Bo Eight Tea is a small restaurant on Jalan Gottlieb, facing the Penang Chinese Girls' Primary School. From the front, it looks like a typical Taiwanese milk tea kiosk.

However, Bo Eight Tea has a proper dining area inside and also serves regular Chinese dishes. There are also board and card games for customers' entertainment, presumably catering to students who drop by for drinks after school hours.

We ordered some Chinese dishes for dinner today. It did not come to our mind that a well-concealed restaurant serves such tasty dishes!

Starting with the Jindu Style Pork Loin (京都猪排块), the meat is quite tender because the cuttings are thin enough. The tangy sauce also added flavor to the pork, making this a nice dish overall.

The Salad Fish Fillet (沙拉鱼片) is our favorite dish tonight. The deep-fried fish fillet is coated with a delightful concoction of salad cream and sesame meat. The fish itself is tender and smooth to the mouth. We truly love how this dish turned out.

Next up is the Stir Fried Cabbage (清炒蚝油蒜茸菜心). This Chinese cabbage is cooked just right without using too much oil. The stems still retain freshness through brief but intense deep-frying with garlic and oyster sauce.

As for the Sauteed Chicken With Dried Chili (宫保鸡丁), the fiery wok taste is clearly demonstrated here. There is not much chicken to go around, but the think onion cuttings are also sweet and tasty by themselves.

Last but not least, the Seaweed, Beancurd And Seafood Soup (紫菜豆腐海鲜汤) also deserves a fair share of commendation. The ingredients in the soup are plentiful while the soup itself is rich and appetizing.

For drinks, we ordered Mochaccino Smoothie (摩卡冰沙, RM6.50) and Matcha Red Bean Smoothie (宇治红豆冰沙, RM6.90). The amount of sugar in the drinks can be customized upon request. There is not much to comment about the drinks, as we find them rather similar to other Taiwanese milk tea kiosks.

Overall, the cooking at Bo Eight Tea is highly recommended. The staff here is also very friendly and attentive to our needs. Perhaps the only flip side is that the food portions are rather small compared to the price.

The good thing about Cintra Food Corner is that they serve delicious dumplings without asking customers to wait for long.

I ordered a serving of Famous Yam Cake. The texture of the yam cake is soft and starchy, giving a "light" feeling in the mouth. It is slightly on the expensive side, but when you put the word "famous" in front of something you are trying to sell, the price is pretty justifiable.

My choice is the Linguine Aglio-Olio With Prawns. The choice of pasta is up to the customer. The owner patiently introduced the different types of pasta in Italian restaurants.

The prawns used in this dish are quite large and fresh. I just love the taste of fresh prawns with olive oil. Overall, the pasta is smooth and appetizing. It feels like the linguine slithers down my throat like a smooth piece of silk.

Grocery shoppers at Tesco Extra in Sungai Dua will not fail to notice this visually appealing store front, just beside the main entrance. It is called Tutti Frutti, but it is not related to the frozen yogurt chain outlets.

The food served here is fusion cooking. I think what makes it so special is its ability to blend different flavors together to create its own identity.

From the menu, the most appealing dish is the Drunken Chicken Noodles. This dish uses egg-flavored noodles, but this is not its selling point. On the side are several pieces of nicely marinated roasted chicken. Besides saying "WOW", it is difficult to explain how tasty the chicken is!

There is an option to upgrade to a set meal, which comes with Mushroom Soup and a choice of drink, which I selected the Iced Blended Grape Yogurt. Both are reasonable in taste, but vastly overshadowed by the tasty chicken.

I also ordered a serving of Red Bean Dessert. This dish consists of a thick broth of red bean soup, topped with a scoop of ice cream. It is surprisingly good in concluding a nice meal!

Overall, I would highly recommend this restaurant!

Nona Bali is a Balinese restaurant at Promenade 28, facing the scenic Penang Strait and Seberang Prai mainland. Its location avoids customers from dealing with traffic congestion and limited parking in downtown areas. It has opened its door for several months already, but we did not have a chance to visit it until today.

Unlike most provinces in Indonesia, the people of Bali island is predominantly Hindu. Therefore it is not surprising that Balinese cuisine tends to be somewhat unique within the rich diversity of Indonesian cuisine. A particular distinction is that beef is absent in Balinese cooking. Although pork is sometimes used, Nona Bali does not serve pork because it is halal certified.

The store facade of Nona Bali stands out differently compared to the other shops in the "ghost town" Promenade 28. Actually, only a small handful of shop units in Promenade 28 has ever been occupied since it was built.

The interior decor is well thought-out. While you cannot expect the same degree of experience as sunset dinner on a beautiful Balinese beach, Nona Bali provide a serene atmosphere for a nice, peaceful dining experience. The furniture, fixtures, artwork and even tableware are sourced from Bali. According to our host, some artwork is also available for sale.

Some outdoor seating is also available, but we wanted to experience the aromatic spice incense inside. Normally, such fragrance is only available in Balinese massage centers.

Our table is furnished with an interesting-looking salt shaker and pepper shaker. Instead of giving numerals to each dining table, a piece of carved wood is used. The wood has a unique name to represent a different place in Bali.

Our host of the day is very friendly indeed. Besides patiently taking our orders, he also gave an introduction to the food selections, including the dinner menu. A word of "Matur suksma!" or "Thank you!" in Balinese is well in order.

Set lunch is available for around RM20.00. It comes with a choice of drink, either Iced Peach Tea or Iced Lime Drink.

Our first selection is the Nasi Goreng Nona Bali (RM18.90). Like typical Balinese food, this dish comes with a variety of side dishes, and tends to use less gravy compared to Javanese or local Malay cuisine.

A conical heap of fried rice takes the center stage. The rice is seasoned with spices, giving it a yellowish color and nice smooth taste.

The Sate Be Siap (chicken skewer) is also delightful to our palate. The chicken is mostly lean meat grilled carefully to perfection.

As for the fried chicken, it is rather normal and unsatisfying. It tastes similar to deep-fried chicken sold in night markets. Perhaps the taste can be improved if there is more flavoring to it.

Other side dishes include fried egg rolls, crackers, fried anchovies and the ever-essential sambal (chili pepper paste). Second helpings of sambal is available upon request, and our host is more than happy to accommodate.

The Nasi Campur Be Siap (RM19.90) is the next dish on the table. "Nasi campur" in Balinese refers to rice with assorted side dishes, while "be siap" refers to chicken.

Unlike dinner where quarter chicken is served, the meat serving during lunch is much smaller. In this case, it is a bowl of chicken yellow curry. The taste still has room for improvement, but still decent nevertheless.

Other side dishes include Sate Be Siap, boiled egg, crackers, and several types of vegetable such as long beans and bean sprouts. White rice is served in a conical heap at the center of the plate.

The set meal comes with a serving of Kolak, a sweet cold dessert made of coconut milk and sago. Refreshing and delightful, the dessert serves as an ideal finale of our meal today.

Overall, the food at Nona Bali is reasonably gratifying, but still pales in comparison with other established Balinese restaurants such as Ole-Ole Bali. The ambiance of the restaurant makes it ideal for a nice business meal or romantic date. The table service is highly professional; an experience usually associated to fine dining.

The food portion is quite sufficient for lunch, but the pricing is skewed to the high-end of spectrum. No doubt, its upscale atmosphere can command higher price, but Promenade 28 is not the best location for this niche market. It would have been better if the restaurant were to operate in a shopping mall, such as Gurney Paragon.

Regardless, we will be back shortly to what Nona Bali has to offer on its dinner menu.