Yep, Monday is the start of the Nine Emperor Gods Festival where the Chinese celebrate the event the only way they know how…FOOD! Err…of course, they also throng the temples to offer prayers and whatnots lar…heheh…

Still, as far as I remember, this festival has always meant a whole load of vegetarian food will be sold for more than a week. Nine days to be exact. I used to love going to the makeshift stalls set up along Madras Lane to test out the various creative vegetarian food on sale.

Sadly, over the years, the food quality have deteriorated and the prices have increased! Since it is a once a year ‘business’ for some of them, the hawkers seemed to think it is alright that they apply the samurai sword when fixing prices for their foods…cut-throat prices lah. It used to be that I could get a decent full meal with less than RM5 for rice, snacks, drinks and even desserts, now, you’d be even lucky to get a plate of rice with some dishes for RM5!

Also, despite the foods being vegetarian and all, most aren’t very healthy so don’t think that you spend the whole nine days paying exhorbitant prices for small mouthfuls of oily food will make you healthier. Most of the foods are swimming in oil and though it’s vegetable oil, too much oil is still not a good thing okay? And then there are the loads of preserved vegetarian foods that were made to look and taste like meat, chicken, fish, cuttlefish…etc..etc… Too much preservatives aren’t good either. Let’s not forget the amount of salt and MSG they dump into most of the foods!

Anyway, there are still some stalls with reasonably priced and quite good vegetarian food during this nine-day festival. All you need to do is to look for them! And it’s not necessarily at Madras Lane since there will be makeshift stalls selling vegetarian food practically everywhere.

The festival starts on Sept 29 and ends on Oct 7.

Oh, and one more thing, be prepared for rainy days throughout the period. It ALWAYS rained during the Nine Emperor Gods festival, it is only a matter of how much and how long. So, remember to bring a raincoat and umbrella along with you.

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Yep, in Penang, it is not a festival if there is no ample food available, free or otherwise. Although, I’d prefer to pay for my food because well, if the food is free, it usually suck and not only that, I do not like fighting to grab a tiny piece amongst the throng of greedy people. It is just too tiring.

Now back to the annual Japanese Dance Festival. I searched around and found some interesting facts about Bon Odori.

1. Bon Odori simply means Bon Dance.
2. It is originally a Japanese Buddhist ritual to honour the spirits of their ancestors but it is promoted in Penang more as a Japanese cultural event
3. It is celebrated in summer in Japan and on different dates of either July 15, August 15 or the 15th day of the 7th lunar month in different parts of Japan.
4. The festival lasts for 3 days in Japan
5. It is also celebrated in Brazil, China, US and Canada other than Japan and Malaysia.
6. Legends have it that this dance ritual started from Mokuren who is Buddha’s disciple.

Here’s how the Mokuren story goes:

Mokuran use his supernatural powers to find out how his deceased mother was doing in the other realm. However, he found that she was suffering and is in the Realm of Hungry Ghosts. So, he went to Buddha to ask for his mother to be released. Buddha told him to make offerings to Buddhist monks after they complete their summer retreat on the 15th day of the 7th month. So he made the offerings and his mother was released from that realm and he suddenly realised the sacrifices his mother had made for him. Overjoyed with his mother’s release and grateful for her many sacrifices for him, he began to dance in joy.

That’s how the dance evolved into the Bon Dance which is the time to remember and appreciate ancestors and their sacrifices by dancing.

The annual festival here in Penang usually have a lot of Japanese food stalls and some arts and crafts stalls but in recent years, many of the food stalls also sell other foods and not only Japanese foods. The prices aren’t cheap either because many of the stalls are by hotels and restaurants.

Be prepared to spend at least RM50 (for two) if you intend to eat dinner there. The portions aren’t all that big either.

Finally, remember to bring an umbrella. It is after all the wet rainy season now and every year, it ALWAYS rain during the festival, it is a matter of whether it’s going to be a slight drizzle or a heavy downpour.

