Showing posts with label Omelette. Show all posts

[FOOD] 20140325 Oh Chien (Oyster Omelette) @ Lam Ah Kopitiam, Lebuh Chulia, Penang


If you visiting Chew Jetty and thinking whether you could have a snack around, then look no where else other than Lam Ah Kopitiam where you can get good Oh Chien (Oyster omelette) and beef noodle. However, if you are looking for a cafe to have a quick fix, then you probably will be interested with China House.

Lam Ah Kopitiam is located at the junction between Lebuh Chulia and Beach Street, right opposite the fire station with many murals around. There are two famous stall in this rather run down kopitiam, the English speaking lady boss also makes good "lemon" juice (lime juice).

I will only be writing about the omelette and I personally don't take beef, hence the beef noodle has to skip.

194 Lebuh Pantai, George Town, 10300 Pulau Pinang
Telephone: N/A
Opening Hours: 10.30am until 04.30pm (Monday to Saturday, closed on Sunday)

TO GO


Lebuh Chulia is very accessible via public transport like public buses, cabs or even tricycle, but most of the time we will be driving and have to park along Pengkalan Weld (if you are visiting Chew Jetty) or along Lebuh Victoria. Trying to find a parking a Lebuh Chulia will probably end up turning another big round back.

Travel on foot after you have parked your car and walk towards the fire station at the junction between Lebuh Chulia and Lebuh Pantai (Beach Street). Lam Ah Kopitiam is located right opposite the fire station.



SPECIALITY



I have been to this particular stall few times when I visit Penang. Prices have gone up over the years, which is expected, but the quality remains more or less the same. The Oh Chien from this stall is different from the rest as it has a crispy texture, made from tapioca and corn flour batter (I presume?) as opposed to typical egg and gluey texture style of Malaysian Oh Chien. Both has its credits and it's a matter of personal preference. Most important is the ingredients must be fresh (we don't want to end up having food poisoning at food heaven like Penang right?).


Despite the popularity, the stall is rather quiet every time during my visit. Probably I like to come to Penang during off peak season to avoid the crowd. Uncle carefully cooks each order as observed from the way he cook.


As you can see from my pictures, the presentation of Oh Chien is very different from the typical ones. The crispy batter acts as base with oysters fried separately and served on top. The serving comes with the special chilli sauce to go along with it.

The texture is the main difference while the oysters are flavoured very differently as opposed to the typical omelettes that are very heavy in egg. It's something different to try if you are looking for something special. Small portion will cost RM8 while large one will cost you RM10 nowadays.

SUMMARY

Taste
☆☆☆☆
A different texture and flavour as opposed to typical oh chien
Value
☆☆☆☆
Slightly on a higher side
Service
☆☆☆☆
No comment
Cleanliness
☆☆☆☆
Rather run down coffee shop
Opening Hours
10.30am until 04.30pm (Monday to Saturday)
Closed on Sunday
Wifi
N/A
Parking
Limited, have to park very far
Website
N/A

GPS: 5.415361, 100.339491
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[FOOD] 20141106 Amy Heritage Nyonya @ Melaka Raya, Melaka


Nyonya cuisine is very unique to Melaka (Malacca) due to the blend of cross cultural marriage between the local Malay community and the Chinese way back during the Melaka empire history. The men are known as Baba while the ladies are known as Nyonya. The cultural blend has also create a fusion of the culinary of both cultures that creates a unique cuisine known as Nyonya cuisine.

There are many Nyonya restaurants around Melaka and you will probably have a hard time to choose which to try, especially when you do not have the luxury of time to try one by one in a short trip. Many will recommend to try the award wining Amy Heritage Nyonya restaurant, where the chef, Mdm Amy Koh has won a few competitions and also represented Malaysia to cook Nyonya food in the USA under the invitation by the Malaysia Tourism Board, which she proudly exhibits on the wall of the restaurant.

