Monday, December 31, 2007

Medan Selera Sri Weld

It is not a very old establishment, but some shops here are worth mentioning. What's more, parking is rather convenient. There is a small lane at the left of this photo above. Turn in and you'll find parking at the side and back of this food court.

Malay-English Translation
Medan Selera - Food Court

Location : Lebuh Penang, Georgetown, Penang
Rating : Good for some, below average for some

Review
I'll start off with the good ones. First we have Ali Nasi Lemak (coconut milk rice with chili/curry). It is a simple affair. 3 types of nasi lemak - eggs+anchovies, fish, or prawn, all readily packed.We picked eggs and anchovies, the conventional ones. The lovely green banana leaves serve as wrap, and it enhances the aroma of the rice. Don't worry abut its freshness. Although they are prepacked, the owner is just behind the stalls preparing them.Sorry if my hands kinda shaky. I just can't wait to grab a spoon and dig my way into that inviting pile of nasi lemak. Taste wise it is just lovely. The rice is fragrant and adequate sambal (chili sauce) is provided. Sambal is slightly sweet. The warm rice coupled with the sambal and aroma of banana leaf - fantastico!Next we ordered dried koay teow (flat rice noodles) and fresh beef slices + beef balls soup. This is the 2nd generation/branch from the original shop somewhere around Weld Quay. My dad used to visit the original shop and ordered a beef noodle special. How special you asked? That bowl of noodles cost RM15. The soup is made of Chinese herb called "Sip Chuan" or literally 10 herbs. And they included all parts of beef (I seriously mean all parts). But we did not order that. I am not sure if they still have that. But our koay teow came. Unassumingly clear in colour. I had expected dark soy sauce mix. Nevertheless, the koay teow is fragrant on its own right and smooth. I guess this way makes mixing the koay teow with the soup remain beefy, as dark soy sauce may have spoil the taste of the soup.Again, I did not expect the meat's colour to look so dark. Normally fresh beef slices are pinkish in colour. I thought the meat will be very tough then. Again I was wrong. The meat was just as tender. It is very juicy too. The beef ball is bouncy. Love the clear soup - fragrant yet not overpowering.
Now comes the below average stuff. It is not that they are bad, but when compared with their other counterparts around Penang, they are just below average.
I had Chie Hu (literally means fresh fish), a form of Chinese pasembur. Pasembur is a mamak (Indian Muslim) food with fried fritters mix with fresh vege doused with chili peanut sauce. Back to this Chie Hu. It usually has fresh jelly fish strips and the sauce is orangey thick (made of sweet potato). This one came with thin sauce and no fresh jelly fish. Feels like a pirated Chie Hu.Then we have popiah (spring rolls). I love Northern popiah as they do not have those hard crunchy stuff that hurts your mouth ceiling and gums.. I like my popiah soft and juicy. The one we had here is a bit dry and tasteless. Although Northern popiah does not have crunchy stuff, they have wither eggs or beancurds or other forms of soft accompaniments to go with the vege. This stall has none. Again feels like a pirated popiah.
So there you have it. 2 good and 2 below average. If you are asking then where to find a good popiah and chie hu? Coming on my next post. Till then, tata..

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