Red Alert! Price of Hawker Food going up

Ouch!, The Star reports that Hawkers food in Penang is going up, Roti Canai is up by 20cents to RM1, a increase by 25%, while other noodles food will be up also by 20 cents. How much you want to bet that non noodles food price will also increase? See The Star Metro, Pg M2 (top of the page)

More Raya Greetings

Raya Greetings from a Golf Resort in Seberang Prai Selatan where i stop for a meal.

The Fountain (without a Pond) at New World Park

Lemang - Essential Food of Hari Raya in Malaysia

What is Lemang? Glutinous rice, with coconut milk with a bit of salt, cooked in banana leaf lined bamboo over a wooden fire.

.

.

Hari Raya for Malays in Malaysia will not be complete with out this, and it is usually eaten with rendang, a dry spicy curry dish, made with beef or chicken.

This is the finish product after being cook and taken out of the bamboo, and the banana leaf remove and is cut into pieces ready to eat, Very Filling

Lemang Stall

.

.

Usually found only during Raya Period, Lemang is traditionally cook / prepared in open air stalls, It is difficult to prepare well as the heat of the fire, frequent turning of the bamboo to prevent the rice from being burnt, and other factors come into play during the cooking, as such it is usually prepared by a master lemang specialist as a communal project in kampongs (village)or sold on the road side in towns and city.

More From Mizi Bistro @ New World Park, Penang

We return to Mizi for more of their good food, Again we had the setmeal, There were 3 of us this time and we had, Onion Soup, Mushroom Soup, and the Oxtail Soup, due to the low light the photo did not turn up well below are the main course we took. Sorry, we did not remember the actual name of the Dish, I will give you a rough description of the items.

Stuff Deep Fried Breaded Chicken, (There were crab stick and other items inside) serve with apricot sauce

Stuff Pasta roll, with chicken, spinach, and over bake with cheese, very good which i had, to me the portion was on the small side but then i am a big eater, but that left place for the ice cream

Vegetarian Spring Roll, Home made with premium vegetable, we recommend this dish highly, due to its originality and ingredients, and that is was oven bake as such non greesy

Selamat Hari Raya Aidil Fitri!

Wishing all Muslim Readers and Malaysian a very happy Selamat Hari Raya Aidil Fitri 2007! May you have a joyfull year.

Penang Ferry Ride

Now a day a trip on the Penang Ferry is not a common occurrence as most prefer to use the Penang Bridge. On this fine day with time at hand, I decided to take the ferry over, from Penang to Butterworth, due to my destination which was near the ferry terminal at Butterworth.

A Penang Ferry

.

.

The Penang Ferry, operates between George Town, The Main City which is located on the Island and Butterworth which is located on the Main Land. As far as I know the Penang Ferry is a unique vehicle.

Departing Penang Island

.

.

As noted in Wikipedia : Penang Ferry Service is the Oldest Ferry Service in Malaysia starting in 1920's.

View In Side the Ferry (Lower Deck)

The Weather was not too good today, General View of the Main Land

View of the Island (George Town) from middle of the channel

Note: Komtar, The Tallest Building in Northern Malaysia & In The State.

If you get lost in Penang, Just look for Komtar, that will lead you to City Center.

View of the Penang Bridge from Middle of the Channel

View of the Island (towards South & the Bridge)

Ferry Terminal (Island)

Marina next to the Ferry Terminal

Marina next to the Ferry Terminal, Photo Taken from Ferry Just before Departure

View of George Town from a departing Ferry

View from Ferry (On Arrival at Butterworth)

View of Main Land (Port, & Ferry Terminal)

View of Penang Port & Ferry Terminal, This is where Penang Central is to be located, the Propose Transportation Hub.

More Socially Inconsiderate Drivers

I will let the pictures do the talking with just a few comments.Double Park, when i came out of the bank 10 min later, the car is still there. More Double Parking!

Unloading, Loading along a Main Road!

Abandoned Workers

there was an article in the papers (the star 6/10/2007 Stranded High and Dry Pg N21) about abandoned foreign workers, that they were left in a house, in a housing estate, with out job etc, and that there are thousands waiting for their employees at our national airport, but it seems that no one have employed them. I can Sympathize with them as I was a foreign worker my self 20 years back, in Switzerland. The Loneliness, the loss, the fear etc can be overwhelming.

