reception at our beach hut arranged a Dolphin watch boat trip for us. We had to leave at 7am to make sure we see the dolphins swim amongst us. 7am is nothing when you get a chance to see dolphins.

Our boatman keeping a lookout for us. He got sharp eyes, like an eagle.

Other early risers on the same mission as us.

Everyone was very eager, looking around the boat, hoping the dolphins will pop their head next to the boat for us to pat. Of course, that didn't happen.  They swam above the waters only very briefly, then diving in and out again. It was more like a gentle say hello rather than a big scene of flicking themselves out of the water and making a toss spin, like we imagined it to be. It was not like in the movies.

The only dolphin picture I have that is visible enough.

I was busy looking out for dolphins and experience it first hand instead of looking through my camera lens so I apologise for not being able to share some more decent photos of this beautiful mammal. I love dolphins as they look friendly and happy all the time.

When we were done with our dolphin watch, the boatsmen were nice enough to take us to other beaches further away for sightseeing. We went to Honeymoon beach and Butterfly beach. Butterfly beach was named so for a reason. It was filled with lots of  colourful butterflies flying amongst us.

Some rocks off Honeymoon beach.

Love this photo of the sparkling sea as the sun rises slowly above us.

Everyone trying to get out of the boat.

Back to Casa Fiesta for breakfast.

Banana pancake with freshly squeezed pineapple juice for breakfast, after a great start to the day.

This is the fantastic morning view while having our breakfast. Time to read a book, have a chat and relax.

My upcoming holiday will have to top this; to swim with dolphins! That will be a dream come true. I am still envious of my friend who swam with dolphins while in Mexico. Anyone of you who knows where to do the same, please let me know. Who knows, I might be able to swim with these beautiful mammals more than once. We shall see about that and I will definitely let you know when I do that.

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Copper Chimney Restaurant

We came here for a post wedding dinner with the bride and groom and their family members. This was another one of those nice restaurants which was hidden. A foreigner will probably not know there is a restaurant above a car show room unless told.



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Our starter was one interesting roti, very thin and crisp served with green chutney and masala. It's a crispy version of masala rumali roti. This is very similar to roti tisu we have in Malaysia but instead of it being savoury, the one we have back home is sweet with condensed milk and granulated sugar.

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Naan with mixed dry fruits, now my favourite naan. As always throughout our stay in Mumbai, we have been surprised by the many varieties of delicious vegetarian food. I thought the corn curry was simple yet flavourful with its natural sweetness.

Muzzafar (front) & Ras Malai, a Kolkata signature dessert (behind)

Copper Chimney Restaurant

101, 1st Floor, Fortune Classic,
Opposite Gabana Showroom, Khar,
Mumbai, Maharastra, 400052
Tel: +91 22 2492 5353

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Mango Lassi

Mango is one of my favourite fruit of all time and was pretty gutted not to be able to visit Ratnagiri when I was in India. It is home to Alphonso mangoes, named after the first Duke of Goa, Afonso de Albuquerque. It is one of the best mangoes in terms of flavour and sweetness but some people seem to think different. Too bad I won't be able to tell you the verdict since I was unable to try it but so far, the best mango I have had are the Pakistani mangoes. I was given these Pakistani mangoes from a lovely Indian man when I was volunteering to help out at the Sunday Kitchen for the homeless.

For now, using just normal mangoes, I made mango lassi inspired from my trip. Recipes below.

MANGO LASSI RECIPE

serves 2

Ingredients:

• 1 large mango (skinned, deseeded and chopped)


• 180g plain yogurt


• 2 tbs sugar


• 1/2 cup milk or water


• chopped toasted nuts to garnish (optional)

Method:

1. Mix the chopped mangoes, yogurt, sugar and milk into a blender.


2. Blend until combine and smooth.


3. Pour the lassi into glasses, top with some chopped nuts and serve.

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Punjab Grill at Bollywood stars residential area

After our walk along Juhu beach, we ventured into the residential area and got lost there. Apparently this is where the Bollywood stars live. We were blindly looking for a decent restaurant for late lunch but no restaurants were in sight cause they were all just people's homes. We came across a boutique and the owner recommended a restaurant not far from where we were. When we happily found Punjab Grill, it was closed and will only open at 7pm so we went to a nearby coffee shop to wait for the doors to open. It seems our very late lunch ended up being dinner.

