[ Penang ] Sushi Mentai @ Elit Avenue

Since I finished the Hat Yai posts like finally, I think it's time for me to blog more about Penang food again; didn't went to much cafes or restaurants nowadays, as we are giving ourselves some budget each month for that, means more saving for us! Good thing I would say. Like what I mentioned in previous post, BenDan and I went to have our lunch at the Sushi Mentai which gone viral among Penangites. We were thinking to reach the restaurant half hour after the opening hour, so we wouldn't wait too long for our seats; but we were so wrong. 

We passed by the restaurant while looking for the parking, I decided to queue in front the restaurant after seeing the crowd while BenDan continue to look for a parking. I must say that there is no waiter or waitress outside the restaurant to control the crowd, I also have no idea where to get the queuing number until I saw the not-so-obvious handwritten paper on the door; this should be improved. It will be better if you are coming here with lesser friends, it means you will get your seats faster than those in big group. We got our seats in half hour time while the big group was still waiting until more diners were leaving the restaurant. 

The first impression when I saw the interior: packed, small and noisy, hopefully the situation will become better after the crowd is lessen. Since the sushi price is only selling at RM1.80 and RM2.80 (after GST will be RM1.91 and RM2.97), so we decided not to order ala carte menu except for the temaki hand roll. Something I don't like is I saw flies in the restaurant, which is quite annoying and make me doubt on the cleanliness of the restaurant. 

California Temaki . RM3.80

Ebi | Chuka Kurage

Salmon | Tamago Mentai

Salmon Mentai | Unagi

I just took some of the sushi photos, and we only had 9 red plates (RM2.80) and 6 yellow plates (RM1.80) which is quite less if compare to others. We did asked is it okay to place order for the sushi, but the answer given is NO; they can't take the order at this moment as the crowd is too much and they can't handle it. It means we can only sit there and wait for the sushi to be served on the conveyor belt, I remember we sat there for 10 minutes just to wait for the unagi sushi. Sigh. The quality of the sushi is just moderate, which is worth to the price we are paying, so no complain except the flies. We happened to passed by the restaurant when we were dining in another restaurant at Elit Avenue, the crowd is lesser and I think it will be the best time for you or me to visit again. Till then.

Location

1-1-33A, Jalan Mayang Pasir 3, Elit Avenue, 11950 Bayan Lepas, Penang.

Business Hours

12pm - 9.30pm (Daily)

Contact Number

+604-638 3233 (No reservation can be made)

Website

http://sushi-mentai.com

Facebook

Sushi Mentai Penang

宇宙无敌的Cold Stone Creamery冰淇淋

这应该就是我合艾游记的最后一篇了，终于在几经辛苦（其实真的很懒惰）下分享完去年的合艾之旅了。结果在我们吃完午餐回到旅店后，雨还是不停的下啊，在没办法下我们过后的行程就只有在Central Festival里头逛街。我们到这里的最终目的其实就是这间冰淇淋店 - Cold Stone Creamery，之前是因朋友介绍的到新加坡第一次尝试就爱上了。也许是我们国家没有这个冰淇淋品牌的关系，物以稀为贵，久久出国吃一次，才会觉得分外的好吃！

在店面前，他们都会注明店里出名的冰淇淋口味；当然如果你们并不喜欢照着菜单的口味，你们也是可以选择自己喜欢的口味噢。在还没决定口味前，服务员都会询问你想要的冰淇淋分量，普通的总共有3个容量：Like It (5 oz)， Love It (8 oz)和Gotta Have It (12 oz)；除了这个，我们还可以自行选择想要的华夫饼干种类等等。顾名思义，Cold Stone当然就是把冰淇淋放在特制的冰冷石头上炒一炒，这样一来冰淇淋也不会这样快溶化，在炒的过程中，服务员也会把当中的材料（饼干，起士蛋糕，巧克力等）切块，搅拌在冰淇淋里面。

因为我们在新加坡吃过了Gotta Have It的容量，印象中是蛮小分量的；所以这一次我们竟然点了两份的Gotta Have It，结果冰淇淋大到我都吃不完，结果只好放弃了那个华夫饼干。我们点的口味除了有全球最畅销之一的Cheesecake Fantasy，还有泰国最畅销的Rum Raisin Sensation，这两种口味都各有秋千；真要我选的话，我也选不了啊。因为在两个国家吃了Cold Stone，所以很自然的都会比较一下，比起来泰国的还比较大分量，而且又不会那么快溶化，那时在新加坡吃的时候还真下了一跳，怎么这么快溶化啊，还没认真试起味道就要赶紧的把冰淇淋吃完；还是泰国的完胜啊！就等年尾去曼谷的时候再见吧。

合艾总行程请阅读：

合艾3天2夜自由行 . Hat Yai 3D2N Itinerary

. . . . . . . . . . .

