Via Pre – Tavern on The Harbour

Italian restaurants have not been too popular in Penang in the past. But all that may be changing, with Via Pre, the newest purveyor of Italian food, which is set to satisfy even the most discerning of palates.

Located along the busy Weld Quay, the thinking behind this non-halal Italian restaurant was very simple: to pamper diners’ taste buds with authentic Italian food prepared with ingredients brought in from Italy. And the menu of course includes an extensive range of native Italian wines, beers and ales.

At the recommendation of a friend, we visited the restaurant — a restored pre-war house with a charming white facade. Inside, the tall interior dining hall features an industrial look, with huge black steel columns supporting the higher floor which houses a lounge and grill. The ambience was soothing with Italian music in the background and lots of dark timber for the paneling in this newly refurbished pre-war house.

The restaurant motto of not using any processed and flavoured food is written on a huge chalkboard. The large menu offers eight mains, 11 pastas, 10 pizzas, a wide selection of antipasti and also desserts. There is a short list of salad dishes. Our order had a bit of something to suit everyone.



We started with the basket of bread, served with earthy olive oil and vinegar. All the bread is made in-house, with choices of focaccia, flat bread, rustic bread and more.

The Tagliere Rustico with assorted cold cuts, cheese and antipasti goes for RM72 (for two persons). It has a good mix of textures and flavours. The olives and sun-dried tomatoes were bright and appetising and the cheese has a nice savoury flavour. Via Pre also offers diners the option of buying these cured meats and cheeses.



We ordered Trancio Alla Griglia which is steamed and then roasted fish smothered with cubed tomatoes and salads drizzled with generous portion of virgin olive oil. The fish is served with a special sauce that tastes exquisite with a hint of herbs added.



Next on the mains was my order of Del Porto, which was salad with slices of smoked salmon topped with braised prawn.



To accompany our mains, we also ordered 2 types of beers and ales which are similar to Guiness Stout which uses barley instead of grapes as the raw ingredient.



You cannot find these ales locally in the market except Via Pre which specially imported them from Italy. It reminds my friend of his varsity days in United Kingdom where he used to treat himself ales as a student then.



I had a glass of freshly blended celery juice for RM 11 and another glass of bottled apricot juice, also specially imported from Italy which you cannot find on the counters in supermarkets.



As the mains and salads were so appetizing, our last entree was a dessert to finish off our meals. Here is IL Tortino Del Monaci where we had to wait for at least 15 minutes for the cakes to be baked fresh from the oven with the insides full of melted chocolate and nuts. There is a generous portion of chopped pistachio nuts with condensed milk and a scoop of champagne ice-cream. A range of cakes and pastries are displayed at the dessert counter that takes center stage in the restaurant.



After our last entree, we headed to the second floor to a large lounge for some music with computer ensemble or songs and instruments. There is a bar counter and for those preferring to enjoy a view of the harbour and docking cruises, then they can go outside the balcony for some fresh air and sea view. We finally adjourned after paying the bill which came up to RM 222.70

If you want a taste of Italian and appreciate warm service (from the Italian owners), then visit this tavern on the harbour. Parking is limited at the front but there’s plenty to be found in the neighbouring streets. It is located diagonally opposite Chin’s Stylish Chinese Cuisine.

Via Pre
5 Weld Quay
10300 Penang

Tel: 04-2619800 & 04-2620560

Food from Various Places

 

Just recently, I had lobster thermidor in Fishing Village in Teluk Bahang, Penang. As seen from the picture, lobster thermidor looks scrumptious with fillings of button mushrooms, onions, succulent lobster meat and lots of cheese. It was garnished with juliened cabbage, carrots and greens. 100gm of frozen lobster is about $13.00 or USD 4.35. This meal was 1kg lobster served on a huge dining plate.

 

Our next ordered meal was baked crabs - we prefer it baked to retain the flavor so that it is not masked by other sauces like chilly crab with eggs, lots of gravy, et cetera. Here, we had 2 baked crabs, one for each of us to fill our hungry appetites.

 

This is curry chicken cheese baked spaghetti on the 7th level of Gurney Plaza, next to Xuan Xin Steamboat that was opened 2 weeks ago. As we were catching a movie soon, it was only convenient to have our dinner on the same floor as the movie screen cinemas as we don't want to be late for any cinema show. I don't like it when it is all dark with the lights turned off and the movie has started while you have to search for your seat numbers. It is like searching for a needle in a haystack.

 

I love this Siamese 'belacan' fried rice consisting of chopped long beans, onions, mango, dried prawns, chicken, egg omelette and sambal. The whole combination was just simply delicious when mixed together and eaten as a complete meal with enough carbo from the rice and roughage from the veges.

 

The same meal together with spicy tom yum soup and a glass of fresh orange juice without sugar and ice - also from Gurney Plaza.

 

Here is coconut ice cream added with chopped peanuts, stripes of mango and water chess nut coated with red jelly-like substance which is typical of any Thai dessert.

 

The black pepper gravy for the fish fillet simply sumptuous. This was ordered at Clinic Cafe on the 4th level of Gurney Plaza. By now you might have guessed that I love to patronize Gurney Plaza, an upmarket lifestyle shopping mall.

