Penang Trip: Toh Soon Cafe @ Day 2

While most cafes have at least a decent establishment from which food is served, Toh Soon Cafe does otherwise.   This old time charmer located along a back alley on Campbell street has been here for ages from the looks of it.  But while many might associate old to rusty, Toh Soon Cafe still attracts a large crowd daily showing that the folks still have what it takes to remain competitive.  Its customers range from Penang-nites and their families looking to start their day to teenagers as well as inquisitive foodies like myself.

No. 148, Lebuh Campbell, George Town

Pulau Pinang 10200, Malaysia

Closed on Sundays it seems

This placed is famed for the usual suspects such as the butter and kaya toast as well as hard boiled eggs.  Other Malaysian delights served here includes packed Nasi Lemak as well as curry puffs.  While the large crowd clearly shows that this place is popular, is the food really as good as it seems?  Well, to find out I ordered my staples.

The first thing we had was the pre-packed Nasi Lemak which should not have been more than RM1.20 each :)!I am not sure whether the Nasi Lemak here were packed by the Toh Soon Cafe itself or brought for sale by another vendor.  But really, I could not be bothered about such details after my first spoonful  The coconut rice is cooked perfectly grain by grain with its fragrant just right.  It is simple but you would be surprise how many people still make blunders cooking rice.  What made me even more chuffed was the anchovies used here.  Coming in at 10am, I expected the typical sad anchovies that have turned soft because it was pre-packed but I was wrong. It was still crispy and went well with the mildly sweet sambal! Totally yums!  Both my mom and dad were pretty impressed.

 

The next one was a simple kaya butter toast While I have again mentioned “simple” kaya, I have not had any good ones back home in Perth as most of the ones sold are either too sweet or have no fragrant =/.  The toast that day was presented like little planks and had a decent spread of butter and kaya between them.  Prepared the old way, this was toasted in a charcoal oven which gives it that good old charcoal flavour albeit very minimal.  For me, this tasted good although I was expecting more kaya as the toast was rather thick.  But would I make my way to Toh Soon Cafe just for the toast?  Probably not.  Yet, there is something terrible nostalgic about having toast prepared in such a manner.   Not like I was born while my mom used a charcoal oven.  No, I had electric and gas but still, there is just something about such places that keeps me keen.

 

Last but not the least is the obligatory soft-boiled eggs.  A significant or at least common breakfast food across the globe.A dash of soy and pepper followed by a quick stir creates a magical flavour which I have always loved.   I really enjoyed this.  However, it would be an overstatement to say that the eggs at Toh Soon cafe were the best as I found the egg yolks not runny but was rather solid.  But to highlight it as a major problem would be rather petty.  It was just good old eggs in the end.

 

Once we were done, we walked away without paying more than RM20.  The included drinks, toast, and nasi lemak for three people along with eggs for me! I was like WoW! Cheap cheap!!  Even by KL standards, it was really cheap!!

The fiesty lady in green was the lady running the show for her bosses where money and orders were concerned ;)!  Quick and efficient she was.

 

By the end of the meal, I was not so convinced that this little eatery was worth the hype when judged solely based on the food that we had that day.  Yes, the Nasi Lemak was great but that was about it.  Even then, the Nasi Lemak might have came from elsewhere. The toast was noteworthy and the eggs were passable.  Our drinks came fine though dad lamented the quality of his coffee.  He said that it was nowhere near the standards of a typical kopitiam.  However, add in all the memorable things which humans often overlook such as the history of this place, its setting, simplicity and suddenly, it becomes an emotional eat.  Its charisma is overflowing with dedication no longer seen.  Yes, they have foreign workers serving the goodies, but ultimately it was the old timers that were preparing the food.  Furthermore, coming out of bed to such convenience is always nice.  At the end, I was sold.  Definitely worth a revisit.  So there you go, my little review on this charming little place called Toh Soon Cafe in Penang.  Definitely a noteworthy eat along with the Hawker fare on Kimberley Road.

