I always tell my mama “Life is like a box of lunch box, you can be expecting what is inside”. I still remember I used to have lunch box during my school days. I could tell what was inside whenever I smelled the lunch box. Even by the look of the dishes I could tell what they tasted like. That was why whenever I see other students ordered food from the canteen, I envied them as they could always order different dishes and varieties.
After 17 years of lunch-box’s life, finally I could be released from this. I always get the chance to try food from everywhere as my nature of business is to visit customers. No doubt, I have the chance to try the best food all around, and now the saying has changed to “Life is like a meal set, you will never know what you gonna eat next round”. Now if I have the choice I would love to go back home for dinner every night. I also believe that for people who work away from home will have this feeling as well.
Home cooked food will always be the preference for those who work far away from home. Ivy’s Kitchen is the choice for those who love home cooked, Nyonya-style food.
A cup of hot tea to start off the day. It looked like a 3-colored tea, although it was just a normal cup of tea.
Ivy’s Kitchen offers set lunch and also meals for dinner. The set lunch are mostly affordable and delicious. Below are the varieties of the set lunch:
COMBO A: Chicken Rendang (RM9), this set comes with a bowl of plain rice served with delicious chicken rendang (thick dry curry chicken), half of a boiled egg, deep fried peanuts & ikan bilis (anchovies), papadam (Indian’s cracker) and mix pickled cucumber with pineapple salad. This is one of my favourites as the taste of the rendang is thick and the aroma of the spices is just as thick as well.
COMBO B: Beef Rendang (RM8.50), this set is quite similar to the Chicken Rendang as it comes with a bowl of plain rice served with delicious beef rendang (thick dry curry beef), half of a boiled egg, deep fried peanuts & ikan bilis (anchovies), papadam (Indian’s cracker) and mix pickled cucumber with pineapple salad. The spices and the curry of this dish is the similar to the chicken rendang. The tenderness of the meat was just nice and it really blended well with the curry. For beef lovers, this is a must-order.
COMBO C: Nasi Lemak (RM7.50). Just like its name, the rice served is cooked with coconut milk and chopped ginger. The Nasi Lemak was served together with spicy and sour ikan bilis curry, fried ikan bilis with peanuts, half of a boiled egg, deep fried peanuts, ikan bilis, a piece of fried chicken, fried asam ikan kembung (chubb fish) and fish crackers. This is the most valueble meal with varieties of dish served, for those who have budget concern, this would be the saviour.
Those who do not prefer ikan kembung, they can always opt for the CUSTOM COMBO: Stuffed Fried Cincaru (hard-tailed mackerel) at RM9 or RM3.80 per fish as add-on. The fish was fragrantly fried with a strong hint of tamarind, blended chili and finely-sliced Kaffir lime leaves.
COMBO D: Fried Fish Fillet Noodles (RM9), this is the cheng thng soup (clear soup) and not a spicy-based soup. The noodle can be chosen from Maggi Mee (instant noodles), Bee Hoon (rice noodles), Tang Hoon (glass noodles) or porridge. The soup was cooked using chicken stock as base and with some added Chinese cabbage, minced chicken balls and fried dory fish fillets. The soup is clear yet fantastic, it is made for the non-spicy lovers.
The above-mentioned combos are served with a complementary glass of fresh fruit/vegetable juice and a dessert (soya jelly with longan).
Other than the delicious set lunch from Ivy’s Kitchen, they also served ala-carte meals as shown below:
Penang Asam Laksa (RM5)
Fresh Grouper Fillet Porridge (RM9)
Poh Piah Chee (Mini Spring Rolls) – (RM2 each/RM3.80 for two)
Rojak (Prawn Paste Caramel Mixed Fruits and Vegetables) – RM2 (Normal price RM3)
Other than the ala-carte and set lunch menu, Ivy’s Kitchen also serves dishes for dinner. Some of the dishes that you would expect would be like the Sweet and Sour Flower Crab (RM50 – based on market price and may differ from time to time)
Gulai Tumis Chinese Silver Pomfret (RM62 – based on market rate).
Assam Prawns (Tamarind Prawns – RM20 for 10 prawns)
Fried Beancurd with Leeks (RM12)
Tofu with Seaweed Soup (RM15)
Fried Snow Pea Shoots with Bean Sprouts (RM10)
Fruit Platter (RM12)
Overall, most of set lunch at Ivy’s Kitchen are affordable and delicious. Whereas the dishes for dinner, some are affordable while some are more on the expensive side. No doubt the taste of the lunch set is great but for the dinner dishes, there is still room for improvement.
Editor’s Review (5 Stars Rank):
| Taste |  |
| Price | |
| Food Presentation | |
| Service | |
| Overall | |
Quick Facts:
| Family Friendly |  |
| Parking |  |
| Pork Free | |
| Alcohol | |
| Credit Card | |
| Smoking | |
| Reservation | |
Operation hours: 9.00am-9.00pm (except Saturday), 6.00pm-9.00pm (Saturday)
Contact: 013-433 7878 (Mr. Tan), 016-433 7130 (Ms. Ivy)
Address:558 Jalan Chow Thye,10250 Penang, Malaysia.
Off course home cook food tastes the best. ^-^ I wonder will my daughter complained to me one day for the packed breakfast from home. ^-^
all the set lunch looks delicious o! now I’m feeling hungry d..
I know it must be a nice place for simple meal. 🙂
Everyone likes homecook, I believe. Except those who have just released from long stay at HOME 🙂
How i wish i could have a home made lunch box while schooling. 🙁
so envy….
Cariso, ya everyone love homecook except if the mum knows how to cook
Little Inbox, indeed is simple and nice.
Allie, the set are great.
Mary, you might need be creative else sure she be will complaining.
Tell me about pre-packed food during school days.. haha. How I wished they were Japanase Bento instead 😛 Kids nowadays are luckier with RM3-RM5 per bun lunch pack… “Jealous” 😛 Anyway, I will surely ask my friends to visit the pace for the set meals. I still miss the beef rendang set 😛
is it halal?
Nadia, is pork free serving