Penang Culture Part II

Earlier this year, my darling wife and I visited Penang Culture for the first time.
We enjoyed it so much that we went back again and this time we brought the whole family!

Armed with a hearty appetite and a whole menu of goodies to choose from, we were in the mood for a feast! We ordered some familiar favourites from our first visit like the Penang Hokkien Prawn Noodles, Char Koay Teow and Penang Assam Laksa.

These are the new dishes we tried for this visit;

Assam Curry Fish Head ($25.95)

The biggest dish we ordered for the night's meal was the Assam Curry Fish Head.
Quite a few Fish Head expert eaters in my family (not me by the way) so this was an obvious choice for the Penang Tze Char section of their menu.

The fish head was really fresh and a good size. The menu says it's enough for 2 pax but I think you can easily share between a few more (unless you think you can whack the whole head alone!).
The Assam Curry was also very tasty and even though I am not a fan, I found myself scooping up the gravy more than a few times myself.

Penang Special Fried Rice ($7.65)

You'll find pineapple, raisins, chicken and prawns in this special fried rice.
I guess it's something to order if you're not in the mood for just plain rice.

Penang Thai Apple Chicken with Rice ($6.95)

Mein Brudder decided to order this dish because it actually sounded quite nice when we chanced upon it in the menu.

You have a nice chicken fillet that has been coated and fried to a nice crispy outside but still tender on the inside. Then it's topped off with some special 'homemade' sauce made up of apples and onions.
I guess this kind of reminds me of Thai Style Chicken when we have Tze Char but instead of the sweet Thai chilli sauce, we have this special apple sauce instead. Not too bad actually.

Gong Bao Mantis Prawns ($10.65)

This was a dish we didn't get to try on our first visit because it was sold out.
That's right - this dish is so popular that it sells out!!

And I have to say - I can see why it's so popular.... It's delicious!
It's actually prawns that have been coated in this special batter and then fried to perfection. And it's still crispy eben though it's completely covered with sauce! For this one, it's Gong Bao sauce but they also have Black Pepper and Lemon versions too!

Mein Brudder made a good observation when he compared this to the Coffee Chicken from Royal Kublai Khan restaurant.

Penang Cuttlefish Kangkong ($7.95)

Here's a favourite with a lot of people but it's becoming quite difficult to find a Halal place which has it. Well at least now you know you can come to Penang Culture!

Generous serving of greens but as usual there's never enough cuttlefish to go around.
Cos we're all so greedy :P

Pink Guava Ice Blended, Lychee Ice Blended, Bandung Chin Chow Ice Blended ($5.95 each)

Some cool refreshing drinks to wash down all the yummy food!
The Pink Guava was tangy and the Lychee was great because it was tasty and you actually get bits of the fruit so you know they use the real fruit in the ice blended.

The Bandung Chin Chow was a bit disappointing because it ended up being a little bland.
Maybe we've all got a sweet tooth.

Adam's Verdict:
Gong Bao Mantis Prawns 5/5 -- Penang Cuttlefish Kangkong 3.5/5 --
Penang Special Fried Rice 2/5 -- Assam Curry Fish Head 3/5 -- Lychee Ice Blended 4/5

Maryah's Verdict:
Gong Bao Mantis Prawns 4.5/5 -- Penang Cuttlefish Kangkong 2/5 --
Penang Special Fried Rice 3/5 -- Assam Curry Fish Head 2.5/5 -- Pink Guava Ice Blended 3.5/5

Azlan's Verdict:
Gong Bao Mantis Prawns 5/5 -- Penang Cuttlefish Kangkong 0.5/5 --
Penang Special Fried Rice 2/5 -- Assam Curry Fish Head 1/5 -- Assam Laksa 1/5
Penang Fried Koay Teow 1/5 -- Penang Thai Apple Chicken with Rice 2/5

Yana's Verdict:
Gong Bao Mantis Prawns 4/5 -- Penang Cuttlefish Kangkong 1/5 --
Penang Special Fried Rice 3/5 -- Assam Curry Fish Head 4.5/5 -- Assam Laksa 4/5
Penang Fried Koay Teow 3/5 -- Penang Thai Apple Chicken with Rice 3/5 --
Penang Hokkien Prawn Noodles 3/5 -- Bandung Chin Chow Ice Blended 0.5/5

Dad's Verdict:
Gong Bao Mantis Prawns 3/5 -- Penang Cuttlefish Kangkong 1/5 --
Assam Curry Fish Head 3.5/5 -- Assam Laksa 3/5 -- Penang Fried Koay Teow 3/5

Mum's Verdict:
Gong Bao Mantis Prawns 4/5 -- Penang Cuttlefish Kangkong 1/5 --
Assam Curry Fish Head 3.5/5 -- Assam Laksa 2/5 -- Penang Fried Koay Teow 3/5 --
Penang Hokkien Prawn Noodles 2/5

Both my Dad and Mum agree that the dishes here due have some authentic flavours of Penang but because they do mix it up (e.g. Thai cuisines etc) perhaps some of it is lost in translation. Short of making a trip to Penang, I guess this is a pretty good place to go to for Penang cuisine.

 Penang Culture

Changi Airport Terminal 2 Departure
Viewing Mall Level 3
#036-087-01

Tel: 6546 7793
www.penangculture.com.sg

Operating Hours: 10.30am til 10.00pm Daily
Last order at 9.30pm

Penang Culture

Advertorial

My darling wife had gone to this makan place with her friends during the recent Ramadhan. I hadn't heard much about Penang Culture before that. Many months later, we finally got the chance to visit and tuck in to some Penang-style cuisine.

