Wonderland Food Store

Looking for a place to eat in Langkawi? Wonderland Food Store is somewhere not to be missed. While on holiday in Pulau Langkawi with a group of buddies, we decided to give Wonderland Food Store a try.

As Langkawi is an island, seafood is naturally much cheaper than many other places. Wonderland Food Store is located in the town of Kuah and is frequented by many.

Fried Koay Teow @ RM5.00

Ordinary tasting fried flat rice noodles with beansprouts, egg and slices of chicken. The koay teow was evenly fried but was a tad too oily and salty.

Fried Rice @ RM5.00

Yet another ordinary dish. This normal fried rice is garnished with egg and slices of chicken. The fried rice is acceptable in taste and is nothing special.

Fried Sambal Belacan Kangkung (Medium) @ RM14.00

A large plate of kangkung fried with spicy sambal belacan. Just another ordinary dish that you can find practically everywhere in Malaysia. Sambal belacan is blended chilli paste with dried shrimp paste (belacan). The dish lacked spiciness and had massive chunks of garlic (something I extremely disliked). A great green to have on the table though.

Deep Fried Squid (Small) @ RM10.00

One of the best deep fried squid I have had recently. The small pieces of squid is something similar to calamari rings but uses smaller squids and is deep fried in a salted batter. Crispy and not too oily although it was deep fried.

Chilli Flower Crab @ RM45.00

Although disappointed with the unavailability of the normal mud crab (those large red crabs with extremely hard shells), we ordered chilli flower crab instead. 3 medium sized flower crab stir fried with special blended chilli paste. The freshness of the flower crab was average but the flower crabs was well flavoured with the chilli sauce.

Nestum Prawns @ RM12.00

Superb tasting Nestum prawns! Crispy deep fried prawns stir fried with Nestum and curry leaves. Although the prawns lack a hint of salt and sugar, the prawns were still tasteful! Definitely recommended!

A great place for seafood; for the price paid it was definitely cheap! All the dishes above plus drinks and a small plate of stir fried clams in chilli (which I forgot to take a picture) for 5 pax was only RM109! Generally, the seafood was fresh and well cooked.

Wonderland Food Store is located in Pusat Perniagaan Kelana Mas (Lot 179, 180, 181, Pusat Perniagaan Kelana Mas, Jalan Trimula, Kuah, 07000 Langkawi) amongst a cluster of seafood store. Easily spotted as Wonderland Food Store has a large yellow sign. There are numerous off street parking but at dinner time they may be fully occupied.

Food Rating: 8/10
Service rating: 7/10
Ambience rating: 6/10
*typical food store or hawker like surrounding; there was a cat running around the place which was of much annoyance
Overall rating: 7/10

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Daorae Korean BBQ Restaurant

With the mushrooming trend of KPop and Korean dramas, Korean food seems to be on popular demand as well. No doubt idolisation would lead to fans wanting to live and eat like their idols. So, here’s a review on Daorae Korean BBQ Restaurant! And NO I AM NOT A KPOP FAN!

Barbecue pit and a pot of burning charcoal

Korean BBQ mainly revolves around using thin slices of meat either beef or pork as well as seafood. In Daorae, diners are spoilt for choices. There is a wide variety of beef and pork available, from the extremely fattening pork belly (sam-kyub-sal) to lean pork meat marinated in a variety of sauce and spices.

A variety of side dishes including seasoned spinach, kimchi, beansprouts, pumpkin etc.

Upon ordering, complimentary seaweed soup and a variety of refillable side dishes will be served. There is nothing much special about the side dishes except the fact that there is an unlimited refill. Personally, I find the beansprouts different from other Korean restaurants that I have tried in the UK; there is a lack of sesame oil in the beansprouts served in Daorae.

Pork Ju-muk-luk @ RM35.00

As I simply detest the layers of fat on the pork belly, my friends and I ordered the Pork Ju-muk-luk which are cutlets of soft pork marinated in Daorae’s special sauce. Barbecued by the waiter, the pork cutlets were cooked to perfection and the best part is that it was not burnt. The meat was lean, soft and well marinated.

Yang-nyum O-jing-er Goo-e @ RM28.00

Fresh squid marinated in spicy Korean chilli sauce and barbecued using charcoal fire. The squid was well marinated and every piece had a strong taste of the spicy hot sauce. However, it was quite burnt. Initially, the squid came in extremely large slices but the owner was detailed enough to come to our table and personally cut them into smaller pieces and telling the waiter to make sure it was thoroughly cooked. Definitely a thumbs up for such service.

Above: Salad leaves, Bottom: Marinated spring onion

The barbecue dishes came with fresh salad leaves, chilli paste and marinated spring onion which are excellent accompaniment to the barbecued pork and squid.

Dderk-bokgi @ RM30.00

Korean rice cake stir fried in spicy chilli sauce together with onions, carrot, cabbage; garnished with a hard boiled egg. The rice cake is well cooked but may seem rather bland as the inside of the rice cake was not mixed with the spicy chilli sauce. This dish is extremely spicy and sends a fire sensation down the throat; numbing the tongue as well. Definitely not suitable for those who can’t take the heat.

