HARVEST IN CAFE by LENG

Since me and my friends were to meet others for a night out much later in the night, we had plenty of time to kill. We wanted somewhere that we could have our meal, then some drinks till then instead of driving to another venue. As we were aimlessly driving in search of such place, suddenly we thought of this little cafe which we always pass by on the way to our usual eating place... Ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce you to "Harvest In Cafe"!





































What a beautiful exterior. The owners have done a really good job in restoring this old terrace house. The night when we were there, only the downstairs dining area was open, I am assuming the upstairs dining area is more for private functions etc.







































The interior has a very modern feel to it and there are many clocks (mainly made of glass) on display on the walls are for sale. These are beautiful pieces and would be able to modernise any room.




















The price range for the main meals in this cafe is very reasonable, most of them ranging from RM10 to RM15. The mains which we ordered below are about rm14. Best of all, no extra service charge! Also not to mention, ice water is FREE!

To have a complete 3-course meal, you only have to top up another rm4.90 and you get a drink, soup of the day and dessert! Seriously, only the soup itself is worth that price.



















Soup of the day - Chicken & Celery




















Carbonara, quite a huge portion, creamy and even comes with garlic bread




















Fish Cordon Blue, nice size piece of fish wrapped with cheese and ham filling



















Hugarian Chicken, very good roast chicken topped with their signature sauce





Don't forget after all this, you still have dessert to look forward to! You can choose either jelly or cheese cake and a scoop of ice cream. Me being the forever cheese cake fan had no difficulty in deciding what I want...

My Scores:
Taste: ☺☺☺☺
Environment: ☺☺ (a bit warm, although they have air con but it was quite stuffy inside)
Service: ☺☺☺☺ ☺ (friendly & helpful yet no service charge)
Price: ☺☺☺☺

Parking: ☺☺☺

Address: Corner of Irrawaddy Road and Chow Thye Road, Penang
Website: NA

DESIGNER CLOTHES SHOPPING AT ZURINA'S by GNEB

I met up with an old friend of mine whom I used to work with in my current company. It must have been about 6 to 7 years since I last saw her and she was indeed looking great. We met up for lunch in a vegetarian restaurant in Chow Thye Road (I’m going to write about this restaurant soon) and after that she took me to Zurina’s - a shop that sells designers’ clothing at marked down prices.

As the shop is located in a rather secluded part of this neighborhood and there’s not much being advertised about it, I thought I’d share with you what to expect in there. Honestly, if my friend hadn’t told me about it, I certainly would not have realized that this is a shop with so many “designers’ treasures” waiting to be uncovered and it is right here in Penang!




















Rahmat, the friendly shop owner showed us some of the designers’ collections at the shop. There’s a good selection of Emporio Armani’s jeans, Salvatore Ferragamo’s, DKNY’s and Versace’s. Amazingly, you can find them in different sizes (unlike some designers’ outlets where you only find sizes that either fit Kate Moss or otherwise, the Michelin Man!). There’s also a large selection of shirts, from Polo RL, Burberry, Kenzo, Paul Smith (great find indeed!), CK etc. Most of the clothes are for men, but there’s also a good collection of women clothing. In fact, the shop owner has devoted the entire front hall of the shop for women items such as bags, perfumes and some accessories.

According to Rahmat, he and his wife would go for shopping trips overseas frequently. You may have guessed China? I must admit I have the same thought too. Nevertheless, these are still good buys considering the prices you pay here versus what you pay at Starhill or KLCC. A pair of Armani Jeans costs between RM130 to RM160 (vs approx RM700) and a Lacoste Polo-T costs RM130 (vs approx RM300). Besides, who would have noticed if they are authentic or fake, especially if you have always had a reputation of sporting real designer stuff? C’mon, give your wallet a break!

I ended up buying a pair of Armani Jeans (RM160). Liked them all, except for the “carrot” cutting, but I’ve found someone in Prangin Mall who can fix them for me the way I like them. My friend told me there’s another designers’ outlet in Autocity and I’ll find out and tell you all about it. Meantime, Zurina’s should serve the purpose for the time being.























































I don’t know if they are real or fake, but they are still good buy J
My Scores:
Taste: NA
Environment: small but friendly
Service: friendly shop owner
Price: ☺☺☺
Parking: ☺☺☺(there’s a car park behind the shop at reasonable fees)
Address:
Website: NA
Others: The shop is on the same row as Jemputree in Burma Road, opposite Harvest In and next to Rose Restaurant. Oh, by the way, they open from 12pm to 7pm – to suit the office time apparently.

D' WHITE BEACH SEAFOOD RESTAURANT BY GNEB

This was definitely a busy and religious weekend in Penang. Wesak Day, a Hindu festival as well as Mother’s Day all fell on the same weekend. The traffic was a mess (I was stuck in the traffic jam for almost an hour on Saturday evening, on my way from Gurney Drive to the City Centre). I knew that Sunday (Mother’s Day) would definitely be worse. Knowing that this was the time of the year, filial piety suddenly found its way to everyone’s heart. It suddenly became chic and trendy to bring our mums out for a meal and places that we don’t usually want to be seen with them in. Mum was certainly an “in thing” to bring along with on Mother’s Day. In order to avoid the same predicament as Saturday’s, I had decided to find a restaurant that’s not so high profile and visible to the many food connoisseurs in Penang. All I wanted was a place that I could have a peaceful Mother’s Day’s dinner with my mum.

