Archive for the ‘Travel’ Category

Pinang Peranakan Mansion, Penang

November 15th, 2011


Truth to be told, doing (tourist) site visits has not been my top priority for all my holidays in Penang. I had not been to any of those historical sites nor touristy places till my last visit. And that’s after numerous trips to the Pearl of the Orient in a year or two. For each and every time that I was in Penang, food hunting, apart from resting and relaxing, was (and will be for a very long time) the upmost in my to-do list. After all, how one could resists the temptation of variety of delicious foods which are available throughout the day at every nook and corner of the street.

Pinang Peranakan Mansion (Hai Kee Chan), Penang

Pinang Peranakan Mansion (Hai Kee Chan), Penang

Anyway, long story short, the ‘taboo’ was somehow broken during my last trip when I visited the Pinang Peranakan Mansion which is located along Church Street (Lebuh Gereja). It wasn’t an impromptu visit though, as I’ve actually made a point to visit to at least one of these places before the year ends… which I did!

Pinang Peranakan Mansion (Hai Kee Chan), Penang

Pinang Peranakan Mansion (Hai Kee Chan), Penang

Art in Pinang Peranakan Mansion (Hai Kee Chan), Penang

Now… I’m not going to go all lengthy with its history and stuff like that because I believe there are better sources out there such as here for more trustworthy information. Hence, I’ll just showcase a couple of photos I took with my trusty old DSLR. So, enjoy!

Pinang Peranakan Mansion (Hai Kee Chan), Penang

Pinang Peranakan Mansion (Hai Kee Chan), Penang

Pinang Peranakan Mansion (Hai Kee Chan), Penang

Decorations in Pinang Peranakan Mansion (Hai Kee Chan), Penang

Note : A couple more photos will be posted in my Flickr.

Address :
29, Church Street,
10200 Penang,
Malaysia.

GPS Coordinates : 5.417824, 100.341182

Admission Fee : RM10

Opening Hours : 930AM – 5PM Daily



In Cameron Highlands – T Cafe, Tanah Rata

August 17th, 2011


Note : T Cafe has changed its name. Now, it is now known as Lord’s Cafe.

The breakfast provided by the hotel we stayed in was so appalling that I didn’t bother to binge on it. The selections were minimal with most of them weren’t refilled after they were wiped clean. I had a mouthful of cold spaghetti, a tiny piece of omelette and one slice of cold white bread with jam on it. That’s it.

Lord's Cafe (formerly known as T Cafe)

Thankfully, T Cafe came to the rescue as I was still hungry when we left the hotel. Located just (approximately) 5 minutes away from the hotel, it is said to be famous for its scones. This quaint little cafe is situated above Marrybrown (a fast food outlet) with its staircase positioned at the side of the shoplot.

Lord's Cafe (formerly known as T Cafe)

The place has a rustic feel to it. Rattan chairs, wooden tables and small potteries with beautiful plants were arranged neatly with artworks donning on the aged-paint walls. The menu was simple. Western, Asian and local delights were to be found in it.

Lord's Cafe (formerly known as T Cafe)

Since I was famished, I opted for their late breakfast set with a cup of black Malaysian coffee to go along with it while my friend ordered cream scones and chocolate milkshake. A portion of banana crepe was ordered to be shared.

Breakfast Set Meal

My breakfast set (RM6.80) was simple and hearty at the same time. Two slices of French toast, sunny side up egg, homemade hashbrown, baked beans and a sausage were placed nicely on the plate. The toasts were soft and eggy but there’s nothing to shout about for the sausage. The egg was fried nicely with wobbly runny yolk at the center. I particularly liked the homemade hashbrown as it was delish. Albeit it was a little cold (probably due to the chilly weather… and my obsession for food photography), it was slight mushy with a little bit of crunch from the bits of carrots in it.

Malaysian Black Coffee

The aromatic Malaysian coffee (RM1.90) was perfect end note for the breakfast meal. Bold and strong, it was just the way I like my black coffee to be.