加油。

偏离合艾市区的Log Terrace

吃完好吃的猪肉粥后，我们原本的计划是要去Big C Extra扫货的，当然我们的计划是势在必得的，只不过天空不作美下起了豪雨。其实我们已经预测到第二天会连绵不断的下雨，天气预告果然准得没话说啊！我们只好在店里闲聊等雨停，只不过时间一点一滴的过去了，雨势还是一样的热情啊，我们只好靠我们的小伞在路边截tuk tuk。也可能下雨的关系，也可能是商场有点离我们当时的地点有点远，很多司机都要求不可理喻的天价或者是拒载；皇天不负有心人，终于遇到了好人司机愿意载我们到Big C Extra。这一场豪雨多多少少影响了我们扫货的兴致，草草买了合适的手信就决定解决午餐啦。

我们决定到距离合艾市区比较远的Log Terrace用餐，怎料我们的tuk tuk司机不怎么懂那间店在哪儿，一路上还要询问路人才把我们安全送到这里。本来我们想请司机打哥等我们吃完午餐的，但他连一丁点的福建话或英文都不会听，我们只好作罢；建议你们真的要请司机大哥等你们，往下读就可知道我们饭后的遭遇有多可悲啊。

在找到Log Terrace时真的很兴奋，可是在穿越大门后怎么感觉这个地方特别冷清啊，而且四周的摆设让我觉得有点恐怖和阴暗。本来我们还以为这么大间的Log Terrace已经倒闭了，一直往前走后就看到饭厅了，因为下雨的缘故，用餐的客人不是很多噢。这间店平时都是比较少游客来的，地方有点太偏远了。我们就选在江河旁用餐，泥黄色的江河让这片风景大大的扣分了，还好过后的雨势有稍微的小了许多。

在网上看到有人推荐这里的炸猪脚，笨蛋就是冲着这道菜来的，但是服务员有跟我们说当天的猪脚都有点大，我们俩是吃不完的啊。所以我们就只点了另外也蛮出名的肉丝黄梨炒饭和东炎汤，没吃到炸猪脚是个遗憾，只好等下一次人较多的时候才试吧。炒饭真的不错吃，可是配了肉丝感觉有点怪怪的，唯有吃完了有肉丝的部分才慢慢吃剩下的；这里的东炎汤非常够味，比起上一次我到合艾的还要好喝，而且里头的海鲜料还蛮多的噢。如果没记错的话，我俩在这里用了不超过200泰铢，价钱很实惠噢！

午餐后，最让人头痛的是截tuk tuk回我们的旅店啦。就因为当天去了Log Terrace用餐的都是道地人，所以当我们出来后也没看到tuk tuk，我们只好走到路口希望会看到tuk tuk。等了10分钟都不见有车经过，在很气馁的时候碰见了比较大型的tuk tuk，有点像小巴一样的；刚好也有去合艾市区，我们的运气真的不错嘛。但真的建议你们吩咐司机大哥等你们，不然就会跟我们的遭遇一样噢。

合艾总行程请阅读：

合艾3天2夜自由行 . Hat Yai 3D2N Itinerary

. . . . . . . . . . .

在槟城的周末除了吃还能做什么呢？

Dear Diary # 5

I was quite busy for the past few months and my weekends always full of errand, that's why I preferred to get myself some rest time than facing the laptop. I think it's fine for me to continue the Dear-Diary post to sum up some of my activities in the past few months.

Attended my friend, Vernique's wedding that held at Kuala Lumpur, she is the first one to get married in our gang, and we have 2 more friends getting married by this year but I can't attend the one that hold on December as it crash with my date to Bangkok (finger cross that no more bomb attack over there). It's good to see my friends found their Mr. Right and stay sweet forever.

Even though Vernique got us a place to stay while we were in KL to attend her wedding, me and BenDan thought it will be better to stay at outside to prevent girls in the house feel discomfiture. I realized some of my friends who brought boyfriend together did the same thing as well. So we spent our 2 nights stay at Le Apple Boutique Hotel KLCC which I'm going to blog the details soon, I would recommend this hotel to you as it's only walking distance to most of the mall in town like Avenue K, Suria KLCC, Pavilion and others. 

Sushi Mentai has finally open their branch in Penang and this gone viral among the Penangites; even after a month it open, people still queuing to get their seats for the cheap sushi. We were happen couldn't think of where to have lunch, so why not try our luck over here; we still queued but at least we went there earlier and we got our seats in half hour time. 

Do you ever have a feeling that you couldn't find any restaurant to dine-in in a shopping mall? I always have this problem and I have tried most of the restaurants available in the mall, I intended to have same food at the same old restaurant. So we went to Sushi Tei that time and we really had hard time scanning the menu to look for what to eat after cracking our head what restaurant we wanted to go. Variety are not much (I become quite picky when it comes to Japanese food) on the menu but I would strongly recommend this Ishiyaki Soba (Beef/Chicken) to all of you, this is the only time where I choose soba than udon. 

