…and now, the post that Merryn is waiting for! LOL!!!
I met Eugene for the very first time when I was in Penang in August, 2009. He was and still is, a very nice man – so easy to get along with…married to a beautiful wife and blessed with two wonderful sons. He took my daughter and me to try the Hailam lor mee and the best or chian (oyster omelette) in town – the latter was so very nice that my daughter agreed to have a second helping.
During my recent trip to Penang, I met him again. He wanted to take us out for brunch but I had a lunch date already that same day with Edmund who turned out to be Bananaz‘s friend as well. Small world! Nevertheless, Eugene dropped by the hotel where we were staying and we had a good long chat…until it was time for me and my family to go for lunch.
Not one to give up so easily, Eugene insisted on taking us out for lunch some other day and we agreed upon Tuesday, considering that on Monday, we would be going on a day trip to the Cameron Highlands. We went to this old, unimpressive-looking coffee shop…
…along Burmah Road, directly opposite Loh Boon Siew’s old mansion…
I noticed that the kway teow th’ng was featured in some newspaper…
…but the guy was wrapping up his business for the day, so I was not able to try that.
The stall next to it seemed equally famous…
…as there was also a press review on it.
I ordered a bowl to try…and boy, it was really very good – the best har mee (prawn noodles), better than what I had before, and much nicer than what my missus had in Ipoh!
The lobak stall looked good too…
…and I ordered this plate of some of the items available…
…for only RM6.00. It was good too, better than Red Garden’s…and a lot nicer than the RM13.00 one at Gurney Drive.
While we were sitting there, waiting for what Eugene had ordered for all of us, a lady appeared selling these…
– otak-otak (RM2.50 each). She claimed it to be the best in Penang though Eugene said that he could find something much nicer and cheaper elsewhere.
She gave me her handwritten “business card” which declared hers as “Mummy Otak – Penang famous…top nyonya…authentic” and she showed us photos of famous people including the state’s CM giving her the thumbs up!
I would say it was very nice…
…with its rich aromatic taste but I felt that the egg custard layer around the fish was a bit too soft/mushy. Well, if anybody’s interested and would like to place orders, her mobile contact is 016-4710430. We were leaving Penang the very next day and we already had too much luggage by then or else I wouldn’t mind ordering some to take home, considering that we cannot get any in Sibu…and if we can, they are usually not nice at all, plus the yummy ones at Payung are way too expensive to indulge in too frequently.
And now, the moment of truth! What exactly did Eugene take us to this coffee shop for? He wanted us to try this…
…nice and crispy chicken chop, coated with egg and fried. It was really good like everything else in that shop and the best part was – that generous serving cost ONLY RM3.50. I asked the lady and when she told me, I actually thought that I had heard wrongly. Unbelievable, I tell you!
After lunch, Eugene took us for dessert and instead of going to the one at Penang Road, he brought us to try the cendol at New World…
…which he said was one of the two (the other one being that celebrated stall at Penang Road) selected to represent Malaysia at some international food festival. It was good…and definitely worth going back for.
All in all, we had a wonderful outing with the Penang godfather, as what he claimed himself to be…and thanks a lot, Eugene, for taking your time off your busy schedule and going through all the trouble of taking us out. It sure was nice seeing you once again and I’m looking forward to seeing you again in April next year. I certainly hope the feeling’s mutual… LOL!!!
...STILL CRAZY AFTER ALL THESE YEARS! 