Malaysia Food Blog - Harvest In café

Location: Georgetown, Penang Isle

A birthday celebration a while back with one of my colleague introduced me to this wondrous café hidden in Jalan Irrawady. This small café has chosen a simple black and white as its motif, which is present from its decorations to its waiters and waitresses; the boss herself chose white as her uniform, which stands in stark contrast against the waiters and waitresses' black.

The celebration was only possible by arriving early, as it was fully packed within minutes, which goes to show how popular the place is. Although I do not remember what I ordered then, I do remember that the food was nice and that price was quite reasonable.

One sunny afternoon with nowhere in mind, my housemate and the two of us wandered into this same spot. She had heard of it from us, and would very much like to try this food haven for herself to verify whether it is as good as we said.

The work of art which greeted us is very modern, mainly with black and white as its motif. I noticed a molded glass piece of monochrome forest, and only after a closer look from the prompt of my girlfriend did I notice that that was a clockpiece. Similar work of art revolving around time as their theme could be seen across our table, which seem to be the only few items not following their owner's rule of monochrome.

The monochrome forrest (I name it myself, as I forgot its original name) made from molded glass.

Another work of art revolving around time as its theme.

The drinks arrived not soon after we placed our order, and we quenched our thirst immediately after travelling under a hot afternoon. My housemate had an icy honey lemon and my girlfriend dunk into her icy cold water. I gave myself fully to the ice blended mocha, while blissfully ignoring the fact that all three of our drink orders were incorrect... not that we disliked our current drink anyway.

Three icy cold drinks to be enjoyed in a hot afternoon. Presenting the honey lemon, ice blended mocha and ice water.

Next came the soup of the day for the two ladies who enjoyed soup more than food. The thick mushroom soup smelled nice, and tasted nicer. This is not a Campbell soup, in case if you are wondering. Served with two pieces of crunchy garlic bread, this soup does wonders as an appetizer, and you could not beg for more before you finish it.

A bowl of mushroom soup, served with two slices of crunchy garlic bread.

My ordered peppermint lamb chop was larger than I expected, which was why my housemate felt relieved that she did not order her favourite dish (lamb chop, not peppermint). She placed her faith on French fried rice, which looked just like any ordinary fried rice with tomato, which reminds me of nasi goreng tomato... On behalf of my blog, she mumbled something, which sounded to me like 'not bad'. To me, the fried rice was positively inviting, so if one is not into western dish, this is an option to be considered.

French fried rice (法兰西炒饭), which reminds me of nasi goreng tomato...

My girlfriend chose a dish which looked convincingly as a char mee if it were not written as 'stir fried spaghetti' on the menu. It was nothing special, but then again, it provides another option for those who would like to have a change from western dish to an oriental-looking western dish...

It looks like char mee, but it is stir fried spaghetti. Wonder if we can give char mee to westerners and tell them that this is stir fried spaghetti...

The lamb chop was very nice, and this is not my sole opinion. The meat was well done (I believe), and the meat is chewy. With 3 slices of chop, it goes without saying that this is a large dish, and I would never have expected that with its menu price. The mashed potato, with its gravy, was very inviting; I would say that it is on par with my favourite mashed potato from KFC. Fresh vegetables provided the balance of diet and completed the dish of mainly meat. So where is the peppermint? Served in a cup.

For those who do not know the true taste of peppermint, my advice is not to brave this; it might not be the taste you expect. Peppermint sauce is not the taste which we know from ice-creams and smoothies. It tastes slightly sour, with its famous strong smell. The smell from this sauce is slightly different from the one I usually experience from ice-blends, but does smell genuine. Since I did order this dish, it would be a waste if I do not dip into it. It was not bad, but I was not really enthusiastic when I dipped into the cup; but then again after a few tries, I did managed to get use to it and enjoyed the lunch.

Peppermint lamb chop. Notice the way the gravy is laid, forming a work of art. The dark green paste is peppermint sauce.

The lunch was quite enjoying, and I did plan to return for more. There were a few other choices on the menu which I am interested, and I believe that another dinner here will be quite nice.

Suitable for:            usual lunch and dinner, and celebrations

Cost:                             affordable

Contact:                     +604 - 226 1718 / +016 - 408 0687

Address:                      10, Irrawaddy Road, 10050 Penang, Malaysia

Operating hours:  (Mon - Sun) 11.00a.m. - 3.30p.m.; 6.00p.m. - 10.00 p.m.

                                         closed on Sundays, closed for dinner on Tuesdays

Parking:                      Parking is quite problematic, since the road is not very wide and parking spots are not available. You will have to settle for parking on the curbside.