May’s Place is a new eatery at Pulau Tikus. Since it takes the upper floor of the shop, it may not be so noticeable from the corridor.
Located above Oloiya (我来也), May’s Place can entered from the side. A short flight of stairs leads to this restaurant.
The chef, who has worked in Australia for many years, is also responsible for the mural artwork on the restaurant’s walls.
May’s Place provides a rather diverse spectrum of cuisine, covering Chinese, Indian, Western, Malay and Nyonya food. Occasionally, there are also less well-known food such as Canadian and Moroccan. Most of the time, food is served à la carte, but there is a weekly Sunday Buffet Brunch.
Today’s rice dish is Talapa Kattu Biryani. Talapa Kattu refers to a specific locality in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, which I believe that the chef is personally associated to. The rice is quite fragrant but does not carry much taste on its own. Papadum crackers are provided separately.
The Ayam Masak Merah is the quite delectable thanks to its nice gravy. The meat is cooked reasonably well but is still slightly pink in the middle near the bones.
Meanwhile, the Fried Fish With Hoisin Sauce is one of my favorite dishes today. The fish is seasoned properly using seafood sauce, while the scrumptious skin provides enjoyable mouthfeel.
The Crab Curry is acceptable in terms of taste, but I think crab may not be the best idea in a buffet setting. I think other types of seafood like squid or clams are preferred.
As for Nestum Prawns, the shrimps come in non-uniform sizes. As a result, the larger ones tend to be bland in the middle. Ideally, the Nestum cereal coating should be made thicker.
Cincalok Omelette looks appealing, but it is unfortunately too salty due to presence of pickled shrimps. Nevertheless, I think it would have been perfect with plain porridge. Something the chef can consider for other Sundays.
And the last hot dish, Stir Fried Vegetable, is Chinese-style mixed vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflowers, pea pods and red chili peppers. I think some button mushrooms would have been nice too.
Today’s noodles station features Mee Rebus. Ingredients such as yellow noodles, boiled eggs, fish cakes, cucumber, chopped scallion, fried onion and red chili pepper are available. The gravy is spicy peanut sauce. Some shrimp paste is also provided to enhance taste.
There is also another table counter for Pasembor, which is a Penang-style salad of dough fritters, jicama (sengkuang), bean curd, boiled potatoes, julienned cucumber and bean sprouts. The same spicy peanut sauce is also used. Unfortunately, the dough fritters become soggy and lose their crisp when they are left out for a while. It would be nice to have hot dough fritters directly from the fryer.
As for the more health-conscious customers, there is a Garden Green salad station where several types of fresh vegetables are prepared. The dressings are Kewpie mayonnaise and vinaigrette.
As for desserts, today’s cake is the Red Velvet. I think it is too sweet for comfort. Personally I prefer the sweetness to be toned town.
Red Bean Soup, a type of Chinese tongshui (糖水), is also available. Besides red beans, there are also an equal amount of longan. This dessert is quite soothing to the throat after a hearty meal.
As for drinks, Yuan Yang Tea (鸳鸯茶) is served as part of the buffet. This beverage is a mixture of coffee, tea and milk. The drink is slightly acidic, so it may strike a chord with everybody’s palate.
There is also iced water with a lime wedge. Simple drinks can sometimes be the best, don’t you think so?
Meanwhile, coffee is also available but is not part of the buffet package. My usual choice is the Latte (RM5.20). This drink has decent smoothness and satisfying milky composition, but I feel that the proportion of espresso is inadequate for a latte.
The coffee beans used at May’s Place is Doi Chaang organic beans, which are cultivated from the highlands of northern Thailand. These full body Arabica beans are wildly popular in Canada.
The Sunday Buffet Brunch is served from 11:00am to 2:30pm. Its menu varies every week. The buffet is priced at RM21.00 for adult, RM13.00 for child. Overall, the food gives a sense of homemade goodness, but there are several aspects of the menu that can be improved.
Address: 413, Jalan Burma, 10350 George Town, Pulau Pinang
Contact: 016-401-0121
Business hours: 11:00am-3:00pm (Sunday), 12:00pm-3:00pm, 6:30pm-10:00pm (Tuesday-Saturday), closed on MondaysTaste