Dinner at Max Gourmet, Gurney Plaza

 

Yesterday I was at Gurney Plaza to catch the Transformers 3 : Dark of the Moon, 3D movie and dined at Max Gourmet on the 7th floor of  the lifestyle shopping mall. Above was my order of steamed garoupa with  hor fun or flat rice noodles. The hor fun was tangy with flavorful thin liquid gravy and slices of garoupa which is an expensive fish. I love this dish and will always order the same meal whenever I patronize Max Gourmet.

 

As opposed to dining al fresco, I usually dine indoors with air-conditioning turned on to lend a cool atmosphere for comfort. This was my friend's order of herbal ginseng chicken drumstick ramen or Japanese noodles. The soup was delicious with hints of ginseng sprinkled with red wolf berries for better eye sight plus other aromatic herbs. 

 

After our hearty meals, we had our drink and dessert. On the left was Mango Platinum Ice Blended while on the right was Ginseng and Water Chestnut that I ordered. Mango Platinum Ice Blended has real sweet cut mangoes with bits of raisins, peanuts, some syrup and topped with a scoop of vanilla ice-cream. The ginseng with water chestnut was boiled until the flavor seeped to the water giving a tasty drink to finish off the meal. 

 

On the third floor of Gurney Plaza is the ever popular Kim Gary Hong Kong Restaurant. This place is usually full of diners, simply because of the delicious food and very affordable pricing. If you are a member, you get a further 10% discount. The meal above was fish fillet cheese baked rice garnished with broccoli for the color and visual appeal. It consists of rice steamed with lotus leaf laid at the bottom for the fragrance, corn, button mushrooms and fish fillet. This has always been my favorite dish since I stepped in this popular restaurant.

 

This is lemon butter fish served at Karen's Kitchen with apple green table cloth and menu. The gravy was simply ambrosia and heavenly. It comes with mashed potato, salad, fish fillet and a generous portion of lemon sauce that complements the fish. 

 

I was also at New World Park, which is a food haunt with swanky restaurants as well as dozens of  hawker stalls where you can dine al fresco and choose your table. I had ice-kacang recently as shown in the photo above. And I requested for extra creamy corn to go with the shaved ice with rose syrup, milk, black herbal jelly, and not forgetting a scoop of vanilla ice-cream.

 

This was our free roasted half chicken after collecting 9 chops on the Chicken Rice Shop loyalty card. For 6 chops, you get a quarter chicken and for 3 chops, you get a drum stick. I also frequent Chicken Rice Shop for the many varieties of food like 'pie tee' or known as top hat. The roasted chicken was succulent, tender and juicy.

Lunch at Food Gallery

I had lunch at Food Gallery in Penang Times Square a while ago and ordered the above sumptuous meal of fusili bolognise and almond chicken. The macaroni tomato sauce was tangy and well flavored. I added extra cheese powder to pair with the meal. The almond chicken was succulent and crunchy with almond flakes added to the batter that covered chicken. The presentation was appetizing as well and garnished with greens.

 

This was a set meal with a bowl of white rice, sauces, watercress soup and chicken stir-fried with mixed vegetables. This was my mum's order from Food Gallery where we dined recently. Food Gallery is the largest food court in Penang with more than 20 stalls of delicious Penang food cuisine. 

 

My dad loves Italian food and ordered this simple meal of western food with potato chips, coleslaw and pizza.

 

When I was in Kuala Lumpur, I had marmite chicken at Lorong Seratus Tahun restaurant. It consists of deep fried chicken with marmite dip, an egg cooked over-easy way and topped up with vegetables and rice.  Lorong Seratus Tahun serves genuine Penang food like ice-kacang, chendol, lorbak, etc.

 

This is ice-kacang with chendol ingredient of green pandan noodles, some longans, red beans, chopped peanuts, black herbal jelly, corn cream, shaved ice and topped with a scoop of strawberry ice-cream.

 

This is mushrooms that are deep fried and covered with batter to taste with cream sauce dip. It was served at Manhattan Fish Market in Queensbay Mall on the basement level. The food certainly makes me salivate and looking at it might just make you drool as well!

 I had Baskin Robbins ice-cream of chocolate mint and topped with delicious chocolate that was ideal to taste and not too sweet. It is topped with white cream, a red cherry and sprinkled with chopped nuts. I normally stop here in Tapah to unwind when returning back to Penang from Kuala Lumpur. Baskin Robbins has 31% discount on the 31st of the month every time.

 

This is a magnificent paint of food theme and vases of flowers. The framed paintings was taken at a local hotel when I was having buffet breakfast. I love the play of colors and picture composition.

Hei Yeong Seng Chinese Restaurant

 

More than one third of the people in the world eat Chinese food every day. This speaks volumes of the popularity and tastiness of Chinese food. Just last week, I stayed in Royal Hotel for the weekend and walked to Hei Yeong Seng Chinese Restaurant on the second floor of the newly refurbished Penang Plaza along Burmah Road for dinner. Above is a shot taken at the entrance of the Chinese restaurant with plenty of red cloth, red lanterns, etc. that is ubiquitous of things Chinese. And I am proud to be born a Chinese too. Not to put a feather on my cap, but wherever you place the Chinese around the world, they will most likely prosper because they are hard working, diligent and motivated. 

