Going Vegan @ Sushi Kitchen

Japanese food is not unusual to most of us as it is recognized as an international cuisine. There are variety of Japanese food such as rice based dishes (sushi, domburi, onigiri, kareraisu, chahan, chazuke&kayu), seafood dishes (sashimi, yakizakana), noodle dishes (soba, udon, ramen, somen, yakisoba), nabe dishes (oden, sukiyaki, shabu-shabu, chankonabe), meat dishes (yakitori, tonkatsu, nikujaga), soya bean dishes (yudofu, agedashi tofu, miso soup), yoshoku dishes (korokke, omuraisu, hayashiraisu, hamubagu) and other dishes (tempura, okonomiyaki, monjayaki, gyoza, chawanmushi, tsukemono). Mentioning the long list of Japanese dishes make my mouth watering and my tummy growling while writing this article... 

Front View - 1st fl

High quality claypot for cooking (I think this pot is from Taiwan)

Most of the local Japanese restaurants that I know in my living area are non-vegetarian but there is one particular Japanese restaurant, Sushi Kitchen - located in Sungai Ara, Penang, serves Japanese fusion organic vegetarian dishes in a unique ambiance. This unique restaurant was introduced to me by a good friend who loves Japanese food and a vegan as well. 

After discovering this restaurant, I bought my family there.  On one of the weekend in May, my whole family together with my sister head for the restaurant and we soon found the place and there were ample parking space in front of the restaurant.  I contacted the restaurant to make prior reservation...  Yes, it was packed.

If you’re coming from the town via the coastal highway, drive through the Bayan Lepas roundabout into JalanTun Dr Awang and head towards PISA, pass two traffic light junctions and turn right into Jalan Dato Ismail Hashim, Drive along Jalan Dato Ismail Hashim and turn right into Jalan Sungai Ara 1, after passing Sekolah Kebangsaan Sungai Ara, which is on your left, Sushi Kitchen is located behind a row of shoplot opposite the school.  

The proprietor is an avid cyclist who has travelled to many countries and helped to raise fund for charity. Besides that, he also advocates green living lifestyle. 

The restaurant is located on the 1^st floor of a two-storey shop house. The staircase leading to the restaurant is filled with customer’s testimonials, newspaper articles, postcards and signatures of customers. 

As you reach the top, you can see various sizes of clay pots and urns which are neatly arranged close to the wall. 

Other forms of decorative items includes old refrigerators, sewing machine stand, books, manual type writer, old F&N soft drink bottles, old stereo, tiffin carrier, earthen ware, brassware and many old household items. 

Guest have option to seat on the wooden floor (an elevated wooden stage with table and cushion pad), as well as the conventional dining tables and chairs which are made of hard wood.  

We sit on the wooden floor and my two kids love it, as this way of dining is new to them. My younger daughter was so excited and she started to run and walk around creating disturbance to a young couple dining at the other corner. My husband and sister had to look after the two kids while I was busy taking photos. 

Finally, after taking some photos, we sat down to order our food.  Food we ordered includes Organic Milky Way Spaghetti, Low Beauty Roll, Happiness Family, Golden Age, Sushi Fried Rice, Radiant Light Porridge and Red Sea Udon – TOTALLY VEGETARIAN.  As for the drinks, we ordered Nutmeg juice and Japanese green tea.

My family is not totally vegetarian but it is certainly good to change our way of eating by taking vegetarian food especially Japanese organic vegetarian which is a healthy choice as well. Having taken vegetarian meals elsewhere especially in some Chinese vegetarian restaurants, I do have some concern over the fried vegetarian food which are often oily. However, to my surprise the dishes at Sushi Kitchen are less oily and tasty too. 

There other prime attraction is the price of the food, which is reasonable amidst the cozy and warm ambiance. I would like to share my personal experience savouring the Japanese organic vegetarian dishes with my family.

Organic Milky Way Spaghetti (RM 15.90)

My daughters like it!  They enjoyed the milky sauce with herbs.  The portion is huge.

Happiness Family (RM 26.80)

A good variety of sushi.  Good to have if you are in a group, to taste assorted sushi.

Golden Age (RM12.80) – 6 pcs

Everyone has a piece and we ask for more!  Very refreshing and exotic sushi, topped with ripe mango. 

Low Beauty Roll (RM 6.80)

I personally like it!  Deep-fried until golden brown.  Better to eat when is hot.

Red Sea Udon (RM 11.90)

It tastes like creamy laksa.  Must try!  Again, another huge portion.