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When the clock finally hits 7pm, us hungry people quickly got our table in the outdoor sitting area and became their first customers. It had really good ambience and we were very happy with our choice of seating. Since this restaurant is renowned for the grilled meats, naturally we ordered the mixed grill that has grilled chicken, lamb and fish.

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L: Tandoori chicken, mixed grill and vegetable biryani; R: Local wine

We ordered some local beer (not Kingfisher and can't remember the name) but they did not have them so the manager recommended us Indian wine, produced by the same people who makes Kingfisher beer. We were quite skeptic about it but the manager was very persuasive . Luckily the wine turned out well. It had fruity, spicy and smoky notes which matched really well with our grilled meat.

Mixed grill and Murgh (chicken) tandoori

Only at the end of our meal that I found out it is an award-winning restaurant. No wonder we had such a wonderful night.

Punjab Grill

Unit No. 24, Juhu Shopping Centre,
9th Gulmohar Road Juhu,
JVPD Scheme Vile Parle
West Mumbai 400049
Tel: +91 (0)22 42433100-02/ +91 (0)993 070 6655

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Mumbai: Colourful wedding, colourful food

Attending weddings is a fantastic way of learning a culture and we were very lucky to be invited to one in Mumbai. I am sure you have heard about week long Indian wedding with thousands of people. Well, we were there for one and was indeed a beautiful experience.

Mehndi & Dance Party

Mehndi (more known as henna) is a traditional ceremonial art usually applied on brides before wedding ceremony. They are often very elaborate and intricate patterns. The process would take up to about six hours where the mehndi artists will carefully apply henna through what looks like a small piping bag. They are very skilful at controlling the line intensity and also so steady that they hover their hands above the bride's arm to avoid touching any wet henna that has just been applied.

Bride's intricate mehndi (about 4 days old mehndi), complete with image of a bride and groom on her palms. This photo courtesy of a friend.

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This mehndi and dance party was a very fun night where the ladies had a chance to get some simple mehndi done. Of course, we needed the men to help us hold our bags, bring us water when we were thirsty and feed us too. It was about two hours of ultimate pampering from our lovely men. Maybe we should start putting on mehndi more often just as an excuse to be served. *cheeky grin* There were dance performances on stage to entertain everyone. Later on, friends and family even the bride and groom performed for the guests. The group of us non-locals were given a one day Bollywood dance lesson few days ahead so we could perform on this night. It was pretty scary but all went well and we really enjoyed it. Like any party, everyone ended up dancing through the night and gangnam style was well popular.

Wedding Ceremony

At the ceremony, friends and family danced away along the street outside the venue with a band playing really loud drums and trumpet. It was sweaty but fun! Then the groom headed in to the venue for a ceremony where he was stood on a platform, almost stage-like. He was waiting for the bride to come wear the garland around his neck. Her mission was to hang the garland over him as fast as possible but the groom will have to prevent this from happening too soon. It is believed that the bride will be dominant in the marriage if she managed to hang the garland over him quickly. So the groom had two of his strongest and tallest men to carry him as high above the garland as possible.

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At any wedding, there is always the excitement of food. There were so many exciting as everything was new and unique to us. It was the best way to try every food there is possible, taking small portions of almost everything. Staffs and guests were very helpful, trying to explain what some of the food was but the best way to know what they mean was to try them. Who's happy, I am!

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Lots of food

Wedding Reception

During the reception at night, the bride, groom and their parents would stand on stage (as in photo above) the whole night to greet and take pictures with the guests. All the guests would queue for their turn to give their blessings to the newly wed. They stood there the whole night until the last guest greeted them before they could sit down for a very late dinner. I could only empathise the bride who was wearing a very heavy dress covered in crystals and accessories from head to toe.

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Again, more food! This my dear readers, was the star (food-wise) of my entire trip in Mumbai. It was crispy with gushing flavours of sweet, sour and spicy all at one go. 

