It was a dark and stormy night when the whole family drove to Bukit Tambun (under Penang state) for dinner. Restoran Makanan Laut Gee Seng is nestled deep inside Bukit Tambun, where the fishing village is. Parking was a problem due to the huge crowd, coupled with the fact that it was a cul-de-sac with not many parking lots. The restaurant itself is right beside the river mouth, elevated on stilts above the waters. It was a dark, rainy night hence we could not enjoy a view of the surroundings and river. Being the seafood queen that I am, it was disappointing that I was down with a stomach flu that night, and I could only manage small bites of the food.
The crowd was unbelievably large, we had to wait for our table. Bukit Tambun has quite a few seafood restaurants, but this one appears to be the original crowd favourite.
While waiting for our table, I had the chance to peruse the exotic lifestock they kept, destined for the wok. Huge horse shoe crabs lay in a basket. They look almost like overgrown ticks....hee hee.
Mud crabs, they have them in sizes ranging from regular to large.
Flower crabs and mantis prawns still alive and well in a tub of water.
Big white prawns.
Assorted seafood......I was eyeing the scallops in shells at the top right hand corner.
Some kind of mollusk (conch?) that is eaten by digging out the flesh using a toothpick.....yeah, it takes quite a bit of skill. It's usually steamed plain, and eaten dipped in chilli sauce.
Mom-in-law and the eldest bro-in-law ordered the food while I was busy photographing lifestock. We had steamed Teochew style siakap fish (RM20.00), with sourish gravy. Needless to say, the fish was uber fresh.
Everyone knows my crab obsession, though mom-in-law doesn't quite fancy the crustaceans (too much trouble for so little meat). She ordered the sweet and sour mud crabs (RM41.00), of which I could only eat a few pieces due to the upset tummy. We had the crabs with fried mantou buns. A spicy version of this dish would have tasted better, but they don't do chilli crabs here.
Assam prawns (RM24.00), my perennial favourite. The prawns were springy with freshness, coated in thick caramelised assam sauce. Mom-in-law's version tastes better, though!
Homemade deep-fried seafood tofu (RM7.00). I forgot to take a snapshot until only 2 pieces were left!
Kangkung belacan with prawns (RM6.00). On a good day, I can whack tons of this.The total bill came up to RM106.60 for the 6 of us, which wasn't too bad, considering the amount of seafood we had.
Restoran Makanan Laut Gee Seng
#860, Bagan Bukit Tambun,
14110 Simpang Ampat,
Penang.
Tel: 04-5887220
Coming from Ipoh toward Penang on the North-South Expressway, exit at the Bukit Tambun tol plaza. Turn right after the tol plaza and go straight all the way. Just keep going straight pass a row of seafood restaurants (on both sides of the road), drive straight on and you will pass rows of pre-war shophouses. The road will lead you to a quaint fishing village where the road narrows considerably. Gee Seng is the shoplot on your right, by the river. Though it's a public road, the restaurant has workers who help guide you where to park (it's so crowded that double parking is a norm), and parking costs RM1.00.
Our rating system for overall satisfaction with what we eat and where we eat....
1-bam = don't even bother
2-bam = good enough to fill the tummy
3-bam = a very good restaurant in its category
4-bam = excellent cooking, worth a detour
5-bam = exceptional cuisine, worth a special journey
We would give Gee Seng a 3-bam rating. We heard that the oysters there were really fresh, will maybe try them (if tummy permits) on our next trip.
3 comments:
YUmzz....your post caused my crabs craving to haunt me again. Hahaha! Yep, those horseshoe crabs look like overgrown ticks...so scary looking. But I would love to try it one day.
you should try drinking cola with your meals to prevent bellyache.
precious pea: me too.... but it's rare to find these in kl!
um: i ended up really sick in taiping after xmas. mil had to cook porridge.
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