.

.

Irresponsible employers, especially those that want to exploit cheep labour even when there are local to be hired are to be blame. They are not willing to pay more for locals, when it actually cost more to have the foreign workers, their pay, their housing, their food. Of course some people will cut corners and will give them housing that even animals will not stay in and sub standard food. This is also true for those who provide housing and food to local staffs.

.

.

Having said that, local are also not willing to work the hours this foreign workers work, nor as hard (some times) and the Job are simply not recognise. A waiter in Malaysia is a nobody, A waiter in Europe is recognise as a highly skilled professional who started at 16 years of age, working and studying as a apprentice and is well respected. My former coworkers in Europe were qualified as Engineers, Doctors, etc but choose waitering in a foreign country for a higher pay. This is a example that i am well aware off, having been a waiter in Europe and in Malaysia. Overall workers in Malaysia are in general not appreciate nor recognise. .

.

Employers have to be responsible, to both locals and foreign workers, If they are willing to pay agents for foreign labour, provide (suitable) housing, provide (suitable) food, provide medical treatment, provided cloths, why cant they pay more for the Local staff to work, treat them better, give them the recognition they are due, more may be willing to work those long hours and work hard. after all hundred thousands of Malaysian are running away oversea to work, in what in Malaysia is low status job.

.

.

The house next to mine, (as well as the house at the back) were recently rented out to a company that used the house as accommodation to Foreign workers, Initially we were a bit worried, but i reason out to my self that these people were just like me. Of course the possibilities that there may be a few bad hats among them, as there could be bad hats among Malaysians.

.

.

This Company seems to treat this workers well, very well indeed, the whole house were painted, repaired, washed, proper bedding were provided as were sofa, cooking equipments, in fact better that those that i provide for my self. Beds were of Double Decker verity. There is a man that come by in a merc once in a while and look in. I have not seem a company treating local workers this way.

.

.

What is disquieting or make me slightly nervous is that this workers does not seem to work. No one come to pick them up to work, and there is always some of them around at all hours. There is another house which is also rented out to another company, and this workers are pick up daily and work the whole day. I certainly hope that there will not be a case of abandoned workers next to my house.

.

.

Some things must be done about this problem in general, Key points should be

.

.

1) Encourage Locals, may be Better Pay, Better Treatment, Better Social Status, if a company can pay more for foreign workers, they can pay locals the same. A MINIMUM WAGE will be nice. with equal treatment, if Foreign Workers can be provided all meals and housing, locals should get them as well.

.

.

2) A Mechanism to enable this Foreign Workers to go home with their hard earn salary if they are abandoned, either a insurance (which can be faked) or payment / deposit (in advance to their arrival in malaysia) to the Government, which is refundable once the foreign workers return to their country.

.

.

3) When the Foreign Workers arrive they must be accommodated decently. those abandoned, their agents both local and foreign, and their purportedly employers must be severely penalise and not just black listed. Companies should not be give immunity.

.

.

In general I feel companies in malaysia do not make any effort in general to, 1) Encourage Locals to work, 2) Upgrade / improve conditions, or social conditions of the Job. They seem to think that Foreign Labour/Workers is the answer. It may be the short term solution, but frankly not the long term ones.

A picture of the Foreign Workers Loitering around in the house compound next to my house

Hokkian Mee with a Twist

Let me introduce you to a Penang Dish that is not that well know, or shell i say a Penang Food that is presented in a different manner. I would say most people know about Penang Hokkian Mee Soup, or Prawn Mee Soup as it is know in the rest of the country. Well would you know of a dish call Hokkian Ta, Literal translation as Hokkian Dry?

.

Well this is Hokkian Ta, Just like Hokkian mee Soup, but there is very little soup, which is very concentrated, and garnish with pork ribs, shrimps and all the usual stuffs and Braised Chicken Feet. Also very different from the Singapore Version.

.

.

This was introduce to me about 2 years back, and that is the first i seen this dish. My reaction was what is this? After having it, I should say that it is Hokkian mee presented differently, but it has a charm on its own.

.

Well for those of you who would like to try it out, here are the following information.

