Nikel Khor ^ ^ PaPago kaki: December 2016

Wong Chau Jun Restaurant 王昭君酸辣鱼头米粉 @ Rangoon Road, Penang

Wong Chau Jun Restaurant is famous with its fish vermicelli. The restaurant got its special name from the silky smooth fish slices, which resemble the fair and smooth skin of the famous ancient concubine-- Wang Zhaojun (王昭君). We heard that this shop is normally very crowded during lunch hour and lucky enough we came slightly earlier and got our seat easily.

The restaurant is located along an old street in Penang town, which has limited parking space. So, you may need to park slightly far and walk to the restaurant. But good foods definitely worth the efforts.

The signature dishes are displayed in front of the restaurant, thus patrons need not to worry on what to order. The boss who in charge of taking order can provide good recommendation too. We ordered the steamed fish hor fun, fish vermicelli and signature beancurd.

Special Taufu 招牌豆腐 RM1.20 per piece 一片

The beancurd is deep fried to enable the super soft beancurd be coated with the golden brown crispy layer. Nothing splendid and without special seasoning, the taste of simplicity has its charm too.

Steamed Fish He Fen 鱼片蒸河粉 RM25 (Medium 中）

The hor fun used by Wong Chau Jun Restaurant is specially made to have enlarged width compared to the normal hor fun, it is more to chee chong fun without being rolled. However, the special made hor fun is very matching to this dish, which enable the plain hor fun be absorbed with more gravy, being the essence from the fish slices. It is very appetizing especially with a hint of rice wine and ginger, removing the fish smell. I could not identify what fish, but they are truly fair and smooth and deserve the name of "Wang Zhaojun".

Sour and Spicy Fish Vermicelli Soup 酸辣鱼片米粉汤 RM10 (small 小)

Being at the north Malaysia, I always feel that the cuisine here have slightly been influenced by Thailand. The sour and spicy fish vermicelli soup reminds me of the clear tom yam soup as similar ingredients (lemongrass, chilies and lime) were used. We noticed the vermicelli used were thicker too and instead of quick boiling, the vermicelli was actually cooked and immersed in the soup, so it is soft and full absorbed the flavour from the soup.

Address : Wong Chau Jun Restaurant 王昭君酸辣鱼头米粉

73, Rangoon Road,

10400 Penang.

GPS : N5 25.026 E100 19.445

Business Hour : 8am - 2.30pm

Closed on Tuesday

Tel : 012-555 9046, 012-470 9549

Passionfood Cafe and Bakery @ Taman Pelangi, Johor Baru

To accommodate the needs of young people and the rising spending power among the urban people, Johor Bahru has been flooded with many cafes, selling various characterised cuisines. Other than carrying out business in normal shop lots, some of the vendors have chosen to have converted bungalow/ semi detached house as their place of business, and this is exactly the prevalent trend in Jalan Serampang.

We visited Passionfood Cafe and Bakery @ Jalan Serampang, which has shifted not long ago from its original shop in Taman Pelangi. Passionfood is especially attractive at night, when the little bulbs outside the cafe light up.

The cafe overall interior has a gentle pastel palette, to create English vintage teahouse concept, which is reminiscent of an earlier time when life was simpler and lighting played a more dominant role. Next to the counter, there is a glass showcase of colourful cakes and those are the best and natural decoration.

Right after the cafe entrance, patrons are welcomed by the candy bar with two big jars of marsmallow and the colourful candy biscuits. While waiting for the meals to be served, these candies are very good companion to kill time.

Asian Smoked Duck Salad 烟熏鸭沙拉 RM16.90

Smoked duck, mandarin orange segment on a bed crispy romaine lettuce, cherry tomatoes, peppers, onions with their homemade French dressing.

Smoked duck salad is one of my loves, mainly because of the savoury smoked duck which made the vegetable dish not too dull.

Forest Mushroom Soup 蘑菇汤 RM9.90

Their Forest Mushroom Soup is packed with real mushroom goodness in flavorful chicken stock.

Spicy Aglio Olio With Prawns 辣味鲜虾意大利面 RM22.90

Spaghetti cooked in garlic, olive oil, chili flakes and topped with sauteed marinated prawns. Spaghetti is seldom my choice when dine in outside.However, this spicy aglio olio has definitely surprised me. The spiciness has appropriately tickling my taste bud. The ingredients used are not abundant, but each of them complement the other very well, I especially like the prawn which is fresh and crunchy.

The Big Breakfast 特大早餐 RM18.90

Served with sausage, ham, sunny side up egg, baled beans, hash brown, sauteed mushrooms and toasted brioche bread. Had all day breakfast for dinner! It is a good selection for patrons who crave for breakfast not in the morning. But this is definitely not Passionfood's strength, the breakfast tasted normal and its combination is without creativity. The sunny side up egg was slightly overcooked.

Rainbow Cake 彩虹蛋糕

The rainbow cake turned out to be good. The cake is not only colourful, but very fruity. Instead of using cream, fruits and jam are sandwiched between every layer of sponge cake, making it very delightful and refreshing.