Coconuts for Joez Coconuts in Penang

Joez is the man when it comes to coconut jelly. This is a rather random coconut trading shop that sits between some tyre shops in the middle of nowhere. I first ordered the coconut pandan – which essentially is fresh coconut juice but that didn’t quite do it for me as it wasn’t as fragrant as the young coconuts and not cold enough for the hot sun that we were walking under. I was hankering after something colder and the coconut jelly that I subsequently ordered really hit the spot. Made from the young coconut, the coconut is roasted and then rapidly cooled down to form this rich flavoured, jell-o soft coconut jelly set in its own shell. Served cold, this is a great refreshing thirst quencher as the cold jelly slowly slides down your throat. Luscious delicious! This was one of the best things I ate in Penang on this trip.

 

Joez coconut jelly is deliciously addictive. We returned the second day for a second helping of jelly and ordered the coconut shake that was made from coconut juice, ice cream and tapioca pearls – which brought out the creamy characteristics of coconut but the jelly was still the top offering. When in Penang and you are looking for something cold to battle the heat, drop by Joez, it is worth going out of your way to find it.

Joez Enterprise
201 Jalan Dato Kramat
Georgetown
Penang, Malaysiahttp://joezcoconut.com

Coffee & Kopi in Penang

ČStarbucks is in Penang but there are other options and here are three places that we stopped by for a cuppa.

Toh Soon Café


Toh Soon is a back lane café where everything is still done the old and slow way. The bread is still steamed or toasted over charcoal, runny eggs are served in punch cups and my delicious iced kopi was served in a beat up plastic ice cream soda cup. We had not intended to come here but a local secondhand store dealer pointed us in this direction for a good local coffee and I’m glad we followed his lead. Popular with the locals, this place was a hive of activity when we got there on a late Saturday morning. We had to stake out our own seats and fortuitously sat down with an extremely friendly local Penang couple whom we chatted with about the local culture and history and shared with us their favourite eating haunts. Together, we shared a little bit of everything with our new found friends – steamed bread with peanut butter, steam bread with kaya and nasi lemak but amongst everything the winner in spite the waiting for our orders to be taken was the iced kopi which was a good reprieve from the heat, iced, strong and not too sweet, that and the local company made it a good combination.

SiTigun



This was a lazy Sunday afternoon pit stop for us. The locals swing by for a coffee and cake. We stopped by for a coffee and shade. The beans are roasted in house and the standard drinks are double shot strong. Strong, aromatic with a long after taste, this was a good reprieve from the heat as we sat under the rapidly spinning fans and a cold coffee in hand.

Mugshot


I don’t know what the history of this place but my guess is this was set up by three friends (two guys and a girl) - a barista, a cook and a host - who spent time abroad and returned to Penang and decided to set up something that reminded them of their time overseas. Boasting to serve good bagels and even better coffee – it delivers in doing a decent job of both but it is the service that will makes me choose to never return. Don’t count on any hospitality from lady who takes your orders and mans the cash machine unless you are a personal friend. Don’t even expect a plastic smile or pleasantries – just surrender your orders and hand over your cash, and expect to wait a while because service is slow.

Toh Soon Café
Lebuh Campbell, off Jalan Penang
Georgetown
Penang, Malaysia

SiTigun
30 Jalan Nagore
Georgetown
Penang, Malaysia

Mugshot
302 Lebuh chulia
Georgetown
Penang, Malaysia

Line Clear Nasi Kandar in Penang

 Whilst the order system is not as the name “clear line” suggests, the nasi kandar here is the said best in Penang. Unless you know what you want and by implication what they have or go at odd hours when there are no pressurizing crowds, ordering here can be confusing and stressful. We stood in line and tried to figure out what they had. When we got to the front of the line, we picked our choice of rice and protein, then without warning, then they started working their curry campur mix magic – dishing a little bit of curry from all their different dishes that magically creates a symphony of curry flavours. But we wanted to order more, we wanted some more vegetables and dishes, so we kept inquiring if they had lamb or mutton or what vegetables they had on offer. The Line Clear guys were clearly not pleased, firstly they told us, “please order everything once, all at once!” But we lingered around and held up their service line and in the midst of it my dining partner got splashed with a little curry on her face and a larger spot of curry on her big toe. Just a small price to pay for being in their line of curry dishing or perhaps they were just trying to get us moving alone, either way it was rather comical.



What is the verdict? From our small sampling of their line of dishes … their fried chicken and the grilled squid, whilst the flavours were ok they were both a tad dry. Their strength is really in their spice blend that creates all the different aromatic curries. My general conclusion: anything with gravy is excellent; everything without a gravy/curry not as good.

Nasi Kandar Line Clear (24 Hours)
Behind 177 Penang Road
Penang, Malaysia