Locating a decent place for brunch has never been easier especially when am staying around the town of Farlim Just a few minutes drive away or 18 minutes’s brisk walk, and you would be able to see a whole lots of café display for you to fill up your tummy. So the choice of which to enter is entirely up to you, gourmands!

This time round am adamant to have a taste of the famous Western Food served at this café, even it’s the first meal for my empty stomach, albeit unhealthy, hehe. Previously my bro had a good share of it with my dad without me >.<. It was just Chicken Chop. Thus, upon receiving his good feedback, I brave myself over to have my own verdict ^^.And I chose to have Chicken Chop Maryland. I was already anticipating it with a good spread then. After waiting awhile, soon the awaited western meal arrived. Caution be taken, it’s hot, so be careful when savouring it. The display of the meal is simple with no-frills. Nevertheless, the taste is good I would say, considering the very friendly price if you were to compare it with those sold at metropolitan cities, hehe. It just brought back all the sweet memories I have enjoyed during my happy childhood time First thing I take a bite was definitely the alluring fried chicken chop. The meat tender and juicy, unlike the conventional way of frying it till it’s bit hard. Not forgetting the crispy layer on the outside too. The chop was earlier breaded and fried till golden brown and it taste superb, plus addictive! Hehe… I just can’t help enjoying the crunch all the way…hehe.. There were fries accompanying the chop too. The crinkle cuts were bit dried out, but nonetheless, best enjoyed with the chilly and mayonnaise. I think the mayonnaise sauce is a successful in house recipe for it has the sharp piquancy from the mixed pickles amongst the creamy texture. Delish! ^^

Whenever am going to have breakfast in Penang, first thing that comes into mind naturally is to enjoy an array of splendid hot dim sums, hehe. There are, in fact, a lot of Dim Sum restaurant available here, so be prepared to be spoilt for choices

As for me, this time round bring us to one outlet in a friendly neighborhood at Lip Sin Garden, which goes by the name Maxim Dim Sum Restaurant. The name actually reminds me of the famous Croation pianist, hehe. As soon as I stepped into the eatery, I picked up my order card and headed straight to pick the little morsels of my choice The card is needed for the hawkers to tick the items that you took and only pay at the counter when you’re done with your dining. So here we have, four plates of various fried Dim Sums ^^.

Deep fried Yam Croquette is one of the must-order in my list. The flaky and crispy layer of the yam outside layer is very addictive and the meaty filling with dark soya sauce is just nice, not too salty. However, I started to feel full after just one portion, hehe. Thus must wash down with some tea if I still wish to resume gastronomic moments Then my another favourite is Egg Tart. A nice egg tart should possess the qualities such as soft and silky egg custard with flaky tart pastry. However, I found this tart a tad dry to me, as the custard was bit solid, opposed to what it should be. As for the skin, it’s bit too dry to my liking, which makes me yearns for the yummy egg tart I have at Town Steamboat Restaurant. I think I should make another return trip soon Luckily, this Char Siew So is delectable. The char siew filling is decently mixed with other seasoning at the right amount, with some parsley added to it. Therefor, there is a tinge of leafy fragrance when you bite into it. In this case, the pastry skin is softer and much satisfactorily than the one of egg tart. The pastry skin which is added with some dashes of white sesame also aids in bringing out the aroma.Subsequently, our meal is followed by Fried Lotus Ball. These little balls are fried till fragrant and golden brown. The outer layer is kind of glutinous-like and is dabbed with white sesame before deep fried. Encased within is the pandan lotus (which in fact, am expecting the normal pure lotus, but that’s alright). They make a good combo of slight crisp on the outside with its soft gooey paste on the inside. The level of sweetness of the lotus paste is just nice. Slurps!

Stir-fried dishes are definitely not to be missed whenever you are on the island of Penang, such as this, Char Koay Kak or widely known as Fried Rice Cake. It’s indeed a very popular street food to the locals here especially, which is normally eaten either for brunch or tea time in the afternoon. And one of the scrumptiously spread by mouth stall is this little kiosk located at Macalister Road. Throughout the time, it has managed to amass a huge crowd of loyal customers who keep coming back for its fragrantly fried rice cake.

The cubed rice cakes are fried in a large flat pan which enables the hawker to stir up his dish at every corner according to different flavor request from the various clienteles. Some may opt for egg-free, more spicy and bean sprouts or even extra shrimps fried together with the rice cakes As for me, I would stick to a moderate level of all portions This dish is nicely woofed up with sufficient ‘wok hei’. It’s actually quite similar to Char Koay Teow, except that this is using rice cakes. The rice cake is actually soft and silky smooth in texture and tasteless as it’s made of rice and corn flour. Therefore, appropriate quantity of ingredients like chai poh (salted radish) and dark soya sauce are crucial to enhance the flavor. With these little extra side ingredients, the rice cakes has achieved the right level of seasoning, not too oily and thus, is so finger-licking! The added beans sprouts were big and juicy as well. Besides that, Chinese chives or kau choi, were added too for some added flavor and color.The portion is reasonable at the price since it’s considered as a treat on shoestring. While its flavors and preparation are similar to its more famous cousin, the Penang Char Koay Teow, nevertheless Char Koay Kak holds a very special place in the hearts of many Penangites.

I guess skill and experience counts when preparing a good plate of delectable Fried Radish Cake. Ho Chiak!

Apart from the many street food that Cecil Market got to offer the ever diversified Penangites’ taste bud, there is also one stall that is selling varieties of biscuits, which are made fresh locally. It is tucked at one corner in the same row as other hawker food operators. Actually I’ve been frequenting this stall quite often for I feel the biscuit especially tau sa pia, is delectable and does not loose out to those bigger names in town. It all started when we can’t get some of the biscuits in town as souvenir for KL friends, my dad bump into this stall coincidentally and thus, we try out its products. It turns out pretty good and since then we escape all the jam in town, hehe.The tau sa pia we bought more than often is very fresh and fluffy. The filling used was soft and nicely powdered in form. It’s not sweet but yellowish in color due to the beans used. You may sometime find some noticeable fried onions inside it as well. I think they mixed that together to enhance the aroma of the traditional pastries. Each roll of packet came in 5 decent pieces. They are selling at great price too. Why not get some to try one day when you’re here and bring back some joy to share with friends as well? ^^

Cheers to another jovial day! ^^

Another Penang street food that you must try at Cecil Street Market is this Yam Cake. As we know, yam cake is one of the favorite snacks among Penangites especially during the afternoon. Best paired with a cup of Kopi-O as well According to the local here, this stall serves one of the best Yam Cake in town. This cake need to be steamed for some time and need years of experience in order to get a nice piece of cake steamed without any visible bubble on the top. It’s whitish in color and made of yam. The kueh is really smooth and occasionally you may bite on the chunky yam as well. As the cake itself is pretty plain but not till tasteless, it is accompanied with some chilly sauce which is not too spicy. Fried minced garlic are then added as well to enhance the flavor with some scallions and a little bit of chilly slices.

Yum yum!