Invited: Bora Bora by Sunset @ Batu Ferringhi, Penang.

Late January 2011, we kissed the fabulous beachfront joint, Sunset Bistro which had been doing a roaring business for the past 15 years goodbye just because of an arson attack. The fire not only brought down the bistro but also roasted an adorable parrot named Tiger alive (i grabbed his pic from the net). However, the owner of the bistro, Miss Melynda Soon bent on making a comeback by means of relocating, refurbishing and rebuilding which altogether resulted in the reborn of Sunset Bistro with the new name, Bora Bora by Sunset in the end of May. This new bistro is hidden in the 2 Ferringhi Streetwalk Bazaar, facing the soft golden sand and clear blue sea. I will be using Tarbush Restaurant as a landmark here and upon seeing its large, tall standing neon light billboard, the sheltered concrete-floored bazaar should be in sight now. Just walk past every stalls, to the very end of the bazaar and you will find Bora Bora by Sunset.

The bistro equipped with greenery, thatching, dim lights, DJ platform, Shisha bar, pool table, beers, antique and vintage decorations to give it a lively Bali nightlife-like ambiance. In addition to the lovely Reggae background music or sometimes broadcasting of sports events, you will find the bistro a perfect intimate venue for a romantic dining experience with its private, more dimly lighted corners. Outdoor seats are also available at wood decks overlooking the beach and sea. You will have a clear view of the heart-stilling intoxicating sunset at around 7pm if the weather is good.

What's coming up in October is their set dinner promotion in which you will get a starter (Bora Bora Papadum with Salsa Sauce OR Wild Mushroom Soup), a main course (Spaghetti Fettucine with Chicken and Wild Mushroom Ragu OR Vietnamese Noodle Soup with Beef/Chicken and Prawns OR Grilled White Fish with Citrus Lemon Butter Sauce OR Stir Fried Beef or Chicken served with Rice, Salad, Papadum and Egg), a scoop of ice cream as well as a drink (Ice Peach Tea OR Ice Lemon Tea) for a bargain of RM36 nett, what a steal! Credits to Criz for designing this ad.

With the invitation to review the promotional set dinner, I finally got to plunge into the thick of the buzz around the bistro's quick rise to fame. Do take note that the bistro does serve non-alcoholic beverages.

Banana yogurt drink.

Kiwi & vanilla ice blended.


Ice peach tea & lemon tea.

The Wild Mushroom Soup was mouth-watering with its enticing aroma of cooked mushrooms and flawless creaminess. However, it could definitely be better if it was less salty.

Papadum, a giant round crackery thing is actually is a thin, crisp Indian cracker that you can get at any Indian restaurants including Mamak stalls. In other words, serving Papadums are pretty common here but what if i say Papadums with homemade Salsa sauce? It sounds mind-blowing and so do the odd combination. The sauce formed a perfect union with the Papadums, creating a lip-smacking good appetizer. Highly recommended!

Fettuccine is actually a flat thick form of pasta. In my case, the Fettuccine was cooked to an awesome springy, velvety texture before being cooked in a white rich yummy wild mushroom sauce. Other than that, a juicy grilled chicken breast was served along and it simply sparked up the pasta with its black pepper as well as spice flavours. The Spaghetti Fettucine with Chicken and Wild Mushroom Ragu is undoubtedly the odd one out among the main dishes.

As you can see, a generous amount of fresh shrimps and meat (beef or chicken, your pick) was given and the portion was considered big. The Koay Teow was soaked in a starchy slightly spicy gravy which had an egg's taste. Taste wise, it was palatable especially the tender beef but i personally felt that the soup was not enough.

Unlike ubiquitous restaurants which use cheaper, convenient Dory fish fillets, Bora Bora by Sunset uses white fish which is thicker. Two pieces of white fish fillets were very well-grilled with lemon butter sauce before being presented along with cubes of baked potatoes plus salad. The Grilled White Fish with Citrus Lemon Butter Sauce turned out to be delectable but it could be even better if the fish odor was removed.

Last but not least, the normal tasting Stir Fried Beef or Chicken served with Rice, Salad, Papadum and Egg was quite Malaysian. A combination of white rice, stir fried meat, salad, Papadum and egg? It can easily feed one heavy eater. For your information, their signature Salsa sauce is also offered in this main.

Don't you agree that a bit of dessert is always the perfect way to end a meal? A scoop of ice cream with some dressings is included in the set dinner.

The rating below is made based on this set dinner promotion.

Address:
Lot 415, Jalan Batu Ferringhi, 11100 Penang
[google map]

Operation hours:
Sunday to Thursday 12pm - 1am
Friday, Saturday and Eve of Public Holiday 12pm - 3am
Happy hours 4pm - 7pm

Contact no.:
012 - 553 1313 (Miss Melynda Soon)

Facebook:
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Xuan Xin Steamboat @ Gurney Plaza, Penang.

