Penang Culture Part II

Earlier this year, my darling wife and I visited Penang Culture for the first time.
We enjoyed it so much that we went back again and this time we brought the whole family!

Armed with a hearty appetite and a whole menu of goodies to choose from, we were in the mood for a feast! We ordered some familiar favourites from our first visit like the Penang Hokkien Prawn Noodles, Char Koay Teow and Penang Assam Laksa.

These are the new dishes we tried for this visit;

Assam Curry Fish Head ($25.95)

The biggest dish we ordered for the night’s meal was the Assam Curry Fish Head.
Quite a few Fish Head expert eaters in my family (not me by the way) so this was an obvious choice for the Penang Tze Char section of their menu.

The fish head was really fresh and a good size. The menu says it’s enough for 2 pax but I think you can easily share between a few more (unless you think you can whack the whole head alone!).
The Assam Curry was also very tasty and even though I am not a fan, I found myself scooping up the gravy more than a few times myself.

Penang Special Fried Rice ($7.65)

You’ll find pineapple, raisins, chicken and prawns in this special fried rice.
I guess it’s something to order if you’re not in the mood for just plain rice.

Penang Thai Apple Chicken with Rice ($6.95)

Mein Brudder decided to order this dish because it actually sounded quite nice when we chanced upon it in the menu.

You have a nice chicken fillet that has been coated and fried to a nice crispy outside but still tender on the inside. Then it’s topped off with some special ‘homemade’ sauce made up of apples and onions.
I guess this kind of reminds me of Thai Style Chicken when we have Tze Char but instead of the sweet Thai chilli sauce, we have this special apple sauce instead. Not too bad actually.

Gong Bao Mantis Prawns ($10.65)

This was a dish we didn’t get to try on our first visit because it was sold out.
That’s right – this dish is so popular that it sells out!!

And I have to say – I can see why it’s so popular…. It’s delicious!
It’s actually prawns that have been coated in this special batter and then fried to perfection. And it’s still crispy eben though it’s completely covered with sauce! For this one, it’s Gong Bao sauce but they also have Black Pepper and Lemon versions too!

Mein Brudder made a good observation when he compared this to the Coffee Chicken from Royal Kublai Khan restaurant.

Penang Cuttlefish Kangkong ($7.95)

Here’s a favourite with a lot of people but it’s becoming quite difficult to find a Halal place which has it. Well at least now you know you can come to Penang Culture!

Generous serving of greens but as usual there’s never enough cuttlefish to go around.
Cos we’re all so greedy 😛

Pink Guava Ice Blended, Lychee Ice Blended, Bandung Chin Chow Ice Blended ($5.95 each)

Some cool refreshing drinks to wash down all the yummy food!
The Pink Guava was tangy and the Lychee was great because it was tasty and you actually get bits of the fruit so you know they use the real fruit in the ice blended.

The Bandung Chin Chow was a bit disappointing because it ended up being a little bland.
Maybe we’ve all got a sweet tooth.

Adam’s Verdict:
Gong Bao Mantis Prawns 5/5 — Penang Cuttlefish Kangkong 3.5/5 —
Penang Special Fried Rice 2/5 — Assam Curry Fish Head 3/5 — Lychee Ice Blended 4/5

Maryah’s Verdict:
Gong Bao Mantis Prawns 4.5/5 — Penang Cuttlefish Kangkong 2/5 —
Penang Special Fried Rice 3/5 — Assam Curry Fish Head 2.5/5 — Pink Guava Ice Blended 3.5/5

Azlan’s Verdict:
Gong Bao Mantis Prawns 5/5 — Penang Cuttlefish Kangkong 0.5/5 —
Penang Special Fried Rice 2/5 — Assam Curry Fish Head 1/5 — Assam Laksa 1/5
Penang Fried Koay Teow 1/5 — Penang Thai Apple Chicken with Rice 2/5

Yana’s Verdict:
Gong Bao Mantis Prawns 4/5 — Penang Cuttlefish Kangkong 1/5 —
Penang Special Fried Rice 3/5 — Assam Curry Fish Head 4.5/5 — Assam Laksa 4/5
Penang Fried Koay Teow 3/5 — Penang Thai Apple Chicken with Rice 3/5 —
Penang Hokkien Prawn Noodles 3/5 — Bandung Chin Chow Ice Blended 0.5/5

Dad’s Verdict:
Gong Bao Mantis Prawns 3/5 — Penang Cuttlefish Kangkong 1/5 —
Assam Curry Fish Head 3.5/5 — Assam Laksa 3/5 — Penang Fried Koay Teow 3/5

Mum’s Verdict:
Gong Bao Mantis Prawns 4/5 — Penang Cuttlefish Kangkong 1/5 —
Assam Curry Fish Head 3.5/5 — Assam Laksa 2/5 — Penang Fried Koay Teow 3/5 —
Penang Hokkien Prawn Noodles 2/5

Both my Dad and Mum agree that the dishes here due have some authentic flavours of Penang but because they do mix it up (e.g. Thai cuisines etc) perhaps some of it is lost in translation. Short of making a trip to Penang, I guess this is a pretty good place to go to for Penang cuisine.

 Penang Culture

Changi Airport Terminal 2 Departure
Viewing Mall Level 3
#036-087-01

Tel: 6546 7793
www.penangculture.com.sg

Operating Hours: 10.30am til 10.00pm Daily
Last order at 9.30pm