Ah Leng Char Kueh Teow@Jalan Dato' Keramat, Penang

Demona: Who wouldn't think of Char Kueh Teow when the word "Penang" comes up. Heck, even the locals themselves debate on which CKT is the best in town. That shows just how many CKT stalls there are in Penang, all frying their best-est to be the labelled the most "hoh-chiak!" in this food haven.

I definitely can't comment much on which stall's the better one as this was the only stall that I've tried so far... which was GOOOOOODDDDDD.

Our local colleagues raved about the famous Ah Leng (name of the chef) Char Kueh Teow and his superhuman abilities to make this humble dish oh so slurpilicious. The chef is so well known that he even hung a plate above his stall with an imprint of his handphone number, for foodie hunters who want to order in advance or have a problem finding this hawker place.

Sure enough, the CKT was worth the calories. The KT strands were so nicely fried that not a single one was glued to another. Apparently, he fries the KT with duck eggs (is this true... ?) and for RM 5, he had better give big prawns. Even the prawns were cooked enough to ensure they were edible but not overcooked harden.

Without persistent control of your mind, resisting the temptation of ordering another plate... possible consequences:

a) Sore throat kau kau
b) Calories over burst
c) Never ever want to eat CKT anywhere else except the really good ones, which is hard to find.


Here's another close up pict of these golden strand goodies.

Stylo classic toast bread@kopitiam in Campbell Street

Demona: This may seem like a humble looking street side kopitiam.. no frills, no thrills. You could smell the buttery aroma of the toast bread and coffee when walking from the other end of the lane towards here.

Demona : Kopi ais kurang manis. The "kau" coffee is at the bottom layer, with the milky layer on the top. Mr.CoffeeMaker left it for me to decide how sweet I want my coffee to be. The more sweet I like my drink to be, the more I stir my drink.

I didn't stir my drink at all.. the coffee was just nice, as it was in the picture.


Demona: The toast bread really had a strong charcoal aroma absorbed into it. Crunchy and crumbly on the outside, and soft, fluffy, warm buttery on the inside. Eating the toast bread really gave a "syok" moment, somehow made me feel like I'm a kid all over again...just pure happiness in eating it.


Demona: I was amazed with the toast-bread man when I saw how he prepared that white deliciousness. He had to squat, facing the warm burning heat from the charcoal inside this giant metal barrel (which is also used to boil water on the top), holding the metal tray laid with slices of white bread and constantly putting the slices in and pulling them out in order for them to toast evenly brown all over. Imagining myself doing it, my back would have ached like hell with the never ending squats, and my fingers would probably have damaged skin from holding the heated up metal tray.

I salute the toast bread maker for such great lengths to toast bread!

Fluffy wuffy chapati@Market Taman Tun Sardon

MDemona: This is my first official work trip to Penang. I was obviously excited.. hey, I'm in the food haven town! (besides Ipoh, of course). Once my colleague and I landed in Penang, we met our local colleagues here for a quick bite before heading off to work.

We arrived at this market, filled with patrons busy chomping away all these deliciousness. I loved the sight of people enjoying their food, and the stall owners earnestly preparing their dishes, aiming to serve their best to their loyal customers.

There were all kinds of yummy food here! Nasi lemak, roti canai, "kuih-muih", toast bread etc. I was spoilt for choices.

In the end... I came across this stall where the couple only sells chapati. It caught my attention immediately.

"Surviving by only selling chapati? Gosh, they must be really good alright."

The owner never stopped for even one minutes without having to make a chapati. I ordered one and ... PHEW, it was an awesome choice I made.

This was by far, the best, fluffiest, freshest chapati I've ever eaten so far. I didn't even need any side dishes to complement my chapati. It was pure awesomeness on it's own.

I think I'm going to visit this uncle a lot more from now on. SLURPPPPPPP.

Putanesca Pizza@Sure PIzza, Plaza Damas

Demona: Sure Pizza was one of the few pizza places which Dogma and I frequent since it's just opposite my place and the pizzas are pretty good. You could really get the cozy, homely comfort feel when you step into the restaurant. The owner, who's an Italian is usually at the restaurant, either busy making culinary magic behind the kitchen bar or at the table entertaining his regular patrons.

