Morganfield's at Gurney Paragon

Morganfield's at Gurney Paragon is its first branch in Penang and offers lots of porky goodness. As with most newly opened restaurants/cafes here, reservations are recommended. We went on a Friday evening and looked longingly at the air-conditioned interior but was told that it was fully booked with seating only available outside.

It was surprisingly fun sitting outside though. The tables and chairs were all rustic and mismatched, giving it a casual feel. We could feel what's left of the sea breeze and with the water fountain rustling  behind the bushy potted hedges, you could close your eyes and imagine that you're seated next to the Mississippi. I might not feel that way if it's pelting rain heavily or a broiling sizzler of a day ;)

Kids dine free with every full paying adult only on weekends and public holidays. I don't quite like restaurants that charge RM1 for water but that's just me.  

Parents of fidgeting children: fear not! You get a kids menu that has puzzles with a colouring pencil that will keep the little ones occupied for a while.

If that doesn't work, Gurney Paragon has a nice, spacious walkway just right next to the restaurant where they can run around. Bubs eyed the water and seemed tempted to go wading in it. I don't blame him, it did look really inviting with the shallow, cool water and round stones inside.

 The lemonade was a nice, fizzy thirst quencher.

We had mixed feelings about the club salad. The pork bacon gave it a lovely flavour but the rest was of it required a lot of dressing.

It is impossible to visit a pork ribs joint and leave without trying pork ribs. We went with a half slab spicy pork ribs and it was a-maaa-ziiiiing! Some parts were just literally falling off the bone and I thought the chilli flakes added the right amount of kick. Hubs on the other hand was gasping for water and said it'd be even nicer if they provided additional sauce at the side for those that like gravy with their ribs.

The chocolate lava cake was the highlight of the night. I'd heard a lot of good reviews about it but was skeptical, how good could this be? I gingerly sank my fork into the soft cake, dip the warm bits into the oozing chocolate sauce and dabbed some vanilla ice cream onto it before taking a bite. WOW! The very rich flavor of the cake went really well with the hot, chocolaty sauce and the coldness of the ice cream. This is something I'd definitely go back again for. Bubs and I were fighting each other for more of the cake.

Daiso Haul

Remember my FCUK stripey dress that I got from Asos? In a bid to prove to Hubs that it's an Investment Piece and not a one hit wonder, I am trying to find different ways to wear it.

I wore it this time as a top with a forest green asymmetrical skirt and magenta stripey heels. I played  mix and match with Bubs with his striped tee.

The beauty world is split into 2 groups: those that adore a bright red lipstick and those that loathe it. I am a passionate fan of red lippie. Remember the MAC Russian Red I got for free? It looks less intimidating and more casual when I used fingers to dab on the colour like a stain instead of using it straight from the stick.

There is something bewitching about Daiso. You walk in, meaning to just have a quick browse, pick up a few items and go "Wow, I didn't know I needed this" and marvel at how the Japanese are practically giving it away for just RM5. Before you know it, you leave the store clutching your bargains, wondering "how on earth did I end up getting all this?" 

Isn't this display full of Japanese Caramel Corn at Daiso enticing? Hubs had to pull me away from it.

I present you all the RM5 marvels of Daiso: vacuum seal bags to store old clothes, a battery-powered lint/pill remover and an iPod/iPhone USB charger. Of all the stuff we got, we were really skeptical of the charger but decided that for just RM5, it was worth a try. We'd to eat our words when we saw the iPod charging with this little beauty!

The vacuum seal bags were put to good use. I sorted out Bubs's old clothes that he'd outgrown. These brought back so many memories. Was he ever really that teeny tiny? The blue, red & white stripey onesie was from Aussie Godma and I thought the crab onesie was sooo cute as I picked it out.

The yellow duckie onesie was Bubs's first home coming outfit. The Grobag swaddle (absolute lifesaver, I'm now a convert!) was our one and only swaddle and each time we'd to wash it, we were terrified so Mum-in-Law made copies of it by just tracing the outline onto cloth and hemmed the edges. Furry Peter Rabbit blankey that was a gift from a colleague in Sydney. Sheep appliqued Dreambag that was put to months of good use after Bubs outgrew the swaddle.

I was a little scared the bag might burst or something when Hubs used the vacuum to compress it. I'd gotten more expensive bags that burst because we overstuffed them so I didn't had high hopes for a RM5 one. To our surprise, the bag did its job without (literally) bursting under pressure. All of Bubs's baby clothes are now kept flatly and neatly.

Cempedak and Tutti Fruitti

It's school holidays in Singapore which means that my nephew, Cempedak, is back in Penang. We've been calling him Cempedak ever since he was a baby because once he wouldn't crying and my Dad got so frustrated, he yelled "stop crying, you little cempedak!" and the name just stuck.

Bubs is slightly in awe of his much older cousin. He follows him around like a second shadow but doesn't dare approach him directly. When he thinks Cempedak isn't watching, Bubs would swiftly play with something that Cempedak has discarded. I found the hero worship to be amusing, LOL.

