Seeking Solace in Penang - Azuma Japanese Restaurant @ Queensbay Mall

Escaping from Langkawi (that sounded harsh you say? It was NOT your idea of a routine holiday, that's for sure! Click HERE for previous post if you're having doubts!) after 5 whole days on the island, or rather, IN a camp ON the island, we flew back to Penang for a timely restoration-cum-relaxation period. Nursing sore muscles, scratches, blisters, and fatigue, we checked into our hotel the instance our plane (Firefly) touched down at the airport. Penang's air has never smelled this good ... The Air of Freedom?

The Krystal Suites @ Bayan Lepas, Penang

The Krystal Suites (www) is a hotel situated at Krystal Point, in Bayan Lepas, Penang. Krystal Point houses a dynamic range of restaurants, featuring cuisines from all over the world, from Japanese food to Thai food, and Western fare to Chinese cuisine. A query to any Penang flogger: Has Jurin moved from Krystal Point? I did not notice its existence this time around.

For only RM238/night, you can stay in a 2-bedrooms suite, with one King-sized bed, and another room with 2 single beds. Suite amenities include individually-controlled air-conditioner (all 4 of them, one in each room and two in the living room), ASTRO channels, mini fridge, microwave oven (yup, read that right!) free broadband internet service, and free parking space for one car per room. 1 Bedroom Suite starts at RM178/night, with the same amenities except the second room.

Azuma Japanese Restaurant @ Queensbay Mall, Penang

The magnetic force of the comfort, and spaciousness of our suite, my eyes were set on the comfortable, plush beds. But hunger struck at that very moment, as lunch seemed some ages ago. Hence we put off the idea of recklessly neglecting our hunger pangs and slept til morning comes, but instead ventured over to Queensbay Mall, a mere 5 minutes' drive away.

The Japanese restaurant opened for business late last year ... and gaining momentum, judging from the dinner crowd on a weekday's night

Initial plan of dining at TGIF (where else for an American diner's Supersized Portions?) was thwarted when the cravings for Japanese food came knocking at our doors. Or our guts. Azuma has large, transparent windows overlooking the bay and parking lots, thus tempting our curiosity and tastebuds at the same time.

Shake Tataki Maki and Una Cheese Maki @ RM30

Walking in to the restaurant situated on 2F of Queensbay Mall, we were promptly greeted with chants of 'Irrashaimase' and ushered to a table by the windows, with sofa seats. The interior of the restaurant was considerably bright, albeit with yellow lighting (bad for photography purposes!), with a kaiten belt section with freshly-prepared (we hope) sushi for those casual diners.

Running through the menu revealed an impressive list of Japanese and fusion items, from the usual Tenpura, Sushi and Sashimi, to Bento sets, Special Maki, and Japanese Pizza.

The 8-piece serving of Una Cheese Maki and Shake Tataki Maki was one of their recommended item, whereby from the menu, each item is priced at RM28, but for an additional RM2 you can mix and match. The Una Cheese Maki consists of sushi rice rolled with eel, cheese and vegetables, while the Shake Tataki Maki contains shrimp roe, crab sticks, cheese, vegetables, topped with grilled salmon. Each morsel was full of flavour, owing to the creamy cheese added into the rolls, and the perfectly rolled makis. So far, so good.

Azuma Deluxe Combo Sushi (RM60 for 24 pieces)

Of course, breaking free from the monotony of 'prison food' (ahem, I beg to differ, it's more like dorm meals instead), and suitably famished after the ride, we ordered recklessly, til the staff jolted out of his boots. Or apron. He politely reminded us that the Deluxe Combo Sushi is normally reserved for a 'bigger' group, and had us having second thoughts on over-ordering.

Very nicely presented, scoring top marks in aesthetic values (except for one failed salmon mayo roll) ... Tastewise?

Of course, we were in Sushi mode that evening, so we cancelled the other orders instead. The platter of mixed sushi was intimidating, as each sushi was not of bite-sized/dainty proportion, but instead rather filling. To the point of feeling rather bloated by the 5th of 6th piece. The platter includes prawn, salmon, tuna, prawn roe, eel, tuna mayo in beancurd skin, and salmon mayo roll.

All were fresh, the fish firm and sweet, while the cooked items scored as well. Except the ebikko (shrimp roe) which was a little salty. The maguro (tuna) was deliciously thick and succulent, while the tako? (octopus)'s texture was bouncy, and firm.

