CAB Western Food

CAB Western Food restaurant at Farlim

Of late, more and more Western food restaurants are springing up in the island. Not to be surprised, each will gather their own crowd at their doorsteps. Big crowd at James Foo Western Food has kept us away until now. We are too lazy to wait in line when our stomach rumbles. That was what brought us to CAB Western Food one weekend. We thought the latter was not that packed but we were wrong. Luckily, we managed to get ourselves a table.

The iconic CAB chef

Someone told us that it is better than the famous James Foo Western Food. Anyway, we are not  too sure as we have never tried James Foo's.

A glimpse of the inside of the place: cosy but packed

As our starter, we had ordered the mushroom soup. It is very tasty and it comes with bread crumbs in it in addition to two crispy biscuits. Thumbs up! It is definitely better than the one we had at Hai Nan Western Food. It is RM 4.90 per bowl.

The mushroom soup

The price of the food here was not steep at all. At RM 13.90, we could get a plate of Grilled Chicken and Fish Combo with side dishes. This was recommended to us by the staff there. The taste is superb but maybe additives are used in them which left us feeling quite thirsty after that. Unlike other restaurants, they serve seabass instead of the usual dory fish here. So, this is good news if you dislike the taste of dory fish. The set of Grilled Chicken and Fish Combo is covered with homemade demi glaze (brown sauce). This is their house sauce. It is good! Plus they only served chicken drumstick in the set. 

Grilled chicken and fish combo with homemade demi glaze

This set has two choices of sauce; either homemade demi glaze or black pepper sauce. 

The portion is very big

The Rootbeer float that we ordered was just okay. It was RM 4.90. 

Rootbeer float

Next time, we would want to try their Lemon Butter Grilled Fish and Sizzling Chicken sets. They do look appetizing. If you are in doubt of what to order, just ask the uncle-in-charged. He is very friendly, courteous and informative.

Some pros and cons: 
- Their service is quite fast despite large crowd. 
- The washrooms are very clean and nice.
- Parking is just along the road outside the restaurant. At peak hours, it may be difficult to get one. 
- After the second time there, we finally concluded that their food was way too salty, not to our liking. (Updated: June 12, 2014)

Details of the outlet:
Address: 16J Lebuhraya Thean Teik, 11500 Ayer Itam, Penang (Next to Bata shop and near Wed's pasar malam site at Farlim)
Closed on Wednesday

Hai Nan Western Food

Have you heard of the famous Western food at Mount Erskine area? To be exact, at the compound of a Chinese temple. It is always packed to the brim. Now, they have a branch at Terengganu Road. This place is more comfortable because it is newer and has a more comfortable environment (instead of squeezing in the cramped compound of the temple). Plus, they also have a section indoor which is air-conditioned.

I am not sure whether there is a difference in their food prices between the two places. Anyway, their Western food is served at a very reasonable price.

As appetizer, we had ordered mushroom soup with garlic bread (RM 5). The two pieces of toasted garlic bread were the largest that I have ever seen. The soup tasted like the one from Campbell. Therefore, it was not to my liking. I had expected pieces of mushroom to munch on but there was none or it was already blended. The garlic bread was just average too. With each person a bowl of mushroom soup, we were already quite full. Well, don't expect the waitress to serve the main course after you have finished your soup as our main course came shortly after the soup was served. 

Mushroom soup with garlic bread

A good thing here is they  serve only chicken drumsticks (not breast meat) in a variety of flavours in their menu. 

This is the Barbecue Chicken (RM 9.50). The chicken is grilled and topped with the barbecue sauce. Well, the barbecue sauce pleases my palate. The set is very filling especially with the fries and bun.

Barbecue chicken

Next is the Chicken Cafe de Paris (RM 9.50). The chicken is grilled with garlic and cheese. You can taste the garlic in every bite. It is fine with us. We like it.

Chicken Cafe de Paris

The next one is for the cheese lover. This is the Cheesy Chicken (RM 10.50). The chicken is grilled to perfection and topped with a piece of cheese.

Cheesy Chicken

We notice that all the side dishes are the same; bun, fries, coleslaw and raw salad. So, I suppose it is quite standardised. I would have preferred different side dishes (like wedges, mash potatoes, etc) to choose from.

Apple juice (RM 3), honeydew juice (RM 3) and a cold white coffee (RM 2.50) are priced very reasonably.

Cold white coffee, apple juice and honeydew juice

This is the indoor section which is air-conditioned and equipped with two televisions for the viewing of the patrons. There are about only six to seven tables here.

Hai Nan Western Food indoor seating

This is the outdoor section which is not air-conditioned. The seating is spacious as compared to the one at Mount Erskine.

Hai Nan Western Food outdoor seating

In a nutshell, it is worth a try here if you are on a budget but looking for a place to dine in comfort. In addition, there is no service charge or government tax in the bill. Plus, their toilets are very clean too in addition to the modern design. If you are not keen in Western food, they also have a Taiwanese food menu which will be saved for our next trip here.

The details of the place:

Address: 29-A, Jalan Terengganu, 10460 Georgetown Penang

Telephone: 04-2818559

You will not be able to find Hai Nan Western Food at this address. It has closed down. However, there is another Western food outlet taking its place. (Updated: June 12, 2014)

I wonder Who's Bryan at Coffee and Cuisine Restaurant

Who's Bryan Coffee and Cuisine's entrance

It was a New Year gathering lunch at Who's Bryan Coffee and Cuisine, a new branch in Farlim, Penang. Initially, we thought it was closed on New Year Day but it was only opened at 1.30 p.m. Better be early, otherwise, you need to wait for tables. 

The bar counter and a mini stage 

This was the first time for all of us. So, none of us had any idea of what to order. A not so good first impression was the waiter telling us this and that on the menu were not available. I was not sure for what reasons.

Classy cutlery

Most of the food were Western food. The local cuisine which was printed on the menu was not available that day. Below were some of the food we ate:

Pasta with grilled chicken

The grilled chicken was good as well as the pasta although it was a bit spicy for me. It was spicy because of the pepper on it.

Grilled chicken with cheese looks tempting

Grilled chicken too but with sausages also looks delicious

I have forgotten the exact name of those sets of grilled chicken. The presentation of the food was good. We tried the grilled chicken but we thought it had a funny taste which we did not like. It might not have been grilled enough. 

Mushroom soup with the sweet bread in it

The mushroom soup was bland to me. It lacked certain taste.

My pumpkin soup and a sweet bread but without the dunk dish inside (as seen in the menu) 

The pumpkin soup was a little too sweet. The pieces of dunk dish were not seen at all although they were featured in the menu but I was too lazy to ask.

Lime with lychee juice

Green tea latte

My green tea latte was the last one available. That was what the waiter told me. I was lucky I got to order it. 

Apart from the food, we loved the nice decor and the inviting ambiance of the place. A good thing was the tables here were not positioned too close to one another. So, this place was more spacious inside.

In my opinion, the food choices here are quite common like in most Western food restaurants in Penang except for the place which looks inviting to have a gathering. We ordered five main courses for five people, three drinks and two soup and the bill was about RM 150. If you like a cosy and comfortable place to hang out in a residential area like Farlim, it is worth a try.

Location of this restaurant:

It is located in Farlim, Penang at All Seasons Place complex.