D’ White Beach Seafood Restaurant on Burma Road, Pulau Tikus certainly looked low profile enough: squeezed in between a row of shop houses in Soon Plaza and overwhelmed by the bigger and catchier bill board of The Place 007. I was only too pleased to find plenty of parking spaces in front of the restaurant, but I supposed that was because we were there so early at 6pm. Nevertheless, I began to feel that this was not a bad choice after all. We were then greeted by all the very friendly and somewhat “motherly” middle-aged auntie waitresses who smiled at every customer who walked into the restaurant. I was indeed impressed. Strange it might have felt, everyone in there just emitted motherly warmth in this season of love. Good things always come in three, the food finally came and it was scrumptious!

We ordered Indonesian Curry prawns, stir fried spinach with garlic (very tender spinach that’s similar to what I had before in Tuscany) and 3 cup chicken (san pei ji). The prawns were especially good. There must have been 7 or 8 ultra fresh prawns of decent sizes in that steaming hot clay pot and they even peeled the prawns readily for you. The bill came to a total of RM49.40 which I thought was reasonable considering the number of prawns and the “motherly” service they gave. Mind you, there’s no service charge, what more do you expect?








Stir Fried Spinach (RM8)












Indonesian Curry Prawns (RM20). Very fresh prawns, highly recommended!














3 Cup Chicken (RM 15)









My Scores:
Taste: ☺☺☺☺
Environment: ☺☺ (typical Chinese restaurant setting, nothing special)
Service: ☺☺☺☺ ☺ (friendly yet no service charge)
Price: ☺☺☺ (on par with other Chinese restaurants)
Parking: ☺☺☺ (parking spaces available in front of the restaurant)
Address: 253 G-1-3, Soon Plaza, Jalan Burma (Pulau Tikus)
Website: NA
Others: This is in the same row as The Place 007.

ABOUT US

Shorts N Slippers are made up of 3 friends with different characteristics but share common interests in food, travelling, bargains and all the fun things in life.

SamT, always stressed with work but still able to maintain an ever jolly outlook in life. A party animal at heart, hence never passes up any opportunity when it comes to party time. He is definitely our guide to all the drinking holes and clubbing places around. A BIG fan of Lady Gaga, so don’t even try to put on a poker face in front of SamT!

Leng, after a long stint away from home, has now returned to Asia. Ready to take on whatever new challenges the region has to offer and enjoy life to the fullest! Food, always a priority in this neck of woods so it seems being involved in this blog is only natural!

Gneb, always full of bright ideas, wacky at times, but when it comes to packing up his luggage, he never thinks twice! Always pursuing after a Bohemian lifestyle, he’s always on the lookout for the next adventure and destination.

So, put on your shorts and slippers, sit back, and relax while surfing for the things that really matters most in life! Hope you enjoy our reviews on where to go, what to buy, what is a bargain and where to eat! Bookmark us today :)

JIN XIU ART GALLERY & TEA HOUSE BY GNEB

It’s Sunday evening again…Like many Penangites, I often find it a headache having to find a good place to have dinner during the weekend. This problem usually happens on Sunday, when you want to find a decent place with delicious food, excellent ambiance and inexpensive price (as Penangites say “pang gi tua tay”, which literally translates into “cheap and big piece”) to end your weekend with and reward yourself enough before the start of another awful working week. The thing is, there are so many good places for food around the state and most of us have already tried out most of them. Frequenting the same place week after week will only make me sick!

I chanced upon Jin Xiu Art Gallery and Tea House when I was doing my usual weekend-driving-around-looking-for-new-hangout-places-activity. It’s located in Muntri Street (a place I seldom step foot into) and trust me, if you don’t pay enough attention, you’ll surely miss it (being hidden and surrounded by a row of pre-war historic houses which look almost the same). Otherwise, you’ll think that it’s a tea house cum gallery which was exactly what I thought it was – another place to hang out with friends in the afternoon to have a cuppa. To my surprise, it actually serves food. Not finger food, but decent Chinese and Nyona dishes! So, here’s the verdict.
















Exterior of Jin-Xiu Art Gallery & Tea House








We ordered Rendang Chicken, Sambal Kangkung and Claypot Tofu. All of them were very nice, especially the Sambal Kangkung which had a rich and aromatic taste of shrimp paste (belacan). It was perfect to go with rice. The only minor disappointment was that the Chicken Rendang was not warm enough, which the waiter obligingly took it back to heat it up for us.










Rendang Chicken RM10











Claypot Tofu RM8












Sambal Kangkung RM9








We also ordered Chinese Tea which came in a full set (with all the gadgets and stuff). Complicated it may seem, you could actually get the waiter to show you how to go about making the tea.





Tea RM13 (depending on the type of tea leaves you select)








As for the ambience, it’s typical Nyonya heritage setting. The doors reminded me so much of my old house’s. There’s an array of teapots on display and tea leaves for sale. Also, the detailed wood carvings in the house are also something worth paying attention to.



































Little painting on the table













The painting becomes a menu when flipped over








Then came the bill. It costs us RM42 for the above 3 dishes, 2 plates of white rice and the set of brewing tea. I’d say better than I expected in such an environment. I was definitely well fed both gastronomically and visually.


My Scores:
Taste: ☺☺☺☺
Environment: ☺☺☺☺☺
Service: ☺☺☺☺ (no service charge)
Price: ☺☺☺
Parking: ☺☺☺ (parking spaces available along Muntri Street, even right in front)



Address: 58, Muntri Street, Penang
Website: e-art2u.com
Others: This is a gallery cum tea leaves shop cum restaurant. I believe the gallery is upstairs.

Wi Fi available.