Cream Scone

Now, I’m not a big fan of scones. But after having T Cafe’s cream scones (RM2.50), I finally understood what’s the fuss all about and why people raved about it.

Cream Scone

Crumbly in texture yet buttery in flavour, it’s good to eat it on its own but it’s equally good with the side condiments; whipped cream, homemade strawberry jam and butter.

Banana Crepe (Banana Pancake)

The banana crepe wasn’t bad either. The portion was decent with good amount of sliced bananas hidden inside the soft pancakes.

Banana Crepe (Banana Pancake)

However, it could do better with a scoop of ice cream or a whirl of chocolate / strawberry sauce as it was rather plain. Unfortunately, I didn’t manage to grab a photo of the chocolate milkshake (RM5) but I did take sip and I was amazed by the thicknesss of it. It’s akin to ‘drinking’ chocolate ice cream with a straw.

Lord's Cafe (formerly known as T Cafe)

All in all, we pretty much enjoyed our meal. I’m not sure how the main meals fare but the ones, which somehow falls into desserts category, we tried especially the scone and pancake were good. The calm environment was homely and I reckon it’s a place to go to for simple meal or just for a drink.

Address :
No. 4, 1st Floor,
Main Road,
39000 Tanah Rata,
Cameron Highlands,
Pahang.

Business Hour : 10AM – 10PM (Closed on Sunday)



In Cameron Highlands – Restoran Highlands, Brinchang

August 3rd, 2011


When it comes to deciding on what to have for dinner in Cameron Highlands, the thought of having steamboat will automatically pops up in mind instantaneously. Plates of fresh ingredients waiting to be cooked in boiling hot soup, it’s hard to resist the temptation of having steamboat outdoor in a chilly weather of Cameron Highlands.

Restoran Highlands, Brinchang

There are dozens of restaurants serving steamboat in Cameron Highlands. That said, the ingredients provided / given are more or least the same for the restaurants in Tanah Rata and Brinchang. The only difference that set them apart is the price per head / person / portion. Due to its prime location, most of the shops situated along the main road of Brinchang normally charge more than the rest. At the end of the day, it’s just a matter of personal preference on which shop to dine in… and availability as tourists tend to fill the restaurant to the brim during peak hours.

Bowls

Lucky for us, we spotted this restaurant when we were finding for empty parking lot around Brinchang area. It wasn’t packed at that moment and hence we decided to have our meal once we parked our car.

Chili Sauce

Charcoal Steamboat Ingredients

Other than steamboat, they do offer normal Chinese-style ala-carte stir-fry dishes. But we opted for the former as we were in the mood for one. Moreover, it was the sight of their charcoal steamboat that pretty much sealed the decision.

Raw Ingredients

Like any other steamboat restaurants in Cameron Highlands, they allocate the portions according to the number of people. We waited for quite awhile before they appeared with the raw ingredients one by one.

Charcoal Steamboat

The last one to arrive was the heavy-duty looking charcoal-fueled steamboat pot. The good thing about having charcoal is that it tends to boil faster than normal portable gas stove… or maybe it’s just me who think so.

Raw Ingredients

Raw Ingredients

Sliced pork, chicken meat, prawns, squids, fishballs, meatballs, sliced fish meat and etc were all arranged properly in several plates. Underneath them all were vegetables. Heaps and heaps of different types of vegetables placed at the base making the protiens looked rather little. Noodles were given too alongside with a couple of eggs. In the clear (tasteless) broth, there’re cabbages which requires a longer cooking time.

Noodles

For RM16 per portion, they might not be the cheapest but they’re definitely one of the cheaper ones compared to the rest (in Brinchang) who charges RM18 onwards. Portion wise, they were rather little on the meats. I was tempted to order more meat but didn’t do so as we were heading to the night market nearby for more food!

Address :
Restoran Highlands
MDCH 36, Bandar Baru,
39100 Brinchang,
Cameron Highlands,
Pahang.

GPS Coordinates : 4.491824, 101.388699