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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