Penang Trip: A Heritage Experience @ 1881 Chong Tian Lou

As it claims,  1881 Chong Tian Lou  is Malaysia’s only heritage hotel.  Like a time warp, it allows diners and hotel guests alike to experience the past with the refurbishment meticulously conducted using vintage furniture and selected fittings.  Housed in a 13 decades old concrete work, this new establishment was previously a hotel for rich traders and merchants back in the 1800s hence its name 1881 Chong Tian Lou.   For me, this was my first proper meal in Penang.  The last two days that was filled with hawker fare has left my stomach craving something better and perhaps less hawker-ish.  Mind you, my choice of coming here was based on a Penang lass’s recommendations of what Penang folks would have. 

My pictures of the interior were really horrible but I think I managed to salvage one I took from a sitting position! Some of the vintage mirrors hung on a wall.

 

Being an upper class Chinese restaurant, the service was prompt and the manager was outmost helpful.  I immediately felt welcomed as I stepped in.  The menu was presented to us and the tea service was always there although in the end we preferred to serve the tea by ourselves. For tonight’s meal I was to follow the recommendations of the chef as well as a few Penang bloggers.

 

We started with the sharks fin soup which is an age long delicacy in my culture and something which my parents enjoy having. For me, sharks fin typically meant meaningless luxury as this tough strands of protein like other Chinese delicacies such as abalone are typically tasteless.  However, it was the broth and other ingredients that typically makes the dish stunning.  In the case of 1881 Chong Tian Lou, the flavours in the soup were simply amazing.  The long list of ingredients included dried scallops from its unmistakable sweetness as well as a rich bone broth with generous amount of crab meat and roe.  Among ourselves, we agreed that this is probably one of the best sharks fin soup we have ever eaten with generous clumps of fin present.  Its nearest competitor would be the one at Overseas Restaurant @ Imbi, KL which cost RM20 per bowl.  Here we paid RM80 for a medium serve which scooped up 8 bowls similar to the one in the picture. Smashing value IMHO.

 

Our next dish was the chef’s specialty bean curd dish @ RM15 (small serve).As good as it looks, it actually tasted great.  The bean curd itself was no stunner but by all means meet the standard of being sufficiently smooth and soft on the side.  Its sauce though was yummy-liciously Malaysian.  Salty with a slight hint of sweetness and chilli, it was meaty with generous amounts of mince and diced prawns.  Topped with scallions, it was fragrant and down right tasty.  Something that goes perfectly with rice! Definitely a thumbs up dish!

 

The next dish to hit the table was the Sambal Fried Four Heavenly King @ ~ RM15 (small serve).   Where appetizing vegetables are concerned, little can fault with a sambal stir-fry.  The sambal for this dish at 1881 Chong Tian Lou is fragrant with a Nyonya influence which means it has a mild sour-sweet flavour.  Vegetables were cooked right!  It was soft with a slight crunch!  At this point, I was rather happy be eating here.  All was going well and the price was rather affordable by KL standards.

 

Our next dish were King Prawns in Soya King Sauce for RM22 (small serve)This was another chef’s specialty.  It is a rather basic fry up but sometimes simplicity is key to perfection.  Very little to hide but it has got to be spot on.   Fortunately this was the case.  It was nice, sticky and well caramelised.  This made the prawn shells finger licking good and once it was peeled, a revisit to the plate to mop up the sauce was necessary :)!  While 4 prawns seems rather little, its large size more than made up for it.

 

Our last dish was the braised duck in preserved mustard sauce @ RM30 (half a duck)Braised dishes with preserved vegetables and melt in your mouth meats is a match made in heaven. In fact, slow-cooked pork belly in preserved mustard has got to be one of my favourite dishes of all time!  When I pricked the duck with my fork I knew I was in for a treat. It easily went right through and this means that the duck was braised sufficiently!  True it enough it was very soft and smooth.  Definitely a benefit of braising under low instead of rapid cooking.  But the disappointing bit of this dish was the preserved mustard sauce.  It did not have the flavour I was looking for.  It was not salty or sweet enough to complement the duck.  In fact, the vegetable was not as soft and as fragrant as I expected it to be.  As a result I was forced to use some soy sauce to salvage what would have been a great dish if it was seasoned well enough. 

