HardRock Café Penang

 

Penang has its very own Hard ROCK café! Like many of their outlets, this one is as awesome! To be honest, I have been wanting to dine at hardrock cafes since undergrad. Or rather, since getting envious of my brother who has been to various Hardrock cafés throughout the world! like the one in Bali, Phuket, Singapore... etc. 

 So I thought to myself, let's just start in Malaysia first... and lo and behold, Hardrock opens one in Penang. Right at my door step! hehe. Somethings are just meant to be...

 On the of the many Fridays in October, on the 11th of October to be exact, a bunch of  peeps from work got together to have a good time...at Hardrock café.
I was there mainly for the food... the rest were there for the drinks and the live band. The gang reserved tables just right infont of the stage just to gawk at the live band whom they thought were playing that night.

I ordered their avocado club sandwich... which cost RM30++ and was pretty disappointing when it arrived. THe description in the menu was a whole lot of something else... but the food was another thing to be desired. Anyway, the sandwich was so-so la... with dry chicken breast, hard bacon amd avocado, and lettuce.. sandwiched between toasts... I could have been this at home :(
OK, nvm.. told myself I was here to enjoy the HArdRock experience...!

 The gang ordered drinks... which I couldn't take because I don't drink.. and don't like the taste of alcohol... pathetically, I just drank the fruit juice (which I only just found out was called 'mixer' to be mixed with the alcohol).. which was ok..

 At 10.30pm, the live band started! *excited*

A group of peeps with 3 main singers taking turns singing main solos and being back-ups, 2 guitarist (one bass, one melody), 1 keyboard, 1 drummer...

The girls were disappointed it wasn't the actual band that they had front row tables for. Our initial impressions were that they were gonna be not up to par. But when they started singing, boy they ROCKED the crowd!! They were super AWESOME! The ang-mos were holding up their handphone and lighters swaying to the music they were playin'. Most started singing along to the rock songs they were playing.... Amongst the songs played was Adele's - Someone like you, Set fire to the rain, Bon Jovi's - Living on a prayer, Oasis'- Stop crying your heart out, Tina turner's - The best... and many more!!!

This band CAN SING! I loved their vocals!! SUper PRO!! I was quite impressed! Only problem was that, because we had front row seats, I was fast going deaf.... the music was too loud...just too LOUD for my liking. I know you peeps reading this would be rolling your eyes saying "you're in a nightclub, and a rock club to be precise; music's suppose to be played LOUD"... I know, I know... believe me.. I KNOW... but to me, my hearing is more important than looking cool at a night club. So I let about 11pm... (pathethic, I know).

On the upside, I managed to get the Hardrock experience I've always wanted... and I did feel cool in a nightclub.. and I can safely say I was 'rocking' it out at HardRock café, no doubt :)

Brownie RM30 ++

Loved this dessert... YUMMEH

The ambiance of the night... HardRock Café Penang

 

Malaysia IT Fair @ SPICE, Bayan Baru - IT haul

Colourful bags of my IT fair Haul

 Once again, SPICE or better known as Subterranean Penang International Convention & Exhibition Centre.. also formerly known as PISA is hosting another computer/IT fair called the Malaysian IT Fair 2013.

My loot from the IT fair

 It was held from 18-20th of October 2013. And I managed to go there on their last day. It's usual for the prices to be brought down further on the last day of the fair, hence the super duper large amount of patrons at the SPICE that day... me included!

I was hunting for bargains on pendrives, since I've been needing a way to transfer my data from my 'clean' computer to other 'not-so-safe' computers. Also, my car now uses the thumbdrive for mp3s as well as my LG flat-screen.. which also can project photos... !! See, the many many uses of the pendrive these days... And I need to make sure there's no virus going round! So, I concluded, I needed more pendrives.. the more the merrier :)

This TOSHIBA flash drive cost me RM18

This PenDrive cost RM21

The back of both the TOSHIBA & PenDrive boxes



 This PNY USB Drive has got to be the most expensive buy of the day costing RM26!!

I suppose you pay for the design and size...

 

 I found this super handy... ad felt a little cheated when I picked this up for RM8 and found another stall selling it in black for RM7.  All along, I wanted the black, and there it was selling at another shop for even cheaper! and in the colour I wanted!! Goes to show that you DO need to shop around before buying... the best deals are always found at the very last of shops.. hehe

 

I didn't take a close-up picture of the black USB charger because i'd already taken it out of the box and started using it :)

This year, the craze was about Western Digital's new Passport external hard drive 500MB going for RM169 with the latest password feature. The older model also for 500MB without the password feature was going for only RM155. I figured I didn't need the extra space as I already have 3 external hard drives at home, all not fully utilised. So, I was content with my pendrive haul for this time round :)

Total expenditure: RM7 + RM8 + RM18 + RM26 + RM21 = RM80

 

Gusto Café @ Tanjung Bunga

 

I only recently got to know about the existence of Gusto café from a friend via facebook. These days, publicity through social media is that effective!

