Western Breakfast at siTigun Cafe

It is dark, roasted, brewed, aromatic, bitter, and in the modern world it is one of the world's most consumed beverage and we're talking about coffee which was first introduced in the mid 16th century in Yemen, southern Arabia. Let's try a quick fact here, do you know that coffee beans are actually the seeds of coffee berries which are pink in colour ? 

Si Tigun, is a cafe located on the crossroads between Bawash and Nagore Road, this place is purportedly famous for its finely roasted and brewed coffee.

 

 

Established in 2008 and with it's recent relocation in July to just across the street, siTigun is patronized by mostly caucasians and tourists who loved to park their bicycles outside. Reopened and refurbished, this old place with a new look is indeed a very good place to chill, relax and loosen up a little with a cup of coffee before we start the day.

The one thing that is preeminent about this place is the antiques. Looking from the tiles, to the wooden furniture, to the decorations, and to the pinocchios hanging on the ceiling, this place actually gives you the this archaic and simply cozy feeling.

 

  

Although the interior has changed a little, I'm sure one thing hasn't changed, which is the owner Tigun Wibisana's passion on collecting antiques and I'm guessing he's a bicycle enthusiast, if you've been to this place before it's renovation, you could see old bicycles lining up the front door as decorations. And previously, this place was known as " the pit-stop cafe " because according to Wibisana, he has traveled round the world with his bicycle and decided to settle down in Penang. The one thing he loved most about Penang is the quality of life here, and he even envisioned his coffee house to be a place where if you want, you could park your bicycle next to your table, and that's how relaxing he actually wants it to be.

 

The one other thing that didn't change was the menu. The food offered here is extensive with likes of mostly western, such as cakes and bread which are fresh from the oven and spaghetti which is only served after 11am.

  

Croissant and scrambled egg. I wanted to order something else for breakfast but somehow there weren't too many choices to choose from. It was a simple English breakfast, and the preferable way to eat the croissant was with jam and butter, and in some cases dipped in the coffee as well. The croissant was slightly crispy on the outside and hollow on the inside making it soft and fluffy, but it wasn't that good which was probably because in Penang we don't find it so often.

 

 Latte ( cafe au lait ). This coffee is also known as milk coffee, with slightly more milk added into it than other coffees. The Latte was covered with a thick foam, with espresso coffee within. It had this really bitter yet flavourful aroma, and if you know coffee really well, you would know straightaway that the roasted coffee beans are really fresh. But the only setback for this cup of coffee was the price, being a little overpriced.

 

Cappuccino. This coffee is almost similar to Latte except for it is actually brewed into 3 different layers, with espresso coffee on the bottom, hot steamed milk in the middle and micro milk foam on top. Compared to Latte, I preferred this more as the coffee was more tasty and engaging in a way. But my only advice would be, make sure you're alright with bitterness, or not you'll find it troubling to correctly adjust the amount of sugar for this cup of coffee.

Nevertheless, although the food is undoubtedly a little overpriced, the experience was priceless and I would definitely come back to try the cakes that I missed out the other day.

Prices .

Croissant and Scrambled Egg - RM6.20

Latte - RM7.60

Cappuccino - RM7.60

Bonus .

Website : www.sitigun.com

Address : Located directly opposite of Continental Bakery, between Bawash and Nagore Road.
Contacts :  04-2287108

Business Hours : 8am to 8pm daily, closes on Mondays.

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Western Cuisine at Santorini Cafe

It was curiosity that led me to this place, a restaurant called Santorini Cafe. I think the name itself, Santorini, is really enthralling, and so I did a quick search on the web ( Google, Wikipedia ) and soon I found that this place does really exists. To save your time on reading the details, I'll try shorten things up a little.

Santorini is an island situated in the southern Aegean Sea and is ranked one of the top islands in the world in 2011. Famed for it's architecture of cubical houses and breathtaking panorama, this place has its economy striving mainly on the tourism industry. Now I guess I know why the owner picked this name.

 

To be honest, I found that many penangites including myself didn't know the existence of this place, although it's just beside Little Cottage. If I recall, I've walked past this restaurant a few times but still totally unaware of such a place, how not cool is that ?

 

 

 

 

Featuring a very simple yet modern interior, and with music setting in as a background, this place boasts itself with a very relaxing ambience. Looking through the menu with sketches of the cubical houses in Santorini as the cover page, most of the dishes offered here are western cuisines, but worry not as there are also fusions of asian cuisines as well.

 

 

This simple art drawing was beguiling with blocks of innocent drawings to welcome the customers.

We ordered a glass of Black Coffee and Blueberry Juice. Yes, I know that the Kopi O' has nothing to shout about, but it's without sugar, tastes as good, and yes it's for my dad. The blueberry juice turned out to be a little bit too sweet, wasn't much to my liking. It was a pity that I wasn't in mood for more of their recommended beverages the other day, namely their special coffee treats. So I'll make it a point to try out their drinks the next time I'm here.

