Our surprise/disappointment turn excitement when we saw the map to the new Foh San restaurant plastered on the side.  After a couple of wrong turns, we came to this grand restaurant that we did not expect of.  Foh San has turn from a corner kopi tiam to a double storey 5 shops wide restaurant.  It was massive and great, you can witness it in the pictures below. It was already the third day of opening, and the restaurant was still buzzing with patrons as if opening day.  We had to wait for a good 10-15 minutes before we get a seat, and after that another 5-10 minutes before the table were served and our tea was ordered.

After successfully settling down, we just accept the offer of the first cart that came by, some kind of cheong fun with pork and prawn.  It was much better than the regular prawn cheong fun that they served.  We ordered a few more fried and steam stuff before picking up our tab and left.  The food was cold and the service was horrible.  But we understand as there are just too many people.  I don’t think any restaurant can give proper service and food quality in such capacity…

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This recipe is simple, Just two Green Apple, 5 Yellow Lemon and 1kg (700ml) of honey.  Keep for 45 days, and you will get a smooth and sweet enzyme.  I was very excited on my first enzyme, which was the Dragon Fruit Enzyme, and waiting for it to mature was really excruciating.  And so, we started to make more enzyme, mainly to ensure we are not short of them since we consume quite a lot on daily basis.  We decided to make the Apple Lemon Enzyme again as the ones that my wife’s mom made was super delicious, and only took us 2 weeks to finish up the entire liter of it. 

Making the Apple Lemon Enzyme was dead simple, just 3 ingredients, and loads of time, and you will have a very smooth and sweet Enzyme.  Before making you will have to ensure that everything is dry, including your hands and utensils.  This is to avoid contamination that would lead to fungus or molds, which I have read to be bad.  Cut the Apples up, my mother inlaw cut them up into 4 pieces per apple, we just slice them up.  Then Slice up the lemons.  Layer the lemons and apples into the bottle and pour in the honey.  I am not sure why honeys are sold in kilograms or grams as they are liquid, nevertheless, a scan across the supermarket counter on all the honey sold there, they are all in grams.  For this batch, we are making two bottles, one with a cheap honey, and another with a more expensive honey.  Both honey taste different, and we are eager to taste the outcome in 45 days time. 

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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