Oh, here are the details of the event:

Venue: Esplanade

Time: 6pm – midnight

VIP: Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng to officiate it at 8pm / 9pm (not sure lar, should be around that time)

Be prepared for fireworks too.

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The annual, touted to be Malaysia’s largest consumer food exhibition, iFoodEx, is here is weekend at Pisa.

Now, before you make a rush there in hopes of finding loads of good food or at least find dry, canned or packaged foods with great big discounts, don’t put your hopes up.

Sure, the first few years of the event were good. There were a lot of stalls with really great bargains. Then, over the years, it became stale (pun intended).

The number of stalls are about the same, as are the number of people who thronged it. BUT, there were no great bargains and well, it was…ho-hum…boring.

I would know. I go to the food expo every single year!

And each year, it gets worse and worse. It became more like an exhibition by several major food companies to hawk their products, like an enclosed pasar malam. Nothing great. No great bargains. No huge great variety of foods there. Nothing new, nothing wonderful and nothing to shout about.

So, I am not going to put my hopes up that this year it will improve and that it won’t go down the decline it is heading towards.

Yes, I will still be going to check it out because a foodie like me just have to go to make sure that I did not miss anything. Sigh…I know it probably will be an absolute disappointment but well, I am a sucker when it comes to food…sad but true..

So, to all the other suckers foodies out there, here are the details:

What: Penang iFoodEx 2008

Where: Pisa, Relau

When: June 27 – 29, 11am – 9pm.

Who: About 100 exhibitors (or so they claimed)

Well, if you really want to know more, check out their website www.ifoodex.com.

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Deep-fried food may not be good for your health but heck, they are darn tasty! I especially like the chicken samosas sold at this stall along a junction at Queen Street.

The fillings are mostly chicken meat, potatoes, onions and spices. The skin is crispy and even though deep-fried, not as oily as you’d expect it to be.

Rating: 7/10

Price: RM1 each

Summary: It is a great tea-time snack but one that you can’t eat everyday because it isn’t very healthy. Besides, the stall isn’t open everyday.

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We ate FOUR whole fishes! Each fish costs between RM20 and RM38. Not bad considering the size and how fresh it is.

I don’t know what fish these are except that it is freshwater and darn fresh and very delicious, deep fried, covered in sweet and sour sauce and steamed.

The shack that passed as a restaurant where the delectable fishes are cooked and served.

There’s a wooden rickety bridge from the shack over a bubbling river heading to large ponds where they rear the freshwater fishes.

A closer look at the wooden shack…

The fishes are really good and I would recommend this place if you have a hankering for fish. Also, the fishes are all very sweet without any muddy taste at all.

Rating: 8/10

Price: RM20 and above for each fish

Menu choices: Only fish, rice and one or two vegetables

Location: Sungai Kob, Kulim. Accessible through a small dirt road marked with only a small signboard with Restoran Kolam Ikan on it. Just take the turning to Kulim Hi Tech Park Phase 2, drive all the way to Sungai Kob and once you reach the tiny town, you will see Petronas on your left and right after that a row of shophouses. The small dirt road is on the right and right next to the Klinik Kesihatan. Otherwise, call the number in the picture above for more accurate directions!

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So, recently, we went up to the Batu Ferringhi Night Market which is famous for all the illegal chio’ng ciplak things. We need to restock our…errr…movie collections…You know la, Heroes season two is already in, House season four already in and seems like Supernatural season three is on the way. These are my favourite series la and I don’t have time to wait for stupid Astro.

Also, we have missed so many movies such The Water Horse, Alvin and The Chipmunks and even Transformers. Ever since having my toddler, it is difficult to find time to go pakthor and watch movies….so we go for cheaper, easier option of home theatre la.

Of course, the Batu Ferringhi Night Market offers a lot of other things and not only the…errr..entertainment stuff. They have trinkets, decor items, chio’ng branded handbags, chio’ng branded clothes and more decor items.

