Lunch Boxes 2

A few months down the road and I think I'm starting to get the hang of these lunch boxes. I learned that the trick is to always offer variety and make sure that nothing leaks, haha! Unfortunately, Bubs isn't the biggest fan of veggies so I've wisely omitted stuff like carrot sticks and the like from his lunch boxes. I console myself with the fact that he eats them, albeit unwillingly, during meal times at home. 

Homemade pancakes with jam. In hindsight, I should have popped open the lid of the jam container before snapping a pic. At home, we usually have pancakes with honey but I've nightmares of Bubs making a sticky mess at school so I swapped them for jam instead.

Yogurt days are an absolute breeze for me, all I do is add in some fruit and fun snacks with it. We ran out of muesli so I used crushed chocolate Weetbix for a yogurt sprinkle.

Bubs picked out this yummy looking scone from a bakery the night before. I added a cheese stick, some strawberries and biscuits.

Store bought cheese pesto ciabatta. I got a mini pack of Japanese Power Rangers biscuits on sale and Bubs was thrilled with them.

Smitten Kitchen has the most luscious and easy to bake desserts and these chocolate yogurt snack cakes were a breeze to make plus Bubs loves them. I bake them in advance and they're easy to freeze.

Thai Shop

Thai Shop, a small cafe at the corner of Kimberly Street, is chock-full of Instagram-friendly nooks and crannies. It offers authentic Thai cuisine with both indoor and outdoor seating. If the weather is good, grab a chance to sit outdoors to experience a full Thai street food experience. Ordering is slightly confusing; even if you're seated indoors, you still need to walk outside next to the little alley to place your order though don't let that deter you: the food here is amazing. 

The menu is displayed in front of the drinks cart with a basic range of mains. The only sign that you're actually in Penang is that prices are in RM, not Baht ;) Even the radio is tuned into a Thai music station. 

 

Staff were bustling around preparing food. 

The aroma wafting over from the grilled pork was incredible.

The cha yen (Thai iced milk tea) and tub tim krob (shaved ice dessert) were the first to arrive. We loved the creamy, not overly sweet milky iced tea that comes in a ready to takeaway cup but thought that the tub tim krob could be more generous with their slices of jackfruit.

The pork satay was an instant crowd pleaser; succulent and sweet - almost like char siew, Bubs could have easily finished the whole plate if we didn't stop him. In fact, when Hubs returned again with his colleagues, he said one guy ate 7 sticks at a go and even requested a takeaway. It was THAT good.

Hubs thought the signature stewed pork knuckle served with steaming white rice was tender and and reasonably priced. The pickles and chilli sauce went perfectly with the soft pieces of meat.

I liked the green papaya salad which was freshly made at the open air kitchen and it wasn't as crazily spicy as some versions I've had. It made for a light bite. I did think that they made a kickass fried egg for the rice that comes with the green curry. The green curry was decent though not the star of the meal.

We loved the food there so much that we went back for round 2 with my Dad. This time around, we decided to add on a couple more items. The pork sausages are a new addition to their menu and are a bit of an acquired taste. The owner told us in advance that it tastes a lil tangy. It wasn't that sour on the tastebuds but still pales in comparison to their stellar pork satay. Hubs was left to finish this since Bubs and I really loved the satay.

The seafood tomyum was a decent value, priced at RM12, it came with 3 large, fresh prawns. The fiery spice levels were more muted than I expected it to be and it wasn't overly sour either, though the flavours were bold and zingy.

Thai Shop
Phone: 012-741 1868
257, Lebuh Kimberley, Penang
Opening hours: 12PM - 3PM, 6PM - 9PM (Best to check FB for days when they are closed)

Creameal Revisited & Kai Curry Bar

Bubs is immensely proud of the fact that he can eat curry though he neglects to tell people that it's specifically Japanese curry that he can only eat (sweeter and milder than our local variants) and he'd been begging to try Kai Curry Bar for quite some time. 

We dropped by for dinner last weekend but as it only opens at 6pm, we still had an hour to kill so Bubs was more than delighted to spend it at Creameal, just next door. It was thankfully quiet so we lounged there for a while.

I love the freshly made waffles and unique ice cream flavours there. This was bandung (rose flavoured), marshmallow and salted gula Melaka.

Kai Curry Bar is a cosy restaurant that specialises in, yes, Japanese curry. They make their own spice blends and gravies without any artificial flavourings or MSG. Vegetarian options with veg-based curry bases are also available. The curry bar is named after the owner's son and Kai's drawings are used literally everywhere to add whimsy - from the walls, to the overhead panels and on the menu.

You're given the option of selecting either a pork or vegetarian based curry and we went with pork for all our dishes. Each dish comes with a complimentary scoop of chilled mashed potato salad plus a jar of , which we thought was a pleasant and welcoming touch. I personally loved the small jar of fukujinzuke, Japanese pickles, and took generous helpings of them.

Hubs choose the seared chicken curry, Bubs went with a small portion of the katsu curry. Hubs commented that the seared chicken was nicely done but conceded that the katsu was much better, it was coated with the right amount of breadcrumbs and fried to crispy perfection.

Kai's curry was wonderfully fragrant, a lot less sweet than the commercial ones at chain restaurants with a stronger spice taste. It wasn't tongue scorching but Bubs - who can't even stand black pepper - was gulping water every few mouths.

I picked the udon curry because I'm a huge fan of thick, chewy noodles and felt that the gravy was an amazing accompaniment to them. There were chunks of meat and vegetables in the soup and it was a hearty meal. It definitely had a nice, homecooked taste to it.

Kai Curry Bar
Opening hours: 11:00am – 3:00pm; 6:00pm – 9:00pm
Closed on Mondays and Sundays
Phone: 04-226 0322
Address: 15, Jalan Phuah Hin Leong, 10050 Penang.