Hubs and I toyed again with the whole let's-try-being-parents-of-2 by bringing both boys out for frozen yogurt. This time it was much more manageable because Cempedak is 9 while Bubs is now close to 2. I guess the moral of the story is to have a larger age gap? Time will tell ;) It was Cempedak's first time at a frozen yogurt outlet and he went nuts there when he realized you could mix and match any flavour and play with the varieties of toppings!

Tutti Fruitti has the best chocolate frozen yogurt that tastes almost like real chocolate ice cream. You can tell which is my chocoholic choice, complete with Milo balls and a chocolate wafer. Cempedak's choice was such a typical kid's choice! Lychee with lots of colourful gummy bears and chocolate buttons. He was on a sugar buzz after all that candy ... sucks to be my Mum that has to make sure he's in bed at his usual bedtime that night ;)

Bubs was also bouncing off the walls with all the frozen yogurt. He popped on his sunnies that he found after rummaging through my bag, waved his hands and danced through the shop. Only a kid could get away with moves like Mick Jagger at 9pm in a public place :)

Kolo Mee at Carpenter Street in Penang

I've always heard friends raving about how good kolo mee from Sarawak is to the extent that they actually smuggle, yes, you read that correctly, smuggle it back on the plane. I was really excited when my team mates suggested we have kolo mee at Carpenter Street (the name of the restaurant in Penang, not to be confused with the actual Carpenter Street in Sarawak).

Teh C Peng (3 layered tea) originated from Sarawak, I think, so we ordered this. If you think about it, this is a very delicious way of learning about density - gula melaka (the heaviest) sank to the bottom, followed by the middle layer of condensed milk and the least dense of all was the tea. To be honest, the tea was a bit too watery for my liking but then again, I like my drinks to be kau so don't take my word for it.

Simon gave a thumbs up for his fried kolo mee which he requested an upsize from the normal portion.

Carpenter Street offers 3 varieties of kolo mee: original, char siew oil and dark soya sauce. My team mates told me it tastes even better with sambal so I requested a small dish of it. I eagerly took a bite ... Heyyyyy ... wait a moment, isn't this wan than mee? They were quick to assure me that it's totally different.

Shir had the Sarawak laksa and the garnishings are separate in this picture because she's a vegetarian. I knew that laksa found in everywhere except Penang has coconut milk but what I didn't expect was that it tasted (again, only to me) exactly like curry mee *blushes*

Foods and drinks are decently priced. I've heard from numerous sources that this is the to go restaurant whenever Sarawakians and Sabahans are home sick for Foo Chow food in Penang.

Goodies and Lunch at Italiannies

If I'm going to break my shopping ban, I might as well do it with in style ;) Met up with Glam Girl for a much needed girly window shopping which ended up becoming a splurge session.

If you need proof why I call her glamourous, look at this: lime green fitted tunic, white capris, gold strappy heels and a colourful beaded clutch.

Hubs said I looked like I rolled out of bed wearing pyjamas - he doesn't understand my current obsession for stripes ;)

Hubs was nice enough to take Bubs for a walk while Glam Girl and I started shopping  boosting the retail economy and chatted non stop about things. We then met up with Hubs and Bubs at Italiannies for a carb-ladden lunch. We were staggering from the amount and portions of the dishes there.

Complimentary herb and white bread with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. So simple yet sooo yummy.

The Sicilian Chicken salad was a winner! There were generous pieces of grapes and mango cubes tossed into the mixture and it was such a refreshing addition. We'd to dig out most of the mangoes for Bubs though who insisted on only eating them.

We never fail to order a pizza and pasta there - mainly because I'm boring that way and I love my comfort food, LOL. The peperoni pizza, meatballs spaghetti and Bubs's spaghetti bolognese was pretty good. I've had a few misses previously when they over salted the pasta sauce but this round's version was nicely done. I also like that the kids free meals are served in decent portions and doesn't taste like it came out from a box.

As for my shopping haul ...

I've a couple of wedding invitations so figured it'd be alright to spend on a pair of MAC false eyelashes. These look weird in the picture because I got the makeup artist to fit and trim them for me as the lashes are usually too long. Considering the fact I don't wear falsies a lot, I didn't want to get Duo eyelash glue (RM40) at MAC - my previous tube became all yucky from disuse. Sue (thank you, Hun!) told me that she was using Eye Putti (RM30) from Sasa so I got a bottle to try. Glam Girl and I were a little confused at first because the label on the box said it's for creating a double fold eyelid but Sue assured me that you could use it for falsies too.

Don't you just love Back 2 MAC? I traded 6 empties for Russian Red. Yes, I'm a bright red lippie kinda gal.

I lusted after the Dorothy Perkins border feather prom dress when I saw it on the website. The trouble with the tiny lil Dorothy Perkins store that we have in Penang is that they often don't have a lot of the stuff seen online so to say that I was thrilled to see it in store was an understatement. It doesn't help that Glam Girl was such an enabler(!!!) so I tried to justify to myself that at least I'll be able to wear this for my cousin J's wedding next weekend. 

The Alchemy mandarin shampoo was my belated birthday gift from Glam Girl *squeals with glee* I'm a huge fan of their shampoos and was upset when Sasa stopped carrying them so she got me a huge bottle when she was on holiday. Thanks for a great time together and my present, can't wait to see you the next time, Glam Girl!