It was a normal day until my friend sms-ed me that I was featured in The Star Food Blog section. It was really an honor because that review actually occupies half a page O.o So I thought I should re-post Nyonya Breeze here with some correction. Thank you for the person who submitted my post to them :) Something I would like to rectify though. I am a female blogger =.= And it was stated at my Xanga's sidebar. How did the people missed it?
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Let's see... the last time I had a nyonya meal was...more than 3 months ago? Anyway I had a proper Nyonya lunch once at Hot Wok Island Plaza before it gulung tikar :P The food wasn't great anyway. In Penang, in order for a shop to sustain its business, it has to serve CHEAP and DELICIOUS food.
Wiki the word 'Peranakan' and you would find interesting facts about them. Anyway, that's not my point. I read a small paragraph of descriptions about the Nyonya food origin on the menu. Its said that the ones in Malaysia are separated into 2 groups. The 'Thai-influenced' and the 'Indon-influenced'. Penang's Nyonya food would be 'Thai-influenced'. It's obviously because Penang is closer to Thailand (The dishes I ordered were pretty...santan-ny...so go figure). Their southern counterparts (Melaka & Singapore) would be 'Indon-influenced'. This explains why certain food items in Melaka and Singapore are not available in Penang. I didn't know about this up to now XD Oh before I forgot Nyonya food in Penang could have a bit Hainan influence as well.
Decided to bring my Singapore aunty to this restaurant because we are bored with the usual lunch places. This place is clean, comfortable and no elaborated decorations (cheap sign! kekeke).
Homemade nutmeg juice. Wish they serve fresh nutmeg juice but I guess not everyone could accept it.
Mom and I did the order. We ordered so much that the waiter couldn't keep up! LOL
Because we ordered Choon Peah (Spring rolls), the waiter brought over this soy sauce. I thought its a normal soy sauce with chili. It's not. I could taste cinnamon and a bit sourish-saltiness in it. Dad said Hainanese prepared this kind of sauces for deep fried food. Serene and Mayakirana told me its only LP sauce. Serene added that the Nyonyas would make their own concoction of LP (Lea & Perrins) sauce.
Choon peah is good! Slather it with the Nyonya self made LP sauce, it taste even better : )
It's like the sauce enhanced the choon peah flavour. Suppose to have Roti Babi as well but they mixed up the order and gave our Roti Babi to another table. Unlike the conventional Choon Pneah, there's minced pork, some cabbage and carrots. Ordered 3 rolls of Choon Pneah which cost RM 12 (about 12 pieces).
I have a feeling Roti Babi have the same fillings as Choon Pneah. I wonder if Roti Babi is Hainanese food?
Then came the Kari Kapitan Chicken...Yumz....A huge bowl with huge chunks of chicken! Yummylicious kuah smoothered on hot rice...Syok! Not spicy at all and very herb-ly flavoured. Love it.
One large bowl of Kari Kapitan Chicken costs RM14. Woohoo cheap gila. 7 people took their piece of chicken and there's still left over about 3 pieces.
Nasi goreng ulam sure lives up to its name . Serene recommended nasi ulam but I ordered the other one instead. Luckily, if not my parents sure complain. The fried rice was good with loads of shallots and herbs such as daun kadok, daun selasih and kay-sai-tin. Thanks to Serene who provided me this information : ) Me like. A bit dry but has nice fragrant and not heavily flavoured. RM7 for that.
This dish below is called Masak Titik but in the menu its Masak Lemak. The dish was cooked with sweet potatos, potato leaves and santan. Sweet and soupy, something I hadn't try. Funny thing about nyonya food is they don't have distinctive salty flavour. All their dishes taste are spot on. Serious. I never felt thirsty throughout the meal. This explains the quality of food here. Thumbs up :) One large bowl Masak Titik, RM12.
Another dish served piping hot, Sambal Goreng. This taste fantastic. Its soo delicious! And it never came across my mind that Sambal Goreng is like that!
Deliciously cooked with brinjals (kio) and peeled prawns (how kind of them) with some other ingredients like roasted cashew nuts. Its just as good as the Kari Kapitan chicken and could easily help a person to whoop up 2 plates of rice which I did >.< 
It's never enough for a family with huge appetite.
Ordered another 3 pieces of otak otak which I think is over steamed. Not smooth and taste a bit funny. Probably too much daun kadok. Three pieces of them cost RM9
Serene suggested Sambal kacang botol instead of Kerabu Kacang Botol but I prefer kerabu more : ) And I love it. Raw kacang botol (Four angled beans? Its a legume) with onions and spicy sauce. Woo sedap! Hahaha Taste was just right, spot on!
There are a few more dishes we ordered (Ikan Belanda & Fried Bayam). Nothing special but they still taste alright. First time I got to know about Hong Bak. The potatoes taste good but I guess Tau Eu Bak would fare better compare to Hong Bak.
To finish off the perfect lunch, we had Lek Tau T'ng (Green Bean Soup) for dessert. No choice. One day, 1 type of dessert served. Nonetheless, dessert was good. Though I felt its a tad too sweet. But it smells really good!
All in all like what Serene said, pretty authentic and reasonably priced. Wonder if I would get free meal for posting this?
Please go early to avoid disappointment and long waiting time.
Nyonya Breeze Restaurant
No.50, Lorong Abu Siti,
10400 Penang.
Rosie, Gerald, Ken
Tel: 012-3348390
Penang Nyonya Breeze
Posted by Cokeworld Citizen | 12:10 AM | Lunch, Nyonya Food, Penang, The Star | 6 comments »
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oh that was you? but I thought the web URL was different.
the sambal goreng was entirely diff from what i had in mind.
the spread looked great. i've a funny experience at this place. :)
not gonna tell though.
J2Kfm:
Yeah it was. Dunno why 'she' become 'he' tho...Exactly. When sambal goreng was served I didn't know it was Sambal Goreng until the waiter told LOL
Hi Jian Ming: I was reading The Star late last night and saw that review. Been to Nyonya Breeze too once. Parking's a bit difficult unless you can get a parking spot right in front of the shop. The owner used to be a florist but I guess cooking's more satisfying. She used to be in Tg Tokong but the location in town seems to be much better. You are right about the people. Tons of them! Must go early. Nic's fave seems to be Hot Wok till they shifted to their current location next to Giant. Now parking is terrible. You must be inundated with SMSes yesterday on your piece!
Mayakirana:
ya but you can park at Choo Plaza also. I know they moved from Tanjung Tokong to town but not the florist part. Surprisingly no sms. LOL they don't even know its me.
Hey, solid menu at Nyonya Breeze - my first and only visit so far was extremely memorable. Agree the otak-otak is somehow lacking in punch though. That Sambal Goreng dish is fascinating! Extra points for peeled prawns!:-)
550ml jar of faith:
Yeah pretty good stuff in there but I wouldn't know wat to order if my friend hadn't recommend those dishes. Glad you enjoy your meal. Hehehe everyone seems to be attracted to Sambal Goreng!