 

While waiting for my food, I took the opportunity to snap another photo right from my dining table. There are so many tables and chairs that can accommodate so many people with tables of 10 persons each. The ambience is pleasant with cream colored table cloth coverings and beige PVC chairs with cushion. There are also mirrors on the columns to make the place look even bigger. 

 

Fresh live lobsters and other seafood are also served here where you can pick and choose from this water tank. A place famous for lobster thermidor in Penang is in Teluk Bahang right inside the fishing village which is patronized by regular customers. 

 

I also ordered double-boiled sharks' fins soup with scallop amongst other usual ingredients.  The soup was flavorful and delicious. Being double boiled, most of the flavorful juices are already extracted in the soup. Hei Yeong Seng Chinese Restaurant was opened not too long ago and by the time I dined here, it was fully packed with diners, mostly Chinese and some Caucasians. 

 

This is fried marmite chicken which is one of my favorite dish sprinkled with sesame seed and garnished with lettuce leaf. There are two types of cooking here in this dish. One was deep fried with marmite and the other type is mixed with salted egg yolk and wrapped in chicken. 

 

This is steamed cod fish with scallion sauce and garnished with spring onions and parsley. Cod fish is also Singapore's Ministor Mentor, Lee Kuan Yew's favorite food. It is a bit pricier than the other ordinary fish but taste very sumptuous.

 

Broccoli is my other favorite vegetable. I usually order stir-fried brocolli with scallops, ginger and sometimes with prawns. Broccoli is rich in vitamins and helps to prevent cancer.  It is also rich in anti-oxidants. 

 

The photos above were taken for each individual dish and the above is the combined servings for dinner. If you would like to book a table for functions or just to have your usual fare of Chinese cuisine, below are the contact details.

Hei Yeong Seng Chinese Restaurant

Lot 207-221 & 231-245, 2nd Floor, Penang Plaza

No. 126 Burmah Road, 10050 Penang, Malaysia

Tel: 604-229 1623 / 229 3623

Fax: 604-226 6623

Delicious Food Photos in Stupeflix Video

Above are some of the previous photos taken since 2006 and added to Stupeflix video. You can choose the animations, theme and music to be added. You can also link to your Flickr account and add your old photos to the program. I love using Stupeflix as you can select to be a free user or a paid one with more features to use. Here is the free edition. Stupeflix is a Web 2.0 program with cool features. I love exploring the internet and try out new things. There are various ways to make money from the internet and I have been using the different methods to earn me some pocket money. That was why Best Asian Food was set up. This blog is coming to 1 year old and I have breakeven already with the paid domain in Google plus earning a little extra here and there. In the meantime, enjoy the photos!

Chinese Food and Buffet at E & O

I ordered this colorful dim sum of pandan green flavor, strawberry red, black sesame seed and yellow corn filled with meat and steamed with white chinese cabbage in a bamboo steamer. It looks appetising with the four different colors that make an eye candy.

This was ordered at Dragon-I Chinese Restaurant in Gurney Plaza, Penang. It consists of steamed brocolli with sliced abalone and black Shitake mushrooms. The gravy melts in my mouth and it was just as delicious as costly.

This was served at E & O hotel in town with small cups of black grass jelly topped with a flower fruit. Before they start disappearing one by one, I took the opportunity to snap this photo at the start of the buffet.

 

This is butter cake topped with sliced peaches, strawberries and blueberries. It was also sprinkled with almond flakes on the side with white cream. Icing sugar is then sprinkled to complete the serving. 

 

These are glasses of pudding with longan, cut dragon fruit and water melon. They certainly look tempting, don't they? I love dining at Sarkies Corner at E & O hotel.

 

This is the seafood corner with fresh prawns, raw salmon and raw oysters with lemon wedges. My second sister just loves fresh oysters and had 17 of them! Then she was down with flu the following day, but thank goodness she recovered quickly after a visit to the family doctor before she flew back to Suchou, China to continue lecturing as part of her job. 

Merry Christmas 2010 and Some Lovely Photos

 

Above is a picture taken in Penang of red and green Christmas theme with red candles and poinsettias and spiky green Christmas leaves. Today is Christmas Eve on the 24th December 2010 and I will be spending most of the time later on travelling for a short break.

 

This is a nice Christmas tree taken locally with wrapped up presents, golden bells and baubles to decorate the otherwise bland tree.

Here is another shot of a different Christmas tree with Santa's cap right at the top instead of a star!

 

This was the high tea we had recently at 1885 Restaurant in E & O hotel. Since my friend is a member, we used up the free voucher before it expires at the end of the year.

 

Part of the high tea with sandwiches and buns. I had orange cream tea which came in a pot. It was simply flavorful and I loved the hint of orange peel in it. Well, that's it for now. Merry Christmas 2010 and Happy New Year 2011.