La Boheme Penang

Fresh from the travel to Paris, we wanted to taste Penang's french pastry, very apprehensive, but we are willing to try, so the food blog showed about La Boheme.

A little bit too rustic for my liking

We reached La Boheme at around 11.30am only to find the it locked and closed. After a long detour, we came back and finally it is open.

On a hot sunny weekend.

Interior ambiance, no air-conditioning, rather hot in a sunny day.

Looking at the entrance.

No photography at the pastries ? I rather not take after looking at the real deal in Paris.

Really hot afternoon.

We went in and there wasn't anyone inside and we sat and ordered croissant, pain au chocolat and apple tart with Earl Grey tea and apple juice.

Rather dark, looks like a bit burned. RM3.50

The croissant is a bit oily, not like the great ones with buttery smell without the greasy feel. Some parts are charred, unbelievable to be serving charred croissant.

Pain au chocolat looks much better, RM4.50

Apple tart with thin slices of caramelized apple slices. RM8.00

I remember the pain au chocolat is different in Paris.

After tasting all the pastries, we were dissapointed. Maybe the french 'baker' has lost his passion for bakery, the pastries are not fresh either, most probably not made the same day. The only saving grace is the apple tart, a tad too sweet for my liking, although the almond taste is present at the tart.

And the verdict :

(Best of 5 stars)
Food quality: 2.0 stars ( Pastry that we had, I doubt is not fresh )
Service: 1.5 stars ( Only 1 server. )
Food portion: 2.0 stars ( Standard portion )
Value: 1.50 stars ( The price is almost paris standard, unfortunately, the food isn't .) 

 

An alternative food is just at the opposite the La Boheme, we had dinner there.

Nice green vege.

Grouper fish slice.

 

 Taufu with crab meat.

Starter plate, nice.

Afer the food, all clean.

Maricosa - Pacific Rim Hawaiian Cuisine

Is there such a thing as Hawaiian cuisine ?

Apart from the funny ceiling fans, I wonder Hawaiian cuisine exists ? Yes, or maybe no. Situated at the posh Straits Quay, the Maricosa 'supposedly' serves Hawaiian cuisine.

 The front facade, classy and stylish. Looks are deceiving.

A voice in my head hesitated. Looks like it is not cheap.

 Nice printing. Cuisine sounds daunting.

Overall, very nice renovation and I kinda like the bright lighting and the 'Hawaiian' setting.

 Nice decorations.

 Notice the funny fans and the amount of liquor.

 Steaks are served too with various additionals.

 Always liked the projected lights on photo with frames, very art gallery like, chic.

 Kitchen staff, Margarita anyone ?

 Tiramisu, macarons ? Not very Hawaiian though ...

 Undeniable, the decor is quite top notch.

 Enough liquor to get everyone in a happy mood.

 Bruschetta, hmm can be improved ( RM 14.90), expensive.

 Lomi Salmon, a few chunks of shasimi grade salmon with honey tomato, olive oil, cucumber and lettuce, RM25.90, expensive.

 Spaghetti Con Vongole, quite disappointed with this, and expensive (RM27.90)

 Island Pork Cullet, the pork is pretty dry, and again expensive(RM32.90)

 Salmon Tajine, blasphemously not Hawaiian, salmon chunks with clams served in miso and seafood broth, a mismatch though, but expensive (RM.49.90)

Hmm, this is not a Hawaiian restaurant, neither it is attempting to serve you Hawaiian cuisine. I agree the ambiance and decor are top notch but it is also extremely expensive. The receipt says 'Please Come Again'. Sounds like more of a gimmick, an Irish bar had failed, would a Hawaiian restaurant survives ?

And the verdict :

(Best of 5 stars)
Food quality: 2.0 stars ( So-so ingredients but the taste is rather bland )
Service: 1.5 stars ( Server mixed up and the Tajine was served very late. )
Food portion: 2.0 stars ( Can be improved on )
Value: 1.50 stars ( Quite expensive and the food served seems very un-Hawaiian, at least to me .)

Adjourned to the nearby Starbucks, projected lights on photo frames with photo, very chic.

 Starbucks Straits Quay.

Street art at Penang

The buzz about vandalism against Penang street art has inspired me to capture and retain the art in photography form.Artist Ernest Zacharevic has helped to put art on the alleyway for us.

A desaturated look of old building at Cannon Street in Penang.

Reaching up to higher heights.

At the junction between Cannon Street and Armenian Street.

Another mural by Ernest Zacharevic at Ah Quee Street.

Old russian made motorcycle ( Minsk ).

Mural of an old man.

Later, went over to Straits Quay for dinner.

Light house of Straits Quay, evening.

 The jetty for yachts.

Blue reef serves quite good fish and chips but not so good bruschetta.

 Mainland Penang at night.
 

 Yachts parked and fastened securely at night.

 Another view of the calm waters at Straits Quay.

 Nice shops with lighting at night at Straits Quay.

Cycling at balik pulau

Recently with the fever of cycling, decided to give cycling in Balik Pulau a try. Balik Pulau is situated at the 'other' side of Penang island where much of the landscape here is untouched by the rapid development. I do hope it stays the same, that is a very wishful thinking. There are a few shops renting out bicycles for a nominal fee.

This shall be the ride to 'conquer' the Balik Pulau trails. The 'Explorer' and so it  is named.

You can enlist the help of a local guide to show you around, this is highly advisable, but do get the good ones. It is also very helpful to 'remind' the guide if he or she is not sure which trail that you want to explore, especially if you are exploring with younger participants or older ones. The performance envelop, with the quality of bicycles given, might even challenge the Tour De France cyclists.

A short cycle away, we reached the fishing village at Balik Pulau.

Fishing village at Balik Pulau.

A long sandy area to walk by and enjoy the early morning scenery.

Another scenery of the vegetation, quite soothing.

Fishing boat headed to the small jetty to offload the catch of the day.

Heading back towards to gather the bicycles and move on.

One last photo.

Off to the road and to the next stop. This route is physically demanding on the steeper sections. Also there is no traffic here.

Downhill sections are very enjoyable, with the thick vegetation, it is rather nice.

I didn't know there are padi fields at Balik Pulau, you also get to cycle through it. Like the scenery.

Another view of the padi fields, it would be nicer with the water.

After the arduous cycling journey, a cup of local brew coffee is a bliss.

Had the famous 'Laksa' at the coffee shop.

The typical laksa with 'hae ko'(蝦羔)

Or you can have the alternative, lemak laksa.Quite nice and yummy.

Look at the amount of laksa sauce containers. I'd say good business.

You can also try to go to the bile trail with this bicycle, be warned, it is quite challenging.

Overall, there are a few bicycle rental shops. However, I would highly encourage that you bring along your own bike, a decent one of course. You will truly enjoy the trail with a good bike( hard tail is good enough) with good suspension setup. If you really just want to try it out without buying new bicycles, you can rent it through Audi Mtb Club (GPS location :N 05 18.732 E 100 12.416), if I'm not mistaken is RM15 per person.