A Taste of the Mediterranean @ Agua, Staits Quay

Last month, I had finally got the chance to try-out Penang's (probably) only Mediterranean restaurant on the Island. Which restaurant am I talking about? Why Agua Restaurant, of course.

Agua was one of the earliest restaurants to open when Straits Quay opened its doors. It has since stood the test of time and the test of the palates of Penangites. (haha!)

We ordered one full set meal and one ala chart & tapas.

First up was the pumpkin soup as part of the set lunch. (RM48++).

Pumpkin soup

 Then the tapas we ordered was this exotic mushroom with bread. I absolutely loved this! The bread was crispy on the outside and soft and tasty ~it had garlic spread~inside. The mushrooms were cooked in special spices and the whole ensemble was simply delicious! (RM18++) The portion was meant for two , called Tapas. There is a larger portion called Friends which costs more RM23-24 (if i'm not mistaken)

Exotic mushrooms with Bread

 Just look at the picture... The gravy that came with the mushrooms was sooooo yummy!!

 While waiting for my food, the surrounding decor & ambiance of the restaurant caught my eye ~kept me occupied too...

On to the mains.

Spaghetti Al Salmone - this was part of the set menu. As stated in the menu, it's described as fresh salmon cooked with Garlic, Basil, Onion and Cream, served with spaghetti

Salmone spaghetti

 Chucks of salmone meat made the dish worth the order :)

 I ordered this dish called Spanish Sticky Ribs (RM36.90) Again, taken from the menu, this was described as Pork ribs marinated with herbs, spices, wine, garlic and honey. Slow roasted and glazed with honey. Served on salad with lemon.

The ribs were a simple different from the usual BBQ ribs from the likes of CHicago Rib House or Morganfields. This was made Spanish-style! And it tasted good.

Dessert choices from the set menu were numerous. We were spoilt for choices. At last we decided on Spanish Bread and Butter Pudding, which would have cost RM16.90 if ordered as an ala chart.

This dessert came fresh from the oven. The custard was perfectly cooked. They had cleverly separated the whole pudding into its basic ingredients: bread and custard as seen in the photo above. The center piece was the bread and the surrounding, custard.

In detail, as described in the menu, this dessert is a Spanish style bread and butter pudding, made with Panetonne with sultanas marinated in Triple Sec and Brandy.

Satisfying lunch!!

I was full till late dinner that day...

Here's a picture of the Christmas tree at the entrance of Straits Quay, I thought appropriate to show. It is afterall Christmas season!

For more on Agua, visit their website

Chicago Ribs @ Gurney Plaza ~~ Again

Thanks to ILoveDiscounts, I've been frequenting this restaurant all year long.

 THis time, I bought 5 tickets vouchers for their set meals, each costing RM28, tax included. We decided to use it all up in one go, when my brother came back recently in November.

We ordered 2 sets of half-rack BBQ pork ribs and one pizza.

This time around, the pork ribs were abit disappointing, as the portion size was to me, a bit smaller than usual. The other thing was that the ribs did not have been seasoned long enough. Although there was enough BBQ sauce to go round. Perhaps I've been here once too often...

The pizza was also disappointing in terms of colour. It was as pale as i've ever seen a pizza to look like. But, the fillings were there. It was actually packed with chicken and onions. Taste-wise, ok la.

The best dish of the night was the appetizer that I ordered (not included in the voucher) - Cheese Nachos RM14.90. Super crunchy, and cheesy and it has chicken pieces on top too!!!
Best dish ever!!

Morganfield @ Gurney Paragon

Earlier this month, my brother treated the whole family to lunch at Morganfield's at Gurney Plaza.

 THe interior of the restaurant had one wall adorned with racks and racks of wine.

 On the other walls, pictures and posters of old American advertisements were seen hung on brick covered walls. Just gives you that old american feelin'.

Morganfield's Menu - creatively presented on a clip-board

 Our lunch was huge! We were super duper full by the end of it.
Here's what our masive orders were...

For starters, I wanted their chilli cheese fries - my all time favourite!
The chilli was made of tomato paste and it has minced meat (either pork or beef, not sure which). It went really well with the fries. Reminds me of the chilli&fries that Carl's Jr has. This cost RM18 plus (i think)

Chilli Cheese Fries

Our mains include: Chicken & Prawns - this was served with rice. We really really liked the way the rice was prepared. Super delicious. RM35.90

Chicken & Prawns

Morganfield's bestseller - Sticky Bones. Half-rack of pork ribs (RM38.90). Tender down to the bone. It was however, lacking in the sauce. And when were asked for more sauce, apparently it costs RM1 for additional cause. Perhaps that's why it was dry to begin with. hmp. But the ribs were tasty and tender... so OK la...

 

 

I ordered Chicken Roulade (RM32.90). And I was so glad I ordered this. It was the best I've tasted so far! The chicken was juicy, tender and the sauce that accompanied it was perfect! Love, love, love this dish! Comes highly recommended, I must say. The chicken is stuffed with minced pork and sausage, then wrapped in pieces of bacon. Absolute heaven!

All-in-all, lunch at Morganfield's was marvellous...