Hatyai Seafood Restaurant, Farlim, Penang by Gneb

It’s been a while since I last went to Farlim, Bandar Baru Ayer Itam. The area has apparently turned into a highly developed satellite town, densely populated with high rise apartments, shop houses, fast food chains and a number of supermarkets.

I’ve always been told that there are quite a few excellent eating places in Farlim. For example, there’s the famous Farlim Laksa (which I’ve yet to try), Bali Bali and a number of other “chu char” (cooked dishes with rice) restaurants.

I went to this particular “chu char” restaurant called Hatyai Seafood Restaurant in Medan Angsana 2 (opposite the field where the weekly night market takes place).

Hatyai Seafood Restaurant looks more like a coffee shop, but it only serves “chu char”. Come to think of it, I think it looks more like a “tai pai tong” as they even set the tables along the corridor, due to limited space in the restaurant and the large patronage they get especially in the evening.

One thing I noticed, most of the workers at Hatyai Seafood Restaurant are teenagers (could be the owner’s sons). They take orders, make drinks and serve the dishes. The bummer is that most of these teenage boys do not know how to recommend their specialty dishes.

As a result, we resorted to the following common dishes. Looks like they really have to get all these teenage boys to remember their menu by heart.

Prawn Curry – Yeah, again! Boring huh? I like this though and the prawn curry here at Hatyai Seafood tastes really nice. The prawns are also fairly big and very fresh.

Salad Fried Chicken – This is simply divine! Not only that the fried chicken is nice and crispy, there’s also a generous dollop of mayonnaise to go with it. As if this was not enough, there’s also extra mayonnaise in a saucer for you to top up.

Fried Asparagus With Sambal (spicy chili paste) – This is very delicious too. The asparagus is fresh and crunchy. The paste is also tasty.

All these for RM32. Not bad at all.

My scores (out of 5):

Taste: 5

Environment: 1 (as mentioned, this is “tai pai tong” )

Service: 2 (hope the next time I visit, the teenagers will know how to promote and recommend their lovely dishes)

Price: 3 (Acceptable)

Parking: 5 (Plenty in front of the restaurant and around the area)

Address: Medan Angsana 2, Bandar Baru Ayer Itam, Penang (those of you who know Farlim well, it’s just right opposite the weekly night market)