Invited: Grand Opening of Dragon9ine @ Belissa Row, Penang.

Dragon9ine (traditional Chinese: 九龍餐廳) is one of the latest modern Chinese-based restaurant that hits the town.
Unlike those ubiquitous Chinese restaurants such as Xuan Xin Restaurant, Dragon9ine chefs add a twist in some of their food by blending in foreign elements notably western.
Other than that, the restaurant interior design is colourful and alive with Chinese retro embellishments like opera masks, potteries and vintage posters.
The ground floor is warmer and is definitely ideal for family dining where as the upper floor which is made darker, colder suits those who is looking for a chillful drinking time with their mates better.
I could not agree more that the lighting along with the cool surrounding on the upper floor made me want to Karaoke.
Besides that, you could always use the private room but make sure you enquire them before doing so.

Four days ago, i had the privilege to attend as well as witness the grand opening of Dragon9ine which was started in January 2011.
Dragon9ine is now not only more well-organized but also completely ready to serve its clients proficiently and professionally with a brand new cooking style, menu and chef - Chef Pele Khor.
Since Dragon9ine is a Chinese-based restaurant, it definitely fits the restaurant theme when a lion dance team was hired in order to boost luck for better business.
Two red flamboyant lions eventually danced their way from the entrance to the kitchen before 'eating' the mandarin oranges, piecing the remainings together into a Chinese word, '旺' which means prosperity.
In addition to the great lion dance show, there was a spread of several dishes opened for public.

I, along with the other bloggers were treated to an exquisite fine dining experience which was launched not long ago.
The set dinner which consists of 4 entrées, 4 main courses, 1 dessert and 2 beverages has a price tag of RM69.90+ (subject to 10% service tax) and is only available with a minimum order of two sets.
All the 4 entrées shared a square white ceramic plate while the first to catch my eye was the Golden Sand Soft Shell Crab which had a rich flavour.
The crab was fried to a light crisp and was prepared using red hot chili flakes, garlic flakes together with sesame seeds.
Who knew that such ordinary ingredients could produce such wonderful starter? The chef did!

Only a few of us enjoyed the Fresh Oyster in Bloody Mary Cocktail as some they found the strong gummy ocean taste of the big raw oysters eewwyy.
However, the oysters tasted much better with the so-called world's most complex cocktail, Bloody Marie which bathed the oysters.
With accordance to Chef Pele Khor, the cocktail was a mix of tomato juice, vodka and flavourings like Tabasco sauce, lemon juice and black pepper.
The spiciness was purposely made mild so that we could taste the cocktail without losing the trace of oyster.

Next, it was the Ginger & Shallot Fried with Chicken which was fine.
The ginger and shallot were sliced before being fried along with the chicken.
The combination was simply awesome.

Last but not least, the Mango Prawn Spring Roll emerged as the hot favourite that night.
A golden Tempura crisp enveloped the fresh ground prawn paste paired with the sweet starchy mango sauce.
The whole thing turned out to be spectacular with a simultaneous taste of the mango sauce as well as the paste.

We were presented the main course one at a time.
The first one was the Smoked Duck Breast Meat with Mongolian Sauce which came with 4 fine slices of smoked duck breast meat, crepes, fresh onions and fresh thinly sliced cucumber plus mild-flavoured Mongolian sauce.
To get a little taste of heaven in every bite, we basically wrapped everything up with a piece of crepe before intoxicating ourselves with the flavourful combination.
The Mongolian Sauce's mild flavour means it won't overpower the other ingredients especially the smoked duck meat.

Tofu is something you can't miss when you are having Chinese Cuisine.
In this case, one of the main courses was the Stir-fried Tofu and Prawns with XO Sauce.
The spicy XO sauce which was made from dried scallops and dried shrimp, cooked in red chili and spices, garlic and oil undoubtedly enhanced the flavour of Tofu, with the aid of minced prawns, capsicum, snow peas and snap peas.
Anyhow, the lack of egg resulted in a lower texture quality and they must consider what our elder bloggers have pointed out - peel off the strings.

The following main course was the Crispy Sea Bass with Butter Orange Sauce & Tempura Greens.
Before sending for grilling, the fish fillet was well-marinated and in the end, it was served together with capsicum, asparagus, young corns, onions, tomatoes, herbs and the chef's special butter orange sauce.
The chef's intention to grill the sea bass fillet for a perfect two-sided crisp resulted in failure as it was over grilled, the texture was a bit hard and it was a salty.
Still, this dish turned out to be appetizing with the strong butter orange sauce covering the aftertaste of the fish.

