The Japanese restaurant Tsuruya has 2 outlets in Penang: i-Avenue and E-Gate. Craving for some Japanese food, I dropped by the i-Avenue outlet for dinner today.

The store's facade looks pretty attractive. Inside, one can also appreciate the cozy atmosphere with a neo-modern Japanese touch.

Once settled down and familiarized with the menu, I was particularly attracted to the dinner menu. It lists over 20 substantially different selections of set meals. After much deliberation, I took my chances with the Mini Unadon & Zaru Soba Set (RM32.00).

There are 2 protagonists in this set meal. The first is the Unadon, which is barbecued unagi (Japanese eel) served over a bowl of don (rice). I was glad to make a good choice here: the eel is very tasty and has the juicy texture on each bite.

The other spotlight is the Zaru Soba, cold soba (Japanese noodles) served on a zaru (bamboo tray). Along with the noodles are a small cup of shoyu (soy sauce) and a raw Uzura No Tamago (Japanese quail egg). This dish is quite special and seldom encountered in many mainstream Japanese restaurants.

Other minor dishes in the set are a cup of Chawanmushi, Cabbage Salad, Miso Soup and Fruit (watermelon).

Green Tea is complimentary with any orders.

Overall, the food is decently priced and worth an occasional visit.

Located at i-Avenue, Ichyo Ramen has been serving the local populace for quite some time already. The store front is rather nice, and so is the interior decor. Nevertheless, the pricing is still reasonable and more affordable than similar Japanese restaurants in the vicinity.

In most cases, the most economical way to sample more variety of food is to opt for the set menu. That was exactly what I did.

The main dish for dinner is Kimuchi Ramen. This is a ramen dish served in a rich broth, plus some ingredients such as roasted pork slices, fish cake, dried seaweed and vegetables. Not much can be said about the ramen, but the pork and broth are quite good.

Also served are 3 pieces of Gyoza (pot stickers) filled with minced pork. The skin is too thick, which gave it a more "starchy" taste instead of my preferred "meaty" taste.

The Garlic Fried Rice is a bit overcooked and dry. Also included in the set are Diced Cucumber and Watermelon Slices.

Drinks are not included, so I ordered a cup of hot Green Tea.

Overall-wise, it was a rather satisfying meal.

The lunch buffet at Sarkies Corner in E&O Hotel is one of the "mainstream" meal destinations during company events. Apart from the fact that it is halal-certified, the word "buffet" rings happily in the ears of many people, including myself.

A buffet meal should be started with the more expensive dishes. This is usually seafood: shrimps, clams, scallops, salmon slices, eel slices etc.

Next are the various "everyday" meat dishes which rotate daily. Try a little of each because you can be easily overwhelmed.

Since I arrived earlier than most people, the queue for the char koay teow was not too long. The dish is cooked in small batches of 2 plates at a time, so the queue can be quite long later. It is worth a try, not nowhere comparable with the established hawkers in Penang. At least, Sarkies Corner can afford to give extra portions of shrimps after charging heavily for it.

The desserts section is rather extensive. There are easily over 20 varieties of cakes, cookies, custards and puddings. Several types of fruits, including my favorite dragonfruit, is also available. There is also a chocolate fountain for those who prefer everything to be chocolate-coated.

A lunch buffet at Sarkies Corner costs over RM70 per person. This is one place that you usually don't mess with, unless you are loaded with cash.

We decided to try something Italian for dinner, so it was a good opportunity to try El Mondo, a small Italian restaurant at Krystal Point.

To get started, the interior decor is nice indeed. The business owner obviously put an effort to give it an Italian touch.

In Rome do as the Romans do. We started with soup and as appetizers: a bowl of Mushroom Soup and a cup of Seafood Soup. The former is just average, but the latter is quite a treat! The soup comes with complimentary Garlic Bread.

The Chicken Milanese entree was a good choice. It is served with lemon sauce and garlic vegetables.

As for the Lasagna Di Carne, it was our favorite for the night. The lasagna is made of minced meat filled with cheese and served over thick tomato sauce.

For drinks, we an ordered Ice Blended Cappuccino and a Vanilla Milk Shake.

We wanted something Italian, and we got what we wanted. Definitely a good dining choice!

Canton-i is a restaurant that serves Hong Kong-style Cantonese food. It is a sister restaurant chain as Dragon-i which serves Shanghainese food.

We ordered Hot Plate Yee Mee, which comes with tasty thick gravy sauce. The noodles are deep-fried to the right amount - not too overcooked that it tastes burnt, not too little that it feels soggy.

In addition, we also ordered a plate of Barbecued Pork And Roasted Pork Served With Wan Tan Mee, and another plate of Barbecued Pork And Roasted Pork Served With Rice. Both types of pork are nearly perfect to my tastebuds.

To put it simple, you can never go wrong with Canton-i. The only question is how much you are willing to splurge on it? A decent meal can easily rake up the bill to over RM10. Nevertheless, it is worth a try if you never been here before.