Sunday, August 15, 2010

Amelie Cafe - Penang, Malaysia

Cute, but not the Swiftest
It took me a while but I finally got the recycling theme at Amelie. They use recycled everything - from the jars in which they serve their lattes to the furniture and menus. We were parched from wandering around nearby Khoo Kongsi and this was a perfect place to sit back, relax and sip some cool drinks. Just don't be in a rush - if you cannot make the tenuous connection, let me help you: Amelie is a French name and France ain't synonymous with speedy service. There is one chef for fifteen people, about the maximum this tiny cafe can accomodate.

The menus are created out of folded pieces of cardboard and are hand-painted. If you look closely, you'll see they're more than just a cafe - they serve food as well: salads, pastas, risotto, cake. We'd eaten ohhhh, only about twelve times so far that day so we kept it simple by just ordering drinks and a salad. I got a banana lassi that was ice-cold and absolutely delicious. It was the kind that you slurp to the point of brain-freeze but you can't help it - you keep downing it and the pain behind your eyes deepens.

When I had a few bites of their tasty salad I started to wonder if we'd made a mistake. Perhaps we should have ordered some pasta dishes. Everyone else in the place was silently demolishing pasta.

We ended up sharing a slice of chocolate cake with ice cream. It was so-so, the cake was not as moist as I would've liked. I boasted to the ladies "nothing can touch grandma's recipe." They all called for me to back it up. Now I have to go wander around and try to find the ingredients when we get back to Singapore.

Mediocre cake aside, this place is a winner. It has a homely, relaxed vibe and it's something different if and when you get tired of the usual Malaysian fare. I, for one, was happy to be sitting there in the shade with the Dodo and her friends, taking five.

Penang, Malaysia

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6 comments:

  1. Where is FN's Grandma's Recipe?

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  2. @Pirate - I think I am gonna have to buckle down, apply myself and deliver. On the other hand, next week I'll be on vacation.... Such a dilemma.

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  3. Nice spot.. people definitely can draw. Too bad Dodo didn't let me buy the coffee painting on the wooden block for the house :( Maybe next time.... and next time I will definitely have the pasta!! Still thinking abt it now....

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  4. @Dodo - yep, big, big mistake not to eat pasta. What were you thinking?

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  5. How come no rebuttal on the coffee cup painting that you said no to?

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  6. @Dodo - you give me too much credit. You're a modern woman - even if I say NO and you want it, you do it.

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