Had Dinner in Sarkies Corner Again

I had some sushi from this table of wide repertoire of selection from the dinner buffet. The flowers decoration make the sushi more delectable and interesting.

There were 2 colored chocolate fountain with many fruits on sticks and mashmallows for you to dip into the chocolate. The chocolate fountain consists of dark brown chocolate and pink white chocolate.

The many crabsticks certainly look tempting in this dinner table spread decorated with a bouquet of flowers. The professional chefs at E & O Hotel are really skilled in the presentation and their passion for preparing food certainly speaks volumes from this photo.

The photos shown here are in no particular order as I browse them from the hard disk based on photo names in Jpeg format. This is one of the many desserts taken from the dessert corner.

These are the deep fried selection of food with chicken rolled in pandan leaves, mashed potatoes wrapped in triangular shapes, etc.

There were cut fruits of various kinds - watermelons, honey melons, papayas, pineapples, dragon fruits, grapes and oranges. For the vegetarians, these could make up a complete meal with loads of vitamins and anti-oxidants.

Notice the pale colored mashmallows on the bottom and fruits in syrup dessert on the right.

Ok, so this was my serving consisting of slipper lobster - a half section, crab sticks, cod fish, scallops, and oysters baked with cheese.

My dad loved roasted duck with the brown skin. However, as for me, I prefer chicken to ducks.

Doesn't this white frosted cake simply look delicious? I had a small slice since my stomach was rather full with so many types of dishes put on the buffet table. I don't normally patronize Sarkies Corner but since my friend joined as a member of E & O Hotel with special discounts and vouchers, we might as well take full advantage of them.

Dined in Star Pisces Cruise

These photos were taken recently when I went for 1 night cruise to no where which departed from Swettenham Pier from Penang. The above was the buffet spread decoration on board the ship that was 12 storeys high.

This was my selection for buffet breakfast the next day. The breakfast was not too bad and the fried 'kuay kak' was nice actually. But I did not take too much so as not to put on unnecessary weight.

These are carved watermelons in the ubiquitous flower pattern that you can see in most Thai cuisines. You need special skills and knives tailored for these carvings.

This shows how we go up the cruise ship step by step as we climbed the mobile stairs.

Notice the thick green carpet spotted with yellow stars all over. It reminds me of entering a casino in Las Vegas, which I visited in 1998.

I took this photo as we disembarked in the morning. You have to leave by 10:00am, otherwise an additional RM50 will be charged for being late. By 12:00 noon, everyone has to leave so that the staff can clean up the rooms and prepare the tables for the next clients in the evening.

This was our room. Notice how crammed it is. You will be surprised that 4 adults can actually sleep in this tiny compartment with double-decker beds on each side that is separated by a small tv.

You can see how big the cruise ship is with 12 storeys high and different entertainment were available - gym, foot reflexology, in-house movies, mahjong tables, karaoke section, dining areas, 2 restaurants, souvenir shop and hair saloon plus spa.

This is the interior of the spa room that is mostly exclusive. I happen to be inside to take a look and snap this photo but never tried the spa anyway. I don't think I will feel comfortable going for a spa with the ship cruising away and you can feel the rocking or swaying quite often by the high waves.

This is the logo of Star Cruises, which is owned by Genting's Lim Goh Tong's daughter. She is a good friend of Jackie Colins but is insipid in her dressing and very unassuming.

There are several lines of cruise ships under the brand of Star Cruises privately owned by the Lim family. There are Star Virgo, Gemini, Pisces and I don't recall the other names. They are the premier and main cruises in Asia. Superstar Virgo serves mainly Singaporeans.

A promotion banner with all the attractions and discounts or rewards for regular customers. People mainly come here to gamble and try their luck at the casino on the lower deck as the ship sails to international waters. As for me, I stayed couped up in the room to watch Astro on tv.

This is the main area where we waited to disembark the next day. Since I am not a gambler, and thank goodness for that, I will not come again as I have already had the experience for the cruise to no where and seen all the offerings. But compulsive gamblers will surely patronise the cruise to take advantage of the jack pot machines in the hope of making more money.

Dined in E & O Hotel - Sarkies Corner Restaurant

A nice picture of many strawberries for your pick for a buffet dinner in Sarkies Corner at Eastern & Oriental Hotel in Penang.

Cheese baked oysters, salmon chunks, prawns and crabs make a delicious gourmet fine dining.

A wide repertoire of greens and salad plus sauce toppings displayed at the buffet spread table.

So many de-shelled prawns! I love prawns as they remind me of my favorite 'tim sum'.

This is the seafood corner consisting of oysters, scallops and prawns.

This was my choice of food taken from the buffet spread table with green vegetables, shitake mushrooms, satay, baked fish with white sauce, etc.

A nice decoration of flowers with grapes and bacon in this section.

A nice mix of colors of the dessert for your hungry stomach. Are you ready to dine with me?

Some pudding in small glass cups. Though I did not taste any of this, I decided to snap a photo to show the variety in the buffet servings.

Strawberries with rich chocolate cakes to fill up any hungry stomachs.

