Buzzing with FOOD

"What/Where to eat?"

"No idea"

That’s the usual answer you will get if you ask around.

Well, this restaurant’s name is NO EYE DEER. How did it come about? My wild guess is that the proprietor hears the kind of conversation as above too many times and hence the name! NO EYE DEER is located on the 1st floor, Prima Tanjung, Tanjung Tokong (opposite Island Plaza)

Looks like christmas deco although it is nowhere near to christmas when I was there.

Quite an extensive menu I would say. It’s mainly western but they do have some Asian dishes such as Vietnamese Pho, Laotian Laksa and Chicken Kapitan Briyani.

We ordered the Chicken Parmigiana Set (RM 26.80) and Fish & Chips Set (RM 27.80). Drinks is excluded.

Ice Lemon Tea (RM 3.80) and Ice Strawberry Tea (RM 4.80)

Mushroom soup. Rich and creamy. Nicely done!!

Chicken Parmigiana. This one taste much better than in RoadHouse Grill. The chicken is tender and the sauce has a nice aroma, taste sour and a little spicy. Added with melted cheese on top and own-made mash potatoes as side-dish.

Fish & Chips. According to them, they serve the best fish & chips in town! Well, the fish is real juicy and the batter did not overwhelm the overall taste but yet passes on the crispy mark. I enjoyed it.

Look at the size of the ketchup bottle!!

Upside-down ice-cream. Part of the set meal. Two scoops of vanilla ice-cream, with chocolate sauce and crushed peanuts. Lovely desert!!!!

No Eye Deer opens from 6-11pm (weekdays) and 12pm-11pm (weekends) but closes on Tuesdays! The restaurant is not very big, so if you are going in a big group, call to book to avoid disappointment!

Recently we had an opportunity to try out and do a review at one of a new cafe located at Argyll Road. Louis Cafe opened for business on 22nd Dec 2008. Barely 2 months old, the owner, Madam Teoh graciously invited the floggers through Lingzie for us to have a taste of their specialty.

The interior is conducive with lower floor and upper floor. The upper floor is nicely decorated and is very suitable for a quiet dining. Or if you have a group, you can even arrange with the owner to book the upper floor to accommodate your plans.

They offer a wide variety of set meals, both for lunch and dinner.

Lunch set meal goes for RM 18.90+ which includes soup of the day, choice of main course, a drink and ice-cream. They have a different set menu from Mon-Sun.

Where else, dinner set meal goes for RM 26.90+ which includes soup of the day, appetizer of the day, choice of main course, a drink and ice-cream. They also have a different set menu from Mon-Sun. Patrons sure will not be bored since there’s different choices EVERYDAY!

For starters, we were served Classic Caesar Salad (Crispy Lettuce with caesar dressing and garnished with smoked salmon, grated paramesan cheese, herbs croutons and bacon bits) [RM18]. This salad was a hit as the smoked salmon and paramesan cheese gives a delightful taste to the greens. Thumbs up for this dish!!

Our House Rules Organic Garden Greens (Organic fresh mixedgreen salad served with your choice of dressing) [RM15]. Very fresh and healthy choice of salad. Some olive oil and apple cidar were the main ingredients for the dressing.

Scallops with Apple Salsa (Organic fresh garden greens and seared sea scallops accompanied with mango salsa) [RM20]. This dish was added with apple salsa instead of the mango salsa as stated in the menu. The scallop was really juicy and has a burstful flavour with the combination of salsa sauce, chopped onions, tomato and apple.

Next came 5 types of soups. Some of them are listed in the menu while some are new creations from the chef. Those not in the menu can be specially ordered. Do enquire if you are interested. The soup has a very thick consistency and taste-wise ranges from mild (cauliflower) to sharp (tomato).

(Left-Right) Cream of broccoli [RM9] and Italianese Wild Mushroom Soup [RM10]

(Left-Right) Cream of Tomato [RM9] and Fresh Pumpkin Soup [RM9]

(Left-Right) Cream of Cauliflower [RM9] and complimentary dinner rolls.

Then came the main course meals.

First up was The Vegetarian Cutlet (not in the menu) [RM15.90]. This is a special dish created by the chef for those who are vegetarians. Very crispy outer layer and inside includes a nice combination of corn, carrots, onions, herbs, mash potatoes. It taste a little like hash brown but definitely more flavourful and appetizing.

Sirloin Steak (Australian Beef - Grilled and served with Red Wine sauce or Peppercorn sause) [RM28]. The red wine was a good choice and is well absorbed into the beef meat.

Grilled Lamb Chop with brown mushroom sauce [RM22]. I only tasted the mushroom and sauce of this dish. The sauce is pleasently infused with different types of mushrooms flavours.

Grilled Lamb Chop with peppercorn sauce [RM22].

Beef tenderloin with peppercorn sauce (Australian Beef) [RM38]

Baked Stuffed Chicken [RM20]. The chicken thigh is marinated, stuffed with cheesy sausage inside  and then baked till brown. Mushroom sauce is then added on it. This dish is recommended as it has a perfect combination and taste.

Pan seared salmon steak (with selection of Dijon Cream Sauce or Hollandaise Sauce) [RM30]. The price of this dish might be a little steep but the quality and portion served was good and big. Fried ginger is garnished on top of the salmon fillet. The dijon sauce taste good.

Fish Gordon Bleu (Red Snapper Fillet stuffed with ham and cheese crumbed) [RM25]. Although the menu listed that red snapper is used, but the chef decided to serve us pacific dory which is deep fried till golden brown and served with lime butter sauce. This dish deserves a thumbs up as well for the perfect combination of sliced ham and cheese which just melts in your mouth.

