Steveso

I know many locals who do not like spicey food and have no problem eating at food courts and hawker stands. They simply ask for their food to be non-spicey. I love very spicey food, so what may be bland to me may be too hot for someone else. I would suggest when eating at food courts, like Viva, to try the Japanese, "Western" and the herbal soups or porridge. I agree that Subway is a good choice. The German restaurants, such as Ingolf's in TB and the Berlin Bier Haus in Straits Quay are very good.

bakedbean

Steve, have you tried that new place Cheers Restoran and Bierhouse? Looks interesting but I haven't tried yet.

Scrasey, I'm trying to talk him indoors to go along to Song River. It must be all of 5 minutes drive from our place

Note to Dread: porridge is not what you think it is

Scrasey2

Song River does the best chicken in Penang!

Deffo need to convince him to go!! They also do the best (in my opinion) char koay teow too.

dreadsoc

I dread to ask - what is the porridge then if it ain't full of oats?

Dread - x

bakedbean

Rice I'll probably get shot down in flames here. I've only had it in Singapore and I think that was Taiwanese porridge. It was kinda mushy with bits in. I cannot say that I was that taken to it. It wasn't spicy though, so may be one for you to try out.

I think if you google congee you might get the picture. My rice cooker which I acquired in Singapore has a congee setting.

dreadsoc

Interesting.
Those rice cookers are brilliant. I have never been able to cook great rice until I bought one of those - ASDA own at 7 quid - bargain.

Dread - x

bakedbean

I still get crap rice even with rice cooker. I freeze batches and they come out better when defrosted. Dunno why

dreadsoc

When I retire and come to Malaysia I will bring you one of the ASDA ones like I have. It was recommended by my mate Johnnyfive, it cost £7, and I get perfect fluffy rice every time, and it's dead easy to use. Believe me, prior to having that I cooked the most crap rice in the history of rice.

Dread - x

bakedbean

Cheers dread. We were on our way out for a takeaway tonight then saw the sky which was blacker than black and decided to go park up in underground carpark at Prima Tanjung where we can walk undercover to somewhere and boy did it chuck it down. Went down into the Old City foodcourt not expecting much to be open on a Sunday night, but not so. Had a sotong curry at ABC (dread, sotong that's squid). Very nice, very cheap, very spicy and listened to the storm crashing down on tin roof.

ex reg

Any of you guys heard of or tried the Seri Indaman restaurant?

Any good?

bakedbean

Where is it located ?

TopHattedCat

Hi Ex Reg,

I am presuming you mean the Seri Idaman seafood restaurant in Batu Maung?

After being introduced to Seri Idaman back in 2007 I have been there quite a few times since & my overall impression is very good. It is great for evening dining at sunset (even though it is at the SE corner of Penang) as you can dine semi al fresco with a good sea view with some seating above the ocean.

It is a Malay restoran & they serve some fantastic dishes including fish head curry, tom yam & giant tiger prawns.

The last time I went to there service let it down slightly but the food was as good as ever.

<<snip>>

ex reg

Thanks.
Yeah, THC Seri Idaman.
Just had a glimpse of the name on a TV show about it.
Looked good food.

How long from say Tanjong Bungah?

Ah I see just east of the airport so maybe 45 min to T Bungah with no jams.

bakedbean

What about Nyonya food? Any favourite places in Penang?

I was drooling over the menu at Nyonya Breeze Delight in Straits Quay the other day but a friend has told me not to bother.

I'm hearing about Perut Rumah in Jalan Kelawei. I've read some online reviews which gets some good ratings. I was surprised to see a pic of Assam Stingray in a claypot. Didn't know that that was technically a Nyonya dish. Looked just like the Stingray curry I had at Old City Foodcourt.

Any others to consider, especially up the north end of the island?

ex reg

There's a lot of Nonya restaurants in Malacca. I know you weren't impressed with Malacca bb but I hope you weren't influenced by the Nonya restaurants which are very poor, each and every one and we've given them all more than one chance.

If you want good Nonya food it's much better to cook it yourself if you don't know a Peranakan family who'll invite you round.

Nonya cooking is time consuming but in our opinion, and the missus does all the work, is well worth the effort.

BTW we're off up to Malacca next week for a few days.
I can't wait.