The first thing that surprised us after browsing through the menu was that they offered not only Penang favourites but even some other dishes that you might enjoy as well.

Penang Hokkien Prawn Noodles ($7.65)

First thing on our list was the Penang Hokkien Prawn Noodles.
We did some research on foods that everyone should try in Penang and this was definitely on those lists!

When someone says Hokkien Mee in Singapore, the first thing that comes to mind is the Fried Hokkien Mee aka Rochor Mee which is the half-beehoon-half-yellow noodles dish with loads of prawns fried up in prawn stock. But when someone mentions Penang Hokkien Mee, we are talking a nice big bowl of soupy goodness.

The first thing we tried was the stock which was full of flavour!
We were told that the stock was made with prawns and chicken which is what gives it such a rich and flavourful oomph and I could not help but keep gulping it down.

You will also get bee hoon and yellow noodles  so you can decide which you prefer.
But it's topped off with fish cake, chicken, boiled egg and 2 big prawns for you to enjoy!

Here's a tip - mix in the spoonful of chilli sambal to give your dish an even more spicy kick!

Penang Assam Laksa ($6.95)

Here's another Penang must-try!

We've had Assam Laksa before but this was a whole different story.
The spicy-sour fish broth was really the bomb. I thought I had found treasure with the Hokkien Prawn Noodles broth but for those of you going for a more tangy flavour - this is for you!

And the best thing is that it was not overly sour that you get tired of the taste after a few spoonfuls.
This was a very flavourful broth and boy was I hooked!

And here's a special touch that I never expected.
You see that spoon with the black liquid? It's Petis Udang (Fermented Prawn Paste)!!
Totally unexpected and added such a big difference to the dish!

If the broth was not enough to convince you that this was authentic Penang fare, check out the noodles.
These are not the regular thin Laksa noodles you'd normally get. These are thicker (very similar to Laksa Cap) and give you a great bite.

Pile on some noodles, sardines and yummy broth and take a big delicious SLURP!!

Penang Fried Koay Teow ($7.95)

Here's the dish that so many people were telling us to try should we visit Penang Culture.
One of the dishes that comes to mind when someone says Penang is undoubtedly Penang Char Koay Teow.

Don't be confused with the Singapore version which has loads of sweet sauce in it.
None of that here but definitely lots of chilli! Don't worry it's not going to burn your mouth off but if you're the type that likes your kway teow to have the full flavour of noodles and spiciness of chilli, this is for you!

Finish it off with some greens, beansprouts, eggs and of course - cockles!
A Penang hawker favourite available right here!

BBQ Seafood Platter for 2 ($17.95)

If you're looking for something to share, consider this a good choice of BBQ goodies so you can sample a number of things at once. It's also good for you to whet your appetite while waiting for your main course!

You get a nice mix of BBQ prawns, Satay and BBQ squid.
In fact, it's even enough to share between 3-4 people!

The prawns were great and I love it when they make it easy to eat. No messy peeling!
And the sambal was good too! Similar to the BBQ seafood type of sambal you get and this one was a little sweet but definitely spicy!

And I didn't get a chance to snap a picture of the squid but it was tender and not at all rubbery!

For all you Satay lovers, you'll probably enjoy the Satay here. The meat was tender and the satay sauce was good. Plenty of cucumber and onions for you to chomp down on but you might wanna ask for more sauce.
And I know you'll probably say that if wanna east Satay then might as well go somewhere that specializes in Satay but if you're at Penang Culture, the Satay is still something you might want to try if you're there.

Pink Guava Juice & Ampla Juice ($4.55 each)

They've actually got quite a selection of drinks at Penang Culture for to wash down all the yummy makan.

One of the more unique ones (and one I've never tried before today) was the Ampla Juice.
The Ampla fruit is also known by another name, Buah Long-Long, and is apparently a very healthy choice.
It has a distinct veggie taste but also have a very nice tang to it. Definitely gets the appetite going and is refreshing enough to cool your mouth down with all the spicy food.

They also have Pink Guava, Rambutan Juice and even Nutmeg Juice!!

King Of Cendol ($6.95)

JENG JENG JENG!!!

The King Of Cendol is the perfect dessert for you Durian Lovers.
Cendol, sweet red beans and coconut milk topped off with shaved iced, gula melaka and fresh durian!!

The cendol was soft and the red beans were nice and sweet. And the fresh durian was definitely the highlight!
Definitely a nice and sweet end to a very very satisfying Penang-style meal!

They also have other sweet treats for you including Ice Kachang and Bubor Hitam!
And for those of you who do not fancy durian, don't worry! All the desserts have a version which does not have durian so you have a choice too!!

What we had tonight was just the tip of the iceberg apparently.
So many more dishes to try including Penang Belacan Fried Rice, Penang Hokkien Crab Noodles and even Assam Curry Fish Head!!

This is a great place for a quiet meal for 2 or even for a family feast.
They even have special Kids' Meals!

And in case I haven't mentioned, the head chef in-charge of all the dishes used to be a hawker/chef from Gurney Drive in Penang so he must definitely know what he's doing right! I've never been to Penang but I think I've got a great idea on how delicious the food is!

Penang Culture

Changi Airport Terminal 2 Departure
Viewing Mall Level 3
#036-087-01

Tel: 6546 7793
www.penangculture.com.sg

Operating Hours: 10.30am til 10.00pm Daily
Last order at 9.30pm