we had a guest visiting Penang some time ago! she wanted to try the pork knuckle at Ingolf’s badly. but we didn’t want to put up with the jam. we would have starved to dead if we were to travel all the way to Tanjung Bungah. imagine the jam. no thanks!so we made do with Berlin’s Bier Houz which located just 10 mins away! so convenient and confirm no traffic jam.ambience is relaxing with pop songs playing at the background. apparently it’s where working adults love to hang out after duty. enjoying a pint (or two) of quality German beer during happy hour over tittle-tattling. prolly about their moronic bossiethe aged menu

they offer a wide variety of dishes, from salads to pasta to pork knuckle! for drinks, you can opt for either draught bier or juices or cocktails or liquor!left to right: Ice Blended Chocolate | RM 10; Hot Cappuccino | RM 6; Hot Chocolate | RM6; Ice Blended Latte | RM 10
drinks were all decent. i was overjoyed to see generous amount of whipped cream! what diet? fuck it!

will bring the boyf here next time as he’s an German beer enthusiast and i’ll update you guys after that!

btw, pardon the overexposure washout snapshots ya. it’s dark and i have no choice but to fire the flash.Pasta alla Carbonara | RM 18.80
Fettuccine pasta drenched in a pool of rich cream sauce with bacon, peper flavoured ham and mushroom.my friend commented it’s mediocre. we can easily whip this up at home ourselves.Pasta all' Arrabbiata | RM 25.80
i usually go for aglio olio or tomato sauce based pasta instead of cream.

this al dente pasta had the right hint of spiciness which really spiced up my palate! living up its name huh (arrabbiata means spicy in Italian) shrimps were berry huge and fresh!Double Cheese Pork Burger | RM 16.80
home made pork patty sandwiched between sesame bun with two slices of cheese and some green, served with a side of German frites. the patty was thick however it’s tasted a tad bland for our liking.Berlin's Special Pork Ribs | RM 27.80
premium ribs richly seasoned with spices and slow-smoked, served on a bed of mashed potatoes and vegetables. the dark strips are actually black fungus, surprisingly. and something lagi surprising was, the mashed potatoes had some minced meat hidden in it, giving the mud a rough texture, which is alright to me. it’s good to try something different ma.

this is definitely value for moolah, three HUGE chunks of ribs which its meat were berry tender and juicy. it would taste better if they were seasoned longer. the flavour was all at the surface, within the meat, it’s bland. same thing like the burgeraftermath! hehe

the last time i dined in Azuma was a year ago with the boyf, and i have never stepped in since then. mainly because its posh-looking facade that prevent me from going in, not without the companion of (working) adults. i am a poor student with limited pocket money, hallo? but LC told me that some of the dishes are actually quite reasonably-priced, so i thought of giving it a second chance hence, the birth of this post. it was really crowded on a Saturday night, so the staff asked us to leave our number and she would call us once seats are available. we did some shopping while waiting for the call. i think other restaurants should do this *cue Sakae Sushi* instead of letting your customer standing there waiting.apparently they have revamped the whole restaurant. i remembered it was really cramped with dark lighting last time. now, cubicle are brightly-lit beside the entrance, perfect for couple, but not so muchy for privacy since everyone who walks in can practically see what you all are doing.this is what you’ll see on your left once you step in. i fell in love with the ball lighting thingy. i wanna have that in my dining hall in my future home! but i hope it won’t emit too muchy heat.and this, on the right. the sushi conveyor belt has extended to reach more tables. and chef working station has moved to the back with a golden classy looking backdrop.took some sushi off the conveyor belt while waiting our mains. what’s your must-have sushi? salmon has always been my favourite!Salmon Temaki | RM 3.80
salmon hand roll

i ordered this during my last visit, and i thought the salmon serving is really generous at only rm 3.80, slightly cheaper than Jusco’s. recommended it to LC, and she loves it too! one complain is that, the salmon slice was chewy and it’s hard to bite it off. so it got messy after the first bite and messier the following…Gyuniku Chahan | RM 8
this beef fried rice is LC’s must-order whenever she dines in Azuma. i had a spoon and boy the rice was light and fluffy and fragrant! all grains were separated from each other plus generous slices of beef hidden underneath! and amazingly it’s fulfilling despite its small serving.Soft Shell Crab Jyu | RM 13 (M)
my soft shell crab rice was equally great. i thought i would just get a halved crabbie manatau it’s a whole HUGE crispy one! i gave quarter to LC and still found it hard to finish :/Chawan Mushi | RM 3.80
lastly, our long-awaited steamed egg custard to complete our lovely satisfying dinner! our bill came up to RM 20+ per head, no so muchy damaged to wallet so yay can plan for next visit jor, i saw many ordered the pizza thingy! hmmm gotta gather more of us so that we can order more stuff to mum!