The Coffee Shop which is the Home of Hokkian Ta

The Stall

Location : Exit Bukit Mertajam to Kulim via Convent School towards Kg Baru, Just before the traffic light where the road ture in to a one way road, you will see on your left this restaurant (PHOTO) before, Taman Sentosa, before the road that turn in to BM country club. Turn in and go into the lane beside this restaurant (City Restaurant), Then Turn right, the Coffee Shop is in front of you.

.

.

RM3.30 per bowl The Char Koey Teow here is passable.

Took as little test today

When Brousing around afew of the regular sites I visited, and was tempted to take a small test. The Results (twice with different answers) so i record i am no hero. Once I took another test and the results indicated that i am a S, Support type person.

.

.

Your results: You are C-3PO

C-3PO 61% Qui-Gon Jinn 61% Mace Windu 61% R2-D2 60% Darth Maul 56% Chewbacca 53% Jar Jar Binks 53% Lando Calrissian 53% Jabba the Hutt 52% Darth Vader 49%

You don't have a lot going for you, and you let everyone know it. You may have one or two close companions left, but if you keep complaining they may wander off.

(This list displays the top 10 results out of a possible 21 characters) Go and Have some fun . . Click here to take the Star Wars Personality Quiz

Socially Inconsiderate Drivers

Drivers that are socially inconsiderate are found every where, in Cities, Big Towns and Small Towns. Carrying a Camera Phone, is certainly convenient to take snapshots of everything especially of things that i hate. Socially Inconsiderate Drivers (to be polite) are one of them.

Triple parking, at Penang GH, what happen if the vehicle in the center need to go? and there are parking space available, 200 meters away. That where i park.

What happen if the car belongs to a Dr, who must response to a emergency?

This is a wide car, a very wide car that need to be park on two parking bay. even a merc take up one car park space, but this car needs two. Well can we saman this guy?

This truck was unloading in this narrow street, grid lock for 5 min with traffic piling up on both ends. This is what traffic jams are course by. The best thing is that when the truck move, he stop at another shop to unload 50 meters further up, He was blasted by around 20 horns inclusive mine. Also, the local police station is in between this two shops.

.

.

I conclude that Police are not respected or feared here.

“Why I Want To Eat At Fridays?”

Look at TGIF advertisement in this blog, A Three Course Meal at Rm39.90 FLASHING away, with the pictures of the 3 course meal. This bring back fond memories

.

.

.

I last eat at TGIF way back, around 15 years ago in one of their outlets in PJ i think. I have a nice meal there, with a wonderful experience and frankly I would like to go back there again. What did i enjoy there?

.

• Good Service
• Superb Food
• Excellent Portions
• Wonderfull Experience

.

.

From what i understand the food service and quality have been maintain, and the best news is that it is available in Penang, Queensbay Mall. Wonder when i will drop by with my family and blog about it.

Mizi Bistro @ New World Park, Penang

EXCELLENT FOOD, AFFORDABLE PRICE, GOOD SERVICE this should be Mizi Bistro tag line.

Mizi Bistro Front entrance

.

As mention in a previous post, Mizi Bistro was the busiest during my night walk around. and the busiest during this afternoon.

The MENU

.

This fine afternoon, on instructions from a friend, i stop by at New World Park for lunch at 2pm, This friend wanted to meet the owner of the Mizi, and also wanted to talk to me, so that the best place to wait as well as to have lunch.

The Bread Basket

.

Owned and Operated by a Former 5 Star Hotelier, Mizi Bistro is a charming place, very affordable pricing and offers close to Fine Dinning food, with adequate service especially for a place just open. RM16.90 ++ for set lunch, a drink, a soup, a main dish and unlimited Ice Cream.

Green Pea Soup

I had the green pea soup, well all i should say is that there is no canned soup available here so those who like Campbell Soup, etc should stay far away. Thick, Fresh. Mmmmmmm

Teriyaki Chicken, done to perfection, on a bed of vegetable and plain rice. nice succulent chicken.

My Friend had the Fish with Mustard Cream Sauce. Good size portion, I will not show the ice cream i pig out on. Mizi Bistro offer good value for money, just one thing, go early or late after 2.30pm or be prepared to wait. Tel 04-2272921 New World Park plans to open a Flea Market on Sat and Sundays it seem from 10am till 10pm this October. There are also plans for it to be a Wifi Zone.