Dweji Bulgogi @ RM25.00

Served in a hot pot, Dweji Bulgogi consist of fine slices of pork, an assortment of mushrooms, carrot and glass noodles and comes with a bowl of rice. The pork slices in the bulgogi was well marinated and had a strong taste of the sauce. While some slices had a thin layer of fat, others are soft lean pork slices. Overall, the bulgogi taste delicious with the sauce well seasoned in the pork, mushrooms and glass noodles and it goes extremely well with white rice.

Kimchi-Jeon @ RM25.00

A pan fried pancake of kimchi with batter. While the amount of kimchi is extremely generous, it was literally impossible to lift a slice of the pancake without breaking it into pieces. Kimchi jeon was rather ordinary tasting with a strong hint of kimchi.The batter was bland despite the large amount of kimchi used. Definitely not something worth the price.

Interior of Daorae BBQ Restaurant

Overall, Daorae serves pretty decent Korean food and the barbecue is exceptionally delicious although they fall short in some dishes. Managed by a Korean, it is quite interesting to watch the boss/manager and his staff which is made up of Nepalese or Bangladeshi communicate in Korean. The restaurant has a relaxing ambience and is well decorated. With all the barbecue, no doubt you will smell like a piece of barbecue pork after dining here.

Daorae is located in Bayan Point on the same row as Hong Leong Bank (15-2-G, 2-1 & 2-2 Bayan Point, Medan Kg. Relau, 11900 Penang) and is easily accessible by road. Off road parking available but spaces are rather limited. Daorae also has another branch in Tanjung Tokong.

Daorae is noted in blue

Food rating: 8.5/10

Service rating: 9/10
Ambience rating: 9/10
Overall rating: 8.5/10

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Hokkien Mee @ One Corner Cafe

A bowl of Hokkien Mee @ RM 4.00

Hokkien Mee or known to most non-Penangites as Penang Prawn Mee consists of a mixture of yellow noodles and rice noodles (known to many as bee hoon); garnished with beansprouts, thin slices of meat, prawns and hard boiled egg served in a fragrant prawn broth. Some stalls may include other toppings like pork ribs, small intestines, prawn mantis and fish balls for an extra charge.

For many, the key to a good bowl of Hokkien Mee lies within the broth itself. One of the best Hokkien Mee I’ve found in Penang is in One Corner Cafe. The soup is extremely rich with the taste of prawns and spices. Besides, the garnishing is relatively generous with a big chuck of prawns and meat. The deep fried lard which is given upon request gives this bowl of Hokkien Mee an additional aroma and adds taste to the soup. However for RM4 a bowl, it can be considered as quite pricy amongst other hawker food in Penang.

The stall opens in the morning from about 7.30am and is usually sold out by 10.30am.

Clockwise from back; Fried spring onion, Deep fried lard, chilli paste

TAKE NOTE: This is probably the most pompous Hokkien Mee seller in Penang! Be ready for a rude treatment and at least 45 minutes to an hour wait before your bowl of noodles is served. Escape the queue by going really early when the stall opens.

From experience; I ordered at about 8.30am and the seller rudely told me (in Hokkien) “ji tiam cheng, ji tiam cheng ka uu” which meant the waiting time is one hour. After about 30 minutes of waiting, politely I asked if it was about to be my turn and the seller took a small clock and pointed to it while saying (in Hokkien) “lu eh tiam sia ah boi kau” meaning it’s not your time yet.

On another experience; to escape the long wait, I went with several friends at 7.30am so that I would be the first few customers. To my disappointment, upon calling out for the seller to order, I was told “Bo koh! Bo koh! 8.30 ka uu!” which meant that they would only start selling at 8.30am.

In conclusion, this Hokkien Mee is one of the best in town but this had probably boosted the ego of the seller. Be ready for a rude treatment.

One Corner Cafe is located in Jalan Bawasah, behind Penang Plaza. There are several off street parking along the road which operates on meter.

One Corner Cafe is noted by the green arrow

Food rating: 9/10
Service rating: 5/10
Overall rating: 7/10

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Little Cottage

Beginning with a humble existences in Burma Road, Little Cottage has now grown to two outlets; one located in its original lot in Burma Road and the other beside Waterfall Hotel in Gottlieb Road. For years, Little Cottage provides reasonably cheap set lunch and dinner throughout the week.

A 5-course set lunch consisting of Soup of the Day, bread roll, a main course, dessert and coffee or tea starts from RM9.90. Definitely a worthy bargain! The range of set lunches are at RM9.90, RM12.90, RM15.90 and RM19.90 with other specials priced slightly higher at RM23.90 and RM29.90. With more than 20 choices of main course ranging from different type of poultry and seafood, customers were definitely spoilt for choices. In my numerous visits there, choosing my main course is one difficult task.

