Born 16

Born 16 Soft Serve is a small café next to Aeon Mall Bukit Mertajam. It shares the compound with a car wash center.

The eatery is reasonably spacious and comfortable. The menu covers light snacks, desserts and drinks.

Shown here are Original Eggette (RM6.90), French Fries (RM6.90) and Super Fruit Tea (RM12.90). The drink contains passion fruits, strawberries, watermelon and lime slices.

Address: 2787, Jalan Rozhan, 14000 Bukit Mertajam, Pulau Pinang
Contact: 017-436-7189
Business hours: 2:00pm-11:00pm
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Squid Boy

Special thanks to Squid Boy for extending this food review invitation.

The basement level of Gurney Plaza has one of the highest concentrations of food outlets in Penang. Squid Boy is one of the numerous kiosks here. Opened late last year, this snacks joint is adjacent to Tori Tori.

As the name implies, Squid Boy sells squid-related snacks. These street snacks are highly popular in Taiwan. The signature choice is obviously the Giant Squid, which comes in 3 sizes: Mega King (RM15.50), Xtra Super (RM13.20) and Super XXL (RM11.20). Customers are able to customize the seasoning.

Since Mega King is not available today, I opted for Xtra Super. The Giant Squid is lightly battered and deep-fried until it becomes golden brown. It is then cut into bite-size pieces for customers' convenience. As recommended by the staff, I chose bonito flakes and mayonnaise as toppings. The bonito flakes wave gently while the Giant Squid is piping hot.

Crispy Squid (RM8.00) is a smaller type of squid. Only the squid's mantle (body) is used. Its texture is noticeably firmer but is still quite springy. If you enjoy spicy seasonings, I suggest that you ask for salt, pepper and Thai sweet chili. Like the Giant Squid, the Crispy Squid is also cut into smaller pieces for easier consumption.

There are several versions of Bento (RM11.20). I selected Crispy Chicken today. The chicken cutlet is flavored with wasabi and honey mustard. I am surprised that both seasonings blend with each other pretty well. The combined spiciness is mild; in fact, I prefer the wasabi's pungency to be stronger.

Squid Boy also serves Mee Sua (面线) but I have not tried the noodle dish yet. As for drinks, customers may add RM2.80 to any food item for a cup of passion fruit juice, calamansi juice or lemonade.

Name: Squid Boy
Address: 170-B1-K15, Plaza Gurney, Persiaran Gurney, 10250 George Town, Pulau Pinang
Contact: 012-454-0952
Business hours: 11:00am-10:00pm
Website: https://www.facebook.com/TaiwanDongYingSnacks
Coordinates: 5.43785 N, 100.30960 E
Directions: Squid Boy is located at the Basement level of Gurney Plaza, next to Tori Tori. Gurney Plaza has basement and multi-level parking garages.

Eggette Lab

Eggette Lab Hong Kong Snacks (蛋仔工坊香港小吃) is located on the Level 7 of Gurney Plaza. The kiosk is right next to Max Gourmet (美食之家) and is across the atrium from Golden Screen Cinemas.

Egg waffle (鸡蛋仔) is the specialty snack here. Hailing from Hong Kong, this popular street food is made using a special waffle iron with spherical molds. The novelty here is that each "bubble" on the waffle can be plucked off piece by piece.

Eggette Lab uses a special mixture of batter made from flour, eggs and sugar. The Original Flavor Egg Waffle (RM4.80) gives the closest match to the actual recipe. The waffle has reasonably soft texture with light crisp between bubbles.

A different type of batter is used for each flavor. This is best illustrated by the Tricolor Egg Waffle (RM7.80). The 3 types of batter (Original, Charcoal Cheese and Chocolate) are not truly mixed together. Instead, they are poured into separate sections of the waffle iron. Among the 3 flavors, Charcoal Cheese is my personal favorite.

Overall, Eggette Lab's snack is alright but I see it more of a novelty. In most cases, such food businesses have to innovate continuously in order to keep the hype going. On a separate note, I feel that the Eggette Lab's staff is somewhat slow in preparing egg waffles. This is despite having many waffle irons at its disposal.

Address: 170-07-10A, Plaza Gurney, Persiaran Gurney, 10250 George Town, Pulau Pinang
Contact: N/A
Business hours: 10:00am-10:00pm
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Mak Ee

Mak Ee is a small shop at Hutton Lane (Jalan Hutton), somewhat behind New World Park. The shop was formerly the central kitchen for shopping mall kiosks.

Chicken Curry Puff (RM2.00) is the specialty here. Filled with curried chicken and potatoes, the puff is quite tasty. I also enjoy the flakiness of the puff pastry. On the other hand, I feel that the Chicken Pie (RM4.50) is too dry for comfort.

Other pastries at Mak Ee are Tuna Puff (RM1.60) and Portuguese Tart (RM2.00), but I have yet to taste those. Mak Ee just received halal certification recently.

Address: 122F, Jalan Hutton, 10050 George Town, Pulau Pinang
Contact: 012-412-9942
Business hours: 7:30am-5:00pm, closed on Sundays
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Feng Yi Dumplings

Feng Yi Dumplings (凤姨粽子) at Taman Harbour View specializes in traditional Chinese dumplings. The air-conditioned eatery has a homely atmosphere reminiscent of a guesthouse.

Ingredients in Glutinous Rice Dumpling (五香福粽, RM7.00) are pork, dried scallops (干贝), salted egg yolk, shiitake mushrooms and chestnuts. I appreciate the abundance of premium ingredients in the dumpling.

Other notable side dishes are Steamed Yam Cake (紫香芋头糕, RM4.00) and Steamed Chai Kuih (水晶菜粿, RM3.50). The latter is filled with juicy jicama (凉薯) or garlic chives (韭菜).

Address: 123-G-04, Pengkalan Weld, Taman Harbour View, 10300 George Town, Pulau Pinang
Contact: 04-262-2506
Business hours: 10:00am-10:00pm, closed on Wednesdays
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Kareem Pasembor Rojak

When it comes to pasembor stalls in George Town, one of the most acclaimed choices is Union Street Famous Kareem Pasembor Rojak. The stall is just across the street from Maybank. There are additional dining tables in the alley next to the bank.

Kareem Pasembor Rojak is operated by an Indian-Muslim family who has been running the stall since 1945. Customers can choose individual ingredients from the à la carte menu, or simply order "Pasembor Campur" for the default composition.

Pasembor Campur is priced at RM4.50 and RM8.00 for small and large servings respectively. The standard dish typically contains cucur udang (prawn fritters), fishcakes, hard-boiled eggs, tofu, boiled potatoes, bean sprouts, shredded sengkuang (jicama) and shredded cucumber. The snack comes with sweet and spicy peanut sauce as dressing.

Kareem Pasembor Rojak is often packed with customers. It is difficult to find a seat during peak hours. Having said so, the stall owner is actually quite friendly. As with most roadside stalls, the hygiene here is always questionable.

Address: Lebuh Union, 10200 George Town, Pulau Pinang
Contact: N/A
Business hours: 11:00am-7:00pm, closed on Sundays
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