Dinner at Hai Nan Town Restaurant

The dish above is known as 'Jiu Hu Char' in Hokkien which literally means fried cuttle fish. It consists of juliened turnips which gives the crunchy texture, dried cuttle fish, spring onions, carrots, onions and black shitake mushrooms. You can also add juliened pork for flavor if you like. It was one of my favorite dish during my grandmother's time and she used to cook this for us. My late paternal grandma was a great cook and she used to hawk 'laksa' or simply fish soup salad to bring up 4 children all by herself as a single parent when my grandpa passed away quite early in life due to sickness. This dish is best eaten with sambal (chilly paste) wrapped with fresh lettuce in a roll. You can see the greens in a glass on the left side.


This is stir-fried mixed vegetables consisting of brocolli, cauliflower, carrots, button mushrooms and prawns. It is not too difficult to prepare and won't take too long provided you cut the vegetables smaller for faster cooking and the heat to reach the innermost parts. I simply love brocolli and it helps to prevent cancer as well.


This is chicken 'lor bak' and instead of pork, you add chicken instead which is healthier. It is better to take white meat like fish and chicken than red meat like pork, mutton, beef, etc. Spices are added to the 'lor bak' which is then wrapped in tofu skin and deep fried till cooked. It is an excellent dish to go with vegetables and compliments rice.


This is 'otak' which literally means brain, but don't shudder. It is entirely made of fish with spices, coconut milk and wrapped in banana leaves which are then steamed until cooked. This is a typical nonya dish in Malaysia where the Chinese peranakan usually cook for their families. The yellow color is from safron or 'kunyit' in Malay. These are the 4 dishes that I ordered recently from a visit to Hai Nan Town Restaurant by the pier in Penang. It is a popular hang out among yuppies and even the oldies.