My Birthday Treat This Month

July is my birthday month and last week, I treated my family to a Chinese cuisine in Fong Wei Restaurant along Jalan Bahari, off the famous Penang Road. A must, I will always order sauteed brocolli with scallops which is my favorite dish. Green brocolli is rich in anti-oxidant and also helps to prevent cancer, as claimed in the news.

This is 'choong piah' or meat mixed with vegetables and spices and wrapped in thin batter which is then deep fried to taste. I also love this Chinese cuisine as there is crispy and crunchy feel to the mouthful of 'choong piah'.

I also ordered stir-fried pomfret with an assortment of veggies and it is know as 'tau teh nor bi' or simply translated to mean pomfret cooked in 2 styles - first is the sliced fish cooked with vegetables and secondly it includes the bones mixed with batter and fried till they are crispy which can be eaten as a whole. The picture is below.

The fried bones together with some batter is quite flavorful and crunchy. Not a single bit of the fish goes to waste and the different styles of cooking pomfret is simply fabulous.

This shot is taken with most of the dishes ordered that were served piping hot on the table covered with auspicious red table cloth. Fong Wei Restaurant is famous for its sumptious food that is affordable yet will not burn a hole in your wallet. That is why I love Penang for its economical food that is abundant everywhere. Malaysia is indeed a melting pot of cultures with the various cuisines to whet your appetite.

A birthday meal is not complete without 'lam mee' or simply known as birthday noodles for longevity. 'Lam mee' consists of meat stock boiled for a long time for the essence and flavor and mixed with crab meat, slivers of pork, prawns, shallots and spring onions in long yellow noodles.

This is a set meal from a Taiwanese restaurant in Queensbay Mall which consists of seafood broth, soup with some veggies and my favorite champaign turquoise blue boba drink. Bobas are brown tapioca pearls which are mixed into bubble teas and sucked up with a large straw.

This is a close up of the seafood broth from the Taiwanese restaurant. The unusual container looks interesting and creative but it may be a bit difficult to scoup up the broth from the small aluminium container placed in a wooden box. These are thre pictures for the week as I snap them during my culinery pursuits at dinner time around the various dining places.

Mix of Chinese, Japanese and Thai Cuisines in Penang

This photo was taken this afternoon during my lunch at a hawker food cafe along Penang Road which is famous for its wanton noodles. The are 2 types - dried as seen above with brown delicious soya sauce mixed with sesame seed oil or the soup type. This order was specially added with more vegetables for RM5 per plate. It has black shitake mushrooms, shredded chicken, 4 wanton sui-kow, green vegetables, char siew or barbequed red pigmented pork and a bowl of soup. The yellow noodles blend well with the sauce and it tasted scruptious yet enough to fill any stomachs.

This ala carte side dish was ordered from Sushi King consisting of my favorite red crab sticks lightly fried in Japanese batter for taste. I love the tangy seafood taste of the crab sticks that are a popular ingredient in sushi. There are several Sushi King outlets in Penang and this was taken at Gurney Plaza - an upmarket lifestyle shopping mall where I patronize frequently.

This is a pot of Japanese green tea with 2 beautiful small cups made from bone China. I sipped the warm green tea as I waiting for my main dish to arrive in Dragon-i restaurant that was just opened less than 1 month ago on the ground floor in Gurney Plaza.

This Hong Kong fried rice was ordered some time back at a popular food haunt in Northern Beach Cafe. The special fried rice has additional ingredients and vegetables to it which explains the higher price than normal for this tasty dish. This blog does not have any recipes as I don't cook even though I studied Home Science which includes sewing, cooking curries and baking cakes in my secondary school. I have the luxury not to cook and always dine out after work.

One of my favorite dishes is the pie tee (above) which is actually an edible small container made from fried batter that is filled with julienned turnips, carrots, shallots, dried shrimps and topped with eggs and chilly sauce for taste. The pie tee is enough for a delectable mouthful that melts in your mouth as you chew it. All the juices from the vegetables mix together to form a delicious meal together with the crunchyness of the fried batter container.

While sipping green tea at Dragon-i Chinese restaurant, my main order of seafood soup finally arrived with extra fish fillets without any calamari to reduce cholesterol intake. The soup was delicious and infused with all the flavors of the fish fillets, prawns, scallops with vegetables and sauces - that was brought to a constant boil before serving.