 

WenY

Penang Trip: Kimberley Road @ Day 1

Ask most foodies which state in Malaysia has the best food, and most will mention Penang.  This Northerly State is a mix of old and new with English settler influences clearly noticeable as heritage roads named after famous figures who landed on the island.  In fact, my dad told me that the older generation Lee’s came from Bishop Street.  Food is gorgeous here, with my trip of 4 days to Penang mainly revolving about overindulging in what the internet claims to be the best of the best of Penang eating.  So how do these “highly recommended”  places that got the internet buzzing, fare?  Reaching late in the evening, I headed out to Kimberley Street located in the earlier parts of Penang to find that while most places were relatively quiet on the street, a small section was full of activity.  The place is the area surrounding Sin Guat Keong Coffee Shop on Kimberley Street.

Sin Guat Keong Coffee Shop

86 Lebuh Kimberley, Georgetown,

10100 Georgetown, Penang, Malaysia

Open from : Morning but the stalls reviewed below only opens in the night

 

While the place is filled with hawkers, one hawker that was noticeably more busy than the rest was the man cooking up Fried Kuey Teow.  With his stall  emanating a fragrant which is from the by-product of oil used to fry mantis prawns, my stomach was growling!

 

No quick shutter speed will catch this man in calm moments.  His orders are never ending!  We had two orders of Penang Fried Kuey Teow that night, a simple one without mantis prawns (RM3.60) and another one with the lot (RM6.60). Hype or not?  I reckon not.  This old school fry up has got to be the finest of my trip.  Its “wok-hei” or stir-fry flavour was plenty.  This is something I definitely miss eating when I am in Australia as the fried noodles often come out oily but in terms of fragrance, nowhere near the final product achieved in Malaysia.  At this stall, the chef puts in a small slice of squid which gives the noodle an extra layer of flavour which was pleasant though the squid itself was not nice @@!  What I did not find impressive though, was the additional mantis prawn which close to double the price of the noodles.  The mantis prawns were good flavoursome protein, but for a simple dish of noodles, I preferred it to be less complicated.  The normal prawns were definitely fresh and good enough.

 

Another popular eat in the area was the braised chicken feet and innards in a rich soy with a bowl of noodles.  This was just a few stalls away from the Char Kuey Teow hawker. I am not sure what this translates to but taken from Vkeong’s Food blog it is called Sky Emperor Chicken Feet Kuey Teow Soup.

 

While innards and chicken feet is strange in Australia, it is a delicacy back home.  With the feet cooked till super soft and tender, I can understand why locals come in droves.Chicken feet combination with soy eggs and innards (RM10).  While I am no big fan of innards, mom and dad reckon that the ones here did not stink which is definitely a positive feedback.  The chicken feet for me were deliciously soft and the sauce was rich though it lacked a stickiness that I am more familiar with.  Eggs were braised in soy but I could not find the saltiness it needed.  Dad reckons this is a typical Penang style of preparing chicken feet where it had a subtle sweetness than a salty sauce.  But fret not, it came with a small saucer of cut chilli and soy.  It went nicely together!  For those who dislike both innards and chicken feet, there is also an option for soy chicken wings and thigh which looked absolutely delicious too!

 

The Kuey Teow soup that came with it was nice and dad preferred this over the chicken feet.  Crispy garlic oil with finely diced scallions gave this soup a delightful fragrant.  But I understand the pairing of braised chicken feet and the Kuey Teow soup.  They were meant to compliment each other though the chicken feet did not taste all that great.

 

As we were about to go back to the hotel, a motorcycle pulled up with the sign “famous” Yong Tau Fu.  Feeling overly enthusiastic and confident about my stomach space, I decided to order a plate to share. While I did not find it special, the Yong Tau Fu were of decent quality and his garnish of fried garlic was generous.  I guess back in KL we have high quality Yong Tau Fu in Ampang! 