Azuma Zushi Pizza - Raw salmon and eel pizza (RM28)

Another signature of Azuma's is the pizzas. A combination of grilled eel and raw salmon slices were placed on top the rice (yes, the rice IS the dough!) coated with batter and fried til crispy, topped with some shrimp roe, chopped scallions and garnished with parsley. The crispy exterior coating the sticky rice, paired with the salmon/eel and sauce was heavenly. Minor gripe? The small serving (only about 4" per pc) had us wanting more!

The complimentary green tea ice cream as dessert

Reliving days of yore, we challenged each other to a Wasabi Face-Off. Yeah, 5 days in camp does irrepairable damages to one's brain, it seems! Though the wasabi (horseradish mustard) at Azuma's lacked the sting compared to the average ones elsewhere.

Location : AZUMA JAPANESE RESTAURANT @ No. 100-2F87, Queensbay Mall, Persiaran Bayan Indah, 11900 Bayan Lepas, Penang
Tel : 04 6413118.

For second opinions, click them :

What2See, Food Paradise, or Penang Tua Pui

Satiated, replenished and still reeling from lethargy, we attempted to burn some calories (as if) by strolling around the mall, though embedded deep in our minds, we knew that supper's just around the corner ..... ;)

Dim Sum Heaven & Taiwanese Fare @ Penang

The next morning, before attending to my job's need which took me to Penang, we had our breakfast at a dim sum joint on Anson Road. One of my favourite place for dim sum on the island. Been here a few times when I was a student back then.

They serve roasted ducks/meats & fried noodles aside from dim sum

A view of the morning crowd on a weekDAY from my table

The place was usually crowded on weekends, though ample seating area was provided. However we suspected the crowd on that morning was due to the school holidays. Everybody loves dim sum right? :)

Mum being a light eater, stopped me from going overboard with the orders. Ended up with 5 plates to share among both of us, though my itchy hands were so tempted to rob the ladies with trolleys. But her decision was a wise one, as the portion served here are categorized as 'to-be-shared' and the morsels did not look dainty at all.

Slightly disappointing Siew Mai

Kuchai (Chives) Dumplings

Fried Prawn Rolls with a huge dollop of mayonaisse

Only the pork dumplings (Siew Mai) let us down, probably cz they were cold. The fried stuff were all goodness in their own rights, the yam puff (Wu Kok) in particular, got Mum's seal of approval, completely trumping Foh San's version.

Perennial fav of mine, Egg Tart

Still craving for more, I chose an egg tart. Not as yummy as Choy Kee's, but still not bad in my books. But nowadays the egg custard in most shops has an extraordinarily deep yellow hue, wonder if they use the Omega eggs variety, or colourings. Hmmm ....

We packed 4 buns home, with fillings of peanut and char siew. Total for two including chinese tea was only RM17.80. Yup, cheaper than most of Ipoh's dim sum restaurants. Service is fast, no matter how big the crowd gets, as they disperse trolleys and trays reloaded with various dim sum, mixing the steamed ones and the fried ones, unlike the usual shop where they separate the trolleys for both items, and the number of waiters are commendable.

Location : Restoran Zim Sum @ 33, Jalan Anson, 10400 Penang. A short walk from Bangunan Persekutuan Pulau Pinang (a grand brown-orange colored building). Coming from Komtar area, follow Jalan Burma until you reach a traffic lights with Giant Hypermarket on your right. Turn left into Jalan Anson and you'll notice this food court-like settlement on your left.

My session ended only at around lunch hour, forcing poor Mum to scan through the whole of Giant, having coffee near New World Park, shopping for healthy breads from Continental Bakery at Jalan Nagor (good choices for multigrain breads, and a variety of healthy carbo), and eventually taking a taxi to Prangin Mall.

By the time I reached Prangin Mall it was already lunch time, but the mall offers pathetic choices for dining, therefore we decided to drop by Queensbay Mall while on the way home.

Taiwan Bull is newly opened, for a good few months I presumed. Read about this place from another blog (sorry, forgot which one) and decided to give this interesting eatery a try.

They're running a promotion, for an additional RM1, you can get a full set of meal with drinks and dessert of the day. Sound fine, at a time like this, where it's wise to be frugal.

Dry Beef Noodles with Beef Ball Soup (RM12.50)

My choice of dry beef noodles did not disappoint, nor impress for that matter. The servings of beef chunks was generous, and braised with white radish till very soft, but not chewy. However the noodles did not fare that well, wishing they were more springy (QQ). The pickles did not deliver either, as was the chilli oil sauce (no pics,sorry).