Amy Heritage Nyonya is a small cozy restaurant with no fancy interiors that's located at Melaka Raya, away from all the tourist hotspot. Some even recommends to make reservation as the restaurant would be normally packed during lunch hours, given the limited tables available.

On a recent visit to Melaka, I opt to dine at some other places than the usual famous spots and Amy happens to be in one of the list. Apologies on the limited pictures as I didn't intend to blog about it back in 2014.

75, Jalan Melaka Raya, Taman Melaka Raya, 75000 Melaka
Telephone: +606 286 8819
Opening Hours: 11:30am until 02:30pm;  06:00pm until 10:00pm (Closed on Monday)

TO GO



It's a bit tricky travelling along Melaka's streets due to the one way traffic policy. The nearest landmark will be the Mahkota Parade or the Mahkota Medical Centre, where the restaurant is actually visible from the main road behind Mahkota Parade. It's same row as Alliance Bank but not the same block. It's not easy to spot the signboard as it's rather...err not outstanding.




SPECIALITY


I would recommend to go in larger group in order to sample more dishes and unfortunately for me it's only two person with limited dishes to try. I arrived rather early before the lunch hour and the restaurant was rather empty in a normal weekday. The menu was rather limited but sufficient with most of the common Nyonya dishes available such as Pongteh Chicken, Ikan Chili Garam, Rendang, Curry etc.


I ordered the traditional Pie Tee (Top Hat) for a start. The crispy hat is made of roux that is deep fried using an angled mold to give it the angled shape. The hat is then topped with stir-fried turnip strips with tamarind and other ingredients. Finally garnished with omelette, coriander and chilli. Every Nyonya restaurant has their very own interpretation of Pie Tee and personally I felt that Amy's Pie Tee during my visit was mediocre, predicated on the oily hat that has strong presence of used oil and the pastry was overcooked with slight bitterness. The turnip filling was ok but not generous enough, I had high expectation on Amy but this dish turns out bad.


I also ordered the Fried Chicken Wings which was recommended online. The taste is very similar to typical Chinese fermented bean curd style fried chicken wings. This dish is also another disappointment as the drumlet was uncooked with traces of blood near the bones, probably didn't thaw enough before frying. Not to mention the chicken was not well marinated and felt the dish was prepared in a hurry.


Next would be the Cencaluk Omelette, which is also a very unique dish as no other places will use Cencaluk to prepare dishes. Cencaluk is actually fermented baby shrimps and is an unique cooking ingredient for Peranakan dish that is prepared in Nyonya cuisine. No complains about this omelette as it was well prepared, probably more cencaluk needed.


Last but not least, some greens for the bowel movement. There are a few typical vegetable dishes like sambal paku belacan, sambal kangkung, jantung pisang etc. I ordered the rather healthy steamed ladies fingers topped with a blend of ginger flower, lemon grass(?) and chili.


Not forgetting to try a bowl of cendol in every Nyonya restaurant. I would rate Amy's cendol at 6/10 with the rather dull taste. Something is really wrong today. Maybe Amy was in bad mood?

SUMMARY


Amy's style is more towards home cooked food instead like other restaurants who are more commercialized. I'm not sure what happened during my visit as my experience was bad. I was somewhat disappointed with Amy's offerings, given all the good reviews about this restaurant especially with all the awards and pride Amy has on her food.  Not to mention the price is on the high side given the small (and pathetic) portion served, probably to conserve quality of each serving? For the benefit of doubt, I probably need to give this restaurant a second visit to try some other dishes to give a fair comment. As for now, I would recommend some other Nyonya restaurants in Melaka like Nancy's Nyonya or Aunty Lee.

Taste
 ☆☆☆
disappointing
Value
 ☆☆☆
small portion with high price tag
Service
 ☆☆☆☆
hmm..
Cleanliness
 ☆☆☆☆☆
Opening Hours
11:30am until 02:30pm 
06:00pm until 10:00pm 
Daily. Closed on Monday
Wifi

Parking
Ample
Website
N/A

GPS: 2.186038, 102.253352
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