Fusion Gone Wrong - House of Udang Galah

 The name sounds really high end and so is the venue.

Unfortunately, the food is not great.

To be direct, it's lousy :-(

Foodie has decided to check this place out, since there has been much mentioned of it.

If you are travelling on your own and would like to come here for dinner, please be careful, it is pretty dark and quiet and may not be that safe at dawn.

Right, let's get back to the food ...

 we got the set meal ... and you would imagine for the grandeur of it's name everything would be featuring the tiger prawns ie udang galah ... nope ...

it is mainly Chinese dishes ... Chinese dishes and more Chinese dishes ... 

 a very typical 4 season platter err.. look closely ... siu mai ???

 half filled bowl of soup which is half cooled as well cause they were short of waiters ...

never mind ...

 here's where the fusion food starts going wrong ...

look closely, yes, nice fresh garoupa ... steamed with 'kei chi' and 'dong gui' ???

nothing beats a simply steamed fresh garoupa I stress ... just simply steam it - timing is the key.

So this fish tasted funny, not to mentioned it was over done ... what a waste ...

 more Chinese dishes ... over cooked chicken

portions are very large but not very tasty ...

 then comes the Udang Galah ... steamed Thai style ... plenty of sugar ... a lot of lime and chilli ...

why ??? masking of the unfreshness of the prawns ...

sorry folks ... this is a major let down ...

the long awaited udang galah ... the dish of the day ...

is a major major major disappointed :-(

 we end with the 'sugar fried noodles' ...

super sweet

once again huge portion but ...

 Nice seating area upstairs and downstairs ...

Ah ... one more thing before we end ...

Mr Skinny manager was not a good combi to the fusion gone wrong ...

no smile, service is never pleasant with a grouchy manager ...

 Therefore, this place has been rated a NO GO by Foodie's standards

Sorry guys ... the food is just all wrong ...

Hutton Lane, Koay Teow Thing

Food Rating           :    4 stars

Kopi O Rating        :    4 stars

Value for Money    :    3.5 stars

Ambience              :     Spacious & Clean

Breakfast and Lunch

Closed on Wednesdays

7am to 1.30 pm

If you are a Koay Teow Thing lover, we can shake hands. I can eat Koay Teow Thing for breakfast everyday and will not get sick of it.  Always looking for a different style of this soup noodle.  I think there may be thousands of Koay Teow Thing stalls in Penang, so one can have a blog just on this street food.

So this one has been around for 3 generations.  Used to sell at the little lorong just behind the old Cathay cinema, now they have moved into a shop along Hutton Lane, a few shops away from the once well known Eden Steakhouse.
If you are into adding spare parts, like intestines (pork and duck), heart, blood, liver, gizzard etc ... this is the place to go.
RM 4.50 you add everything, very filling.
Not 100% authentic cause there is fish ball, sotong ball, pork ball.
I normally prefer the authentic ones.
Soup is not hot enough though.

RM 1.00 coffee is good :-) 

RM 5.50 for a very filling breakfast

These are all the spare parts that you can choose  from.
Mix and match to your own liking.

Ambience is good, nice and clean.
Smokers sit outside, everyone is happy.
Choice of modern table or old style ones, reminds you of the days when they were still at the lorong ...
Good breakfast or brunch venue, try it !

Nam Seng @ Hutton Lane

Updated 29/11/2013

This is an updated APOLOGY to the owner of Foong's Hainan Chicken Rice.  First of all Foodie would like to thank the owner for being so upfront in expressing that I have made a mistake on the review of his stall, so that I could rectify the issue.

Truly appreciate your feedback.

After clarification from the owner (so sorry did not get your name but for writing purposes, I hope it is ok to call you Foong), I would like to inform all Foodie fans that there was a major misunderstanding.

The chicken from this stall is NOT free range chicken and Foong has never marketed or claimed that he sells free range chicken.  Therefore, Foodie would like to apologise for making the earlier comments dated 12/12/2012.

I have also changed the heading and this post has been removed from the NO GO list.

It is indeed an honor to know that many are enjoying this blog and it is getting more than its fair share of clicks :-)

Foodie would like to take the opportunity here again to stress that ...

All content provided on this blog is for informational purposes only. The owner of this blog makes no representations as to the accuracy or completeness of any information on this site or found by following any link on this site.   

These are all personal opinions for easy reading.  

And the blog is written for all Foodie's fans on what is latest available in Penang.

Thank you all for your support :-)

On a lighter note, the latest visit to Nam Seng coffee shop gives a pleasant surprise.

There is now a Char Koay Teow stall and it tastes really good.

So do have a go at it.

The coffee shop is still super clean and the Kopi O is still really good.

Edited on 12/12/2012

Sorry folks, a recent visit to Foong's Hainan Chicken Rice, and also feedback from a Foodie fan, this street food is now downgraded from hero to zero... and it is with great disappointment that Foodie has to boycott this place.

Why?

A Foodie fan had lunch 1 large rice with 1 chicken drumstick add on thigh was charged RM 9.60!
Ridiculously overpriced, owner was unable to explain the charges.

It is well noted that the prices are higher as they are using free range chicken which tasted absolutely tasty.  Unfortunately, feedback from fans has found that the supposedly free range chicken may be mixed with normal chicken... a rather dishonest act if this is true.

Anyway, as a result if the new findings this outlet has been stripped from "Penang's Best" to "No Go" List.

Sorry folks ...

Food Rating          :            5 stars
Kopi O Rating      :            4.5 stars
Value for Money     :            4.0 stars
Ambience               :            Nice and Clean

Closed on Fridays

Kedai Kopi Nam Seng
Hutton Lane
https://maps.google.com/maps?daddr=5.421496759702439,100.32846862070356

Brunch only - if you do not want to be disappointed you have to get there early, preferably around 12 noon then you won't end up seeing only 2 plastic chickens instead of the real ones.

I am very tempted to as him why he does not make more ...

This is a young couple team.  Son of the all famous Hainan Chicken Rice at Sri Bahari Road, this outlet is its branch.  The chicken is really good, smooth and tasty.  The rice is so yummy that you can eat it on its own without the chicken.  In fact, I would say it is similar if not better than the parent stall at Sri Bahari Road.

Foodie's Choice - Plenty of chicken and rice, plenty of chilli sauce, finish off with a cup of kopi O 

Spare parts - heart, gizzard and liver

This portion with 5 rice and 1 spare part side dish - feeds 4 all for RM 30.00

The black kopi O is a must try ... for RM1.00 cents it is heavenly !

Good thing about it is you can decide how much sugar you want to stir in

Price list for individual orders

The chicken is sold at a rate a little higher than the normal chicken rice shop, this is because he is using free range high quality chicken, not frozen ones.  You can taste the sweetness of the chicken, try it.

Parking may be a problem.

I am not being long winded, but this is true, if you do not want to be upset, you have to get there early, only early birds get to eat the Hainan bird, even if you arrive there by 1pm you may only be greeted with the plastic yellow birds.