Ben's Gurney Paragon, Penang

Happy Mothers' Day to all mommas around the world! Thank you for the 3728472 level of pain you suffered in labour, and taking care of your babies 24/7, 365 days a year with no annual leave, public holiday etc etc. To all the moms, you're free from housework today and you may continue with it tomorrow LOL jk. So, bf decided to be a good boy (heh) and treated his mom to lunch at Ben's Gurney Paragon last weekend to celebrate M's Day in advanced, I happened to hung out with them so I got to enjoy his treat as well teehee. I believe 99% of Penangites already know about this place so I'll just skip right to the main point aight? (and mainly because I didn't take much photos) :(

It's located beside Miam Miam which I blogged about it HERE, HERE and HERE (yep that's three visits).

I was first quite surprised by the menu as I thought it would be very very very pricey based on the environment, turned out it was quite affordable.

Photo source: Ben's official website. Click for larger view or download the pdf file HERE

So we ordered:

Spaghettini Carbonara which I loveeeeeee it A LOT, it tasted even better than Itali*nnies even though the amount of sauce was quite little, bf and aunty had a few bites and I finished the rest until the very last drop of sauce, it was too good to resist! One little thing that I hope can be improved is the amount of bacons! It was too little for me :( The rest was really great tho!

Aunty ordered Char-Grilled Seafood Spaghettini with chilli flakes and wilted spinach. It was an appetizing dish that tasted sour and spicy at the same time, the seafood were all very fresh, squids were cooked to a perfect timing where they didn't taste like rubber band lol, in fact they can be chew off easily! It wasn't very spicy, thus it can be accepted by most of the people.

Berrific Sundae with fresh mixed berries, ice cream and chocolate sauce. The portion is suitable for 2 pax sharing but it tasted normal to me as it can be prepared at home without needing any complicated steps. At first we thought there were only strawberries cause other berries were no where to be found lol, turned out there was a small amount of blueberries and raspberries underneath the ice cream. I'd recommend you to try out other more unique or hard-to-make desserts.

In overall, I'm very fond of the pastas and guess I'll bring my mom here to celebrate her belated M's day as she isn't in Penang right now, I'm sure she will love it as much as I do! The staffs were very attentive in making sure there wasn't any empty cup of skyjuice, most of the desserts on the menu are very tempting as well, hoping I can give some of them a try!

That's all for now, chao.

Valentine's Day at Miam Miam Penang Part 2

Finally part 2 is up! For those who wonder why I have two parts of Valentine's Day, you may find it out HERE which is also the Part 1. I'll only introduce two desserts in this post as I've already shared about their starter and main course in the first part, so once again go check it out eh!

Caramelised Banana Pancake, bf liked the sweetness of the banana on the side but not to a banana hater like me, thus my comment might not be accurate here lol. Bf's a fruit person so if he likes it I bet other banana lovers out there will have the same thought too! Aside from the banana, the pancake was light and fluffy, it bonded well with vanilla gelato but it melted really fast :(

Ahh didn't realize one of my fat fingers in it until now *faint*

Valrhona Chocolate Souffle. I adored this more than the banana pancake as I love chocolate! Who doesn't? Miam Miam is definitely an expert in making airy and fluffy souffle, bf poked it and was like "omg the surface is so thin", I liked the warm chocolatey taste inside, it surely is an enjoyment to our taste buds. However, please be cautious of the temperature cause I burned my tongue at first bite. In overall, I'd say it was ok as I prefer their mains more, don't take me wrong, they do serve really quality desserts but I'm more to a heavy food person, so if there's any dessert lovers out there you should give it a try! :)

Valentine's Day at Miam Miam Penang Part 1

The reason why I named it part 1 is because we actually didn't finish the whole course as we were in a rush to catch the movie "That Awkward Moment" at 10:05pm. We arrived Miam Miam at 8pm and we didn't expect we would actually eat for over two hours lol cause we have no experience in celebrating Valentine's. Despite dating for over 2 and a half year, we missed celebrating V's as we were both working in the first year in different places, him in KL while me in Penang. In the second year, V's day happened to clashed with CNY where I had to head back to my hometown and that's how we missed the second V's.

Let's get back to the part where we waited 20 minutes for our desserts after our main course and it was already 9:45pm. Boyf checked with the waitress and she said we have to wait for another 20 minutes which we will obviously be late for our movie and I'll have to rush back to Gurney in my heels uglily as I'm still not used to wearing heels. Thus, boyf said he'd like to cancel the desserts, TWO desserts! And my first thought was "naaawww, there goes my desserts", but luckily, the considerate staff said we could retrieve the desserts during the next visit for free! Thumbs up for the services. So this is the LONG reason why I have to separate them into 2 parts. You can also read about my first visit HERE.

Before proceeding to our seats we were required to sit on the love chair and take picture and here's the outcome!

