DELIcious at Straits Quay

AT LAST ... I did it. In honour of No.2 Son who has been with us all summer but leaves to start his second year at uni tomorrow, we finally made it to Delicious in Straits Quay, Penang, tonight. Although I've been to the one in KL Bangsar Village II, this was the first time I'd tried it up here.





It's kitted out in smart, contemporary fashion, very bright and trendy with funny bird-cage lamp shades hanging from the ceiling. The dining tables are in the middle, and all along the outer walls are sofas you can lounge on if you just want to have a drink and chill. As with all new places in Penang, once somewhere is open everyone flocks there but after a while it tends to taper off, so when we were there, although busier than the other places, it was still possible to get a table as soon as we walked in. The weather could have something to do with it; it was quite wet and in fact has just started to rain even as I write.





And to give credit where it's due, it was good, and deserved its reputation for giving quite a few outlets there a run for their money. The food is well presented in simple but smart white crockery, and not over-elaborate.

My Nyonya Laksa (had to try that lor) was quite good, the colour bright orange and inviting, quite lemak and served with a choice of beehoon or kuey teow (although I would have preferred lye fun, just to be difficult). It came with a few pieces of taufu pok, and no less than THREE large prawns which were crunchy and quite fresh; the julienned cucumber garnish was pretty but just a bit over-the-top; more taugeh would have been better as it doesn't have the crunch once it's added to hot gravy.





Mac thought his Carbonara was good too, although I find it difficult to eat with beef bacon personally, so it's something I would never order myself, and No.2 Son had a Steak Sandwich which he polished off in no time. Ahh, these youngsters! We also ordered a 3-dip starter which was quite good, although the aubergine one was too sweet, and the pitta bread was over-microwaved so some of it was almost like cardboard.




The dinner was finished off with one of the things they are most well known for: dessert. We ordered a very chocolatey Chocolate Cake served with ice cream; texture was good and the frosting was sweet and thick but I didn't think it was anything special as the taste was quite mediocre. I would have preferred it with a bit more oomph - orange flavour goes very well with chocolate; a fudge base would also have been acceptable. I also thought the wines were quite reasonably priced; our Merlot was RM65.



HOWEVER service left a bit to be desired; although Sarah served us our wine properly, opening it with quiet efficiency like a silver service sommelier, we had to ask several times for things like dessert menus (my son finally had to go and stand by the sweet counter and order there) and water. We also kept being offered things we HADN'T ordered beer, chips, dessert etc - at least four times I counted!! That may have been something to do with the table numbers going wrong but hey, I'm being picky.

All in all, it was a positive experience, and I can see that once they settle down, they will be just as successful as they are in the Klang Valley. One thing though: please give the other outlets a chance too lah!!!