[Penang, Malaysia] Hot dogs from ๐—š๐—”๐—ง๐—ฉ๐—œ๐—– ๐—ฏ๐˜† ๐Ÿญ๐Ÿฏ ๐—ง๐—ต๐—ถ๐—ฟ๐˜๐˜† ๐—ฆ๐—ฒ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—ป, Victoria Street

Late lunch today - grabbed a couple of hot dogs from IT security specialist-turned-cafรฉ owner, Dhillon Andrew Kannabhiranโ€™s 4-month-old ๐†๐€๐“๐•๐ˆ๐‚ ๐›๐ฒ ๐Ÿ๐Ÿ‘ ๐“๐ก๐ข๐ซ๐ญ๐ฒ ๐’๐ž๐ฏ๐ž๐ง.

Despite the proliferation of cat motifs (Dhillon is a cat-lover), the cafรฉ did ๐ง๐จ๐ญ get its name from some Catalonian name for cats (remember ๐„๐ฅ๐ฌ ๐๐ฎ๐š๐ญ๐ซ๐ž ๐†๐š๐ญ๐ฌ or โ€˜The Four Catsโ€™ - Pablo Piccasoโ€™s favorite cafรฉ in Barcelona?). Rather, it was an amalgamation of ๐†๐š๐ญ Lebuh Melayu and ๐•๐ข๐œtoria Street - the intersection it stands on.

We had:
Hot dog (beef) with sweet relish, onions and mustard

Hot dog (chicken) with 1337 beef chili topping

As far as I know, this is George Townโ€™s only hot dog specialty spot. Iโ€™ll need to return to try its Sloppy Joe, and its โ€˜Beyond Meatโ€™ plant-based burger.

Some unusual coffee options:

And some interestingly-named craft beers:

Address
GATVIC by 13 Thirty Seven
2, Gat Lebuh Melayu, 10300 George Town, Penang, Malaysia
Tel: +60 14-234 1337
Operating hours: 9am to 9pm daily, except Wed (closed)

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Plant based burger sounds like a crime against humanity to me.

:joy: :joy: :joy:
Iโ€™ve had plant-based Beef Wellington at Gordon Ramsayโ€™s Bread Street Kitchen in Singapore a couple of years back! The โ€œImpossible Meatโ€ product actually bled when I stuck my fork into it!

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OK, a non-meat dish โ€œbleedingโ€ is a very clever trick. I have no issue with plant based food and we eat a reasonable number of meals at home. But I am never keen when it is trying to replicate a meat dish. Please take my advice here - and never, ever, even try to sample vegan cheese. Simply vile beyond belief.

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Iโ€™m definitely with you on that, John. Never tried vegan cheese ever myself, but a โ€œcheeseโ€ sans the dairy component?! :scream:

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Back to GATVIC for lunch today, as we wanted to try other items on its menu:

  1. Chicken tacos & nacho chips with salsa

DSC09983

  1. Chicken hot dog

  2. Beyond Meat smashed burger

Fully-vaccinated folks in Penang are still slow in emerging from self-imposed quarantine, so we practically had the whole place to ourselves at lunch today.

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How were the tacos? Did they really have tortillas in Penang?

Oh yes, we do get tortillas quite easily here, Mission and El Paso are a couple of brands we find in every supermarket in town.

The tacos at GATVIC are freshly-prepared but seemed to miss that โ€œMexicanโ€ spice scent/aroma. Not sure whatโ€™s missing, but Letโ€™s Meat has that authentic scent/flavor I looked for.

Ah nice!

The magic of lard? :grinning_face_with_smiling_eyes:

Oh no. :joy::joy::joy:

Itโ€™s that combination of aromatics used to scent the cooking. I really missed that!

If there isnโ€™t COVID, you should fly to Mexico and eat. The fx rate is really favorable nowโ€ฆ

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Oh yes. Iโ€™m definitely yearning for some authentic flavors.

One thing about โ€œMalaysianizedโ€ American/European foods here - the localized versions tended to be flooded with gravies or sauces, so weโ€™d have burgers drenched with copious amounts of ketchup, chili sauce and mayonnaise, or even sitting in pools of brown gravy.

One can see the standard order of a hot dog we get outside here:

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You need to try the chips (fries) that you get in the Dutch speaking part of Belgium (and probably the Netherlands). Patatje Oorlog - literally โ€œwar chipsโ€. Your portion of chips, from the takeaway, comes topped with mayo, ketchup, peanut satay sauce and chopped raw onion. Delish - but hard on the digestive system.

It sounded like a meal in itself!

Itโ€™s impressive that beyond burgers have already made their way to Asia!

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Reminds me of the line by the late โ€œHovis Presleyโ€, a comedian from near me, who had this to say about the English breakfast:

โ€œDo you not find that bacon, sausage, egg, chips, black pudding, beans, mushrooms, tomatoes, fried bread and a cup of tea is almost a meal in itself reallyโ€

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The English breakfast is a veritable feast - love it.