Spaghetti Carbonara at Manila Place

The other day, I received a mail from a visitor. He, I assumed, who was very polite and he suggested me to try out more varieties of cuisines and not just local hawker food. I had to agree with what he said as many visitors of this blog may have easily been misinterpreting that I would only hunt for local hawker food. It was a call for action as I see it, but as the concern for time and cost implies, I sincerely hope you valued visitors would bear with us.

We were lingering around in Gurney Plaza, wanting to celebrate our dear friend's birthday. We couldn't decide which restaurant to go on a Saturday night, and after some indecisive moments, we finally decided to go to Manila Place for dinner.

For those of you who are new to this restaurant, Manila Place had actually been relocated from the outdoors of Gurney to the now ground floor of Gurney's new wing since last year. The interior was beautiful, with decorations and furniture which resembled a little like the modern Western. 

It was crowded and we had to wait around 15 minutes before finding ourselves a seat. All of us ordered the set-course meals but personally I think the menu of the set-course meal was a little confusing as some of the items were not included in it, but after the help of the supervisor, we were ready and happy with our orders.

honey lemon tea

iced lemon tea

While waiting for the food to be served, my friends decided to distract themselves from the grumbling stomachs by camwhoring (though I only included a few photos as I think the others are mostly explicit).

birthday girl

 mushroom soup

The food was served faster than we'd expected. Mushroom Soup, right, a simple yet stunning way to start off the meal. The soup was creamy and it wasn't the usual kind of creamy and dry soup which would make you feel thirsty. Instead, it was the kind that would make you drink one bowl after the other.   - 8.0

 smoked salmon spaghetti carbonara

First off was the Smoked Salmon Spaghetti Carbonara. Let me see what I could say about this stunning dish, alright did I just say stunning? Indeed it was really tasty, and at first look there were just a few slices of salmon, but on closer look under the spaghetti, it was a salmon paradise. I've tried this Italian delicacy once else where if I recalled, and in comparison this was far better, the fish was fresh and gave a nice oily fragrance. I know some people dont't eat salmon because of it's strong fishy taste, but it's a hate it or love it kind of food. So if you love salmon, this would definitely worth a try. The carbonara (cheese pasta) blended incredibly with the spaghetti, and that itself made my day.   - 9.0

 beef bolognese spaghetti

Next up was the Beef Bolognese Spaghetti Pasta. According to my friend (long story short, it's because I don't eat beef), it tasted averagely good. The dish was served with toasted garlic bread with bolognese pasta (mixed tomato pasta).   - 7.0

 spaghetti carbonara

Now, the Spaghetti Carbonara. I was eager to try out this dish when 3 of my friends ordered this. Unlike the Smoked Salmon Spaghetti Carbonara, this was served with slices of chicken ham instead of salmon. Carbonara, it is like a love potion, pour it on no matter which variety of spaghetti and the end result is still the same. Although the first impression this dish gave was just simple, what followed wasn't simple at all but more like a mixture of adjectives - creamy, yummy, tasty.   - 8.5

 mushroom and broccoli spaghetti pasta

Next up was the Mushroom and Broccoli Spaghetti Pasta. If you're spotting the same pasta (carbonara), then I think we're both having the same thoughts. It tasted a just as good with a little twist, with juicy and succulent mushrooms this time.   - 7.0

 grilled chicken with creamy sauce

The birthday girl was indeed the special one, ordering other than spaghetti. The Grilled Chicken with Creamy Sauce, in her opinion was just close to good on her food-o-meter, probably because each of us ordered spaghetti and she didn't. The grilled chicken was wrapped in a sweet cheezy cream sauce and served with potato wedges. The cream sauce somehow wasn't creamy enough and tasted a little too dry when eaten together with the grilled chicken.   - 6.5

The atmosphere and the food here leveled with an affordable to a little expensive varieties of food to choose from. But all in all, it manged to put smiles on our faces :)

Prices .

Smoked Salmon Spaghetti Carbonara - RM 24.90 (set)

Beef Bolognese Spaghetti Pasta - RM 21.90 (set)

Spaghetti Carbonara - RM 19.90 (set)

Mushroom and Broccoli Spaghetti Pasta - RM 21.90 (set)
Grilled Chicken with Creamy Sauce - RM 24.90 (set)

A set-meal course includes a drink (lemon,honey lemon or peach tea), mushroom soup with 2 pieces of toasted garlic bread and a main course dish.

Bonus .

This restaurant is located on the ground floor of the new wing of Gurney Plaza.

170-G-A2, Gurney Plaza, Persiaran Gurney, 10250 Penang.

To make reservations or inquires, please call 04-2262005

Opens from 11am to 10pm daily.

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Meat Noodles at Raja Uda

This isn't a delicacy that we can always find in the island. So just yesterday, I decided to travel down a little to mainland in search of this local delight.

