Consummation Of Life Vegetarian Resturant - Penang

Back for another review from Penang island.  Consummation of Life has been existing quite successfully in Penang for many years now, and is particularly popular with the older generation, as it is one of the more traditional style Chinese restaurants.  The owners of this restaurant should really consider investing in a new signboard -  Their current one is a rusty hideous thing, which looks like a mouses fart would knock it off the building.















Consummation of Life Vegetarian Restaurant
Location: 288A-1-3, Fortune Court, Jalan Thean Teik, Air Itam, Penang
Contact: 04-828 6540/016-489 4266
Opening Hours: Daily 10.30am-2.30pm & 5.00pm-10.00pm (Closed Tuesday)


Chinese soup is something I usually avoid (unless it is given free on the side).  Therefore, I didn't have very high expectations from this Soup of the Day.  For a Western palate, Chinese soup is going to taste prodominently of nothing, and the consistency is that of water.  Having said that, over the years, I have grown to appreciate Chinese soups slightly more.  This soup was quite bland, but the vegetables inside were well cooked.

Price: RM5.00.     5/10


I was a little underwhelmed by the visual look of this next dish, which is named Beancurd Bag with Vegetables.  The phrase 'beancurd bag' conjured up many images in my mind, and I was curious to see what arrived to the table.  Rather disappointingly, it was just pieces of sliced beancurd.  Although this dish suffered from lack of imagination, the flavour was still pretty good.   I enjoyed the goji berries that were inside and the sauce was quite enjoyable.  One other issue with this dish was the plate used.  The sauce could spill off too easily, and made for quite a messy eating experience.

Price: RM8.00.     6/10


Does anyone hate satay?  Yes, I know there are many people vehemently opposed to consuming mock meat, but satay is really the ultimate late night supper food sin snack.  This eatery serves Indonesia Style Satay (I'm not sure what the difference between Indonesian and Malaysian satay is), which consists of a total of six pieces.  The mock meat was flavourful and juicy, but I was hoping for a better quality peanut satay sauce - It was very one dimensional, and subsequently let the dish down.

Price: RM8.00.     6/10


Lastly, we ordered the Crispy Calamari.  This dish acts as a perfect finger food, with the mock calamari (which is mushrooms).  I had a few problems with this dish.  Firstly, the fried pieces were not as dense as I would have liked.  In fact, many of the pieces had quite a hollow feel to them.  I wanted to bite down and enjoy the juicy chewy texture of the mushroom, and unfortunately I didn't get that.  Moreover, I thought that a more creative sauce could have been given, instead of the trite sweet chilli sauce.

Price: RM7.00.     5/10










Conclusion - Overall I didn't find the food to be anything too exception from Consummation of Life, but nevertheless, they have an extensive menu, and perhaps I was jus unlucky with the dishes that I selected.

Overall Rating
Food - 6/10
Ambiance- 6/10
Service - 6/10
Value - 6/10