I have tried the dak galbi at Chun Cheon and Uncle Jang, both with their own plus point and weaknesses. So it was a cloudy day as I can remembered, BenDan wanted to have dak galbi for lunch and I suggested to go Chun Cheon since he never been there before. We like the banchan provided by Chun Cheon (at least more variety than the one in Uncle Jang) but we still prefer the dak galbi in Uncle Jang. 

In case you don't know, just to tell you that my sister is pregnant now and her appetite become so good. She yearn for Korean food after since she get pregnant (extremely that type) and she get mad with me whenever I go to Korean restaurant without her. So I brought her to Daorae as a compensate on her birthday and we had great time there. 

We went to another new Korean restaurant, Ssambap at Krystal Point with friends to celebrate BenDan's birthday, like what commented by people, the service ain't that good but luckily not too bad. Something special on their barbecue is they provided the steamed egg which is not available in other Korean restaurants, the food is okay but not surprising and I'm going to blog the details soon. 

The South East Asia's first ever outdoor Transformers exhibition is happening right now in Penang until September 2015, so those who haven't been there yet, hurry up as it going to come to an end soon. Sometimes I'll feel that me and BenDan didn't date for weeks (in fact we meet each other like almost everyday) so I dated him to go have some fruits nearby the food court at Esplanade. We had a stroll to the Transformer exhibition there to took some photos after the eating session. Thumb up for the environment there, it was great!

BenDan's birthday is on the month of August and I threw him a birthday surprise to have a staycation in Eastern & Oriental Hotel, we didn't go anywhere else but to spend all of our times in the hotel and utilize their services. It's a good staycation and we thought to have next time over there too although the price is not very cute. I feel that our stay worth every penny I paid, after-all it's good to stay in the five star hotel and keep us away from the hustle and bustle lifestyle.

The most important event in our company has ended beautifully and successfully, as usual I'm one of the committee for the annual dinner and BenDan join our team this year! To be frank, I don't really like to be part of the committee as we didn't get to enjoy a thing that night, but I like to work with those colleagues that in the same team as me, we made a good team I would say and made the night ended well. So we had the photobooth that night which is something new to our annual dinner, but I only get to take photos with committees but not others, spotted me in the photo?

One more house charm added and it reflects what I have in my life, you get what I mean? Laugh. So this post pretty sum up what I had up to for the past few months, till then.

. . . . . . . . . .

Cleaning in progress.

非常道地的合艾猪肉粥

嗨，我又回来了，打算把合艾的行程都统统分享完，反正就剩那几篇而已。在合艾找吃对我这个吃货来说根本不是个问题，当然也要感谢网路的发达让我们事半功倍咯。其实如果你们对食物没那么挑，我想从旅店出来看到能吃的都可以是你们的早午晚餐（好不好吃是其次），再不然就是在旅店解决了早餐也行（当然也要看旅店本身有这项服务没）。在合艾最受游客欢迎的莫过于好运点心肉骨茶了，人真的多到我看了都会崩溃，个人觉得它的食物还好而已，没好吃到再让我去拜访。上网找了很久，终于让我找到了非常道地的早餐，而且都是道地的人都会去的。

那是一间咖啡店，我也不懂店名是什么；你就跟tuk tuk司机说你要去Ambassador Hotel，而那间咖啡店就在旅店的对面，最靠近街头那一间就对了。人不是很多，都是道地的居民，我们第一次去的时候根本不能跟老板他们沟通，只好比手划脚的对这照片说我们要的是什么，今年我们去的时候我们已经会简单的福建话了，超棒的！我想开始有很多游客都到哪吃东西吧。那边除了有比较出名的猪肉粥，还有别档的食物，但我们都选择了粥。如果我没猜错的话，那肉粥档的营业时间是泰钟6点到1点。

我们点了两份不一样的粥，一份是皮蛋粥，一份是猪肉粥，也包括了一份炸油条。皮蛋粥里头也有些猪肉粒，比较特别的是猪肉粥还加了一颗生蛋黄；对我来说加生蛋黄还蛮特别的，因为我没吃过，本来还担心味道会怪怪的，但出乎意料的好吃啊！因为粥是烧的，在你搅拌蛋黄和粥时，那蛋黄慢慢的也熟了一半，吃起来就很有家的感觉。他的猪肉粒应该是有腌过，完全没有那些腥味，蛮好吃的。具体的价格我忘记了，我想我们俩在那吃的不超过150泰铢吧，很便宜啦。

我们点的冰奶茶是在我们吃到一半的时候才送来的，我们觉得很奇怪为什么点了饮料这么久老板都没送来，问了他，他就一直回我们泰语；过后才弄懂原来老板说的是：冰还没送来，要我们等一会。在我们等的当儿，雨开始下了，而且没有停的迹象，早餐后，我们在哪等了半小时，雨也没停。我们只好拿着小雨伞截tuk tuk去Big C逛街，过后的一整天都一直下雨，我们都只好在室内，有点小遗憾的说。

合艾总行程请阅读：

合艾3天2夜自由行 . Hat Yai 3D2N Itinerary

. . . . . . . . . . .

好热的天气啊！