Seared Red Snapper with cream of tomato pulp [RM25]. The red snapper with the accompanied cream of tomato pulp is very interesting and flavourful, making this dish a delight for some of us.

Fettucine Carbonara [RM16]. Very creamy with ingredients like sliced bacon, ham, onion, garlic, assorted wild mushrooms sauteed in butter and grated paramesan cheese.The bacon gives a nice blend to the cream and cheese.

Spaghetti Arrabiata [RM16]. Nice dish for those who enjoys the sourish taste of tomato and herbs. The sauce is a little overpowering though.

Chicken tortilla (not in the menu) [RM15.90]. Mexican style dish which taste very good. The crispy tortilla nicely wrap the chicken cubes , tomatoes, potatoes and herbs. Best eaten while it’s hot from the oven. Another thumbs up.

Ice-cream is complimentary with set meals.

A cooling end to a wide variety of dishes served.

They also serve local desserts (tong sui) like White Fungus with Gingko Nuts [RM5] and Bird’s Nest.

For those who would prefer a light meal, they do have snacks like crispy chicken wings, deep-fried sotong balls, deep-fried calamari, potato wedges and french fries. Asian cuisine are also available if interested.

Free Wi-Fi enabled. Operating hours is from 11am till 11pm daily.

For other reviews: (courtesy of Criz)

Criz Lai of Criz Bon Appetite
Lingzie of Lingzie’s Tummy Treats
CK Lam of What2See Online
Huat Koay of PenangTuaPui
Rebecca of The Nomad Gourmand
Steven Goh of Steven Goh dot com
Allen Ooi of Yummy Station
Gill & Jason of Gourmet Garden
Carrie of Cariso Delicacies Corner
Mary of Food Paradise
Mr. Lee of Kwong Wah Yit Poh

Most families would opt to have steamboat on reunion day as it is easier to prepare and there’s a variety of things which can be cooked in a steamboat. Moreover, steamboat makes everyone sort of contribute to the cooking process and in between, while waiting for the ingredients to cook, family members can have a good chat. That’s the positive reasons which is making steamboat a more and more popular choice here.

Usually every year, we will buy a few large fish, prawns and other seafood directly from the fisherman in the village and then cleaned, "dissect"/cut, freeze it and unfreeze it again before we finally have steamboat. But because without the skill of "dissecting" and a really sharp knife like those fishmongers have, it was really hard work.

So how did we prepare it this year? If you are wondering where we get such big plates to display all the ingredients/why did we put it all so nicely??? We actually catered it from a restaurant. All was provided for…from plates,bowls,spoons,pots,portable gas stove and even ketchup and of course the main steamboat ingredients and two kinds of soup (clear soup and tomyam).

The only thing we did was to go to the shop in the afternoon to collect everything. We ordered 3 sets for about 20+ people. There were definitely extras and we continue eating it the next day! 

Easy right? Everything prepared for and we only had to set it up and put all edible stuff to boil. Save precious time which is spent on bonding with family members and eating!!!

Reunion is usually a big affair for the Chinese and Chinese New Year is the time where every family will come together and have a hearty meal while mingling with each other.

For my family, every year we will cook a variety of dishes for prayers and offering to our ancestors and after that, enjoy the meal together.

These are the usual dishes or more like Hokkien (Nyonya) traditional chinese dishes that we cook every year on the eve of Chinese New Year.

Curry chicken

‘Hoo Pheow Th’ng’ (Fish maw soup). The ingredients includes fish maw, home-made meat balls, few types of mushrooms, carrot, turnip.

The gas bladder (also fish maw, less accurately swim bladder or air bladder) is an internal gas-filled organ that contributes to the ability of a fish to control its buoyancy, and thus to stay at the current water depth, ascend, or descend without having to waste energy in swimming.

In some Asian cultures, fish maw of certain large sea fishes is considered a food delicacy (Chinese name: 花膠). It is usually served braised or in stews. Fish maws are also used in the food industry as a source of collagen. Fish maw can also be made into a strong, water-resistant glue.

Fried chicken. Not a traditional dish. This was not prepared the previous years.

Of course ‘lor bak’ (marinated pork meat wrapped in beancurd skin) and ‘jiu hu char’ (stir fried dried squids strips with turnips) cannot be missing. We have it every year without fail. The ‘jiu hu char’ is best eaten with some sambal (pic above). The sambal we had was home-made too.

This dish is something similar to ‘jiu hu char’ but has a type of salted fish sliced thinly (in light brown color) and fried together with turnips.So instead of ‘jiu hu’ (dried squids strips), it is replaced with the salted fish. This dish was given by our grandma’s neighbour. We never tried cooking it before, so I’m not really sure what type of fish was used.

So what did you had for your reunion meal?

So how was your Chinese New Year celebration? Although things are going slow (the economy and all), it never hinder the Chinese community to celebrate the most important event in the calendar.

And with all the reunion and visiting,  there’s abundance of food that was consumed right from day one ("Cheh It") till now.

I thought I would break the food post for CNY into 2 parts. This part includes all the delicacies or snacks or tidbits or finger food that we can be filling our stomach with, all day long.

Kuih Kapit | Love Letters

Ribbon kuih 

Muruku

Cornflakes cookies

Arrowroot | Ngaku

Mini curry puff with sambal dried shrimps/pork floss filling

And something I’ve only seen and eaten this year…. Seaweed wrapped in thin rice paper/popiah skin and deep fried.

Any wild guess which is made by me? (There’s another type of cookie I made and it was "pass-able" enough till others request more of it and I gave all away, thus none left for me….luckily I did snap some photos while I was making it. Will post about that soon)

Will post about the food we had for reunion meal in the next post. Till then, have a great time eating and jollying~!~!