I just got back from Langkawi – another trip where we met with clients. It’s always delightful to be in Langkawi where the air really is fresher. But this post is about a restaurant/cafe called Summer Garden which I had wanted to write about yonks ago.
I was introduced to Summer Garden in Tanjung Bungah by Albert who lives in London! I know! The bloody irony!
But sometimes it takes a non-native person to uncover some rather native goodies!
To cut a long story short, I’ve been to this cosy place a few times now.
The last time I was there, I went with my cousins and sister. Once in a while I like just being girly and basking in girl company. And we take every opportunity to try food (Penang is really a foodie’s haven and we’re spoilt for choice every corner we turn).
The thing with most restaurants is this – if it’s Western, it’s all about steaks and ribs. If it’s Japanese, it’s all about bento sets and sushi and okonomiyaki. If it’s Chinese/Taiwanese, it’s all about rice and noodles. And it’s tough to choose where to eat when you’re with a bunch of people with varied taste buds.
But go to Summer Garden and you will solve this “what to eat and how to satisfy everyone” with ease. They serve pretty much good food and they do great western dishes (ribs, steak, lamb chop etc), amazing value-for-money bento sets and they even have local dishes like nasi lemak for those who cannot live without a dose of rice. And their desserts – I tried their white toblerone cake and it was yummy!
Drink-wise, they have a sizeable selection of casual juices, iced lattes, beer, lager and wine too. Even flower teas if you so wish to be dainty. (They have a bar too.) Basically it’s a place you can come with your kids, your extended family, or with a date/sweet valentine. It’s wholesome food at reasonable prices.
I won’t go into the details of Summer Garden’s food selection because you can probably google and find reviews of their food. I’m an ambience person and I love their ambience. It must all those plants and ‘weeping wall’ of water and lighting. Parking isn’t difficult as it is in the compound (this is after all a corner lot house). I have been there for lunch and dinner and the afternoons are still lovely and cool.
A great place to slowly enjoy a good meal with friends!
(For more photos of Summer Garden, check out my Facebook album…..)
but isn’t it good if they specialize in what they do? personally, i prefer japanese to be japanese and western to be western and not try to mix in a hainan chick rice..hehe. but i guess summer garden was trying to play safe huh? hehehe.
i so miss the nasi kandars of penang…pretty much the ONLY specialty in penang…plus a few other supporting actors of course….that’s about it. lol.
Yes, specialisation is good at times but strangely Summer Garden bucks the trend. The food’s pretty good and the ambience better. It’s the all in one place for a lovely meal and drinks. Yes, nasi kandar is still best in Penang. But I heard from friends that we should stop supporting nasi kandar outlets as they are all rooting for the powers-that-be and that we should NOT put money in their till.