We went down to Malacca a month or so back and my mother inl aw gave us one bottle of Apple Enzyme that she has made.  I have heard of it at that time because my boss and other colleagues were discussing the benefits and was sharing recipes.  I have not tasted it yet and that was among her first few bottles.  It has not mature yet when we first took it back.  About a week or so back, the Apple Enzyme matures, but we sort of forgot about it as it was tuck away in the kitchen cabinet.  Not only we were reminded by my mother in law that we took it out.  Yet, we didn’t want to open it yet.  Then this weekend, we open it and manage to get a liter of thick juice.  It was great, it has a tangy sweet taste to it and we have been having it morning and evening.  I didn’t pay much attention to the health benefits, I was intrigue by the taste.  And so, we set out to make a jar of our own.  I heard from my office that Dragon Fruit Enzyme taste the best, and so I got the recipe from my boss and gave it a shot. 

We bought a 5 liter bottle from Jusco, 1 kg of grapes, 10 kiwis, 2 large red dragon fruit, 200gm of dried longan and one liter of honey.  The fruits and jars were to be washed and air dried before the process can be started.  This is to prevent molding.  It was expensive, so dont ask how much.  I added the fruits in layers and drench them in honey and finally, I put about 250gm of brown sugar on top.  The enzyme is to be harvested in 15days time and we can’t wait to taste it.  Everyday, we have to open the bottle to let the gas out as the bottle was air tight.  Initially there was only one liter of honey, and almost immediately, the liquid level in the jar start to rise, and now about 3 days in, it has surpass the fruit level and all the fruits are floating up.  i fear the top layer of the fruits will be moldy.  I am now looking for a solution.  I can’t keep pressing them down because the minute I lift the plastic spatula (nothing metal must touch the enzyme – dont know why yet), it floats up again.  Nevertheless, we are truly excited and could not wait for the 2 weeks to complete.  In the mean time, we are enjoying the Apple Enzyme made by my mother in law, which taste terrific. 

One place that we have not been for ages is the Lorong Selamat Char Koay Teow.  We thought we allow this luxury since we have not been there for so long and we did enjoy the CKT there before.  The last time we were there, a plate of regular CKT was like RM5.50.  I believe that was quite some time ago.  Its now RM6.50 for a plate, and the taste still the same.  Its truly a luxury that we don’t get to enjoy often… We usually pay RM2.50 or RM3.00 per plate for a CKT, the Proton version of course.  The ones that is good enough to quench your thirst.  The BMW of CKT stands at RM6.50 per plate.  Almost 3 times the Proton version.  In the car industry, it would be 300 times, but in CKT world, its only 3x at best.  By the way, notice the empty tables and chairs, we were there early, at about 11.30am.  We left at about 12, and the place did not sizzle like it used to.  The Recession is getting to the folks in Penang.  BMW Char Koay Teow is not a true luxury. 

Mithi recently introduce a nice place in Penang called Sunset Bistro.  Its a bistro by the beach with Sunset at the backdrop and Reggae to fill the ambiance.  The place is pretty cool, filled with yuppies drinking their Heinekens, Budweiser’s and mostly Tigers and Carlsberg.  Many just order finger food, enjoy their chilled beer, the sunset and the beach.  Its truely a nice place to hang out, especially in the evening during the sunset.  We left after the sun went down and didn’t stay to find out what happens next, it does feels like a pub by the beach which is pretty cool.  Food is not bad, not that cheap as well, but with the ambiance, its well worth it.  Sometimes, there are bikini clad babes enjoying banana boat or parachute ride.  At moments I didn’t feel like in Malaysia, its like in the movies, especially with the Reggae background music.  This place is located in Ferringghi after the Holiday Inn coming from Georgetown.  Its worth a visit for locals and holiday makers.

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We were recommended this place by my wife’s colleague after we talked about Kalimans.  We were recommended the Chicken 65, Black Pepper Ladies Finger and the Briyani Rice.  The mango lassi was also recommended to taste like real mango.  Indeed it did, the texture was so smooth that it taste like a real mango.  So, that is another must try at Karaikudi.  The Chicken at first was a little sour, but slowly the taste grew on us. 

By the third piece, we were already enjoying it.  The blackpepper ladies finger was actually below expectation.  I was expecting a tangy ladies finger, with strong pepper taste.  It was neither.  For the benefit of Karaikudi, maybe the combination of food that we ordered did not serve it well.  The chicken on the other hand looked exactly like Tandoori Chicken, but it it taste nothing like it.  Full of spice marinated for 65 days, the little cutlets are just bursting with flavors. 

The tossai was special.  Its sweet, and the coconut and tomato puree that comes with it complements well.  We were the only Chinese there, and the rest of the patrons were Indian families.  This gives us the assurance that the food would be good, and in deed, it was great.  Other than the blackpepper ladies finger, we enjoyed all the dishes we ordered.

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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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