Believe it or not, this was my first visit to Spice Market Cafe but I have to say that its superior level of customer orientation had given me a very good impression.
Not knowing what to anticipate, we were greeted with very sophisticated interior with clean lines upon setting our foot into Rasa Sayang Resort & Spa. As we reached pretty early, we took a stroll along the walkway to the gardens and pool area; and was in awe by the lush greenness of the aptly named Garden wing itself:
Spice Market Cafe went all the way to accentuate the theme of their restaurant by the classic trishaw as well as adorning all the spices on the left after the entrance. The cashier area was unique too, and I liked how they put it "Spice - the tastes that shaped Penang."
The upmarket yet cozy atmosphere played a good role in enhancing the entire dining experience. There were walls with elaborated tea elements; and for guests who would prefer outdoor-sy kind of dining, the outdoor seating were ample and comfortable as well.
Being a family-oriented resort, we could also find a children's area where games can be played and food is always in sight.
The Spice Market Cafe buffet lines were basically made up of a few key areas:
Salad and Appetizers
Though there were only 6 types of salad choices available, nonetheless the dressing options available were aplenty and guests can definitely find one or more that appeals to them.
As for cold appetizers, the varieties were not only elaborate, they even serve different types of cheese as well, this is something I don't see very often anyway.
Bread-lovers alike will definitely be delighted to know that they can pick from the array from bread available, as well as sample from the elegantly spread-out items the likes of oven-dried tomatoes with fresh basil and garlic, oven roasted pumpkin with honey, etc.
Japanese
At the Japanese station, one can find varieties of Sushi and Maki as well as my favourite Chuka Kurage!
Indian
I was fairly impressed with the intricate spread at the Indian station. They not only had naan, papadom, satay, but also a wide array of condiments to go with all the delicacies along this station. I liked Chicken Tikka the most here. Tandoori did make an impression too. The Mushroom Curry was unique and I really loved all the spices that made up the dishes at this station. I guess the Spice Market theme complemented the Indian station the most.
Egg Station
I was not really aware what this station was for at first until I saw the chef preparing an egg omelet with the condiments that a guest picked out. Boy, they sure was capable of dishing out many different types of eggs!
Carveries
We sampled a unique Fish and Spinach wrapped in Puff Pastry with butter sauce here. The fish was soft and the spinach tender. Paired with butter sauce, it was not bad at all. I did not try the Herb Roasted Chicken on the right though, as I wanted to sample other delicacies.
Chinese and Noodles
There were a station full of noodles, soba, yong tau foo, vegetables and condiments to suit any guests' palette. Too bad that we could not afford to fit any of these into our stomach!
On the dim sum corner, there were paos as well as dim sum as well. There were also other food items featured at this station where we managed to sample the Malay Spices Ox-tail Soup and Beef Bergedil.
Seafood
There were plenty of offerings for seafood lovers! Fresh prawns, Scallop, Mussel and not forgetting Cray Fish as well. Each of them comes with dressing and sauce which complements them perfectly. Super fresh!
Fruit Juice Station
Guests can choose from Orange, Apple, Guava, Pineapple juices from this station. OJ is still our all-time favourite :)
Dessert
We were definitely taken by surprise by the elaborate offerings at their huge dessert area! There was a glass encase filled with mini cakes and sweet tooth varieties like cheese cake, Eclair; there was a tempting display of log cakes like Blackforest, Tiramisu, Passion Fruit Mousse; a Chocolate fondue station; a Cendol-making station, even a candy-floss station which never fails to attract kids and kids-at-heart alike. I was particularly drawn to a tiny spot where a gem was hidden - Cherry and Peach Crumble with Vanilla Sauce. I am such a sucker for crumbles and puddings.
There were other available cuisines that I couldn't really pinpoint which categories they fall into - Lamb Stew, Harissa Spiced Beef Kebab with Peppers, Roasted Carrot Soup with Cumin and Coriander; etc.
Some of the items that we sampled
Spice Market Cafe's Executive Sous Chef Mr. Lim came over and took the liberty to share with us Spice Market Cafe's main theme, i.e. presenting Classic and Traditional cuisines, and went extra miles in elaborating the various standards practiced such as Shangri-la Food Safety Management System and HACCP, which are stringent control processes governing the storage, preparation, cooling, reheat of the food that will ultimately be served here to the guests.
