Who would've thought a cosy and quintessential British colonial restaurant would be tucked away amongst the lush greeneries; up high at almost 3000 feet above sea level?

Yup, with an authentic British heritage and garden ambience, as well as a bird's eye view of Penang's landmarks and its city skyline, David Brown's Restaurant & Tea Terraces stands tall (literally!) as the perfect, memorable dining spot in Penang

 

The other half and I paid a visit to David Browns for one of our mensiversaries!

(Yes, that's the term for a monthly recurring date of an event)

 

It took us approximately 15 minutes to get up to the peak of Penang Hill via the funicular train

 

I was in for a pleasant surprise upon seeing the train that we were about to take.

 

2011 boasted a new and improved version of the funicular train – and I took a ride on it it last month!

It had air-conditioning, wore a much sleeker design and zoomed so much faster that it previously did!

 

The engineers did an amazing job updating this train.

 

Up up up we go!

Spotted the old train permanently parked mid way whilst zooming up!

 

The cold temperature and his warm embrace do go really well together ;)

 

When we arrived, we were buzzing around – just like everyone else – taking in the picturesque scenery of the entire Penang island and mainland.

Our tummies got the better of us so, we adjourned to the elegant, British-styled restaurant for lunch + tea time.

 

Had to walk past its cafe/bar outlet downstairs first

The view from the top once we've climbed the flight of stairs!

We're on top of the world! 

Approaching the old-world furnished mansion!

 

We stopped by to take pictures by the iconic lily pond…

 

Okay, I get it. You're hungry

 

We initially sat inside the mansion

 

It was not only beautifully appointed, it was baronial – the historical British interior design was lovely!

The dining area was spick and span, spacious impeccably furnished with rustic wooden furniture and a brick-built mantelpiece as well

 

Theboyfie and I found the restaurant to be really warm and cosy!

 

But being the al-fresco enthusiast I am, we moved out into the terrace; on the porch overlooking the garden.

A little bit of sunshine does everyone good!

 

Just us after placing our orders

 

The waitresses were sweet and accommodating We also didn't have to wait long before our meals arrived.

So here they are!

 

French Onion Soup as the starter

 

It was amazing! The buttery hint and rich aroma of onions was to die for. If you're a fan of onions just like us, that is.

We also loved the texture, so thick and chunky not  too creamy at all. Crisp croutons came as an accompaniment.

 

Can't wait for the main course!

 

Our meals came right after we were finished with the soup

 

Mine : Roast Lamb Shank

 

I loved this in its entirety! It was such a delicious and hearty meal. 

The meat had just the right tenderness. It was definitely simmered to perfection, thus juicy and succulent as you sink your teeth into it.

Its rich and flavoursome gravy alongside baby carrots, onions, cauliflower, celery, mushrooms did a magnificent job in complementing the meaty taste. It came with Mashed Potatoes as a side too.

His : Oxtail Soup & Dumplings

 

Despite the flavourful tomato and meaty taste, most of the oxtail chunks had very little meat on it.

It was so difficult to gnaw into whatever little meat that clung onto the bone! Must be a very skinny ox, with an equally bony tail, methinks. Don't order Oxtail before reading how to eat it properly lest you end up looking like a Neanderthal. 

 

Theboyfie struggling to eat his Oxtail when I've been long done with my Lamb Shank!

 

We took a short break from eating – chatting by the lily pond and serene atmosphere

 

Wanting to make the best out of this visit (and being the sweet tooths we are), we ended up ordering some chocolatey dessert!

 

 

Yes, I DID say chocolate. Now wait for the boyfie to return to the table please?

 

Spent some time camwhoring while he excused himself to the loo 

 

So glad we moved outside. It was windy and I just loved the garden scene

 

When he came back, he asked me to go to the toilet to find a very interesting set of toilet rules.

I did as I was told, and had a great laugh!

 

LOLOLOLOLOL

 

When I came back to the table, the dessert was waiting on the table for me! 

Tempting.. tempting..

