November 17, 2010

SIXTY9INE Mansion @ Batu Ferringhi

After what seemed like ages, finally managed to have dinner with Peter. Had a good 'sial!' remark from him coz I didn't suggest a good enough place to eat so he suggested 69 Mansion instead.

For a drinker like him, he'd only been to this place for none other than booz so it's his first time to try their restaurant out along with my very first visit to this much hyped about establishment.

We set out with a pouring rain welcome once again (what's new?). The rain just suddenly started and there was no turning back.

When we reached 69 the car park was pretty much deserted (it was pouring remember?) and I couldn't believe my eyes and ears when the high class attendant seated within the premises asked for an RM 5 car park fee!! WHAT A RIP OFF! We're dining here and we have to PAY to PARK?

OUTRAGEOUS.

In we went to our table and it was just beside the POS system - fine. The lightings were totally club lighting and the table settings were definitely not what I had expected them to be - so UN-refined.


Check out the surroundings... (since it was raining outside I couldn't take pictures outdoor)


The table cloth was not secured and it made food serving challenging as it kept moving around.

The chairs definitely look like they are meant for outdoors?

The candle. This is the worst part. They're nestled within a Tiger beer glass which is in turn settled upon a JTI ashtray (-_-)" - what a turn off!

Table setting:-


We took turns having 'challenges' with the damn knife coz of its odd-shaped handle - i dropped it on the floor once and he dropped it into his main course plate twice (!) Annoying.

Whatever. Anyway - we had...

Drinker's Tiger Beer


My Orange Juice (which comes with a Hennessey + Soda stirrer *d'uh*)



His Clam Chowder


He said this is not bad though I didn't try it myself as he didn't want to spread his flu

My Lobster Bisque


Did not like it as the seafood smell was too overpowering. Soup was not thick enough as well

Peter's Lamb Shank with Risotto


"Risotto should be very creamy and should not be cooked with normal rice - this looked and tasted too dry" - that was from the guru himself :P


Lamb shank's meat was too hard to his liking too, though I liked the tiny portion I took as a sample from the other end of the lamb shank - it was tender

Risotto guru's rating : 5 / 10

My 12" Honey Peking Duck Pizza


This was what Peter said his friend said was nice. Kena duped. It was just alright for me.

The pizza was just special in a sense that it's made with Peking duck as the main ingredient. Other than that, it's just normal pizza to me. The crust was so hard (I was told they made it themselves) that the odd-shaped knife had no chance of cutting through it. I tried and tried then gave up. Used my bare hands instead.

My rating for the pizza : less than 5/10. His rating : whatever my rating + 1 point when added with generous amounts of Tabasco - ha!

The total damage was about RM 124+ - definitely not worth it.

Been so long since we took a photo... Thanks~~


I must mention our negative experience here which drew a conclusion that the staff here were dishonest.

Peter left a souvenir that I gave him within a white paper bag on our table and he only recalled when we reached Island Plaza :(

So I called up 69 in hopes that they would still keep it. The man (who was the one serving us earlier on) said he would look for it and will give me a call back.

Few minutes later he called back and said it was nowhere to be found. And he even added that they checked the dustbin and asked every server - Nothing.

I was sad but immediately my sadness turned into rage. This simply proved that someone who cleared the table must've taken the white paper bag. The other patrons wouldn't be the ones who took it coz our table was the furthest from all the other tables and all the nearest tables surrounding us were empty when we left. Nobody would know the content unless they were to keep it first with the intention of finding out what's inside later and keep it for good.

I'm definitely not making any come backs here - for the simple reasons of
rip-off car park fee; dishonest staff and below-average food quality vs. the price

^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~

Went Tutti Frutti afterwhich for dessert:-


It's a flavored yoghurt D.I.Y. establishment and we made our yoghurts:-


His Strawberry yoghurt with strawberry + kiwi + grapes topping

My Vanilla yoghurt with kiwi + longan + mango topping

The D.I.Y yoghurts are charged by weight and ours came up to RM 31 for both (!) Fancy healthy stuff comes with a hefty price tag these days

Serdang Fried Porridge @ Kedah

Pheng was nice enough to drive DC and myself together with a nice family who are close friend of theirs along a food trip to Kedah! We rode in style in a Civic :P

We left at about 5pm and it was a long drive indeed... But it was all worth it coz the food was really good!

We had...

Stir-fried Sweet and Sour Spicy Cockle (hum)

I never eat 'hum' because of the smell which I cannot tolerate but the moment I start tasting these, I couldn't stop myself as they didn't smell at all! The best thing was the taste was exactly like its name - sweet, sour and spicy, nothing less.

Mr. Lim and his family were so nice that they walked to Bie You Tian Restaurant and ta pao-ed Curry Wild Boar Meat (sua tu bak) for all of us to enjoy!

The wild boar meat was lean, not hard, and the curry tasted just the way I like it. This was just the perfect spicy dish to have around.

Steamed Fish 'teo chew' style


The fish was fresh, the teo chew soup sourish enough and was kept nice and hot til the very last drop

Stir-Fried Beansprout (taugeh)


Though this seems to be a simple dish, it was well prepared as the taugeh was crispy and not undercooked.

Assam Prawns


The assam prawns not only looked tempting, it tasted superb too! The prawns were so well marinated and bursting with strong assam flavour.

....and the center of attraction - none other than
Char Moay! (fried porridge)



The fried porridge was really fragrant, loaded with generous portions of ingredients and each mouthful of the porridge was bursting with flavors and texture all over - unforgettable!

Really my sincere THANKS to Mr. Lim his generosity in footing the bill for such an enjoyable and sumptuous meal with company of new and old friends!


Be prepared for a long drive from Penang island to get there:-

Restoran Sin Aik Kee
No 27 Jalan Tengah
09800 Serdang
Kedah

Tel : 04 4077288

Business Hours : 4.30pm – 10.30pm

Closed on Monday & Tuesday

Chin Bee Tea Restaurant @ Noordin Street

Brought honey to try out this new place after reading other fellow floggers' blog and I was very delighted with the food indeed! (though honey thought it was a bit pricey :P )

Table setting...


Tea menu


Food menu


As there was just the 2 of us, we only sampled 3 items:-

Spare Ribs (家好骨)


The spare ribs were every bit flavorful but honey didn't like it too much

Assam Curry Fish Meat



The curry was fragrant and came with generous portions of all the spices needed for a tasty pot of assam curry. The fish meats were very fresh too!

Steam Egg (三黄蛋)


The egg literally melted in my mouth the moment it landed on my tongue... so smooth... this is the mildest dish among the three - just the right combination to make a satisfied dinner.

The chef himself came out and asked if we were happy with the food and our answer was definitely 'yes!'

I will definitely be coming back here to sample more dishes as I really felt the 'heart' element within the dishes prepared by the chef. They even have very good Chinese proverbs to name their dishes :)


Oh, it is strongly recommended to have a table reservation made as there are limited tables within the premises and they get filled up real fast!


Chin Bee Tea Restaurant

124 Lebuh Noordin, 10300 Penang

Tel: 04-261 1761

Opening Hours: 12pm-3pm (Lunch), 6pm-9.30pm (Dinner)

Closed Alternate Wednesday