A peek at the set lunches as below:

 

 Soup of the Day and Bread Roll

Pumpkin Soup

Grilled Turkey Harm @ RM12.90

Reasonably thick slice of turkey ham grilled and garnished with pineapple and tartar sauce. Taste well and the pineapple gives a sour punch to wash down the ham.

Grilled Almond Fish @ RM 15.90

 Fish fillet grilled with almond served with tartar sauce. The taste of almond penetrated the fish and it was amazingly done.

Black Pepper Chicken @ RM15.90

Grilled chicken topped with black pepper sauce. Quite an ordinary chicken dish but the black pepper sauce was superb.

Chicken Chop Little Cottage Style @ RM15.90

Deep fried boneless chicken fillet with Little Cottage sauce. The sauce resembles that of a sweet and sour sauce and was quite pleasant with the chicken.

Grilled Fish Little Cottage Style @ RM19.90

 Fish fillet pan grilled and served with the similar sauce as Chicken Chop Little Cottage Style. Quite an interesting combination.

Minute Rib Eye Steak @ RM19.90

 Rib eye steak grilled and served with black pepper sauce. Since I do not consume beef, opinion from a fellow friend on this main course was it was done amazingly well.

Grilled Fish in Oregano Sauce @ RM19.90

Pan grilled fish served with oregano sauce and tartar sauce. The tartar sauce was a little bit of redundancy as the oregano sauce goes amazingly well with the fillet. Another worth trying choice.

Monte Cristo Chicken @ RM19.90

Grilled chicken and frankfurters topped with gravy. A bigger portion compared to the rest of the choices. The gravy was a job well done by the chef.

Dessert (Mango Jelly)

In addition to the set lunch, add on including desserts and drinks are available. Below are the picks of my favourite add on desserts. A MUST TRY!



Raspberry Cheese Cake @ RM5.90

Spectacular piece of culinary work! The combination of cheese, raspberry and the cookie base is just heavenly. A sinful indulgence which is definitely worth the calories.




Tiramisu @ RM4.90

Layers of coffee flavoured cake put together with fresh cream and topped with cocoa powder. Another sinful indulgence worth trying.

Dining in Little Cottage is a wonderful experience, the atmosphere suits those looking for a place to savour lunch and take the day at a slower pace to those looking for a place to date or meet up over lunch. The best part of my dining experience here is that the staff do not rush you into finishing your soup so that they could serve your main course etc. It's ambiance is a bliss with songs from the 70's and 80's filling the air.

Getting there is easy. Little Cottage 1 is located along Jalan Burma while Little Cottage 2 is in Jalan Gottlieb. Get the exact location here at My Maps or simply log on to the Little Cottage Cafe website for more info and promotion.

Location of Little Cottage Cafe 1 on Google Maps

Overall Rating: 9/10

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AH’ BASRI Restaurant Satay

A couple of weeks ago together with my family, I went for satay at AH’ Basri which is located in D’Piazza, Jalan Mahsuri in Bayan Baru. The most unique feature of this restaurant is the various flavours and type of meat available.

Satay is a skewer of marinated meat barbequed over charcoal fire to perfection. Commonly served with peanut sauce dip alongside with cucumber and fresh onion pieces.

A simple menu (reminds me of those in McDonalds)

Nasi Impit with Peanut Sauce @ RM 2.20 (A traditional dish where rice is being compacted into cubes and eaten together with peanut sauce.)

The rice was quite bland and had little flavour but it goes well with the peanut sauce. Since the rice had been compacted into cube, little of the sauce could be absorbed into the rice.

 

Popiah Satay @ RM 4.50

Quite disappointed with this dish. Just a stick of satay wrapped in spring roll/popiah skin and deep fried together. The satay inside the wrap taste normal and there is nothing special as compared to the normal satay.

 

Deer and Ostrich Satay @ RM 1.80 each

The meat was well marinated but it was a little chewy and difficult to chew down. The deer and ostrich meat was a little overcooked and was cut into too big a piece making it a little difficult to eat. Overall, it is still quite tasty.
 

 

Chicken Satay (Original) @ RM 1.00 each

The chicken satay came in a few flavours. We tried the original and tomyam flavour. The original chicken satay was one of the best I had tasted thus far. The meat was well marinated and barbequed; soft and well cooked. Definitely recommended!

The tomyam flavoured chicken satay was a little peculiar. Tomyam seasoning gave a pinch of sour taste which did not go quite well with barbequed meat. When dipped into peanut sauce, the mixture of tomyam and peanut sauce was a little peculiar.

 

Calamari Satay @ RM 2.50 each

The best satay in the store and my personal favourite. Though having some burnt parts, the calamari was juicy, soft and not overcooked, tasted well on its own. DEFINITELY A MUST-TRY!!

Getting there is easy. It is located near Sunshine Square. Get the exact location at My Map on Google maps.
 

A snap shot from Google Maps

Overall rating: 7/10

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