We also had a chance to meet Jessica from Sydney who shared with us her passion to have been with Rasa Sayang Penang for 6 months now and still loving her job - good on ya!
One for the album - thanks to Chef Lim and Jessica, as well as Jason and Gill from Gourmet Garden!
It was coincidentally Pamela's birthday and it was thoughtful for Chef Lim and team to have prepared a lovely cheese cake for the occasion.
Not only cake was served, birthday girl also had the privilege to sample freshly prepared Minced Beef Ramen :)
For those of you who love to sample buffet offerings amongst a cozy atmosphere, set within a lush green Resort hotel where customer orientation and high stringent standards in food preparation are the utmost priority, this is the place you would want to be.
It is yet another pleasure to have been invited for my 2nd invited review from Criz – this round for Ivy’s Kitchen, courtesy of owner Mr. Tan and his wife Ivy.
I personally visited this place once and Mr. Tan was generous enough to offer me and my friends 10% discount as well as a complimentary red bean soup dessert for our enjoyment upon knowing that I was a food blogger :)
After knowing that I’d be reviewing this place, I thought I’d combine all both of my visits in this post for easier reference so here goes!
Ivy’s Kitchen had started operations for about 2 years now – mainly offering a variety of homey cookings, most of them Nyonya style. This is a Pork-Free establishment hence Muslims can definitely enjoy home-style cooking here.
The simplicity of the establishment itself offers coziness and coincides with the warmth of the food prepared by none other than Mr. Tan’s wife – Ivy, hence the name Ivy’s Kitchen.
The surroundings of the restaurant
Criz was kind enough to share with us the 普洱茶 (Pu Erh tea) that he brought – thanks!
All the 7 of us were seated within the inner area of the restaurant where air-conditioning had just been recently installed – definitely a plus point especially during afternoon up until early evening where the weather is still fairly warm.
First up – we were asked the drinks we’d like to have but since we’re OK with anything, a variety of fruit juices were prepared for us.
Anti clock-wise from bottom : Carrot with Milk; Apple with Lime; Orange Juice; Cucumber Mint; Watermelon Juice; Ampala Sour Plum; Honey Dew Juice
All fruit juices are priced at RM 2.20 each – they were all equally refreshing indeed
Our first dish was up even before we realized!
Sweet & Sour Flower Crab (RM 30 per 600gms)
Apart from the actual crab, the sauce is always the main ingredient that defines crab dishes as such – although I personally felt that it can be spicier, but we have to bear in mind that generally not everyone can accept too high level of spiciness. And this is, afterall sweet & sour and not chilli crabs!
I personally liked the paste so much so that I scooped up a lot of it to go with my rice :) and the flower crabs were fresh too!
Next up – Joo Hoo Char (RM 10) with Sang Choy
This is a very authentic Nyonya dish which I personally have very high expectations of, for the simple reason of both my grandma and my mom being able to deliver a mouth-watering version liked by all my family members every Chinese New Year.
Being pork free, chicken was used instead. Taste-wise, I like it to be more flavorful and preferably if it’s not too dry. Texture-wise, however, it is every bit as crunchy as I liked it to be – as it will then go very well with the sang choy and the sambal that is home-made.
Criz demonstrates the proper way of enjoying joo hoo char :)
Chicken Lor Bak (RM 6) was served afterwhich
This is one solid lor bak – notice how much fillings were wrapped up nicely within the skin then fried. The skin was fragrant and goes well with the chilli sauce.
Assam Prawns (RM 4-5 per pax) were up next!
Again, this is another dish in which I have high expectations of – as my grandma makes a very good version of it – she fries it till it gets a bit burnt and it’s a dry version – yummy!