people has been telling me, Mizi serves the BEEEEEST mushrrom soup! the last time i had one decent one was from De Title (which the post has gone T_T). and the most recent one was the diluted starchy one from Pizza Hut *boo*. so when my friends suggested to have dinner there on my birthday, i hurriedly nodded YESH!it’s a pretty cosy bistro. and when we were there, it’s packed to the brim. luckily my friends were there earlier hence managed to secure a seat! phew!the menu is a tad worn out. this means that so many people have been patronising their restaurant! which is a good thing right? each of us ordered a set meal which comprises a drink, a soup of your choice, main course ranging from pasta, poultry, seafood, egg, sandwiches, vegetarian to salad (salad as main course?) plus eat-all-you-can ice cream as dessert! all these for RM 25! berry reasonable RIGHT. or you can choose your main course from meat, Chef’s specialties or smoked salmon with an additional RM 6 charges.everyone of us ordered tea as drink. some had peach tea (like me) while others ordered lemon tea.we JUST HAD TO order their mushroom soup | RM 9 (a la carte price). and YESH it’s thick and creamy. and you can actually feel that there’s REAL mushroom in it. CY said that THIS, is the real mushroom soup.complimentary bread with cube butters. the bread was okay. i would prefer soften butter though. cos the harden ones were so hard to be spread on the bread =.=Spaghetti al Cozze | RM 16 (a la carte price)
SF & bf shared this, the other three of us tasted it and thought it’s pretty decent with some spiciness. it’s something like Spaghetti All’ Aragosta E Gamberithat i had in Bella Marino (which i have yet to repost). except this time was mussels instead of slipper lobsters.

five of us ordered four set meals. SF and her bf shared one as they just had late lunchy not long ago at Prangin Mall.Chicken Piccatta | RM 16.80 (a la carte price)
CY and I ordered the same main. the piece of chicken was dipped in barter made of egg and cheese and fried to perfection. it was served with greens and pasta. CY and i find that the herb flavour (we didn’t know what it was) was a tad overpowering. and the chicken slice was errrr, weird. it must be the herb! when i went through the menu again while drafting this post, it’s rosemary. it’s overly scented. =.=SR’s steamed fish, MY Dream | RM 16 (a la carte price). what a name haha! two slices of fish were served on a bed of sautéed spinach drown in cream sauce. it was a bit bland. but the fish was fresh! though i don’t remember what fish it was =.=

i will certainly come back again to try other dishes on the menu!

Brown Pocket is a dessert place located at 6th floor of Gurney Paragon which specializes in coffee, chocolate, and dessert, they claim. Brown Pocket has just opened its door yesterday hence all the flower baskets. yala we manyak kiasu :/

I past by Brown Pocket the week before, and was attracted by its one of a kind interior design. glad that I managed to pay a visit the following week!

oh I forgot to ask the proprietor why Brown Pocket, not Red/Black/Pink (hehe) Packet thoughokay now I know why it’s brown pocket! it refers to this gunny sack! where all the menu is placed. I think I forgot to put back the menu le.. :/the magazine-like menu. kinda straight-forward.
Brown Pocket implements order-and-pay-upfront, and a number will be assigned to you.the whole café is decorated in earth tone, with striking colors pop here and there. I love how the whole area is well-lit naturally, natural light just makes everything look pretty (on photo). and then there’s this corner that resembles a cave, a civilized cave, one that you can plonk yourself comfortable on their tastefully placed chairs and stools.

the environment here is great for gathering with buddies or girlfriends.Triple Chocolate Liege Waffle | RM 18.90 {highly recommended}
two pieces of thick and dense waffle, topped with a scoop of butter almond ice cream and oreo, served with 3 types of chocolate sauces, a dollop of fluffy whipped cream, another scoop of oreo ice cream topped with fresh strawberries.

liege waffle is made of yeasted dough, unlike ordinary waffle which is made of baking powder. and that’s why the texture is denser and fluffier. and I love how it remained crisp and not soggy when it’s cold. it’s great enough on its own, but lagik best eaten with the premium ice cream and drizzled with some dark chocolate. yum. white and milk chocolate were too sweet for my liking.

only one thing to pinpoint, their ice cream melts fast, so devour it quick!Kiwi Mango Crepe | RM 16.90 {not recommended}
we also ordered a crepe dessert for sharing!

crepe topped with scoops of mango and vanilla ice cream, a dollop of cream, trickled with chocolate sauce, and fresh mango and kiwi cubes on the side. dark chocolate is available at disposal. but I reckon you can do without it.

personally, I think this crepe dessert has nothing to shout about, I prefer the waffle more, more value for money. and I wish the mango cubes is sweeter since kiwi is already sourish. paiseh ar I am so spoilt by my homegrown mangoes hehe.

after lunchy at Wong Kok, we adjourned to Meet Fresh which’s located right below.Meet Fresh is a dessert chain specialises in traditional Taiwanese desserts. it has two outlets in Penang, one at Gurney Plaza and the other one is at Gurney Paragon. Meet Fresh vows to serve their customers the best and healthiest desserts.

"Meet Fresh’s name came about because we want our customers to ‘meet’ the ‘fresh’ and healthy desserts we have to offer which are made all natural and fresh ingredients and prepared with love and care."the two cartoon figure on the signboard are Mr and Mrs Fu, siblings who’s the brains behind Meet Fresh. desserts shown here are the bestsellers.Meet Fresh Signature Herb Jelly (Hot) | RM 6.90
it’s a hot dessert with herb jelly being the base and taro balls, honey bean, pearl and peanut hidden beneath.Meet Fresh Signature Herb Jelly (Cold) | RM 6.90
this is the cold version of the dessert above. the only different is, the taro balls are studded atop and drizzled with cream.

i prefer cold version over the hot one. correction, i like the cold herb jelly more.Q Mochi | RM 8.90
original vs brown sugar mochi served with desiccated coconutboth are equally chewy but black sugar’s more fragrant!Little taro Balls in White Gourd Tea with Cream | RM 5.90
i love the size of mini taro balls, so addictive i keep digging them out instead of sipping. the size is similar to those pearls. but it’s in purple and orange instead of boring black. this would be my favourite only if they use fluffy whipped cream!