Penang Coffee House

Steven and I were watching the footy last night and decided to have a bet on the outcome. The team I went for was Carlton and …HAHAHA. They won the Nab cup!!!!! So, Steven had to buy me a nice lunch today and we decided to have a big meal at Penang Coffee House down at Burwood Road.

I am a food snob when it comes to Malaysian food. This is just because I was born and raised in Malaysia where great foods are plentiful. We went to the Penang Coffee House last week and we ordered a Laksa Lemak and a Chef’s Chicken (lemon grass chicken, tasted like Satay chicken). The Laksa Lemak was OK but not great. However, the chef’s chicken was great!! Well, I forgot to bring my camera for the first time so we decided to give the restaurant the second try.

For the second visit, we ordered Loh Bak , Ha Mee (Hokkien Mee or prawn noodle soup) and the Chef’s Chicken again!! ;-p

“Ha Mee or Hokkien Mee is a popular noodle soup with spicy broth made from prawn shells and heads and served with hard-boiled eggs, shredded prawns, water convolvulus, pork, crispy fried shallots and a spoonful of chili paste.”

The Ha Mee of Penang Coffee House tasted alright. The broth was nice but not spicy enough thought, I was a bit disappointed where they replace the water convolvulus with spinach (may be it’s hard to get it at Melbourne). I know I shouldn’t compare it with Lam Ha Min back at Petaling Jaya, Malaysia or Penang Hokkien Mee so I gave 7 out of 10 to Penang Coffee House.

Well, the Loh Bak at Penang Coffee House tasted ok, it was too oily for Steven. Loh Bak is a meat roll wrapped in beancurd skin and deep fried to perfection. It didn’t taste the same as back in Malaysia, but it was passable for me. The only disappointment for me was the sauce, it wasn’t the chili sauce and a starchy sauce flavored with five-spice powder and eggs. Instead, it was a chili sauce mixed with sweet soya sauce and peanuts.

Well, the Chef’s Chicken was great again!! And I think we will be going back again!!