THIS is how we do it in Penang!

So my Penang colleagues are making me PICK. And I hate to pick.

They say... you can only have ONE Char Kwey Teow... so pick!

It was a toss up between the Sister's Char Kwey Teow.. or the Lorong Selamat Char Kwey Teow...

Sister's - Lorong Selamat - Sister's - Lorong Selamat... ?!

In the end... one of my colleagues decides, because my indecisiveness is causing her stomach, gastric angst.. so she DECIDES!

Cool..



Lorong Selamat ! The shop has moved. But just a couple of blocks to the corner lot.. it's cleaner... but still as PACKED!


Crazy Char Kwey Teow lady, with her crazy yellow sun-glasses/specks...

Killer mad.

You've got to love it!

We tell her our order and without looking up or batting a crazy eye she says ...
"MUST WAIT 1 HOUR. 40 PLATES TO FRY"




So ACTION man, this woman... but you know what? She was serious!! The Char Kwey Teow took a bloody long time to arrive I tell ya.

So we dug in our heals ordered some fried popiah, and prepared for the wait...


Still more popiah arrived.. fresh and yummie...


As well as the Lobak....


And ice kacang...

And more lobak with century egg...

Like one hour has passed and still no char kwey teow...

unbelievable.

.

.

.

Then FINALLY! It gets here!



SIX ringgit worth of gorgeous, oily, sexy, yummie Char Kwey Teow! Not cheap.. but a pretty decent plate of noodles if you ask me.


Me .. I prefer mine HOT! Just look at the difference in color! Yup.. that's almost one of the greasiest, REDDEST Char Kwey Teow you will see, this side of planet earth!


mmmMMMMM

.

.

.

SIASTA!




Late evening... Gurney is cast in this most gorgeous incandescent HUE...


Just look at the sky.. isn't it pretty.

And when i see a pretty sky... i think .... MARTINI'S!!!!



Ah.. just on the corner between G hotel and Gurney hotel is this new place for martini's called... well, erm... MARTINI !

This place looks seriously packed with the GWAILO...



We drink up every shade of the great James Bond cocktail before we head out for dinner...

Delicious!

Ocean Green my Penang colleagues tell me has pretty decent seafood...


Being a HUGE fan of the CLAW... I cannot wait to sink in my teeth into the crab..
Every other dish to me is just a mere pleasantry. A formality I have to endure before I get to the MAIN deal of the night! The crab!

The cod fish was flawless.

The Mantis (Lai Liew Har) was rather rubbery.. over cooked i imagine..

YES! There it is! Bring out the crab! We have the baked crab in all its succulent splendor..
as well as the Salted Egg crab.. (Ham Tan Hai).

And just to make sure that such a huge , menacing crab is dead... my friend POKES it for good measure...

Funny girl:)

Yup. Truly dead... :P

And soon to be wiped clean as well.. lol!

.
.
.

As we clutch our severely distended stomachs... we think we might call it a night... but.. NO! our Penang colleagues have other plans for us...

They tell us, we must go to a pub and continue drinking...

Good Grief! Are all Penangites so hardcore?! LOL...

Fine.. so we clamber into the car... and as we approach the pub, we see this amazing JAM that spans for like for EVER...

Ah.. then it dawn on us.. gas price hike tomorrow... ! No wonder la...

So we get to this crazy ass joint.. and we are told very quickly..

THIS IS HOW IT'S DONE!

Spin the dice... and call the other person's bluff..!
Arrrgh.. save me..! I feel like I am being AH-LIAN-nized.. in the fastest possible manner.. lol

Ladies and Gentlemen.. you have just entered the Twilight Zone.

Kidding la... Penang people are cool.. and really know how to let their hair down..

We had a cool time that night.. and here are the mugshots to prove it :P

Ok.. ok.. so... the end of NIGHT 1 in Penang... Already, they have taught me a thing or two about the DRINK.. and there we were, thinking we KL folk knew every trick in the book..

THE END. Night 1 goes to .. the PENANG TEAM! *grin*

Island escapades!

I love Penang! Eat, eat, eat ... and sun and eat and sun!

As the plane touches down, I am excited about seeing my fav structure! Yup.. the Penang bridge! I was born in Penang.. so this place has sentimental value.

Look at it! So dark, moody and looming... (like a ... man! lol)



Hotel G! There it is... It's a gorgeous sunny day as the hotel comes into view..



Inside, contemporary chic deco welcomes the weary traveller...


Funky lights...

And super stream-lined bedding... everything's sooooo neat... just makes me wanna jump on, and mess up the bed.. lol


cool tiles in the bathroom...


welcome snacks and even an MP3 player, tell you that the rooms are equipped to please !
Gosh.. I cannot wait to hit the hawker stalls.

1st stop.. breakfast at Macalister Lane..

The sweet smell of carrot cake hits our nostrils... we are salivating..


I love penang folk.. they are ever ready to pose for a photo.. so friendly!
Here is the chee-cheong-fun man... and the nice lil lady..


Hmmm.. but what can i say... whilst the people are really nice and friendly, it's starting to seem like the standard of the food in Penang has dropped. This is something that quite a few people have said as well... We had the Otak-otak and it was really so-so.

The lobak-gao (carrot cake) was also rather tasteless and lacking in LIAO... it was on the oily side but lacked flavour.

The curry laksa served here is really interesting.. the soup is WHITE! Then you mix in the curry paste.. and viola! it becomes red.. like the normal curry laksa soup.

Upon tasting it.. we were disappointed yet again... no taste! and not enough liao. Seems like the hawkers are really cutting corners to cope with the ever escalating prices of ingredients and the customers (i.e. hungry people like you and ME) are suffering the consequences...



Finally the famous Penang chee-cheong-fun... No surprises.. also very mediocre.

Sigh... I hope lunch will be better.. I hear we will be having the Famous Char-Kwey-Teow! I cannot wait! Let's hope its better than our breakfast !