Sushi Kitchen Fried Rice (RM 6.80)

A simple Japanese fried rice, fried until fragranced but not oily.  Again, huge portion!

Radiant Light Porridge  (RM7.80)

It kept my younger daughter sit down quietly (for a while), at least gave us some peaceful  time to dine.  This creamy porridge accompanied with freshly cut Julienne vegetables.

Enzyme Hand Wash

Short of serving staff is the only setback in Sushi Kitchen.  I been there 3 times recently and served by only ONE same staff.  She greets guest, sits guest, attends to phone call, takes order, prepares drink, places and serves order, cashiering, clear and set table... and she is cool!

I strongly recommend Sushi Kitchen to all, regardless of vegetarian or non-vegetarian friends.  This is a new-age fusion environmental friendly eating place.  It is not only serving and promoting vegan food but how to live well to improve and save our environment for us and our future generation.  You should come to explore this hidden treasure!   

Please call for reservation (to avoid long waiting):

6 04 - 644 6739 (close on Tues)

Biz Hrs:  11.30 am – 2.30 pm & 6.00 pm – 10.00 pm

Family Weekend Excursion to Teluk Intan (Teluk Anson), Perak

My husband was invited to attend a wedding dinner in Teluk Intan last Saturday.  He looked forward to meet up with old friends and celebrate the auspicious occasion. 

We took this opportunity to travel with the whole family, my two kids and sister.  As the distance between Juru Tol  and Teluk Intan is approximately 228 km, we certainly need to stay a night in Teluk Intan.  Otherwise, it would be tiring to return on that evening after the dinner.  The bride groom recommended us home-stay instead of hotel.

The whole family started the journey at about 16:00 (this is the earliest we can made it!) and arrived in Teluk Intan at around 19:15. While travelling along the highway, there was intermittent rain especially before reaching Ipoh.  My two kids were corporative, sit quietly along the journey.  In fact, they enjoyed travelling and were looking forward to this trip especially my elder daughter.

Upon arriving in Teluk Intan, we tried to locate the location of home-stay from the map given to us but we failed to locate the place and our calls to the home-stay place were not answered.  At last, my husband had to call the groom (we tried not to disturbed him, at first) for help and he sent another friend over to guide us to the home-stay place which located near the crossroad of Jalan Changkat Jong and Jalan Sultan Abdullah.  The name of the home-stay place is TNT Novelty House. 

TNT Novelty House - front window

We quickly unload our belongings upon arriving, as my husband has to leave for the dinner.  As he left in a haste to attend the wedding dinner with his car, we couldn’t go out to have our dinner.  Unfortunately, the place we stayed, does not sell food but we did bring along some bread, snacks and drinks...

TNT - room wall

My younger daughter couldn’t sleep well due to unfamiliar surroundings and she had to wait for daddy to come back from dinner before she could sleep.  We check-in to a family room with one queen-size bed and single bed in one room and two single beds in separate chamber.  

TNT - single wooden bed

Room furnishing is simple and we liked the bed wooden frame so much, which is made from solid wood.

TNT - wall design & mirror

TNT Novelty House provides ample space for guest to sit in their living hall furnished with wooden chairs, reading tables, dining place, games corner, water fountain, TV room and laundry area.  Its a place worth a visit to explore the beauty of wood work!

TNT - Living Area

Drinking water, water pitcher and other kitchen utensils are provided for guest.  

TNT - Living Area

The rental is only RM60/night for an air conditioned room with attach bathroom.  We could park our car in the porch and there is a care taker looking after this place in the evening.  The house-owner also stay-in.  I consider this place safe, quiet, clean, simple and economical for budget traveller.  In fact, it is very clean!

TNT - games corner

Since the home-stay is located within the town of Teluk Intan, access to amenities such as banks, petrol kiosk, restaurants and shopping mall is easy.

Teluk Intan Chee Cheong Fun

The next morning, we have to pack our belongings and head to the town to search for a small shop selling “Chee Cheong Fun”, which is located before Pooi Yong School in a road connecting Jalan Pasar and Jalan Pasir Bedemar.  It was not easy to locate this shop, as the sign board was hidden.  In fact, when we arrived at 9:45am, the shop was about to close but fortunately take-away is still available and I bought four packets.  

