Shia's Homemade Granola, Penang

When you walk or ride pass this shop, you can't help but stop and have a look and then have a closer look. The goodies that are displayed and the artistry on the outside is attractive and inviting.

 For me, it's already inviting because I have tasted the granola bars from Shia's Granola since last November and I still love it.  At that time, it was right out from Alishia's kitchen, the proprietor. I bought from her occasionally and then my sister came to like it too after I let her try a bar. I have tried those boxes of bars off the rack and I didn't seem to like any of it , either it's too chewy or too sweet or something that just didn't go right with me. I am not exaggerating. 

My favourite is the chocolate flavour but they have other flavours as well. I like it with milk or soya milk. Just check out their page below for a full menu.

This is what I had for my tea break on my first visit to the shop. Dragon fruit, pear, banana coupled with granolas, chia seeds, and yogurt. It was refreshing, tasty and of course healthy.

Such a good quote and we all really need to be educated about taking care of our bodies. It may seem literally impossible in a food paradise of Penang, however we can always strike a balance between healthy good food and just any tasty food. It is a matter of selection and timing and a conscious effort to seek out what suits our taste and our lifestyle. 

Say hello to the owners of Shia's Granola. The ones who do what they preach. Ke Wynn is a personal fitness trainer and wife Alishia is the chef behind Shia's Granola. All this started in 2013, when Alishia didn't quite fancy the granolas that the family bought back from the store and started to make her own and soon enough, friends started ordering. The story develops from there and now births their very own shop. It used to be their photo studio but now a kitchen for making delectable granolas. Creativity is in the genes, I remember Alishia's father used to make photo frames and I can see where Alishia has gotten her artistic and creativity from. 

We had a good chat although short about healthy lifestyles and the trends. We all are trying, some do it better than others and so, encouraging each other definitely helps more.

I bought this cute little thing, it reminds me of baby food : ) and it was for my dinner as I have classes back to back in the evening. It is called Apple Mango chia seed pudding. I took this right before my protein shake. I love it! I love yummy, simple, convenient meals when it comes to heavy scheduled days.

More information:

Facebook Page: Shia's Granola

Address: No.1, India House, Church Street Ghaut, 10300 George Town, Malaysia

Map: Just Click Here

Eastern Garden Restaurant, KL

                   Eastern Garden Restaurant specializes on Chinese cuisine and does not serve food with MSG. Miss Tan, one of the proprietor and chef is fastidious when it comes to preparation of the food and seeks to prepare healthy, tasty dishes. If you are use to the taste of MSG in your food, then it will take awhile to acquire a taste you might deem lesser but it is actually the opposite. Everything will taste as it is without the mask of MSG. 

                 Occasionally they have dishes that are not mentioned in the menu and one of that dish that we had was Dragon Fruit chicken. Instead of the usual orange, mango sauce we usually have else where, dragon fruit was definitely my first and it was really good with the chicken. My other fancy is the homemade beancurd with pumpkin sauce. 

                Even though my trip to KL was a bit tight, was glad to be able to drop in a friends restaurant. Thankfully it wasn't too far off from where I stay. And having a friend who is good with driving around KL was a blessing.

                       There are ample parking spaces along the road and they are open for lunch and dinner.

                       For more information, details are at the end of the post.

Dragon fruit chicken

Wild boar with lemongrass

Homemade Beancurd with pumpkin sauce

Baby Lettuce Garlic

Love the herbal tea. With the lady in charge!Nice seeing ya, Suan Lian!

Find out more at Eastern Garden Food Facebook Page

Address: Click on address to see the directions

169 Jalan SS19/6

Subang Jaya

Contact number:

011-3748 8936

Kith and Kin, Desiaran Vantage,Penang

I may have intended to go to a new restaurant but once I entered I felt I was going to a friend's big dining hall. I suppose I am : ). The first thing that caught my eyes was the portrait of this two cute little ones and then a summary of what Kith and Kin meant for them. If I may take another minute of your time to read what it means in Kith and Kin in Macmillan dictionary.

 The portrait of the two kids belong to the proprietors husband and wife Kevin and Celyn. The second thing I noticed is that the interior is spacious and wide, with a corner just for the kiddies to entertain themselves while parents enjoy their meals. Now, this is a plus point they have compared to other cafes.

 Another hall of fame in the house as seen in the picture below. The array of family photographs hung on the wall were exquisite and warm altogether.It's cool how they share their lives as part of their business. Thumbs up!

The kiddies play pen

For those who are health conscious - there is NO MSG served in the meals. 

The main meals can be converted into a set meal with additional RM6.90 and that includes ice lemon tea, soup and ice cream. If you would like to have coffee on top of that, then just add RM3.90.

The ice lemon tea does not include sugar therefore the little cup of sugar syrup is accompanied to suit your sweetness level. 

Aside from the main meal, some of us shared their signature salad. Indeed it's delectable. The orange makes it sweet coupled with some crunchy onions, capsicum,roasted almonds flakes etc.            

The Lamb Cutlet is the best so far on this visit. The tenderness of the meat with the mango and mint compote just does it all. The plate was cleaned out so I suppose you know what that means.

The Herb Lemon Butter Baramundi was pleasant with light buttery taste. The fish was fresh and fluff if I could put it in my layman term. There wasn't a strong herb flavor for those who likes it done this way.

   Stuffed Chicken is stuffed with mushroom and leek served with side salad and salted egg cream sauce. It sounds unique and it is surprisingly tasty. I would recommend to those who fancy salted egg to give this a try.

Grill Salsa Chicken as the name suggest is tomato based, It is served with mash of the day , sautéed vegetables and homemade salsa.