Me and my valentine.

Together with a handkerchief rose, the V's menu and a box of chocolates which looks like a condom box to me at first *laugh* not sure if they purposely make it this way lol.

Lemon squash for the boyf and berries smoothie for me. Boyf's drink was really sour so don't order it if you can't handle sourness. Mine was sweet and it tasted really good with strawberry and blueberries on top as if it's specially designed for girls' liking.

Mushroom soup which is not bad for me as it has tiny bits of mushrooms in it.

Wafu Salad. Those who know me will know that I really dislike eating vege. So I was like (O_O) when it was served, boyf was happily forcing me to finish all of it urgh. Luckily there was sauce underneath them so it tasted quite good to my surprise, the sauce tasted salty like the soy sauce we find in Jap restaurants. Salty and sour food always open up my appetite so I'd say good job for this one. In the end I finished everything except for the cucumbers, a big achievement for myself. 

Fruit sorbet. This was the last appetizer before the main course was served. It sort of functioned to freshen my tongue and taste bud so that I can indulge more for my main course.

Boyf's Lobster Bisque Pasta with giant tiger prawn. The soup was rich in lobster taste as normally it is prepared by cooking the lobster with boiling water in order to obtain their flavour, just like how housewives usually boil soup with bones. It was creamy but not greasy! Boyf said it was good.

Pasta Pescatore with king prawns and Alaskan scallops. The portion was big and I thought I couldn't finish it but I was wrong about myself lol. It was a tomato based pasta and I usually prefer creamy type of pasta, but this tasted good actually especially the scallops as they have fully absorbed the tomato paste. 

Boyf was peeling off the prawns's skin for me, such a small yet lovely gesture :) Loveyou!

Cancelled the desserts and skipped to the last course which is coffee and tea. Boyf has a high expectation for coffee and he said his coffee was good based on the beans they use I suppose. It was served together with cold milk inside this cute little milk pitcher!

Tea in a pot for me. Not a professional tea drinker so I'm not really sure what to expect. It smelled nice and the taste was quite soft, guess it was meant to be that way so I had to add a teaspoon of sugar just to make it taste stronger.

In overall, it was a really satisfying Valentine's dinner for both of us, despite the waiting time for the desserts, I'd say Miam Miam had given us a very great first experience on V's day, the services were good and I really love how they take Valentine's seriously that they gave rose, chocolates and a picture that marked this special day. I also like how the waitresses/ waiters make sure that every couple is happy, checking tables whether their food is arrived, or what to serve next. Thank you for the wonderful Valentine's dinner!

Miam Miam Cafe & Restaurant at Paragon, Penang.

I guess most Penangites probably know about Miam Miam Penang cause it has been operating for quite some time now since June 2013, and I know I'm sort of outdated cause some of my Facebook and Insta friends have already tried it out a long time ago. Some say it's good, some say it's overrated, and I guess some are like me, didn't bother to give it a try until mom suggested, so why not? Yay or Nay? Let's find out!

Love the mouth watering menu! 

My plain looking iced matcha latte, well the taste is expected, matcha with milk, just like the green tea frap from Starbucks. I actually wanted to order iced matcha latte with SOFTEE, you know with ice cream on top :( Somehow I managed to mislooked and misordered because iced matcha latte is located directly above the softee one on the ordering sheet, their ordering sheet is so narrow maybe because they wanna squeeze everything into one page. It could probably be my own fault as well cause I went "ya, ya, ya" when the waitress was repeating the order. Lesson learnt: always double check everything and pay attention T.T

Mom's Miam Miam Spaghetti. The egg yolk is supposed to be stirred together with the spaghetti, but it was like 70% cooked when it was served. Still, my mom loves it! It was fry with bacons, eggplants, tomatoes and as you can see it was sprinkled with Japanese seasoning, it tasted quite salty but sure is an appetizing dish. 

My Country Style Clam Chowder Pasta. The creamy sauce did not taste greasy at all because it is cooked in a more soupy way and it has a strong flavour of milk, I have my thumbs up for this one. 

Vanilla Souffle. "The original flavour, made with homemade vanilla custard and folded with light and airy meringue". Initially I thought the layer on top is as normal as a sponge cake, turns out I was wrong! The entire thing is so soft and fluffy as if I'm eating tofu!

Look at the tofu-like texture! But, I couldn't really taste the vanilla flavour in it as I could only detect the taste of egg white, it's still good tho, it is also available in matcha and chocolate flavour. 

In overall, the food and dessert were good, drinks are pretty average for me, price would be on the higher side, great environment and services, it's a Yay from me! 

 Yours truly, was having a bad hair day :/

Brown Pocket & Chocolate Passion Cafe at Paragon, Penang.