The Teluk Intan “Chee Cheong Fun” is not the same as the usual one sold in Penang.  It is rolled-up with meat mixture fillings and served with pickled green chilli.  I still love the conventional Penang “Chee Cheong Fun” served with sweet sauce, prawn paste, and sprinkled with sesame seeds, but this is something different to me and it taste different from the conventional “Chee Cheong Fun”...

Teluk Intan Leaning Tower

Before leaving Teluk Intan, the whole family had a simple breakfast and then visited the Teluk Intan Leaning Tower (Tilting Tower), the famous landmark.  The leaning tower of Teluk Intan is the Malaysia equivalent of the world famous Leaning Tower of Pisa in Italy.  It is located in the centre of the town.  The tower is slanted leftward.  It is 25.5 metres tall and from outside, it looks like a 8 storey building.  The tower is located in the center of a square surrounded by Jalan Pasar, Jalan Selat, Jalan Bandar and Jalan Ah Cheong.  

Background Leaning Tower

We did not walk around the tower as there were crowded with people due to Sunday bazaar held around the leaning tower.

The whole family left for Bidor, the next town before returning to Penang.  Bidor is 42 kilometres away from Teluk Intan.  This town is mainly an industrial area.  When one travels north of Bidor, one will see miles and miles of plantation on both side of the trunk road covered with lush greenery, fruit orchards, oil palm and rubber plantations.

Before the advent of North-South Expressway, travelers had no choice but to pass through this town through the federal trunk road.  As this town is famous for its variety of food, travelers frequently choose to stop-by at one of the eateries before continuing their journey

Bidor famous  'Kai Jai Peng' 鸡仔饼

The most famous food in Bidor undoubtedly will be the herbal duck-thigh-noodle available at one of the eatery that is the famous Pun Chun. The restaurant is located on the main street.  Pun Chun is also famous for its 'Sat Kai Ma' (Chinese: 萨奇马)- a type of sweet dessert and also 'Kai Jai Peng'（Chinese：鸡仔饼) which is the chicken biscuit.  Apart from these, another shop next to it, selling large curry chicken bun and hand-made animal figurine moon cake.  We bought some of these delicacies from Bidor for friends, baby sitter, parents and ourselves.

During our last stop to buy two large curry chicken buns, my sister left behind a packet of mango she bought at the market, in the shop after buying some moon cakes.  She only realized when we entered North-South Highway.  As it was not too far away from the Bidor town, we went back to the shop and was relieved to find that the shop owner has kept the mango for us, thanks...

As last Sunday was Mother’s Day, we celebrate it by sharing the large chicken buns with my parents, our baby sitter and myself.  Happy Mothers Day!

Besides these, the other famous produces in Bidor are seedless guava, petai (stink beans), soursop, mango  and durian.

It was a pleasant trip for all of us and we are looking forward for next short excursion with the kids again. 

Monkey Beach Excursion

Monkey beach (Teluk Buyung) located in Penang National Park is a place that brings fond memories during my teenage years especially when I spent time camping on the beach with my schoolmates.

The surrounding hasn’t changed much except the park is now managed by the Forestry Department and there is a visitor center before entering the park.

The new attraction in the park besides the rich flora and fauna is the canopy walkway but it’s closed for renovation.

Being the smallest national park in Malaysia, the Penang National Park is another tourist’s attraction available in Penang. Several other noticeable changes includes amenities provided such as rest areas, toilets, signage and litter bins. The path that led to Monkey beach is narrow and steep at certain stretch as the path were laid along the steep land parallel to the coast line that formed part of the park’s boundary .

Yesterday morning, I joined my students to hike to Monkey Beach starting from the entrance and passed through Aling Bay (Teluk Aling), where the USM Marine Science and Coastal Studies Research Center located.

It took us about 1 ½ hours to reach the destination. The white sandy beach and several dilapidated bungalows and broken huts along the beach were just the same when I was there during the 80’s. No amenities available in Monkey Beach as it is situated on private land but local tour operators has set-up huts and barbeque stove and camping ground for tourists and visitors.

Nearby, is the Muka Head light house built in 1883 and is still in operation. It was fun and enjoyable day as I had lunch on the beach and watched students playing games.

Besides the students, foreign tourists were seen coming to the beach by speed boat to swim, fishing and sun bathing. As in any other tourist’s spots in Malaysia, the cleanliness is the prime issue. I can see rubbish strewed on the stretch of the beach.

After resting for an hour, it’s time to return. All my students choose to take speed boat when returning but I decided to hike back to where we started and it took me an hour. I met many friendly tourists along the hiking trail.