It was not easy trying to take pictures of the stalls there because the stall operators are mostly very hostile. Perhaps they are worried about being caught ‘red-handed’ with pictures of them selling chio’ng things…

As you can see, we stick to taking pictures of things that are not chio’ng at all….Just no-brand things, some local, some made in Thailand and some Made in China.

Now, along that stretch, there is Long Beach Cafe which offers local hawker fare. It is also quite near my favourite..err..chio’ng entertainment stall. Eh, the stall sell very cheap you know! Only RM4 each and the quality, VERY GOOD. Always no problem with the err…things.

Choices: 8/10

Quality: 8/10

Price: 9/10

Here’s Long Beach Cafe along the Batu Feringghi Night Market. See the Spring Roll stall? That’s my favourite! Their spring roll is very good.

Review of Spring Roll: Crunchy on the outside, soft and moist on the inside. The vegetables inside are nicely cooked and tasty. It goes very well with the sauce consisting of cut chillies and Lea & Perrins sauce.

Price: A bit pricey for a single spring roll, RM3 each.

Rating: 7/10

There are a lot of other stalls there selling a variety of hawker fare. Some are good, some are not. I have not tried all so can’t give any ratings on that. The prices are quite reasonable considering it being a tourist spot. A plate of food could be priced from between RM3 and RM5 depending on what you order.

Oh, there is also a stall selling presumably Haagen Daaz ice cream at RM7 a scoop. Well, trust me, it is ice cream but it is definitely NOT Haagen Daaz! It taste nothing like Haagen Daaz! It is either they use some other higher quality ice cream to pass it off as Haagen Daaz or it old stock taken at a cheaper price from Haagen Daaz, thus the taste a bit out.

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I won’t know if it’s any good because I haven’t been to any of these things for ages! I am way beyond help when it comes to education…heheheh

Also, for those hungry ghosts out there, there’s a charity food fair coming up this Sunday. It is a two-in-one event. You get to eat and you get to help cancer patients! What a deal. Seriously. Okay, okay, so the eats aren’t free but hey, it is to help poor cancer patients and you have to eat right?

So, don’t forget to go to:

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All the previous political posts had made me hungry so I binged on these succulent fried chicken! Although I used to be a fan of KFC, I now only eat hawker-style fried chicken or I-fry-it-myself-style fried chicken. Heck, the fried chicken pieces in KFC are shrinking so much I think the next time I go, the fried chicken will be no bigger than my thumb!

So, I went around trying quite a few roadside stalls and hawker stalls at hawker centres selling fried chicken till I find a few that I really like. Which is not many. Somehow, finding the perfect fried chicken is akin to the excuse people use for masturbation – it is better to do it yourself! Heh.

Anyway, I was very, very lazy to de-frost the chicken, season it, heat up the oil, fry it and clean up the whole oily kitchen after that so I had to rely on hawkers to get my fried chicken fix.

Again, TH, my number one foodie partner, recommended this fried chicken stall tucked away at the Hillside Astaka / food court. The guy’s open only at night, from around 7pm onwards and sorry, I didn’t know what day he tutup since TH is the one who went down to get the chicken for me while I…er…jaga kereta. And being a non-blogger, he didn’t bother to ask the guy details, like operation time, days, address, etc…

Anyway, these spiced fried chicken should not be mistaken as the ciplak version of KFC’s hot and spicy chicken. When I say spiced, it is in the context of spices, not chili. The fried chicken is crunchy on the outside although it don’t look it and the flesh inside is just tender, soft, juicy and oh-so-tasty! Yummmm….

Prices aren’t that cheap but it is quite reasonable, RM2 for each piece of chicken breast or wing, RM2.50 for the drumstick and if you are into chicken butt, it is five for RM2.

Rating: 8/10

Taste: Hint of spices, crunchy outside, juicy and soft inside, just salty enough to tingle the tastebuds

Definitely recommended as a side dish to whatever you are having, or just as a snack.