Guess how many beef balls were served? (hint @ background)

For an additional RM2, you can upgrade to the noodles with beef ball soup. However, 2 pitiful mash masquerading as beef balls were all that was served. At least the soup was flavourful, and complemented the noodles well.

Minced Chicken Rice (RM9.50)

Mum's Minced Chicken Rice was a tragedy. Tasteless, and the gravy too thick, it was slightly spicy but that was all to it. Horrid. Avoid at all cost.

The accompanying drink and dessert

For drinks, you can opt for the green tea, soya milk, or honey lemon. The honey lemon was tasteless though, probably too diluted. The dessert I suspect was the 'ai yu bing' jelly, but too watery to offer any bite.

Total : RM24.00. Cheap, fast-food like setting. Service was rapid, as the place was quite empty on that day. It was a weekday after all.

Location : Taiwan Bull Restaurant @ LG45-46, Queensbay Mall, Persiaran Bayan Indah, Bayan Lepas.

Penang Food Tour (Part 3) - Dragon-i Restaurant @ Queensbay Mall

After the stroll along the streets of Penang, under the extremely warm weather, we moved on to Queensbay Mall, the latest and largest shopping complex in Penang. Initially we thought of watching a movie, as GSC currently has a buy one free one promotion with voucher printed online. But sad to say, no good movies on show. Sigh .....

What are the Terra Cotta warriors doing in a dining hall???!!

CIMB bank credit card holders are entitled to 10% discount of F&B at Dragon-i, so we made our way there. As we were still full from the double-whammy of breakfasts, we decided to take it easy and order and side dishes only.

Appetizer of braised peanuts

Every table is given a complimentary plate of braised peanuts for appetizers, but the serving was slightly stingy for 3 of us. But, it's OK. Let's browse through their menu. But wait, their waiters kept pacing up and down, expecting us to order in record time, while I was still reading the few front pages of history of Xiu Long Bao etc. Hmm ....

Souffles with Red Bean and Banana (RM10)

We ordered a dessert for fun, and asked for the captain's recommendation. He praised the souffles highly, and we were game for it. They were warm when served, a nice touch, and dusted with icing sugar (I presumed). The filling of red bean and banana went quite well, though sound funny on paper, but the souffle skin was pretty much tasteless. Not highly recommended, but average only. Hmm, rule #1 - Never trust the captain wholeheartedly? (muahaha)

La Mian, served with Shanghai Pork Ribs (below), RM16

Deep-Fried Shanghai Pork Ribs

We just had to order their famous La Mian (hand-pulled noodles) to try, as they have a HUGE variety, ranging from spicy Szechuan style, to those served with beef brisket and other garnishing. Tough to make a decision, we simply chose the one with the larger pic, probably their signature item. The noodle was long, smooth, springy, and cooked in piping hot soup that was sweet, light, and flavourful. The waiter who served this asked whether we want the noodles to be cut with scissors, but I thought I heard wrongly and politely declined. C'mon, ever heard of people cutting noodles with scissors? Hehe ... Then we regretted, as we were sharing the bowl of goodness, and the ultra long noodles made it hard for us to share. Hmm ... me and my ego ....

Steamed Meat Dumplings (Xiu Long Bao) RM9

Then we had their signature Xiu Long Bao, 4 pretty decently-sized morsels served in dim sum tray. Dipped in vinegar with ginger strips, these babies were yummy, as I enjoyed sucking the soup out from the dumplings, then savoring the densed, flavoured pork meat filling. The skin was a bit thick though, and bland. I had to dip them in the sambal-chilli flakes concoction to enhance the flavour.

Total bill for 3 came to RM36, after 10% discount with CIMB credit card. The place was pretty packed, as I believe this is the ONLY outlet in Penang. (Do correct me if I'm wrong).

Location : Queensbay Mall, Penang. Coming from USM, use the Jalan Sg Dua road, and go straight. You will pass USM Sg Dua gate on your right, then Tesco Extra further down the road also on the right. Go straight til you reach Sg Nibong Bus Station on your left, and a big crossroad junction with traffic lights. Go straight again, til you reach a round about labeled Queensbay. Take a 3 o'clock turn, and soon you will reach Queensbay Mall. Dragon-i is located on 2nd Floor, Central court area.