Macallum Connoisseurs Coffee Co. @ Gat Lebuh Macallum

Out of an impromptu Sunday, I told hubby that I wanted to try out someplace new for a change, so we searched for this place called Macallum Connoisseurs that was highly recommended by my friend Terry.

We drove around Gat Lebuh Macallum towards the area where the flats where but it was nowhere to be found, later on to discover that it's located right at the traffic light junction (d'uh).

Anyway, when we reached this place, we could see that the car park lots surrounding the cafe were already taken up, some even resorted to random parking. All I can say is, the parking is limited given the fact that the place is fairly huge and can easily house a lot of people but at the same time could not accommodate the amount of cars that came with it.

When I stepped into Macallum Connoisseurs, I was surprised to find it to be HUGE - this used to be a warehouse of some sort that they have converted into a roastery/cafe/academy. I would imagine this to be a great place for face-to-face social networking (yeah not the ones you do online); gossiping; sales-doing, etc etc. 

Just where we were seated, we could see a bunch of 10 uni-goers having gathering and playing cards.

As we were not very hungry, we just ordered some light items and also something that our daughter could (or should I say would) eat.

Good 'ol Bagel - Cream Cheese (RM 7)

I find the bagel just to be average, so was the cream cheese; but we were happy because our daughter ate it :)

Meatball Bolognese - Pork (RM 16)

When this was served - I just stared at it wondering why the ratio of pasta vs. meatball was so far off? There were a total of 5 meatballs only, but plenty of pasta to stuff you no worries. The pasta looked alright but tasted weird - maybe due to too much cheese, I could easily cook a better one myself. But the meatballs were relatively good though (but there were only 5 of them, remember???)

Let's move on to our drinks - hubby's Choc Chip Frappe (RM 15). Given its Starbucks price, I guess this passed? I still think it's too expensive though it tasted good nonetheless.

As I had cough that time, I ordered Hot Chocolate (RM 10) - seriously? 10 bucks for hot chocolate? Now this one's a total rip off - totally not worth the price as the hot chocolate was just so-so.

A few things to note about this place is, it is self-service - meaning you have to order and pay at the counter but they will have your food and drinks served to you (hence no service tax charged on their receipt).

Another thing is, mosquitoes are quite active within the cafe due to its location so those who are bringing infants or toddlers will need to take note. Even adults need to be aware of this.

All in all, it is not likely that I will make a return anytime soon, unless it is to try out their signature Smoked Duck which everyone is raving about.

Macallum Connoisseurs

1 Gat Lebuh Macallum, 10300 George Town, Penang

Business Hours : 9:00am - 12:00am daily

TWG Tea Lunch @ Gurney Paragon

Had a splurging lunch with my 'boss' at TWG (The Wellness Group) recently and it was very intricate indeed....

After browsing through both their set lunch and ála carte menu, my boss decided on their 3 course set lunch C (RM 45) while I opted for the Aviator set (RM 68) from their Brunch menu.

* Brunch set consists of

    • TWG Tea* from our extensive tea list.    
    • Freshly squeezed orange or apple juice.    
    • Aviator Salad      
      A grand classic with grilled chicken supreme, Romaine lettuce, garlic croutons, fresh   
      parmesan shavings topped with a poached egg and a touch of • seaweed tossed in a lightly 
      spiced sauce infused with Comptoir des Indes Tea.    
   • Choice of 2 freshly baked muffins or scones served with TWG Tea jelly and whipped cream.
   • Choice of a TWG Tea Patisserie from our selection.

Dining at TWG reminds me of Titanic - maybe owing to their shiny brass ware and exquisite colonial feel similar to the one Rose and Jack dined in lolx..

First up - our tea was served:-

My boss' Ceylon Leo tea

My Rose Bowdo tea

I wasn't able to decide on which tea to choose and the staff actually brought the tea leaves out for me to smell and see which one I fancy - not bad..

Next came my Orange Juice which was freshly squeezed and neat with no traces of ice. What an authentic OJ - it was fresh with a sourish hint which can only indicate that no sugary concoction was added.

My boss' Pumpkin Soup served with bun:-

The only comment I got from him was that this is a 'healthy' soup :P

I chose 1 muffin and 1 scone each because I really loved their scone, but this time I was disappointed to learn that their scones had become too hard :( Their chocolate muffin still tastes rich - just the way I like it. 

As usual, their TWG Tea Jelly and Whipped Cream are perfect complements of their pastry creations.

