I can’t believe it took me so long for my first visit to Betty’s Midwest Kitchen.
I spent 3.5 years of my life living in Midwest in my early 20s. 2.5 years in Minnesota, and another full year in Ohio, so the meal at Betty’s definitely brought back some memory, allowing me to rekindle with the tastes I was once so accustomed to.
Betty’s Midwest Kitchen
We went to Betty’s on a Saturday for dinner without reservation, that was a mistake. The little restaurant was packed and we were the 7th group to be waiting for a table.
The host though, were true to Midwestern “niceness”, explained the situation to us, and asked us to wait patiently while taking our orders. So under the dim lights of the sidewalk, we inspected the menu and made our orders.
pork burger, pork chop with apple sauce, pork belly, pork chop with gravy
Some half an hour or so later, we were seated, and in 5 minutes, our food was served. The service was super efficient, that’s always a plus point.
Our orders were a pork burger (RM 12), 2 pork chops (RM 23), pork belly (RM 27.50), and 2 portions of pork ribs (RM 32.50 each). That was for 6 person, and yes, every dishes were of my favorite for-food animal. Lovely.
baby back ribs, Haze, KY, sister & Jerry
And the food were good! Real hearty American food. Properly grilled and deep fried, they are as original as you can get. The pork came in big chunk and were juicy too, it’s everything you want in a proper non-halal Western style dining without being pretentious.
If you want real American food that will clog your artery and make you one step closer to joining the Biggest Loser, this is definitely the place to go, they are so good. I will be there again, this time I’ll call for reservation go on weekdays! 
p/s: I think they don’t take reservations
Address:
Betty’s Midwest Kitchen
A-G-40, Jalan PJU 1/43
Aman Suria Damansara,
47301 Petaling Jaya, Selangor
GPS: 3.123161, 101.595329
Tel: 03-7880-0196
A couple weekends ago I went back to Penang for a little get together with my family in conjunction with Mom’s birthday. Even though we don’t usually celebrate birthdays, it is still a son’s responsibility at least to try to make mom happier during times like this.
Soon Lai Seafood, Penang
Instead of any fancy place (she warned me not to bring her for Japanese food), one of mom’s favorite places is this inconspicuous house-turned-restaurant place that goes by the name of Soon Lai Seafood Restaurant. The eatery is located in the housing area just a few blocks away from Lam Wah Ee hospital.
scrumptious butter crab
We ordered 6 dishes for the 5 of us, with the big kahuna being their butter crab (RM 42). The way they prepared this this is a little different, crab’s cooked with butter, onion, and even some spring onion. It turned out very good, mom suspects that the crabs are sourced from Kuala Kurau, where you find the best mud crab around the country.
I actually have aunts from fishing village in Kuala Kurau.
deep fried grouper, thai style pork hand, veg, tofu, spinach soup
You can’t have a seafood dinner without fish, we took the recommendation from our friendly server and ordered the “weird taste” deep fried grouper (RM 39). I’m not so sure about the name, but the fish was good not not exactly weird. The sauce is a mixture of plum and chili (and more?) with plenty of thinly sliced fried ginger on top.
Another must-order item at Soon Lai has got to be their Thai style pork knuckle (RM 18). It’s similar to the more familiar German style pork knuckle, but this one’s with Thai style chili sauce and mint leaves draped over it. The combination of crispy pork skin with the underlying fat plus that sauce – heaven!
Mom, KY, Haze, Jerry, Sister
The other three dishes were tofu on hotplate (RM 8), spinach soup with century egg (RM 12), and vegetable with sambal (RM 6). No disappointment at all with these side kicks either.
We had rice for everyone, and a couple bottles of beer too. It was a very satisfying dinner.
The bill? Less than RM 160. Now that’s great value. You have a choice sitting semi-alfresco or in air conditioned room too.
So if you’re looking for a decent seafood at a bargain right on the island, this is where you go.
Address:
Soon Lai Seafood Restaurant
15, Lintang Batu,
11600 Green Lane, Penang
GPS: 5.386974, 100.306149
Tel: 04-658 9799, 016-441 3666
Seoul Garden at Sunrise Tower is probably one of the very first Korean restaurants in Penang. I remember the restaurant being there as far back as my memory could remember.
In the back of my mind, I had always thought that dining at this type of place would be rather expensive, and at the time, something that my RM 2.20/hr McDonald’s job would never allow me to afford. I was just look at people going in and out while I was flipping burger in the same building.
plenty of banchan (side dishes) as usual
I made it a point that I would visit this place eventually, but little did I know that it actually took over one and a half decade before that happened. Together with Mellissa and my family last weekend, we had dinner at Seoul Garden.
As it turned out, Seoul Garden is just like most of the Korean restaurants I’ve visited in KL. A stove in the middle for grilling meat, a menu that includes all the usual suspects like beef bulgogi, kalbi, sam gye tang (ginseng chicken soup), kimchi soup, pork belly, and so on.
ox tongue, pork belly, and pork bulgogi
My brother and sister are both pretty adventurous when it comes to food, but tragically, my mom is a bit too conservative in the same department. Since this is the first time mom stepped into a Korean restaurant, I ordered something that would be a bit more familiar for her, sam giap sal (pork belly, RM 22), pork bulgogi (RM 25), and sam gye tang (ginseng chicken soup). I also ordered so hyeo gui (ox tongue RM 35) for good measure.
Korean ginseng chicken soup
There were about 6-7 types of banchan (side dishes) served with the main dishes we ordered. There was the customary kimchi which was rather potent and tasted pretty good, bean sprouts, vegetable, jelly thingy, green chili, and radish. I thought the banchan tasted just alright, nothing spectacular, but not bad either.
Our first grilled item was the ox tongue. Thinly sliced (about a dozen slices) without any marinate, the grilled ox tasted wonderful. The slight springy texture and the unaltered taste goes very well with just a touch of oil and salt. The pork belly was not overly fatty and came in 5 big slices, I think we had slightly overcooked it as it was a bit too dry by the time we hauled the pieces out of the grilled. Could have been tastier otherwise.
mom, brother, KY, Mell, sister, niece (Ryan, you have a challenger)
Pork bulgogi was pretty good, flavorful though a little salty. However, it does go very well with steamed rice. I always love Korean rice with it’s stickier texture and stronger aroma. The ginseng chicken soup too was a very good dish, the soup had a very strong ginseng taste and the chicken meat cooked to a very soft and tender texture. Mom liked the soup quite a bit.
Total bill came to about RM 160. Pretty good deal for 5 adults and a little girl (whom is cute enough to steal some lime light from suan‘s nephew – Ryan), say hello to Taasha! The same meal in KL would easily cost twice as much, though the portion might be 30-40% bigger.
Address:
Seoul Garden
1st Floor, Sunrise Tower,
Gurney Drive
Penang, Malaysia
GPS: 5.439805,100.30815
Tel: 04-229 8705