 

We had our dinner rather early and finished while the sun was still up.  Kimberley Street was still well lit and it was a good thing.  The old charm of this bountiful street was still clear as ever. 

Keep a look out for Part 2 of my Penang trip! ;)

 

WenY

Bites: the Old Crow @ Northbridge

Northbridge and its ever growing number of eateries are an interesting scene for foodies like myself.  Every now and then,  I see something open but am extremely skeptical to go in and try despite their great ratings and rave reviews.  Blame me not as a few places have left me disappointed.  Fortunately though, the Old Crow on William Street was not one of those eateries.  Our waitress for the night have a pretty cool accent.  I assumed she is Scottish and Bel agreed though Jordan reckons a little more Irish.  Shit you not, but she was helpful and super cheerful which made our night great.   More importantly, she was keen to explain all the things we needed to know about the food we ordered while making a few great recommendations too.

 

Our night started with free complimentary bread with in-house whipped butter: The joy of free things.  Especially those that actually taste good.  So where do I start?  Deliciously crusty on the outside and  fluffy on the inside.  WoW!  Definitely awesome but the butter despite its rich and creamy texture felt lacking in flavour.  Definitely needed the salt that was on the table.  Great stuff :)!

 

Next, we ordered the Chimichanga The Chimichanga or the fried tacos were so yummy.  The pulled beef had lovely flavors and the shells were so crispy.  At the base, Old Crow puts a corn salsa and a guacamole to create the perfect Mexican wave.  Old Crow style that is.  An American creation which I have not tried anywhere else but in Perth.  Not bad for starters!  Hot sauce gave it that extra kick but beware of the little pockets of oil that sipped through the openings!  A little scary!

 

Our first shared plate came out looking really awesome.  The chargrilled octopus on a tomato base with some chick peas and a dollop of sour cream. This dish ticks a few boxes.  Presentation was top notch for $14.50, the sauce was awesome such that I started using the complementary bread to mop the plate and the chick peas were great accompaniments despite me not understanding it presence.   But for me, the octopus was a little overdone.  It became chewier than it should be. While I was not bothered, I was expecting a little more.  Perhaps too much haha.   I wanted something that when cut through, would feel like a warm knife cutting through butter!  Maybe only this can be done with squid.  No idea @@!

 

All share plates were $14.50.  This was the Duck Parfait

My choice for the night was the duck liver parfait.  Ever since my encounter with Foie Gras a few years back, I started eating these little nasty things which taste absolutely fabulous.  No I will not eat them Chinese style, but OMG when it goes parfait, I am usually sold.  This creamy parfait did not disappoint.  The seasoning was good and it felt decently rich but not as rich as I expected!  Jordan lauded its lightness where he can go for many rounds but fat ass Bel and I still preferred it to be more decadent as we would still got for more even though if it was very rich.  Typical fat ass problems here hahaha.  During dinner I was told that Brioche is the best bread to go with parfait.  True enough, this pairing made it a race to see which melts in your mouth first.  The bread or the parfait.  Great stuff for sure!

 

I was pretty stuffed by then.  The Chimichanga, squid and the parfait.  Even Bel was full.  But Jordan who was on my #yolo trip to Sydney was not.  No wonder he was the perfect companion to my Sydney foodie tour!  If you would like to see what we had  check out My Sydney Foodie Trip in 36 hours.  Despite being full, we braved on to finish what we ordered.  Our first main to share was the Blackened Pan Fried Fish in a delicious seafood broth.As much as it look great, it tasted great.  The broth was to die for and the overall flavors that constituted this dish was spectacular.  Fish was really fresh and it had a  skin that still packed that bit of crunchiness.  It was yums!  I am still really trying to find a way to describe the broth.   I know the seafood flavors in there were what some people would call bursty.  It was really flavorful.  But I want to say something else.  Maybe it had a very pronounce shellfish taste?  Whatever =.=!  More importantly, a big change is needed here.  The clams.  They were horrible ='/  Jordan found them bearable but definitely not fresh.  But the rest were good :)!