More strawberries coated with thick brown rich chocolate.

A specially made birthday cake for my father to celebrate his 73rd birthday. The lighted candle has been blown off and he has made his wish.

Food Taken from Stay in Royal Hotel

The muffins were touched up using Photoshop with the background removed for clarity. Do you like it?

A wide selection of cereals to choose from for the diners.

These are the condiments for a local hawker food with yellow noodles, sliced fish balls, plus other ingredients.

This was my bowl of cereal topped with macadamia nuts and walnuts.

Cut pototaes with some vegetables that are sauteed to flavor.

I love the salad here.

Another shot of more salad.

My breakfast serving with some food varieties taken from the table.

Kiwi syrup on the left followed by strawberry in the middle and orange syrup on the right side. Let the pictures speak for themselves

Food Taken From Various Places

The dish above was ordered last night at a Chinese restaurant on the 7th floor of Gurney Plaza as I waited to watch Iron Man 2 in Golden Screen Cinemas. It is actually abalone 'lamien' or thick noodles with bits of scallops that make the soup more tasty.

This is a popular dessert in Penang - 'Chendol'. It consists of pandan flavored noodles, topped with red beans, coconut milk and brown castor sugar. Penang Road is famous for its chendol and my dad simply loves this place. You have to stand and hold the bowl with one hand while you scoup up the ingredients with the other hand. Patrons are used to eating this way.

This is chocolate latte from Manhattan Fish Market that is topped up with fresh white cream. This is simply pure ambroisia!

I was in the hotel for the weekend and we ordered food in since it was raining outside and we were too lazy to do downstairs for Japanese buffet. I had mushroom soup with fresh orange juice while my friend has hot chocolate.

This is 'Eu Char Koay' or fried batter in cylinder shape. This is usually taken with a cup of coffee or a bowl of soup or soya bean drink. The fried batter can be bought from any hawker stall in Penang.

I simply love sliced fresh fish 'hor fun' or flat noodles with XO sauce. It was ordered from Xuan Xin Chinese Restaurant in Gurney Plaza, an upmarket shopping mall over here.

Just like 'Chendol', 'Ice Kacang' or shaved iced with peanuts, black jelly, red beans, sweet corn and topped with rose syrup and sarsi with milk makes a nice dessert to cool down in this sweltering hot weather. As I have to watch my weight, I don't take this too often.

This is 'Poh Piah'. It basically consists of julienned turnips with shallots, crab meat and wrapped in thin rice based white skin or batter. The really nice ones are sold in Padang and cost RM2.30 per roll for extra crab meat.

This is the logo of the restaurant that I went to last night for the first time since my favorite restaurant was fully packed with diners and I did not want to wait for too long. The food was not too bad and rather tasty as it has to compete with another restaurant nearby.

This seafood soup was ordered from Ah Khoon Restaurant, which has a chain in Johor and Kuala Lumpur. The soup was rich in flavor, thick with ingredients of seafood like sliced fish, abalone, pacific clams, bamboo clams, plus other ingredients. It is not cheap but it is ok to indulge once in a while. That is the motivation for working hard and earning the money.

I love Delifrance's seafood croissant as shown above. Their mushroom soup is not too bad either. The seafood ingredients has prawns, tuna and mayonnaise or was it Thousand Island Cream mixed together into a delicious mixture.

Dinner at Hai Nan Town Restaurant

The dish above is known as 'Jiu Hu Char' in Hokkien which literally means fried cuttle fish. It consists of juliened turnips which gives the crunchy texture, dried cuttle fish, spring onions, carrots, onions and black shitake mushrooms. You can also add juliened pork for flavor if you like. It was one of my favorite dish during my grandmother's time and she used to cook this for us. My late paternal grandma was a great cook and she used to hawk 'laksa' or simply fish soup salad to bring up 4 children all by herself as a single parent when my grandpa passed away quite early in life due to sickness. This dish is best eaten with sambal (chilly paste) wrapped with fresh lettuce in a roll. You can see the greens in a glass on the left side.

This is stir-fried mixed vegetables consisting of brocolli, cauliflower, carrots, button mushrooms and prawns. It is not too difficult to prepare and won't take too long provided you cut the vegetables smaller for faster cooking and the heat to reach the innermost parts. I simply love brocolli and it helps to prevent cancer as well.

This is chicken 'lor bak' and instead of pork, you add chicken instead which is healthier. It is better to take white meat like fish and chicken than red meat like pork, mutton, beef, etc. Spices are added to the 'lor bak' which is then wrapped in tofu skin and deep fried till cooked. It is an excellent dish to go with vegetables and compliments rice.

This is 'otak' which literally means brain, but don't shudder. It is entirely made of fish with spices, coconut milk and wrapped in banana leaves which are then steamed until cooked. This is a typical nonya dish in Malaysia where the Chinese peranakan usually cook for their families. The yellow color is from safron or 'kunyit' in Malay. These are the 4 dishes that I ordered recently from a visit to Hai Nan Town Restaurant by the pier in Penang. It is a popular hang out among yuppies and even the oldies.