Ding Charcoal BBQ & Steamboat Buffet @ Straits Quay Penang

Now I realize that most of my posts on food review are the restaurants in Straits Quay. The Charlie Brown Cafe post had burst my blog traffic in just 3 hours today! YES, IN JUST 3 HOURS.

In the strips when Snoopy created some disaster and when the others yelled at him, he would always ask, "Why me??"

"Because, HE'S YOUR DOG CHARLIE BROWN!!!"

Now I love your dog Charlie Brown. =)

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Now another post which is also related to Straits Quay - Ding Charcoal BBQ and steamboat buffet.
The restaurant is located at the same floor with Charlie Brown Cafe. You can easily recognize it from afar. It's so red!!




The interior. Also as red as the exterior.




They provide 2 hobs, one for BBQ and the other one for steamboat.




Using kanban belt to transport food. Similar to Lolipot.




The utensils are more oriental style. Black utensils to create contrast to the red walls.




Now that the charcoal and soups are filled, we're ready to do the BBQ marathon. Wuahahah....




I was sitting right beside the kanban belt, so my responsibility was informing the gang when something new passed by and grab those we want as fast as possible. There are other tables right opposite ours across the conveyor so at times you just got to be fast.

The fast and furious....




My favorite. Kapa or lala (seashell type).




Marathon started.




Then came the beef, mutton and pork. The pork slices are the belly meat （五花腩）and no doubt it's greasy but we love it. If you BBQ it with some garlic oil, you will never have enough of it. I made a lot of those. Hands were greasy so didn't snap much photo.




Then came the crab.




And the cray fish.




Throw everything in. Those shells were mine.




I was enjoying making BBQ wraps (belly meat wrapping enoki mushrooms) while the others were busy flipping meat on the BBQ net. So we were all having greasy hands and I decided to keep my DSLR and focus on eating. After all that's eat all you can, so basically you've got the idea of what they serve... poultry, seafood and vegetables, plus refillable drinks with a few choices, and eat-all-you-can ice-cream as dessert.

Thanks to the special BBQ machine used, we didn't smell like a grill meat ourselves after 2.5 hours in there. But one thing I don't really like is the seating, not so comfortable for me. It's meant for 4 pax per table (comfortable seating) but we have 6 per table so I need to squeeze to the side throughout that 2.5 hours.


My Rank: 3.5/5

Address:
Lot 3A -1 –11, Straits Quay
Seri Tanjung, Penang

Tel: 04-899 7829

Facebook : http://www.facebook.com/people/Ding-Cbbq/100002032178470

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Charlie Brown Cafe Penang Straits Quay - Let's party with the Peanuts gang

I know that Charlie Brown Cafe （查里布朗咖啡馆）has become a hot topic in the town now. Located at Straits Quay, this outlet is the first of Charlie Brown Cafe in Malaysia. Surprisingly they open the first Peanuts theme cafe in Penang but not in KL. The other outlets that I know are location in Hong Kong, Korea, Singapore and China.




From the web and forums, I heard praises and grumbles from those who had visited.. but I swore to myself that I MUST publish a review on this cafe because I'm a big fan of Peanuts gang! I've been reading the comic strips of the Peanuts by Charles M. Schulz since 5 years old! Way too long huh... Dad bought me a cartoon video tape entitled "A Boy Named Charlie Brown" (the 80's babies watch video tapes in childhood days) and since that day on I was so in love with the Peanuts.




When I was in Charlie Brown Cafe, I actually heard quite some people asking their friends, "Who is Charlie Brown?" I bet almost everyone knows Snoopy, and perhaps now you know that Snoopy's owner is Charlie Brown, but aren't you interested to know more about the Peanuts gang? If you know them well, you'd probably forget on how long the queue would be. When you're visiting a theme cafe, you should be prepared for the queue especially it's only the first or second week after their opening. The price that worth it is the environment and the stories behind the characters.




My childhood favorite cartoon characters - Snoopy and Charlie Brown.




I decided to write a little longer for this post because I get excited when I start talking about my favorite stuffs, for instance, Snoopy of course! Well, let me do a concise summary on the Peanuts gang characters so that if you do not know them before this, and if you happen to read my post while looking for reviews on Charlie Brown Cafe before visiting, you'll thank me for telling you more about Charlie Brown and his friends as you'll be more overwhelmed by the environment while you're there. I wish you will 'heart' this article of mine.



The interior.




The queue. Almost at anytime.




So who is Charlie Brown?




Charlie Brown is an example of "the great American un-success story" in that he fails in almost everything he does, a total contrast with M. Schulz's work which is referred as "the great American success story". He is meek, nervous and lacks self-confidence, being unable to fly a kite, win a baseball game or kick a football. He is almost bald, with barely a little hair in front. He is Snoopy's owner but apparently Snoopy's intelligence is way much higher than him...




Snoopy, on the other hand, is known as "the world's most famous beagle". He does not look very much like a beagle, because beagle normally has tricolor (tan, black and white) but Snoopy has only black and white fur. Snoopy slept on top of his doghouse (doghouse in the below picture), rather than inside it. He seldom seen to venture inside his doghouse, except to retrieve something, or retrieve his recorder to play the national anthem of America every night before he goes to sleep (memories as recalled from the cartoon).

