BUBBLE TEA- Gong Cha vs. Chatime

Lately, Malaysians are very fascinated with popular drinks from Taiwan- Bubble Tea. There are plenty of bubble tea outlets in Malaysia has been sprouting like mushroom all over the place, and Malaysians are still very keen on trying bubble tea from various outlets. I am also a victim of this hype, and I have also set my taste bud to taste several types of bubble drinks.

Courtesy of Wowwoo

Here we go with Gong Cha bubble tea. So I tried signature Winter Melon Tea, and the tea comes with salty froth cream, fresh winter melon tea, and of course their signature none other than white pearls!! The salty froth cream on top of the tea gives you slightly savoury taste, what I can say more, absolutely wonderful!

Next, I tried Gong Cha’s Milk Green Tea. Just talking about it makes me salivate! No matter if you ordered it hot or cold, yet this is the best green tea that I‘ve ever had. The tea is very good as it is not too sweet and the aroma of the tea is really refreshing.

Courtesy of Wowwoo

That’s my favourite list in Gong Cha, now we heed further to another bubble tea giant Chatime. When I say Chatime, Roasted Milk Tea popped up in my mind!! The roasted milk tea is quite different with the normal milk tea mainly because of its aroma. Plus this tea is served with right amount of sugar as it is not too sweet or bitter. Whenever, I drop by Chatime, I’ll never forget to order Roasted Milk Tea as it is one of my favourite tea.

Well, that is my first preference when I visit Chatime, I never wanted to try any other tea or smoothies till a friend of mine introduce Matcha Red Bean Smoothie. It’s so delicious, the smoothie is well blended red beans plus with sufficient amount of matcha taste!! If you haven’t tried it before, next time when you visit Chatime don’t forget to order one Matcha Red Bean Smoothie.

It’s completely understandable that some of you are health conscious, well worry not because when you drop by these bubble tea shops there is an option for you to decide on the sugar level and also the ice level in your tea. My personal recommendation is Chatime as they offer a lot varieties name it teas, juice or smoothies!! Happy bubble tea hunting folks!!

Franchise vs. Street Food

So today, I was craving for a bowl of Kai Si Hor Fun and I was annoying almost everybody in the office about it. And yes, as always I managed to get myself a bowl of Kai Si Hor Fun at one of the famous kopitiam franchises. As I was waiting for my food to be served, they were chitter chatter about the food I ordered and how it is being too commercialised that it has lost its authenticity.

Check out this place for one of the best Hor Fun!

Most of the people I worked with are Chinese and they were telling me how good and refreshing is the bowl of Hor Fun that they get to enjoy back in Ipoh, the birthplace of Hor Fun. So, when the food arrived, I put aside all my thoughts and I indulged on a bowl of perfection, at least to me it is. And they were still saying how good the hawker food is compared to all the prestigious places people would actually go to eat. So, for today I guess, it is only appropriate if I were to cover of franchise food vs. plain old good street/hawker food.

So the question is what makes people go to the expensive franchises outlet instead of the good street stalls? It is a matter of choice and preference. Simple, basic, everyday example would be coffee. Why on earth would you go to an expensive coffee shop and get a black coffee when you can get a fresh one brewed at the warung? The way I see it, coffee is coffee. It is made of coffee beans. You may add sugar or cream to it. Again, it’s preference and choice. Of course I too believe that people buy things with brands that they are comfortable with and they trust.

When a food is too commercialised, it will lose its authenticity. And it is a sad fact that people are still consuming it, well for the sake of eating. But do they enjoy the food? I believe not. Again, it all goes back to preference and choice. And just recently I was reading some online article about youngsters are more inclined in joining the F&B business and opening up a restaurant rather than open up a hawker stall. Why, you ask? Well, it’s simple. 40 years ago, they’ve seen how hard their parents worked under the blazing hot sun opening a hawker stall selling their family’s authentic dish made with love to provide a shelter.

However, this is not the case in this present time, as more and more people wants things to be done easier! Did you see the salad pack at the supermarket? They even have ready-made vegetables used as coleslaw and not forgetting Caesar salad packed in plastic bowl ready to eat! People are getting lazier, aren’t they or we, for this matter? Opening a restaurant and selling food (not good food) seems like a simple matter and everybody can venture into it and what attracts them most is the profit margin that is waaaaaaaaaaaaay higher in comparison to street stalls.

I’m actually running out of idea to talk about this matter. And I strongly stand by my opinion when I said it’s all the matter of choice and preference and most of the hawker stalls are one of a kind and it’s a lost for people to only go to franchise outlets and not acknowledge the goodness of food at the roadside. Till then, toodles! 

Penang Food

Penang is an island located 330km north from the capital state of Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur. This small yet rich island is paradise for both local and tourists. Penang food is sure to tickle your taste buds and make you crave for more. For those who are watching their waistline, Penang is sure to torment you! 

Penang is also known as the melting pot of culture and tradition. The food here varies from Malay cuisine all the way to Western cuisine! You name it, they sure to have it! Penang food is so rich in flavours, which is has also made one of the local’s favourite, the Penang Assam Laksa to be listed on one of the most delicious dish by CNN GO in 2011. The Assam Laksa itself is a dish originated from the Peranakan, a race that are the descendent of the15th century Chinese immigrant whom had married and settled down in Malaya.

It’s hard to separate Penang food and Penang Island itself with history. For example, Char Kuey Teow that is now enjoyed by Malaysian has a story on its own. The simple stir-friend rice cakes with light soy sauce, fish cakes, cockles, bean sprouts and chives were once meant to be eaten by labourers who needed such nutrients to enable to work the long hours. The recipe has been re-vamped as, originally pork lards were used to replace the seafood placed and the dish was stir-fried in pork fat instead of cooking oil.

Being the melting pot of culture and flavours, you’ll see a lot of fusion and mixture of food of different roots in Penang Island. This is where the term Rojak was derived from. Typically this term means mixture. Rojak buah is one of the locals’ favourite Penang foods. A mixture of local fruit salad dressed with a special dark brown nutty dressing.

There’s an endless list of Penang food to write about! These are just few of the examples of Penang food that you should try! Make your visit worthwhile by trying out these and other scrumptious delicacies!