Decided to combine the two posts together because I've only got around 10 pictures altogether and I had them on the same day, SAME DAY! Oh fats, the amount of chocolate consumed is too damn high! Brown Pocket and Chocolate Passion Cafe are located on the 6th floor in Paragon, which is convenient for me to make two fattening visits.

Our reflections. The design is simple yet elegant and also very spacious! It has indoor and outdoor seating, too bad it was only daytime when we went there cause I heard their view at night is very beautiful! Check it out yourself ey?

Iced mocha, too bitter for my liking but it's fine for baby, the coffee taste is strong here, may be a good place for coffee lover.

 Signature Triple Chocolate waffles. Two palm sized waffles served with vanilla and chocolate ice cream, whipped cream, strawberries and not to forget the three chocolate: white, milk and dark choc. Simply pour them on the waffle and enjoy! Too bad we couldn't enjoy them slowly cause the ice cream is melting fast :( In overall baby sort of like it here while me being 50/50.

Mom joined us later on and we went to Chocolate Passion Cafe for second round. Never too full for dessert I supposed? It was located on the other side of level 6.

It has outdoor seating as well but I'm not sure about the view, the size is smaller compared to Brown Pocket, perhaps their kitchen size is larger.

Sinful menu which is full of chocolate.

It's ok if you lie, that means more for me!

Mom ordered Avocado chocolate ice blended, something I will never order lol. She thinks the taste is ok but the taste of avocado is not strong enough and the drink is not concentrated enough.

Signature smokie hot chocolate which you can choose the level of concentration ranging from mildly, moderately and highly concentrated. Being the first timer I chose the moderate one, you can also choose not to have the whipped cream on top.


This is something new to me, chocolate spoon! You can either eat it directly or let it melt inside the hot chocolate.


Let it melt, let it melt, let it melt~ The hot chocolate tastes wonderful to me, so much better than the one I had in Burps & Giggles, it has strong chocolatey taste and also very smooth and creamy.

 Brownies which is quite normal for me, I'd say the one in Delicious tastes better than this. This one is just too.. plain. In overall, it seems like I'm the only one who likes the hot chocolate here as baby and mom think it is normal and not worth for a second visit. Oh well, looks like you have to give it a try and decide for yourself.

Italiannies @ Gurney Paragon, Penang.

I've been wanting to try Italiannies since the day it was opened but I only managed to try it like FEW DAYS AGO. But that's okay better late than never right? Based on the name Italiannies it obviously has something to do with Italian food, spaghetti, lasagna, pizza you name it!

Menu

Complimentary toast with olive oil and vinegar, I've never  tasted such combinations before so it was quite a new thing for me. At first I was like "won't oily meh?" and bread with vinegar doesn't seem to mix, but it actually tasted pretty good! 

Loving their cozy and quiet environment. The staff were busy decorating to create a Xmas feeling!

How can I not agree to this?! Eating is a very important part of our lives so we.must.not.stop.eating, especially when it comes to great food. Speaking of great food, scroll down and you will see some!

Shrimp & Asparagus Alfredo (shrimps, bacon and asparagus cooked in a creamy parmesan sauce and tosses with fettucine). I did not order my favourite carbonara as I heard that the portion is quite big and I was afraid I couldn't finish it. AND I WAS RIGHT. When it was served in front of me I thought "this definitely worth the price"

This shares some similarities with carbonara as it is quite creamy as well just not as greasy as carbonara. The amount of shrimps and bacon are very generous! Major love <3 The only thing I dislike is the fettucine as I've always been a fan for spaghetti only, so regret for not asking them to change :( But still, the taste was really great and the portion is so big that I could only eat half ._. Their pasta can really be served for 2 servings.

Mom's. Chicken Milanese. (Grilled chicken breast served over cream spinach, then topped with chilled tomato caper relish). Mom's dish was smaller compares to mine because she only ordered Piccolo size, which is for 1 serving only. Both of us liked the sauce, it's like a white sauce and not greasy at all!

And I would like to express my satisfaction towards one of the waiter there, mom actually planned to order another dish but he suggested that the orders would be too much for two of us as the portion is big, thus mom changed her mind to the Chicken Milanese, which is a good choice too. I considered him as a life saver or else my mom and I would be stuffing everything into our mouths.

Tiramisu! I've always have in mind that tiramisu is always served in a very small size, and I'm so happy that Italiannies proved me wrong! My mouth literally went :O when it was served. Not only it is big, it tastes so damn good I had orgasnom lol. The whole thing was really soft, creamy, the melt-in-your-mouth kind. Somehow I don't know why the bottom part was so wet and it spoilt the lowest part, but other than that it was really GOOD, my mon was like "China House out already" haha. 

My satisfied face. And sort of crave for more face. Heard my bf said that their lasagna was big and good which makes me wanting them more :( 

If you're an Italian food lover, I highly recommend Italiannies! They serve great food with great quantity and quality!