Update: This business has ceased its operations.
Bo Eight Tea is a small restaurant on Jalan Gottlieb, facing the Penang Chinese Girls’ Primary School. From the front, it looks like a typical Taiwanese milk tea kiosk.
However, Bo Eight Tea has a proper dining area inside and also serves regular Chinese dishes. There are also board and card games for customers’ entertainment, presumably catering to students who drop by for drinks after school hours.
We ordered some Chinese dishes for dinner today. It did not come to our mind that a well-concealed restaurant serves such tasty dishes!
Starting with the Jindu Style Pork Loin (京都猪排块), the meat is quite tender because the cuttings are thin enough. The tangy sauce also added flavor to the pork, making this a nice dish overall.
The Salad Fish Fillet (沙拉鱼片) is our favorite dish tonight. The deep-fried fish fillet is coated with a delightful concoction of salad cream and sesame meat. The fish itself is tender and smooth to the mouth. We truly love how this dish turned out.
Next up is the Stir Fried Cabbage (清炒蚝油蒜茸菜心). This Chinese cabbage is cooked just right without using too much oil. The stems still retain freshness through brief but intense deep-frying with garlic and oyster sauce.
As for the Sautéed Chicken With Dried Chili (宫保鸡丁), the fiery wok taste is clearly demonstrated here. There is not much chicken to go around, but the think onion cuttings are also sweet and tasty by themselves.
Last but not least, the Seaweed, Bean Curd And Seafood Soup (紫菜豆腐海鲜汤) also deserves a fair share of commendation. The ingredients in the soup are plentiful while the soup itself is rich and appetizing.
For drinks, we ordered Mochaccino Smoothie (摩卡冰沙, RM6.50) and Matcha Red Bean Smoothie (宇治红豆冰沙, RM6.90). The amount of sugar in the drinks can be customized upon request. There is not much to comment about the drinks, as we find them rather similar to other Taiwanese milk tea kiosks.
Overall, the cooking at Bo Eight Tea is highly recommended. The staff here is also very friendly and attentive to our needs. Perhaps the only flip side is that the food portions are rather small compared to the price.