 

 First up was the Brandy Chicken. This deep fried aromatic chicken has its eccentricities that make this dish somewhat unique. Served with baked potato wedges and garnished with fresh greens, this dish looked similar to the famous Chicken Gordon Bleu with a piece of ham atop. While the first few bites actually oozes out the heavy fragrance from the brandy (alcohol) and evoking our olfactory system, it felt really interesting, but subsequently I think the aroma was a little too overwhelming that it tends to cover up the taste of the chicken. My advice would be, if you're not that okay with wines, don't challenge yourself with this dish.

Now it looks like I'm getting used to this place here, as this dish was also an unprecedented one, the Bangkok Fish Chop. This dish was also a nose factor, giving out its aroma from the mixture of spices and ingredients like onions, cucumbers, carrots, chillies and lime. It actually tasted similar to our local version of Kerabu, sourness followed by a little spiciness and sweetness. Now, personally I think this is a dish to go for if you're seeking for something different, with a blend of asian and western characteristics.

The Oat Fish Chop is made of deep fried dory fish with oats decorated on top. Besides that the use of oats actually aided in adding an extra crispiness to the crust of the fish, this dish was just ordinary. The taste of the oats as the name suggests wasn't prominent enough, making the mild tartar sauce vital to aid the flavour.

 

This dish was recommended by the staff, also known as Her Mus Ney. I didn't have a slightest clue what does her mus ney mean, but that doesn't really matter. The chicken was grilled instead of deep fried, and the texture of the meat was really tender and juicy. While the special brown sauce was provided to be eaten along with the chicken, I actually doubt it's assistance because the taste was sour and somewhat peculiar. Yes, I would very much prefer to eat this alone, without the sauce.

After the dinner, I actually wanted to return here for more as there are many other dishes with special and weird names that I find them very intriguing and not to mention the affordable prices for most of the food served here.

Prices .

Black Coffee - RM 2.50

Blueberry Juice - RM 4.50

Brandy Chicken - RM 15.90

Bangkok Fish Chop - RM 11.90

Oat Fish Chop - RM 12.90

Her Mus Ney - RM 12.90

Bonus .

Operation Hours are Tuesday to Sunday (11.00am - 3.00pm and 5.00pm - 10.30pm).

Situated along Burma Road, just next to the Little Cottage Restaurant and in row with Tune Hotels and also Chew Tian Yang Aquarium.

94, Burma Road, 10500 Penang.

Contacts : 04 - 2292776 or 016-4416039

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Breakfast at Kopitan Restaurant

It took me a while to figure out why would this place be named Kopitan, which I think is due to the fact that the name itself is catchy and the name Kapitan has already been used for a nearby indian restaurant.

It was on a Sunday morning, where we decided to take a turn instead from our usual breakfast of having dim sum. Upon arriving to the district where banks in Penang first resided, this particular restaurant was preeminent out of the white facade of refurbished buildings, which I later learned as Logan Heritage.

This vey landscape of Beach Street was found decorating on the wall of the restaurant.

 This place had a very familiar impression despite my first time here which I think shared similarities with franchise restaurants like Old Town or Pappa Rich, offering local delicacies like toast bread, soft-boiled eggs and also simple western cuisine.

This is a very common drink that I used to order in coffee shops, Cincau (leong fan) with Soy Milk.   - 7.0

This is the Coffee Mix Tea (kopi cham). Now, this was probably the one thing that could just rightfully make me return to this place. Unlike the white coffee I ordered earlier, this one was a little bit more on the sweeter side, and this cup of tea (mix) was undeniably my cup of tea. Everything was just nice, the warmness, the layers of fresh bubbles, and the mixture of coffee and tea with a foamy sensation was a jolly good way to start the day.   - 8.5

And moving on to the food, this Chicken Chop Rice with Mushroom Sauce was average and just enough to fill your stomach, but it's still not to my liking to have rice for breakfast.   - 7.0

This bowl of Tomyam Noodles did gave a promising first impression, however the taste did not follow. The soup wasn't flavoursome enough and the maggi noodles weren't even up to the standard of my maggi cup I used to eat at home. Now don't get me wrong here, I'm not criticizing, but rather I'm just merely commenting :)   - 5.5

However, the Kaya Butter Toast was not disappointing at all, in fact I thought it tasted slightly better than my favourite similar order from Old Town. The bread had a little crisp and softness which was very indulging and tasty, and heck no, two pieces just wasn't enough.   - 8.5

It seemed like the previous bread was a little swagger with substance, then what about this plate of Tuna Cheese Toast ? No doubt this baked and toasted bread stuffed with cheese and tune atop was good. I especially like the softness of the bread, where each time you bite down, it felt so easy and hollow.  - 8.0

Prices .

White Coffee - RM 2.80

Coffee Mix Tea - RM 2.80

Chicken Chop Rice with Mushroom Sauce - RM 8.90

Kaya Butter Toast - RM 3.20

Tuna Cheese Toast - RM 6.50

Bonus . 

4A/B Logan Heritage,
Beach Street,
10200 George Town,
Penang.

View Kopitan Restaurant in a larger map

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