A Word of Warning: Contains fat and probably cholesterol too but for this saliva-inducing taste, I don’t care!

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Chicken Pie and Apple Pie

I have this thing for pastries and nothing hits the spot more than a wonderfully baked, crumbly and perfect chicken pie or apple pie!

TH found this stall and bought some of it for me to try and since then, I was hooked! These pies may be tiny but it sure do pack a punch in taste, flavour and most importantly, it is cheap too!

This is where you get the yummy Apple and Chicken Pies

The pies are stored in airtight containers

The little stall is just outside a coffee shop along Jalan Sungai Kelian in Hillside, Tanjung Bungah. He also sells mini cream puffs with real cream, not custard. These little bite-size delights are all homemade by the stall owner’s relative, thus the great taste!

Just look at these tempting pies!

My review for the Apple Pie
- pastry is crumbly, buttery and melts in your mouth
- fillings are generous, just sweet enough and tasty

The nice friendly stall owner packing the pies for me

My review for the Chicken Pie:
- pastry is the same as the apple pie, it is crumbly, buttery and melts in your mouth
- fillings contain a few tiny pieces of chicken, peas and carrots, just the right amount for such a tiny bite-size pie

My review for the Cream Puff:
- pastry is soft and just the right consistency
- filling is real cream, not too sweet and when you bite into it, if fills your mouth with its creamy taste.

Snack rating: 7/10 – definitely recommended for teatime or just for the heck of it!

Price: 6 for RM3 (cream puff) / 5 for RM3 (pies)

Venue: Outside Chew City Cafe, Jalan Sungai Kelian, Hillside

Open: 8.30am – 11pm daily, close on Tues

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The shop isn’t easy to find as it is located along a narrow lorong off the sleepy town of Jawi and about 5 mins drive from the well-known Cheang Kee Restaurant of crab porridge fame. We did stop by at Cheang Kee for lunch, though and needless to say the food were still just as good and still affordable!

The crab porridge still lived up to its reputation and the other dishes we ordered, such as mantis prawn fried with dried chilli, boiled octopus, tang hoon char poey leng (vegetable with glass noodle), prawns and steamed fish were all very good. Sorry lar no pictures, we were so eager to dig in that by the time I remembered, it was too late.

Anyway back to the local treats I was talking about…it is Teochew snacks, Ak Am and Kacang Tumbuk and an array of local ‘cookies’ including Tau Sar Pneah, Tambun Pneah, Beh Teh Soh and Heong Pneah.

I have always loved Ak Am but not the generic, lousy kind found in supermarkets. I like it fresh, crunchy and importantly fragrant. And this shop makes one of the best Ak Am I have ever tasted! Ak Am is actually just loads of sugar, sesame and grounded peanuts but hey, aren’t all sweet treats? I love the texture of Ak Am as it is both soft and crunchy due to the layer of caramel-like sugar outside and the crunchy kacang tumbuk in its core.

We did not buy the Tau Sar Pneah or Tambun Pneah but the Beh Teh Soh and Heong Pneah are absolutely heavenly! The Beh Teh Soh are biscuits with white sugar inside and theirs are so good because the skin is crunchy and the sugar inside, soft and non-sticky. Heong Pneah are almost the same except that brown sugar was used.

Now, I normally don’t eat Heong Pneah due to its tendency to stick to your teeth and gums…but theirs are really good because it isn’t in the least sticky at all!

Rows of Ak Am before it was packed

The first step of the whole process: family members sorting out peanuts

A packet of Ak Am is only RM8.50

So, the next time you happen to go to Nibong Tebal for whatever reason, I will strongly recommend dropping by at this shop to get their yummy treats. I am sure their Tau Sar Pneah and Tambun Pneah are just as good!

Here are the information on the shop:

Chop Cheng Guan
80 & 81 Jalan Pengkalan Rawa
04-5931391

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