I simply love this Thai influenced flavored lorbak or marinated chicken with secret spices for that delicious bite in your mouth. This lorbak was ordered near Weld Quay in Penang at a Thai restaurant that is always full of regular patrons such as myself - simply for its affordable, fast service and delicious servings.

Variety of Cuisines from a Myriad of Restaurants

Before I proceed, do note that DianaTan.net is my main blog hosted on a personal domain since 2007. Hence, the photos here are my own and not copied. I have full rights to the images captured here for my gastronomical journal in Best Asian Food which is hosted on Blogger.com. The photo taken above is sauteed asparagus with lily bulb which I ordered from a popular Taiwanese restaurant in Queensbay Mall. The food was exquisite and crunchy to taste.

This is brocolli stir-fried with carrots and garlic. I like the texture of the brocolli and the dark green color that was preserved even after cooking with heat. If you over cook the brocolli, it may turn to light yellow in color and may not look so appetising.

This is champaign bubble tea that was especially recommended in the same Taiwanese restaurant that I patronized recently. Despite the name, it is not added with champaign but has a rather exquisite flavor that is unique and delectable. The sky blue color certainly stands out and makes the cool drink look desirable. It was added with brown pearls as you can see at the bottom of the cup.

Still the different dish ordered from the Taiwanese restaurant, this is deep fried prawn roll mixed with other recipes and wrapped up in tofu skin. The order was just right and not too much or overwhelming with big portion.

This photo was part of the collection taken during E & O buffet dinner at Sarkies Corner. There were a myriad of selections to choose from ranging from creme brulee, cakes, nonya kuih, etc. Each dessert was specially made with a personal touch from the professional chefs in E & O Hotel. That is why Sarkies Corner is mostly booked and full of patrons and diners. You may have to reserve for a table to get a chance to dine here on weekends.

I bought this orange sandwich roll sprinkled with raisins from Roti Boy outlet that was recently opened in Gurney Plaza. It has strawberry jam inside which makes it sweet and tangy with a soft texture.

I ordered this ala carte meal from Sushi King that has cheese, chicken on sticks, fully boiled eggs and topped with curry vegetables. The dish was scrumptious but I find the chicken a bit on the hard side but overall, it was a fine dish.

This dish was specially designed for Father's Day at Sushi King which was on 20th June. It was a set meal with some vegetables, noodles in soup, fried seaweed and rice wrapped with tofu skin. The dish was palatable and tasty as well, but you might find it a bit heavy with the noodles included.

About Me

Welcome to Best Asian Food! Discover a wealth of culinary inspirations, local reviews and gourmet dinings. I work at home and blog on a part time basis. While not working, I love to explore the internet and browse around. I also love to snap cuisines photos from the various dining places that I visit and compile them in this culinery journal of mine.

Best Asian Food encourages its readers to leave comments and ask questions. Have something to share? We’re happy to post articles on your own food-related experiences, suggestions, and recipes. Enjoy the site – we look forward to being a reliable source of culinary information for you!

Malaysia is a melting pot of cultures. This is where East meets West and everything in between. The result of this is a cornucopia of savouries, sights, sounds and sensation that are uniquely Malaysian. This blog attempts to chronicle the burst of colorful tastes and aromas of local cuisines from all over the country.

You can contact me at diana.tan(at)gmail(dot)com.

Set Dinner at a Chinese Restaurant

The photo above was taken during a set dinner for Chinese food in KL. It consists of prawn dipped in batter and deep fried till crispy and garnished with fruit salad on the bottom with a lovely purple orchid on the side of the plate. Incidentally, this purple orchid is most commonly sold freshly cut in Singapore and it is the national flower of the nation state. The serving was crisp and the prawn well cooked and not too hard on the inside. It was delicious!

This time round, I did not take loads of photos for each post to save my camera batteries which are rechargeable. I also save time from editing too many photos just to write a post here. As you can see here, I ordered fresh orange juice while waiting for the set Chinese dinner. You might think that I only dine in restaurants from the many photos taken here but mind you, I also dine in hawker's place just as much. The only thing is that I don't cook and don't have the time to cook either. My parents also buy back from outside and my mum has not cooked in many years already. She is taking a very good break and always drives out to buy us food. Hope you enjoyed this post!

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.