We wanted a meaty and cheesy dinner snack, and decided to pop by Sure Pizza after a workout. This time, I chose the Putanesca: salami, cheese, onions firewood baked till it's golden brown.

Our past pizza experiences were pretty fantastic, fiery too! (their side home made sauces can truly burn.. even chilli-resistant Malaysian tongues!). However, this time around, the experience was a little disappointing.

The toppings seemed much less this time around. By the 2nd piece, my mood ran out and Dogma's mood ran out too after his 3rd piece. We had to "tapao" for the first time ever.

Maybe after this incident, it may be awhile before we catch back the feeling of eating there again.

Peace and quiet lunch@Ristretto Cafe, MontKiara 10, Jalan Kiara 1

Demona: Sunday's Sabbath day, God's day of rest and for us to gather and renew our hearts for the week at church. After spiritual renewal and rejuvenation, physical rejuvenation comes along. Sunday Coffee day!

Dogma's friend recommended this place for good coffee. Initially, we got lost searching for "Mont Kiara 10", but thanks to Google maps. Tadah! This cozy cafe's nicely tucked in at the end of the road. Away from the crowd, away from noise...

Demona: A nice outdoor area to have a meal and coffee. The tranquility!

Demona: Simplicity. A juicer corner, and a coffee brewing area. The staffs were really friendly, in welcoming us, recommending us their must-haves and serving us. Oh yeah.. kinda' nice having John Mayer's album playing as background music.

Demona: I ordered a ham and cheese panini sandwich, with salad on the side. The sandwich was so-so, nothing biggie to shout about in terms of taste but i did feel his/her sincerity in the preparation of the food. Nicely toasted, and the bread tasted fresh. RM 10, pretty decent I gotta' say for a quick bite/light brunch.

Demona: Dogma ordered the flat white, Costa Rica beans. Quite milky and creamy, but I preferred my cappucino. RM 8.

Demona: This was my cappucino. The froth was really thick and milky. It's one of the few better cappucinos which I had so far. I wished that the cup was bigger though, more to drink! RM 8.


Demona: Dogma ordered the fish and chips. It's been awhile since we last saw crinkle cut fries being served. The fish was quite fresh also and thankfully it wasn't one of those with tons of flour but thinly sliced fish inside. The tartar sauce seemed home made as well and they were pretty generous with the portion. RM 15

Parking's free over here (yey!) and it was really quite enjoyable having good coffee in a peace and quiet setting. Hey, they even gave us a card to collect stamps for free coffee so I doubt this will be our last visit here.

Ristretto closes pretty late at night, 11 pm. Wonder how's it like having dinner here. Anyone's got an experience on that before?

Sweet surprise@Cafe Barbera, Jalan Maarof, Bangsar

Demona: Thanks to this card.. we scored a free cuppa coffee! Only the hot coffee choices are worth investing. We ordered a cold one, and it was filled with froth and almost nil coffee. Bummer.

Cafe Barbera, was a real stumble upon sorta experience. Dogma and I drove by Bangsar after church service and saw this homely looking' cafe, subtly hypnotizing us pull over and walk in.

Demona: The view of the cafe as we entered really got us (especially me, excited). Its design and layout surely gave me a cozy, comfortable, easy going feeling which makes anyone wants to take a seat, get your order going and read the news for the day whilst waiting for the meal to come.


Demona: The beef panini sandwich was huge! And they were surely generous with the beef slice serving. Fairly thick and juicy. We only finished half of it and doggie-bagged the other half for our hungry tummies later on. RM15.

Demona: They do make fairly good pizza. The crust was thin, crunchy but just thickened enough for a little fluff, chewy feel in the middle of the pizza where most the ingredients were laid on. Cheese ain't cheesier than this alright! RM 20.

Thumbs up!!

The food and drinks were really, quite nice and for once, I'd thought that the price was pretty decent! Enough to make me feel like coming again and again, for coffee, lunch, afternoon tea, glutton session, whatever.

Unfortunately, the good times were short and sweet while it lasted. A couple of weeks later, when I went brought my doctor there for lunch (whos also a foodie person), the price on the menu had already been jacked up at least 10 dollars more. GRRRRRRRRRR...
Luckily, the free coffee coupon was still valid then (I don't think they have it anymore now)

Since the last free coffee... I haven't had a chance to go back there since. Hm.. wonder how's things at the cafe now?