My LIFE, Food & Travel Experience ~ Malaysia, Taiwan & the World: Restoran Zi Zai ~ Tradisional Poon Choi & many more!

For those that stay in Paya Terubong in Penang, they might have heard of this place called Restoran Zi Zai. It's located off the main road to the left after the Shell station if you are coming from Relau, and on the right after the fire station for those coming from Air Itam. This restaurant is started by its owner who is also the chef, Mr Tan Hock Chai (You can find him on Facebook). He has started this restaurant for slightly more than 2 years now and he now boast a very special dish which has become the signature of this restaurant, the Poon Choi. So I guess what exactly is Poon Choi? In direct translation, this means a basin or bowl dish, and once you see the photo of it, I'm sure you will agree why its called that.

Basically, to prepare the Poon Choi, the chef needs to prepare all the ingredients individually, and then painstakingly arrange them in the basin and top with a gravy, so that one can savour the layers of flavor and ingredients within. The Poon Choi that can be found here at Restoran Zi Zai boast some very exquisite items, which includes Abalone, Roasted Duck, Braised 3 Layers Pork, Steamed Chicken, Sea Cucumber, Fish Maw, Mushrooms, Hock Chew Fish Balls, Fried Fish Fillets, Sweet & Sour Prawns and vegetables such as Broccoli, Chinese Cabbage, Yam and Sweet Turnip.

There are 2 sizes to choose from, one for 4-5 pax (RM258) and another for 10 pax (RM400). I can definitely say that the recommended serving portion is an understatement, as the Poon Choi holds more than one would imagine. There is just so much items compressed in it that it seems like an endless treasure pot! Moreover, for the price, it includes free flow of steamed white rice and herbal tea. What a great deal indeed. Besides the Poon Choi, there are also many other great dishes on offer and keep reading to find out.

Address : 1239-G Ground Floor, Jalan Paya Terubong, Paya Terubong, 11060, Air Itam, penang

Tel : 04-8265718, 016-4217392

Email : zizairestaurant@gmail.com

Operating hours : 4.00pm-10.30pm, closed on Tuesday

GPS : N5.387212 E100.274013

The signboard of the restaurant

Some ornamental lanterns hanging in front

A sneak peak of the Poon Choi!

The very old looking letter box. Heheh....

The herbal tea all ready to cool us down. There was Chrysanthemum and also Dark Sugar Cane to choose from.

OK, now you know what brand of Abalone that is used. These are empty cans that has been consumed from the many satisfied customers.

More pictures of the Poon Choi. Just see how large the bowl is (use the portable stove to visualize it). Thats a whole abalone right in the middle.

At another angle! FYI, there is a whole roasted duck in there.

Large prawns and abalone slices, and Hock Chew Fish Balls!

Side dish of Fried Yao Mak! This is a large portion at RM10 only.

Large portion of Fried Belacan Chicken at RM16. The chicken wings were well marinated and very crispy. Will definitely be a kids favorite!

Fried La La. This bowl was RM12 and there is alot of La La in it. Depending on the season, the La La are either bigger or smaller. This one was cooked in a spicy way and the La La absorb the flavors well.

The Assam Prawns is another chef and crowd favorite here. This large plate is RM32 and the prawns are marinated with the fresh Assam and then fried.

Fried bean sprouts with salted fish is RM12 for a large portion. The bean sprouts are painstakingly plucked to remove the head and roots individually. This gives the bean sprouts a more crunchy texture and it makes the bean sprouts more juicy to the bite too!