Basically i don't know what to call this in English. It's a kind of noodle (rice noodle similar to koay chap) that is cooked with pork meat, intestines, kidney (organs), even the skin and etc. We used to call it 'chu yoke fun' in cantonese. I think I'll just call it, meat noodles.

Here is how the shop looks like, it is located exactly beside the Shell petrol station. Somewhere near Raja Uda's famous tom yam mee.



Ta-daa. I love it so much because although it is cooked with some inner organs, but at least it doesn't have that stinky and disgusting smell that annoys me all the time when i have pork organs. The soup was just perfect, not too salty and after you drink the soup, you won't feel very thirsty (a sign of just nice ajinomoto). I kind of like the softness of the pork meat as it managed to somehow melt so easily in my mouth with merely just a few munches. The lard added some extraordinary aroma into the whole thing.   - 8.0



The special chilly sauce, not spicy at all. Garlic oil has been added into the sauce.

Homemade tom yam paste and chilly sauce are also available here.

Prices .
Meat noodles (choo yoke fun) - RM 4.00


Info .
Kedai Makan Cun Jia
No 7308, Jalan Raja Uda Taman Anggerik,
12300 Butterworth, Pulau Pinan Butterworth, 12300, Pulau Pinang.
Tel: 012-5523648
Latitude: 5.4248
Longitude: 100.3822

Bonus .
It located right beside Shell Petrol Station.
Opens from 12pm until 8pm daily.
Closed every Thursday.



View Larger Map

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Durian Trip to the Hills of Sungai Ara

At this time of the year, most of us if not all Penangites have one food to hunt in common. Can you guess what is that ? Yes, it's durian and no doubt You Are Smarter Than A Fifth Grader :)

This fruit is mostly found in Southeast Asia especially in Vietnam, Indonesia and Malaysia. And it seems like the name of King of Fruits for durians do have justifications after all.
I'll explain them later, now let's take a tour to the hills - to the durian orchard.

We were on a very steep and narrow road, only one car at a time, and there was around 6 other cars trailing behind our back, rendering to accidents at any rate if you would to just lose control of your vehicle for a second. Halfway there and looking up, you can already see nettings tied up above, and there were durians laying there, waiting to be picked up by the farm owners. It was a bumpy ride, but what awaits atop was paradise.

cluster of durians

When we finally parked our cars and set foot on the ground, that alone managed to put smiles on all our faces after the tough ride up.

the crew

looks like the durians had declared war

orchard owner/ tauke/ sifu

As you go along the the scrumptious durians, you'll find out why they're crowned the kings of fruits.

Susu (milk durian)

- Durian is one of the very few fruits in the world that gives out a unique odour.

I especially like this durian because it has very strong aroma, followed by a very strong bitterness yet sweet senstation.

hor loh (water gourd durian)

- Durian is one of the few fruits in the world that requires much skills and force to open it.

This durian has a very unique husk which shapes like a water gourd. It has a sweet and creamy flavour.

yah kang (centipede durian)

- Durian is one of the few fruits in the world that has sharp thorns on its husk.

This durian has a little orange yellowish flesh and tasted almost similar to hor loh.

ang heh (red prawn durian)

- Durian is one of the few fruits in the world which is so nutritious, containing vitamin C, potassium, carbohydrates, protein and trytophan.

This is probably everyone's favourite, it is expensive but definitely worth a try. It has a orange reddish flesh, filled with very strong fragrance and has a slight bitterness followed by a sweet creamy sensation.

khunn poh (named after Mr Lau Khunn Poh who budded it)

- Durian is one of the few fruits that makes people profoundly - love it or hate it.

This durian tasted almost like another durian called Ang Sim (red heart durian) with a creamy and tender flesh.

604 (named after Mr Teh Hew Hiong of Sungai Pinang)

- Durian is one of the few fruits in the world which has a lot of cultural beliefs. For instance, durian is believed to have eyes as durian almost never fall on someone's head.

This durian tasted a little bit normal for me, but it has rather small seeds which makes it more fleshy.

It is believed that to avoid the odour or smell on your hands after eating the durians, wash the durian (husk) under a running tap and let the water flow to your hands.




It is also believed that drinking durian water with it's pulp can cool down our body. Adding salt to the water might increase the effectiveness.

mangosteens

An alternative way is to eat mangosteens with the durians, because it is considered to have cooling properties.

nasi pulut

It is a very good way to eat durian together with nasi pulut, the both of them blends very well and making the durian rice very chewy and fragrant.

list of durians

It was a wonderful experience and it was my first time to a durian orchard. As a Penangite, I'm really grateful to have this opportunity as undoubtedly there are many tourists who traveled far to Penang just to have a glimpse of durians.

the way home

Prices .
The prices for durians can vary depending on it's name (brand), size, flavour, and rarity (which is also influenced by the season)
But it is definitely much cheaper to eat them in the farm rather than on the streets or roadside.

Bonus .
This place is located on the hills of Cangkat Sungai Ara, prior bookings are needed for a visit.

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