Our mains arrived, my boss' Linguini Imperial:-

After his first taste, he immediately asked for salt and pepper :P Probably this was too 'healthy' of a dish for a person who is used to strong flavors? Nonetheless I tried some of it and find it acceptable (of course not daily haha)

My main - Aviator Salad 

According to its description, this was supposed to be:-

A grand classic with grilled chicken supreme, Romaine lettuce, garlic croutons, fresh       parmesan shavings topped with a poached egg and a touch of • seaweed tossed in a lightly spiced sauce infused with Comptoir des Indes Tea.

What turned up on my table was romaine lettuce served with grilled chicken with a poached egg, missing the garlic croutons, fresh parmesan shavings as well as seaweed tossed in a lightly spiced sauce infused with tea. Hmmmm..... something not right here but I only realize this as I'm writing this post :(

My take on the salad? I could have just made it myself and it would taste better I reckon (poached egg may take me a bit more researching). The salad was too bland and the only thing I find slightly appealing was the poached egg.

For the last course of our meal, we get to choose a TWG Patisserie from their selection.

My boss' choice : Apple Crumble (ordered without thinking at all)

My choice : Raspberry Phughuri (my final decision after changing my mind once)

The apple crumble was tasty - the base not overly sweet; but I had a mixed rating for the Raspberry Phughuri though - the tart was fragrant with infused tea but the portion is too big considering the richness of the tart.

Our final verdict? While the ambiance is nice, the food quality needs to be uphold and improved to live up to the standard of TWG, consumers do pay the TWG price after all and hence expects to enjoy delicacies to the TWG standard.

TWG Tea Salon & Boutique

G10, Gurney Paragon Mall, Pesiaran Gurney, 10250, Penang.

Business Hours: 11am to 10pm. Opens Daily.

Soul Cafe @ Jalan Kek Chuan

We chose Soul Cafe as a new place to celebrate my dear God Sister's birthday and it was a pleasant experience indeed.

As we brought our daughter along, it did not turn out to be the usual dine-in-pleasure kind of ordeal, but instead it turned out to be pretty chaotic.... (more about that later).

I fancied the ambiance and feel that Soul Cafe strives to achieve - modern yet contemporary, and pretty cozy too I must say.

As it was our first visit, we sought after the opinion of the staff, and was recommended their Today's Special - Chicken Parmigiana as well as some of their signatures Grilled Lamb Rack and Croque Madame - for my daughter.

They have a pretty unique menu - consisting of a photo-book-like collage which I absolutely adore! It is such a brilliant idea for restaurants to have a photo of each of their menu items isn't it? So I had an even more brilliant idea to put the actual picture of the dish alongside with its photo counterpart (just for fun, anyway); but it turned out that the dishes served looked 80% alike to those showcased in the menu. This, to me, says a lot about the standard of this cafe - serving as per 'advertised'

Let's dig in to their dishes - shall we?

First up - Chicken Parmigiana (RM 16.90) that both my God Sis and hubby ordered:- 

This was pretty good - although the chicken was bread-crumbed, it was not overly thick and it allowed the chicken's flavor to shine. Topped with cheese and served with grilled asparagus with generous side of salad, this dish really stood out.

Next up was my Grilled Rack of Lamb with Rosemary Cream Sauce (RM 34.90):-

Being a huge fan or grilled lamb, this dish did not impress me by the looks, but I was glad that the taste proved me wrong. The lamb did not have any hint of smell which most people shun upon; yet it was grilled to the right texture and intensely infused with the flavors of herbs. What do you get when this is topped with Rosemary cream sauce? A simply outstanding lamb rack. 

Another thing that is worth mentioning is the side salad - I love the vinaigrette dressing that they served the salads with - it is refreshing and not overly sour - just right to my palate.

Last but not least, my daughter's Croque Madame (RM 15):-

This tasted fine but the English Muffin and streaky bacon were both a bit too hard to our liking. It would have been better if the muffin were to be softer and the bacon cooked just right. Having said that, I got to give credit to the poached egg which was done to perfection - runny yolk in all its glory.

I would have enjoyed the remaining of this dish if my daughter had not vomited half way through our meal :P Thanks to the kind staff, they efficiently cleaned up and kept telling us it's alright when we apologized profusely.  

In all, we enjoyed the ambience, the food quality and portion plus the friendly staffs. I would definitely come back for more. Parking is a bit tricky here considering that there are no available car park unless we park further and walk to the cafe.

Soul Cafe

12, Jalan Kek Chuan, Georgetown, Penang.

