Consistency 2013

It's that time for the reports again.

Isaribi Tei has updated their menu. New menu only means ONE thing, new prices. The price increase wasn't as bad as Bear was expecting. The sets are all gone and it is ala carte only. Just add an additional of RM2 for rice and miso soup.

Thank you Grumpy Old Man for still being affordable to poor Cats and Bears out there.

* Just a little additional info though, GOM does not like noise, children and crowds.

Sri Malaya might have closed down - we have not seen it open for a while.

Have not been back to Il Bacaro.

Oh Sushi has got a new menu too. Still affordable and good.

Healy Mac has the best pizzas in all of Penang and is comparable to the ones in Italy. Really! Affordable too.

Coming up next Mugshot Cafe! One of Cat and Bear's favourite cafes for lunch.

Consistency 2012

You would have thought that hungry Bear and Cat have died of starvation, but worry not, we're alive and well. Bear has even put on weight and now rolls around on the floor when trying to zip up her pants.

We have been to a few new places, reviews coming up, but mostly we went back to our usual haunts.

It would seem that only Sri Malaya, Isaribi Tei and Miraku have managed to remain consistent from the first time we visited them till now. (Review on Miraku incoming).

We were very sad to learn that Shinjutei has changed management. The food is somewhat the same, but not quite, better in some ways but worse in others.

La France no longer does omelettes, which pretty much removes the entire point of going there.

Il Bacaro is inconsistent. The food can sometimes be fabulous and sometimes makes you cringe.

We stopped going there for a time because not only was the food bad but the service was even worse. The waitress seemed annoyed when showing you to the table, annoyed when waiting for your table, annoyed when serving etc. She does the catwalk and struts to her own beat and trust me when I say, she walks damn slow. I want our old waitress back!! Heard our favourite waitress was actually from China House and was on loan to Il Bacaro for a while. I thought it was just me being impatient, but the very next day, my best friend called. She read our reviews and decided to give it a try, and she too complained about the very same waitress.

Thankfully, the last time we went IB, the dumb waitress was gone.

Sri Malaya Heritage Restaurant

Best in town for: reasonably-priced set lunches, coffee

Worst in town for: lack of parking space

Opening times:
11.45 am - 3.00pm
6.00pm - 10.30pm

Closed Tuesdays

CAT: I love Nasi Lemak. In fact, I would pay RM17++ for a Nasi Lemak set lunch, but only at Sri Malaya. That's because Sri Malaya serves reasonably priced set lunches that have huge portions and great taste. You might call me crazy for paying RM17++ for a Nasi Lemak, but it's worth it!

The set lunches come with a dessert and your choice of drink, and we recommend that you choose the Illy coffee instead of the juices, as you can get juice anywhere but few places serve coffee as good as Sri Malaya's.

Illy Milk Coffee

The Nasi Lemak here is served with a big piece of chicken in Thai curry, which is rather different from the usual rendang sauce, giving it a unique flavour. The shredded Poppadums sprinkled on the dish is crunchy and tasty, but very very oily.

Nasi Lemak (RM17)

Dessert is a slice of chocolate cake with chocolate sauce drizzled on it. Taste is just right, not too sweet, not too rich, but it can be a struggle to finish even this small slice after the humongous meal.

Chocolate Cake

BEAR: There is a bit of a waiting time but they have free wi-fi so you can entertain yourself on the ipad or something. I usually order the Nasi Lemak as well but this time, I opted for something different. I got the Chicken Teriyaki Burger. It came surrounded by an army of chips that we couldn't finish.

It is extremely rare to see that the filling between the burger is actually bigger than the burger itself. Besides the huge piece of chicken, there was a little mayonnaise, lettuce and tomato. By the time I was done, Cat could just roll me out of the door. My dessert ended up packed for later - much later.

Teriyaki Chicken Burger (RM17)

I super love the Illy coffee that they serve. Priced at RM6 per cup or included in your set lunch, it is fantastic. I've always been a coffee addict and Illy coffee ranks high in my list of favourites. In my personal opinion, it tastes better than Starbucks' Cafe Latte - the drink I order a good 98% of the time I'm there. My only advice, drink it while hot. It's delicious!

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