Feast of Sarawak Cuisine @Carpenter Street Cafe, Sunshine Square, Bayan Baru

March seems to be a very busy month for me. Many happenings in Penang as well as Kuala Lumpur that I am literally running between KL-Penang almost every week, sometimes between days from one trip to another. So couldn't update my food blog quite often.

Anyway, since I will be travelling to Hong Kong and Macau the whole of next week, so I better get myself busy by updating some first. Else, it became old news hehehe. Anyway, I was supposed to fly to Kuching on the 25th March for our quarter annually account meeting and was planning to extend my stay until the 28th for my my mum's birthday. Suddenly I got the bad news that the meeting was cancelled due to some technical problem. Huhuhu .... Only God knows how heart-broken I was really, really missing some of my favourite Sarawak food. Then suddenly remembered that Chef Peter (Chairman of Chef Association Malaysia, Penang Chapter) posted about this cafe on Facebook.

Words can't describe my excitement when I saw the signage with the hornbill logo :)

So when I arrived from KL last Monday, my driver Zaki and I went to search for this place at the Sunshine Square, Bayan Baru area. It didn't take us that long to locate this place though Chef Peter road instruction was "behind Sunshine Square". It is actually located at the shop row behind Sunshine Square, and along the same row as Old Town White Coffee Kopitiam and CIMB Bank.

Proud that they have about 80% of the Sarawak food in the menu like including Foo Chow Mee Sua and Kacang Ma.

So the following day I made appointment with Sue Anne, Vincent and May for lunch here and lunch was on me. Hehehe suddenly felt so proud of myself eventhough just "belanja makan kolo mee". I think I owe them this lunch as they were always the one who treat me and I really really want to have the honour. Plus I really want to show them that I am their friend not another of their acquintance.

Anyway, except for Vincent who had been to Sarawak before and love the Foo Chow Kampua Mee, Sue Anne and May never tried Sarawak food before. So of course I prided myself to be the hostess and ordered Kolo Mee (original), Kole Mee (with Char Siew Oil), Tomato Sauce Mee, Kiaw Soup (also known as wanton soup), and Sarawak Laksa washed down with Sarawak 3 layer Teh C Peng Special ( 3 layer milk tea).

3 layer Teh C Peng Special - Tea (top), Evaporated milk (middle) and palm sugar (bottom)

Before (R) and after (L) stirring hehehe - never miss this drink in Kuching.

Tomato Sauce Mee - I had a friend who love this so much.

Sarawak Kolo Mee (original)

Sarawak Kolo Mee(original) is quite similar to the Peninsular Malaysia Hakka Mee except that Sarawak Kolo Mee is springier and saltier. Hakka Mee sellers here tends to add in soya sauce to add some taste and to make it not too dry. Sarawak Kolo Mee on the other hand counter the dryness issue by adding some lard or fried onion oil so as to create some fragrance. Having said that, the similarity was due to the fact that many of the Kolo Mee sellers in Kuching are Hakkas. I met one Sarawakian lady here and she told me, the food in Penang is "over-rated" in terms of tastiness ... Ouch... but having said that, yes, Sarawakians in general don't actually like to flavour their food too much with soy sauce.

Sarawak Kolo Mee (with Char Siew Oil) - in Kuching if we want this version, we just say "Kolo Mee merah"

Sarawak Lor Bak - I find Sarawak one to be a bit drier.

Sarawak Laksa - I am very selective about laksa but Carpenter Street Cafe got my thumbs up!

Glorious Sarawak food ... in Penang. Syiokkssss wo!

Initially I was afraid that the food may turned out not like the one in Sarawak. I had been to few cafes reported to be owned by Sarawak people. Unfortunately, they had changed the menu so much to cater to the local taste that made me dissatisfied. By the way, I wish the waitress or waiter here were friendlier like the Sarawakians. They looked so unwelcoming.

May captured me in "savouring the food to my heart's content" pose... yummm hahaha

My guests for the day ... Vincent, May and Sue Anne posing with all the empty bowls and glasses hahaha

If in Kuching, no way I would pay RM 7.90 for a bowl of Kolo Mee. In fact the maximum price you should pay for a decent bowl of Kolo Mee is between RM 2.50-RM 3.50. Having said that, the most expensive Kolo Mee I had ever eaten was the RM 12.00 Kolo Mee Special in Ten Mile Bazaar last Chinese New Year trip.

Happy to see that Sue Anne and May finished all the Kolo Mee plus Lor Bak, Vincent clear the kiaw soup and I was left to handle the laksa hahahaha. I wish they also sell beef noodle soup. Next time I come here, I will definitely try their kacang ma dishes.