We all were glad to hear that the Stir-fried Seafood Yee Mee Noodle with Grandma Sauce was the last main course as we were very full after rounds of continuous dining.
The chef named his secret sauce Grandma Sauce because the phrase grandmother gives a warmer feeling if compared to grandfather.
From the aspect of taste, this main course was more and less like Aglio Olio but it was more flavoursome with the fried chili and sprinkles of sesame seeds.

Sweetened Red Beans is one of the most common dessert dishes in the Chinese world and the chef's production was just top-class.
The red beans were blended pretty well before being sweetened with sugar or honey.
Surprisingly, the amount of sweetness was perfectly right to me and i believe also to the others.
Besides, a black sesame sweet dumpling (tang yuan) was included.

For your information, this set dinner does include a glass of red wine and Provence Lavender Black Tea but they might replace that particular tea with another type of tea.
That was what we have encountered.

Address:
368-1-5 & 6, Belissa Row, Pulau Tikus, 11350 Penang.
[google map]

Operation Hours:
11am - 3am

Contact no.:
04 - 2294099

Website:
[click here]

Facebook:
[click here]

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Oh Sushi @ Straits Quay, Penang.

The rise in Penangites' standard of living could be seen if you take a walk at Straits Quay on a Saturday or Sunday night.
I did that before on a calm Saturday night and what i have observed was that most of the high-end restaurants were crowded with customers.
They were Delicious Cafe, Blue Reef as well as Oh Sushi.
On the same night, i intended to try out the newly opened Oh Sushi but was told that i would have to wait approximately 20 minutes for a table.
It was a positive sign as that clearly proved that the food there is worth a try, "good things come to those who wait".
However, i postponed the visit until i came back from Kuala Lumpur which was exactly two days ago.

I found the restaurant exterior design less attractive because the side facing the car park has nothing but a white wall and a main door which is made of glass and wood planks.
The restaurant interior was artsy with a series of Small Seal Script characters and colourful Sushi plates beautifying the plain white wall, not to forget the Japanese bowls, teapots and wine bottles which are being displayed there.

You see, a vast array of food offered ranging from Sushi, Don, Bento, Set and Dessert got me seeing stars.
Do take note that both plain water and wet towel are free of charge while green tea is charged at RM1 each, i am not sure whether it is bottomless or not.
There is a number 5 printed on the wet towel plastic package and with the statement from the staff, i am now more confident to tell you that the 5 simply means the 5th outlet.

Every Set comes with a salad, Chawanmushi and Miso soup, so did my selection - Beef Ganghas Khan Set (RM23).
I have to say that the main course was very special as i was the chef, i was given a mini gas stove with a shallow pot of green vegetables, been sprouts, sliced garlic, beef slices and a mixture of soy sauce, sugar and mirin on top of it.
It looked and tasted exactly like the Sukiyaki i had at Jogoya, Kuala Lumpur except the eating method.
At Jogoya, i dipped the cooked beef slices in a small bowl of raw, beaten eggs before shoveling them into my mouth.
You know what? This set was overpriced as there was only a total of 6 fine beef slices.
Anyhow, i got to admit that the soft tender beef slices were so aromatic after being fully cooked.
The gravy which was fairly sweet with a mild simultaneous hint of saltiness from soy sauce coped perfectly well with the everything especially the beef.

My other half's chosen one was the Salmon Teriyaki Bento (RM19.80) which consisted of a piece of Salmon, a few deep fried chicken cubes and a bowl of garlic fried rice.
With extra RM3, you will get a Chawanmushi and a Miso soup.
According to the service crew, this bento is one of the restaurant's top sellers along with two other bento which share the same price tag.
The garlic fried rice had a savory aroma and was flawless no matter from the aspect of texture or flavour.
After all, the quantity of fried rice looked huge but it wasn't so, the rice bowl was shallow.
The Salmon which was well done with a tender, moist inside formed an awesome combination with the sweet-salty Teriyaki sauce.
Last but not least, the chicken cubes did not have any crispy texture as a result of being soaked in an unknown sauce.
Japanese mayonnaise together with the sauce enriched the flavour which had sweet, salty and sour elements.

The prices stated above are subject to 6% government tax and 10% service tax.
If i am to choose between Oh Sushi and Sakae Sushi, my vote will go to Sakae.
Why? Both the food qualities are more and less the same but Sakae is cheaper for certain dishes.
In the end of the day, my other half and i ended up at Tan Jetty fulfilling our stomachs with Thai Laksa and prawn fritters.

Address:
3E-G-5, Block E, Ground Floor, Straits Quay,
10470 Tanjung Tokong, Penang

Operation hours:
11.30am onward

Contact no.:
04 - 8990109

Fax no.:
04 - 8990109

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