 

Chocolate Crepe served with Chocolate Ice-Cream & Strawberries

 

 

What can I say? We both love chocolate. This sweet and simple dish suited our tastebuds well

Fork a swatch of the crepe, dip it with the ice-cream and poke into a strawberry – and that's the way to go! 

 

We took a light stroll around the cottage garden after our meal

 

Well fed by David Brown's Restaurant & Tea Terraces, it's no wonder we had to walk around a little bit to ease our over-filled tummies!

Pretty sights amongst nature and walking along the gravel path – count me in! 

 

Heavy wooden latch-door by the brick-built fence!

 

Under a giant lilypad!

 

Took in a last view of the breathtaking scenery

The sun was about to set by then!

 

Great times and great memories atop Penang Hill

Much love! 

 

Yay Yay! Time for another page outta my lil Chef at Home cookbook! 

One fine day, Verity and I decided to cook up some Asian cuisine for dinner – Black Pepper Stir Fried Beef

 

in the process! I like my meals with heaps of veggies

 

Verity helping to chop more veggies! 

 

Lots and lots of garlic paste in the already-marinaded beef chunks!

 

Okay to be honest, the original dish was supposed to be Chicken Stir Fry.

But we changed it entirely to Black Pepper Beef Stir Fry! Then again, no one follows the cookbooks

 

ESPECIALLY ME.

 

After putting everything in the wok!

 

Letting it simmer and absorb all the juices Omnomnomnom

Oh and you know what's our secret ingredient? Wine!  

 

Lots and lots of it!

 

After letting it simmer for another half an hour, I just gave it some more herbs and condiments to taste.

Used heaps of black pepper seeds too

 

Ta-da!! Almost ready!

 

Erin was on the other side of the kitchen, also busy cooking.

But since she's vegan, all her meals were strictly vegetarian – no meat of any sort!

 

*sizzle sizzle*

 

For dessert, we decided to bake a special chocolate cake. *wink*

Omnomnomnom. Ima chocolate maniac, if you didn't already know  

 

Prepare all the ingredients needed

 

Melted chocolate, butter and yummy delish stuff 

 

Pour it in with chopped walnut chunks!

 

Ooooh look at that nutty chocolatey goodness

 

As usual, this is what my friends and I do after I've finished pouring the entire cake mix into the baking tin.

Who wants to waste good chocolate?
 

NOBODY. 

 

Popped it into the oven and waited for the magic to happen.

In the meantime, our Black Pepper Stir Fry Beef was ready to be eaten with steamed rice 

 

Bon Appetit!

 

Doesn't look really appetizing in the photo   Cos I was too hungry and couldn't give two hoots about taking pictures. Just wanted to gobble it! I was delighted when my friends loved it just as much as I did!

One of them said it was spicy as! *giggle* Well, toughen up! Get used to Asian spicy food

 

 

This was Erin's vegetable dish!

 

She let me take as many photos as I wanted before she ate Yay!

After eating and got really full to the brim, it was time to bring out the special chocolate cake!

 

Walnuts ahoy!

 

Don't know why we turned the cake upside down and ate it that way instead

 

Yay everyone liked it!

 

Okay speaking of which, I'm really darn hungry as we speak.

Imma head out for dindins with the bestie now.

 

And to all my Muslim readers out there, Selamat Berbuka Puasa! 

 

To be extremely honest, I've never seen/taste/smell/ate Vegemite in my entire life.

Until I came to Australia.

 

Bardha, Cleefy and I in the kitchen on the night of the challenge

 

This is how it all began.

One fine day, Konzy and Cleefy decided to ask me a million dollar question.

 

"Have you tried Vegemite before?"

My answer was an obvious "no".

 

However, I've heard some pretty horrid stuff about it; that it tasted vile, disgusting and nasty on your tastebuds. Then again, Cleefy insisted I had some, regardless of what I've heard.

Allow me to quote him "you haven't experienced Australia if you leave without Vegemite".

 

Looks like a creepy Vegemite ad, no?

 

He proposed I eat it in front of the camera so that I could always remember the "Australian goodness of Vegemite". Fair enough. So I decided to take up the challenge of the infamous yucky Vegemite.