 

So there I was trying to figure out where in the midst of tanjung bunga this little café was... Needless to say, I went about a round-a-bout route with my trusty GPS only to find  out that there was a much shorter way to get to Gusto's.

 

For all the new peeps who are not from Tanjung Bungah and are thinking of looking for 4 Jalan Sungai Kelian, well, I've got it easy for you. If you know where Flamingo Hotel is, well, it's opposite it! Take the turning on the left into a row of shoplots where famous eateries are also located eg. Vintage Bulgaria / Ingolf Kneipe German Restaurant, and keep going straight till you come to a Petron petrol station. Gusto's is right next to it. See, easy!

 Gusto café is actually in a residential area/house converted into a café.

 

The menu is right above the counter. They serve both breakfast & lunches....

Menu black board

 The café also has a downstairs area which I think used to be the house's sitting room... and garden. the stairs you see in the picture above takes you there...

Right next to this gorgeous wooden cupboard is the kitchen :)

So here's what we ordered...
a Latte (RM7) & Earl grey tea (RM5/cup)

 I was a bit disappointed that the earl grey tea, having cost RM5 (which is a lot) came in a teabag by the side of the cup and not already brewed :(
Also, we had to ask for milk. They didn't readily provide milk for your tea.

I suppose not many of their usual customers like to take their tea with milk? Which let me to google if Earl Grey tea was meant to be taken on it's own without milk... and my google search came up as ..."you can take it with or without milk, basically however you want to"... hahaha

 My coffee latte was simply the best! There was no sour aftertaste, just the way I like coffee to taste... Plus, it came with a 'heart' :) Although I still think it's a bit pricy for a place like this...

Now to the food....
I had bagels with smoked salmon... I specially changed the toast to a bagel with an extra charge of RM4 for it. (since it was recommended by another blogger)... Unfortunately, the bagel was not to my liking... it was hard and under toasted? But the eggs were perfectly cooked! I enjoyed the eggs & salmon... just not the bagel

 



 The English breakfast was so-so. It was served with a sunny-side-up, with baked beans, bacon and toast. The beans were a bit hard for our liking.

All in all the total damaged cost for breakfast for 2 was RM43...

I liked the ambiance of the place... and their delicious latte... Apparently, this place is quite popular with expatriates living in the area. There were many of them there, some already dining, some waiting for a table... I suppose that's the reason for the pricing...

But on the upside, no GST or service charge :)

Check-out their facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/JasonsGustoCafe
 

Oldtown Kopitiam @Whiteaways Arcade, Church Street, Penang

The minute you step into this Oldtown Kopitiam outlet in Church Street, you'll be literally transcended back into time... All thanks to the excellently executed décor and ambiance the of the place which recaptures the old charm of the 20th century.

 

This Oldtown kopitiam outlet is located in a newly restored (restoration was completed by 2011) heritage building, now called Whiteaways Arcade. This double storey pre-war building was initially built in 1903! And it showcases typical European facades. Simply beautiful!

 

 

There is a special corner to the left of the restaurant as you enter from the main entrance on Church Street. It is none other than the Spiral Staircase! This is a piece of history in itself.

 A short summary of the history behind the Timber Spiral Staircase can be found at the back of the restaurant. I manage to take a snap-shot of it (pic below)

Timber Spiral Stair

Other restaurants located in Whiteaways Arcade

Smoking area

 Behind the restaurant is the al fresco dining area, mainly for people who smoke. It also overlooks a man made stage made from rocks... I found that super unique and artsy :)

Stage made of rocks... so cool!

Also, the restrooms at the Whiteaways Arcade have murals of Marilyn Monroe and Charlie Chaplin!! How Super AWESOME!! is that!!! :)

Marilyn Monroe (The Ladies toilet)

Charlie Chaplin (The Gents toilet)

 The tour round this heritage building was so interesting that I almost forgot to go back into Oldtown for my food... hahaha.

Well, the food finally arrived and here's what we ordered.
Two set dinners - one with curry noodles and another was steamed rice with chicken and mushroom.

To be honest, when I got back, everything was on the table, desserts included! All, except for one thing.... the steamed rice with chicken & mushroom ;(

The steamed chicken & mushroom has a waiting time of min 20minutes! To be fair, the warning was stated in the menu. Nevertheless, when it finally did arrive, boy oh boy... the rice was delicious!! The chicken was yummeh!!! Worth all the time waiting!!!

Awesome steamed chicken & mushroom rice... YUMMEH!