Opening hours: 11am-11pm Mon-Sat (CLOSED ON SUNDAYS)

04-226 8200

https://www.facebook.com/yourSoulCafe 

Invited Review : G Cafe's Daily Themed Buffet Dinner - Flavours of Italy

I was invited recently by the kind people at G Hotel to sample their splendid Italian buffet which goes on every Tuesday, and brought my dad along to see what he thinks about the buffet too.

The hospitality of the folks at G Hotel was impeccable, even for bloggers like us. They were very welcoming, polite and accompanied us throughout our 'feast'.

At G Cafe, they have daily themed buffet to suit every taste palette:-

    Monday      : Taste of Asia.  RM98++ (buy 1 get 1 free)
    Tuesday     : Taste of Italy.  RM98++ (50% discount for lady diners-Nice!)
    Wednesday : French Bistro.  RM98++
    Thursday    : Claypot Cooking.  RM98++
    Friday         : Seafood Feast BBQ. RM 108++
    Saturday     : Steak and Lobster BBQ.  RM 108++

First up - the appetizers spread (in Italian terms antipasti) was a feast to the eyes indeed. You can't help but to check out what they were. There were pesto shooters, smoked salmon roll, bites, even very creative appetizers with eggplant, asparagus with tuna, mixed mushroom salad, etc. For those who fancy some good ol' deep fried stuff - they have assorted deep fried asian tapas too. But of course if you still prefer conventional salad, do help yourself with the salad bar which offers a variety of greens alongside dressing and sauces.

 

Moving along there were cold seafood area serving mussels, prawns and scallop and various conventional and fusion sauce to go with them. I liked one of the light green sauce which turned out to be creamy wasabi sauce - good one to go with the scallop I'd say. My dad was onviously a big fan of prawns and had a few of them as they were juicy.

There were also the continental cheese section offering Emanthal cheese, Parmesan and Cammerbert cheese, and different types of ham to go along. I can also see Chicken salad and Sausage salad for those who feel like having some meat in their salad too.

For soup starters, there were Minestrone and Asian style Chicken Herbal Soup to sample from. I particularly loved the Minestrone soup which was flavorful and rich, with the right amount of vegetables yet not tasting overly sour. My dad fancied the herbal soup as the goodness just seemed to ooze with every spoonful.

Next I checked out the low-profile warm dishes line. They were well covered with lid to maintain its warmth, and despite its low profile, there were plenty of varieties to go around - grilled fish, sauteed potatoes with herbs, breaded calamari with Tomato Coulis, and so on. The ones that stood out were the Risotto alla Milanese (Saffron), beef ravioli and Tortellini which I had a second helpings on.

There was also a station dedicated for Carvery and another for the Chef's Speciality - Italian Pizzas. I sampled its Roasted Strip Loin Beef from the Carvery and it was not too bad. There were also 3 types of pizza offered for our enjoyment and I chose the best (I think) - Pizza Margerita as the base was light and pizza filled with goodies yet not making you feel too overwhelming.

Next door - there is a pasta station where we can pick our ingredients, pasta type and sauce and they will have it cooked on the spot. The ingredients available were capcisum, bell pepper, shrimp and there were penne, fettucini, spaghetti for that night.

A stroll up to the dessert section will make anyone feel like a kid again. There's a sumptuous fresh fruit spread along an impressive chocolate fountain to let us enjoy making fondue using either fruits or the condiments offered like marshmallows, prunes, dried apricots, lychee, white dragonfruit, etc.

An Italian dessert spread would definitely not be complete without some signature desserts the likes of Tiramisu, panna cotta, they even serve Coffee mousse and Strawberry mousse - all of these are my favourite favourite desserts! I regret not grabbing the Tiramisu before it ran out :'( but according to the other bloggers, the Tiramisu was The Best. They also have opera cake, pudding and date tarts as well. My dad's favourite was definitely the Strawberry Mousse. Not only he mentioned this to me when we were still there, he even called me again after I reached home, to tell me that this needs to be mentioned when I write the review on my blog - it just shows how GOOD the Strawberry Mousse was.

The one thing I have to mention, and I think not many people realize, was the Pumpkin Milk hidden somewhere at the corner of the cheese station towards the dessert section. Out of curiosity, I sampled some of it and it was oh-so-good! The soup was smooth as silk and the pumpkin ever so tender and flavorful. I couldn't resist and got a second helping. To finish the entire meal off eventhough I barely had anymore space, I helped myself with my all-time favorite - Gelatomio ice cream! Satisfying indeed.

I wasn't surprised when I was informed that the dessert was prepared by their multiple award-wining pastry chef - Chef Tan Kwee Lian.

In all, it was truly a night to remember as the buffet spread was elaborate, the displays were like works of art and the hosts were hospitable.

