The chef was well know before even he had his own shop. Hock Chai, the owner of Restaurant Zi Zai. I knew him because he is a food hunter. He is a very friendly and humble person.
Now he had his own restaurant serving great Chinese cuisine at Paya Terebong, Penang. He named his restaurant Zi Zai (自在) because he enjoy the freedom of life. So he wanted his customer to enjoy like him. Never the less, you will feel very comfortable when dine in.
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| The front view of the shop. |
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| Clockwise: 1,2 - Homemade herbal tea. 3- Bean sprouts with salted fish (RM12). Hock chai remove the heads and roots of the sprouts. He found people like it and people come back for more. 4- Stir-fried yao mak (RM10) |
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| Belacan chicken wings on the right (RM16) and delicious Assam prawns (RM32). |
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| Stir fried la la (RM12), the la la is so fresh that you can taste the sweetness of the seafood. |
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| This were special brought by Criz, 2 can of abalone. |
Poon Choi also known as pun choi or Big Bowl Feast, is a traditional type of dish originating from Hong Kong village cuisine. It may also be found in different parts of Hong Kong. It is served in wooden, porcelain or metal basins.
It was said that Poon Choi was invented during the late Song Dynasty. When Mongol troops invaded Song China, the young Emperor fled to the area around Guangdong Province and Hong Kong. To serve the Emperor as well as his army, the locals collected all their best food available, cooked it, and because there were not enough containers, put the resulting dishes in wooden washbasins. In this way, Poon Choi was invented.
Poon Choi includes ingredients such as pork, beef, lamb, chicken, duck, abalone, ginseng, shark fin, fish maw, prawn, crab, dried mushroom, fishballs, squid, dried eel, dried shrimp, pigskin, beancurd and Chinese radish.
Poon Choi is special in that it is composed of many layers of different ingredients. It is also eaten layer by layer instead of "stirring everything up", but impatient diners may snatch up the popular daikon radish at the bottom first using shared chopsticks.
Traditional Village Poon Choi is served in large metal washing bowls with a perforated metal plate at the bottom to keep food from burning, as it is kept warm on a portable stove as it is being served.
Some restaurants or providers change the poon choi and add fresh shrimp and fresh oyster instead of dried ones. This increases the potential risk of contamination by bacteria that causes disease. It has to be cooked thoroughly.
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| Poon Choi served at Restaurant Zi Zai. |
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| Close shoot of the Poon Choi, 14 ingredients which consisted of (from base to top) 1- Chinese Cabbages 2- Braised Pork Belly in Red Fermented Bean Curd 3- Yam 4- Yam Bean 5- Sea Cucumbers 6- Chinese Mushrooms 7- Fish Maws 8- One Whole Charcoal Roasted Duck 9- One Whole Chicken in Sesame Oil 10- Broccoli 11- Deep Fried Snapper Fillets 12-Deep Fried Homemade Hock Chew Fish Balls 13- Sweet n Sour Prawns 14- One Whole New Zealand Abalone Slices RM258 nett (4 ~ 5 pax), RM400 nett (10pax) |
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| New Zealand Abalone that Restaurant Zi Zai is using. Make sure you pre-order the Poon Choi. |
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| We pick each of one type of ingredient and take a shoot. Don't you feel that just one dish contain almost everything? Want to have a taste of this delicious Poon Choi? Call Hock Chai at Restaurant Zi Zai NOW! |
ZI ZAI RESTAURANT (自在飯店)
1239-G, Ground Floor, Jalan Paya Terubong, 11600 Penang, Malaysia.
GPS: 5.387212, 100.274013
Business Hours: 11.00am – 10.30pm (Closed Tuesday)
Contact: 604-826 5173 (Mr. Tan Hock Chai)
Disclaimer: This is a personal food blog. The opinions expressed here are my own, based on my personal taste buds; others may have different opinions. Also, as we all know, qualities & standards of individual restaurants/food may change over time, so do note the time stamp on this review.