Let the camera roll!

 

One night before we headed out clubbing, Cleefy brought me a jar of Vegemite

& had it wrapped in a cute blue ribbon too! 

 

I was extremely hesitant after unwrapping it but my mates were pretty persistent.

Fine fine fine. I'll do it! 

 

Here's the short video I made. Enjoy it!

 

Hahaha. Hope you liked it! So there, my 1st moments with Vegemite, added with laughter, nasty facial contortions and friendship encapsulated in a 6 minute video  

Now, everytime I think of Australia or crave for Vegemite, this video will do the trick!

 

Ahoy mateys! Arrrr. Vegemite has arrived.

 

How am I ever gonna forget that? 

The next time ANY of you come to Malaysia, I'll do the exact same thing for yall – not with Vegemite, but with Durians instead. *evil laughter*

 

Thank you Cleefy bear!

 

Now that I've finished blogging this entire post and editing the VLOG, I'm totally up for some. Only thing that's stopping me is…. I can't seem to find my Vegemite.

Who has stolen my jar from me!?  Identify yourself!!

 

After 2 years of not meeting up, Violet and I were glad to *finally* see each other again!

We were both in Melbourne at that time so it was perfect for a catch-up sesh

 

Violet and I

 

We didn't know where to go at first cos we were practically gushing when we saw each other!

I was happy to see her again! After walking around aimlessly for a bit, we went to Koko Black

 

 

What could be better than catching up over glorious, glorious chocolate?

 

The hardcore chocolate lover was simply delighted! *beams* 

 

James was there to join us as well!

 

We chatted for hours and talked about old times and what we're going and where we should go next when we meet again. So much to do together, so little time!

But unfortunately, all of us have busy schedules plus the fact that I live pretty far from the city!

 

Girls doing what we do best

 

Thanks for the photo dearie!

 

After our teatime, we went outside for some air and to do a lil shopping.

 

Also, it's sometimes really cool to have a guy who is into photography tagging along while we do girly stuff or whatever we do. So I passed James my camera to help me take a few shots!

Hence, we get to actually have candid shots while walking or talking to each other LOL

 

Thanks for helping us take candids, James

 

T'was an awesome day catching up with them but alas, something fairly tragic happened!!

I was wearing the new pair of boots which I bought yesterday, and since I've never wore boots before (we hardly ever wear boots in Malaysia) I didn't know we needed to wear socks or stockings or something similar.

So I was badly cut and bled from above my heels. A blister somehow managed to appear in less than an hour and it hurt to the max  

 

pic courtesy of Violet

Hmph. And this is why I hate wearing new shoes

 

Thankfully, they took me to the nearest footwear section and I bought a pair of flip-flops

I also had some band-aids with me (fortunately!) and poor me had to limp back home.

 

—————————————————–

 

Our next outing wasn't as tragic as the first one, though. Phew!

We met up at Pancake Parlour this time :D

 

Before our food arrived!

 

It was funny how we actually ended up choosing what to eat.

Both of us wanted to suggest Pancake Parlour, but didn't think that the other would want to eat that. But eventually, we both found out that the both of us had Pancake Parlour in mind! @__@

 

So, Pancake Parlour it is!

 

I've always been a pancake fan. If you've been a long-time reader, yall would know that if there was any pancake outlet in front of me, I'd hit it. No matter what!

 

The flooring reminded me of checkerboards!

 

I liked the interior decor as well!

 

Don't know why, but ambience plays a part in how much I'd enjoy myself in a restaurant

Perhaps I'm not exactly a minimalist, that's why. I like elaborate or even artsy decorations

 

While waiting for food!

 

Since I'm an avid fan of traditional stacks with maple syrup, I ordered that and something savory

Violet had some Pancake Spanakopita while James opted for Blueberry Pancakes!

 

In the end I was so full I couldn't finish 'em!

 

Had a great time with them, as I did the previous outing.

Cheers to more catch up sessions the next time I'm up in Melbourne!

 

Camwhoring against some pretty Pancake Parlour backgrounds

Love their pop art-ish concept!

 

Yay for good times and good food!