Before going to Mumbai, I did some reading on the few must eats and pani puri was one of them. I was discussing about this with the bride a few days before and apparently it is her favourite. I was so excited when I saw two men making pani puri and quickly joined the queue behind a group of very happy kids asking for more. They weren't leaving after having a dozen pops so I got impatient and stuck the little plate in my hand above the children's head to get my one bite worth of pani puri. As soon as I popped the whole thing in the mouth, my whole face lit up as if I was risen from the ground, about to touch the sky. It was a burst full of flavours. The best snack I have had in a very long while. I would say this is my favourite food throughout the trip. One word, WOW!

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This panki was another interesting food I saw at the wedding. It reminded me of roti jala we have in Malaysia. It was a yellow, paper thin crepe roasted in between two banana leaves. The panki is then peeled off the banana leaves on to the plate, eaten with green chutney.

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I would like to thank our lovely host for an unforgettable trip overall. We had a wonderful time.

Note: Photos of of the beautiful bride and groom has been omitted to protect their privacy.

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Saffron Bay Terrace Bar watching sunset

View from The Terrace Bar at Saffron Bay - sunset at Chowpatty Beach

Having spent the whole day sightseeing the south of Mumbai and missed lunch, we were so hungry we could eat the sun. To make matters worse, our cab driver was taking us to the wrong place, thinking it was Juhu Chowpatty instead of the original Chowpatty Beach. It must be the language barrier but we got there in the end. The guys from the other cab was already chilling out on the beach, waiting for us. We asked some people for a restaurant where we can have early dinner and finally found Saffron Bay.

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Sipping cold beer and cold drinks on a terrace bar during sunset was a great way to end the exhausting day of walking.

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Chicken bhingri was tender and tasty although slightly salty. It was chunks of chicken leg meat marinated in yogurt, crushed pepper, chilly and lemongrass served on bamboo skewers. The chicken lal mas was cooked in red chilly, tomato and onion gravy, served with reshmi paratha. There was more food than this but it was too much, it will exhaust this post so to keep it short, lovely ambience for good food although can be on the pricier side. In such a great setting, paying a little extra was totally fine.

Saffron Bay

The Terrace Bar
Plot No 39B,
Chowpatty Seaface,
Charni Road,
Mumbai-400 004, India.

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Yoko Sizzlers, where your food sizzles

On a weekday afternoon, it was packed with people. There were big families who took up half the restaurant, come and go. Our group was not small either. We were pretty excited to see every plate of food come out of the kitchen sizzling on hot plate. Smoke filled the room with aroma of its caramelised sauce.

The portions were generous, from what we saw. So we ordered four to be shared amongst ten of us since we already had something light to eat earlier on. It was a shame they ran out of mutton and watermelon juice but it did not bother us. The amount of food was just right and was really enjoyable.

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Yoko Sizzlers Santacruz (W)

West View, S.V. Road,
Near Akbarallys, Santacruz (West),
Mumbai 400 054 - India.
Tel : 022 2649 2313 / 1528

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Shiv Sagar Vegetarian Restaurant

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After a long day of shopping for Indian clothes for the wedding, we finally got to sit down to some good vegetarian fast food. They even do delivery! This might be the Indian version of McDonalds. Certainly, there is a different vibe to it. It did not have the assembly line in preparing the food in the kitchen nor the very specific guidelines the American fast food giant has. This was straight forward quick vegetarian food.

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It was the first time I have seen so many variations of dosa. The spinach version was one of my favourites. 

Pav bhaji is a popular Maharashtra fast food. It consists of mashed potato with thick tomato based sauce and spice served with pav (bread), and onions. There are different variations, for example the above that is garnished with cheese. Some can also be made with paneer, mushroom or dry fruits.

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Saffron and almond milkshake sounds like a weird combination but I ordered it anyhow, even with high possibility of disliking it. There is always risk ordering something unusual but sometimes, it can be rewarding. Turns out, the milkshake was actually good the only downside was it being very filling so it was hard to eat the many different types of food and finish the glass of thick milkshake.

Shiv Sagar Restaurant (Veg.)

Shop No.4, Shyam Kunj Building,
16th Road, Pali Naka, Bandra West,
Mumbai, Maharastra, 400050
Tel: +91 22 2600 6318

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