I was fortunate enough to have a team building over at Rasa Sayang Shangri-la hotel in Penang last friday, and to end the wonderful evening we were treated with a sumptuous Seafood Buffet dinner at the Spice Garden. I have heard quite a lot about the seafood buffet, especially the price.nbsp; A lot of my friends and colleagues have tried them. The buffet was around RM155 per person. Only the weekend they have the seafood buffet with all you can eat baby lobster and a hefty price tag. In a nutshell, the buffet was excellent and the lobster was the item that I enjoyed the most. We were there as early as 6.30pm, the time the Spice Garden Cafe open. Within 15-20 minutes, the cold baby lobster was all finish, and was promptly replaced with giant prawns. Seams like no refill on this item. The ‘hot’ baby lobster which are being fried by the restaurant chef are being served free flow. However, there are usually a queue on this item. I find the cold baby lobster taste richer than those cooked with spices, and so I was not that much of a fan of the spice fried baby lobsters. The lamb satay was nice, and so was the Japanese food selection.nbsp; Sashimi was of course a hot item. I did not pay much attention to the Chinese section, very few actually took the offered noodles. The only items worth mentioning were the shark fin soup and soft shell crab. For dessert, the Cheese Cake was great, again, was not refilled when it was finish. I got a tip from one of my colleague when I question her why she went for cheese cake a few minutes after we started. Indeed, when finish, it was replaced with some other cakes, not that interesting. There was crepe, and a good selection of chocolate fondue. In Summary, recommended under company expense, if you were to pay your own, better go to the Feringgi Grill, for better food and ambiance.

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After our favourite noodle breakfast at Bukit Cina, we were already thinking of lunch.  It was already 10am after all.  Muar came from my brother in law.  Muar? isn’t that like Johor = far? Its only an hour away max he exclaim.  Well, why not, since we have nothing much to do.  Coming from Penang, I would love to check out the food scene in Muar, especially the hawker fare.  So, we set out to Muar from Malacca just after noon.  To my surprise, it was not that far, there was this one road that we took, direct and looks like a highway, but it is free.  Muar was only less than 50km, and it didn’t take the hour mention by my brother in-law. 

The fist thing I notice in the drive in was the 30ft TV Antenna.  Almost every home has it, watching Singapore programs for free.  The city was decent, clean and was well kept.  It has the rustic feel of an old Malaysian city, but with fresh coat of paint.  Honestly, this city looks like more well kept than Penang, even though I love Penang much.  So, after some left, right, right turn, we came to this hawker section of the town.  My brother in law recommends the wantan mee, I like the ones in Penang better.  The pork satay was good, it was tender and tasty.  Otak Otak was spicy.  Liang Teh was nice.  The Ham Chim Peng was also very nice, it was soft and sweet.  The Muar Chee was ok, like any other muar chee. 

After filling our stomach, we went to the riverside.  I realize that Muar has quite a number of colonial buildings.  I was wondering what were the colonials doing here back in the days? Was muar a port for them to go Singapore and Penang? Nevertheless, the riverside was well kept and nice.  The scenery was also nice and cooling to rest under the huge trees that lines up along the river.  After a few minutes there we went to the famous Muar 434 coffee shop.  The Sai Kee White Coffee Espresso Special was great.  Rich like all other Malaysian home brew, and you can feel the caffeine effect for a while.  The coffee was great with the Ham Chim Peng.  The ambiance of the restaurant was also unique.  You have loads of pictures on the wall, one with Mona Lisa holding the 434 coffee packet on her hand.  Marble tables and wooden floors.  Softly air conditioned with ceiling fan giving the feeling of a cool afternoon breeze.  After having our fix, we head back, and that was our escapade of driving interstate for lunch. 

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The place gives a tranquil feeling of an old rustic charm. Jazzy French music on the background slows everything down, stopping time and makes the worries of the world disappear. The location of the restaurant is on a quiet one lane street, named Armenian street. This place brings out the feeling of the olden 40’s, and it is mainly due to the interior decoration and if you look out, you only see the business across the street, which still has the old architecture intact. Its like time has stop, and you have been transported back to the good old days. The patrons are also mostly expats and tourist, again reminding you that you are at a different place. The food is nice, full of European menu with a dash of local favorites and the pricing is a little on the high side. For the ambiance, its worth it. Set meals are the best deals with RM19.99, you get a soup for appetizer, an entrée, a dessert and a drink. It’s the best place to spend your lazy afternoon. Get a drink, a dessert and immerse yourself in your book in the backdrop of yesteryears….

The best Gyoza in the world is located at Gora, Japan. Before I discover this place, I totally hate Gyoza. In Chinese, its the sticky pot dumpling, which I have had several times and they totally sucks. I never understood why this is such a popular dish. All this hate and dislike came to an end when I visited Gora last fall. This restaurant was recommended in our guidebook. It mention that it is a must try even if we dont like Gyozas and that the restaurant is easily spotted as there are long queue of people waiting to get a bite at this delicacy. Following our philosophy on food, which is any restaurant has a queue upfront is worth the try, I plan a dinner visit in our Japan Trip itinerary.

The shop is located on the main road between Gora Station and Hakone Open Air Museum. Its just a few minutes walk down the street directly from Gora Station. The gyoza is the best in the world. I have never had such delicious Gyoza ever. The outer part was crispy, and the inner part was tasty. The restaurant boast more than 10 types of Gyozas, and we only had the chance to try a few of them. We were staying up the hill from Gora Station and there were no many restaurants around. That was the good thing, cause we were daily patrons to the Gyoza Center. The restaurant people were very friendly, knowing that we do not read or speak Japaneses, they automatically bring out an English menu. We tried the Original Gyoza, Chicken, Crabmeat, Shrimp and the chicken wing stuff Gyoza. There is even a Stamina Gyoza, and its stuff with Garlic.

Till today, months after, we are still dreaming of the Gyoza Center. We have yet to encounter any Gyozas better. Before this place, I just couldn’t dig Gyoza, and I could not understand the fuss of it. After this experience, it went from hate to love for Gyozas. If you ever come by Gora, it is a must to stop by and have a taste. If there is a long que, put your name down and the number in your party and relax at a patio at the side of the restaurant. A lady will call your name and when your turn comes.

Cozy Settings

Selections

Gyoza Set Meal

Original Gyoza

Crab Gyoza

Chicken Wing stuffed Gyoza

While the nation is frantically buying Oil, I on the other hand bake cookies to pass the hot Sunday afternoon. There are not many choices when it comes to ready made cookie mix, its either the local Nona Cookie Mix or imported Pillsbury Mix. I decided to try the local mix. The instructions on the box was simple, and the entire process is also dead simple. Just mix together butter, egg and the mix, and place it onto the baking tray. Bake for 20 minutes and you are done. Simple as that. We somehow fine some interesting items in the mix. Firstly, there is this dark brown speckle, not sure what it is, just hope that it isn’t any kind of insect egg. Then we also find green colored speckle during mixing. Again, not sure what it is. We decided to throw away the mix as we did not want to visit the doctors afterwards. However, since it is such a waste, and we are already more than 1/2 way through the process, we decided to just bake a few pieces and taste it out. The taste, I have to say disappointingly, 3 out of 10 points. Here are some photos of the bake. Oh, one more thing, the mix does not come with chocolate chips, I have to purchase them separately.

Ingredients

Unknown items found in the mix

Place Mix on the Tray

Bake for 20 minutes

Whoala…