curry

Payung Cafe revisited with CNY cakes

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payung cafe

I was out with Arthur last night – planned to go to this Indonesian and Indian restaurant but unfortunately it was closed. It seems to be closed every time we want to go. Haha. Anyway, the second option was Payung Cafe in Sibu.

arthur

We both like this place for the ambiance – I’ve been there when Payung Cafe opened and it has gotten even better since then. Arthur knows the owners very well and their food is always consistently good.

Durian Shake (RM 8)

durian shake

This is made with durians and you can have the ice cream version too. The waiter kindly asked me if I wanted more durians in it. Of course I said yes and the result is:

durians

They use cooked durian flesh for this and after the addition of more it tastes better than any durian shakes I’ve ever had. The taste is so strong it qualifies as a dessert. 😀

Bumbung Soda (RM 5)

bumbung soda

I loved Arthur’s reaction when he drank this one – he gave an involuntary shudder and said it was way too sour. Haha! It’s made with several different fruits, cucumber among them. Bumbung literally means “roof” so it’s apt that Arthur hit the roof (in a way) after sipping it.

Garlic Bread ( RM 8)

garlic bread

This is a great appetizer – the garlic bread is fresh and goes very well with the chicken dip that’s served on the side. The chicken has bits of meat inside and it’s creamy and a perfect match for the warm garlic bread.

Bangladesh Curry Lamb (RM 17)

I had this before and I quite liked it. It’s Arthur’s order and they’re quite generous with the portions, probably coz of what he commented last time. 😉

bangladesh lamb curry

There’s a huge chunk of lamb inside too, it takes a concerted effort to pry it apart but I like lamb meat with lots of tendons.

Assam Chicken (RM 16)

assam chicken

This is what I opted for – it’s not too bad, tastes a little bit like the belimbing prawn pasta but that’s where the similarities end. I thought it was okay too but then I was quite hungry at this point.

Otak-otak (RM 12)

otak otak

They make this in-house every day and it’s spicy as hell. Lovely stuff though, a must-order if you’re in Payung.

Chinese New Year fruit cake (RM 75 per loaf)

cny fruit cake

They gave this free of charge to us – it’s quite tasty, and different from the dry and tough as nails fruitcakes that you can use to clobber people and kidnap them. Payung Cafe’s CNY fruit cake is steamed and it’s soft and moist. Different, but I though it was nice.

hb arthur payung

It’s an awesome dinner as always, good company and great times! 😀

Curry Fish Head at Sin Kim San Cafe

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meng curry fish head

I was in Penang a couple of days ago and met up with Cheryl and Kah Wheng for dinner. They brought me to Sin Kim San at Macalister Road for a really good curry fish head meal.

sin kim san

Sin Kim San Cafe is this sprawling coffee shop with a wide range of stalls offering everything from monitor lizard soup to peh pah duck. There’s another coffee shop beside it which you can order from too.

curry fish head penang

The curry fish head stall is rather well known among the locals. You can opt for fish slices instead of a fish head and there several other seafood items like squid, prawns and catfish on offer. It’s cooked Chinese style with a really spicy kick ass gravy.

bbq chicken wings sin kim san

We also had an order of the BBQ chicken wings. Cheryl mentioned that this stall used to be manned by a dude with Goku hair but that night, an elderly man took his place. No idea whether it’s the same owner – I put forth the theory that it could be the dad but then again I’m not from Penang so I wouldn’t know for sure. Heh.

bbq chicken wings

The BBQ chicken wings is pretty good too – it’s glazed with honey and the BBQ process doesn’t toughen the meat. In fact, it’s quite tender and juicy.

curry fish head

However, the curry fish head is the highlight of the meal. The prawns we added on came partially de-shelled and there’s also tomatoes and pieces of okra inside. It’s topped with mint leaves and what I really like about it is the fact that it doesn’t have tofu products or other nonsense like that. smirk

sin kim san curry fish head

It’s served in a plastic bowl and our combination costs RM 33 for two. I would prefer using a claypot so it retains the heat but other than that I have no complains. The gravy is superb – thick, sweet and flavorful to the point that you can eat an entire plate of rice with just that.

sin kim san dinner

Penang is wonderful – it’s really a place where good food can be found in every corner. I’ve been there a lot of times and I still haven’t eaten all it has to offer. Hell, I’m half tempted to move there. 🙂

Pangkor Curry Fish Head Restaurant

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Pangkor Curry Fish Head Restaurant

Pangkor Curry Fish Head Restaurant is not located in Pangkor but it sure seems like it. It’s nestled somewhere deep within the recesses of Subang and is Aud‘s regular stomping grounds. The proprietor there even knows her coz her family eats there so often.

Pangkor Curry Fish Head Restaurant interior

I am told this eating establishment offers extremely good curry fish head. The place is full of patrons digging into dinner and the four of us managed to find a table in the restaurant. There is an al freso area and an indoor dining section and most of the tables can be seen with the flagship curry fish head.

