Restaurant: Nyonya Breeze - Straits Quay, Penang

I had seen this restaurant on the first floor several times on visiting Straits Quay and often thought about giving it a try but I'd heard mixed reports about it and was a little hesitant. Recently I called in with a friend of mine and tried the set lunch that they have at around RM 25-30 per person.

For one person you will normally get some rice, a meat or fish dish and a vegetable dish. As there were two of us we opted to try different menu choices to get a good mix for sharing. We opted for roast belly pork, prawn sambal, a fried egg based dish and a potato dish. There was also a broth style pork-based soup accompaniment.

I have to say that the meal was very disappointing. To start off with the portions were very small, much less than you'd get from a hawker with little more than 2-3 mouthfuls per person. The quality of the food was also very poor, my friend, a local, commenting that it was like home cooked food made by someone who couldn't cook. The pork was tasteless and not well cooked, the egg dish was greasy and quite sickly with only the prawns, 4 of them, being anything like enjoyable. The broth was almost completely tasteless. The peach tea was about the only thing we really enjoyed. I think the waiter sensed the disappointment as he did say that the best dishes were on the A La Carte menu in the evenings. Trouble is, these were on it too!!!

Sadly this was one of the poorest meals I have had in Malaysia. Maybe it was a bad day, maybe there are better dishes on the A La Carte but I have to say I won't be in a rush to try. Not recommended at all :-(