What is on your mind whenever people talk about Hainanese food?
Is it always the typical Hainanese Spring Roll? Or Hainan Chicken Rice?
Well that's what I always thought of until I dine at the Hai Nan Town (海南) Nyonya & Hainanese Cuisine that has been around the town for so many years.
Hai Nan Town (海南) Nyonya & Hainanese Cuisine is located at Tanjong City Marina, Weld Quay area and next to Muchacha (formerly known as QEII).
Hai Nan Town (海南) Nyonya & Hainanese Cuisine can be easily spotted if you are drives into Weld Quay from Esplanade. You will see a beautiful classic building located on your left before reaching the Penang Ferry Terminal.
It was a Saturday afternoon during our visit, the place was quite crowded with locals and also tourists due to lunch hours.
As a starter, we had the signature Hainanese Spring Rolls that comes with my favourite Lea & Perrins Chilli Sauce. I have no idea why the last time they would come out with this weird-but-very-tasty combination. No doubt that a fried to perfection and crispy Hainanese Choon Piah will go well with L&P sauce, and the spring rolls was rather flavourful with fragrant mini shrimps and pre-cooked yam bean.
Priced at RM12.00 for 2 huge spring rolls and the portion is suitable for sharing.
Meat lovers can go for their tender and soft Nyonya dishes Beef Rendang priced at RM18.00 for a small portion.
One of their best seller would be none other than this Curry Tumis Ikan. This pot showed below is priced at RM80 for a 6 big pieces of Chinese Pomfret Fish. The price could be vary depending on the market price and also types of fishes. This particular is our top favourite among all and special for its perfectly mixed herbs and curry sauce that was really flavourful and perfect to go with some rice. I personally love this dish very much due to its flavour and also the right spiciness that got me so addicted. I even drink the curry sauce like that though it was a bit salty, so it is perfect to go with rice! I think I can finish 2 bowls of rice with this curry!
Portion is rather large and would be perfect for a sharing of a whole family. The fish meats were fresh and not fishy at all, worth every ringgit you pay.
Also we have tried the Joo Hoo Char (Fried Yam Bean with Cuttlefish) is priced at RM20 for the medium portion. This delicacy is usually best to go with fresh lettuce, or the version without cuttlefish can be made into Pie Tee.
What's most important would be the sambal that goes with the Joo Hoo Char! Things can never be right without this authentic sauce that mostly used in Nyonya cooking. I personally love sambal with more belacan so it could taste even better. Wrap the Joo Hoo Char with lettuce, top it with some sambal belacan, and it is perfect!
What really caught our attention would the huge Assam Prawns (RM50, price vary depends on market price) that was so flavourful and definitely well seasoned. There were 6 huge prawns in this plate and every prawn tasted really juicy and tender. We loved to sip on the prawn shells before having the prawn meat to taste every bit of the assam sauced coated on the shells. Definitely a must!
The Chicken Curry Kapitan (RM26.00 for medium) was well cooked with perfectly blended herbs. Every bite tasted so smooth and perfect as the chicken was really tender and juicy. It was cooked until soft that even the elder people would love it.
The moment it was served on our table, we could smell the extraordinary strong mixed herbs smell that captured our attentions. This dish is also perfect to go with rice and best for elderly.
There are certain items which are not listed in the menu like the below Kerabu Sayur Rumi (RM14.00) that tasted so special and refreshing, though it was a bit spicy. It was a real appetite-waking starter to go with your meal and every spoonful will make you sweat like mad but yet so addictive. The herbs and vegetables were perfectly mixed to bring out the great taste of every each ingredients.
A meal is never complete without some desserts, agree?
What really got me so excited was the traditional desserts that they serve here are cooked fresh daily. Well this kind of desserts like the below Black Glutinous Rice Dessert with Coconut Cream can never last for more than a day so you just couldn't keep it for the next day. It is only priced at RM4.00 per bowl and you could share it with your family or friends if you think that a full bowl is too much for you.
Also there are some local desserts like this Penang Chendol that most tourist would prefer especially during a hot day like the weather these days. Also a more cooling options in Hai Nan Town, though I personally would prefer it to be a bit creamier and add more coconut cream.
We went to during Hai Nan Town lunch time so non of us would want to sit outside as the weather was crazily hot these days. But in the evening time, it would be great to chill by the sea while enjoying some nice Hainanese and Nyonya dishes accompanied by the sea breeze.
It could have been better is Tanjung City Marina was still there. It is such a shame that they have moved away.
Hai Nan Town (海南) | Nyonya & Hainanese Cuisine
Address: Tanjung City Marina, 8A, Pengkalan Weld, 10300, Georgetown, Penang.
Business hours: Daily 11:00am - 3:00pm, 6:30pm - 10:00pm
Contact no: +604 - 263 8633
GPS: 5.4152918,100.3434848
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