We often point our finger at certain locations in Malaysia, which are known to have outstanding vegetarian food. Locations such as Penang, Kuala Lumpur, Johor Bahru etc. But truth be told, almost all of Western Malaysia has great veggie options. Pulau Penang is still the king of vegetarian, but mainland Penang also has countless vegetarian places, which are worth seeking out. For today, we look at Aik Choong Vegetarian. Let me just stress once more, this restaurant is
not on Penang island - It is on the mainland.
Aik Choong Vegetarian Restaurant Location: 6549 Jalan Raja Uda, Taman Sena, Butterworth, Penang Contact: 016-4445721Opening Hours: Unknown (any customer please help me to confirm) Aik Choong actually have two eateries that are right next to each other. The older more traditional eatery has been around for countless years. A few months ago, Aik Choong opened a brand new more upscale restaurant, right next to the original shop. The interior design is quite fancy, but the colour and lighting can be a little too bright and glaring after being in the restaurant for a while.
Aik Choong has evolved into a mother and daughter business over the recent years. The new glamorous restaurant is being run by the daughter (pictured, left), while the original outlet is still maintained by the mother (pictured, right).
The menu at Aik Choong is almost entirely Western, which is an entirely different concept when compared with the original outlet, which focuses more on traditional Chinese cuisine.
We started our meal off with the
Tu Ping Zhen Soup. It must be said, in a menu consisting of almost entirely Western food, this traditional Chinese herbal broth does seem a little out of place. Nevertheless, this herbal drink was absolutely amazing. The flavour is magnified due to it being cooked on charcoal for eight hours. I have recently found out just what a big difference cooking with charcoal makes to the flavour of food, it is really like night and day. This herbal soup is at its best when boiling hot, upon consuming I felt a comforting warm glowing sensation flow through my body. Not really something that goes well with hotdogs and burgers, but still undeniably delicious.
Price: RM12.90 (pot). 8/10Let's begin the Western bonanza with the
Chicken Chop. Unfortunately, Aik Choong is another one of those restaurant which presents a battlefield of dairy for vegan customers. The tomato in this dish was sadly filled with cheese. The chicken chop was decent enough, but the tomato mushroom sauce was a little too unimaginative for my liking. The broccoli, thank god, added at least one thing nutritious onto the plate.
Price: RM8.80. 6/10Probably the most disappointing dish of the evening was the
Hotdog meal. Presentation wise, I did like how the chef tried to add some green onto the place - Tomatoes, cucumber and lettuce could all be found. The mock sausages I found a little tough in texture and the hotdog on a whole was not very practical to eat. I've still not managed to find a perfect vegetarian/vegan hotdog in Asia - Hotdogs should (when done right) be the ultimate street food snack, packed with a harmonious balance of sour, tart, and salty flavours. My search will go on for that perfect hotdog...
Price: RM6.80. 5/10The last Western dish of the evening was the
Spaghetti Bolognese. The fundamentals of this dish were done very well - The pasta was cooked well and the sauce texture was superb. Flavour wise, the only thing I found that was missing was a lack of seasoning in the sauce. Presentation wise, it does look a little bare - Some cashew nut 'cheese' powder would make the world of difference to the look and taste. Criticisms aside, this was a pretty decent dish, definitely the best of the Western dishes I tried.
Price: RM8.80. 7/10
Conclusion - Vegetarian Western food is something that is seldom perfected when it comes to Chinese operated restaurants. The Western food at Aik Choong can be improved further, once a greater knowledge of Western flavours has been achieved. The signature herbal soup was delicious, and if/when I return next, that is the item I will be ordering, rather than the Western options.Overall RatingFood - 6/10Ambiance- 7/10Service - 7/10Value - 7/10