 

If you've a belly waiting to be filled, do hop on to G Cafe right at the ground floor of G Hotel. Reservations can be made via +604 238 0000.

Pre Birthday Celebration Part II - Dinner @ Feringghi Garden Restaurant

Oh wow, it's been such a loooooooooooong time since I ever updated my blog, and I really wanna make it a point to do this a habit! It is, afterall, my passion!!

Just celebrated my birthday few days ago, and had a nice late lunch followed by an equally pleasant dinner with hubby.

I'm going to share about my pleasant dinner first - it was at Feringghi Garden. Totally un-planned and ad hoc :) * I know, so Not me, right? haha *

We were lucky that we were there early approaching 7pm and managed to get an indoor table; considering there was a party going on within the vicinity.

This was my third visit here, after a gap of 2 years maybe? I still love the natural ambience created by the folks here, which obviously had been well-maintained. It is always so green and enchanting.

The service was very friendly and attentive too, here's what we had:-

Hubby's Lamb Chop (RM 39.80)

The delicacies here are well plated out and garnished. Many fear lamb dishes for their smell but I, for one, love lamb. Hubby carved some of his dish for me to sample, and it was not bad at all. The meat was nicely cooked - not too well done and still maintaining its tenderness. It had a fair share of fat along with the lean meat.

My Feringghi Garden's Signature Lobster (RM 82.80)

I actually eyed on the Black Cod first, until I saw that they had lobster. And of course, the picture they had in the menu did help me decide in going for lobster :)

The lobster was considered a good size, and it was Uber fresh hence extremely springy. It was so thoughtful of them to have scopped up the lobster meat so that it is not only easy for me to eat, but it is also flavored with the unique sauce they did this in - a combination of sweet/sour with a hint of spiciness. There were ample of cashew nuts that went into the sauce (and some for garnishing) too. This is definitely not the usual lobster concoction you'd normally get ala cheesy or buttery style. I have to admit, though odd, it tasted good! Hubby did not really fancy this type of sauce to prepare lobster in, but he agreed that the lobster was fresh and the meat was aplenty.

My drink - Premium Milkshake - Chocolate (RM 14.80)

I was surprised that hubby was the one who coaxed me to order my favourite drink - milkshake. I asked him why, he said they label it 'Premium' so it must be good. Haha! Well premium stuff comes with a premium price tag too hey, but what the heck! So I ordered chocolate one. It looks like a normal milkshake alright. But I guess the way they made it the type of milk used was what made it Premium? But it tasted good, chocolate flavor was fragrant yet not too sweet.

Our dessert - Creme Brulee (RM 14.80)

Anyone looking at this landing at their table will somehow be a bit impressed by its beautiful appearance and decoration. It made us wanna dig in immediately. We dug into the centerpiece not knowing what the bits and pieces were - and we couldn't really make out what the dark purple fruit was. The two whipped cream flowers were rock hard, most likely for deco purposes only.

The creme brulee itself was alright, I love the caramelized sugar on top, but the creme brulee itself was a tad too sweet to my liking, and it did not have much 'depth' with regards to its texture and flavor. As for the raspberry ice cream, it was normal and I don't really see the relationship between ice cream and creme brulee?

In all, we were happy with the service and food. I wouldn't mind coming back for their breakfast, maybe? :)

Pre Birthday Celebration Part I - Late Lunch @ WaterDrop Tea House

For my pre-birthday celebration late lunch, we drove round and round to so many cafes but in the end we drove to this area and I suggested this Vegetarian place to hubby.

Surprisingly, he is OK with vegetarian suggestion! He said, vegetarian is good since we're going to have a nice dinner later :)

Here's what we had.

Sesame Bao

Sesame Bao is WaterDrop Teahouse's signature and best-seller so it's a must-have, especially for hubby's first visit. He loves it! And of course, I love it too, as always. The sesame was generous and fragrant and the filling was tasty.

Vietnamese Spring Rolls

I'm a big fan of Vietnamese Spring Rolls but the pasar malam stall which used to sell this doesn't sell it anymore, so I ordered 2.

Being vegetarian, obviously there were no pork or chicken, but the rolls were made up of finely chopped carrot and cucumber, with a tiny strip of vegetarian 'ham' (I guess). What makes a Vietnamese spring roll stand out is always the sauce, and they make a spicy and flavorful one to go with their roll. It burst out in freshness when I bite on it and was appetizing indeed.