 

Our next main was the onion tart.  In terms of flavors, these one did not lack onions.  The sweetness of the onions were there but other than that it needed an extra touch of salt.  Having a slow cooked egg was nice especially when the egg is runny and gives the tart moisture.  But one needs to be mindful that a tart which is already so delicate and subtle in flavors does not need a bland element anymore.  Unfortunately the slow-cooked egg was that “bland element”.  Having said that though, the tart still has it merits especially its delicious crust and as mentioned before, the beautifully cooked onions!

 

Our side of Cajun Spiced Crispy Potatoes While the Duck Parfait at Cantina 663 definitely did better than the parfait here, the potatoes at the Old Crow trashed Cantina’s buttermilk fried potatoes hands down.  These were literally crispy and the lovely cajun spice gave it a beautiful flavor that turned these blend carbohydrates into something magnificent.  Homemade dressing was highly commendable and we just loved every bit of this.  No wonder the waitress said that these were absolutely gorgeous.  I agree!

 

 

My friends love their dessert and there was no way we were going to walk out from here without some.  Especially after I have read the Queen of Bad Timing’s post on the chocolate and peanut butter lava cake served here!  See her post here Seriously.  This was the BOMB.  If anything at all, I felt like this dish by itself makes the whole trip to the Old Crow worth it.  Not like the rest of our meal was not good but this was seriously yums!  I am not a big fan of chocolate but do a peanut butter-runny chocolate combo and I am officially a convert.   The cake was cooked just right at the top and it was super runny on the inside!  I have always  loved the combination of peanut butter and chocolate.  It always feel as if the saltiness and nuttiness of the peanut butter tend to help the chocolate shine.  This works almost all the time!  Maybe that is why top chefs tend to put a pinch of salt into their chocolate cakes and sort!  On the side was the Old Crow’s homemade three milk ice cream.  The three milk consisted of condensed milk, full cream milk and coconut milk.  The perfect combination for a heart attack lol.  The flavors were good! But in terms of consistency, it did not feel as silky as an ice cream should be.  Still, it was not too bad!

 

We also shared another dessert which was the Old Crow’s Apple Pie with Nutmeg Ice cream. This looked just simply wonderful.  If you love spice, you my friend are going to be a big fan.  I like spices but only to the extent where the fragrance gently tease the sense of my nose.  This though was on a whole new level.  Layer after layer, I felt as if my taste buds were being suffocated.  I think they were way too generous with the cinnamon dusting.  It was too intense but to some, it might be a new found heaven.  For me, I needed water.  A lot of water to wash it all down.  This was clear as Jordan clearly did not mind this although between Bel and I, we were dying @@!  Putting spices aside, one other thing that could be improved was the filling IMHO.  I think the caramelized apple cubes on the inside needed a little more moisture to give it that lovely slightly runny sticky consistency.   As it stands, it was a tad too dry!  Other than that, I could not fault with anything as the pastry became slightly soft thanks to us being too engrossed with the peanut butter and molten chocolate cake!

 

So how do I sum up my experience?  Really good.  I have been to a few places in Northbridge that has a similar vibe in terms of ambience but none really took off the way the Old Crow did with their food.  The food here was good and nothing here felt too obliging.  Considering they have only been opened for three weeks now, I am hell impressed!  At the Old Crow, it was a mix of cultures which makes dining an amazing experience.  Oh and considering I am a non-alcoholic, I felt right at home with their large choices of mocktails, juices and soda.   Not to mention decent prices too! Juices were $4 while sodas were around $3!  Service without a doubt was friendly on a relatively peaceful Monday night.  Like most have commented, the Old Crow felt like something Northbridge needed for a long time now.  So to the geniuses behind this new establishment, I thank you!

 

WenY

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