MUST TRY: Penang Straits Quay Mall - Nonya Breeze

A short trip to Penang brought SG foodie to the Straits Quay area. Oh my! It was such a quaint waterfront development (reclaimed-land) with lovely architecture by the E&O group where the houses are built to resemble the colonial style shophouses and there is a nice new mall right next to it too. SG foodie has visited quite a few states in West Malaysia and must say that she really like Penang - for its organisation and well-maintained areas, the mix of old and new, city and beach all on one small island.

Having heard from various people that Peranakan food is a must try in Penang, SG foodie went in search of Nonya Breeze in Straits Quay Mall (upper level, West wing). SG foodie have had a late lunch of Penang street foods so arrived at Nonya Breeze for a late dinner at about 9pm. The restaurant was still crowded at that time! After getting a table, SG foodie ordered but the server came back to inform us that the popular Rosie's special fried chicken and the Jiu Hu Char (cuttlefish with vegetable) were sold out... that in fact all the chicken dishes were sold out! Wow! SG foodie must note here that the service staff all looked like teenagers/youths on school holidays but were all very organised, hardworking and well-mannered and all seemed able to converse in Penang Hokkien or English or Mandarin/Malay depending on your preference - fabulous!

Anyway so SG foodie finally settled for 1) pork rendang, 2) gulai tumis (assam style fish), 3) lor bak (pork wrapped in beancurd skin) and 4) sweet potato leaves masak lemak. And OMG, the pork rendang was sooooooooooooo good! Tender pork slices in spice-flavoured rendang sauce that goes so well with white fluffy rice - heavenly! SG foodie could have eaten this dish on its own! The gulai tumis was an assam style fish slices that was tangy, sweet and spicy all at the same time and SG foodie was drinking the sauce when the fish and vegetables were gone. K1 & K2, who were couldn't take too much spicy food, absolutely loved the pork rendang too but settled for the lor bak when the heat got too much.

The sweet potato leaves in masak lemak came last (hence not in photo as SG foodie was busy in Peranakan food heaven!). This was the first time that SG foodie saw chunks of sweet potato in a masak lemak dish that is also orangey instead of yellowy but the sweet potatoes gave the dish, fantastic taste and body. One thing consistent throughout the dishes was the generous use of spices, it was so obvious that the owners do not stinge on ingredients here; well maybe except in the drinks. SG foodie ordered the nutmeg juice that is local to Penang but won't recommend this as she found the nutmeg taste to be too diluted. But it's such a small issue compared to the main focus! And the best part, for rice and drinks with four dishes, the bill came up to slightly over RM100 - very reasonable! This was the BEST Peranakan food SG foodie has ever had (compared to those tried in Singapore, Malacca and KL)!