 

After a progressive meal of well-prepared dishes, I was gutted that the experience did not flow through to the end.  The bill came to a total of RM190-ish with a bulk of the bill coming from the soup as well as Malaysia’s terribly dated 10% and 5% taxes.  For three people, it felt terribly worth it especially when you consider the ambience, service and ultimately the food we had today.  1881 Chong Tian Lou has put some memorable flavours on the table today.  The tofu was delicious and the Sambal Fried Four Heavenly King was spot on. The soy prawns despite its very basic cooking felt complete.  So, it broils down to how bad the duck was.  In practice, seasoning is always crucial but technique is equally important too.  To say that many places have perfected their braised meat with preserved vegetables would be an absolutely lie as I know deep down, that most only achieve mediocre outcomes. Hence, I am forgiving enough to rate this dish decently as an OK. 

 

Tonight’s eat at 1881 Chong Tian Lou was extremely satisfying.  In fact, it even best most of the restaurants in KL without a doubt.  No wonder my Penang friends in Perth are always homesick when it comes to food!  Definitely worth a revisit!

 

38 Jalan Pintal Tali, 10100 George Town, Penang Malaysia

+60 4-263 1881

http://www.1881chongtian.com/

 

WenY

Penang Trip: Hameed Pata, Fort Cornwallis @ Day 2

While Chinese food predominantly dominate the food scene in Penang, the island is no less famous for its Mamak style food.  One place in particular that hits the spot light among foodies is  Hameed Pata.  Located in a large canteen style shed, this little eatery serves up Mamak favourites such as Mee Sotong, and Mee Rebus which are best complimented by a freshly blended coconut shake from the stall next door called Jalil’s.  The address is located below:

Padang Kota Lama Food Court (next to Fort Cornwallis)

Jalan Padang Kota Lama 10200, Georgetown

Penang

Opens at 11.30am and closes on Sundays

Since we just had our breakfast at Toh Sun Cafe, we decided to take it slow and only ordered one of Hameed Pata’s specialty each.The Mee Sotong for RM4 is your typical fried noodles with a gravy that is rich and thick.  The flavours are great with the sauce being sweet, salty and spicy altogether.  Add that squeeze of lime and its a home run for most.  For me though, I liked the sauces but despite it having great flavour, I did not feel the motivation to finish up or order another.  This is like an Asian Carbonara that tastes good but gets stodgy after awhile.  It becomes uninteresting.  But really, it got off in great style and flavour but never really ended its race.  The squid on the other hand had a sauce which packed greater sweetness and a decent chilli kick but this type of chewy squid is never quite my kind of thing.

 

Mee Jawa @ RM6 was my dad’s pick.Dad who is a big fan of Mee Jawa found his noodles lacking anything kind uniqueness that sets this place apart from others. Its sauce felt like a thinner version of the one used for the mee goreng.  For me, I wanted more of the crispy prawn bits that add texture to this noodles.  To put it together this was simply OK.   Travelling many hours from KL where I live, I expected more.

But when all else seems impossible, it was the drink made me happy.  The coconut shake as recommended by many others was lovely.  Never thought that ice cream and coconut juice along with soda when all mixed together could taste so awesome!

 

And some photos to end this post.  Taken from the surrounding of Fort Cornwallis :)! Shelter for the soldiers.

 

Some random cannon structure pointing towards another ally structure.  Seems legitimate to build another building there.  Imagine if the cannon was operable. Just add some Malaysian mischief for a different picture.

 Old school ammunition store.  Look as if it was meant to contain explosions!

While I would love to recommend visitors to visit the Fort which is an important landmark, its deplorable condition makes it a hard to recommend!

 

WenY

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