Lok Lok is a Penang's ubiquitous famous hawker food in which the seller musters innumerable steamboat ingredients and threads them onto wooden sticks. It is like ordinary steamboat where you cook the raw or half-cooked food yourself by dipping it in a hot boiling liquid. However, Lok Lok does not make any hygienic sense as everyone is dipping their sticks into the same pot or even sauces. This should not be an issue with the introduction of air-conditioned Lok Lok-oriented restaurant, Xuan Xin Steamboat by Xuan Xin group which already owns Xuan Xin Restaurant, Xuan Xin Ramen Kitchen as well as Xuan Xin Buffet Steamboat.

The new sister restaurant is located on the 7th floor of Gurney Plaza,next to SenQ and it features an ample seating to suit both intimate dining and larger groups. To maintain freshness, the ingredients are kept in electric powered cold storage while a few items such as fried rice, noodles and entrées are always fresh from the kitchen. The Lok Lok ingredients are charged accordingly to their respective colour sets (the price for each stick: Yellow RM1, Green RM1.50, Blue RM2, Grey RM2.50, Red RM3, Black RM6, Gold RM10). Soup base wise, they only offer 3 varieties, namely, Chicken (RM3), Tom Yam (RM5) and Szechuan Spicy (RM5) with an option to savour two of them at a time (Chicken + Tom Yam/ Szechuan Spicy RM6, Tom Yam + Szechuan Spicy RM8).

With the vouchers purchased from Ezivoucher, i was entitled to five green, five blue sticks plus two pieces of Hong Kong Shrimp Paste Chicken Wings per voucher. I faced dilemma of choosing my sticks from the wide spectrum of ingredients provided. The green stickered ingredients available are sandwich, Italy chicken ball, fish ball, filament stick, chikuwa, vegetable nugget, lobster flavoured ball, vegetable fish ball, dim sum fish ball, fish cake, chicken cocktail, mixed ball, seafood bean curd, quail egg, century egg, assorted stuffed vegetable, small white fish ball, beef ball,pork dumpling, crab claw, braised pork ear, pork ball, bamboo clam, cuttlefish, Pandan chicken, shrimp, straw mushroom, button mushroom, deep fried pork roll, crab cocktail, San Kan, corn, Japanese tofu, black mushroom, Jellyfish, fish fillet, chicken, Broccoli, Nai Pak, Seaweed, pork luncheon meat, pork ham, curry pork belly, Satay pork belly, hot & spicy pork belly, sweet & sour pork belly, Satay beef, curry beef, sweet & sour beef while century egg (small), pork maw, pork chitterlings, roasted pork belly, soy sauce pork belly, pork blood cube, conch, squid, Satay chicken, black pepper chicken, hot & spicy chicken, curry chicken, sweet & sour chicken, curry venison, sweet & sour venison, Taiwanese sausage, dried cuttlefish, Satay fish fillet, curry fish fillet, curry squid, hot & spicy fish fillet as well as dried pork are blue stickered ones.

It is your choice whether to hot pot cook or to have your food barbequed by the helper. Some of the ingredients available are well-marinated for barbeque purposes, i recommend fish fillet, dried cuttlefish, roasted pork belly, dried pork, beef and gamey venison. The seafoods were pretty fresh indeed subtracting the shrimps which tasted not natural with a texture like they have been 'processed'. Unlike Lok Lok, you actually could savour the soup along with the ingredients. The Tom Yam soup base was very normal and it just tasted like paste was used while the chicken soup base was delicate with an enticing sweetness. There is a metal container where you put your finished sticks into. The personnel will do the maths once you ask for the bill. For your information, the numbered clips on the container are to mark your plate of ingredients awaiting to barbequed.

For me, other than freshness of the ingredients, sauce determines whether a Lok Lok stall is hero or zero. Xuan Xin Steamboat offers a total of five condiments: sweet chili sauce, Thai chili sauce, garlic chili paste, Satay sauce and a mix of sweet chili sauce and dark soy sauce. I have to underline the awesomeness of these condiments, they just simply went well with everything!

The worst part is that i got six Hong Kong Shrimp Paste Chicken Wings (RM6.50 for each two wings) to share with my other half, that was a lot, wasn't it? The chicken was like a not crispy version of deepfried chicken. We eventually got bored and brought them home.

On top of the vouchers used, i still have to fish out a total of RM10.55 for my mixed soups, an extra green stick resulting from miscalculation and two glasses of plain water (RM0.80 each) adding 10% service charge, 6% government tax. Do take note that the rating below is made based on the vouchers.

Address:
170-07-09, Plaza Gurney,
Persiaran Gurney, 10250 Penang

Operation hours:
11am - 10pm daily

Contact no.:
04 - 226 0830

Website:
[click here]

Facebook:
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