When this dish was served – I couldn’t help but admire how the prawns were neatly arranged for our ‘shooting’ pleasures :P nice touch there
By the time I got to the prawn, it started to get a bit cold, nevertheless, the marinated taste infused within the prawns were undeniably good – it’s not too sour yet not too sweet – the taste was just right! I have to admit that it can compete with my grandma’s version (don’t tell her k)
Actually it’s my first time really consuming the prawn head as I normally give it away to my grandma or my mom or KW – and no way I’m gonna give these ones away though, they’re just too flavorful! The freshness of the prawns make this the perfect Assam Prawns
Gulai Tumis Ikan (RM 9 per 100 gms)
Most of us liked this a lot! The Black Promphet was very fresh and not being a fish lover myself, I normally don’t take fish if I don’t have anyone with me who will choose the portions without bones for me – as I have fish bone phobia. But this time, I took and consumed one piece of this fish all by myself! :)
The gulai was simply too good – it’s thick, spicy, sour and just very appetizing indeed – I’m gulai crazy actually, and I’d normally drink gulai just like that – and this pot definitely did not escape my mouth :P
Sambal Kailan [RM 8 (S), RM 10 (M), RM 14 (L)]
I never tasted Kailan with sambal before, and this is definitely a first! Kailan was stir-fried with Ivy Kitchen’s home-made sambal together with kick-ass big prawns. This is one hell of a spicy Kailan I must say – and most of us also loved this dish because of the spiciness.
The sambal is definitely the secret at Ivy’s Kitchen as it can be used with many dishes yet it tastes right in all of them – nice!
Mr. Tan was nice enough to serve us an additional Beef Rendang on top of all the good food we were already having :)
I’ve always had a soft spot for rendang – and the rendang base did not disappoint – relatively thick, fragrant and spicy. The beef itself was a bit too tough though, and the texture would be even greater if it was softer.
Seaweed & Tofu Soup [RM 8 (S), RM 10 (M), RM 14 (L)]
Although this is a relatively normal seaweed soup, I felt that it is very hearty indeed. It was topped with fried garlic onion and it tastes just like mom’s cooking. A lot of ingredients were used in the soup – and when I served I remember not having enough soup to go around but plenty of ‘liao’ still present.
There were fishballs, chicken meatballs, vegetables, seaweed, prawns and tofu. I liked it as the soup did not smell weird with the seaweed and it wasn’t too salty either. All the ingredients were fresh and the chicken meatballs were nice and chewy too!
Last but not least, we had dessert – Red Bean Soup (RM 2) a.k.a. ang tau sar
Compared to my first visit, the red bean soup had definitely stepped up a notch. The soup base itself is now thicker, red beans are softer and the whole texture and flavor is really coming into place this round. I loved how the ingredients were mixed within the red bean soup – dried longans, sago and red bean – which makes the dessert’s sweetness not so much from the sugar but from the ingredients themselves.
There is a promotion going on where diners can collect 1 stamp for every RM 5 spent at Ivy’s Kitchen. With every 10 stamps collected, diners are entitled to a free set meal; or an RM 7.50 discount off the total bill. A maximum of 2 cards can be used for each visit for discount off the total bill.
The set meals (that comes with fresh fruit juice and jelly) available are:-
Chicken Rendang
Beef Rendang
Fried Fish Meal
Nasi Lemak with Curry Lemak Fish
Nasi Lemak with Curry Assam Fish
Nasi Lemak with Curry Lemak Prawn
Ivy’s Kitchen also offers a variety of noodles and porridges, laksa, toasts, side dishes e.g. Poh Piah Chee, mix pickles, and its signature dish is definitely Cincaru Sambal Fish fried to perfection and stuffed with their home-made sambal – a Must Try!
Cincaru Sambal Fish
Nasi Lemak with Curry Lemak Prawn set
Watermelon juice
Longan Jelly
Beef Rendang Nasi Lemak
Laksa
Poh Piah Chee
Would really like to thank Mr. Tan who had been nothing but a good host - not only during this invited review but also during my personal visit. His passion in the restaurant and the food shows from his attentiveness as well as the conversations he exchanged with us. Not forgetting Ivy for dishing out all the yummy dishes for us too!
Ivy’s Kicthen
58, Jalan Chow Thye, 10250 Penang
Business Hours : Mon – Fri, Sun 9am – 9pm; Saturdays 12noon– 9pm
Mr. Tan 013-433 7878
Ivy 016-433 7130
List of bloggers who attended:-
Criz Lai - http://crizfood.com/
Jane - http://duckies-food-blog.blogspot.com/
Mary - http://reginatravel-foodparadise.blogspot.com/
Allen - http://yummy-station.com/
Chee Wah - http://www.noweating.com/
Cynthia (NKOTB) - http://mylovemyfood.blogspot.com/
