Lunch at Healy Macs with Bing Bing Dessert

People, have I ever told you:

• How much I love Xmas trees
• E&O has the nicest Xmas trees

E&O properties manages Straits Quay, a small eating and shopping complex by the sea and if I'd said previously that the E&O hotel had a massive Xmas tree, then I take my words back: the tree at Straits Quay this year is breathtaking. The whole place was festively decorated.

Dad, Little Bro, Hubs, Bubs and I headed over to Healy Macs for the pork knuckles. The organic pork knuckles were supposed to be a small portion, based on the menu but people have told us that it was big enough to feed 2.

They weren't lying. Look at the size of that! I can't imagine how huge the larger portion would have been. It was a massive slab of pork knuckles roasted to perfection: soft and succulent on the inside with the meat falling off our forks, crispy and crackling on the outside. Served with a side dish of sauerkraut and roast potatoes, to call this filling would be an understatement.

Prices are a little on the steep side but it was so worth it. We're definitely heading there again and I'm trying to convince Hubs that we should order the large portion next time to share so there's more of that crispy skin to go around ... om nom nommmm ... 

Though I'm not called the human goldfish for nothing! I insisted on dessert at Bing Bing Taiwanese Dessert House straight after that. The place was cheerfully decorated - check out the rainbow stripes splashed from the wall to the floor. There's a small separated area at the side where small tables the height of Bubs and piles of cushions are available for you to lounge around. Bubs had a blast walking around the area, busying himself with arranging the cushions (he thought they looked better heaped onto the table as seen above).

After ordering, you're given a gold medal, I kid you not. Ours was taro. Again, Bubs was tickled pink with this.

We didn't have high expectations of the place at first as it looked like a faddish, teeny bopper kind of place but were pleasantly surprised when desserts came. They were a little too sweet for my liking but I guess you could ask them to reduce the sweetness of it.

Hubs had the mango ice blended which came with a scoop of ice cream and generous servings of pearl sago. Mine were glutinous rice balls, both plain and peanut filled, with red beans and candied winter melon strips in soya milk. The only thing I didn't like about it, and this is just me, was that it was served hot. I guess traditionally glutinous rice balls are served in piping hot syrup but I usually prefer my desserts cold. And in case you were wondering, Bubs didn't touch the spoons: they came already bent like that.

Where else but in Penang that you can have German pork knuckles in an Irish bar and Taiwanese dessert all under the same roof?