Snoopy's doghouse was something extraordinary. It defied physics, being dramatically larger on the inside than the outside, with a carpeted foyer, a den, a library, a guest room, a stairway, a basement, a television, a bed (although he sleeps on the roof), a pool table, and an original Van Gogh.

The doghouse also serves as a prop for Snoopy, often imagined as a World War I "Sopwith Camel" fighter plane in Snoopy's battles with the Red Baron. During these aerial fights, Snoopy's house often suffers from bullet holes and occasionally crashes. However, this seems to take place solely in Snoopy's imagination, as the house is in perfect shape later.

You will also find a yellow bird in the comic strips, sometimes a flock, but Woodstock is the only bird that attaches himself to Snoopy. The rest of the look alike's are Woodstock's friends. In the early 60s, many migrating birds started using Snoopy's doghouse for various purposes: a rest stop during migrations, a nesting site, or a place to play cards. They simply looked at Snoopy and he understood them. Woodstock was the only one that assumed the role of Snoopy's sidekick and assistant. He's Snoopy's best friend.




Linus, the best friend of Charlie Brown, also the younger brother of Lucy van Pelt and older brother of Rerun van Pelt. You might wonder why Linus always drag along a blue blanket whenever and wherever he appears, that's actually his "security blanket". He holds the blanket over his shoulder while sucking his thumb.

He suffered weakness and dizziness, for example, when Lucy took it from him only long enough to have it laundered, spontaneously recovering when it was restored to him. Lucy won a first prize in a school science contest when she took Linus blanket away and recorded his "withdrawal symptoms"-and as proof entered Linus and his blanket as a exhibit!

A common thing for Snoopy is to run up and quickly grab the blanket in his mouth and drag Linus along with it, then swing him and the blanket around many times before letting go and sending them both soaring off to who-knows-where.

Now Lucy. She is the main bully and the older sister of Linus and Rerun. A bossy, crabby and selfish eight-year old girl, Lucy often bullies the other characters in the strip, particularly her own brother Linus and Charlie Brown. But I always think Charlie Brown has some crush on her while Charlie Brown's younger sister Sally has love interest on Linus.




Charlie's younger sister, Sally Brown has blonde hair with a curly fringe. She wears pigtails, pink or blue polka dotted dresses with matching colored socks and she also wears white shoes with black laces. She can be stubborn at times, and is usually convinced she's right until someone proves her wrong, but she also has a good heart and a strong moral sense, just like her brother.




You won't believe how beautiful the ceilings are decorated. Peanuts gang on the move!!






The counter to place your order.








From outside of the shop through the window, you can see the long queue waiting for order. But I like the effect of the whole setting on the window. Now it seems like everyone is queuing together with the Peanuts gang at the bus stop.




Here's the menu~ Now you can have an idea of how much budget you need to allocate for a tea break. I didn't manage to find the price list for main meal. The kitchen had closed when we reached.








They also have Charlie Brown cookies for take away.




And plenty of cakes to choose from! All looks delicious.












Souvenir shop beside the kitchen area. Overlooking the marina. Luckily I manage to control my shopping desire.






Our seating area. We all like the partition so much!!! It's full of the very well-known strips. The fans know well. =)








The table. It's worth to pay for the coffee + environment. At least to us, we think so.




One of the seating area is showing the Peanuts cartoon. Oh I miss the stories.. I haven't been watching for such a long time... It's time to start searching and buy the cartoon specials collections.




While waiting for our orders to be served. Posers. Like criminals?? Hahahha...




The waiting cards are all different. Each number a picture or comic strip.




Finally our coffee were served. Caffe latte and Cappuccino. Both with Lucy's face on them. I thought I would get one with Charlie Brown...






So remember to make a visit soon!




My Rank: 4.5/5
(because of the combination of environment and quite nice caffe latte)

Address:
3A-1-17 & 3A-1-18,
Straits Quay Marina Mall,
Jalan Seri Tanjung Pinang 3,
10470 Tanjong Bungah, Penang

Tel: 04-899 8602 ‎

Website: http://www.charliebrowncafe.com.my/

Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/CharlieBrownCafeMY?sk=info#!/CharlieBrownCafeMY

Location:

Google map as originated by myself...

If you're interested to know more about the characters of Peanuts gang, just click on the links below.

• Snoopy: Charlie Brown's dog
• Linus van Pelt: Charlie Brown's best friend; Sally's love interest
• Lucy van Pelt: Linus' older sister
• Woodstock: Snoopy's best friend; a yellow bird
• Sally Brown: Charlie Brown's younger sister
• Schroeder: a young pianist; Lucy's love interest
• Patricia "Peppermint Patty" Reichardt: Marcie's bossy best friend; a tomboy who likes Charlie Brown
• Marcie: the bespectacled character; Peppermint Patty's best friend
• Franklin: the first African-American character
• Pig-Pen: the dirtiest character
• Frieda: the girl with "naturally curly hair"
• Rerun van Pelt: Lucy and Linus' younger brother
• Patty: an early character
• Shermy: an early character
• Violet Gray: Patty's friend; one of the "mean girls" who teases Charlie Brown
• Charlotte Braun: an early character

PEANUTS GANG FANS OUT THERE, PLEASE FEEL FREE TO DROP A MESSAGE HERE, I'LL BE MORE THAN HAPPY TO HAVE A FANS GATHERING TOGETHER AT CHARLIE BROWN CAFE, IF WE COULD ORGANIZE ONE??

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