Hubby's Salted Fish Fried Rice

I have to mention that it took quite a long while for all of our food to be served, but after tasting them we know the wait was well worth it, because the food were all made to order - fresh, hot, and tasty too. Although the fried rice looks plain, the taste was fragrant, the 'salted fish' pieces were crispy in texture with the clever use of foo chok and seaweed. Hubby said not bad!

My Cheese Baked Spaghetti




This was their Sunday Special and not available on other days. I asked the guy which one is nicer - the spaghetti or cheese baked spaghetti? His answer made me order the Cheese Baked one - Spaghetti is pretty normal that we can get anywhere, but cheese baked spaghetti is quite special that is rarely available elsewhere.

This dish was the last to arrive - aptly too - as it is yummy. It looks colourfully appetizing enough and tasted great! The cheese-baked top was crunchy and fragrant, but the spaghetti was not too soft and chewy, all drenched inside the flavors of the spaghetti sauce, and filled with capsicum and bell peppers as well as 'minced meat'. One wouldn't have imagined a vegetarian cheese baked spaghetti dish to be so tasty.

It was truly a pleasant pre-birthday celebration indeed, with the company of my dearest hubby and great food! We had to drop little H to my mom's to spend some romantic and quiet time together but will definitely have another round with little H again (yay!)

House of Udang Galah (H.U.G) @ Hutton Lane

Brought my family for a belated Mother's Day dinner last Saturday, as I've been wanting to bring them here for quite some time now.

Upon glancing through their extensive menu, we finally decided with....

Udang Galah in Chef Specialty Lime Sauce (RM82.50 for 550gm)

I saw a lot of positive remarks on this type of preparation and how much emphasis H.U.G. gave in promoting this as well; and indeed this was a fabulous dish as the fresh water prawns were super fresh, with the deep flavors of H.U.G's signature Lime sauce infused within it well. The sauce was spicy, sourish and refreshing all in one go. Highly recommended and thumbs up!

Cod Fish Steamed with Sugarcane (RM 45 for 300gm)

My dad commented how much he liked all the parsley leaves spread on top of every dish that was served; the Cod was fresh and steamed just nicely. The black fungus was well done and gave it a different twist to this dish. One thing clever that my mom also complimented was the way small pieces of sugar cane were used to expel the fish smell of the Cod.

Braised Homemade Bean Curd With Shiitake Mushroom and Green Vegetable (RM 15 for Small) 

The flavor of this dish was more subtle compared to the first 2 but it was exactly what we were looking for - the right balance between strong aromatic flavors as opposed to a more toned down and delicate one. I was quite amused to find the big sized Enoki mushrooms and I enjoyed the chewy textures alongside the soft Tofu.

Kai Lan with Fish Sole (RM 15 for small)

If the Kai Lan were to be fresh we would definitely enjoy this dish much better as the flavor was there. The fish soles will be more chewable if they were cut into smaller pieces.

Minced Ginger Sauce Boiled Chicken (RM 25 for half bird)

 

This dish was recommended by the staff however fell short of our expectations, not because it did not taste good; but because we were used to my mom's version which has an ass-kicking ginger and garlic sauce. The sauce here was on the mild side and did not have strong ginger and garlic aroma. Having said that, this may be more suited to general palates since not everyone fancies strong ginger taste. One thing to note was the fact that this dish took a long time to be served.

Probably due to our numerous feedback (more like complaints haha) on the slow arrival of the chichen dish, we had the luxury of enjoying this fusion dessert containing white fungus and mandarin orange slices as a courtesy. The dessert was a sweet ending to a pleasant meal.

Our meal came up to RM 212 with the main contributors being the fresh water prawn and Cod dish.

Another thing to commend was the excellent service given by the staff, as we see all the tables being visited by at least 2-3 staff - most probably the manager or marketing manager. I also had the privilege to meet the Executive Chef Wang himself and thanked him for all the great culinary experience.

We were also informed by the manager that they have a display of all the Seafood produce within its premises, as well as the upper floor which can cater for private functions up to 13 tables (if I remember correctly). Definitely a place worth considering to have private parties or gathering.

In all, my mom gave very good feedback on the good flavours expressed in each of the dishes - if my mom says good it's definitely good as she always feel her dishes are the best in class :)

I would definitely want to make a revisit to try out the extensive array of fresh water prawns cooking variations, including Western style, as well as some interesting dishes as detailed in their menu.

House of Udang Galah

203 A&B, Hutton Lane, Georgetown

10050 Penang, Malaysia.

GPS: 5.421989,100.32699

Tel: (604)-226-4380

http://hug.com.my/site/

Opening Hours:

Monday to Sunday

1100 to 1500 hour

1800 to 2300 hour