Pangkor Curry Fish Head Restaurant Spinach with Garlic

This is Spinach with Garlic – which I tried to eat more of, considering I’m not exactly the embodiment of healthy living. It’s RM 8 for a small dish and RM 10 for a large one. I can’t comment much about vegetables, since I never clicked on the Like button on this particular food group ever since I was a kid.

Pangkor Curry Fish Head Restaurant Honey Soy Chicken

Moving on to the meat of the post, this is the Honey Soy Chicken (RM 15, 20, 25 for S, M, L). It is endorsed by Ho Chiak as the sticker on the menu proclaims loudly (if words can talk that is). I found this rather good – the taste and texture is spot on. Sorry I stole all the good bits of the chicken. smirk

Pangkor Curry Fish Head Restaurant Fried Homemade Beancurd with Minced Chicken

The next dish is the Fried Homemade Beancurd with Minced Chicken (RM 10 for small, RM 15 for large). Beancurd to me belongs to the tofu group which I am not particularly fond of either. However, this dish surprised me with the exquisitely tender beancurn contrasted with the lean chicken meat. The gravy does the dish much justice too. I used Gourmet Mode on my Sony Cyber-shot TX-5 to take all the photos in this post.

Pangkor Curry Fish Head dish

Now this is the highlight of the meal – Curry Grouper Fish Head! It’s also bears the prominent lips, teeth and tongue logo of Ho Chiak and I stand here as witness that this is really good curry fish head.

There is no santan (coconut milk) added to the curry fish head – it’s cooked the Proper Way (TM). The price ranges from RM 28 – RM 75 depending on the portion. I liked the tender and succulent fish but the best part about this tai chow place’s signature dish is the curry sauce.

Pangkor Curry Fish Head

You can practically eat a plate of steamed rice with the curry alone – the medley of spices produces an opus of epicurean delight on your taste buds!

Pangkor Curry Fish Head Restaurant can be a little hard to find so I’m going to list down the GPS coordinates:

N 03º 04′ 40.5″
E 101º 35′ 18.8″

I saved it so I can come here to eat the curry fish head again. You know the best thing about Pangkor Curry Fish Head Restaurant? It’s not only fucking good but it’s halal to boot!

Japanese Curry with Beef Lung, Pork Loin and Eryngii Mushrooms

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japanese curry dish

I wanted to cook something Japanese this weekend coz Aud got me this souvenir from Mount Hakone in Japan – a pair of chopsticks. It just so happens that my friend had Japanese Curry at home and she came over with a carrot and potatoes while I went shopping for the rest of the stuff.

You will need:

ingredients

Japanese Curry mix
Sumo rice
Pork loin block
Beef lung
Peas in a pod
Dutch mushrooms
Eryngii mushrooms
Potatoes
Carrots
Onions
Seaweed and sesame rice flavoring

japanese curry chop

First off start slicing/cubing/peeling/dissecting/massacring all your vegetables, meat and fungi (except for the Eryngii mushroom ).

pork loin 

The pork loin block should be disciplined with your knife until they become cubes.

Eryngii mushrooms

Cook the Eryngii mushrooms in a pot of boiling water and set it aside.

japanese rice

Next, start cooking the rice. The Rule of Thumb Index Finger (TM) applies in cooking rice. It is an agarration (TM) method if you lack cups or other standards of measurement.

rule of index finger

Basically what you do is pour in the rice, rinse once with water and add water until it comes up to the first joint of your index finger. It should be noted that the tip of the index finger should be resting on the top of the rice, not the bottom of the rice cooker.

japanese curry prepare

After that is sorted, it’s back to the Japanese Curry! Add some extra virgin olive oil and start frying your ingredients.

frying pan

I added in the pork cubes before frying the onions – a mistake on my part. It would have tasted better to fry the onions before putting the rest of the stuff in.

japanese curry ingredients

Everything you have amassed up to this point (except for the Eryngii mushrooms) should be added into the frying pan in batches and given a good once-over. My frying pan is a bit on the small side so it kinda overflowed.

add water

Transfer the contents of the frying pan into a pot and add approximately 500 ml of water.

japanese curry pot

I eyeballed it and added probably 700 ml or so of water so the curry wasn’t as thick as it was supposed to be. However, I put the leftovers in the fridge and reheated it for lunch just now and the consistency was perfect!

The meat and veggies should be boiled for about 30 minutes with the lid on before the Japanese Curry powder chunk and sachet of chilli powder is added in.

japanese curry done

Wait for the Japanese Curry powder to melt and permeate the pottage before putting the lid on and let it simmer for an additional 20 minutes.

japanese curry serve

It’s now ready to serve!

japanese curry

We scooped the rice into a plate and added seaweed and sesame rice flavoring. The curry is spooned into the side of the plate and decorated with a Eryngii mushroom.

itadakimasu

Japanese Curry tend to be a bit on the mild side but the chewy texture of beef lung contrasted with the lean pork loin and the medley of vegetables makes this dish work out very well.

Itadakimasu!

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