Truly Hong Kong at Canton-i, Queensbay Mall
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After much delay and location change, Canton-i finally opened their doors at the ground floor of Queensbay Mall, Penang. This brand; which is associated with the Dragon-i line of restaurants, offers varieties of authentic Hong Kong cuisines. Upon stepping into this restaurant, the ambiance and atmosphere radiating from its surrounding was completely different of Dragon-i. Well, the open kitchen concept is still adopted, but the interior design; laced in pink and white colour themes, was a pleasant change. As I browsed through, I noticed the walls were mounted with huge mirrors, giving the place a spacious feeling.
The interior shot of the restaurant.
Taking a peek into the kitchen, one could spot the racks of roasted items hung along the glass enclosure, varying from the roast meat to the roast goose. Furthermore, there is a take away counter in the front of the shop for its delicious pastry line. I couldn’t wait to get my hands on those egg tarts, but dinner was first, so I will touch on the dessert items later. I came to know that all the items are prepared in-house by their team of chefs from Hong Kong and Guangzhou.
The open kitchen allows customers a full view of the preparation of the food.
After browsing through the colourful menu, we picked out several appetite whetting dishes. First came was my most sought-after dish, the Roast Goose. Better known as “siew ngor” to Cantonese natives, this dish is staple in Hong Kong’s Roast Meat shops, but Penang (and in fact, Malaysia) have not caught up with this yet.
I found that the roast goose has a stronger meat flavour, with the flesh firmer than its duck counterpart. The gravy is salty savoury with hint of the seasoning spices; it went very well with the sauce served with it.
Regular portion – RM32
Half bird – RM68
Whole bird – RM138
Irresistable Roast Goose…
Next came the Roast Pork Belly – RM18. It was perfectly done! The texture of this lovely piece of meat carved out of perfection, with the crispy skin and tasteful meat marination. Furthermore, I really like the way Canton-i maintains the originality of this dish by serving the siew bak with the Chinese mustard dipping sauce.
Even the groundnuts taste so good as an accompliment…
The last of the roast meat that we had was the Honey Glazed Roast Pork – RM16. Again, I found it very flavourful and moist but is slightly sweet due to the meat being glazed with honey. All the above assorted meat goes with rice or noodles.
My favourite type of Char Siew, half fats and half lean meat…
Dragon-i had their signature dish of La Mian & Xiao Long Bao, whereas Canton-i marketed their Hong Kong Wonton Noodles as their signature dish, which has been famed for being super QQ …super springy texture. We had the dry version noodle, which came with a bowl of soup. The fine strand of noodles were indeed springy and comes in quite a big portion. Indeed an excellent accompliment to the three roast meat that we had.
Plain Noodles
– RM4
Assorted Roast Meat Noodles
– RM11.80 (soup)
– RM12.80 (dry)
Another popular dish that has yet to catch on in Malaysia is the Cuttlefish and Jellyfish with Sesame Oil – RM9.80. Relatively similar to the Jellyfish dish in Dragon-i, we really enjoyed the texture of the jellyfish and it goes hand in hand with the cuttlefish.
Cutlets of cuttlefish, served with strands of jellyfish.
For snacks and light meals, one of my recommendations would be the Deep Fried Cuttlefish Pancake – RM13 which comes in a crispy coating of crumbs. This is really tasty and goes well with the dipping sauce. I’m not entirely too sure about the contents of this dish, but I would just mention that it is indeed a snack that I really enjoyed.
Next came another Cantonese speciality, thick and creamy congee! This is the type of congee that I personally prefer over the Penang “moi” style which is more watery. Amazingly, the congee cooked in Canton-i is boiled using three different types of rice! There are many combinations & choices that you could choose to go with your congee, and for this meal, I had mine with a combination of sliced fish and beef. This comfort food with condiments of ginger and spring onions really warms up the stomach.
Congee with two combination – RM11.80
Congee with three combination – RM13.80
Finally, our last dish for the night was the Steamed Prawn Dumpling with Omelette Skin – RM10. Indeed a very unique dim sum dish, using egg omelette skin to wrap prawns. It is very similar to a ‘purse’ full of fillings of prawns and served pipping hot out of the steamer.
A close up shot of the uniquely shaped dim sum just freshly out of the steamer.
I was recommended by one of my friends who patronized this place before to try out their hot beverages particularly the Flowering Red Amaranth – RM5. The herbs and flowers used to make this drink is artistically beautiful, you can have a look at it in the photo below. The tea was served in a see-through glass with the green tea leaves wrapping around the red flower. A beautiful tea indeed with a mild flower taste.
We topped up our meal with three pieces of egg tart at RM5. The flaky pastry tarts have a very nice texture filling with the right sweetness. We even bought some to take home.
Needless to say, the place is very neatly arranged and hygienic, with the waitress very attentive to your every need.
Canton-i
GF-12 & GF-13
Queensbay Mall
100 Persiaran Bayan Indah
11900 Bayan Lepas
Penang
Tel : 04 645 6688
Business Hours :
Mon – Fri 11am – 10pm
Sat/Sun/Public Holiday 10.30am – 10pm