 

Proof of that the RM 7.90 for a bowl of Kolo Mee was worth it hahaha

Money can't buy friendship.

May asked me if Carpenter Street have any significant to Kolo Mee. Hmm to be honest, I don't remember of any famous Kolo Mee shop at Carpenter Street but asked anyone from Kuching, they would definitely know that place. I passed this place to go for my tuition school near Crowne Plaza and took a bus at the Kuching General Post Office. In Kuching, my favourite spot for a Kolo Mee session is at the open air market opposite Electra House. My dad who is a Penangite love the 7th Mile Huat Huat Cafe Kolo Mee and sometimes when he missed Penang Sar Hor Fun, we will go to Jun Jun Cafe (no longer open I think).

So for those who would like try Sarawak food (especially Sarawakians who missed home food)... just head to Bayan Baru and give this cafe a try.

Carpenter Street Cafe – Your 1-stop Authentic Sarawak Food
Add : 54, Jalan Mahsuri (Grd Floor), Bandar Bayan Baru, 11950 Bayan Lepas, Penang.
Tel : 04-6436588, 012-4194178
Business Hours : 11.30-3.00pm, 5.30 to 9pm

Give Me More Fridays @TGI Fridays, Gurney Paragon, Penang

Suddenly, I had this craving for TGIF's Eton Mesh ... the image of light and crunchy pavlova (again) decadently covered in cream and strawberries had been driving me crazy the whole day. The last I had them was last year's June in Putrajaya's TGI Fridays. So on my way back to the office from Rasa Sayang Batu Feringghi, I decided to stop at the newly opened Gurney Paragon's TGI Fridays

Eton Mesh that I had in Alamanda Putrajaya TGIF.

At the moment, there are not much to see at Gurney Paragon. There are few eateries and cafes ... most of it are the usual brands we can find in major shopping malls. However personally, I think the main attraction there would be the St. Joseph's Novitiate, a 90 year old heritage building which is located at the centre of the property piazza.

St Joseph's Novitiate

The entrance of the TGIF Gurney Paragon.

For those who love to have casual dining outdoor.

Well, I guess there's not much different between TGIF@Gurney Paragon and anywhere else in terms of deco. Plenty of seats, plenty of space, big place though.

After flipping through the menu a few times, I realised that they didn't have Eton Mesh on the menu. So I decided to ask the waiter and was informed that was the new menu for this year (.... sinking feelings). Ok lah since I was a bit hungry and really want to eat something "beefy", I made these orders, some at the waiter recommendations.

Cranberry Fizz - sweet sour and fizzy.

Clam chowder - right creamy texture, lots of potato (unpeeled)

Tennesse New York Strip and Shrimp - medium well, the sauce is  a bit sweet, mash potato a bit salty.

Medium well.

Buffalo wings - a bit sweet to my liking, prefer a bit sourish.

The Dessert Trio

Chocolate Oreo and Mint Crunch - Yummy!

Snicker Treats - my favourite!

Strawberry parfait.

How much it cost me! Inflation ... Inflation

Location :

Rose Rose I Love You @Winter Warmers Coffee and Tea House, Sunway Carnival, Penang

Last Friday, Zaki and myself were doing some rough survey and observation on some potential attractions in the Mainland Penang, particularly between Nibong Tebal, Autocity Juru and Kepala Batas. We stopped at Sunway Carnival in Seberang Jaya for a short break as well as looking for a proper place for us to write down our findings.

I chose Winter Warmers for this sojourn as this place had been in mind for quite some time. Been passing by and seen many of this outlet in Penang - in Autocity Juru and Queensbay Mall. Not sure if there is one in Gurney Plaza. As I entered their outlet in Sunway Carnival, I felt that I was in an English countryside living room ... what with all those rose theme deco on the wallpaper, teapots, tea cups and tablecloth, ..

They had quite a wide selection of tea and coffee as well as some set meals. As I was not that hungry and was very much inspired by the coffee and tea house deco, I to try out some of their rose infused selections (though I had too much caffeine already)

Iced Rose Latte

Can u see they put dried rose buds as topping?

Rose Cheese Cake - Cheese cake with rose syrup and whipped cream

The rose scent filled the air when the waitress served my orders. I also ordered rose coffee but they ran out of rose syrup so I had to cancel the order. Anyway, the ice rose latte in term of taste, is just like a normal latte except for some wisps of rose. Same goes with the rose cheese cake. It was a wonderful twist though.