  Here was the last that came for a friend who came later, Grilled Salmon. Also served with mash of the day, sautéed vegetables and lemon honey mustard sauce. 

Last but not the least here is Frances with her pasta dish - Smoked Salmon Linguine.

  To end the night is the last thing on the set menu is the vanilla ice cream to sweeten our tooth.

With the lady boss, Celyn.

I'm interested to try their sloppy joe burger and their coffees. That will be my next at Kith and Kin restaurant.

 Please check updates on their Facebook page at Kith and Kin Facebook

The Family

Kith and Kin

Address: Desiaran Vantage
, Jalan Tanjong Tokong, 10470 Tanjong Tokong, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia

Opening Hours: Tue-Sun:12:00 pm - 3:00 pm

                                         6:00 pm - 10:00 pm

Contact:  -0129695215 (Kevin Loo)

04-898 1813

Le Perigord, Pulau Tikus

Le Perigord first opened in January 2016, a casual dining place but with a feel of semi-fine to fine dining setting. High ceiling and exquisitely decorated with a tinge of colorful pictures. I came during lunch time and there was only set lunches available. Set lunch comes with soup, main course and a drink and it's reasonably priced.

It's a nice place for gathering and parties and the best part is you're able to bring your own wine without being charged corkage. As you can see bottles above the bar, there are empty bottles from customers after their dinner. 'Souvenirs' on the shelf. Cool.

Overall, I enjoyed the dishes. Aglio Olio would be according to personal preference in my opinion.  As there are different styles to cook it. I for one like the Italian style the most.

The chef does custom specialized orders for RM50 and above, no minimum pax required.

Mushroom Soup

Aglio Olio Seafood Spaghetti

Free range pork tonkatsu with mash potato & salad

There is an assortment of these mini cheesecakes with different flavours or topping. I like the concept of mini cakes, gives you a good taste and yet you don't overeat. Just savor the moment. :  )

Mini Cheesecakes

Le Perigord Set Lunch menu: 

Monday-Sunday

11.30am-2.30pm

Rm19.90nett

*Soup of the day

*Main Course

*Périgord Signature Drink

Main course: 

1) Grilled Teriyaki Salmon with butter rice & veggies

2) Free range pork tonkatsu with mash potato & salad

3) Aglio Olio Seafood Spaghetti 

4) Chicken & Mushroom Linguine with cream sauce

Le Perigord

 253G-1-7, Burma Road, Pulau Tikus 

(Burmatel Buiding)

012-559 9139

Find out more in their Facebook page

https://www.facebook.com/perigordpulautikus/

Iyara, Karpal Singh Drive

Iyara Thai Cuisine is situated at Level 2 next to Starbucks, Karpal Singh Drive , Penang. The place is usually very pack, therefore advanced booking is needed. There were quite a number of us so we did get to try a variety of dishes as shown in the pictures. 

Outdoor dining

Art on the wall

The Meng Kam dish below is a Thai appetizer most will have before the rest of the dishes. Something sweet,spicy and sour right before the main course.

The duck was delicious, it doesn't have a smell and its skin is a bit crisp. The fish meat was fresh, cooked well and the soup was a bit spicy and sour but splendid combination.

Tang Hoon was exceptionally nice, coming from a person who do not fancy Tang Hoon much. Well, my favourite coriander was a good add on for me and the big prawns too but the price was also a handsome one : )

The portion of the vegetable was little considering the price but it was tasty.

We had some desserts and it was sweet to the soul. 

Overall, it was an enjoyable meal in taste although the waiting of the food was took quite a while.

Iyara Thai Cuisine

Click here for more info Iyara Facebook Page

Contact No: 04-376 3733

Ante Restaurant, 1 Utama KL

What do you do when the trip is short and no time for shopping? Eat ! So we were at 1 Utama for lunch and we were famished and about to be on our way back to Penang. We insisted that we have to try something good and one that does not exist in Penang and so we walked almost half hour looking for the right one. 

We came across Ante, and it was just perfect. A premier pork steak restaurant.  Although the waiting was quite awhile, we were comfortably seated and relaxed and we were not disappointed. This is by far the best pork based, western style restaurant I've ever been to. 

Nice, quaint, chic layout of the place and their array of wines are bountiful as you can see in the picture.

The first dish that came was Pork Diane, seared pork loin with Russet potatoes, button mushrooms, green pea mash(love it), and white wine cream sauce. Delicious!

Pork Diane - RM 42

Another signature dish is the Chargrilled Pork Steak, which comes also with Russet potatoes and then cherry tomatoes, honey glazed rockets and truffle sauce(love the sauce). Everything was cooked to perfection and I liked the idea that they glazed the rockets with honey as it is usually abit bitter. Delectable!

The Chargrilled Pork Steak - RM52

Here comes the Chinese/Western style spaghetti - Char Siu Curry Cream. That was the most different dish under the pasta group therefore this was picked. This is house made marinated Char Siu with shimeiji mushrooms and grilled eggplants. Excellent!

Char Siu Curry Cream - RM 33

There was one more thing we wanted to try but unfortunately it was not available so we settled for coffee, a prep for a long drive home. The coffee was good with the right amount of milk in my latte. I wasn't so fond of the mocha only but if you like more cocoa than coffee then it might just suit you. I like it more balanced and skewed towards coffee/espresso.

The only marble table I spotted with the chair that I liked. Mmm..

From left-clockwise: Latte, Mocha and Capuccino

Well Deserved!

Ante @ 1 Utama Shopping Mall

03 - 7732 5204

F346 / First Floor next to La Senza

Ante Restaurant FB page